The role of similarity in human associative learning

Representation in development: from a model system to some general processes

The view that filial imprinting might serve as a useful model system for studying the neurobiological basis of memory was inspired, at least in part, by a simple idea: acquired filial preferences reflect the formation of a memory or representation of the imprinting object itself, as opposed to the change in the efficacy of stimulus-response pathways, for example. We provide a synthesis of the evidence that supports this idea; and show that the processes of memory formation observed in filial imprinting find surprisingly close counterparts in other species, including our own.

Negativity and outgroup biases in attitude formation and transfer

In an initial experiment, the behavior of one person had a stronger influence on implicit evaluations of another person from the same group when (a) the attitude was negative rather than positive and (b) the people were outgroup members rather than ingroup members. Explicitly, participants resisted these attitude transfer effects. In a second experiment, negative information formed less negative explicit attitudes when the target was Black than when the target was White, and participants were more vigilant not to transfer that negative attitude to a new Black person. Implicit attitudes, however, transferred to both Black and White targets. Positive information formed stronger positive explicit attitudes when the target was Black than when the target was White, and that evaluation transferred to another Black person both implicitly and explicitly. Even when deliberately resisting outgroup negativity in attitude formation and transfer, people appear unable to avoid it implicitly.