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Implicit measures of attitudes have classically focused on the association between a social group and generalized valence, but debate exists surrounding how these associations arise and what they can tell us about beliefs and attitudes. Here, we suggest that representations of oppression, which relate positively to implicitly measured prejudice but negatively to explicitly measured prejudice, can serve to decrease the predictive validity of implicit measures through statistical suppression. We had participants complete a Black–White implicit association test (IAT) and an IAT measuring representations of oppression, and find that oppression-related representations statistically suppress the relation between IAT scores and explicit attitudes, such that accounting for these representations increases the total amount of variance explained by implicit measures. We discuss the implications of this work both for practical matters around use of the IAT and for theoretical debates on the conceptualization of valence in implicit attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social categorization is often framed as the antecedent to stereotyping, with perceivers rationally sorting the social world on the basis of perceptually salient categories before applying biased or motivated beliefs about those categories. Here, we instead suggest that the construction of social categories by individuals is itself subject to motivational influences, such that perceivers will attend to a given dimension of social categorization (e.g., race or gender) insofar as doing so fits within their motivations. Drawing from classic conceptualizations of social structure as the interplay of schemas and resources, we focus on how the motivations for shared schemas and for material benefits or resources may shape attention to social category dimensions. We outline the potential cognitive mechanisms through which these motivations may act on attention, before discussing the implications of this model for individual differences, conceptualizations of social categorization as rational information reduction, and prejudice reduction. Social categories like race and gender often give rise to stereotypes and prejudice, and a great deal of research has focused on how motivations influence these biased beliefs. Here, we focus on potential biases in how these categories are even formed in the first place, suggesting that motivations can influence the very categories people use to group others. We propose that motivations to share schemas with other people and to gain resources shape people's attention to dimensions like race, gender, and age in different contexts. Specifically, people will pay attention to dimensions to the degree that the conclusions produced from using those dimensions align with their motivations. Overall, we suggest that simply examining the downstream effects of social categorization like stereotyping and prejudice is not enough, and that research should look earlier in the process at how and when we form the categories on which those stereotypes are based. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This pilot study examined the associations among functional connectivity in the salience, central executive, and default mode networks, and neurocognition in pediatric brain tumor survivors and healthy children. Thirteen pediatric brain tumor survivors (9 boys, M = 12.76 years) and 10 healthy children (6 boys, M = 12.70 years) completed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and assessment of processing speed and executive function. Pediatric brain tumor survivors performed more poorly than healthy children on measures of processing speed, divided attention, and working memory; parent ratings of day-to-day executive function did not differ significantly by group, though both pediatric brain tumor survivors who underwent only surgical resection and healthy children were rated by parents as having difficulties approaching a standard deviation above the normative mean. Connectivity was lower in the salience network and greater in the default mode network in pediatric brain tumor survivors. Cross-method correlations showed that increased salience network and default mode network connectivity were associated with better task performance and parent-rated executive skills and higher central executive network connectivity with poorer parent-rated executive skills. This perhaps reflects an adaptive pattern of hyperconnectivity in pediatric brain tumor survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 31-year-old female presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain, vomiting and constipation. Serum sodium levels were recorded at 110 mmol/L on admission, dropping to 96 mmol/L despite fluid restriction. The patient developed hallucinations and required hypertonic saline administration in critical care. Urinary sodium was detected at 149 mmol/L, consistent with syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SiADH). Urinary porphyrins were also raised, consistent with a diagnosis of acute intermittent porphyria with SiADH as a complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stereotypes facilitate the processing of expectancy-consistent (vs expectancy-inconsistent) information, yet the underlying origin of this congruency effect remains unknown. As such, here we sought to identify the cognitive operations through which stereotypes influence decisional processing. In six experiments, participants responded to stimuli that were consistent or inconsistent with respect to prevailing gender stereotypes. To identify the processes underpinning task performance, responses were submitted to a hierarchical drift diffusion model (HDDM) analysis. A consistent pattern of results emerged. Whether manipulated at the level of occupational (Expts. 1, 3, and 5) or trait-based (Expts. 2, 4, and 6) expectancies, stereotypes facilitated task performance and influenced decisional processing via a combination of response and stimulus biases. Specifically, (1) stereotype-consistent stimuli were classified more rapidly than stereotype-inconsistent stimuli; (2) stereotypic responses were favoured over counter-stereotypic responses (i.e., starting-point shift towards stereotypic responses); (3) less evidence was required when responding to stereotypic than counter-stereotypic stimuli (i.e., narrower threshold separation for stereotypic stimuli); and (4) decisional evidence was accumulated more efficiently for stereotype-inconsistent than stereotype-consistent stimuli and when targets had a typical than atypical facial appearance. Collectively, these findings elucidate how stereotypes influence person construal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In order to meet policy drivers on death in usual place of residence, it is key to understand how shared decision-making can be facilitated in practice. An integrated care pathway was implemented in primary care in the North East of England to facilitate death in usual place of residence. Aim: To understand how, for whom and in which circumstances death in usual place of residence is facilitated. Design: A mixed method realist evaluation was employed. Local primary care practice death audit data were analysed to identify outcomes using a mixed effects logistic regression model. Focus groups and interviews with staff of the integrated care pathway and bereaved relatives were analysed to identify the related contexts and mechanisms. Setting/participants: Death audit data of 4182 patients were readily available from 14 general practitioner practices. Three focus groups were conducted with primary and secondary care staff, voluntary sector organisations and care home representatives. Interviews with bereaved relatives were carried out in participants' homes (n = 5). Results: A mixed effects logistic regression model indicated a significant effect of year on death in usual place of residence when compared to a model without year using an analysis of deviance (p = 0.016). Qualitative analysis suggested that this outcome was achieved when a triad of 'experts' (comprising patient, family members/family carers/formal carers and healthcare professionals) used open communication strategies. Conclusion: An empirically supported theory of how, for whom and in which circumstances death in usual place of residence happens is provided, which has important implications for both policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review the psychological literature on the organization of valence, discussing theoretical perspectives that favor a single dimension of valence, multiple valence dimensions, and positivity and negativity as dynamic and flexible properties of mental experience that are contingent upon context. Turning to the neuroscience literature that spans three levels of analysis, we discuss how positivity and negativity can be represented in the brain. We show that the evidence points toward both separable and overlapping brain systems that support affective processes depending on the level of resolution studied. We move from large-scale brain networks that underlie generalized processing, to functionally specific subcircuits, finally to intraregional neuronal distributions, where the organization and interaction across levels allow for multiple types of valence and mixed evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The need for palliative care is growing internationally with an increasing prevalence of non-malignant diseases. The integrated care pathway was implemented in primary care by multidisciplinary teams from 2009 in a locality in the North East of England. Fourteen general practitioner practices provided data for the study. Aim: To find whether, how, and under what circumstances palliative care registrations are made for patients with non-malignant diseases in primary care. Design: General practitioner practice data were analysed statistically and qualitative data were collected from health care professionals and members of relevant organisations. Findings: A mixed-effects logistic model indicated a significant difference beyond the 0.1% level (p < 0.001) in registrations between the malignant and non-malignant groups in 2011, with an odds ratio of 0.09 (=exp(−2.4266)), indicating that patients in the non-malignant group are around 11 times (1/0.09) less likely to be registered than patients in the malignant group. However, patients with non-malignant diseases were significantly more likely to be registered in 2012 than in 2011 with an odds ratio of 1.46, significant beyond the 1% level. Qualitative analyses indicate that health care professionals find registering patients with non-malignant diseases stressful, yet feel that their confidence in treating this population is increasing. Conclusion: The integrated care pathway began to enable the reduction in inequalities in care by identifying, registering and managing an increasing number of palliative patients with non-malignant diseases. Consensual and inclusive definitions of palliative care were developed in order to legitimise the registration of such patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological constructivist models of emotion propose that emotions arise from the combinations of multiple processes, many of which are not emotion specific. These models attempt to describe both the homogeneity of instances of an emotional “kind” (why are fears similar?) and the heterogeneity of instances (why are different fears quite different?). In this article, we review the iterative reprocessing model of affect, and suggest that emotions, at least in part, arise from the processing of dynamical unfolding representations of valence across time. Critical to this model is the hypothesis that affective trajectories—over time—provide important information that helps build emotional states. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Evidence indicates that superior memory for own-group versus other-group faces (termed own-group bias) occurs because of social categorization: People are more likely to encode own-group members as individuals. The authors show that aspects of the perceiver’s social identity shape social attention and memory over and above mere categorization. In three experiments, participants were assigned to a mixed-race minimal group and showed own-group bias toward this minimal group, regardless of race. Own-group bias was mediated by attention toward own-group faces during encoding (Experiment 1). Furthermore, participants who were highly identified with their minimal group had the largest own-group bias (Experiment 2). However, social affordances attenuated own-group bias—Memory for other-group faces was heightened among participants who were assigned to a role (i.e., spy) that required attention toward other-group members (Experiment 3). This research suggests that social identity may provide novel insights into person memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a basic emotions perspective, a dominant view in psychology is that the primary function of the amygdala is to govern the emotion of fear. In this view, the amygdala is necessary for a person to feel afraid, and when amygdala activity is detected, one can infer that a person is feeling afraid or threatened. In this paper, we review current research on amygdala function that calls into question this threat-specific view and propose a more general view of amygdala functioning based on appraisal theory and psychological constructivism. Specifically, we examine the hypothesis that the amygdala is involved in processing stimulus relevance for the goals and motivations of the perceiver. Thus, although threatening stimuli are almost always considered a relevant stimulus, novel, ambiguous, and extremely positive stimuli can also be relevant for different people in different situations. Once deemed relevant, the amygdala guides processing to orchestrate an appropriate response. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Developing and disseminating a preventive HIV vaccine is a primary scientific and public health objective. However, little is known about HIV vaccine acceptability in the high-prevalence setting of South Africa-where young adults are likely to be targeted in early dissemination efforts. This study reports on six focus groups (n = 42) conducted in 2007 with South Africans aged 18 to 24 years. A deductive framework approach is used to identify key motivators and barriers to future HIV vaccine uptake. Participants identify HIV testing, HIV stigma, mistrust of the health care system, and concerns about sexual disinhibition as barriers to vaccine uptake. For women, family members and friends are strong motivators for vaccine uptake, whereas men are more likely to see vaccines as an opportunity to stop using HIV prevention strategies such as condoms and partner reduction. Implications of these findings for developing HIV vaccine dissemination strategies and policy in South Africa are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People perceive and evaluate others according to social categories. Yet social perception is complicated by the fact that people have multiple social identities, and self-categorization with these identities shifts from one situation to another. Two experiments examined whether self-categorization with a novel mixed-race group would override automatic racial bias. Participants assigned to a mixed-race group had more positive automatic evaluations of Black ingroup than Black outgroup members. Comparing these evaluations to Black and White faces unaffiliated with either group indicated this preference was driven by ingroup bias rather than outgroup derogation. Moreover, both outgroup and unaffiliated faces elicited automatic racial bias (White > Black), suggesting that automatic evaluations are sensitive to both the current intergroup context (positive evaluations of novel ingroup members) and race (racial bias toward outgroup and unaffiliated faces). These experiments provide evidence that self-categorization can override automatic racial bias and that automatic evaluations shift between and within social contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although early research implicated the amygdala in automatic processing of negative information, more recent research suggests that it plays a more general role in processing the motivational relevance of various stimuli, suggesting that the relation between valence and amygdala activation may depend on contextual goals. This study provides experimental evidence that the relation between valence and amygdala activity is dynamically modulated by evaluative goals. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants evaluated the positive, negative, or overall (positive plus negative) aspects of famous people. When participants were providing overall evaluations, both positive and negative names were associated with amygdala activation. When they were evaluating positivity, positive names were associated with amygdala activity, and when they were evaluating negativity, negative names were associated with amygdala activity. Evidence for a negativity bias was found; modulation was more pronounced for positive than for negative information. These data suggest that the amygdala flexibly processes motivationally relevant evaluative information in accordance with current processing goals, but processes negative information less flexibly than positive information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicaid has promoted managed care plans (MCPs) to control health care costs for HIV-infected enrollees. This article examines the impact of MCP enrollment on use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), antiretroviral therapy (ARV), hospitalization, and death among Medicaid beneficiaries with AIDS. A retrospective longitudinal cohort study of 7,028 Medicaid beneficiaries with AIDS in California was conducted from 1999 to 2001. The impact of MCP enrollment was estimated using single-equation and bivariate probit models. Baseline HAART use was found to be significantly lower for beneficiaries in MCPs versus fee-for-service (FFS). The effect was attenuated and not significant after correcting for selection bias. MCP enrollment was not associated with overall ARV use, mortality, or hospitalization. MCP enrollment does not substantially affect medication use or clinical outcomes. Before making changes to care delivery, policy makers should address the potential costs and benefits of MCP over FFS Medicaid for chronically ill beneficiaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Compare missing data and reliability of health care evaluations between African Americans and Whites in Medicare managed care health plans. Method: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) 3.0 health plan survey data collected from 109,980 Medicare managed care enrollees (101,189 Whites. 8,791 African Americans) in 321 plans. Participants self-administered the survey and four single-item global ratings of care. Results: Missing data rates were significantly higher for African Americans than Whites on all CAHPS items (p < .0001 ). Internal consistency reliability estimates for the CAHPS scales did not differ significantly between African Americans and Whites, but plan-level reliability estimates for the scales and global rating items were significantly lower for African Americans than Whites. Discussion: Higher missing data rates and lower plan-level reliability estimates for African American Medicare managed care enrollees suggest caution in making race/ethnicity comparisons. Future efforts are needed to enhance the quality of data collected from older African Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health insurance policies that require prior authorization for specialty care may be detrimental to persons with HIV, according to evidence that having a regular physician with HIV expertise leads to improved patient outcomes. The objective of this study is to determine whether HIV patients who can self-refer to specialists are more likely to have physicians who mainly treat HIV. The authors analyze cross-sectional survey data from the HIV Costs and Services Utilization Study. At baseline, 67 percent of patients had insurance that permitted self-referral. In multivariate analyses, being able to self-refer was associated with an 8-12 percent increased likelihood of having a physician at a regular source of care that mainly treats patients with HIV. Patients who can self-refer are more likely to have HIV-experienced physicians than are patients who need prior authorization. Insurance policies allowing self-referral to specialists may result in HIV patients seeing physicians with clinical expertise relevant to HIV care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a study of the neural components of automatic and controlled social evaluation, White participants viewed Black and White faces during event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. When the faces were presented for 30 ms, activation in the amygdala—a brain region associated with emotion—was greater for Black than for White faces. When the faces were presented for 525 ms, this difference was significantly reduced, and regions of frontal cortex associated with control and regulation showed greater activation for Black than White faces. Furthermore, greater race bias on an indirect behavioral measure was correlated with greater difference in amygdala activation between Black and White faces, and frontal activity predicted a reduction in Black-White differences in amygdala activity from the 30-ms to the 525-ms condition. These results provide evidence for neural distinctions between automatic and more controlled processing of social groups, and suggest that controlled processes may modulate automatic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies investigated relationships among individual differences in implicit and explicit prejudice, right-wing ideology, and rigidity in thinking. The first study examined these relationships focusing on White Americans' prejudice toward Black Americans. The second study provided the first test of implicit ethnocentrism and its relationship to explicit ethnocentrism by studying the relationship between attitudes toward five social groups. Factor analyses found support for both implicit and explicit ethnocentrism. In both studies, mean explicit attitudes toward outgroups were positive, whereas implicit attitudes were negative, suggesting that implicit and explicit prejudices are distinct; however, in both studies, implicit and explicit attitudes were related (r = .37, .47). Latent variable modeling indicates a simple structure within this ethnocentric system, with variables organized in order of specificity. These results lead to the conclusion that (a) implicit ethnocentrism exists and (b) it is related to and distinct from explicit ethnocentrism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares social functioning between one Black (n = 560) and one White (n = 1350) urban, community-based sample of older persons in Los Angeles. A 3-item social function scale that assessed visiting with family and friends, participating in community activities, and taking care of other people was administered; the instrument also assessed basic activities of daily living (BADL) and intermediate activities of daily living (IADL). In multivariate analysis, social function was substantially higher for Blacks than for Whites, although BADL and IADL scores were somewhat lower for Blacks. BADLs, IADLs, being male, and being married were positively associated with social function among Blacks; IADLs, owning a home, and history of falls were negatively associated with social function among Whites. The high social function of Blacks, despite more physical limitations, suggests that even physically impaired Black older persons in the South Central Los Angeles community may remain actively involved in the family and community. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Describes a strong relationship between students' state assessment test pass rates and students' socioeconomic status (SES). Application of state competency tests; Advantages of students whose parents have been successful economically; Concept of SES.

Previous studies concerning disparities in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) services use among vulnerable groups did not control for specific clinical need for care such as symptom events. Using the Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Services Use, the authors determined whether minorities, women, and the less educated (vulnerable groups) were less likely to receive care for HIV symptoms. Persons enrolled in the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study were asked whether they received care for their most bothersome symptom. Surprisingly, minorities and women were no more likely to go without care than other groups. Those with Medicaid, Medicare, private health maintenance organization (HMO) insurance, or no insurance were less likely to receive care for symptoms than those with private-non-HMO insurance. Vulnerable groups were no less likely to use services for HIV-related symptoms when need for care was considered. However, disparities may exist for symptom-specific care among HIV infected persons covered by public or HMO insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines access to medical care for Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, using a survey of patients receiving care provided by a physician group practice association concentrated on the West Coast. Asians and Pacific Islanders who had used their health plan in the past year had worse access to health care than whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Native American or other ethnicities. The odds that Asians reported that they had adequate access ranged from about one quarter to three quarters that of whites, depending on the measure. Cultural differences and associated communication problems may explain the access problems experienced by Asians. Interventions need to be developed to address the problems with access to services, and better translation services may play an important role in improving access to care for Asians. Future studies need to clarify why Asians were more vulnerable to the access problems examined than other ethnic groups that might experience similar barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data collected from the International Collaborative Study of Oral Health Outcomes USA (ICS-II) research locations were used to evaluate the relationship between having a usual source of dental care (USDC) and access to dental services. The robustness of the USDC effect after reducing simultaneity bias was tested in the population-based samples using sensitivity analysis. Logistic regression results provided evidence that USDC was the strongest and most consistent predictor of a dental visit in the past 12 months regardless of geographic location, dental care delivery system, or cultural diversity of the population. Even removing cases that had a USDC for less than 1 or 2 years, the effect remained. From a policy perspective, USDC remains critical to understanding and explaining dental are utilization patterns. The findings suggest the need for designing interventions to increase the availability of a regular provider among vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although AIDS prevention campaigns need to target population segments that are at highest risk to be effective, little is known about how various sources of AIDS information vary by race, education, and age. To determine the most common communication channels for AIDS information reported by Blacks and Whites, the authors interviewed 1,769 adults in Baltimore, Maryland, to obtain data on nine common sources of information about AIDS and analyzed their reports by race, age, and education. Television and newspapers were the most common sources but varied little across groups. National and local public health agencies, as well as medical doctors and dentists, were more commonly reported by Blacks than by Whites. Religious organizations were much more commonly reported by Blacks than by Whites. Public health organizations working collaboratively with religious organizations and health care providers might be more effective in developing AIDS prevention strategies than has been considered previously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social promotion is accomplishing what it was in tended to do; it is relieving the various grades of over-age, floundering students. If we are to help these potential failures, the authors contend, we must devise new educational systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The structure of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in HIV disease is examined in 205 symptomatic HIV+ individuals receiving care at two West Coast public hospitals. A 64-item HRQOL battery, tapping aspects of HRQOL of particular relevance to individuals with HIV disease, was administered and found to yield reliable self-report data. Confirmatory factor analysis provides support for a two-factor model of HRQOL: (a) a physical health dimension defined by physical function, role function, freedom from pain, disability days, and quality of sex life, and (b) a mental health dimension defined by overall quality of life, emotional well-being, hopefulness, lack of loneliness, will to function, quality of family life, quality of friendships, and cognitive function/distress. Correlations of HRQOL measures with social support, access to care, coping, and symptom measures are reported and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study tests the hypothesis that types of students tend to differ in the benefit that they receive from various types of teachers. Factor analysis was used to identify four types of students (kindergarten children) and four types of teachers. The findings from the analysis of variance procedure were that a certain type of teacher was significantly more effective with one type of student than with another. The knowledge that different types of teachers tend to differ in the success they have with the same type of student, and that different types of students tend to differ in the benefit they receive from the same type of teacher might provide a basis for the matching of students with teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of human thought, feeling, and behavior unfolds automatically. Indirect measures of cognition capture such processes by observing responding under corresponding conditions (e.g., lack of intention or control). The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is one such measure. The IAT indexes the strength of association between categories such as "planes" and "trains" and attributes such as "fast" and "slow" by comparing response latencies across two sorting tasks (planes–fast/trains–slow vs. trains–fast/planes–slow). Relying on a reanalysis of multitrait–multimethod (MTMM) studies, Schimmack (this issue, p. 396) argues that the IAT and direct measures of cognition, for example, Likert scales, can serve as indicators of the same latent construct, thereby purportedly undermining the validity of the IAT as a measure of individual differences in automatic cognition. Here we note the compatibility of Schimmack's empirical findings with a range of existing theoretical perspectives and the importance of considering evidence beyond MTMM approaches to establishing construct validity. Depending on the nature of the study, different standards of validity may apply to each use of the IAT; however, the evidence presented by Schimmack is easily reconcilable with the potential of the IAT to serve as a valid measure of automatic processes in human cognition, including in individual-difference contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific study of emotion faces a potentially serious problem: after over a hundred years of psychological study, we lack consensus regarding the very definition of emotion. We propose that part of the problem may be the tendency to define emotion in contrast to cognition, rather than viewing both “emotion” and “cognition” as being comprised of more elemental processes. We argue that considering emotion as a type of cognition (viewed broadly as information processing) may provide an understanding of the mechanisms underlying domains that are traditionally thought to be qualitatively distinct. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Discovering the taxonomies that best describe emotional experience has been surprisingly challenging. Clore and Huntsinger propose that by exploring the objects of emotion, such as standards or actions, we may better understand differences in emotion that emerge for similarly valenced reactions. We are sympathetic to this idea, although we suggest here that greater attention should be given to the computations that accompany affective processing, such as the discrepancy between different hedonic states, rather than the object per se. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years, several techniques have been developed to measure implicit social cognition. Despite their increased use, little attention has been devoted to their reliability and validity. This article undertakes a direct assessment of the interitem consistency, stability, and convergent validity of some implicit attitude measures. Attitudes toward blacks and whites were measured on four separate occasions, each 2 weeks apart, using three relatively implicit measures (response-window evaluative priming, the Implicit Association Test, and the response-window Implicit Association Test) and one explicit measure (Modern Racism Scale). After correcting for interitem inconsistency with latent variable analyses, we found that (a) stability indices improved and (b) implicit measures were substantially correlated with each other, forming a single latent factor. The psychometric properties of response-latency implicit measures have greater integrity than recently suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work has identified a distributed network of neural systems involved in appraising the value of rewards, such as when winning $100 versus $1. These studies, however, confounded monetary value and the number used to represent it, which leads to the possibility that some elements in the network may be specialized for processing numeric rather than monetary value. To test this hypothesis, we manipulated numeric magnitude and units to construct a range of economic rewards for simple decisions (e.g., 1¢, $1, 100¢, $100). Consistent with previous research in numerical cognition, results showed that blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activity in intraparietal sulcus was correlated with changes in numeric magnitude, independent of monetary value, whereas activity in orbitofrontal cortex was correlated with monetary value, independent of numeric magnitude. Finally, region-of-interest analyses revealed that the BOLD response to numeric magnitude, but not monetary value, described a compressive function. Together, these findings highlight the importance of numerical cognition for understanding how the brain processes monetary rewards. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Classic minimal-group studies found that people arbitrarily assigned to a novel group quickly display a range of perceptual, affective, and behavioral in-group biases. We randomly assigned participants to a mixed-race team and used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify brain regions involved in processing novel in-group and out-group members independently of preexisting attitudes, stereotypes, or familiarity. Whereas previous research on intergroup perception found amygdala activity—typically interpreted as negativity—in response to stigmatized social groups, we found greater activity in the amygdala, fusiform gyri, orbitofrontal cortex, and dorsal striatum when participants viewed novel in-group faces than when they viewed novel out-group faces. Moreover, activity in orbitofrontal cortex mediated the in-group bias in self-reported liking for the faces. These in-group biases in neural activity were not moderated by race or by whether participants explicitly attended to team membership or race, a finding suggesting that they may occur automatically. This study helps clarify the role of neural substrates involved in perceptual and affective in-group biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metacognition refers to thinking about our own thinking and implies a distinction between primary and secondary cognition. This article reviews how neuroscience has dealt with this distinction between first and second-order cognition, with special focus on meta-cognitive confidence. Meta-cognitive confidence is important because it affects whether people use their primary cognitions in guiding judgments and behaviors. The research described in this review is organized around the type of primary thoughts for which people have confidence, including judgments about memory, choices, and evaluative judgments. Along with other areas, prefrontal cortex and parietal regions have been consistently associated with judgments of meta-cognitive confidence in these three domains. Although metacognitive confidence might be associated with particular brain activity in most of the studies reviewed, confidence often seems to be confounded with other potentially important dimensions, such as effort and ease. Given that people tend to be less certain in tasks that are more difficult, more research is needed to examine the brain activity specifically linked to confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]