Interpretability and clinical utility of the strength and stressors in parenting questionnaire.

This study aimed to enhance the interpretability and clinical utility of the strength and stressors in parenting (SSF) questionnaire, a parent-reported questionnaire designed to assess strength, stress and associated risks of mental ill-health in parents of children with developmental disabilities. Responses to the SSF and a demographic questionnaire were collected from 576 parents of children with (n = 203) and without (n = 373) developmental disabilities. To enhance the interpretability of the SSF, a subset of 129 parents were invited to complete an additional questionnaire consisting of three free-text questions regarding recent help-seeking behavior, experiences of mental ill-health and experiences of parenthood. Parents' responses to the free-text questions were then categorized as indicative of higher or lower degrees of stress and compared to their SSF score distribution to derive empirical cut-offs for strength, stress and risk of mental ill-health as measured by the SSF. The credibility of these cut-offs was evaluated by comparing the cut-offs with SSF scores collected from the other 447 parents. Finally, SSF scores from parents of children without developmental disabilities (n = 373) were used to generate percentile values for the SSF to enable a standardized interpretation of SSF scores. To increase the utility of the SSF, we examined a recurring pattern of missing answers to items 23 and 33-38, noted in previous studies of the SSF and repeated in the present study. These items were excluded from further analysis since our examination revealed that they were not missing at random but rather constituted real differences in parental experiences, such as receiving a healthcare allowance, or caring for more than one child. The proposed empirical cut-offs performed well in discriminating between the two groups and yielded a specificity of 77-89% and a sensitivity of 68-76% for the strength, stress and risk of mental ill-health subscales of the SSF. This study also presents a conversion chart associating each SSF score with a corresponding percentile value. We propose modifications to the SSF, whereby items 23 and 33-38 are excluded, which will enable a more reliable assessment of parental experiences. This will, together with the empirical cut-offs and percentile values, enhance the interpretability and clinical utility of the SSF.

Asking parents about babbling at 10 months produced valid answers but did not predict language screening result 2 years later.

AIM: We evaluated the concurrent and predictive validity of questions to parents of 10-month-old children about babbling. METHODS: Children with at least one native Swedish-speaking parent were eligible for inclusion in this prospective longitudinal study. The parents were asked three questions about babbling at a routine healthcare visit. If parents reported a lack of canonical babbling (CB), children were assessed by a speech and language pathologist to evaluate the questions' concurrent validity. We then examined whether the babbling questions predicted which children would fail the routine language screening at 2.5/3 years. RESULTS: Fifteen of the 1126 children lacked CB according to the parent responses and the expert assessment confirmed 12 of these cases, providing a concurrent validity of 80%. The sensitivity to predict routine language screening was 8% (95% confidence interval 3-17), and the positive predictive value was 40% (95% confidence interval 20%-65%). However, only six of the children lacking CB at 10 months were among the 71 children who failed later language screening. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the babbling questions could be included in the 10-month surveillance at the child health services as valid measures of babbling development, but they cannot predict language screening result at 2.5/3 years.

A gentle reminder that mean does not imply modal behavior: Few are in-group biased in minimal groups.

Previous research reports that people organized into newly formed, arbitrary groups (i.e., minimal groups) are on average in-group biased. However, that people on average behave in a certain way does not imply that most people behave that way. Here, I report four studies (n = 224) demonstrating in-group biased average behaviors driven by a minority of about 30% participants. Further, only 14% reported allocating resources in a group-biased manner because they "favored the in-group." I investigate and discuss how methodological issues related to non-normally distributed data, not taking participants' intentions into account, and using fixed response matrices can lead to overestimations of how widespread in-group bias is in minimal groups.

When Perception Trumps Reality.

Is semantic priming driven by the objective or perceived meaning of the priming stimulus? This question is relevant given that many studies suggest that the objective meaning of invisible stimuli can influence cognitive processes and behavior. In an experiment involving 66 participants, we tested how the perceived meaning of misperceived stimuli influenced response times. Stroop priming (i.e., longer response times for incongruent than for congruent prime-target pairs) was observed in trials in which the prime was correctly identified. However, reversed Stroop priming was observed when the prime stimulus was incorrectly identified. Even in trials in which participants reported no perception of the prime and identified the primes at close to chance level (i.e., trials that meet both subjective and objective definitions of being subliminal), Stroop priming corresponded to perceived congruency, not objective congruency. This result suggests that occasional weak percepts and mispercepts are intermixed with no percepts in conditions traditionally claimed to be subliminal, casting doubt on claims of subliminal priming made in previous reports.

Subliminal or not? Comparing null-hypothesis and Bayesian methods for testing subliminal priming.

A difficulty for reports of subliminal priming is demonstrating that participants who actually perceived the prime are not driving the priming effects. There are two conventional methods for testing this. One is to test whether a direct measure of stimulus perception is not significantly above chance on a group level. The other is to use regression to test if an indirect measure of stimulus processing is significantly above zero when the direct measure is at chance. Here we simulated samples in which we assumed that only participants who perceived the primes were primed by it. Conventional analyses applied to these samples had a very large error rate of falsely supporting subliminal priming. Calculating a Bayes factor for the samples very seldom falsely supported subliminal priming. We conclude that conventional tests are not reliable diagnostics of subliminal priming. Instead, we recommend that experimenters calculate a Bayes factor when investigating subliminal priming.

Asymmetric transfer of sound localization learning between indistinguishable interaural cues.

Learning in perceptual tasks is typically highly specific to the trained stimulus parameters. However, can learning be specific to a stimulus parameter that is perceptually indistinguishable from another? We assessed this question using a perceived sound location task in which the perceived sound location was created through either an interaural time difference (ITD) cue or an interaural level difference (ILD) cue. We used the same transient, broadband sound (clicks) for both cues, and after training on one of the cues, listeners switched cue mid-session. This allowed us to assess cue specificity or transfer when the subjectively unnoticed cue switch occurred. One group of listeners improved their ITD performance as a function of training, but deteriorated in performance when switching to ILD in mid training session. Another group of listeners started with ILD training; their improved performance level did not deteriorate as they switched to the ITD cue. This transfer asymmetry was not hypothesized, and we therefore extended our study with a second data collection. Both the training effect and the transfer asymmetry remained after the second data collection. Our results indicate (a) listeners can improve both their ITD and ILD performance for click sounds, extending previous findings on tones; (b) learning can be specific to a stimulus parameter that is indistinguishable from another, as ITD learning did not transfer to ILD performance; but (c) ILD learning can transfer to ITD performance. This transfer asymmetry may have occurred because of how ITD and ILD are coded in early brainstem areas.

FreDESS: a clinical tool for perceptual evaluation of stuttering.

AIM: Stuttering is a communication disorder that involves both manifest speech disfluencies and associated symptoms. The purpose of the present study was to introduce an easily administered and ecologically valid assessment tool designed for perceptual evaluation of stuttered speech, FreDESS (frequency of stuttering events, duration of events, effort, secondary behaviours, and severity). More specifically, we wanted to study its reliability and validity. METHOD: Video recordings of conversations with 38 people who stutter (PWS), 19 females and 19 males aged 13-25, were assessed by three speech language pathologists (SLP). Inter- and intrajudge reliability was estimated with intraclass correlation, standard error of measurement, and agreement between listeners. Internal consistency for the FreDESS parameters was estimated with Cronbach's alpha (α). To test the validity of FreDESS, the relationships between the average estimated parameters of frequency, duration, secondary behaviours, and severity of FreDESS and the Stuttering Severity Instrument (SSI-3), were analysed using intraclass correlation. RESULTS: The interjudge reliability was good, especially for the frequency, duration, and severity parameters (90 per cent + agreement given 1 scale point difference). All parameters of the FreDESS had strong intrajudge reliability (ICC = 0.86-0.94) and the overall internal consistency was high (α = 0.98). The average ratings on the two assessment scales were in line with each other (r = 0.90-0.96), indicating high concurrent validity. CONCLUSION: The FreDESS scale for the assessment of stuttered speech may be a valuable tool in clinical and research contexts. It is a valid and more time-efficient assessment instrument than the more commonly used SSI.

Gender-Affirming Voice Training for Trans Women: Acoustic Outcomes and Their Associations With Listener Perceptions Related to Gender.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate acoustic outcomes of gender-affirming voice training for trans women wanting to develop a female sounding voice and to describe what happens acoustically when male sounding voices become more female sounding. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective treatment study with repeated measures. METHODS: N = 74 trans women completed a voice training program of 8-12 sessions and had their voices audio recorded twice before and twice after training. Reference data were obtained from N = 40 cisgender speakers. Fundamental frequency (fo), formant frequencies (F1-F4), sound pressure level (Leq), and level difference between first and second harmonic (L1-L2) were extracted from a reading passage and spontaneous speech. N = 79 naive listeners provided gender-related ratings of participants' audio recordings. A linear mixed-effects model was used to estimate average training effects. Individual level analyses determined how changes in acoustic data were related to listeners' ratings. RESULTS: Group data showed substantial training effects on fo (average, minimum, and maximum) and formant frequencies. Individual data demonstrated that many participants also increased Leq and some increased L1-L2. Measures that most strongly predicted listener ratings of a female sounding voice were: fo, average formant frequency, and Leq. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest prospective study reporting on acoustic outcomes of gender-affirming voice training for trans women. We confirm findings from previous smaller scale studies by demonstrating that listener perceptions of male and female sounding voices are related to acoustic voice features, and that voice training for trans women wanting to sound female is associated with desirable acoustic changes, indicating training effectiveness. Although acoustic measures can be a valuable indicator of training effectiveness, particularly from the perspective of clinicians and researchers, we contend that a combination of outcome measures, including client perspectives, are needed to provide comprehensive evaluation of gender-affirming voice training that is relevant for all stakeholders.

Effect of vertical, horizontal, and combined plyometric training on jump, sprint and change of direction performance in male soccer players.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of vertical (VPT), horizontal (HPT) and combined vertical and horizontal (V+HPT) plyometric training on sprint, jump and change of direction (COD) performance in adult male soccer players. METHOD: Participants were randomly allocated into VPT (n = 8), HPT (n = 8) and V+HPT (n = 8) groups which undertook eight weeks of PT, executing 100 foot contacts per session, twice weekly. RESULTS: Though demonstrably effective, no specific one of the three applied programmes enhanced performance to a greater extent than another with only the 40 m sprint for the HPT group (mean difference = 0.07 s [HPT] vs. 0.04 s [VPT] and 0.04 s [V+HPT]) and the vertical jump for the V+HPT group (mean difference = 4.5 cm [V+HPT] vs. 4.0 cm [VPT] and 3.25 cm [HPT]) appearing to deviate from a uniform pattern of group level adaptation across the performance tests. CONCLUSION: A total volume of 100 foot contacts per session, twice per week for eight weeks was sufficient to achieve the observed changes. Though jump and changing direction performance were enhanced, linear sprint performance was largely unchanged and so a more complete and intense programme may have been warranted. No method was superior to another in eliciting changes across these tests and a directionally-specific pattern of adaptation was not apparent.

Gender-Affirming Voice Training for Trans Women: Effectiveness of Training on Patient-Reported Outcomes and Listener Perceptions of Voice.

PURPOSE: Although speech-language pathologists have provided gender-affirming voice training for trans women since the 1970s, evidence for this training's effectiveness remains weak. Our study aimed to redress limitations of earlier studies and evaluate voice training effects on outcomes important to trans women. METHOD: Seventy-four trans women (19-54 years old) who wanted a more female-sounding voice were recruited through two health facilities and provided with an eight- to 12-session voice training program based on contemporary literature, usual clinical practice, and client-centered care principles. Self-reported outcomes and an audio-recorded reading sample were collected 3 months before, immediately before and after, and 3 months after training. Forty cisgender speakers were audio-recorded reading the same sample material as comparison voices. Seventy-nine naive listeners made gender-related voice ratings of an extract from these audio recordings. Training effectiveness was evaluated using group-level analyses (linear mixed-effects models) and individual-level analyses to establish what proportion of participants improved to a predetermined relevant degree. RESULTS: Group-level analyses demonstrated positive training effects, maintained 3 months posttraining, for trans women's vocal satisfaction, perceptions of voice-related social participation, and self- and listener perceptions of their voices. Individual-level analyses also demonstrated positive effects. Two thirds of trans women increased vocal satisfaction to a relevant degree, one third who reported restricted social participation before training reduced this restriction to a relevant degree, and all were rated more female-sounding after training (although not all to a relevant degree). CONCLUSIONS: All trans women participants made progress toward their voice goals and maintained those gains at follow-up. These findings provide evidence that gender-affirming speech-language pathology services warrant prioritization. Further research is warranted to investigate factors predicting outcomes of voice training for trans women.

High negative valence does not protect emotional event-related potentials from spatial inattention and perceptual load.

Previous research suggests that intense, emotional pictures at fixation elicit an early posterior negativity (EPN) and a late positive potential (LPP) despite manipulations of spatial inattention and perceptual load. However, if high emotional intensity protects against such manipulations, then these manipulations should reduce emotional effects on EPN and LPP more strongly for medium than for intense emotional pictures. To test this prediction, pictures that were high negative, medium negative, or neutral were shown at fixation, and a small letter string was superimposed on the picture center. When participants attended the pictures, there were clear emotional effects on EPN and LPP. When participants attended the letter string, the emotional effects on LPP decreased; this decrease was smaller for medium than for high negative pictures. Thus, opposite of predictions, spatial inattention reduced the emotional effects more strongly for high than for medium negative pictures. As a manipulation of perceptual load, participants performed the letter task with one, three, or six relevant letters. Irrespective of load, EPN and LPP were similar for high and medium negative pictures. Our findings suggest that high negative valence does not protect EPN and LPP more strongly from effects of spatial inattention and perceptual load than does medium negative valence.

On the Benefits of Speech-Language Therapy for Individuals Born With Cleft Palate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Individual Participant Data.

PURPOSE: Cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) is a common birth defect, and after reconstructive surgery, about 50% of children at 5 years of age have speech deviations and are referred to speech-language therapy (SLT). The peer-reviewed evidence for the benefit of SLT has been uncertain. Our objective was to systematically review and meta-analytically summarize the benefit of SLT for individuals born with CLP. METHOD: A systematic search was conducted (last search on February 19, 2021) on studies evaluating SLT with pre and post measures on speech production, language ability, intelligibility, and/or patient-reported outcomes. We sought individual participant data (IPD) and evaluated on an individual level if the outcome measure had improved to a clinically relevant degree during SLT and if the outcome measure was on a level with peers or not after SLT. Meta-analyses and meta-regressions were applied to synthesize IPD across studies. RESULTS: Thirty-four eligible studies were found. Nineteen studies provided IPD (n = 343) for the main analysis on speech production. The synthesized information suggests that, during SLT, speech production improved to a clinically relevant degree for many individuals (95% CI [61%, 87%]) and that speech production was on a level with peers for some individuals after SLT (95% CI [10%, 34%]). CONCLUSIONS: The main strength of this meta-analysis is that we evaluated on an individual level pre- and post-intervention data based on considerations of clinical relevance. This approach allowed us to conclude that many individuals benefit from SLT and that further work on evaluating SLT in this patient group is meaningful. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.17700992.

Infection and speech: Disfluency and other speech symptoms in Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: In the early 20th century a link between infection and speech disfluency was discussed. Recent reports indicate that PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome), and PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) may be associated with a high incidence of speech disfluency. The present study specifically investigates disfluency and other speech symptoms following onset of PANS and PANDAS. Prevalence of previously reported speech related symptoms vocal tics, selective mutism and "baby talk" is included. The present study also aims to explore possible changes in articulation and intelligibility, distress due to speech impairment, and effect of PANS or PANDAS medication on speech symptoms. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed to caregivers of children with diagnosed or suspected PANS or PANDAS. In total 55 individuals in Sweden were included. RESULTS: Onset of speech disfluency in association with PANS or PANDAS was reported by 54.5% of the caregivers. Most frequent disfluency symptoms were higher speech rate, superfluous verbal behavior, verbal blocks and associated motor symptoms. Previous findings of vocal tics, baby talk and mutistic behavior are supported. The present study also exposed previously unreported symptoms such as impaired articulation, reduced intelligibility, reduced speech production and language impairment. Eleven caregivers reported that medical treatment had a positive effect on speech fluency. CONCLUSIONS: A connection between PANS and PANDAS and speech disfluency is supported, and a possible link between infection and disfluency is reactualized. Reported disfluency shares several characteristics with stuttering and cluttering, but the caregivers did not consistently associate it with stuttering. The present study also sheds new light on how symptoms of "baby talk", selective mutism and vocal tics might be viewed in this population. In all, the results indicate a substantial impact on speech fluency, speech and language in affected children, reducing quality of life.

A Cross-Sectional Investigation of the Impact of Stuttering on Swedish Females and Males in Childhood, Adolescence, and Young Adulthood.

PURPOSE: We aimed to cross-sectionally describe the impact of stuttering on persons who stutter (PWS): children, adolescents, and young adults. Based on previous research on PWS and psychosocial health in the general population, we hypothesized that (a) the adverse impact of stuttering in PWS would be larger among adolescents than children and young adults and that (b) females, especially adolescent females, would report being more adversely impacted by their stuttering than males. METHOD: We pooled samples of Swedish PWS, obtaining 162 individuals (75 females and 87 males), aged 7-30 years. We measured the impact of stuttering using age-relevant versions of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES). The relationship between OASES score, age, and sex was described using a polynomial model with an interaction term between age and sex to allow for potential differences between females and males' age-related curves. RESULTS: The average trends were that (a) the impact of stuttering was greater for the adolescents than for the children and young adults, and (b) females, especially adolescent females, were on average more impacted by their stuttering than males. Taking self-reported speech fluency into account did not change this pattern. CONCLUSIONS: In line with findings on psychosocial health, communication attitude, and self-esteem in the general population, the impact of stuttering seems to be particularly adverse among adolescents, especially female adolescents. Thus, clinicians need to be aware of the risk that young girls who stutter may develop a negative attitude to speech and communication, and this should also be communicated to caregivers and teachers. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21554877.

A preliminary validation of a dynamic speech motor assessment for Swedish-speaking children with childhood apraxia of speech.

OBJECTIVE: Children with speech sound disorders (SSDs) have difficulties affecting different levels of speech production. For treatment to be beneficial, it is important to differentiate between Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) - a motor speech disorder with deficits in speech praxis - and other SSDs (nonCAS-SSD). We have previously developed a motor speech examination Dynamisk motorisk talbedömning (DYMTA). We aimed to evaluate DYMTAs reliability and validity in a small-scale sample to estimate DYMTAs usability in diagnostic settings. METHODS: Speech, language, and oral motor abilities were assessed in 45 children between 40 and 106 months. Intra- and inter-rater reliability of DYMTA were analyzed. Further, DYMTAs ability to validly discriminate between children with CAS and nonCAS-SSD was assessed. RESULTS: The intra-rater reliability for the scores of DYMTA was strong, with ICCs ranging from 0.97 to 1.0. DYMTA total score had strong inter-rater reliability as evidenced both by the agreement estimates (DYMTA-A: 0.91 and DYMTA-B: 0.87) and the ICCs (0.97 and 0.96). Inter-rater reliability was also strong for the separate subscores on agreement estimates and for all subscores on ICCs, except for the Prosody subscores. DYMTA accurately discriminated between children with CAS and nonCAS-SSD in this small sample with an AUC of 0.92 for DYMTA-A and 0.94 for DYMTA-B. CONCLUSIONS: With its focus on speech movements, DYMTA could serve as a valuable addition to other tests when assessing children's speech motor performance. This first examination suggests that DYMTA may be both a reliable and valid tool in the diagnostic process of SSD.

Children and adolescents with speech sound disorders are more likely to have orofacial dysfunction and malocclusion.

BACKGROUND: Children with speech sound disorders (SSD) form a heterogeneous group that differs in terms of underlying cause and severity of speech difficulties. Orofacial dysfunction and malocclusions have been reported in children with SSD. However, the association is not fully explored. OBJECTIVES: Our aims were to describe differences in orofacial function and malocclusion between a group of children and adolescents with compared to without SSD and to explore associations between those parameters among the group with SSD. METHODS: A total of 105 participants were included, 61 children with SSD (6.0-16.7 years, mean age 8.5 ± 2.8, 14 girls and 47 boys) and 44 children with typical speech development (TSD) (6.0-12.2 years, mean age 8.8 ± 1.6, 19 girls and 25 boys). Assessments of orofacial function included an orofacial screening test and assessment of bite force, jaw stability, chewing efficiency, and intraoral sensory-motor function. Possible malocclusions were also assessed. RESULT: Children with SSD had both poorer orofacial function and a greater prevalence of malocclusion than children with TSD. Furthermore, children with SSD and poorer orofacial function had a greater risk of malocclusion. CONCLUSION: Our result suggests that children with SSD are more prone to having poorer orofacial function and malocclusion than children with TSD. This illustrates the importance of assessing coexisting orofacial characteristics in children with SSD, especially since orofacial dysfunction may be linked to an increased risk of malocclusion. This result highlights the need for a multiprofessional approach.

Larger reported impact of stuttering in teenage females, compared to males - A comparison of teenagers' result on Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES).

PURPOSE: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the impact and experience of stuttering, and attitude to communication for female and male teenagers who stutter (TWS) in comparison with teenagers with no stutter (TWNS). METHODS: The Swedish version of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES-T-S), was administered to 56 TWS, 13-17 years old (26 females, 30 males). An adapted version of OASES, Attitude to Speech and Communication (ASC), was administered to 233 TWNS. The impact scores were analyzed in relation to sex in TWS and TWNS. RESULTS: Female TWS reported that stuttering had a greater impact on their life than it did on male TWS (on average 0.5 higher impact scores; Hedges' g = 0.87). The differences did not seem to be caused by differences in severity of overt stuttering symptoms. Female and male TWS particularly differed on items related to difficulties in day-to-day communication and affective/behavioral reactions to stuttering. Such sex differences were not as pronounced among TWNS, suggesting that teenage women may be more vulnerable to the negative impact of stuttering than men the same age. CONCLUSION: Female teenagers report more negative experiences and a greater tendency to use avoidance strategies than male teenagers.

Organosolv lignin hydrophobic micro- and nanoparticles as a low-carbon footprint biodegradable flotation collector in mineral flotation.

Flotation is a key step during mineral separation. Xanthates are the most commonly used collectors for recovering Cu, Ni, and Zn from sulphide ores. However, xanthates are fossil-based and toxic for the environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of lignin nanoparticles and microparticles as sustainable and environmentally friendly collectors. Lignin particles demonstrated good selectivity toward Cu (chalcopyrite), with total recoveries exceeding 80% and grades of up to 8.6% w/w from a Cu-Ni ore in rougher flotation tests. When floating Zn-Pb-Cu ore, lignin nanoparticles could reduce the use of xanthates by 50%. Moreover, they outperformed xanthates alone, achieving total recoveries of up to 91%, 85%, and 98% for Cu, Pb, and Zn, respectively. These results prove the potential of lignin as a flotation collector.

Reversed Priming Effects May Be Driven by Misperception Rather than Subliminal Processing.

A new paradigm for investigating whether a cognitive process is independent of perception was recently suggested. In the paradigm, primes are shown at an intermediate signal strength that leads to trial-to-trial and inter-individual variability in prime perception. Here, I used this paradigm and an objective measure of perception to assess the influence of prime identification responses on Stroop priming. I found that sensory states producing correct and incorrect prime identification responses were also associated with qualitatively different priming effects. Incorrect prime identification responses were associated with reversed priming effects but in contrast to previous studies, I interpret this to result from the (mis-)perception of primes rather than from a subliminal process. Furthermore, the intermediate signal strength also produced inter-individual variability in prime perception that strongly influenced priming effects: only participants who on average perceived the primes were Stroop primed. I discuss how this new paradigm, with a wide range of d' values, is more appropriate when regression analysis on inter-individual identification performance is used to investigate perception-dependent processing. The results of this study, in line with previous results, suggest that drawing conclusions about subliminal processes based on data averaged over individuals may be unwarranted.

Processing of unattended, simple negative pictures resists perceptual load.

As researchers debate whether emotional pictures can be processed irrespective of spatial attention and perceptual load, negative and neutral pictures of simple figure-ground composition were shown at fixation and were surrounded by one, two, or three letters. When participants performed a picture discrimination task, there was evidence for motivated attention; that is, an early posterior negativity (EPN) and late positive potential (LPP) to negative versus neutral pictures. When participants performed a letter discrimination task, the EPN was unaffected whereas the LPP was reduced. Although performance decreased substantially with the number of letters (one to three), the LPP did not decrease further. Therefore, attention to simple, negative pictures at fixation seems to resist manipulations of perceptual load.