Need for closure and compensatory rule‐based perception : the role of information consistency

When making comparisons, people tend to use routinized standards, rules, and knowledge structures. Compensatory rules (e.g., "if competent, then cold", "if incompetent, then warm") allow for the quick and easy evaluation of groups when they are compared. We claim that the application of these rules is especially attractive for people who are motivated to seek quick and firm answers (people high in the need for closure - NFC). However, we assume that when people are confronted with expectancy‐inconsistent information, higher levels of NFC lead to a lower reliance on these rules. This is because the inconsistency may serve as a signal that the rules no longer provide guidance on how to act. We demonstrated these effects in three studies set in different group contexts, where we manipulated expectancy‐consistent and expectancy‐inconsistent information. These findings allow for a more comprehensive view of the dynamic and diverse effects of NFC

When need for closure leads to positive attitudes towards a negatively stereotyped outgroup

The study examined the relationship between epistemic motivation, which is the need for closure (NFC), and positive attitudes towards a negatively stereotyped outgroup (i.e., Gypsies). Although extensive research has revealed that NFC is related to derogatory behavioural tendencies and negative emotions towards stereotyped groups, it is proposed that NFC may also be linked to positive attitudes towards outgroups. It is predicted, however, that this would be true only when NFC is accompanied by a low ability to achieve closure (AAC). It is argued that low AAC impairs the construction of schema and their effective application. Therefore, NFC in individuals with low AAC may lead them to correct their initial tendency to use stereotypes and, as a consequence, to evaluate a negatively stereotyped outgroup in a positive way. In this research, low AAC was assessed by a scale (Study 1) and experimentally induced (Study 2). In both studies, we measured positive attitudes towards Gypsies. The results of the studies supported our prediction that NFC is positively related to positive attitudes towards Gypsies when AAC is low

The impact of incidental fear and anger on in- and outgroup attitudes

The aim of this research was to examine the impact of two specific negative emotions of anger and fear on intergroup attitudes. In Study 1 we measured emotions of anger and fear and in Study 2 we evoked these emotions incidentally, that is independently of any intergroup context. In both studies we measured attitudes towards the ingroup (Polish) and the outgroup (Gypsies).We expected that fear would lead to more positive ingroup attitudes and anger to more negative outgroup attitudes. The results of the correlational study (Study 1) confirmed the predictions regarding anger and decreased outgroup evaluations, and the experimental study (Study 2) revealed that fear enhanced positivity towards the ingroup, but anger increased negativity towards the outgroup. The impact of fear and anger on social attitudes in the specific context of a negatively self-stereotyped ingroup is discussed

Hydrogeological investigations of river bed clogging at a river bank filtration site along the River Warta, Poland

River bank filtration (RBF) is a system that enriches groundwater resources by induced infiltration of river water to an aquifer. Problematic during operation of RBF systems is the deterioration of infiltration effectiveness caused by river bed clogging. This situation was observed in the Krajkowo well field which supplies fresh water to the city of Poznań (Poland) during and after the long hydrological drought between the years 1989 and 1992. The present note discusses results of specific hydrogeological research which included drilling of a net of boreholes to a depth of 10 m below river bottom (for sediment sampling as well as for hydrogeological measurements), analyses of grain size distribution and relative density studies. The results obtained have allowed the recognition of the origin of the clogging processes, as well as the documentation of the clogged parts of the river bottom designated for unclogging activities

Self-image threat decreases stereotyping : the role of motivation toward closure

Some prior research indicated that self-image threat may lead people to stereotyping and prejudiced evaluations of others. Other studies found that self-image threat may promote less stereotypical thinking and unprejudiced behavior. In a series of three studies, we demonstrate that self-image threat may lead to either more or less stereotypical perception of the outgroup depending on the level of the individuals` motivation toward closure (NFC). The results reveal that when individuals high (vs. low) in NFC perceived a member of an outgroup, they are less likely to use stereotypical traits if their self-image had been threatened by negative feedback (Study 1) or if they had imagined an example of their own immoral activity (Studies 2 and 3). Moreover, our results demonstrate that the fear of invalidity resulting from self-image threat induction is responsible for the foregoing effects (Study 3). These results are discussed in light of theories of motivational readiness and lay epistemics

Clinical Study Myorelaxant Effect of Bee Venom Topical Skin Application in Patients with RDC/TMD Ia and RDC/TMD Ib: A Randomized, Double Blinded Study

The aim of the study was the evaluation of myorelaxant action of bee venom (BV) ointment compared to placebo. Parallel group, randomized double blinded trial was performed. Experimental group patients were applying BV for 14 days, locally over masseter muscles, during 3-minute massage. Placebo group patients used vaseline for massage. Muscle tension was measured twice (TON1 and TON2) in rest muscle tonus (RMT) and maximal muscle contraction (MMC) on both sides, right and left, with Easy Train Myo EMG (Schwa-medico, Version 3.1). Reduction of muscle tonus was statistically relevant in BV group and irrelevant in placebo group. VAS scale reduction was statistically relevant in both groups: BV and placebo. Physiotherapy is an effective method for myofascial pain treatment, but 0,0005% BV ointment gets better relief in muscle tension reduction and analgesic effect. This trial is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02101632

Expression and Processing of a Small Nucleolar RNA from the Epstein-Barr Virus Genome

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are localized within the nucleolus, a sub-nuclear compartment, in which they guide ribosomal or spliceosomal RNA modifications, respectively. Up until now, snoRNAs have only been identified in eukaryal and archaeal genomes, but are notably absent in bacteria. By screening B lymphocytes for expression of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) induced by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), we here report, for the first time, the identification of a snoRNA gene within a viral genome, designated as v-snoRNA1. This genetic element displays all hallmark sequence motifs of a canonical C/D box snoRNA, namely C/C′- as well as D/D′-boxes. The nucleolar localization of v-snoRNA1 was verified by in situ hybridisation of EBV-infected cells. We also confirmed binding of the three canonical snoRNA proteins, fibrillarin, Nop56 and Nop58, to v-snoRNA1. The C-box motif of v-snoRNA1 was shown to be crucial for the stability of the viral snoRNA; its selective deletion in the viral genome led to a complete down-regulation of v-snoRNA1 expression levels within EBV-infected B cells. We further provide evidence that v-snoRNA1 might serve as a miRNA-like precursor, which is processed into 24 nt sized RNA species, designated as v-snoRNA124pp. A potential target site of v-snoRNA124pp was identified within the 3′-UTR of BALF5 mRNA which encodes the viral DNA polymerase. V-snoRNA1 was found to be expressed in all investigated EBV-positive cell lines, including lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL). Interestingly, induction of the lytic cycle markedly up-regulated expression levels of v-snoRNA1 up to 30-fold. By a computational approach, we identified a v-snoRNA1 homolog in the rhesus lymphocryptovirus genome. This evolutionary conservation suggests an important role of v-snoRNA1 during γ-herpesvirus infection

Efekt kompensacji w percepcji grup : rola motywacji epistemicznej

The compensation effect (CE) is a phenomenon that occurs when social targets are evaluated on two fundamental dimensions of social perception: warmth and competence. When two social targets are compared, the two dimensions appear to be intertwined to compensate one another. When one social object is perceived as being better than the second object on one dimension, the second object is perceived as being better than the first on the other dimension. In the literature the CE is assumed to be used in order to align the perceived differences between groups, which justifies the social system. However, this explanation was, to our knowledge, never proven in an empirical study and is difficult to apply in many research contexts in which the CE had already been demonstrated. In this thesis, we proposed an alternative explanation of the CE, that the underlying mechanism is simply related to applying knowledge that was previously acquired from an environment in which complementary and ambivalent stereotypes are widespread and where the dimensions of warmth and competence are often negatively related. We propose that the purpose of the CE is to obtain quick and easy solution to the task of evaluating social objects on two dimensions. Reaching the solution is possible by applying previously learned knowledge regarding the negative relationship between the two fundamental dimensions. As such, the CE should be an especially attractive tool for people who are motivated to obtain simple solutions, namely, people with high need for cognitive closure (NFCC). In a series of five experiments we demonstrated that: (1) the more people believe in a negative relation between warmth and competence (positive characteristics on one dimension imply negative characteristics on the second dimension), the stronger the CE (especially among high NFCC participants); (2) the CE is related to individuals’ motivation to achieve closure: the CE appears among people with high, but not low NFCC, when nothing in the environment keeps them from using their preferred information processing styles; (3) experience of cognitive inconsistency refrains people high on NFCC from demonstrating the CE