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A major component of consuming filmed entertainment is vicariously experiencing emotions of the filmed characters, yet little is known about how this occurs. Four experiments assessed memory for emotions felt by characters in extended film clips from either a contemporary farce (Overboard) or a historical drama (Sense and Sensibility) under various conditions of native or foreign language in the dialogue or subtitles. English-speaking participants watched a clip and then assessed on 6-point scales specific positive and negative affect felt by characters at various points during the film. Both positive and negative affect felt by characters in both films were perceived and remembered better in conditions with English sound or subtitles than in conditions with no English channel, although, unexpectedly, spoken dialogue or subtitles alone were equally effective at conveying emotion. Overall, emotion memory from the contemporary farce was better than from the historical drama and was surprisingly good even in conditions with no English, especially for the farce. Conditions with only sound, subtitles, or pictures were very comparable to each other. Participants higher in trait fantasy empathy remembered emotions better. The components of an eventual model of emotional comprehension were sketched. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although watching movies is typically enjoyable, they also can elicit discomfort. The present studies investigated what makes some moviegoing experiences emotionally uncomfortable. Using autobiographical memory (Study 1) and scenarios/vignettes methodology (Study 2), young adults remembered watching a movie that had made them uncomfortable or responded to scenarios about watching a particular type of movie with particular co-viewers (e.g. violent movie with one's spouse). Movies eliciting discomfort were most often dramas (39%) or comedies (26%). Discomfort most often arose from content, particularly fairly explicit sex or violence, and secondarily from the presence of co-viewers. Often the two interacted, for example, being uncomfortable watching explicit sex with one's parents. In terms of dealing with the discomfort, women were overall more direct and men more avoidant. A sizable minority was glad they had seen the film, in spite of the discomfort, and was open to seeing it again. Arguing from converging evidence, these different methodologies produced consistent results. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although stress is frequently claimed to impede foreign language (FL) reading comprehension, it is usually not explained how. We investigated the effects of stress, working memory (WM) capacity, and inferential complexity on Spanish FL readers' inferential processing during comprehension. Inferences, although necessary for reading comprehension, vary in inferential complexity and WM demands. We measured 55 intermediate-level Spanish FL learners' reading comprehension, using questions with three levels of inferential complexity: non-inference (factual), bridging inference (pronoun referent), and pragmatic inference. We measured participants' WM capacity and varied their stress level between blocks using a video camera. Results showed that higher WM learners were more accurate overall. Inference construction during comprehension was negatively related to inferential complexity. Stress increased processing time overall, with a trend toward greater effect on response times (RTs) for questions requiring greater inferential complexity. Higher WM learners showed a greater effect of inferential complexity on RTs than lower WM learners. More generally, and consistent with the Attentional Control Theory, analyses showed that higher WM learners strategically traded reading speed (processing efficiency) for greater comprehension accuracy (processing effectiveness), whereas lower WM learners only did so under stress and did so less successfully. Thus, stress impedes FL reading comprehension through interactions between WM capacity and inferential complexity, and such effects are moderated by strategy use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article argues that Suetonius' reports claiming that Augustus was born in Rome at Ox Heads were misinterpreted. According to the author, the interpretation of Augustus' birth place was based on Suetonius' phrase, ad Capita Bubula. He argues that the phrase did not refer to a place but to a geometric pattern of reorganized Rome under Augustus' reign. He adds that the phrase caput bubulum does not necessarily have a literal meaning of ox head, but can be interpreted as a quasi-technical geometric concept.

Little previous research has examined the link between popular music and autobiographical memory. College-age participants recalled a memory associated with a song from each of five lifetime eras and then described and rated the memories. Participants heard part of the song, read the lyrics, saw a picture of the artist or began describing their memory immediately. Ratings for vividness, specificity, feeling brought back and feeling emotional in connection with the memory were all significantly different across lifetime eras. Differences also existed between sensory conditions in memory description length, feeling brought back and feeling emotional. However, hearing the song did not produce higher ratings than all the other sensory conditions. These findings show that music is a valuable cue to evoke autobiographical memory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the author's work experience in the editing and publishing field. He says that being an editor he lived a life that was based on the words of authors whose stories, poems and writeups he edited. He recalls various experiences of his work and says that editors hold a vital position in the publishing field. He says that with different stories and poems he saw different aspects of life and reformed meanings of life every time. He suggests to authors to write so as to reflect life, instead of focusing on prizes they may get for their work.

Two autobiographical memory studies were conducted to better understand the social experience and memory for watching romantic movies on a date. In both studies, participants were primarily middle-class, White, young adults, who (a) recalled the experience of watching a romantic movie they had seen on a date and (b) were assessed for levels of sex-role traditionality and 4 kinds of dispositional empathy. Participants also reported with whom they watched the movie, who chose it, and the cognitions and emotions experienced during viewing. Finally, a fantasy measure asked participants to choose the types of scenes in which they and their dates might like to ‘stand in’ for a character in the film. Results indicated that women more often than men selected the movie and liked it more, but, despite common stereotypes, men also reported favorable ratings for romantic movies seen on a date. However, both men and women thought that ‘most men’ would not like the movie. On the fantasy measure, women underestimated men's preference for appearing in scenes of romance. For multiple measures, participants fell back on gender stereotyping when estimating what people in general, especially men, would like. Study 2 replicated Study 1 (N = 265) with a sample of 45 dating couples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the theoretical framework of embodied cognition, this study examined the effect of different theatrical rehearsal strategies on cued-recall memory of a narrative monologue. Participants were told to try to learn as much as possible about the character in their study of the script, but they were not told to memorize the material. All participants then engaged in a 30-min activity and then were given a cloze recall task, in which they were asked to fill in missing words in a written copy of the monologue. The 30-min activity varied across 5 groups: The Read-Only group performed an unrelated distractor task, the Writing group wrote out responses to 5 character-based questions, the Collaborative Discussion group discussed the same 5 questions in small groups, the Independent Discussion group used the small-group format (but only 1 participant was allowed to answer each question), and the Improvisation group dramatized the 5 characterization questions in small groups. As predicted by an embodied cognition model, the Improvisation condition had significantly more correct gist responses on the cloze recall task than any other group. Results suggest that the active experiential strategy of improvisation, in which the participants directly dramatize the action, is valuable in aiding memory. Applications to school learning and theater are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effects of word-choice violations on reading time and deviance ratings at the surface code, propositional textbase and situation model levels of representation in German and English sentences. Comparison of lexical, pragmatic and morphological violations; Operation of comprehension strategies at multiple levels of representation.

The present study used autobiographical memory to investigate the social experience and short- and long-term effects of seeing frightening movies on a date, extending Zillmann and Weaver's (1996) model of differential gender-role behaviors to persons' own real-life dating experiences. Young adult participants (a) recalled the experience of watching a scary movie on a date, and (b) were assessed for levels of gender-role traditionality, sensation seeking, and dispositional empathy. Results showed that almost all individuals could recall such a date. Although men reported more positive reactions to the film and women more negative reactions, the experience appeared to have some social utility for both. Sex was a better predictor than the gender-role measures for Negative Reactions, Sleep Disturbances, and the likelihood of being Scared Today by the movie. Sensation-Seeking and Empathy were modest predictors of the same variables. In sum, the dating context seemed to encourage both men and women to behave and react in highly gender-stereotypical ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the results of experiments that tested memory for sentences containing either metaphors or similes. Use of forced-choice recognition memory requiring a choice between the metaphor or simile form; Improvement of memory for difficult sentences.

Explores the social experience and the short- and long-term effects of seeing frightening movies at a young age. Levels of dispositional empathy; Role of fantasy empathy and perspective taking on negative experiences; Influence of the frightening memories on individuals' preference for watching movies.

Examines differences in monolingual and bilingual memory recall for English and Spanish metaphors and similes. Recall of figurative language as metaphor in an all English experiment; Recall of figurative language as simile in an all Spanish experiment; Stronger simile bias of Spanish figurative language in a bilingual studies over English metaphor biases.

Two studies examined the effect of culturally based scripts and associated knowledge on memory for stories about people performing common activities. North American subjects read four stories about people riding a city bus, purchasing a record album, eating breakfast, and buying travel tickets. There were two versions of each story, one consistent with a North American cultural script and one with some foreign script unfamiliar to the subjects. Memory for the stories was tested at varying intervals, from immediately after reading the story to one week later. Results showed that the foreign stories were misremembered to have been more like the American stories than they in fact were and that this effect was most strongly observed after one week. Such findings argue that any theory of the effects of script-based knowledge on memory must examine different intervals of delay and consider the cultural origin of that knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College student subjects read a fictitious newspaper report about a wife-battering incident. After reading the scenario, subjects completed a series of rating scales about attributes of the two protagonists and the incident in general. Results showed that if the victim had verbally provoked the abuser, male subjects, and sometimes females as well, discounted the seriousness of the incident in numerous ways. An explicit description of the injuries to the victim led subjects to evaluate the incident more seriously. Some higher-order interactions of the race of the assailant with other factors reflected a subtle and complex racism from the white subjects. Results were interpreted in light of theory in social psychology, consciousness raising about battering, and the behavioral and attitudinal implications for reporting such incidents in the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental simulation methodology examined how people weigh the wishes of the donor and the next-of-kin in recommending whether the latter should consent to donate the organs of a deceased loved one. Subjects read several brief stories, each describing a young adult who had died suddenly and whose kin faced the decision of whether to donate their loved one's organs. Each scenario had four versions, identical except for minor wording changes providing information about the organ donation wish of the potential donor and the next-of-kin. Subjects indicated ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ or ‘I'm undecided’ about whether the kin should donate the organs. Subjects weighted the wishes of the deceased much more heavily than their own or those of the next-of-kin when those wishes were stated directly. When the deceased's wishes had to be inferred indirectly, attitudes of the next-of-kin and the experimental subject affected the decision much more. Implications for organ procurement practice are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to examine stereotypical beliefs about the physical appearance of employees and the effects of these beliefs on decision- making. Current stereotypes about obese and very thin people were assessed, and the effect of beliefs about obese and very thin people on subjects' evaluations of employee performance was measured. The findings indicated that subjects used information about employees' weight and body build differently, depending on whether they were responding to questions about discipline, the likelihood of recurrence of behavior, or their desire to work with certain employees. Overall, the results suggest that subjects exclude nondiagnostic aspects of employees (e.g., weight and body build) in some types of work decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in cognition has shown that people frequently draw pragmatic references that go beyond what is stated directly in the text (e.g., understanding that Sparkle fights cavities implies that it prevents cavities). This study examines the effects of directly asserted claims and five different types of implied claims (hedge words, deleted comparatives, juxtaposed imperatives implying causality, statistical abuses, and negative questions) on the ratings of the truth value of a related claim and on the rated likelihood of purchasing that product. The different types of implied claims that produced the highest truth rating were not the most convincing in the sense of purchase likelihood. Directly asserted claims were no more true or convincing than many of their weaker implied counterparts. Overall, women rated test claims more true than men, regardless of which type of claim they had read Subjects who were frequent users of a particular product class tended to rate both truth and purchase likelihood higher than nonusers but the effect was significant only for some products Results are discussed in terms of methodological concerns and general applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines some of the effects of culturally based knowledge on memory for stories about people performing common activities. Monocultural college students in (a) the United States and (b) Mexico read three brief stories about people going on a date, going home from the office for lunch, and starting a new semester of school. There were two versions of each story, consistent with either a U.S. or a Mexican cultural script. A modified recognition memory test for information in the stories occurred at one of three different delay intervals (immediately after reading the stories, 1/24 hour later, or 1 week later). Results showed that, after 1 week, both groups of subjects misremembered the stories from the other culture as being more like their own culture than they in fact were. The findings were consistent with previous monocultural research and argue that any theory of the effects of script-based knowledge on memory must consider the cultural origin of that knowledge. Problems associated with use of the script or schema construct to describe such knowledge were considered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In an effort to correct methodological problems with previous research on effects of country-of-origin attributions, two experiments examined college students' reactions to brief oral or written ads for products with English, French, German, or Spanish names. Subjects rated how much they liked the ad and liked the product name and rated their likelihood of purchasing the product. Results showed that, overall, English names were generally favored over the foreign names. This finding, however, varied tremendously with the product; for several products one or more of the foreign names was preferred. Country of origin also frequently interacted with either sex or modality of the ad. In general, written ads were preferred over oral ones. Results were interpreted as arguing for great care and caution in interpreting country-of-origin effects. ©1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effects of sex and attitudes toward women on different cognitive measures that were obtained after "liberal" and "nonliberal" male and female subjects viewed 12 television commercials: 6 commercials depicted "traditional" female roles and 6 were "neutral." The dependent variables included (1) ratings of the commercials, (2) objections to the commercials, (3) perceived content or interpretation of the commercials, and (4) willingness to buy. The results suggested that liberals had more objections to the stereotypic commercials and that they rated and interpreted some of them more negatively when compared with nonliberals. Liberals were also less willing to buy some of the products after viewing traditional commercials. The findings were discussed with reference to Bem's (1981) gender schema theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines college students' reactions to scenarios of three types of domestic violence situations. Husband battering his wife; Wife battering his husband; Gay male battering his lover; Assertion that the battered husband scenario was taken less seriously than the battered wife case; Implications of the different reactions to the three types of scenarios.

Discusses the upper-level undergraduate 'Psychology of Mass Communication' course. Description on the class format and requirements; Details on the topics of the course; Feedback on the course.