The reference frame of figure-ground assignment

Figure-ground assignment involves determining which visual regions are foreground figures and which are backgrounds. Although figure-ground processes provide important inputs to high-level vision, little is known about the reference frame in which the figure's features and parts are defined. Computational approaches have suggested a retinally based, viewer-centered reference frame for figure-ground assignment, but figural assignment could also be computed on the basis of environmental regularities in an environmental reference frame. The present research used a newly discovered cue, lower region, to examine the reference frame of figure-ground assignment. Possible reference frames were misaligned by changing the orientation of viewers by having them tilt their heads (Experiments 1 and 2) or turn them upside down (Experiment 3). The results of these experiments indicated that figure-ground perception followed the orientation of the viewer, suggesting a viewer-centered reference frame for figure-ground assignment.     

A unifying model for the structure of intellectual abilities

Models of the structure of cognitive abilities suggested by Spearman, Thurstone, Guilford, Vernon and Cattell-Horn are reviewed. It is noted that some of the models include a general intellectual factor (g) while others do not. It is also noted that some models are nonhierarchical, while in others more narrow abilities are subsumed under broader abilities in a hierarchical pattern. An empirical study in which a test battery of 16 tests was administered to some 1000 subjects in the 6th grade is reported. Using the LISREL technique to test different models, good support is obtained for oblique primary factors in the Thurstone tradition as well as for the second-order factors fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and general visualization hypothesized by Cattell and Horn. It is also found, however, that the second-order factor of fluid intelligence i is identical with a third-order g-factor. On the basis of these results a three-level model (the HILI-model) is suggested, with the g-factor at the top, two broad factors reflecting the ability to deal with verbal and figural information, respectively, at the second-order level, and the primary factors in the Thurstone and Guilford tradition at the lowest level. It is argued that most previously suggested models are special cases of the HILI-model.     

A case of a dual frame of reference.

It is demonstrated that observers may relate to two parts of the same object by using two different frames of reference. Subjects were asked to indicate directions within a model of a hallway in which signs were posted on a single prism. The majority of subjects interpreted a sign frontally facing them as indicating the direction which is ahead of them, yet they interpreted an adjacent sign that was slanted with respect to the frontal plane as indicating a direction which is at the same side of the line of sight as the sign is. This manifests a mixture of an egocentric and an object-centred frame of reference, that is reminiscent of the mixture of local spatial interpretations in impossible pictures. It is suggested that frames of reference are not necessarily unique in a given percept, and that they are not derived from a global computation.     

Coursework selection: A frame of reference approach using structural equation modelling

Background. Choice behaviour has far‐reaching consequences on students' educational careers. Previous models on course selection for example, the model of achievement‐related choices ( Wigfield & Eccles, 2000 ) and of self‐efficacy theory ( Bandura, 1997 ), stress the importance of ability perceptions (self‐concept of ability) as major determinants of choice. Aim. This article suggests a model of course selection, which assumes that comparisons within an internal frame of reference (as proposed by Marsh, 1986 , for the association between achievement and self‐concepts) can also be applied to the association between self‐concepts and course selection. It is therefore hypothesized that course selection is not only positively influenced by the self‐concept with respect to the corresponding subject, but also negatively with respect to alternative subjects. Moreover, it should be tested whether the effects of previous achievement on course selection are completely mediated by the self‐concepts. Sample. These assumptions were empirically tested using a sample of 296 students from secondary school classes, who were specializing in, for example, chemistry or biology in the following school term. Method. Self‐concepts and course selection were assessed via questionnaire. The postulated models were tested using a structural equation modelling approach for ordinal variables. Results. The core assumption, that course selection is determined by dimensional comparisons, was supported by significant negative paths from self‐concepts on the selection of non‐corresponding subjects. Furthermore, the effects of previous achievement on selection were completely mediated by self‐concepts. Conclusion. Previous models of choice behaviour should be extended, by considering not only the selected alternatives, but also the unselected ones. The finding that the influence of achievement on choice is completely mediated by self‐concepts, demonstrates that subjective interpretations of previous achievement determine subsequent behaviour.     

The rubber hand illusion: sensitivity and reference frame for body ownership

When subjects view stimulation of a rubber hand while feeling congruent stimulation of their own hand, they may come to feel that the rubber hand is part of their own body. This illusion of body ownership is termed 'Rubber Hand Illusion' (RHI). We investigated sensitivity of RHI to spatial mismatches between visual and somatic experience. We compared the effects of spatial mismatch between the stimulation of the two hands, and equivalent mismatches between the postures of the two hands. We created the mismatch either by adjusting stimulation or posture of the subject's hand, or, in a separate group of subjects, by adjusting stimulation or posture of the rubber hand. The matching processes underlying body ownership were asymmetrical. The illusion survived small changes in the subject's hand posture, but disappeared when the same posture transformations were applied to the rubber hand. Mismatch between the stimulation delivered to the subject's hand and the rubber hand abolished the illusion. The combination of these two situations is of particular interest. When the subject's hand posture was slightly different from the rubber hand posture, the RHI remained as long as stimulation of the two hands was congruent in a hand-centred spatial reference frame, even though the altered posture of the subject's hand meant that stimulation was incongruent in external space. Conversely, the RHI was reduced when the stimulation was incongruent in hand-centred space but congruent in external space. We conclude that the visual-tactile correlation that causes the RHI is computed within a hand-centred frame of reference, which is updated with changes in body posture. Current sensory evidence about what is 'me' is interpreted with respect to a prior mental body representation.     

Haptic mental rotation revisited: multiple reference frame dependence

The nature of reference frames involved in haptic spatial processing was addressed by means of a haptic mental rotation task. Participants assessed the parity of two objects located in various spatial locations by exploring them with different hand orientations. The resulting response times were fitted with a triangle wave function. Phase shifts were found to depend on the relation between the hands and the objects, and between the objects and the body. We rejected the possibility that a single reference frame drives spatial processing. Instead, we found evidence of multiple interacting reference frames with the hand-centered reference frame playing the dominant role. We propose that a weighted average of the allocentric, the hand-centered and the body-centered reference frames influences the haptic encoding of spatial information. In addition, we showed that previous results can be reinterpreted within the framework of multiple reference frames. This mechanism has proved to be ubiquitously present in haptic spatial processing.     

The perception of verticality and the frame of reference of the visual tilt aftereffect

Previous research has suggested that the visual tilt aftereffect operates according to a gravitational frame of reference. Three experiments were conducted to test this conclusion further. In each experiment, observers (with head upright) adjusted an illuminated bar to apparent vertical following various adaptation conditions. In Experiment 1, observers were given clear visual cues for objective vertical while adjusting the bar. In Experiment 2, they were not given visual cues for vertical. The adaptation conditions in Experiments 1 and 2 consisted of various combinations of head and stimulus tilt. Experiment 3 investigated the effects of head tilt alone. The results indicated that the tilt aftereffect follows a retinal frame of reference under some conditions (Experiment 1) and appears to follow a gravitational frame under others (Experiment 2). These results can be predicted by a simple model involving two factors, a purely visual aftereffect that follows a retinal frame and an extravisual aftereffect that appears to follow a gravitational frame.     

The role of the brain's frontal eye fields in constructing frame of reference

Establishing contextual reference during discourse is a vital part of language function. Personal pronouns (e.g., he/she/it) are used to refer to previously experienced objects, utterances and events. These items, however, are often no longer present in the environment and have to be maintained and manipulated in working memory (WM). One aspect of this is the construction of a spatial frame of reference (e.g., "He was in front of it" where "he" is established as figure and "it" is the ground). The WM processes underlying this function may be different from those involved in establishing a non-spatial relation (e.g., "He was older than her"). The brain's frontal eye fields (FEFs), responsible for eye movement control, are known to be involved in processing spatial WM. This paper reviews both functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments and a subsequent behavioral interference study demonstrating a specific role for the FEFs and the brain's eye movement control system in manipulation of WM content for establishing object-centered spatial reference frames during verbally cued recall of recent visual and linguistic experiences.     

Introducing counselling in secondary schools: A case study with reference to frame issues

Abstract

I am a deputy headteacher in a comprehensive school. I believe that the widespread re-introduction of counselling into secondary schools offers possibilities for great benefit, both in terms of the personal well-being and emotional health of students, and also in terms of academic results and other educational indicators. It is my view that, currently, this may particularly be true for boys.

This paper is a double case study: first, of the failure of a student to cope with ordinary schooling because of his emotional difficulties; and, second, of the establishment of a counselling service which resulted from his permanent exclusion from the school.

I allude to some of the theoretical issues which meshed with the practical details of establishing the counselling service, and offer some tentative conclusions about the rationale for counselling in secondary schools and the kind of model which seems most likely to be beneficial.     

Spelling dyslexia: A form of cross-cuing

A patient with spelling dyslexia maintained the ability to write, spell, and pronounce spelled nonsense words and words that require knowledge of orthographic rules of language. He was unable to perform grapheme-phoneme conversions except after naming the letter involved. We propose that he uses a letter-naming strategy to circumvent the disconnection of visual areas from the area of visual word images and that his letter-naming strategy represents a compensatory cross-cuing strategy.     

Cross-sensory reference frame transfer in spatial memory: the case of proprioceptive learning

In three experiments, we investigated whether the information available to visual perception prior to encoding the locations of objects in a path through proprioception would influence the reference direction from which the spatial memory was formed. Participants walked a path whose orientation was misaligned to the walls of the enclosing room and to the square sheet that covered the path prior to learning (Exp. 1) and, in addition, to the intrinsic structure of a layout studied visually prior to walking the path and to the orientation of stripes drawn on the floor (Exps. 2 and 3). Despite the availability of prior visual information, participants constructed spatial memories that were aligned with the canonical axes of the path, as opposed to the reference directions primed by visual experience. The results are discussed in the context of previous studies documenting transfer of reference frames within and across perceptual modalities.     

Determinants of emotion attributions: A unifying view

Two cognitive approaches, introduced by Schachter and Singer (1962) and by Valins (1966), have dominated the experimental study of emotion attributions. However, subsequent results using these approaches have not appeared to be very consistent, and this view is not consistent with more physiologically oriented theory. Research significant in the development of theory from these approaches was examined. Inconsistent findings using the Schachter and Singer paradigm were attributed to the difficulty of producting completely ambiguous physiological cues. The existence of active search in determining the cause of arousal was established and found central to production of Valins's false feedback effect. Postulated mediation by self-persuasion was found to provide the best fit to the existing data. The generality of these studies was described in terms of a more comprehensive theory based on the finding that the relative ambiguity of situational and physiological cues seems to provide the fundamental control over the emotion attribution process. This synthesis eliminates the deficiencies in previous hypotheses by more completely encompassing potential cue combinations.     

萨特存在主义的人学:在笛卡尔式视野中

萨特的存在主义是在笛卡尔视角中的世俗存在主义。在此基础上建立起来的人道集笛卡尔传统和存在主义的人道主义理念于一身。人的在世,从提问开始。提问产生虚无和否定,人是对自己采取否定的态度存在,是自为的存在。     

地面参照框架形成的连续表面整合加工假说

地面参照框架是空间知觉的重要基础, 连续表面整合加工(SSIP)假说首次对其形成过程做出了推测, 将这一科学问题的研究向纵深推进, 开辟了一个新的研究领域。SSIP假说的核心观点及其相关证据包括地面的表征原理、整合条件和表征结果三个方面, 得到了大量研究的支持。未来研究需结合基于过程检验的技术手段, 直接探查地面参照框架的形成机制, 关注高级认知过程的作用, 并可考虑其在国防上的应用。     

The pars triangularis in dyslexia and ADHD: A comprehensive approach

Limited research has been conducted on the structure of the pars triangularis (PT) in dyslexia despite functional neuroimaging research finding it may play a role in phonological processing. Furthermore, research to date has not examined PT size in ADHD even though the right inferior frontal region has been implicated in the disorder. Hence, one of the purposes of this study was to examine the structure of the PT in dyslexia and ADHD. The other purposes included examining the PT in relation to overall expressive language ability and in relation to several specific linguistic functions given language functioning often is affected in both dyslexia and ADHD. Participants included 50 children: 10 with dyslexia, 15 with comorbid dyslexia/ADHD, 15 with ADHD, and 10 controls. Using a 2 (dyslexia or not) × 2 (ADHD or not) MANCOVA, findings revealed PT length and shape were comparable between those with and without dyslexia. However, children with ADHD had smaller right PT lengths than those without ADHD, and right anterior ascending ramus length was related to attention problems in the total sample. In terms of linguistic functioning, presence of an extra sulcus in the left PT was related to poor expressive language ability. In those with adequate expressive language functioning, left PT length was related to phonological awareness, phonological short-term memory and rapid automatic naming (RAN). Right PT length was related to RAN and semantic processing. Further work on PT morphology in relation to ADHD and linguistic functioning is warranted.     

The psychology of anxiety: A phenomenological description

Abstract

The psychology of anxiety continues to be debated by researchers, as well as therapists. By investigating it with phenomenological methods, I have been able to determine its three existential preconditions; the way in which an anxious situation announces a crisis of one's efforts to surpass one's unacceptable incompleteness; being anxious as being impeded, if not fundamentally blocked, and moving beyond being anxious as either ambivalently reaffirming the viability of the projects and relations in which one was already invested, or as transformatively accepting those projects and relations as fundamentally uncertain and hence, as open to future determination.