Facial first impressions are not mandatory : A priming investigation

Made Open Access under the Elsevier agreementPeer reviewedPublisher PD

People perception and stereotype-based responding : task context matters

Whether group impact social perception is a topic of renewed theoretical and empirical interest. In particular, it remains unclear when and how the composition of a group influences a core component of social cognition-stereotype-based responding. Accordingly, exploring this issue, here we investigated the extent to which different task requirements moderate the stereotype-related products of people perception. Following the presentation of same-sex groups that varied in facial typicality (i.e., high or low femininity/masculinity), participants had to report either the gender-related status of target words (i.e., a group-irrelevant gender-classification task) or whether the items were stereotypic or counter-stereotypic with respect to the preceding groups (i.e., a group-relevant stereotype-status task). Critically, facial typicality only impacted performance in the stereotype-status task. A further computational analysis (i.e., Diffusion Model) traced this effect to the combined operation of stimulus processing and response biases during decision-making. Specifically, evidence accumulation was faster when targets followed groups that were high (vs. low) in typicality and these arrays also triggered a stronger bias toward stereotypic (vs. counter-stereotypic) responses. Collectively, these findings elucidate when and how group variability influences people perception. [Abstract copyright: © 2022. The Author(s).

More or Less of Me and You : Self-Relevance Augments the Effects of Item Probability on Stimulus Prioritization

Open access via Springer agreementPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Self-relevance enhances evidence gathering during decision-making

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPostprin

The power of the unexpected: Prediction errors enhance stereotype-based learning

Stereotyping is a ubiquitous feature of social cognition, yet surprisingly little is known about how group-related beliefs influence the acquisition of person knowledge. Accordingly, in combination with computational modeling (i.e., Reinforcement Learning Drift Diffusion Model analysis), here we used a probabilistic selection task to explore the extent to which gender stereotypes impact instrumental learning. Several theoretically interesting effects were observed. First, reflecting the impact of cultural socialization on person construal, an expectancy-based preference for stereotype-consistent (vs. stereotype-inconsistent) responses was observed. Second, underscoring the potency of unexpected information, learning rates were faster for counter-stereotypic compared to stereotypic individuals, both for negative and positive prediction errors. Collectively, these findings are consistent with predictive accounts of social perception and have implications for the conditions under which stereotyping can potentially be reduced

Selective inhibition by harmane of the apurinic apyrimidinic endonuclease activity of phage T4-induced UV endonuclease.

1-Methyl-9H-pyrido-[3,4-b]indole (harmane) inhibits the apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease activity of the UV endonuclease induced by phage T4, whereas it stimulates the pyrimidine dimer-DNA glycosylase activity of that enzyme. E. coli endonuclease IV, E. coli endonuclease VI (the AP endonuclease activity associated with E. coli exonuclease III), and E. coli uracil-DNA glycosylase were not inhibited by harmane. Human fibroblast AP endonucleases I and II also were only slightly inhibited. Therefore, harmane is neither a general inhibitor of AP endonucleases, nor a general inhibitor of Class I AP endonucleases which incise DNA on the 3'-side of AP sites. However, E. coli endonuclease III and its associated dihydroxythymine-DNA glycosylase activity were both inhibited by harmane. This observation suggests that harmane may inhibit only AP endonucleases which have associated glycosylase activities

Milj\uf6p\ue5verkan fr\ue5n svensk konsumtion - nya indikatorer f\uf6r uppf\uf6ljning. Slutrapport f\uf6r forskningsprojektet PRINCE

NATURV\uc5RDSVERKET RAPPORT 6842 Milj\uf6p\ue5verkan fr\ue5n svensk konsumtion - nya indikatorer f\uf6r uppf\uf6ljning Sammanfattning Projektet Policy Relevant Indicators for Consumption and Environment (PRINCE) har haft som syfte att analysera potentiell milj\uf6p\ue5verkan kopplad till svensk konsumtion, b\ue5de i Sverige och utomlands, och att kvantifiera denna med indikatorer. F\uf6r att kunna producera de f\uf6reslagna indikatorerna har projektet utvecklat en ny matematisk metod f\uf6r att kombinera svenska milj\uf6ekonomiska data med en multiregional input-outputmodell, som \ue4r relativt l\ue4ttarbetad och bevarar en flexibilitet som m\uf6jligg\uf6r ett byte till andra multiregionala modeller om s\ue5 \uf6nskas. Baserat p\ue5 detta har projektet konstruerat en ny indikatormodell, kallad PRINCE-modellen, och uppskattat en l\ue5ng rad utsl\ue4pp och resursanv\ue4ndning kopplat till svensk konsumtion med den. Detta inkluderar f\uf6rutom v\ue4xthusgasutsl\ue4pp och luftf\uf6roreningar, en rad naturresurser och utsl\ue4pp som tidigare inte har studerats lika mycket, s\ue5som markanv\ue4ndning, vattenanv\ue4ndning, anv\ue4ndning och utsl\ue4pp av kemikalier och v\ue4xthusgasutsl\ue4pp fr\ue5n avskogning. F\uf6r vissa variabler har projektet tagit fram indikatorer f\uf6r ett visst \ue5r, och f\uf6r vissa andra har vi producerat tidsserier f\uf6r \ue5ren 2008-2014. F\uf6r v\ue4xthusgaser, utsl\ue4pp av kv\ue4veoxider, svaveldioxid och partiklar har utsl\ue4ppen fr\ue5n svensk konsumtion minskat under denna tid. \uc4ven arealen mark som tagits i anspr\ue5k kopplat till den svenska konsumtionen har minskat n\ue5got under denna tid, medan totala materialfl\uf6den \uf6kat. Under denna tidsperiod har f\uf6r\ue4dlingsv\ue4rdet, som \ue4r ett m\ue5tt p\ue5 ekonomisk aktivitet, \uf6kat vilket visar p\ue5 en absolut frikoppling mellan ekonomisk utveckling och utsl\ue4pp av v\ue4xthusgaser (med reservation f\uf6r att inga h\uf6gh\uf6jdseffekter av utsl\ue4pp fr\ue5n flyg har ing\ue5tt i denna studie). Utsl\ue4ppsminskningen \ue4r dock betydligt mindre \ue4n den som kr\ue4vs f\uf6r att vara i linje med globala \uf6verenskommelser om klimatet s\ue5 frikopplingen har inte varit tillr\ue4ckligt stor. Det svenska generationsm\ue5let anger bland annat att de svenska milj\uf6problemen ska l\uf6sas utan att orsaka \uf6kade milj\uf6- och h\ue4lsoproblem utanf\uf6r Sverige. F\uf6r de indikatorer d\ue4r en tidsserie producerats (v\ue4xthusgaser, utsl\ue4pp av kv\ue4veoxider, svaveldioxid och partiklar) har andelen av utsl\ue4ppen som sker i Sverige respektive utomlands kopplat till den svenska konsumtionen varit relativt of\uf6r\ue4ndrad under den studerade tidsperioden. D\ue5 de totala utsl\ue4ppen minskat s\ue5 har \ue4ven utsl\ue4ppen som skett utomlands under perioden minskat n\ue5got. Projektet har med indikatorernas hj\ue4lp studerat vilka geografiska omr\ue5den d\ue4r milj\uf6p\ue5verkan fr\ue5n svensk konsumtion \ue4r st\uf6rst och vilka produktkategorier som ger stort utslag i uppf\uf6ljningen. Resultaten \ue4r n\ue5got olika f\uf6r olika typer av milj\uf6p\ue5verkan men produkter fr\ue5n byggsektorn, livsmedel och jordbruksprodukter, samt hush\ue5llens direkta utsl\ue4pp bland annat fr\ue5n fossila br\ue4nslen \ue4r kategorier med stor milj\uf6p\ue5verkan. Milj\uf6p\ue5verkan kopplat till svensk konsumtion sker i m\ue5nga olika l\ue4nder. F\uf6rutom i Sverige sker utsl\ue4ppen bland annat i stora l\ue4nder som Kina, Ryssland, Tyskland och USA men ocks\ue5 i m\ue5nga andra l\ue4nder som Sverige importerar ifr\ue5n. Projektet har ocks\ue5 tagit fram en grupp med indikatorer som kan m\ue4ta kemikalieanv\ue4ndningen och utsl\ue4pp p\ue5 en \uf6vergripande niv\ue5. De t\ue4cker b\ue5de anv\ue4ndning av farliga kemiska produkter och utsl\ue4pp av vissa farliga \ue4mnen. Resultaten pekar bland annat p\ue5 att b\ue5de anv\ue4ndning och utsl\ue4pp av farliga kemikalier i stor utstr\ue4ckning sker utomlands. Till exempel sker endast 22% av anv\ue4ndningen av farliga kemikalier och 20% av utsl\ue4ppen av farliga \ue4mnen, som ing\ue5r i indikatorn, f\uf6r svensk konsumtions r\ue4kning inom Sveriges gr\ue4nser. Kemikalieindikatorerna kr\ue4ver ett visst fortsatt utvecklingsarbete, exempelvis med framtagande av tidsserier. Vidare har projektet tagit fram nya f\uf6rslag p\ue5 hur man kan f\uf6lja upp milj\uf6p\ue5verkan av fiskkonsumtion beroende p\ue5 typ av fisk som konsumeras och vilken f\ue5ngstmetod som anv\ue4nts. \uc4ven fiskindikatorerna kr\ue4ver fortsatt arbete innan de kan l\ue4ggas till ordinarie uppf\uf6ljningsprogram. Projektet har ocks\ue5 unders\uf6kt metoder f\uf6r att f\uf6rdjupa analysen av milj\uf6p\ue5verkan av vattenanv\ue4ndning i produktionen genom att urskilja vilka omr\ue5den som har s\ue4rskilda problem med vattenbrist. Detta \ue4r inte m\uf6jligt att g\uf6ra med n\ue5gon st\uf6rre precision i dagsl\ue4get. Tv\ue5 olika metoder provades inom projektet, en som anv\ue4nde vatten\ue5tg\ue5ng f\uf6r jordbruksprodukter och en som anv\ue4nde data om vattenbrist per land. Slutligen har specialstudier \ue4ven gjorts av viktiga produktgrupper som mat och dryck, IKT-sektorn (informations- och kommunikationsteknik), fossilbr\ue4nsleanv\ue4ndningen i sj\uf6farten med tv\ue5 olika metoder, samt socioekonomisk p\ue5verkan av svensk konsumtion i Kina. Baserat p\ue5 resultaten har projektet genererat ett antal rekommendationer f\uf6r hur arbetet med konsumtionsbaserade indikatorer kan drivas vidare: • SCB \ue4ndrar den tidigare ber\ue4kningsmetoden f\uf6r att ber\ue4kna utsl\ue4pp fr\ue5n konsumtion och anv\ue4nder de multiregionala data som finns tillg\ue4ngliga i EXIOBASE f\uf6r att ber\ue4kna milj\uf6p\ue5verkan fr\ue5n import.• F\uf6r utsl\ue4pp av v\ue4xthusgaser samt f\uf6r utsl\ue4pp till luft av kv\ue4veoxider, svaveldioxid och partiklar: generationsm\ue5let f\uf6ljs upp med den utvecklade PRINCE-modellen som kombinerar svensk milj\uf6ekonomisk data med multiplikatorer som ber\ue4knas med en multiregional input-outputmodell.• Det internationella arbetet med f\uf6rb\ue4ttrad tillg\ue5ng till harmoniserad milj\uf6statistik st\uf6ttas.• Arbetet med vidareutveckling av indikatorer f\uf6r anv\ue4ndning av naturresurser (som markanv\ue4ndning och dess koppling till avskogning och biologisk m\ue5ngfald, vattenanv\ue4ndning, materialfl\uf6den och energi) forts\ue4tter bland annat avseende kopplingen mellan dessa fl\uf6den och milj\uf6p\ue5verkan, de svenska milj\uf6m\ue5len och de globala h\ue5llbarhetsm\ue5len.• Forsknings- och utvecklingsarbetet med kemikalieindikatorerna forts\ue4tter och tidsserier tas fram f\uf6r att s\ue5 sm\ue5ningom kunna ta in dem i analysen av generationsm\ue5let.• Metoderna som f\uf6reslagits f\uf6r att bed\uf6ma milj\uf6p\ue5verkan fr\ue5n fiskkonsumtion vidareutvecklas.• Metoderna som f\uf6reslagits f\uf6r att ber\ue4kna utsl\ue4pp fr\ue5n internationella transporter vidareutvecklas

Indicators for national consumption-based accounting of chemicals

Increased chemical use is causing a growing number of environmental problems and chemical products\ua0are pervasive in societies within animal and crop-based agriculture, in industrial processes and in\ua0households. National environmental targets, as well as the global chemical-related goals in the 2030\ua0Agenda, call for the monitoring of chemical use and emissions. The growing international trade of goods,\ua0where use and regulation of chemical inputs vary highly between countries, complicates measurements.\ua0This paper addresses these issues by deriving a set of indicators on chemical use and emissions and\ua0connect the global impacts to a country\u27s total consumption, here using the case of Sweden. The indicators\ua0are based on a hybrid model combining the multi-regional input-output analysis database\ua0EXIOBASE with data from the Swedish System of Economic and Environmental Accounts together with a\ua0novel set of environmental extensions. A review of databases is conducted and discussed in relation to\ua0the driver-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) framework for indicators. Five indicators are calculated,\ua0showing the chemical use and emissions connected to consumption, both within a country and\ua0abroad. The indicators are: use of hazardous chemical products, use of pesticides, use of antimicrobial\ua0veterinary medicines, emissions of hazardous substances, and of the potential toxicity of these emissions.\ua0The results show that the impact of Swedish consumption in terms of use and emissions of hazardous\ua0substances is largely taking place outside the Swedish borders. Only 10e24% of the pressure from\ua0Swedish consumption is shown to occur within Sweden\u27s borders, depending on the indicator. The use of\ua0hazardous chemical products and veterinary medicines related to Swedish consumption primarily takes\ua0place in other EU countries, whereas the use of pesticides as well as reported emissions of pollutants\ua0occur mainly in countries outside the EU. The results highlight the need for improved international\ua0accounting of chemical flows, as well as for strengthened policy frameworks to address cross-border\ua0impacts of consumption of hazardous chemical products

More or less of me and you: self-relevance augments the effects of item probability on stimulus prioritization

Self-relevance exerts a powerful influence on information processing. Compared to material associated with other people, personally meaningful stimuli are prioritized during decision-making. Further exploring the character of this effect, here we considered the extent to which stimulus enhancement is impacted by the frequency of self-relevant versus friend-relevant material. In a matching task, participants reported whether shape-label stimulus pairs corresponded to previously learned associations (e.g., triangle = self, square = friend). Crucially however, before the task commenced, stimulus-based expectancies were provided indicating the probability with which both self- and friend-related shapes would be encountered. The results revealed that task performance was impacted by the frequency of stimulus presentation in combination with the personal relevance of the items. When self- and friend-related shapes appeared with equal frequencies, a self-prioritization effect emerged (Expt. 1). Additionally, in both confirmatory (Expt. 2) and dis-confirmatory (Expt. 3) task contexts, stimuli that were encountered frequently (vs. infrequently) were prioritized, an effect that was most pronounced for self-relevant (vs. friend-relevant) items. Further computational analyses indicated that, in each of the reported experiments, differences in performance were underpinned by variation in the rate of information uptake, with evidence extracted more rapidly from self-relevant compared to friend-relevant stimuli. These findings advance our understanding of the emergence and origin of stimulus-prioritization effects during decisional processing. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00426-021-01562-x