Attentional modulation of a figural aftereffect.

Evidence is reported that indicates that adaptation of the Schroder staircase is affected by attention. In previous work it has been shown that if subjects adapt to an unambiguous staircase, responses to an ambiguous test figure are biased towards the opposing perspective. In the current work, subjects adapted to superimposed upright and inverted Schroder staircases. Both staircases were centered on a common fixation point and were of different sizes and colors. Attention to each staircase was controlled by asking subjects to detect color changes in the line segments that defined one or the other staircase. Responses to an ambiguous test figure depended on which of the adapting staircases was attended.     

The spiral aftereffect and personality

Reported duration of the spiral aftereffect was correlated with scores on the four scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and with the Psychoticism (P) scale from the unpublished PEN Inventory. There was a strong positive correlation between PEN P and duration. None of the other correlations approached statistical significance.     

Induction-, test-, and comparison-figure interactions under illusion and figural aftereffect conditions

Ganz (1966a, b) has argued that an induction figure will displace a test figure placed near it under both illusion and figural aftereffect conditions. The data from Experiments I and II show that most of the illusion produced by the figures studied by Ganz results from an interaction between the comparison and induction figures. The data from Experiment III suggest that both the test and comparison figures interact with the induction figure under figural aftereffect conditions. Although the induction-test figure interactions do not contradict Ganz’s model, the induction-comparison figure interactions cannot be explained by it. The data also suggest that researchers should be extremely cautious in drawing conclusions about the processes underlying illusions and figural aftereffects unless they are confident that there is no interaction between the induction and comparison figures.     

Relationships between personality variables and bizarreness effects in free recall

Relationships between 6 personality variables and each of 3 different measures of recall for bizarre and common sentences were examined. The personality variables investigated included measures of sensation seeking, novelty experiencing, desire for novelty, arousal-seeking tendency, social potency, and conservatism. Recall was measured in terms of sentences accessed, target words recovered per accessed sentence, and misplaced target words. The results indicated the typical pattern of bizarreness effects on recall and significant relationships between personality variables and these effects. Arousal seeking and conservatism were positively related to a bizarreness advantage in sentences accessed. Additionally, high social potency was related to the recovery of more details from common than bizarre sentences, and high desire for novelty was related to a greater bizarre misplacement effect. The results are discussed in terms of orienting and defensive responses to bizarreness.     

The relationship between occupational interests and personality variables in a psychiatric group

An abnormal group of psychotics and undifferentiated psychiatric patients displayed a common preference towards vocations associated with nutrition, design and social education and were more inclined to avoid technical and scientific occupations. The more introverted individuals expressed more interest for agriculturally-orientated occupations than extraverts, the latter group characterized by significantly greater interest towards commercially-related vocations involving a high degree of social involvement. Neurotics preferred both nutritional and agricultural occupational areas compared to their more stable counterparts. Furthermore, such high trait N Ss were less likely to select commercial trades. Persons with high scores on the P dimension were less inclined to choose administrative jobs than low P individuals. The more conformist P + individual (P + L +) exhibited a marked preference for creative, ‘gestalt’-oriented vocations. Low L scoring Ss expressed significantly more interest towards nutritional trades, and were likely to avoid commercial occupations.     

Relationship between eight physiological variables and severity of stuttering

The results of this study illustrated the primacy of individual differences in the relationship between physiological responses before speech and stuttering severity.