Concepts in Space: Enhancing Lexical Search With a Spatial Diversity Prime.

Informed by theories of embodied cognition, in the present study, we designed a novel priming technique to investigate the impact of spatial diversity and script direction on searching through concepts in both English and Persian (i.e., two languages with opposite script directions).

Theory of collective mind.

Theory of mind research has traditionally focused on the ascription of mental states to a single individual. Here, we introduce a theory of collective mind: the ascription of a unified mental state to a group of agents with convergent experiences. Rather than differentiation between one's personal perspective and that of another agent, a theory of collective mind requires perspectival unification across agents.

Hoist by its own petard: The ironic and fatal flaws of dual-process theory.

By stipulating the existence of a system 1 and a system 2, dual-process theories raise questions about how these systems function. De Neys identifies several such questions for which no plausible answers have ever been offered. What makes the nature of systems 1 and 2 so difficult to ascertain? The answer is simple: The systems do not exist.

Deviancy Aversion and Social Norms.

We propose that deviancy aversion-people's domain-general discomfort toward the distortion of patterns (repeated forms or models)-contributes to the strength and prevalence of social norms in society. Five studies ( = 2,390) supported this hypothesis. In Study 1, individuals' deviancy aversion, for instance, their aversion toward broken patterns of simple geometric shapes, predicted negative affect toward norm violations (affect), greater self-reported norm following (behavior), and judging norms as more valuable (belief).

Empathy-Related Brain Activity in Somatosensory Cortex Protects From Tactile Priming Effects: A Pilot Study.

Empathy influences how we perceive, understand, and interact with our social environment. Previous studies suggested a network of different brain regions as a neural substrate for empathy, including, in particular, insula and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In addition, a contribution of the somatosensory cortices for this empathy related network has been suggested.

Problems with the dual-systems approach to temporal cognition.

Contrary to Hoerl & McCormack (H&M), we argue that the best account of temporal cognition in humans is one in which a single system becomes capable of representing time. We suggest that H&M's own evidence for dual systems of temporal cognition - simultaneous contradictory beliefs - does not recommend dual systems, and that the single system approach is more plausible.

Pattern deviancy aversion predicts prejudice via a dislike of statistical minorities.

Research has documented an overlap between people's aversion toward nonsocial pattern deviancy (e.g., a row of triangles with 1 triangle out of line) and their social prejudice.

Autism spectrum traits predict higher social psychological skill.

Social-cognitive skills can take different forms, from accurately predicting individuals' intentions, emotions, and thoughts (person perception or folk psychology) to accurately predicting social phenomena more generally. Past research has linked autism spectrum (AS) traits to person perception deficits in the general population. We tested whether AS traits also predict poor accuracy in terms of predicting generalized social phenomena, assessed via participants' accuracy at predicting social psychological phenomena (e.

Featured Article: Gender Bias in Pediatric Pain Assessment.

Objective: Accurate assessment of pain is central to diagnosis and treatment in healthcare, especially in pediatrics. However, few studies have examined potential biases in adult observer ratings of children's pain. Cohen, Cobb, & Martin (2014.

Incidental haptic sensations influence judgment of crimes.

Extralegal factors may influence judicial outcomes. Here we investigated the experience of incidental haptic sensations on the harshness of punishment recommendations. Based on recent theories of embodiment, which claim that cognitive representations are structured by metaphorical mappings from sensory experience, we hypothesized that tactile priming with hard objects would cause subjects to recommend harsher sentences (to be 'hard on crime').

The Mythical Number Two.

It is often said that there are two types of psychological processes: one that is intentional, controllable, conscious, and inefficient, and another that is unintentional, uncontrollable, unconscious, and efficient. Yet, there have been persistent and increasing objections to this widely influential dual-process typology. Critics point out that the 'two types' framework lacks empirical support, contradicts well-established findings, and is internally incoherent.

A Test of Multisession Automatic Action Tendency Retraining to Reduce Alcohol Consumption Among Young Adults in the Context of a Human Laboratory Paradigm.

Background: Young adult heavy drinking is an important public health concern. Current interventions have efficacy but with only modest effects, and thus, novel interventions are needed. In prior studies, heavy drinkers, including young adults, have demonstrated stronger automatically triggered approach tendencies to alcohol-related stimuli than lighter drinkers.

Relating pattern deviancy aversion to stigma and prejudice.

What predicts people's powerful and universal dislike of social deviancy? Across six studies, aversion towards non-social pattern deviancy, for example, a row of triangles with one triangle out of line, predicted aversion towards stigmatized individuals, social norm breakers, statistically negative and positive deviants, and a racial minority group (Black individuals). The relationship between pattern deviancy and social deviancy aversion emerged across explicit and implicit measures, across cultures (United States and China), and was of a moderately large magnitude (meta-analytic effect size: d = 0.68).

"So Happy I Could Shout!" and "So Happy I Could Cry!" Dimorphous expressions represent and communicate motivational aspects of positive emotions.

Happiness can be expressed through smiles. Happiness can also be expressed through physical displays that without context, would appear to be sadness (tears, downward turned mouths, and crumpled body postures) and anger (clenched jaws, snarled lips, furrowed brows, and pumped fists). These seemingly incongruent displays of happiness, termed dimorphous expressions, we propose, represent and communicate expressers' motivational orientations.

The invisibility cloak illusion: People (incorrectly) believe they observe others more than others observe them.

Whether at a coffee shop, in a waiting room, or riding the bus, people frequently observe the other people around them. Yet they often fail to realize how much other people engage in the same behavior, and that they, therefore, also are being observed. Because it is logically impossible that people, on average, are the subjects of observation more than they are objects of it, the belief that one watches others more than one is watched is an illusion.

Psychological Distance Moderates the Amplification of Shared Experience.

Sharing an experience with another person can amplify that experience. Here, we propose for the first time that amplification is moderated by the psychological distance between co-experiencers. We predicted that experiences would be amplified for co-experiencers who are psychologically proximate but not for co-experiencers who are psychologically distant.

Neural reuse leads to associative connections between concrete (physical) and abstract (social) concepts and motives.

Consistent with neural reuse theory, empirical tests of the related "scaffolding" principle of abstract concept development show that higher-level concepts "reuse" and are built upon fundamental motives such as survival, safety, and consumption. This produces mutual influence between the two levels, with far-ranging impacts from consumer behavior to political attitudes.

Dimorphous expressions of positive emotion: displays of both care and aggression in response to cute stimuli.

Extremely positive experiences, and positive appraisals thereof, produce intense positive emotions that often generate both positive expressions (e.g., smiles) and expressions normatively reserved for negative emotions (e.

Shared experiences are amplified.

In two studies, we found that sharing an experience with another person, without communicating, amplifies one's experience. Both pleasant and unpleasant experiences were more intense when shared. In Study 1, participants tasted pleasant chocolate.

Authors’ response: multitudes of perspectives: integrating the Selfish Goal model with views on scientific metaphors, goal systems, and society.

In our response, we address commentators’ feedback regarding the contributions and limitations of the Selfish Goal model. We first clarify potential misunderstandings regarding the model’s contributions and the role of consciousness. Second, we situate evaluations of the selfish metaphor within the similarities and differences inherent to the goal-gene comparison.