Browsing by Person "Darling, Stephen"

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Adaptive memory: fitness relevant stimuli show a memory advantage in a game of pelmanism
(Psychonomic Society, 2011-08) Wilson, Stuart; Darling, Stephen; Sykes, S.
A pelmanism (matched-pairs) game was used in order to test the hypothesis that survival-relevant stimuli that are likely to have been present during human evolution (e.g. a snake in attack position) enjoy a memory advantage over other survival-relevant (but modern-) stimuli (e.g. a threatening image of a gunman). Survival-relevant stimuli were matched for arousal, and presented in one of two 5x4 grids along with filler items. Participants were asked to match the pairs in the grids by clicking on successive squares to reveal stimuli. Participants made significantly fewer errors when matching evolutionarily relevant- survival stimuli compared to other stimuli. Additionally, on incorrect trials, attempted matches were significantly closer to the location of evolutionarily relevant targets than for other stimuli. Results suggest that objects which likely posed a consistent threat throughout human evolutionary history are better remembered than other, equally arousing and survival relevant, stimuli.
Adult developmental trajectories of pseudoneglect in the tactile, visual and auditory modalities and the influence of starting position and stimulus length
(Elsevier, 2016-02-04) Brooks, Joanna L.; Darling, Stephen; Malvaso, Catia; Della Sala, Sergio
Pseudoneglect is a tendency to pay more attention to the left side of space, typically demonstrated on tasks like visuo-spatial line bisection, tactile rod bisection and the mental representation of numbers. The developmental trajectory of this bias on these three tasks is not fully understood. In the current study younger participants aged between 18 and 40 years of age and older participants aged between 55 and 90 years conducted three spatial tasks: 1) visuospatial line bisection - participants were asked to bisect visually presented lines of different lengths at the perceived midpoint; 2) touch-driven tactile rod bisection in the absence of vision - participants were asked to feel the length of a wooden rod with their index finger and bisect the rod at the perceived centre; and 3) mental number line bisection in the absence of vision - participants were asked to listen to a pair of numbers and respond with the numerical midpoint between the pair. The results showed that both younger and older participants demonstrated pseudoneglect (leftward biases) in the visual, tactile and mental number line tasks and that the magnitude of pseudoneglect for each group was influenced by physical or mentally represented starting side (start left versus start right) and stimulus length. We provide an exploration of pseudoneglect in younger and older adults in different tasks that vary in the degree to which mental representations are accessed and argue that pseudoneglect is a result of a right hemisphere attentional orienting process that is retained throughout adulthood. Our results indicate that, contrary to some current models of cognitive ageing, asymmetrical patterns of hemispheric activity may occur in older age.
Are police video identifications fair to African-Caribbean suspects?
(2003) Valentine, Tim; Harris, Niobe; Piera, Anna Colom; Darling, Stephen
Analysis of lineups from criminal cases has demonstrated that video technology can produce lineups that are less biased against the suspect than live lineups, and that White suspects are less likely to be identified from a live lineup than suspects of other ethnic origins. The present study assessed the fairness of video lineups of White Europeans and of African-Caribbeans used in actual criminal cases. African-Caribbean and White European participants selected the suspect from each lineup on the basis of the original witness description of the culprit. There was no reliable difference in the fairness of video lineups as a function of the ethnic origin of the lineup members. It is concluded that, within the context of the video system studied, use of video can provide a safeguard against bias against ethnic minorities that may occur in live lineups.
Attachment as a partial mediator of the relationship between emotional abuse and schizotypy
(Elsevier, 2015-12-30) Goodall, Karen; Rush, Robert; Grunwald, Lisa; Darling, Stephen; Tiliopoulos, Niko
Developmental theories highlight the salience of attachment theory in explaining vulnerability towards psychosis. At the same time there is increasing recognition that psychosis is associated with childhood trauma variables. This study explored the interaction between attachment and several trauma variables in relation to schizotypy levels in a non-clinical sample. 283 non-clinical participants completed online measures of schizotypy, attachment, childhood abuse and neglect. When five types of abuse/neglect were entered into a linear regression analysis emotional abuse was the sole independent predictor of schizotypy. Age, attachment anxiety and avoidance were independent predictors after the effects of emotional abuse were controlled for. The overall model was significant, explaining 34% of the variation in schizotypy. Moderation analysis indicated that the effect of emotional abuse was not conditional upon attachment. Parallel mediation analysis indicated small but significant indirect effects of emotional abuse on schizotypy through attachment avoidance (13%) and attachment anxiety (8%). We conclude that emotional abuse contributes to vulnerability towards psychosis both directly and indirectly through attachment insecurity.
Attachment insecurity and dispositional aggression: The mediating role of maladaptive anger regulation
(Sage, 2018-05-02) Brodie, Zara; Goodall, Karen; Darling, Stephen; McVittie, Chris
Attachment insecurity has been associated with dysfunctional strategies for emotion regulation, leading to inflexible or maladaptive responding. Currently, application of the attachment framework to anger is underspecified. This study presents a preliminary investigation of attachment-related differences in the dispositional regulation of anger and aggressive outcomes. 270 participants completed measures of adult attachment (attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance), anger regulation processes (anger suppression, unregulated anger and anger control) and aggressive outcomes (physical aggression, verbal aggression and hostility). While those high in attachment anxiety have been found to under-regulate other negative emotions, our results postulate that these individuals may implement a suppression strategy when faced with the experience of anger. Mediation models indicate that anger suppression is implicated in the relationship between attachment dimensions and hostility, but not physical aggression. This supports the notion that suppression may be useful in reducing the external expression of anger, but cannot alleviate the associated internal cognitions. These findings suggest that levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance should be considered when identifying techniques to target specific anger regulatory difficulties that contribute to increased aggression. Further, consideration and exploration of the role of security priming is encouraged as a possible mechanism by which to reduce dispositional hostility in those with high levels of attachment insecurity.
Attachment-related differences in dispositional anger and its experience and expression following an insult-based anger induction
(Elsevier, 2022-08-22) Brodie, Zara P.; Goodall, Karen; Darling, Stephen; McVittie, Chris
Variation in how individuals experience and express anger has been linked to their attachment style, particularly in close interpersonal contexts. However, little research has investigated attachment-related differences in anger and aggression in non-attachment-based settings. This multi-method investigation reports two studies. The first investigated associations between anger and adult attachment dimensions in 270 participants. The second describes a lab-based anger provocation task which examined associations between attachment and pre-post-test change in self-reported anger, physiological responses, anger suppression and aggressive responding (N = 77). Results from study 1 indicate that attachment anxiety was a significant independent predictor of trait anger, while attachment avoidance was not. There were no significant interaction effects, suggesting distinct effects of attachment dimensions on anger. In study 2, attachment avoidance was negatively related to anger change scores from baseline to post-provocation and positively to anger suppression. Attachment anxiety was positively associated with aggressive responding. These findings support the high arousal-low control style previously associated with attachment anxiety, evidenced by elevated trait anger and aggressive responding. They also align with previous studies that support an association between attachment avoidance and emotion suppression, suggesting that the attachment framework can be usefully extended to understand anger and aggression in non-attachment-based contexts.
Augmented reality and visuospatial bootstrapping for second-language vocabulary recall
(Taylor & Francis, 2020-08-26) Larchen Costuchen, Alexia; Darling, Stephen; Uytman, Clare
This paper examines second-language vocabulary memorisation using two technology-driven flashcard-based vocabulary learning tools. The use of augmented reality (AR) under visuospatial bootstrapping (VSB), a novel approach developed from work on the cognitive psychology of working memory, was contrasted with an application, Quizlet. Both were implemented using mobile devices. Quizlet has been extensively used in foreign-language teaching and learning practice. The experimental AR-VSB technique offered superior vocabulary learning compared with the Quizlet method in delayed post-tests, although statistical data indicate a somewhat higher forgetting rate after a week in the AR-VSB method. Even so, the experimental technique still offers superior retention compared with the method used in the control group and could be used as an effective initial input method for acquiring vocabulary items in second-language learning. These results imply communication between cognitive systems involved in storing short-term memory for verbal and visual information alongside connections to and from knowledge held in long-term memory when the target information is shown in a familiar array, which are deployed during the AR task and which support enhanced vocabulary learning. The main novel finding in this research has been that the integration of immersive AR experiences into familiar physical space has been seen to improve vocabulary recall test performance among a sample of twenty-first-century university students attempting to learn a second language. The evidence gathered from the experiment can have future practical applications and might contribute to immersive educational technology and innovative material development in second-language instruction.
Behavioural evidence for separating components within visuo-spatial working memory
(Springer, 2007) Darling, Stephen; Della Sala, Sergio; Logie, Robert H.
Several different sources of evidence support the idea that visuo-spatial working memory can be segregated into separate cognitive subsystems. However, the nature of these systems remains unclear. Recently we reported data from neurological patients suggesting that information about visual appearance is retained in a different subsystem from information about spatial location. In this paper we report latency data from neurologically intact participants showing an experimental double dissociation between memory for appearance and memory for location. This was achieved by use of a selective dual task interference technique. This pattern provides evidence supporting the segregation of visuo-spatial memory between two systems, one of which supports memory for stimulus appearance and the other which supports memory for spatial location.
Body image, visual working memory and visual mental imagery
(PeerJ, 2015-02-17) Darling, Stephen; Uytman, Clare; Allen, Richard J.; Havelka, Jelena; Pearson, David G.
Body dissatisfaction (BD) is a highly prevalent feature amongst females in society, with the majority of individuals regarding themselves to be overweight compared to their personal ideal, and very few self-describing as underweight. To date, explanations of this dramatic pattern have centred on extrinsic social and media factors, or intrinsic factors connected to individuals' knowledge and belief structures regarding eating and body shape, with little research examining links between BD and basic cognitive mechanisms. This paper reports a correlational study in which visual and executive cognitive processes that could potentially impact on BD were assessed. Visual memory span and self-rated visual imagery were found to be predictive of BD, alongside a measure of inhibition derived from the Stroop task. In contrast, spatial memory and global precedence were not related to BD. Results are interpreted with reference to the influential multi-component model of working memory.
Categorical proactive interference effects occur for faces
(2010-11) Darling, Stephen; Martin, Douglas; Macrae, C. Neil
Recent research has demonstrated that proactive interference (PI) between the names of familiar individuals in a memory task is category specific, and that subsequent release from proactive interference (RPI) is a useful tool for investigating the underlying categorisation of memory for people. These RPI effects are in line with the influential Interactive Activation and Competition (IAC) model of person recognition, which predicts the existence of such categorical effects. Here we report an experiment precisely replicating the categorical PI and RPI effects found previously for occupational categories, but using faces instead of names as stimuli. The results underscore the use of PI as a tool to investigate semantic categorisation, are compatible with models proposing a single point of access to semantic information about people and provide further evidence for the categorical organisation of person knowledge. 2010 Psychology Press.
Characteristics of eyewitness identification that predict the outcome of real lineups
(2003) Valentine, Tim; Pickering, Alan; Darling, Stephen
Data were analysed from 640 attempts by eyewitnesses to identify the alleged culprit in 314 lineups organised by the Metropolitan Police in London. Characteristics of the witness, the suspect, the witness's opportunity to view the culprit, the crime and the lineup were recorded. Data analysis, using mixed effects multinomial logistic regression, revealed that the suspect was more likely to be identified if the witness is younger than 30, the suspect is a white European (rather than African - Caribbean), the witness gave a detailed description, viewed the culprit for over a minute and made a fast decision at the lineup. None of the explanatory variables were significantly associated with a mistaken identification of a foil. No independent, statistically reliable effects of weapon focus, cross-race identification or of the delay before the identification attempt were observed.
Competitor effects in naming objects and famous faces
(2006) Valentine, Tim; Darling, Stephen
The prior production of an alternative name increases the time taken to name a famous face. For example, naming a picture of the comedy actor ''John Cleese'' by the name of the character he played in the TV series Fawlty Towers (Basil Fawlty)increases the time required to subsequently produce the name ''John Cleese''. This effect has been termed the ''nominal competitor effect''. In contrast prior production of a property associated with a famous person has no effect on naming speed. For example, prior production of the name of the TV series Fawlty Towers does not slow subsequent production of ''John Cleese''. The experiments reported explored analogous effects in object naming. Experiment 1 examined the effects of prior production of an alternative name (e.g., from American English or British English) and a semantic associate on the time taken to name line drawings of objects. It was found that prior production of an alternative name slowed object naming, but prior production of the name of a semantic associate did not. Experiment 2 demonstrated that cueing a specific name (e.g., the British English name) was not a necessary condition for the nominal competitor effect on object naming. Experiment 3 demonstrated that the nominal competitor effect on naming famous faces was also observed under both cued and uncued naming instructions. The data from both object and face naming are interpreted within the terms of current models of speech production.
Dataset for PeerJ article 'Body Image, Visual Working Memory and Visual Mental Imagery.'
(2014) Darling, Stephen; Uytman, Clare; Allen, Richard J.; Havelka, Jelena; Pearson, David G.
Dataset related to article: Darling, S., Uytman, C., Allen, R. J., Havelka, J., & Pearson, D. G. (2015) Body image, visual working memory and visual mental imagery. PeerJ, 3, [e775]. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.775
Dataset for Visuospatial bootstrapping: aging and the facilitation of verbal memory by spatial displays. Archives Of Scientific
(2015) Calia, Clara; Darling, Stephen; Allen, R. J.; Havelka, J.
Dataset related to Calia, Clara and Darling, Stephen and Allen, RJ and Havelka, J (2015) Visuospatial bootstrapping: aging and the facilitation of verbal memory by spatial displays. Archives Of Scientific Psychology. ISSN 2169-3269 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/arc0000019 https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/3750
Dataset for Visuospatial bootstrapping: binding useful visuospatial information during verbal working memory encoding does not require set-shifting executive resources.
(2018) Calia, Clara; Darling, Stephen; Havelka, Jelena; Allen, Richard J.
Dataset related to Calia, Clara and Darling, Stephen and Havelka, Jelena and Allen, Richard J (2018) Visuospatial bootstrapping: binding useful visuospatial information during verbal working memory encoding does not require set-shifting executive resources. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. ISSN 1747-0226 (In Press) https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/5276
Dissociation between appearance and location within visuo-spatial working memory
(2009-03) Darling, Stephen; Sala, Sergio; Logie, Robert H.
Previous research has demonstrated separation between systems supporting memory for appearance and memory for location. However, the interpretation of these results is complicated by a confound occurring because of the simultaneous presentation of objects in multiple-item arrays when assessing memory for appearance and the sequential presentation of items when assessing memory for location. This paper reports an experiment in which sequential or simultaneous modes of presentation were factorially manipulated with memory for visual appearance or memory for location. Spatial interference (tapping) or visual interference (dynamic visual noise) were presented during retention. Appearance versus location interacted with the type of interference task, but mode of presentation did not. These results are consistent with the view that different subsystems within visuo-spatial working memory support memory for appearance and memory for location. 2008 The Experimental Psychology Society.
Do strict rules and moving images increase the reliability of sequential identification procedures?.
(Wiley, 2007) Valentine, Tim; Darling, Stephen; Memon, Amina
Live identification procedures in England and Wales have been replaced by use of video, which provides a sequential presentation of facial images. Sequential presentation of photographs provides some protection to innocent suspects from mistaken identification when used with strict instructions designed to prevent relative judgements (Lindsay, Lea & Fulford, 1991). However, the current procedure in England and Wales is incompatible with these strict instructions. The reported research investigated whether strict instructions would enhance the reliability of identification from video. The effect of using moving rather than still video clips was also investigated. Participants witnessed a live staged incident, and attempted to identify the culprit later from police video lineups, which were run double-blind. Strict instructions produced a significantly lower rate of correct identifications in culprit present lineups, but did not significantly reduce the rate of mistaken identification in culprit absent lineups. Moving images yielded fewer mistaken identifications in culprit absent lineups.
Fly on the right: Lateral preferences when choosing aircraft seats.
(Taylor & Francis, 2017-12-20) Darling, Stephen; Cancemi, Dario; Della Sala, Sergio
A small preference has been observed for people to choose seats on the left of aircraft when booking via an online system. Although this is consistent with pseudoneglect - the known leftward bias in perception and representation - rightward preferences have been commonly observed in seating selection tasks in other environments. Additionally, the previous research in aircraft seating was unable to dissociate a bias to one side of the screen from a bias to one side of the cabin of the aircraft. Here we present a study in which participants were asked to select seats for a range of fictional flights. They demonstrated a preference for seats on the right of the cabin, irrespective of whether the right of the cabin appeared to either the right or the left of the screen, a preference for seats towards the front of the aircraft and a preference to favour window and aisle seats. This suggests, in contrast to previous research, that participants demonstrated a rightward lateral bias to representations of an aircraft. These results may have implications for our understanding of asymmetries in cognition as well as having potentially important practical implications for airlines.
Hanging on the telephone: Maintaining visuospatial bootstrapping over time in working memory
(Springer, 2023-06-06) Allen, Richard J.; Havelka, Jelena; Morey, Candice C.; Darling, Stephen
Visuospatial bootstrapping (VSB) refers to the phenomenon in which performance on a verbal working memory task can be enhanced by presenting the verbal material within a familiar visuospatial configuration. This effect is part of a broader literature concerning how working memory is influenced by use of multimodal codes and contributions from long-term memory. The present study aimed to establish whether the VSB effect extends over a brief (5s) delay period, and to explore the possible mechanisms operating during retention. The VSB effect, as indicated by a verbal recall advantage for digit sequences presented within a familiar visuospatial configuration (modelled on the T-9 keypad) relative to a single location display, was observed across four experiments. The presence and size of this effect changed with the type of concurrent task activity applied during the delay. Articulatory suppression (Experiment 1) increased the visuospatial display advantage, while spatial tapping (Experiment 2) and a visuospatial judgment task (Experiment 3) both removed it. Finally, manipulation of the attentional demands placed by a verbal task also reduced (but did not abolish) this effect (Experiment 4). This pattern of findings demonstrates how provision of familiar visuospatial information at encoding can continue to support verbal working memory over time, with varying demands on modality-specific and general processing resources.
How can psychological science enhance the effectiveness of identification procedures? An international comparison.
(2007) Valentine, Tim; Darling, Stephen; Memon, Amina
The reliability of eyewitness identification has attracted concern from the legal profession in England for at least 100 years. In 1904 a committee of enquiry was established to investigate the trials of Adolf Beck. Incredibly, on two separate occasions Adolf Beck was wrongly convicted on the basis of mistaken eyewitness identification. In both trials, multiple eyewitnesses identified Beck as a confidence trickster who stole jewellery from them. The crimes were subsequently found to have been committed by William Wyatt. The 1904 Committee of enquiry led directly to the establishment of a Court of Appeal.2