In an ERP investigation of biased homonym processing in minimal context, isolated homonym primes (e.g., ruler) preceded targets that were associated with either the dominant (e.g., inch) or subordinate (e.g., king) meaning of the homonym, were unrelated words (e.g., claw), or were nonwords (e.g., smole), presented 250 ms later in a lexical decision paradigm. Both dominant and subordinate associ...

Three types of supervisor-subordinate similarity were identified: (a) perceived similarity, perceptions of how similar the supervisor and subordinate are; (b) perceptual congruence, similarity of perceptions about behaviors important in receiving a high merit pay raise; and (c) actual similarity of individual characteristics. The relation(s) among the types of similarity and of each type with v...

Positive schizotypal traits have been associated with right hemisphere activation. Previous research has indicated that the left and right hemispheres differ in their processing of semantic ambiguity; specifically, given sufficient time, the left hemisphere primes dominant meanings and inhibits subordinate meanings, and the right hemisphere primes both dominant and subordinate meanings. The aut...

In three experiments, adults attempted to learn words with subordinate-level meanings (dalmatian) by sampling the referent world cross-situationally. Xu & Tenenbaum, 2007 predicted that encountering three uses of a word, each referring to a dalmatian would evoke “suspicious coincidence” inferencing, leading to the subordinate meaning (dalmatian). Exp. 1 found little evidence for this; cross-sit...

Fish are sensitive to stressful conditions that affect their innate immune systems and increase their susceptibility to diseases. We examined the social stress of paired gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata). Social hierarchies (dominant/subordinate) were characterised by behavioural changes, such as "aggressiveness" and "feeding order"; hierarchical positions were established within an hour of exp...

Objectives: It is controversial whether a semantic processing bias for strong associates is present in schizophrenia, and unknown whether the language abnormalities observed in schizophrenia can be attributed to dysfunctions early or late in cognitive processing. Combined behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) data can indicate the nature and timing of such abnormalities. Methods: Sensibi...

The classification of a table as round rather than square, a car as a Mazda rather than a Ford, a drill bit as 3/8-inch rather than 1/4-inch, and a face as Tom have all been regarded as a single process termed "subordinate classification." Despite the common label, the considerable heterogeneity of the perceptual processing required to achieve such classifications requires, minimally, a more de...

Social insect societies are outstanding examples of cooperation and conflict. Individuals work together, yet seek to increase their inclusive fitness at each others' expense. One such conflict is over colony inheritance, when a queen inherits the colony following the death of the previous queen. Colony inheritance is common in the social wasp Polistes dominulus, and it can have dramatic fitness...