Promising experiments
Here I collected the abstracts of a few recent findings, feel free to modify or add to them.
>>Unintentional language switch [] Kho, K.H., Duffau, H., Gatignol, P., Leijten, F.S.S., Ramsey, N.F., van Rijen, P.C. & Rutten, G-J.M. (2007) Utrecht Abstract [1]
We present two bilingual patients without language disorders in whom involuntary language switching was induced. The first patient switched from Dutch to English during a left-sided amobarbital Wada-test. Functional magnetic resonance imaging yielded a predominantly left-sided language distribution similar for both languages. The second patient switched from French to Chinese during intraoperative electrocortical stimulation of the left inferior frontal gyrus. We conclude that the observed language switching in both cases was not likely the result of a selective inhibition of one language, but the result of a temporary disruption of brain areas that are involved in language switching. These data complement the few lesion studies on (involuntary or unintentional) language switching, and add to the functional neuroimaging studies of switching, monitoring, and controlling the language in use.
>>Bilateral eye movement -> memory Parker, A. & Dagnall, N. (2007) Manchester Metropolitan University, One hundred and two participants listened to 150 words, organised into ten themes (e.g. types of vehicle), read by a male voice. Next, 34 of these participants moved their eyes left and right in time with a horizontal target for thirty seconds (saccadic eye movements); 34 participants moved their eyes up and down in time with a vertical target; the remaining participants stared straight ahead, focussed on a stationary target. After the eye movements, all the participants listened to a mixture of words: 40 they'd heard before, 40 completely unrelated new words, and 10 words that were new but which matched one of the original themes. In each case the participants had to say which words they'd heard before, and which were new. The participants who'd performed sideways eye movements performed better in all respects than the others: they correctly recognised more of the old words as old, and more of the new words as new. Crucially, they were fooled less often by the new words whose meaning matched one of the original themes - that is they correctly recognised more of them as new. This is important because mistakenly identifying one of these 'lures' as an old word is taken as a laboratory measure of false memory. The performance of the participants who moved their eyes vertically, or who stared ahead, did not differ from each other. Episodic memory improvement induced by bilateral eye movements is hypothesized to reflect enhanced interhemispheric interaction, which is associated with superior episodic memory (S. D. Christman & R. E. Propper. 2001). Implications for neuropsychological mechanisms underlying eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (F. Shapiro, 1989, 2001), a therapeutic technique for posttraumatic stress disorder, are discussed
>>is the job satisfaction–job performance relationship spurious? A meta-analytic examination
Nathan A. Bowling(Department of Psychology, Wright State University) Abstract [2]
The job satisfaction–job performance relationship has attracted much attention throughout the history of industrial and organizational psychology. Many researchers and most lay people believe that a causal relationship exists between satisfaction and performance. In the current study, however, analyses using meta-analytic data suggested that the satisfaction–performance relationship is largely spurious. More specifically, the satisfaction–performance relationship was partially eliminated after controlling for either general personality traits (e.g., Five Factor Model traits and core self-evaluations) or for work locus of control and was almost completely eliminated after controlling for organization-based self-esteem. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
>>Mirror-touch synesthesia is linked with empathy
Michael J Banissy & Jamie Ward (Department of Psychology, University College London)
Abstract [3] Watching another person being touched activates a similar neural circuit to actual touch and, for some people with 'mirror-touch' synesthesia, can produce a felt tactile sensation on their own body. In this study, we provide evidence for the existence of this type of synesthesia and show that it correlates with heightened empathic ability. This is consistent with the notion that we empathize with others through a process of simulation.