The effectiveness of worksite interventions to reduce smoking needs to be enhanced because randomized controlled trials to date have produced mixed findings. The present study tested the ability of social-cognitive variables to mediate the past behavior-future behavior relationship and the effectiveness of implementation intentions to break the past behavior-future behavior relationship in a brief theory-based worksite intervention designed to reduce smoking. Smoking behavior and psychosocial orientation to quit (operationalized by theory of planned behavior variables and temptations) were measured at baseline; participants (N=90) randomized to the experimental condition were also asked to form an implementation intention in their place of work. Identical measures taken 2 months postbaseline revealed that intention was a potent mediator of the past behavior-future behavior relationship. More important, significantly more people quit smoking in the experimental condition than in the control condition. Decomposition of these effects showed that implementation intentions worked best for individuals who were more motivated to quit at baseline and suggest that harnessing both motivational and volitional processes might enhance the effectiveness of worksite smoking cessation programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)

Original article written by Armitage, Christopher J.

The consistent, but often wrong, impressions people form of the size of unseen speakers are not random but rather point to a consistent misattribution bias, one that the advertising, broadcasting, and entertainment industries also routinely exploit. The authors report 3 experiments examining the perceptual basis of this bias. The results indicate that, under controlled experimental conditions, listeners can make relative size distinctions between male speakers using reliable cues carried in voice formant frequencies (resonant frequencies, or timbre) but that this ability can be perturbed by discordant voice fundamental frequency (F-sub-0, or pitch) differences between speakers. The authors introduce 3 accounts for the perceptual pull that voice F-sub-0 can exert on our routine (mis)attributions of speaker size and consider the role that voice F-sub-0 plays in additional voice-based attributions that may or may not be reliable but that have clear size connotations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)

Oryginalny artykul napisany przez Rendall, Drew; Vokey, John R.; Nemeth, Christie

The visual system uses several tools to select only the most relevant visual information for further processing, including selection by location. In the present study, the authors explored how many locations can be selected at once. Although past evidence from several visual tasks suggests that the visual system can operate on a fixed number of 4 objects or locations at once, the authors found that this capacity varies widely in response to the precision of selection required by the task. When the authors required precise selection regions, only 2-3 locations could be selected. But when the selection regions could be coarser, up to 6-7 locations could be selected. The authors discuss potential mechanisms underlying the selection of multiple locations and review the evidence for fixed limits in visual attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)

Oryginalny artykul napisany przez Franconeri, Steven L.; Alvarez, George A.; Enns, James T.

Throughout history, people have reported dreams that have impacted upon their spiritual lives, some of which are related to death. Dreams related to death are not uncommon in childhood, and research shows that some children make meaning from them. Often this interpretation of a dream reflects a search for meaning about issues of life and death, as well as acting as a coping mechanism. This article explores how children make meaning from this type of dream by synthesizing the theory of spiritual intelligence with theoretical approaches to dreaming. Specifically, it explores the intersection between theoretical approaches to dreams related to death, children’s responses to these dreams, and a key function of spiritual intelligence to solve problems of meaning and value in life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Original article written by Adams, Kate; Hyde, Brendan

“Big dreams” are hard to define. This paper considers “big” dreams under several more easily definable subcategories: memorable dreams; important dreams (labeled by dreamer); significant dreams; and impactful dreams. Past studies are reviewed, and five new preliminary studies are presented showing that a powerful Central Image (CI) distinguishes “big” dreams in all subcategories. 1) Dreams labeled “important” by the dreamer have higher CI intensity than dreams labeled “unimportant.” 2) Dreams labeled “especially significant” have especially high CI intensity. 3) Impactful dreams (leading to a new discovery) have a very high CI intensity. 4) The dreams of people who score very “thin” on the Boundary Questionnaire (BQ)–sometimes called “dream-people”–have higher CI intensity than the dreams of people who score “thick.” 5) In a separate, larger group, there is a significant positive correlation between CI intensity and “thinness.” It appears that CI intensity is an important measure of the “bigness” of dreams. The present results are consistent with the Contemporary Theory of Dreaming which states that dreams involve making connections guided by emotion, that the Ci of the dream pictures the emotion, and that CI intensity measures the power of the underlying emotion. “Big” dreams are dreams with great emotional power and have powerful Central Images. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

Original article written by Hartmann, Ernest