Metacontrast Masking and Attention

Metacontrast masking is generally considered an effect of preattentive processes operative in early vision. Because of the growing evidence of the role of attention in other phenomena previously considered low level and preattentive, its possible role in masking was explored in three experiments in which meaningful target stimuli known to capture attention (one's own name or a happy-face icon) were compared with control stimuli identical in spatial frequency and luminance. Not only were these salient stimuli significantly more resistant to masking than the control stimuli, but when one of the meaningful stimuli served as a mask, its strength was increased relative to a less meaningful variant, documenting the strong influence of attention on masking.     

Metacontrast and brightness discrimination

An attempt was made to obtain U-shaped masking functions in two metacontrast experiments. Trained Ss judged whether a square test stimulus (TS) was bright or dim. The TS was presented alone or in conjunction with an adjacent pair of square masking stimuli (MS) whose energy equaled the bright TS. The stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA) rangedfrom 0 to 125 msec. The task minimized the role of apparent movement cues as a reliable basis for judgrnent. Similar studies have employed TS plus MS vs MS alone as the alternatives, allowing apparent movement to be a cue. Brightness accuracy was a U-shaped function of SOA. This finding is consistent with neural-net models (Weisstein, 1968). However, analysis of Ss’ response bias suggested an alternative explanation involving the MS as a comparison stimulus at short SOA. It was concluded that U-shaped masking functions are also consistent with theories based upon independent component processes, e.g., Schurman and Eriksen (1970) and Uttal (1970).     

Spatial factors in masking with black or white targets

Two masking experiments were carried out. In the first, duration thresholds were measured for a 10 min black test disc paired with a larger concentric black mask, ranging in size from 15 min to 2 deg. The stimuli were tachistoscopically presented centrally, or at 2 deg or 6 deg in the left binocular field. As mask diameter increased, test threshold decreased in a negatively accelerated function, which approached an asymptote below the unmasked condition. All functions are similar with systematic upward shifts for more peripheral stimulation. In Experiment 2, threshold luminance was adjusted for a 1 deg, 5-msec test flash paired with a 250-mseC., 34-mL mask, ranging from 1 deg to 6.2 deg in diameter. Stimuli were presented in Maxwellian view at 7.2 deg in the right eye nasal field. Results were similar to Experiment 1, except that the asymptote is significantly above the control condition. Both experimental results support a border inhibition hypothesis.     

DAPs of black and white juvenile incarcerates

Two groups of male juvenile incarcerates were separated on the basis of race, matched in terms of age, recidivism, and intelligence test scores, and given a human figure drawing task. Figures drawn were male and female. The drawings were scored on 14 emotional indicators. The results of the present study offer little consistent or conclusive support for the hypothesis that differences influenced by race can be found in the projective drawings of black and white subjects. The commonly held impressions that there are more incidences of neurotic or psychotic features in the projective tests of black subjects and that the projective drawings of black subjects are generally inferior to the projective drawings of white subjects were not supported by the present study.     

A Chicano/black/white encounter

What happens when members of three ethnic groups spend eighteen hours together in an “Encounter Weekend”? A facilitation style that placed the major responsibility for group progress on the group itself brought about marked behavioral changes among the group participants. The group progressed from distrust, suspicion, and violent rhetoric to effective communication and understanding. The interracial encounter is a powerful social tool that counselors can use to help people develop respect for each other and live together more humanely.     

Socialization and career orientation among black and white college women

In a study of career orientation among black and white college women, support was found for hypotheses derived from postulates of Rotter's Social Learning Theory. Compared to whites, (1) blacks were less likely to expect the level of work involvement preferred; (2) blacks expected more employment; and (3) blacks were more likely to prefer less employment than they realistically expected. Antecedents of career expectation were categorized as internal, external, or neutral. As hypothesized, variables expressive of external control predicted level of career expectation among blacks, whereas variables expressive of internal control predicted high career expectations among whites.     

Facial attractiveness and juvenile delinquency among black and white offenders

Facial pictures of black and white delinquents were significantly less attractive than pictures of corresponding groups of high school students, as judged by same-race raters. Significant differences were found among the white delinquents, but not among the black, for Quay's four behavioral dimensions of delinquency. Black delinquents were significantly darker in skin color than the black high school students, and lightness of skin color was positively correlated with physical attractiveness ratings made by both black and white raters, indicating that neither race has yet assimilated the saying black is beautiful. This and other evidence suggest that facial attractiveness may be causal in delinquency.These studies were conducted with the cooperation of the staff of the Robert F. Kennedy Youth Center, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice. The center is not responsible for the contents of this report; the report does not necessarily represent the Center's views. The portion of this paper dealing with the white offenders was presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, Massachusetts, April 1972.The authors would like to thank Hayne W. Reese for his assistance.     

Metacontrast investigations of sustained-transient channel inhibitory interactions

The metacontrast paradigm was exploited to study possible inhibitory interactions between sustained and transient channels. Variations and measures of target disinhibition or target recovery. The former type of target recovery is taken as evidence for interchannel sustained-on-transient inhibition; the latter, as evidence for intrachannel transient-on-transient inhibition.     

Predictors of scientific majors for black and white college students

The differences in the personality and social backgrounds of science and non-science majors were assessed for 91 black and 109 white natural, social, and nonscience college majors. Subjects were administered the 16PF, Bem Sex-Role Inventory, and the Attitude Toward Women Scale, and data were collected on birth order, number of siblings, and social class level. Natural science majors were of a higher social class, had higher intelligence test scores, were more reserved, sober, practical, and male sex-role oriented than the social and non-science majors. Blacks and females resembled their white or male counterparts when categorized by college major.     

Evidence against independent processing of black and white pattern features

Following adaptation to a rectangular grating, subjects observed a shift in the perceived duty cycle of a test grating (Burton, Nagshineh, & Ruddock, 1977; DeValois, 1977). This suggests that size information about black and white pattern components may be analyzed independently. We have tested this hypothesis by combining adaptation to a 2-cpd rectangular wave grating (narrow white bars and wide black bars or vice versa) with adaptation to a 4-cpd sine wave (narrow white and black bars. The data do not support the independent analysis of white and black components, but they may be accounted for by mechanisms sensitive to the relative phase relations among the spatial frequency components of the input.     

Color preference for black and white by infants and young children

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a preference for the color white was present in infants and young children. A color preference test was administered to 160 subjects who ranged in age from 6 mo. to 4.5 yr. Data were obtained from a 120-item test in which 12 different pairs of toys were presented to each subject. The toys in each pair were identical except that one was black and the other was white. The toy the subject selected was considered the subject's preference and the color of that toy was recorded. Statistical analysis did not support existing literature, refuting the published idea that white preference is a general quality in all human beings.