Game violence, game difficulty, and 2D:4D digit ratio as predictors of aggressive behavior

Previous research efforts have sought to determine whether violent video games cause increases in aggressive behavior. The resulting literature is controversial. Those finding the effect may not have the desired degree of experimental control, while those not finding the effect may not always have the required statistical precision. Game difficulty is also thought to potentially cause changes in aggression. Finally, prenatal testosterone exposure, as measured by the ratio of lengths of the index and ring fingers (2D:4D digit ratio), is thought to cause dispositional increases in aggressive behavior. In the present research, game violence and game difficulty were manipulated in a tightly-controlled modified-game paradigm. Participants played a game, were provoked, and then had an opportunity to aggress against another participant in the study. Neither game violence nor game difficulty was found to influence aggressive behavior in a theory-consistent way, and Bayesian model comparison techniques favored the null hypothesis over all theory-derived alternative hypotheses. Similarly, 2D:4D ratio did not predict aggressive behavior, either alone or in interaction with the other study variables. The results suggest that brief exposure to violent or difficult games does not influence aggressive behavior when game stimuli are closely matched, and furthermore, that 2D:4D digit ratio does not predict aggression

Effects of Violent Video Game Exposure on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive thought Accessibility, and Aggressive Affect among Adults with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Recent mass shootings have prompted the idea among some members of the public that exposure to violent video games can have a pronounced effect on individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Empirical evidence for or against this claim currently is absent. To address this issue, adults with and without ASD were assigned to play a violent or nonviolent version of a customized first-person shooter video game, after which responses on three aggression-related outcome variables (aggressive behavior, aggressive thought accessibility, and aggressive affect) were assessed. Results showed strong evidence that adults with ASD are not differentially affected by acute exposure to violent video games compared to typically developing adults. Moreover, model comparisons showed modest evidence against any effect of violent game content whatsoever. Findings from the current experiment suggest that societal concerns over whether violent game exposure has a unique effect on adults with autism are not supported by evidence

Effects of bias on the association between post-traumatic stress disorder and interleukin-6

No abstract available.NoneAccepte

Characterizing Switching and Congruency Effects In the Implicit Association Test as Reactive and Proactive Cognitive Control

Recent research has identified an important role for task switching, a cognitive control process often associated with executive functioning, in the Implicit Association Test (IAT). However, switching does not fully account for IAT effects, particularly when performance is scored using more recent d-score formulations. The current study sought to characterize multiple control processes involved in IAT performance through the use of event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Participants performed a race-evaluative IAT while ERPs were recorded. Behaviorally, participants experienced superadditive reaction time costs of incongruency and task switching, consistent with previous studies. The ERP showed a marked medial frontal negativity (MFN) 250–450 ms post-stimulus at midline fronto-central locations that were more negative for incongruent than congruent trials but more positive for switch than for no-switch trials, suggesting separable control processes are engaged by these two factors. Greater behavioral IAT bias was associated with both greater switch-related and congruency-related ERP activity. Findings are discussed in terms of the Dual Mechanisms of Control model of reactive and proactive cognitive control

100 Years of Scientific Evolution of Work and Organizational Psychology: A Bibliometric Network Analysis From 1919 to 2019

In this study, we explore a 100 years of Work and Organizational Psychology (WOP). To do this, we carry out a bibliometric performance and network analysis (BPNA) to understand the evolution structure and the most important themes in the field of study. To perform the BNPA, 8,966 documents published since 1919 were exported from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The SciMAT software was used to process data and to create the evolution structure, the strategic diagram, and the thematic network structure of the strategic themes of the field of WOP. We identified 29 strategic clusters and discuss the most important themes (motor themes) and their relationship with other clusters. This research presents the complete evolution of the field of study, identifying emerging themes and others with a high degree of development. We hope that this work will support researchers and future research in the field of WOP

Crowdsourcing hypothesis tests: Making transparent how design choices shape research results

To what extent are research results influenced by subjective decisions that scientists make as they design studies? Fifteen research teams independently designed studies to answer fiveoriginal research questions related to moral judgments, negotiations, and implicit cognition. Participants from two separate large samples (total N > 15,000) were then randomly assigned to complete one version of each study. Effect sizes varied dramatically across different sets of materials designed to test the same hypothesis: materials from different teams renderedstatistically significant effects in opposite directions for four out of five hypotheses, with the narrowest range in estimates being d = -0.37 to +0.26. Meta-analysis and a Bayesian perspective on the results revealed overall support for two hypotheses, and a lack of support for three hypotheses. Overall, practically none of the variability in effect sizes was attributable to the skill of the research team in designing materials, while considerable variability was attributable to the hypothesis being tested. In a forecasting survey, predictions of other scientists were significantly correlated with study results, both across and within hypotheses. Crowdsourced testing of research hypotheses helps reveal the true consistency of empirical support for a scientific claim.</div