Frontal brain asymmetry has been associated with emotion- and motivation-related constructs. The authors examined the relationship between frontal brain asymmetry and subjective perception of posttraumatic growth (PTG) after severe motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). Eighty-two survivors of MVAs completed self-report measures of PTG, trait and state…

When 2 targets for pursuit eye movements move in different directions, the eye velocity follows the vector average (S. G. Lisberger & V. P. Ferrera, 1997). The present study investigates the mechanisms of target selection when observers are instructed to follow a predefined horizontal target and to ignore a moving distractor stimulus. Results show…

In studies of probability discounting, the reduction in the value of an outcome as a result of its degree of uncertainty is calculated. Decision making studies suggest two issues with probability that may play a role in data obtained in probability discounting studies. The first issue involves the reduction of risk aversion via subdivision of…

This article reports the results of an experiment addressing extrapolation in function learning, in particular the issue of whether participants can extrapolate in a nonmonotonic manner. Existing models of function learning, including the extrapolation association model of function learning (EXAM; E. L. DeLosh, J. R. Busemeyer, & M. A. McDaniel,…

In the analysis of stimulus competition in causal judgment, 4 variables have been frequently confounded with respect to the conditions necessary for stimuli to compete: causal status of the competing stimuli (causes vs. effects), temporal order of the competing stimuli (antecedent vs. subsequent) relative to the noncompeting stimulus,…

Following the meta-analysis by Bonta, Law, and Hanson, (1998) this study examined the ability of personal demographic, criminal history, and clinical variables to predict reoffending in offenders in the United Kingdom who had mental disorders. The efficacy of each variable in predicting rate of general reoffending and violent reoffending was…

Rereading can improve the accuracy of people's predictions of future test performance for text material. This research investigated this rereading effect by evaluating 2 predictions from the levels-of-disruption hypothesis: (a) The rereading effect will occur when the criterion test measures comprehension of the text, and (b) the rereading effect…

It has been suggested that predictive and bridging inferences are generated at different levels of text representation: predictive inferences at a reader's situation model and bridging inferences at a reader's propositional textbase (Fincher-Kiefer, 1993, 1996; McDaniel, Schmalhofer, & Keefe, 2001; Schmalhofer, McDaniel, & Keefe, 2002). Recently,…

Although some types of inferences are mandatory for readers, predictive inferences (inferences for what will happen next) are generally considered elaborative or optional. Three experiments measuring probe word lexical decision latencies produced evidence for the online generation of predictive inferences during narrative text comprehension.…

This study investigated the extent to which parents' moral thought and family processes are involved in the socialization of adolescent moral thought. Olson et al's (1992) Circumplex Model and White's (2000) Family Socialization Model provided the conceptual framework for predicting that families high in cohesion, adaptability and communication…

The SNARC (spatial numerical associations of response codes) effect reflects the tendency to respond faster with the left hand to relatively small numbers and with the right hand to relatively large numbers (S. Dehaene, S. Bossini, & P. Giraux, 1993). Using computational modeling, the present article aims to provide a framework for conceptualizing…

Not only are rubber bands great for binding objects together, but they can be used in a simple science experiment that involves predicting, problem solving, measuring, graphing, and experimenting. In this article, the author describes how rubber bands can be used to teach the force of mass.

People frequently underestimate how long it will take them to complete a task. The prevailing view is that during the prediction process, people incorrectly use their memories of how long similar tasks have taken in the past because they take an overly optimistic outlook. A variety of evidence is reviewed in this article that points to a…

How do scores from different tests relate to each other? Three types of score linkage are discussed: equating, concordance, and prediction of expected scores. Statistical indices, in conjunction with rational considerations, are needed to determine whether the highest level of linkage attainable between scores from two "tests" is the…

Most 4-year-olds can predict the behavior of a person who wants an object but is mistaken about its location. More difficult is predicting behavior when the person is mistaken about location and wants to avoid the object. We tested between two explanations for children's difficulties with avoidance false belief: the Selection Processing model of…