A review of self-processing biases in cognition

When cues in the environment are associated with self (e.g., one’s own name, face, or coffee cup), these items trigger processing biases such as increased attentional focus, perceptual prioritization and memorial support. This paper reviews the existing literature on self-processing biases before introducing a series of studies that provide new insight into the influence of the self on cognition. In particular, the studies examine affective and memorial biases for self-relevant stimuli, and their flexible application in response to different task demands. We conclude that self-processing biases function to ensure that self-relevant information is attended to and preferentially processed because this is a perpetual goal of the self-system. However, contrary task-demands or priming can have an attenuating effect on their influence, speaking to the complexity and dynamism of the self-processing system in cognition

An empirical Bayesian analysis applied to the globular cluster pulsar population

We describe an empirical Bayesian approach to determine the most likely size of an astronomical population of sources of which only a small subset are observed above some limiting flux density threshold. The method is most naturally applied to astronomical source populations at a common distance (e.g.,stellar populations in globular clusters), and can be applied even to populations where a survey detects no objects. The model allows for the inclusion of physical parameters of the stellar population and the detection process. As an example, we apply this method to the current sample of radio pulsars in Galactic globular clusters. Using the sample of flux density limits on pulsar surveys in 94 globular clusters published by Boyles et al., we examine a large number of population models with different dependencies. We find that models which include the globular cluster two-body encounter rate, $\Gamma$, are strongly favoured over models in which this is not a factor. The optimal model is one in which the mean number of pulsars is proportional to $\exp(1.5 \log \Gamma)$. This model agrees well with earlier work by Hui et al. and provides strong support to the idea that the two-body encounter rate directly impacts the number of neutron stars in a cluster. Our model predicts that the total number of potentially observable globular cluster pulsars in the Boyles et al. sample is 1070$^{+1280}_{-700}$, where the uncertainties signify the 95% confidence interval. Scaling this result to all Galactic globular clusters, and to account for radio pulsar beaming, we estimate the total population to be 2280$^{+2720}_{-1490}$.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, corrected a few minor formatting errors which have also been submitted as an erratum to MNRA

The self-reference effect on memory in early childhood

The self-reference effect in memory is the advantage for information encoded about self, relative to other people. The early development of this effect was explored here using a concrete encoding paradigm. Trials comprised presentation of a self- or other-image paired with a concrete object. In Study 1, 4- to 6-year-old children (N = 53) were asked in each trial whether the child pictured would like the object. Recognition memory showed an advantage for self-paired objects. Study 2 (N = 55) replicated this finding in source memory. In Study 3 (N = 56), participants simply indicated object location. Again, recognition and source memory showed an advantage for self-paired items. These findings are discussed with reference to mechanisms that ensure information of potential self-relevance is reliably encoded

Survival of the selfish: contrasting self-referential and survival-based encoding

Processing information in the context of personal survival scenarios elicits a memory advantage, relative to other rich encoding conditions such as self-referencing. However, previous research is unable to distinguish between the influence of survival and self-reference because personal survival is a self-referent encoding context. To resolve this issue, participants in the current study processed items in the context of their own survival and a familiar other person’s survival, as well as in a semantic context. Recognition memory for the items revealed that personal survival elicited a memory advantage relative to semantic encoding, whereas other-survival did not. These findings reinforce suggestions that the survival effect is closely tied with self-referential encoding, ensuring that fitness information of potential importance to self is successfully retained in memory

Optical radiation from the Crab pulsar

Possible mechanisms for producing the optical radiation from the Crab pulsar are proposed and discussed. There are severe difficulties in interpreting the radiation as being produced by an incoherent process, whether it be synchrotron radiation, inverse-Compton radiation or curvature radiation. It is proposed therefore that radiation in the optical part of the spectrum is coherent. In the polar cap model, a small bunch of electrons and positrons forms near each primary electron as a result of the pair-production cascade process. Ambient electric fields give rise to energy separation, as a result of which either the electrons or positrons will dominate the radiation from each bunch. The roll-off in the infrared is ascribed to synchrotron absorption by electrons and positrons located between the surface of the star and the force-balance radius. Various consequences of this model, which may be subjected to observational test, are discussed

Mine and me: exploring the neural basis of object ownership.

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