Looking like a criminal: Stereotypical black facial features promote face source memory error

BackgroundPrevious research has demonstrated that various types of verbal source memory error are associated with positive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Notably, intrusions in free recall have been associated with hallucinations and delusions. We tested the hypothesis that extra-list intrusions, assumed to arise from poor monitoring of internally generated words, are associated with verbal hallucinations and that intra-list intrusions are associated with global hallucination scores.MethodA sample of 41 patients with schizophrenia was administered four lists of words, followed by free recall. The number of correctly recalled words and the number of extra- and intra-list intrusions were tallied.ResultsThe verbal hallucination score was significantly correlated with the number of extra-list intrusions, whereas it was unrelated to the number of correctly recalled words. The number of intra-list intrusions was significantly correlated with the global, but not with the verbal, hallucination score in the subsample of hallucinating patients. It was marginally significantly correlated with the delusion score in delusional patients.ConclusionsThe data corroborate the view that verbal hallucinations are linked to defective monitoring of internal speech, and that errors in context processing are involved in hallucinations and delusions.

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The Impact of Visual Stereotypes on Judgments about Rape

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000178 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 75 (3) ◽

pp. 133-140

Author(s):

Robert Busching ◽

Johannes Lutz

Keyword(s):

Mental Representations ◽

Irrelevant Information ◽

Clear Distinction ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Facial Features ◽

Reverse Correlation ◽

Correlation Technique ◽

Specific Effects ◽

Legal Judgments ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Legally irrelevant information like facial features is used to form judgments about rape cases. Using a reverse-correlation technique, it is possible to visualize criminal stereotypes and test whether these representations influence judgments. In the first step, images of the stereotypical faces of a rapist, a thief, and a lifesaver were generated. These images showed a clear distinction between the lifesaver and the two criminal representations, but the criminal representations were rather similar. In the next step, the images were presented together with rape scenarios, and participants (N = 153) indicated the defendant’s level of liability. Participants with high rape myth acceptance scores attributed a lower level of liability to a defendant who resembled a stereotypical lifesaver. However, no specific effects of the image of the stereotypical rapist compared to the stereotypical thief were found. We discuss the findings with respect to the influence of visual stereotypes on legal judgments and the nature of these mental representations.

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Positive Arousal Enhances the Consolidation of Item Memory

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000151 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 74 (2) ◽

pp. 91-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bo Wang

Keyword(s):

Episodic Memory ◽

Memory Consolidation ◽

Source Memory ◽

Emotional Arousal ◽

Theoretical Models ◽

Memory Test ◽

Learning Phase ◽

Item Memory ◽

Memory Tests ◽

Immediate Memory

Emotional arousal induced after learning has been shown to modulate memory consolidation. However, it is unclear whether the effect of postlearning arousal can extend to different aspects of memory. This study examined the effect of postlearning positive arousal on both item memory and source memory. Participants learned a list of neutral words and took an immediate memory test. Then they watched a positive or a neutral videoclip and took delayed memory tests after either 25 minutes or 1 week had elapsed after the learning phase. In both delay conditions, positive arousal enhanced consolidation of item memory as measured by overall recognition. Furthermore, positive arousal enhanced consolidation of familiarity but not recollection. However, positive arousal appeared to have no effect on consolidation of source memory. These findings have implications for building theoretical models of the effect of emotional arousal on consolidation of episodic memory and for applying postlearning emotional arousal as a technique of memory intervention.

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