GRAZING TASK
INSIGHTS
Changes in writing style: Battle-fatigued soldiers referred to as "burdens to the Army"
Changes in permissible topics "The vampire kith and kin" Nature, 1929
Evolution of field, e.g. neuroimaging starts with animals, now address musicality,
Rate of change in 10-15 yrs.
Obsolescence of hard-copies: new volumes no longer offered in stacks.
Sensory aspect of library: "The 'feel' of touching embossed letters of books", "the smell of
old books filled the air."
Grazing and serendipity: From "Learning and memory" to "American Sea Songs"
Serenity of library search: "Look...without the blaring '10,000 articles returned'",
"Calming to sit and read."
The poignancy of "forgotten work" : "the older volumes were stuck together; it was as if
they hadn't been touched in years."
The price of on-line "efficiency": loss of "what it felt like to ...search...the stacks."
THEORY AND SEEING
HMAS Sydney Sunk in Indian Ocean 1941;
Found (in part) Via Cog. Psychology 2008
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/27/140816037/how-psychology-solved-a-wwii-shipwreck-mystery
Bartlett's War of the Ghosts schema research, ca. 1930
Create "deviation maps" from Bartlett's original subjects
Apply same method to German sailors' stories
Class 6
Concepts and Variables
(concluded)
Experiments as Expressions of Hypotheses
Most General
Hypothesis
Interracial feedback is biased.
General
Hypothesis
Feedback from whites to blacks is positively biased.
Specific
Hypothesis
When whites provide performance feedback for substandard work, their feedback will be positively biased
if they believe that the feedback recipient is black
rather than white.
Experimental
Hypothesis
White undergraduates instructed to critique poorly
written essays for purposes of feedback will provide
more positive feedback if informed that the essay
writer is black rather than white.
Diagramming the Experimental Sentence
White undergraduate students instructed to critique
poorly written essays for ...feedback will provide more positive
feedback if informed that the writer is Black rather than White.
Construct
Operational Definition
White undergraduate
students
Students who identify themselves as White, not Hispanic,
on a survey.
instructed to critique
write comments on spelling, content, etc. on the essay
poorly written essays
essays contain 5 spelling errors, 14 grammar errors, 5
content errors
for … feedback
subjects’ copy edited comments on essays are supposedly
returned to the writer
will provide more positive
feedback if
no. of positive comments – no. of neg. comments
informed that the writer is
Black rather than White
subjects read “self description sheet” supposedly
completed by writer that indirectly indicates race, and
confirmed by post-expt. manipulation check.
Lending a Hand: Social Regulation of the Neural
Response to Threat
[Coan, J., Schaefer, H., & Davidson, R., (2006) Psych. Science, 17, 1032-1039]
...For this fMRI study, 16 married women were subjected
to the threat of electric shock while holding their
husband’s hand, the hand of an anonymous male
experimenter, or no hand at all. Results indicated an
attenuation of activation [in systems regulating threat]
when women held their husband’s hand. Most strikingly,
the effects of spousal hand-holding on neural threat varied
as a function of marital quality ... .
What’s the hypothesis? What are the constructs, the IV, the
DV, the operations?
Attributes and Aliases of IV and DV
Independent Variable (IV)
Dependent Variable (DV)
Cause
Effect
Antecedent
Consequent
Event that E. controls or
selects
Event that E. tries to predict
Change in “X”
Change in “Y”

Examples of Independent and Dependent Variables
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
Race of feedback partners 
Feedback bias
Social context
Moral choices

(NY vs. Ghakistan)
NOTE: IV can be DV can be IV
IV
DV
Group pressure

Conformity
Conformity

Feedback bias
Active vs. Attributive Variables
Active (manipulated): Variables that are manipulated by
the experimenter
Friendliness of the confederate
Quality of essay
Attributive (measured): Variables that cannot be
manipulated, but are inherent properties.
AKA "organismic variables."
Gender of confederate
Age of subject
Latent Variables
Latent variables are variables that cannot be directly
measured.
Latent variables are “emergent” – they arise from the
joint association of more particular, measurable
variables.
Latent variables are sometimes referred to as “factors”
Factor analysis is method used to discover and
confirm latent variables.
Latent Variables in Feedback Study:
Essay Mechanics
?????
=
=
??????
Development of argument, clarity of
ideas, quality of evidence, interesting
presentation, persuasive
Latent Variables in Feedback Study:
Mechanics vs. Content
Mechanics:
Spelling, grammar, word choice
Content:
Development of argument, clarity of
ideas, quality of evidence, interesting
presentation, persuasive
SPSS Factor Analysis Results
Factor Loadings of Two Factor Measure:
Social Support Opinion Survey
Social Support Opinion Survey
(Harber, et al., JASP, 38, 1463-1505)
NAME THAT VARIABLE
Age induces wisdom. Age is?
Independent Variable
Arousal induced by 50
jumping jacks. Arousal is?
Active Variable
Left-handed vs. Right handed
Attributive Variable
Like self + believe in self + rely
on self + listen to self = Esteem
Latent Variable
Health is affected by
exercise. Health is?
Dependent Variable
Moderators and Mediators
Class 7
Breaking News: Mud Improves Memory!!!
FLASH! Explorers in the Amazon have discovered an amazing “memory
mud”. When smeared on the forehead it vastly improves short term
memory. However, it appears that “mem-mud” works only for certain
kinds of people in certain places at certain times. The mud appears to
have its powerful effects because it ……[SIGNAL LOST].
What questions arise?
Who does it work for,
under what conditions,
at what times?
Why does it work?
Moderators, Mediators, and Mem-mud
Moderator: What are the conditions under which
Mem-mud works, and for whom does it work?
Mediator: Why does Mem-mud work
Moderator: The limiting conditions that determine
and effect or outcome (e.g., when, or for whom)
Mediator: The underlying cause; Why something
occurs.
MODERATOR DEFINED
A moderator is a variable that affects the direction or strength of the
relationship between a predictor (IV) and an outcome (DV).
A  B, if C is a moderator model.
A = Predictor
B = Outcome
C = Moderator
Changes in the moderator will affect the relation between IV and DV.
Moderators directly explain how and when events occur (but can
also indirectly indicate why they occur).
Moderator can be:
* qualitative variable (race, sex, etc.)
* quantitative variable (perceived risk, mood)
MODERATOR DEFINED, Cont.
Moderator is always an Independent Variable
Moderator should be un-correlated to DV
Moderators sought when there is weak or
inconsistent relationship between IV and DV.
Moderator confirmed only if interaction
between moderator and main IV is significant.
Moderation: Correlation Between IV and DV is
High in One Condition But Not in Another.
Uncontrollable Event
Controllable Event
(World Economy Fails)
(Made Bad Investments)
Event ↔ illness
Event ↔ illness
r = .56
r = .18
These two results say what about bad events and illness?
Major life events  increased illness, IF event is uncontrollable.
Moderator is?
CONTROLLABILITY
MODERATOR MODEL
Predictor (IV)
Moderators (IV)
Outcome Variable (DV)
Predictor X Moderator
P X M Interaction
Must be significant
Recipient race (IV)
Self-image risk(IV)
Race X Risk
Feedback Positivity (DV)
p < .005
Feedback Bias With and Without
Content/Mechanics as Moderator
4
4
3.5
3.5
Content
Mechanics
3
3
2.5
2.5
2
2
1.5
1.5
1
1
0.5
0.5
0
0
Black Writer
White Writer
Black Writer White Writer
Moderator “Recipes”
a. IV is qualitative (dichotomous, polychotomous,
Mod. is qualitatitve (dichotomous, polychotomous)
b. IV is qualitative, Mod. is quantitative
c. IV is quantitative, Mod. is qualitative
d. IV is quantitative, Mod. is quantitative
Social Context, Disclosure, and Baby Cries
Rating of Baby Distress
6
5
4
No Disclosure
Disclosure
3
2
1
0
Positive
Contact
Neutral Negative
Contact Contact
Primary IV? Social Contact
DV?
Recipe?
Moderator Disclosure
Distress Rating
IV is Qualitative, and Moderator is Qualitative
Height Perception as Function of Social Contact
Degrees hill slant
Adapted from Schnall, Harber, Stefanucci, & Proffitt, 2008;
Results amplified for purposes of illustration
43
41
39
37
35
33
31
29
27
25
Short Duration
Mod. Duration
Long. Duration
Friend
Neutral
Contact
Primary IV? Social Contact
DV?
Recipe?
Moderator Duration
Hill slant
IV is Qualitative, and Moderator is Quantitative
Endorsement of Directive Support as a Function of
Depression and Gender
Endorses Directivei
3
2.5
2
Men
Women
1.5
1
0.5
0
Low Depression
Primary IV? Depression
DV?
Recipe?
High Depression
Moderator Gender
Endorsement of Directive Support
IV is Quantitative, and Moderator is Qualitative
Self Esteem and the Use of Affect as Information
(Harber, 2005)
Mild upset = 1 SD < mean, Moderate upset = mean, Extreme upset = 1 SD > mean.
Baby Cry Ratings
5.8
High Esteem
Med. Esteem
Low Esteem
5.4
5
4.6
Mild Upset
Mod. Upset
Extreme Upset
Participants' Level of Upset
Primary IV? Upset
DV?
Recipe?
Moderator Esteem
Baby Cry Ratings
IV is Qualitative and Moderator is Qualitative
MEDIATION
1. History: S  R explanations do not address full range of psychological
phenomena. In many cases, SOR makes more sense.
2. Function: Mediational analyses designed to test for SOR causal paths.
3. Mediation Defined: “the effects of stimuli on behavior are mediated by
various transformations internal to the organism.”
4. Utility: Mediators directly explain why events occur (but can also provide
clues to how and when they occur).
5. Character: Mediators are latent variables, or latent constructs.
Attributes of Mediators
1. Changes in IV account for changes in mediator
2. Changes in mediator account for changes in DV.
3. When links between IV to Mediator, and between Mediator
to DV are established, the link between IV and DV
becomes non-significant, or becomes significantly
decreased.
Mediational Model
Mediator
a
b
c
IV
DV
When Mediation is present:
r (a) is significant
r (b) is significant
r ( c ), which was significant before the mediator was
included, is either not significant or is much weaker
after mediator is included.
Mediational Model and Feedback Studies
Self-Image Concerns
a
Race of Recipient
b
c
Positive Bias
RELATION BETWEEN
MODERATORS AND MEDIATORS
Moderator to mediator: Knowing how external variables
affect outcomes can imply the existence of mediators.
Mediator to Moderator: Knowing why underlying mechanism
affects outcomes can suggest ways of addressing,
remedying, altering the outcome.
Why Do People Need Self Esteem?
Converging Evidence that Self Esteem Provides an
Anxiety-Buffering Function
Greenberg, et al., 2000
Three studies were conducted to assess the proposition that
self-esteem serves an anxiety-buffering function. In Study 1,
it was hypothesized that raising self-esteem would reduce
anxiety in response to vivid images of death. In support of
this hypothesis, subjects who received positive personality
feedback reported less anxiety in response to a video about
death than did neutral feedback subjects. …. .
X
____Moderator
____Mediator
Greenberg, et al. 2000
Scary Images
+
Self Esteem
0
+++
Scary Images X Self Esteem
Anxiety
Anxiety as a Function of
Threat Salience and Level of Self Esteem
A nxiety
Greenberg, et al., 2000
60
Ne utra l E ste e m
50
P o sitive E ste e m
40
30
20
10
0
Ne utra l V id e o
D e a th V id e o
Visceral Perception and Nonconscious Fear
Conditioning
Katkin, Wiens, & Öhman, 2001
Previous research shows that people conditioned to fear
certain kinds of stimuli such as snakes or spiders are
subsequently better able to detect hidden images of these
stimuli compared to people who are not conditioned. The
current research predicts that this heightened sensitivity is
restricted to people who are good at detecting their own
heartbeats (good heartbeat monitors). This prediction was
confirmed; when good heartbeat monitors are excluded from
analysis the effect of fear conditioning on stimuli sensitivity
disappears. [ABSTRACT MODIFIED ]
____Moderator
X
____Mediator
Katkin, Wiens, & Öhman, 2001
Heartbeat Monitors
a
Conditioned Fear
b
c
Stimuli Sensitivity
Ultimate Mediation?
The Epistemological Challenge of Science
Multiple underlying causes:
Disclosure --> Emotional resolution --> less stress --> immune boost --> health
Race of recipient --> egalitarian concerns --> self-image concerns --> bias
Ultimate underlying causes:
Disclosure ---> coping (Pennebaker, 1989)
Disclosure --> [????] --> coping
Disclosure --> self-affirmation --> coping (Cresswell, et al., 2007)
Disclosure --> self-affirmation --> [????] --> coping
Path Analyses and Causal Models



Attend. in 21st Century program  improved
performance by minority students.
21st Century program based on theory of stereotypethreat. When threat is high, minority students do less
well.
Stereotype threat is itself a problem because it
causes minority students to disidentify with
academics.
What is the causal model? What would be strong and
weak correlational links in this model?
First Semester Grades as Predicted by Stereotype Threat,
Identification with School, and Participation in 21st Century Program
Stereo. Threat
ID with School
21st Cent. Prog.
Grades
Task:
What are IVs, DVs?
What are moderators (if any)?
What mediators (if any)?
Put these in correct path
Estimate relations between variables, outcome
21st Century Program, Stereotype Threat,
and Identification with School