Noticing the self: Implicit assessment of self-focused attention using word recognition latencies

Self-focused attention is difficult to measure. Two studies developed an implicit measure of self-focus based on word recognition latencies. Self-focused attention activates self-content, so self-focused people should recognize self-relevant words more quickly. Study 1 measured individual-differences in self-focused attention. People scoring high in private self-consciousness recognized self-relevant words more quickly. Study 2 manipulated objective self-awareness with a writing task. People who wrote about distinctive self-aspects (high self-awareness) recognized self-relevant words more quickly compared to people who wrote about a neutral topic (low self-awareness) and people who did no writing (control). The discussion considers implications for future research on self-focused attention

On the dependability and feasibility of layperson ratings of divergent thinking

A new system for subjective rating of responses to divergent thinking tasks was tested using raters recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. The rationale for the study was to determine if such raters could provide reliable (aka generalizable) ratings from the perspective of generalizability theory. To promote reliability across the Alternative Uses and Consequence task prompts often used by researchers as measures of Divergent Thinking, two parallel scales were developed to facilitate feasibility and validity of ratings performed by laypeople. Generalizability and dependability studies were conducted separately for two scoring systems: the average-rating system and the snapshot system. Results showed that it is difficult to achieve adequate reliability using the snapshot system, while good reliability can be achieved on both task families using the average-rating system and a specific number of items and raters. Additionally, the construct validity of the average-rating system is generally good, with less validity for certain Consequences items. Recommendations for researchers wishing to adopt the new scales are discussed, along with broader issues of generalizability of subjective creativity ratings. © 2018 Hass, Rivera and Silvia

Why Big Theories are Fruitless, Fragmentation is Ideal, Defining Creativity is Overrated and Method-Driven Research is Urgent: Some Thoughts on the Flourishing State of Creativity Science

This comment considers Glăveanu’s observations about the state of creativity studies. I agree with Glăveanu’s view of creativity research but disagree that it is bad. The history of psychology shows that “big theories” inevitably fail to fulfill their promise. Instead, as George Kelly argued long ago, complex problems with many facets are better served by a mix of big and small theories. Likewise, the diversity of creativity research is a sign of healthy pluralism, not lamentable fragmentation. Science doesn’t proceed via central planning, and claims of “fragmentation” and “wasted effort” raise disturbing questions about who gets to decide what other scientists should study. Finally, creativity research should be more method-driven than it is. Methods are interesting in their own right, and they can be heuristics for generating good ideas as well as tools for solving problems. All told, this era of creativity research will be remembered as a period of renaissance rather than [email protected] of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA1223323

More papers, better papers? The curious correlation of quality and quantity in academic publishing

Paul J. Silvia is creeped out by the correlation between quality and quantity in academic publishing, but why do the people who publish the most also publish the work that has greatest influence

A spatial econometric multivariate model of Okun's law

A system of two dynamic spatial panel data model equations is developed in which output growth and the change in the unemployment rate are interdependent. The parameters of the model are estimated by recently developed maximum likelihood techniques for multivariate spatial econometric models, using data of twelve provinces in the Netherlands over the period 1974-2018, covering four major economic downturns of the Dutch economy. By using time-cumulative marginal effects derived from the impulse response function of this model, it is found that Okun's law is dominated by the relationship that runs from output growth to unemployment. The amount of growth that is needed to reduce unemployment by one percentage point is shown to depend on the extent to which spillover effects to neighboring regions and output multiplier effects are accounted for

Psychotic and autistic traits among magicians and their relationship with creative beliefs

BackgroundThere is a common perception that creativity is associated with psychopathology. Previous studies have shown that members of creative groups such as comedians, artists and scientists scores higher than the norm on psychotic traits, and scientists in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields score highly on autistic traits.AimsTo test whether magicians, a creative group that has not been studied before, also score highly on psychopathological traits and autism, and to test the associations of creative self-efficacy and creative identity with schizotypal and autistic traits among magicians.MethodA sample of 195 magicians and 233 people from the general population completed measures of schizotypal traits (Oxford–Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences) and autism (Abridged Version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient), as well as the Short Scale of Creative Self. Magicians were also compared with other creative groups with respect to schizotypal traits, based on previously published data.ResultsMagicians scored lower than the general population sample on three of the four schizophrenia measures (cognitive disorganisation, introvertive anhedonia and impulsive nonconformity) but did not differ with respect to unusual experiences or autism scores. Magicians scored higher on creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity than the general sample. Magicians’ scores on schizotypal traits were largely lower than those of other creative groups. Originality of magic was positively correlated with unusual experiences (r = 0.208), creative self-efficacy (r = 0.251) and creative identity (r = 0.362).ConclusionsThis is the first study to show a creative group with lower scores than norms on psychotic traits. The results highlight the unique characteristics of magicians and the possible myriad associations between creativity and mental disorders among creative groups

Prospects for detection of detached double white dwarf binaries with Gaia, LSST and LISA

Double white dwarf (DWD) binaries are expected to be very common in the Milky Way, but their intrinsic faintness challenges the detection of these systems. Currently, only a few tens of detached DWDs are know. Such systems offer the best chance of extracting the physical properties that would allow us to address a wealth of outstanding questions ranging from the nature of white dwarfs, over stellar and binary evolution to mapping the Galaxy. In this paper we explore the prospects for detections of ultra-compact (with binary separations of a few solar radii or less) detached DWDs in: 1) optical radiation with Gaia and the LSST and 2) gravitational wave radiation with LISA. We show that Gaia, LSST and LISA have the potential to detect respectively around a few hundreds, a thousand, and 25 thousand DWD systems. Moreover, Gaia and LSST data will extend by respectively a factor of two and seven the guaranteed sample of binaries detected in electromagnetic and gravitational wave radiation, opening the era of multi-messenger astronomy for these sources.Comment: submitted to MNRA

Contact-induced apical asymmetry drives the thigmotropic responses of Candida albicans hyphae

Acknowledgements We thank Marco Thiel for assistance with data interpretation, Peter Sudbery for the provision of strains and Jeremy Craven for useful discussions. This work was supported by a BBSRC-DTG to D. D. T., NIH award DK083592 to F. J. B. and P. A. J., and a Royal Society URF UF080611 and MRC NIRG 90671 to A. C. B.Non peer reviewedPublisher PD

Stealing Time: The Propriety of Alleging Common Law Conversion in Modern Wage Theft Lawsuits

The words “wage theft” frequently make headlines when workers sue employers for underpayment or nonpayment of wages.[1] Wage theft is “the illegal refusal by an employer to pay a worker the wages and benefits that he or she has legally earned.”[2] In the United States, employer violation of wage and hour laws is a vast and enduring problem, affecting as many as two-thirds of workers. In an attempt to combat this epidemic threat to hourly workers’ bottom lines, legislatures have fashioned numerous laws, some even invoking the power of “wage theft” terminology, such as New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act.[3] However, despite the pervasive usage of the term “wage theft” by the media, politicians, and pundits, a search of the term “wage theft” in legal libraries yields little precedent. This begs the question: can employers be liable for conversion for failing to compensate employees for time-spent working? The efficacy of conversion claims in wage related lawsuits remains an unsettled question. However, if as a society we are sounding the alarm in every incidence of possible wage and hour law violations, we ultimately misinform the population of potential plaintiffs regarding the viability of a claim for theft, or conversion, of earned yet unpaid wages.The term “wage theft” is not a term of art; its closest legal corollary is the common law tort of conversion. Although we as a society frequently identify underpayment or nonpayment of wages as “wage theft,” pleading and proving that the employer has converted an employee’s wages presents an array of challenges that few plaintiffs can overcome. In this paper, we will explore the term “wage theft” as used in our society, and we will contrast this common understanding with the strict legal framework within which plaintiffs must present “wage theft” claims. Finally, we will explore this disconnect in an attempt to reconcile why such a gap exists, and persists, between the commonplace description of a worker’s reality, and the laws available to make the worker whole again. While it appears the term “wage theft” equates more readily with an exclamation of outrage than an effective claim for relief, its persistence underscores the continuing need for common law remedies, like conversion, to fill in the enforcement gaps left behind by persistently reactive legislation. [1] See Brady Meixell and Ross Eisenbrey, An Epidemic of Wage Theft Is Costing Workers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars a Year, Economic Policy Institute (Sep. 11, 2014),  http://www.epi.org/publication/epidemic-wage-theft-costing-workers-hundreds/; Josh Eidelson, LinkedIn Stiffed its Own Employees, Agrees to Pay Millions, BUSINESSWEEK (Aug. 5, 2014), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-05/linkedin-stiffed-its-own-employees-agrees-to-pay-millions; and Monica Potts, The Very Real Scourge of Wage Theft, THE DAILY BEAST (Feb. 15, 2015), http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/15/the-very-real-scourge-of-wage-theft.html.[2] Hilda L. Solis, Wage Theft Harms All of Us, The Huffington Post (July 19, 2015), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hilda-l-solis/wage-theft-harms-all-of-u_b_7829514.html.[3] Wage Theft Prevention Act, 2009 N.Y.S.N. 8380 (Apr. 12, 2011)