The effects of emotional states and traits on time perception

Background: Models of time perception share an element of scalar expectancy theory known as the internal clock, containing specific mechanisms by which the brain is able to experience time passing and function effectively. A debate exists about whether to treat factors that influence these internal clock mechanisms (e.g., emotion, personal- ity, executive functions, and related neurophysiological components) as arousal- or attentional-based factors. Purpose: This study investigated behavioral and neurophysiological responses to an affective time perception Go/ NoGo task, taking into account the behavioral inhibition (BIS) and behavioral activation systems (BASs), which are components of reinforcement sensitivity theory. Methods: After completion of self-report inventories assessing personality traits, electroencephalogram (EEG/ERP) and behavioral recordings of 32 women and 13 men recruited from introductory psychology classes were completed during an affective time perception Go/NoGo task. This task required participants to respond (Go) and inhibit (NoGo) to positive and negative affective visual stimuli of various durations in comparison to a standard duration. Results: Higher BAS scores (especially BAS Drive) were associated with overestimation bias scores for positive stimuli, while BIS scores were not correlated with overestimation bias scores. Furthermore, higher BIS Total scores were associ- ated with higher N2d amplitudes during positive stimulus presentation for 280 ms, while higher BAS Total scores were associated with higher N2d amplitudes during negative stimuli presentation for 910 ms. Discussion: Findings are discussed in terms of arousal-based models of time perception, and suggestions for future research are considered

Molecular relationships of New Guinean three-striped dasyures, (Myoictis, Marsupialia: dasyuridae)

Complete nucleotide sequences of the cytochrome b and 12S rRNA genes and partial sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene and the nuclear ε-globin gene were obtained from multiple exemplars of the New Guinean dasyurid, Myoictis. Allozyme data were also obtained from most of the same animals. The molecular data show that the genus comprises a number of genetically distinct lineages which correspond with groups proposed by Woolley (2005) on the basis of a number of morphological traits, including the form of the tail i.e. Myoictis leucura (sp. nov.), M. melas, M. wallacei and M. wavicus (new status). Divergence dates estimated from the weighted-average distances for the combined cytochrome b and 12S rRNA data, calibrated with a dasyurid-thylacine divergence 25 million years ago, suggest that the early cladogenic events separating Myoictis took place in the late Miocene. Subsequent separation of M. wavicus and M. leucura from a common ancestor as well as some genetic differentiation within M. melas, took place in the medial Pliocene. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2006.Michael Westerman, Jodie Young, Steve Donnellan, Patricia A. Woolley, Carey Krajewsk

Phylogeographic divergence in the widespread delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata) corresponds to dry habitat barriers in eastern Australia

Background: \ud The mesic habitats of eastern Australia harbour a highly diverse fauna. We examined the impact of climatic oscillations and recognised biogeographic barriers on the evolutionary history of the delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata), a species that occurs in moist habitats throughout eastern Australia. The delicate skink is a common and widespread species whose distribution spans 26° of latitude and nine major biogeographic barriers in eastern Australia. Sequence data were obtained from four mitochondrial genes (ND2, ND4, 12SrRNA, 16SrRNA) for 238 individuals from 120 populations across the entire native distribution of the species. The evolutionary history and diversification of the delicate skink was investigated using a range of phylogenetic (Maximum Likelihood, Bayesian) and phylogeographic analyses (genetic diversity, ΦST, AMOVA, Tajima's D, Fu's F statistic).\ud \ud Results: \ud Nine geographically structured, genetically divergent clades were identified within the delicate skink. The main clades diverged during the late Miocene-Pliocene, coinciding with the decline and fragmentation of rainforest and other wet forest habitats in eastern Australia. Most of the phylogeographic breaks within the delicate skink were concordant with dry habitat or high elevation barriers, including several recognised biogeographic barriers in eastern Australia (Burdekin Gap, St Lawrence Gap, McPherson Range, Hunter Valley, southern New South Wales). Genetically divergent populations were also located in high elevation topographic isolates inland from the main range of L. delicata (Kroombit Tops, Blackdown Tablelands, Coolah Tops). The species colonised South Australia from southern New South Wales via an inland route, possibly along the Murray River system. There is evidence for recent expansion of the species range across eastern Victoria and into Tasmania, via the Bassian Isthmus, during the late Pleistocene.\ud \ud Conclusions: The delicate skink is a single widespread, but genetically variable, species. This study provides the first detailed phylogeographic investigation of a widespread species whose distribution spans virtually all of the major biogeographic barriers in eastern Australia

Age, culture, and self-employment motivation

To study the interplay between age and culture as driver of self-employment motivation, we examine cross-sectional age differences (young to late adulthood) in self-employment desirability and feasibility beliefs across different cultures. We utilize individual-level data from the 2012 Flash Eurobarometer survey collected in 21 countries (total N = 13,963 individuals) and culture-level data from the GLOBE project. Our results from multi-level regression analyses show similar curvilinear lifespan patterns in both desirability and feasibility beliefs, with a peak in young adulthood and a strong decline toward late adulthood. This general pattern of age differences in these motivational factors, however, differs significantly across cultural dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, institutional collectivism and performance orientation. Notwithstanding the limitations of cross-sectional data, the present results indicate that individual factors motivating self-employment are systematically intertwined with, and embedded in, both age and culture. Implications for theory and practice are discussed