Speak Up! Mistaken Beliefs About How Much to Talk in Conversations.

We hypothesized that people would exhibit a reticence bias, the incorrect belief that they will be more likable if they speak less than half the time in a conversation with a stranger, as well as halo ignorance, the belief that their speaking time should depend on their goal (e.g., to be liked vs. to be found interesting), when in fact, perceivers form global impressions of each other. In Studies 1 and 2, participants forecasted they should speak less than half the time when trying to be liked, but significantly more when trying to be interesting. In Study 3, we tested the accuracy of these forecasts by randomly assigning participants to speak for 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, or 70% of the time in a dyadic conversation. Contrary to people's forecasts, they were more likable the more they spoke, and their partners formed global rather than differentiated impressions.

Do our hands see what our eyes see? Investigating spatial and haptic abilities.

Spatial abilities (SAs) are cognitive resources used to mentally manipulate representations of objects to solve problems. Haptic abilities (HAs) represent tactile interactions with real-world objects transforming somatic information into mental representations. Both are proposed to be factors in anatomy education, yet relationships between SAs and HAs remain unknown. The objective of the current study was to explore SA-HA interactions. A haptic ability test (HAT) was developed based on the mental rotations test (MRT) with three-dimensional (3D) objects. The HAT was undertaken in three sensory conditions: (1) sighted, (2) sighted with haptics, and (3) haptics. Participants (n = 22; 13 females, 9 males) completed the MRT and were categorized into high spatial abilities (HSAs) (n = 12, mean± standard deviation: 13.7 ± 3.0) and low spatial abilities (LSAs) (n = 10, 5.6 ± 2.0) based on score distributions about the overall mean. Each SA group's HAT scores were compared across the three sensory conditions. Spearman's correlation coefficients between MRT and HAT scores indicated a statistically significant correlation in sighted condition (r = 0.553, p = 0.015) but were not significant in the sighted with haptics (r = 0.0.078, p = 0.212) and haptics (r = 0.043, p = 0.279) conditions. These data suggest HAs appear unrelated to SAs. With haptic exploration, LSA HAT scores were compensated; comparing HSA with LSA: sighted with haptics [median (lower and upper quartiles): 12 (12,13) vs. 12 (11,13), p = 0.254], and haptics [12 (11,13) vs. 12 (10,12), p = 0.381] conditions. Migrations to online anatomy teaching may unwittingly remove important sensory modalities from the learner. Understanding learner behaviors and performance when haptic inputs are removed from the learning environment represents valuable insight informing future anatomy curriculum and resource development.

What is social psychology? The construal principle.

Standard definitions of social psychology, such as "the study of the way in which people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people" (Aronson et al., 2019, p. 3), fail to capture much of what social psychologists actually do and do not capture the basic theoretical foundations of the field. I suggest the field is founded on the construal principle, which holds that to understand and predict human behavior, one must focus on people's proximate (current) construals of themselves and their environment. The construal principle empowers social psychology in three key ways: It (a) accounts for the power of the situation, by acknowledging that construals are highly attuned to social norms; (b) is amenable to study with the experimental method; and (c) provides a unique theoretical framework for how to change human behavior. I discuss the origins and implications of the construal principle and how it distinguishes social psychology from related subdisciplines, including evolutionary social psychology, personality psychology, and social neuroscience. Whereas each subdiscipline is good at accomplishing the tasks it has set for itself, social psychology has unique advantages. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Tips From the Top: Do the Best Performers Really Give the Best Advice?

Everyone knows that if you want to learn how to do something, you should get advice from people who do it well. But is everyone right? In a series of studies (N = 8,693), adult participants played a game after receiving performance advice from previous participants. Although advice from the best-performing advisors was no more beneficial than advice from other advisors, participants believed that it had been-and they believed this despite the fact that they were told nothing about their advisors' performance. Why? The best performers did not give better advice, but they did give more of it, and participants apparently mistook quantity for quality. These studies suggest that performing and advising may often be unrelated skills and that in at least some domains, people may overvalue advice from top performers.

Learning in Stereo: The Relationship Between Spatial Ability and 3D Digital Anatomy Models.

Three-dimensional (3D) digital anatomical models show potential to demonstrate complex anatomical relationships; however, the literature is inconsistent as to whether they are effective in improving the anatomy performance, particularly for students with low spatial visualization ability (Vz). This study investigated the educational effectiveness of a 3D stereoscopic model of the pelvis, and the relationship between learning with 3D models and Vz. It was hypothesized that participants learning with a 3D pelvis model would outperform participants learning with a two-dimensional (2D) visualization or cadaveric specimen on a spatial anatomy test, particularly when comparing those with low Vz. Participants (n = 64) were stratified into three experimental groups, who each attended a learning session with either a 3D stereoscopic model (n = 21), 2D visualization (n = 21), or cadaveric specimen (n = 22) of the pelvis. Medical and pre-medical student participants completed a multiple-choice pre-test and post-test during their respective learning session, and a long-term retention (LTR) test 2 months later. Results showed no difference in anatomy test improvement or LTR performance between the experimental groups. A simple linear regression analysis showed that within the 3D group, participants with high Vz tended to retain more than those with low Vz on the LTR test (R2  = 0.31, P = 0.01). The low Vz participants may be cognitively overloaded by the complex spatial cues from the 3D stereoscopic model. Results of this study should inform resource selection and curriculum design for health professional students, with attention to the impact of Vz on learning.

A trade-off model of intentional thinking for pleasure.

We investigated intentional thinking for pleasure, defined as the deliberate attempt to have pleasant thoughts while disengaged from the external world. We propose a Trade-Off model that explains when and why thinking for pleasure is enjoyable: People focus on personally meaningful thoughts when thinking for pleasure (especially when prompted to do so), which increases their enjoyment, but they find it difficult to concentrate on their thoughts, which decreases their enjoyment. Thus, the net enjoyment of thinking for pleasure is a trade-off between its benefits (personal meaningfulness) and costs (difficulty concentrating). To test the model, we compared intentional thinking for pleasure to four alternate activities in three studies. Thinking for pleasure was more enjoyable than undirected thinking (Study 1) and planning (Study 3), because it was more meaningful than these activities while requiring a similar level of concentration. Thinking for pleasure was just as enjoyable as playing a video game (Study 2) or unprompted idle time activities (Study 3), but for different reasons: It was more meaningful than these activities, but required more concentration. We discuss the implications of these findings for what people might choose to do during idle times. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

What makes thinking for pleasure pleasurable?

When left to their own devices, people could choose to enjoy their own thoughts. But recent work suggests they do not. When given the freedom, people do not spontaneously choose to think for pleasure, and when directed to do so, struggle to concentrate successfully. Moreover, people find it somewhat boring and much less enjoyable than other solitary activities. One reason for this is that people may not know how to think for pleasure. Specifically, they may not know what to think about to make this both a meaningful and pleasant experience. We tested this prediction in two preregistered studies, by providing specific examples of meaningful topics (Study 1) or instructing participants to think "meaningful" thoughts (Study 2). Although providing specific examples of meaningful topics boosted how meaningful and enjoyable people found thinking for pleasure (Study 1), asking people to think "meaningful" thoughts (as compared with pleasurable ones) did not, because some of the meaningful topics people thought about were negative (Study 2). In order for thinking for pleasure to be pleasurable, people need to focus on topics that are both meaningful and positive. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Do conversations end when people want them to?

Do conversations end when people want them to? Surprisingly, behavioral science provides no answer to this fundamental question about the most ubiquitous of all human social activities. In two studies of 932 conversations, we asked conversants to report when they had wanted a conversation to end and to estimate when their partner (who was an intimate in Study 1 and a stranger in Study 2) had wanted it to end. Results showed that conversations almost never ended when both conversants wanted them to and rarely ended when even one conversant wanted them to and that the average discrepancy between desired and actual durations was roughly half the duration of the conversation. Conversants had little idea when their partners wanted to end and underestimated how discrepant their partners' desires were from their own. These studies suggest that ending conversations is a classic "coordination problem" that humans are unable to solve because doing so requires information that they normally keep from each other. As a result, most conversations appear to end when no one wants them to.

Clinical Anatomy and Unexpected Careers: Is There Curriculum for That?

Reduction in faculty positions in higher education and increased graduate matriculation rates represent a higher education conundrum. Planned happenstance theory (PHT) is a career development model focusing on positive outcomes resulting from unpredictable precareer events. This mixed methods study explores how PHT applies to the career paths of a clinical anatomy (CA) postgraduate cohort. It provides insight into educational practices designed to equip students for labor markets inside and outside academia. Alumni of CA (n = 12; 2014-2018) were interviewed about career-related events transpiring from graduate studies to present, allowing exploration on how PHT contextualizes their shared experiences. Planned happenstance career inventory (PHCI) enumerated planned happenstance skill (PHS) scores. Total PHS was referenced 527 times across 12 interviews. Of the PHS references, curiosity established highest incidence (154 references, 29%), optimism (132 references, 25%), flexibility (101 references, 19%), risk-taking (85 references, 16%), and persistence (55 references, 10%) and 43 distinct happenstance events were documented. In addition, social networking (52 references) arose as an emergent code and was divided into internal networking (28 references, 54%) and external networking (24 references, 46%). Application of the five-point PHCI scale revealed: curiosity (4.4 ± 0.3; mean ± SD), flexibility (3.6 ± 0.7), persistence (4.4 ± 0.3), optimism (4.3 ± 0.4), and risk-taking (4.1 ± 0.5). Curiosity had the strongest association with happenstance event incidence. Social networking was a key substituent of PHT not yet described in the literature. Educational practices incorporating PHT concepts, with emphasis on curiosity, may provide graduates novel metacognitive skills needed to develop novel career paths.

"I'll try the veggie burger": Increasing purchases of sustainable foods with information about sustainability and taste.

Food production--especially raising animals for meat--has a massive negative impact on the environment and contributes to global warming. To address this, we investigated whether information about food sustainability would increase purchases of sustainable foods by patrons of university cafés. In Study 1, patrons were randomly assigned either to see a menu that had sustainability labels indicating the degree of environmental impact of each item, or to see a menu without labels. Women who saw the labels were significantly more likely to purchase sustainable foods, whereas men were not influenced by the labels. In Study 2 we targeted one sustainable menu item (a veggie burger) and, in a 2 (sustainability) x 2 (taste) design, varied whether patrons learned that the veggie burger was especially sustainable or especially tasty. Women were significantly more likely to purchase the veggie burger if they learned it was sustainable or tasty, but again, the manipulations had no effect on men. We discuss why women are more likely to change their food choices to eat more sustainably than are men.

Concussion-related deficits in the general population predict impairments in varsity footballers.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the long-term cognitive effects of concussion in 19,261 members of the general population and a cohort of varsity American football players with a history of frequent head impacts, using tests that are known to be sensitive to small changes in performance. METHODS: We asked 19,261 participants to complete a demographic questionnaire and 12 cognitive tests measuring aspects of executive function, including inhibitory control. We compared the performance of those reporting a history of concussion (post-concussion) to those reporting no history of concussion (non-concussed) on the cognitive battery and four non-cognitive variables. We used the results of this population-level study to predict the profile of cognitive performance in varsity American football players, who completed the same cognitive tasks. RESULTS: Post-concussion and non-concussed participants did not differ on 11 of the 12 cognitive tasks employed. However, on a test of inhibitory control based on the classic Stroop paradigm, post-concussion participants showed accuracy-related impairments specific to the incongruent conditions of the task. Post-concussion participants reported higher levels of anxiety, depression, and trouble concentrating. An entirely independent sample of 74 varsity American football players demonstrated the same pattern of impairment: compared to healthy controls, they scored significantly lower on the test of inhibitory control but were indistinguishable from controls on the 11 other tasks. INTERPRETATION: Self-reported concussion is not associated with long-term general effects on cognitive function. Nevertheless, those who report at least one concussion and those who expose themselves to long-term frequent sport-related head impacts do have a modest, but statistically robust, deficit of inhibitory control.

Three-dimensional micro CT derived morphology of the condylus mandibulae in older adults: implications for clinical dentistry / Micro tomografía computarizada tridimensional derivada de la morfología del cóndilo de la mandíbula en adultos mayores: implicaciones para la odontología clínica

Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a multi-etiologic disability, accompanied by a wide range of symptoms, requiring a variety of therapies, with TMJ reconstruction considered the most severe. TMJ surgery is associated with many morbidities and limitations, especially in the elderly. Previous studies have determined the shape and dimensions of the Condylus mandibulae in children and adults, but a range of measurements in the elderly population has yet to be created. This study aims to establish a range of measurements and the morphology of the Condylus mandibulae in an older population using micro CT. 14 cadaveric Condylus mandibulaes (8 male, 6 female; average age, 83±8.6) were scanned with microCT and measured using Amira 4.1.1 modeling software. The anteroposterior length (LAP), mediolateral width (WML) and height (H) of each Condylus mandibulae was measured from 5 equidistant slices in the coronal, sagittal and axial planes. Additionally, each Condylus mandibulae was measured at its greatest anteroposterior length, mediolateral width and height using digital callipers on the cadaveric specimen. This study is the first to accurately describe the morphology of the Condylus mandibulae in an elderly population. The length and width measurements of digital calliper (10.51 ± 0.87; 18.33 ± 2.35) and corresponding micro-CT (11.46 ± 1.60; 17.62 ± 2.05) both showed high consistency and reliability. Our findings lay the foundation for the creation of an off-the-shelf Condylus mandibulae prosthesis or anatomically shaped Condylus mandibulae scaffold for elderly patients.

El trastorno temporomandibular (TTM) es una discapacidad multi-etiológica, acompañada por una amplia gama de síntomas, que requieren una variedad de terapias, entre las cuales la reconstrucción de la articulación temporomandibular (ATM) es considerada una de las terapias más graves. La cirugía de la ATM se asocia con muchas morbilidades y limitaciones, especialmente en adultos mayores. Estudios previos han determinado la forma y las dimensiones del cóndilo de la mandíbula en niños y adultos, no obstante aún no se han identificado estas mediciones en una población de adultos mayores. Este estudio tiene como objetivo establecer un rango de mediciones y la morfología del cóndilo de la mandíbula en una población de adultos mayores mediante microtomografía computarizada (microCT). Se escanearon, con microCT, 14 mandíbulas cadavéricas (8 hombres, 6 mujeres; edad promedio: 83 ± 8,6 años), y se realizaron mediciones utilizando el software de modelado Amira 4.1.1. De cada cóndilo de la mandíbula se midió: longitud anteroposterior (LAP), ancho mediolateral (AML) y altura (A), a partir de 5 cortes equidistantes en los planos coronal, sagital y axial. Además, también se utilizaron calibradores digitales para realizar estas mismas mediciones. Este estudio es el primero en describir con precisión la morfología del cóndilo de la mandíbula en una población de adultos mayores. Las medidas de longitud y anchura del calibrador digital (10,51 ± 0,87; 18,33 ± 2,35) y el micro-CT correspondiente (11,46 ± 1,60; 17,62 ± 2,05) mostraron una alta consistencia y confiabilidad. Nuestros hallazgos sientan las bases para la creación de una prótesis de cóndilo de la mandíbula o un andamio condilar de forma anatómica para pacientes de edad avanzada.

Buccal injection of articaine to anesthetize the palatal mucosa.

Buccal and palatal injections are required for administration of anesthetic agents before maxillary tooth extractions, but palatal injections are painful for patients. Studies suggest that the palatal injection can be eliminated when articaine is delivered as a local anesthetic agent via buccal injection, but the anatomical mechanism for this effectiveness remains unclear. The objective of this study was to explore the potential mechanism by which buccal infiltration results in palatal anesthesia. The study approach included examining cadaveric specimens and investigating the pharmacologic properties of articaine. Twenty-eight formalin-fixed cadaveric hemimaxillae were dissected and sectioned into anterior, premolar, and molar regions. The maxillary sections were measured in 3 planes: inferior, middle, and superior. Buccal cortical plate (BCP), palatal cortical plate (PCP), and total buccopalatal (TBP) thickness were independently evaluated by 2 measurers using standard digital calipers. Statistical analysis of regional maxillary thickness measurements was achieved via 2-way analysis of variance. Measurements of BCP and PCP thickness revealed no statistically significant differences along the maxillae (P > 0.05). Both the BCP and PCP mean values were significantly less than the TBP measurement (P < 0.0001). In all 3 regions, the mean TBP thickness in the superior plane was significantly greater than that of the inferior plane (P < 0.05). The mean TBP thickness was significantly greater in the molar and premolar regions than in the anterior region (P < 0.05). The mean BCP measurements were significantly lesser in the maxillary premolar and molar regions than in the corresponding mandibular regions (P < 0.0001). The pharmacologic properties of articaine, which is capable of diffusing greater distances than other local anesthetics, coupled with the uniformly thin, cancellous maxillary bone, provide a plausible explanation for the success of palatal anesthesia achieved through buccal infiltration of articaine, obviating the need for a palatal injection.

Comparison of Magnetic Resonance Angiography and Computed Tomography Angiography Stereoscopic Cerebral Vascular Models.

In this paper, we will discuss and compare the stereoscopic models developed from two types of radiographic data, Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) images and Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) images. Stereoscopic models were created using surface or volume segmentation and semi-auto combined segmentation techniques. Although, the CTA data were found to improve the speed and quality of constructing virtual vascular models compared to conventional CT data, small blood vessels were difficult to capture during the imaging and reconstruction process thereby limiting the fidelity of the stereoscopic models. Thus, high contrast Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) images offer better resolution to visualize and capture the smaller branches of the cerebral vasculature than CTA images.

Guiding Low Spatial Ability Individuals through Visual Cueing: The Dual Importance of Where and When to Look.

Research suggests that spatial ability may predict success in complex disciplines including anatomy, where mastery requires a firm understanding of the intricate relationships occurring along the course of veins, arteries, and nerves, as they traverse through and around bones, muscles, and organs. Debate exists on the malleability of spatial ability, and some suggest that spatial ability can be enhanced through training. It is hypothesized that spatial ability can be trained in low-performing individuals through visual guidance. To address this, training was completed through a visual guidance protocol. This protocol was based on eye-movement patterns of high-performing individuals, collected via eye-tracking as they completed an Electronic Mental Rotations Test (EMRT). The effects of guidance were evaluated using 33 individuals with low mental rotation ability, in a counterbalanced crossover design. Individuals were placed in one of two treatment groups (late or early guidance) and completed both a guided, and an unguided EMRT. A third group (no guidance/control) completed two unguided EMRTs. All groups demonstrated an increase in EMRT scores on their second test (P < 0.001); however, an interaction was observed between treatment and test iteration (P = 0.024). The effect of guidance on scores was contingent on when the guidance was applied. When guidance was applied early, scores were significantly greater than expected (P = 0.028). These findings suggest that by guiding individuals with low mental rotation ability "where" to look early in training, better search approaches may be adopted, yielding improvements in spatial reasoning scores. It is proposed that visual guidance may be applied in spatial fields, such as STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine), surgery, and anatomy to improve student's interpretation of visual content. Anat Sci Educ. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.

Cross-cultural consistency and relativity in the enjoyment of thinking versus doing.

Which is more enjoyable: trying to think enjoyable thoughts or doing everyday solitary activities? Wilson et al. (2014) found that American participants much preferred solitary everyday activities, such as reading or watching TV, to thinking for pleasure. To see whether this preference generalized outside of the United States, we replicated the study with 2,557 participants from 12 sites in 11 countries. The results were consistent in every country: Participants randomly assigned to do something reported significantly greater enjoyment than did participants randomly assigned to think for pleasure. Although we found systematic differences by country in how much participants enjoyed thinking for pleasure, we used a series of nested structural equation models to show that these differences were fully accounted for by country-level variation in 5 individual differences, 4 of which were positively correlated with thinking for pleasure (need for cognition, openness to experience, meditation experience, and initial positive affect) and 1 of which was negatively correlated (reported phone usage). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Wise interventions: Psychological remedies for social and personal problems.

Long-standing social problems such as poor achievement, personal and intergroup conflict, bad health, and unhappiness can seem like permanent features of the social landscape. We describe an approach to such problems rooted in basic theory and research in social psychology. This approach emphasizes subjective meaning-making-working hypotheses people draw about themselves, other people, and social situations; how deleterious meanings can arise from social and cultural contexts; how interventions to change meanings can help people flourish; and how initial change can become embedded to alter the course of people's lives. We further describe how this approach relates to and complements other prominent approaches to social reform, which emphasize not subjective meaning-making but objective change in situations or in the habits and skills of individuals. In so doing, we provide a comprehensive theoretical review and organization of a psychologically informed approach to social problems, one that encompasses a wide-range of interventions and applies to diverse problem areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).