Lidia Suárez

Distributional analyses in auditory lexical decision: neighborhood density and word-frequency effects.

In the present article, the effects of phonological neighborhood density and word frequency in spoken word recognition were examined using distributional analyses of response latencies in auditory lexical decision. A density × frequency interaction was observed in mean latencies; frequency effects were larger for low-density words than for high-density words. Distributional analyses further revealed that for low-density words, frequency effects were reflected in both distributional shifting and skewing, whereas for high-density words, frequency effects were purely mediated by distributional skewing. The results suggest that word frequency plays a role in early auditory word recognition only when there is relatively little competition between similar-sounding words, and that frequency effects in high-density words reflect postlexical checking.

Observing neighborhood effects without neighbors

With a new metric called phonological Levenshtein distance (PLD20), the present study explores the effects of phonological similarity and word frequency on spoken word recognition, using polysyllabic words that have neither phonological nor orthographic neighbors, as defined by neighborhood density (the N-metric). Inhibitory effects of PLD20 were observed for these lexical hermits: Close-PLD20 words were recognized more slowly than distant PLD20 words, indicating lexical competition. Importantly, these inhibitory effects were found only for low- (not high-) frequency words, in line with previous findings that phonetically related primes inhibit recognition of low-frequency words. These results indicate that the properties of PLD20—a continuous measure of word-form similarity—make it a promising new metric for quantifying phonological distinctiveness in spoken word recognition research.

Why people play massively multiplayer online games

The current study investigated whether the problematic use of massively multiplayer online games (MMO) was associated with a particular attachment style. Moreover, we explored the possible motivations underlying MMO gaming, and the interdependence between motivations and attachment styles. The results showed that gamers with anxious and avoidant attachment styles suffered from problems associated with MMO gaming more than gamers with a secure attachment style. Also, we found that all gamers played to immerse themselves into a fantastic word regardless of their attachment style.

Recognition memory for foreign language lexical stress

This study investigated whether English speakers retained the lexical stress patterns of newly learned Spanish words. Participants studied spoken Spanish words (e.g., DUcha [shower], ciuDAD [city]; stressed syllables in capital letters) and subsequently performed a recognition task, in which studied words were presented with the same lexical stress pattern (DUcha) or the opposite lexical stress pattern (CIUdad). Participants were able to discriminate same- from opposite-stress words, indicating that lexical stress was encoded and used in the recognition process. Word-form similarity to English also influenced outcomes, with Spanish cognate words and words with trochaic stress (MANgo) being recognized more often and more quickly than Spanish cognate words with iambic stress (soLAR) and noncognates. The results suggest that while segmental and suprasegmental features of the native language influence foreign word recognition, foreign lexical stress patterns are encoded and not discarded in memory.

Psychometric properties of the World Health Organization WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment in Singapore

PurposeThis study validated the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire with 3400 respondents living in Singapore.MethodsThe ethnic composition was 76.1% Chinese, 12.3% Malay, 9.6% Indian, and 2% Others. The sample included adults with disabilities (28.9%), adults recovering from mental health issues (14%), and adults from the general population (57.1%). Questionnaires about health-related conditions, the effects of disability on everyday functioning (WHODAS 2.0), the WHOQOL-BREF, and add-on modules of QOL of people with disabilities (WHOQOL-DIS) and QOL of elders (WHOQOL-OLD) were administrated.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis supported a construct of QOL made of four domains, revealing good construct validity. The four domains predicted overall QOL and health satisfaction. Good internal consistency was evidenced by high alpha coefficients for the physical (.79), psychological (.82), social relationships (.81), and environment (.83) domains. Convergent validity was shown by moderate correlations between the different questionnaires measuring QOL (WHOQOL-BREF, WHOQOL-DIS, and WHOQOL-OLD), and discriminant validity by a lower correlation between the WHOQOL-BREF and disability. Convergent and divergent validity were also indicated by higher correlations between similar constructs across the different measures, and lower correlations between dissimilar constructs across measures, respectively. Concurrent validity was supported by showing that individuals with chronic medical conditions had lower QOL than individuals without chronic medical conditions.ConclusionsThe results showed that the WHOQOL-BREF has sound psychometric properties and can be used to measure QOL in Singapore.

Validation of the interpersonal needs questionnaire of young male adults in Singapore

Interpersonal needs are associated with suicide. However, no interpersonal needs questionnaire has been validated in Asia. The psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire were examined in a sample of 340 young male adults in Singapore. This questionnaire measures proximal causes of desire for suicide using the extent to which individuals believe that they are a burden to others (perceived burdensomeness) and the extent to which they believe their needs are not met (thwarted belongingness). Confirmatory factor analysis found that a two-factor model of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness provided an adequate fit for the data. Internal consistency was excellent. Concurrent, convergent, predictive, and discriminant validity was demonstrated. The findings showed that the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire provides a valid measure of interpersonal needs in young Asian males. Thus, the instrument can be utilized to test the interpersonal psychological theory of suicidal behavior.

Above, on, or shang (上)? Language and spatial representations among English–Mandarin bilinguals

This study investigated if exposure to spatial language could affect spatial cognition in English-Mandarin bilinguals by focusing on contact/noncontact distinctions, an area that has been a source of contention in the language-and-thought literature. Sixty-three participants were first primed with sentences containing spatial terms (e.g., above, on) before performing a spatial decision task. Approximately half of the participants (n = 33) were primed in English; for the remaining participants (n = 30), primes comprising Mandarin spatial terms―which mark spatial distinctions differently than in English (e.g., shang in Mandarin signifies both above and on in English)―were employed instead. Our findings revealed that participants’ performance was influenced by spatial primes in the English experiment, thereby proffering evidence for thinking-for-speaking effects. However, these findings were not mirrored for the Mandarin experiment, confirming that the contact/noncontact specificity of spatial terms may have been instrumental in engendering the thinking-for-speaking effects observed in English.

Conceptual Representation Changes in Indonesian-English Bilinguals.

This study investigated conceptual representations changes in bilinguals. Participants were Indonesian–English bilinguals (dominant in Indonesian, with different levels of English proficiency) and a control group composed of English-dominant bilinguals. All completed a gender decision task, in which participants decided whether English words referred to a male or female person or animal. In order to explore conceptual representations, we divided the words into gender-specific and gender-ambiguous words. Gender-specific words were words in which conceptual representations contained gender as a defining feature, in both English and Indonesian (e.g., uncle). In contrast, gender-ambiguous words were words in which gender was a defining feature in English but not a necessary feature in Indonesian (e.g., nephew and niece are both subsumed under the same word, keponakan, in Indonesian). The experiment was conducted exclusively in English. Indonesian–English bilinguals responded faster to gender-specific words than gender-ambiguous words, but the difference was smaller for the most proficient bilinguals. As expected, English-dominant speakers’ response latencies were similar across these two types of words. The results suggest that English concepts are dynamic and that proficiency leads to native-like conceptual representations.

The Effects of Supernatural Belief on Cheating Behaviour

The present study investigated the priming effects of different supernatural agents (God and ghost) on cheating behaviour. One hundred and twenty participants were invited to solve riddles, with each riddle presented on an individual card. Participants were told that the participant who solved the most riddles would win SGD100. Also, the participants were informed that the answers to the riddles were on the other side of the cards, but they had to refrain from turning the cards over. A one-way mirror was used to observe cheating rates. The results indicated that participants who had seen the words God and ghost cheated significantly less than those in the control condition (who were exposed to the nonword gheds). Moreover, level of religiosity did not affect priming. The results were discussed in terms of the supernatural punishment hypothesis, the supernatural surveillance hypothesis, and the automaticity of social behaviour hypothesis.

Cultural differences in mirror self-recognition in 18 month-old Singaporean toddlers

Western societies put emphasis on the development of the individual self, while Asian societies prioritize the sense of the self in relation to social groups. In Western populations roughly 60% of 18-month-old toddlers show self-referential behavior upon viewing themselves reflected in a mirror. Self-referential behavior has been used as a measure of self-recognition and development of the self. The aim of the current study was to investigate possible cultural differences in toddlers self-referential behavior while looking at themselves in a mirror. The current study involved 329 18-months-old Southeast Asian, multi-ethnic Singaporean toddlers taking part in a larger prospective mother-offspring birth cohort study GUSTO. In contrast to Western results, only 31.3 % of Singaporean toddlers showed mirror self-recognition behavior. However, rates significantly differed by ethnicity, with Singaporean Indian toddlers showing more self-referential behavior than Singaporean Malay and Chinese toddlers. Thus, collectivistic values could explain differences in self-referential behavior and expression of self-recognition. We propose that the sense of the self might have developed similarly across different cultures but that other variables, such as parenting styles, might influence self-referential behavior.