Visually perceiving distance: a comment on Shebilske, Karmiohl, and Proffitt (1983)

Shebilske, Karmiohl, and Proffitt (1983) interpret their data as showing that (a) the reference tonus level of the extraocular muscles controlling vergence is affected by everyday conditions of close viewing, and (b) this naturally induced phoria affects the visual perception of distance under natural viewing conditions. We note that these interpretations do not fully concur with the data presented--for example, the second conclusion favorably conflates partial results from two separate experiments--and we identify a number of confoundings that reduce the likelihood that the reported inaccuracies in distance judgments were due to variations in efference.     

Handedness and drawing: attempting to complete the picture: a comment on Bruckner, et al. (2011)

In a recent study, Bruckner, Kastner-Koller, Deimann, and Voracek (2011) investigated the relationship between hand preference and drawing during preschool years. The present study offers interpretations in a larger framework which could contribute to the better understanding of that relationship, and provides future directions in this area.     

Psychophysiologic correlates of Type A behavior: Comments on Houston (1983) and Holmes (1983)

On the basis of a literature review, B. K. Houston (1983, Journal of Research in Personality, 17, 22–39) concluded that there is a reliable but relatively weak association between Type A (coronary-prone) behavior and heightened physiologic reactivity. D. S. Holmes (1983, Journal of Research in Personality, 17, 40–47) contends that by failing to take into account dependent measures yielding null results, Houston overestimated the consistency with which A/B differences have been obtained. In the present article, we show that it is critical to take into account the method used to assess Type A behavior. Structured Interview assessments show a more consistent association with reactivity than those based on the Jenkins Activity Survey. We then point out that, for certain physiologic measures, null effects do not necessarily reflect an absence of A/B differences in sympathetic-adrenomedullary activity. Other issues that are discussed include the role of situational parameters in eliciting hyperresponsiveness in Type A's, the problem of evaluating the magnitude and importance of A/B effects, and the need for a more theoretical approach to the study of Type A behavior.     

A signal-to-noise theory of the effects of luminance on picture memory: comment on Loftus

In studies of picture memory, subjects typically view a sequence of pictures. Their memory is tested either after each picture is presented (short-term recall) or at the end of the sequence (long-term recall). The increase in performance as a function of picture viewing time defines "the rate of information acquisition." Loftus (1985) found that reducing the luminance of a picture reduces the rate at which information is acquired (for both short-term and long-term tests) and, for long viewing times, reduces the total amount of recall. The theory proposed here assumes that both of these effects are consequences of intrinsic noise in the visual system that becomes relatively more prominent as signal (picture luminance or contrast) is reduced. Noise shares a limited capacity channel with signal, and thus noise reduces the rate of information acquisition; noise, as well as signal, occupies space in memory, and thus noise reduces recall performance.     

The double-anchoring theory of lightness perception: a comment on Bressan (2006)

Recently, a double-anchoring theory (DAT) of lightness perception was proposed (P. Bressan, 2006), which offers explanations for all the data explained by the original anchoring theory (A. Gilchrist et al., 1999), as well as a number of additional lightness phenomena. Consequently, DAT can account for an unprecedented range of empirical results, potentially explaining everything from the basic simultaneous contrast display to subtle variations of the Gelb effect. In this comment, the authors raised 4 concerns that demonstrate serious theoretical and empirical difficulties for DAT.     

Source ROCs are (typically) curvilinear: comment on Yonelinas (1999)

On the basis of his assumption that recollection is a threshold process, A. P. Yonelinas (1999) predicted linear source-identification receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) and recently reported data that were consistent with this prediction. In this article, the authors present data showing curvilinear source-identification ROCs across various encoding and test conditions. On the basis of the source-monitoring framework (e.g., M. K. Johnson, S. Hashtroudi, & D. S. Lindsay, 1993), the authors argue that curvilinearity of source-identification ROCs is a result of differences in the qualitative characteristics of memories rather than simply the influence of undifferentiated familiarity as the dual-process model might suggest.     

Why g is not an adaptation: a comment on Kanazawa (2004)

In S. Kanazawa's evolutionary theory of general intelligence (g), g is presented as a species-typical information-processing mechanism. This conceptualization of g departs radically from the accepted conceptualization of g as a source of individual differences that is manifest in the positive manifold. Kanazawa's theory is thus problematic in the sense that it concerns a purely hypothetical, and empirically unsupported, conceptualization of g. The authors argue that an evolutionary account of g should address it as a source of individual differences--that is, in a manner that is consistent with the empirical support for g.     

Visual perception of force: comment on White (2012)

White (2012) proposed that kinematic features in a visual percept are matched to stored representations containing information regarding forces (based on prior haptic experience) and that information in the matched, stored representations regarding forces is then incorporated into visual perception. Although some elements of White's (2012) account appear consistent with previous findings and theories, other elements do not appear consistent with previous findings and theories or are in need of clarification. Some of the latter elements include the (a) differences between perception and impression (representation of force; relationship of force and resistance; role and necessity of stored representations and of concurrent simulation; roles of rules, cues, and heuristics), (b) characteristics of object motion and human movement (whether motion is internally generated or externally generated and whether motion is biological or nonbiological; generalization of human action and the extent to which perceived force depends upon similarity of object movement to human patterns of movement), (c) related perceptual and cognitive phenomena (representational momentum, imagery, psychophysics of force perception, perception of causality), and (d) scope and limitations of White's account (attributions of intentionality, falsifiability).     

Violence in close relationships--development of a research area: comment on Archer (2000)

A brief history of empirical research on violence in close relationships is presented. Assumptions of and conclusions made by feminist researchers about the problems of battered wives are reviewed. It is argued that their focus on marital violence as a form of aggression against women by men and their concern for severely beaten wives may have caused them to ignore high levels of female violence in marriage and dating. J. Archer's (2000) meta-analysis of studies of marital and dating violence showed that both sexes display violence in these relationships, although women are more likely to be injured. An expansion of Archer's definition of heterosexual violence (or violence in close relationships) to include sexual aggression and stalking is suggested. Reasons for relatively high levels of female violence in close relationships relative to violence toward strangers are briefly discussed. It is argued that more attention needs to be given to male victims of violence from their partners.     

Confusion in philosophy: A comment on Williams (1992)

Patricia Williams made a number of claims concerning the methods and practise of cladistic analysis and classification. Her argument rests upon the distinction of two kinds of hierarchy: a divisional hierarchy depicting evolutionary descent and the Linnean hierarchy describing taxonomic groups in a classification. Williams goes on to outline five problems with cladistics that lead her to the conclusion that systematists should eliminate cladism as a school of biological taxonomy and to replace it either with something that is philosophically coherent or to replace it with pure methodology, untainted by theory (Williams 1992, 151). Williams makes a number of points which she feels collectively add up to insurmountable problems for cladistics. We examine Williams' views concerning the two hierarchies and consider what cladists currently understand about the status of ancestors. We will demonstrate that Williams has seriously misunderstood many modern commentators on this subject and all of her five persistent problems are derivable from this misunderstanding.

Nelson (1989, 67).

     

Gender, ethnicity, and career trajectories: a comment on Woodward (2010)

Woodward (2010) argued that Maria Rickers-Ovsiankina, Eugenia Hanfmann, and Tamara Dembo constituted a group of Jewish emigré psychologists who received substantial help in America from a "Jewish network" of patronage. This comment focuses on the historiographic problems and pitfalls of essentialized ethnic identification. There was no evidence that Maria Rickers-Ovsiankina was a Jew or that Eugenia Hanffman, raised Russian Orthodox, identified herself as a Jew, in contrast to Tamara Dembo, who did so. We argue that these women were part of an active network of Gestaltists, topologists, and Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues leaders, and that any help that they received may be explained by the shared theoretical and disciplinary outlook of these groups as opposed to a "Jewish network."     

Another look at women in the united states army: A comment on woelfel's article

Woelfel's (1981) article on women in the United States Army is examined from a situation-centered perspective. The assumption implied by military authors that women are liabilities to be accommodated to the existing military structure is challenged, and an alternative view of women as potential contributors to the evolution of androgynous standards of leadership is offered.     

Conundrums in a theory of disturbed dreaming: comment on Levin and Nielsen (2007)

Levin and Nielsen (2007) presented a review of research emphasizing dreams whose content is distressing. With some broad conclusions about factors important in the understanding of distressing dreams as a springboard, the authors offered potential explanatory mechanisms for distressing dreams that range from brain structures to personality variables, drawing heavily on findings about posttraumatic stress disorder. Though a reasonable case is made for elements of the argument, implications from one perspective are not always considered in making the argument for others, issues that follow logically from certain assertions are not discussed, and certain assumptions appear unjustified. Definitional or phenomenological presentations are not always consistent, making it difficult to determine the real nature of the variables being offered and to get a clear sense of the boundaries of the model.     

Constancy of individual exponents for inspired lung volume: a comment on Harver (1987)

In this paper we made two brief commentaries on Harver's (1987) experiment. The first comment is an observation on the growing area of respiratory psychophysics for which we prefer the name Behavioral Physiology. In the second comment it is suggested that the stable individual differences in the exponent of the psychophysical power law reported by Harver may be an artifact of the psychophysical method employed: category production.