Alcoholism risk and the P300 event-related brain potential: modality, task, and gender effects

The P300 event related potential (ERP) was elicited from young adults at low- (LR) and high-risk (HR) for alcoholism (n = 24/risk group), with equal numbers of male and female subjects employed. The effects of stimulus modality, task difficulty, and gender were assessed with analogous auditory and visual paradigms (tone location/head rotation and tone matching/shape matching). Although task performance was generally comparable across risk groups, LR subjects produced smaller P300 amplitudes than HR subjects for the visual matching tasks. No consistent risk group P300 latency effects were obtained. Gender, task difficulty, and scalp topography differentially modulated the risk group outcomes across paradigms. These findings suggest that P300 amplitude reflects risk-for-alcoholism in male and female young adults, but the specific task conditions and electrode location affect the strength of risk group differences.     

Verbs,time, and modality

In the first part of this paper it is argued that Vendler's classification of verbs into aspectual categories, called activities, accomplishments, achievements, and states, is better seen as classifying the meanings of sentences, and a recursive scheme for describing the aspectual character of sentences is presented. In the second part, this scheme is applied to the discussion of the epistemic and deontic meanings of the modal verbs must, will, and may. In particular, the relation between the “future” and “nonfuture” senses of epistemic will is examined.     

Visual discrimination thresholds for time to arrival

In a seminal article, Todd (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 7:795-810, 1981) reported a difference threshold of about 50 ms to discriminate the times of arrival of two differently sized objects that simultaneously approached head-on at constant but different velocities. Subsequent investigators, however, have often found much higher thresholds. We did one complete replication of Todd’s experiment, and then modified his stimuli and experimental regime, which we hypothesized may have been responsible for some of the discrepancies reported in the literature. Unlike Todd and most other researchers, we exclusively used untrained observers. Several of our participants performed almost as well as the trained observers used by Todd and others, but the performance of most of our participants fell short of this standard. Furthermore, thresholds were affected by the experimental regimes, with large differences between objects’ sizes and speeds compromising performance. Analyses of the response patterns revealed that the responses were driven mainly by the objects’ relative apparent sizes.     

Students' perceived closeness to professors: The effects of school,professor gender,and student gender

The present study is a replication and expansion of F. J. Crosby and L. M. Reinardy's 1993 study, which found that female college students felt closer to female professors than to male professors. While the original study was conducted at a women's college, the present study includes students at a women's college, a coed college that was previously a women's college, a coed college that was previously a men's college, and a large university. Seventy-four percent of students were Caucasian, 7% Asian, 5.5% African American, 3% Latino/Latina, 0.5% Native American, 5.5% Mixed Race, and 4% Other. Feelings of closeness were examined as a function of institution, professor gender, and student gender. It was again found that students at the women's college felt closer to female professors than to male professors. This affinity for female professors held true for both male and female students at the other three institutions. Additionally, students at the previously women's college felt closer to their professors than did students at either the university or the previously men's college. The importance of female professors in higher education are considered.     

Spectral information for detection of acoustic time to arrival

The exponential increase of intensity for an approaching sound source provides salient information for a listener to make judgments of time to arrival (TTA). Specifically, a listener will experience a greater rate of increasing intensity for higher than for lower frequencies during a sound source’s approach. To examine the relative importance of this spectral information, listeners were asked to make judgments about the arrival times of nine 1-octave-band sound sources (the bands were consecutive, nonoverlapping single octaves, ranging from 40–80 Hz to ~10–20 kHz). As is typical in TTA tasks, listeners tended to underestimate the arrival time of the approaching sound source. In naturally occurring and independently manipulated amplification curves, bands with center frequencies between 120 and 250 Hz caused the least underestimation, and bands with center frequencies between 2000 and 7500 Hz caused the most underestimation. This spectral influence appears to be related to the greater perceived urgency of higher-frequency sounds.     

Spatial factors in visual attention: some compensatory effects of location and time of arrival of nontargets

It is well established that the identity of nontarget events may affect reaction to a target event, but that spatial separation between the two will reduce such an influence. Two experiments are reported in which an attempt was made to distinguish between two accounts of this effect. On one, some of the information about events spatially distant from the target is shut out from analysis altogether. On the other, such events are fully analysed, but either the analysis proceeds more slowly or else it starts only after a delay. In the experiments the time of arrival of, and the distance between, the target and nontarget events were systematically varied. The conventional effects of the distance of nontargets from target were greatly reduced when the target and nontarget events were asynchronous. If the nontargets arrived first, they had an effect on reaction to the target whether they were near to or far from it. If they arrived second, their identity had no effect at either separation. These results appear to rule out any simple view of attention according to which information outside the target region is denied analysis. Rather, distant nontarget events are analysed, but produce their effects at a later time than less peripheral events.     

Accuracy of judging others’ traits and states: Comparing mean levels across tests

Tests of accuracy in interpersonal perception take many forms. Often, such tests use designs and scoring methods that produce overall accuracy levels that cannot be directly compared across tests. Therefore, progress in understanding accuracy levels has been hampered. The present article employed several techniques for achieving score equivalency. Mean accuracy was converted to a common metric, pi [Rosenthal, R., & Rubin, D. B. (1989). Effect size estimation for one-sample multiple-choice-type data: Design, analysis, and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 332–337] in a database of 109 published results representing tests that varied in terms of scoring method (proportion accuracy versus correlation), content (e.g., personality versus affect), number of response options, item preselection, cue channel (e.g., face versus voice), stimulus duration, and dynamism. Overall, accuracy was midway between guessing level and a perfect score, with accuracy being higher for tests based on preselected than unselected stimuli. When item preselection was held constant, accuracy was equivalent for judging affect and judging personality. However, comparisons must be made with caution due to methodological variations between studies and gaps in the literature.     

Exploring long-term modality effects: Vocalization leads to best retention

Five experiments employing an incidental learning procedure explored the effects of different input modalities on the long-term retention of word lists. In each of the first four experiments, mixed-mode presentations featuring three different modes of presentation were employed. In the baseline presentation mode in each experiment, subjects were to read words silently. In the two additional presentation modes, subjects were to vocalize or read and hear (Experiment 1), read and hear or mouth (Experiment 2), vocalize or write (Experiment 3), and vocalize or write without seeing the written word (Experiment 4). In Experiment 5, separate groups of subjects were presented with pure-mode lists that they were to read silently, write without seeing, write and see, mouth, hear, read and hear, or vocalize. The principal findings were that auditory presentation procedures led to best memory performance and that, of these, only vocalization was found to consistently enhance retention. These findings are conceptualized within a framework that proposes that both the temporal distinctiveness of auditory information and self-generated cues are employed in the process of retrieval.     

Differences in the justification of choices in moral dilemmas: effects of gender, time pressure and dilemma seriousness

The effects on moral reasoning of gender, time pressure and seriousness of the issue at hand were investigated. In Experiment 1, 72 university students were presented with moral dilemmas and asked what actions the actors involved should take and to justify this. Women were found to be more care-oriented in their reasoning than men, supporting Gilligan's moral judgment model. Both time pressure and consideration of non-serious as opposed to serious moral dilemmas led to an increase in a justice orientation compared with a care orientation in moral judgments. In Experiment 2, a similar task was given to 80 persons of mixed age and profession, and the participants' moral reasoning was coded in terms of its being either duty-orientated (duty, obligations, rights) or consequence-oriented (effects on others). Men were found to be more duty-oriented than women, and time pressure to lead to a greater incidence of duty orientation.     

Children's time of day preference: age, gender and ethnic differences

Comprehensive data for children's time of day preference were collected with school children from 8 through 16 years of age (n = 989) using the Children's Morningness-Eveningness Preferences (CMEP) scale. Strong evidence was found that children's optimal time of day preference shifts toward evening at about 13 years of age. Additionally, gender and ethnic differences in time of day preference were also examined. There was no gender difference, but there was a tendency for ethnic differences among older children. An implication of these findings is that a mismatch between older children's time of day preferences and school start time may have a negative effect on their school performance and this effect could be greater for some ethnic groups than for others.     

On behalf of the consequence argument: time, modality, and the nature of free action

The consequence argument for the incompatibility of free action and determinism has long been under attack, but two important objections have only recently emerged: Warfield’s modal fallacy objection and Campbell’s no past objection. In this paper, I explain the significance of these objections and defend the consequence argument against them. First, I present a novel formulation of the argument that withstands their force. Next, I argue for the one controversial claim on which this formulation relies: the trans-temporality thesis. This thesis implies that an agent acts freely only if there is one time at which she is able to perform an action and a distinct time at which she actually performs it. I then point out that determinism, too, is a thesis about trans-temporal relations. I conclude that it is precisely because my formulation of the consequence argument emphasizes trans-temporality that it prevails against the modal fallacy and no past objections.     

The effects of type of interval,sensory modality,base duration,and psychophysical task on the discrimination of brief time intervals

The present study was designed to investigate the influences of type of psychophysical task (two-alternative forced-choice [2AFC] and reminder tasks), type of interval (filled vs. empty), sensory modality (auditory vs. visual), and base duration (ranging from 100 through 1,000 ms) on performance on duration discrimination. All of these factors were systematically varied in an experiment comprising 192 participants. This approach allowed for obtaining information not only on the general (main) effect of each factor alone, but also on the functional interplay and mutual interactions of some or all of these factors combined. Temporal sensitivity was markedly higher for auditory than for visual intervals, as well as for the reminder relative to the 2AFC task. With regard to base duration, discrimination performance deteriorated with decreasing base durations for intervals below 400 ms, whereas longer intervals were not affected. No indication emerged that overall performance on duration discrimination was influenced by the type of interval, and only two significant interactions were apparent: Base Duration × Type of Interval and Base Duration × Sensory Modality. With filled intervals, the deteriorating effect of base duration was limited to very brief base durations, not exceeding 100 ms, whereas with empty intervals, temporal discriminability was also affected for the 200-ms base duration. Similarly, the performance decrement observed with visual relative to auditory intervals increased with decreasing base durations. These findings suggest that type of task, sensory modality, and base duration represent largely independent sources of variance for performance on duration discrimination that can be accounted for by distinct nontemporal mechanisms.     

Presentation modality and indirect performance information: effects on ratings,reactions, and memory

The authors investigated whether raters integrate indirect (second-hand) information from an employee's co-worker with their direct observations when completing performance evaluations. Performance levels of direct and indirect information and presentation modality (auditory vs. textual) were manipulated (N = 220). Results showed that indirect information was perceived to be of highest utility when the performance levels of the direct and indirect information were consistent. Confidence in performance ratings was lowest when the indirect source delivered negative performance feedback that was contrary to the rater's own positive observations. Indirect information was only reflected in the performance ratings when direct observations were positive. There was a significant 3-way interaction between performance level of the direct information, performance level of the indirect information, and presentation modality on memory for performance incidents.     

Residence time in concurrent foraging with fixed times to prey arrival

Five pigeons were trained in a concurrent foraging procedure in which reinforcers were occasionally available after fixed times in two discriminated patches. In Part 1 of the experiment, the fixed times summed to 10 s, and were individually varied between 1 and 9 s over five conditions, with the probability of a reinforcer being delivered at the fixed times always .5. In Part 2, both fixed times were 5 s, and the probabilities of food delivery were varied over conditions, always summing to 1.0. In Parts 3 and 4, one fixed time was kept constant (Part 3, 3 s; Part 4, 7 s) while the other fixed time was varied from 1 s to 15 s. Median residence times in both patches increased with increases in the food-arrival times in either patch, but increased considerably more strongly in the patch in which the arrival time was increased. However, when arrival times were very different in the two patches, residence time in the longer arrival-time patch often decreased. Patch residence also increased with increasing probability of reinforcement, but again tended to fall when one probability was much larger than the other. A detailed analysis of residence times showed that these comprised two distributions, one around a shorter mode that remained constant with changes in arrival times, and one around a longer mode that monotonically increased with increasing arrival time. The frequency of shorter residence times appeared to be controlled by the probability of, and arrival time of, reinforcers in the alternative patch. The frequency of longer residence times was controlled directly by the arrival time of reinforcers in a patch, but not by the probability of reinforcers in a patch. The environmental variables that control both staying in a patch and exiting from a patch need to be understood in the study both of timing processes and of foraging.     

Integrating speech information across talkers,gender, and sensory modality: Female faces and male voices in the McGurk effect

Studies of the McGurk effect have shown that when discrepant phonetic information is delivered to the auditory and visual modalities, the information is combined into a new percept not originally presented to either modality. In typical experiments, the auditory and visual speech signals are generated by the same talker. The present experiment examined whether a discrepancy in the gender of the talker between the auditory and visual signals would influence the magnitude of the McGurk effect. A male talker’s voice was dubbed onto a videotape containing a female talker’s face, and vice versa. The gender-incongruent videotapes were compared with gender-congruent videotapes, in which a male talker’s voice was dubbed onto a male face and a female talker’s voice was dubbed onto a female face. Even though there was a clear incompatibility in talker characteristics between the auditory and visual signals on the incongruent videotapes, the resulting magnitude of the McGurk effectwas not significantly different for the incongruent as opposed to the congruent videotapes. The results indicate that the mechanism for integrating speech information from the auditory and the visual modalities is not disrupted by a gender incompatibility even when it is perceptually apparent. The findings are compatible with the theoretical notion that information about voice characteristics of the talker is extracted and used to normalize the speech signal at an early stage of phonetic processing, prior to the integration of the auditory and the visual information.     

Integrating speech information across talkers, gender, and sensory modality: female faces and male voices in the McGurk effect.

Studies of the McGurk effect have shown that when discrepant phonetic information is delivered to the auditory and visual modalities, the information is combined into a new percept not originally presented to either modality. In typical experiments, the auditory and visual speech signals are generated by the same talker. The present experiment examined whether a discrepancy in the gender of the talker between the auditory and visual signals would influence the magnitude of the McGurk effect. A male talker's voice was dubbed onto a videotape containing a female talker's face, and vice versa. The gender-incongruent videotapes were compared with gender-congruent videotapes, in which a male talker's voice was dubbed onto a male face and a female talker's voice was dubbed onto a female face. Even though there was a clear incompatibility in talker characteristics between the auditory and visual signals on the incongruent videotapes, the resulting magnitude of the McGurk effect was not significantly different for the incongruent as opposed to the congruent videotapes. The results indicate that the mechanism for integrating speech information from the auditory and the visual modalities is not disrupted by a gender incompatibility even when it is perceptually apparent. The findings are compatible with the theoretical notion that information about voice characteristics of the talker is extracted and used to normalize the speech signal at an early stage of phonetic processing, prior to the integration of the auditory and the visual information.     

Perfectionism and efficiency: Accuracy,response bias,and invested time in proof-reading performance

Investigating problem-solving performance, Ishida, H. (2005). College students’ perfectionism and task-strategy inefficience: Why their efforts go unrewarded? Japanese Journal of Social Psychology, 20, 208–215. Found high levels of perfectionism were associated with lower efficiency. Aiming to replicate and further explore this finding, the present study investigated how two dimensions of perfectionism (high standards, discrepancy between expectations and performance) predicted efficiency in proof-reading performance. N = 96 students completed a proof-reading task involving the detection of spelling, grammar, and format errors. When error-detection performance was subjected to signal detection analysis, high standards correlated positively with the number of incorrectly detected errors (false alarms). Moreover, when task-completion time was taken into account, high standards were negatively correlated with efficiency (accuracy/time). In comparison, discrepancy correlated negatively with the number of correctly detected errors (hits) and positively with a conservative response bias. The findings show that perfectionistic standards are associated with reduced efficiency demonstrating the importance of considering invested time, errors, and response bias when investigating the relationship between perfectionism and performance.