Cyberbullying: Neither an epidemic nor a rarity

There appears to be some perceptual confusion with regard to the scope and extent of online bullying based on media reports and a number of studies—some of which are theoretically sound and methodologically rigorous and some of which are not. In the following text, we share findings from our own research and those of our peers to highlight the actual prevalence rates of cyberbullying. We also depict an overlap between offline and online bullying based on empirical works to make clear that those who are mistreated in the real world and in cyberspace are not two separate populations. Finally, we champion the systemic approach of enhancing the emotional and relational climate within schools as the most promising way to stem the tide of adolescent aggression.     

Enclosure size and the use of local and global geometric cues for reorientation

Multiple spatial cues are utilized to orient with respect to the environment, but it remains unclear why feature (i.e., objects in the environment) and geometric (i.e., shape of the environment) cues are differentially influenced by enclosure size, and the extent to which local (i.e., wall lengths and corner angles) and global (i.e., principal axis of space) geometric cues are influenced by enclosure size. In the present study, we investigated the extent to which environmental size influenced the use of corner angle (i.e., a local geometric cue) and the principal axis of space (i.e., a global geometric cue) for reorientation. We developed an orientation task that allowed the manipulation of enclosure size during training and the isolation of the use of the principal axis of space during testing. Participants were trained to respond to a location in either a small or a large trapezoid-shaped enclosure uniquely specified by both local (i.e., wall lengths and corner angles) and global (i.e., principal axis of space) geometric cues. During testing, we presented both groups with a small and large rectangle (to assess the use of principal axis of space) and a small and large parallelogram (to asses relative use of corner angles and the principal axis of space when in conflict). Enclosure size influenced the relative use of corner angles but not of the principal axis of space. Results suggest that corner angles function like features and that changes in the use of feature cues are the source of the relative reliance on feature and geometric cues during changes of enclosure size.     

Neither Bereavement nor Grief: Coping with the Death of a Cherished Person in the Cunda-sutta

Though bereavement and grief have been common human experience throughout recorded history, how bereavement is viewed and grief coped with varies from one philosophical tradition to another. By examining features running throughout the Cunda-sutta, this paper demonstrates a shift from the ordinary conception of bereavement to an insightful understanding of not-bereavement. If one possesses insight into how worldly convention shapes ordinary conceptions of bereavement, then one need not associate bereavement with loss and grief. For ordinary people, grief may be regarded as a natural response to loss. However, in light of the emptiness of bereavement, the emphasis can be shifted from coping with grief to the understanding of not-grief and to the cultivation of mental abilities conducive to moving forward on the right path. By examining the reasoning of neither bereavement nor grief, this paper sheds new light on a rarely acknowledged perspective on coping with the death of a cherished person.     

The use of spatial and local cues for orientation in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus)

Animal Cognition - Birds have been widely used to study spatial orientation. However, since different birds rely on different types of visual information to find goal locations (such as spatial...     

Neither wife nor widow: an intervention with the wife of a chronically handicapped man during hospital visits

Hospital visits were used as treatment sessions in training the wife of a 65-year-old stroke patient to modify the content other husband's discourse. Visits were a source of distress to the family and the aim of intervention was to make them more satisfying. Using a framework of life review therapy, modelling and prompting techniques were used to show the wife how she could prepare for visits and selectively reinforce positive reminiscences. An attempt to structure the patient's week with activities was also made. Talk of these activities displaced complaining. Family satisfaction with visits increased and there was a concomitant drop in the patient's level of depression.     

Distinctiveness models of memory and absolute identification: evidence for local, not global, effects

Many models of memory assume that the probability of remembering an item is related to how distinctive that item is relative to all the other items in the set, with no distinction made between the contributions of near or far items. These “global” distinctiveness models do well in accounting for the ubiquitous serial position effects observed in numerous memory paradigms, including absolute identification. Here, we provide experimental confirmation of Bower's (1971) suggestion that, contrary to a fundamental prediction of global distinctiveness models, midseries items can be more discriminable than their immediate neighbours. We show that such data are consistent with a revised distinctiveness account in which the factor affecting discrimination performance is primarily the distinctiveness of an item relative to its close neighbours.     

Neither Human nor Cyborg: I Am a Bitch and a Molecular Swarm. Proprioception,Body Intelligence and Microsexual Conviviality

Abstract

The essay proposes a critique of a dominant model for structuring perception based on a fixed point of vision and stemming from Renaissance perspective, which grounds a sociality based on categorical splits. The essay proposes a new theory of movement and perception grounded on proprioception (the internal sense of movement of the body) linked to a new field-theory of movement. Finally, the essay proposes techniques and improvization practices to enact modes of relation and sociality grounded on this new account of movement and perception, associated to a co-sensing ethics proposing a series of meta-species, mestiza, neurodiverse, microsexual and swarming becomings.     

Hemispheric differences for global/local processing in divided attention tasks: further evidence for the integration theory

Functional hemispheric asymmetries with respect to global/local processing have been observed more reliably in divided-attention than in selective-attention tasks. This difference has been accounted for by assuming that the hemispheres operate differently in the two tasks. In our study, the alternative hypothesis was tested that the interference between the global and local levels is increased under divided attention, and that this makes it necessary to base response selection on a more elaborated mental stimulus representation in which the levels and their content are integrated. Because the hemispheres systematically differ in this integration process, the increased interference between the levels explains why the corresponding asymmetries occur more reliably under divided attention. Two experiments supporting this hypothesis are reported, one with a divided and one with a selective attention task.     

Detecting orientation of a surface: the rectangularity postulate and primary depth cues

Computational metaphors for determining the orientation of planar surfaces represented in line drawings have exploited a postulate that often surfaces are rectangular. Previous research implies that people follow such logic with real surfaces in ecological viewing. However, this research is problematic methodologically and some research does not directly address the issue. The stimuli used in this study were rectangular and trapezoidal; the latter shape was used to mislead with regard to orientation under the rectangularity postulate. Viewing conditions were monocular and binocular, with and without observer movement. The results suggest that the rectangularity postulate was important under stationary monocular viewing but diminished with movement and was not apparent during binocular viewing. General arguments about the importance of secondary depth cues in ecological viewing are developed.     

Culture variation in the average identity extraction: The role of global vs. local processing orientation

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that observers often spontaneously extract a mean representation from multiple faces/objects in a scene even when this is not required by the task. This phenomenon, now known as ensemble coding, has so far mainly been based on data from Western populations. This study compared East Asian and Western participants in an implicit ensemble-coding task, where the explicit task was to judge whether a test face was present in a briefly exposed set of faces. Although both groups showed a tendency to mistake an average of the presented faces as target, thus confirming the universality of ensemble coding, East Asian participants displayed a higher averaging tendency relative to the Westerners. To further examine how a cultural default can be adapted to global or local processing demand, our second experiment tested the effects of priming global or local processing orientation on ensemble coding via a Navon task procedure. Results revealed a reduced tendency for ensemble coding following the priming of local processing orientation. Together, these results suggest that culture can influence the proneness to ensemble coding, and the default cultural mode is malleable to a temporary processing demand.     

The fakability of the personal orientation dimensions: evidence for a lie profile

The resistance of the Personal Orientation Dimensions (POD) to deliberate attempts at creating a favorable impression was investigated. Two groups of college students were used: (a) 21 students completed the POD under standard instructions, then received information about actualization, and completed the POD again under instructions to Create a very good impression; (b) 21 students completed the POD under standard instructions, then received information not related to actualization, and completed the POD again under instructions to create a very good impression. An analyses indicated that providing students with information about actualization did not facilitate their ability to create a favorable impression on the POD. The POD profiles produced by both groups changed significantly, and in a similar direction from pretest to posttest. Evidence is presented suggesting the existence of a "lie profile" which distinguishes deliberate attempts to create a favorable impression on the POD. These findings provide support for the resistance of the POD to deliberate attempts at creating a favorable impression.     

Separate mechanisms recruited by exogenous and endogenous spatial cues: evidence from a spatial Stroop paradigm

The present experiments tested whether endogenous and exogenous cues produce separate effects on target processing. In Experiment 1, participants discriminated whether an arrow presented left or right of fixation pointed to the left or right. For 1 group, the arrow was preceded by a peripheral noninformative cue. For the other group, the arrow was preceded by a central, symbolic, informative cue. The 2 types of cues modulated the spatial Stroop effect in opposite ways, with endogenous cues producing larger spatial Stroop effects for valid trials and exogenous cues producing smaller spatial Stroop effects for valid trials. In Experiments 2A and 2B, the influence of peripheral noninformative and peripheral informative cues on the spatial Stroop effect was directly compared. The spatial Stroop effect was smaller for valid than for invalid trials for both types of cues. These results point to a distinction between the influence of central and peripheral attentional cues on performance and are not consistent with a unitary view of endogenous and exogenous attention.     

A unified framework for addiction: vulnerabilities in the decision process

The understanding of decision-making systems has come together in recent years to form a unified theory of decision-making in the mammalian brain as arising from multiple, interacting systems (a planning system, a habit system, and a situation-recognition system). This unified decision-making system has multiple potential access points through which it can be driven to make maladaptive choices, particularly choices that entail seeking of certain drugs or behaviors. We identify 10 key vulnerabilities in the system: (1) moving away from homeostasis, (2) changing allostatic set points, (3) euphorigenic "reward-like" signals, (4) overvaluation in the planning system, (5) incorrect search of situation-action-outcome relationships, (6) misclassification of situations, (7) overvaluation in the habit system, (8) a mismatch in the balance of the two decision systems, (9) over-fast discounting processes, and (10) changed learning rates. These vulnerabilities provide a taxonomy of potential problems with decision-making systems. Although each vulnerability can drive an agent to return to the addictive choice, each vulnerability also implies a characteristic symptomology. Different drugs, different behaviors, and different individuals are likely to access different vulnerabilities. This has implications for an individual's susceptibility to addiction and the transition to addiction, for the potential for relapse, and for the potential for treatment.     

No evidence for overshadowing or facilitation of spatial pattern learning by visual cues

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of redundant and relevant visual cues on spatial pattern learning. Rats searched for hidden food items on the tops of poles that formed a square (Experiment 1) or a checkerboard (Experiment 2) pattern. The experimental groups were trained with visual cues that specified the locations of the baited poles. All groups were tested without visual cues so that any overshadowing or facilitation of spatial pattern learning by visual cues could be detected. Spatial choices were controlled by the spatial pattern and by the visual cues in both experiments. However, there was no evidence of overshadowing or facilitation of spatial pattern learning by visual cues in either experiment. The results are consistent with the idea that the representation of the spatial pattern that guides choices is not controlled by the same learning processes as those that produce associations between visual cues and food locations.     

Microgenesis and ontogenesis of perceptual organization: evidence from global and local processing of hierarchical patterns

In two experiments, visual search and speeded classification were used to study perception of hierarchical patterns among participants aged 5 to 23 years. Perception of global configurations of few-element patterns and local elements of many-element patterns showed large age-related improvements. Only minor age-related changes were observed in perception of global configurations of many-element patterns and local elements of few-element patterns. These results are consistent with prior microgenetic analyses using hierarchical patterns. On the one hand, the rapid and effortless grouping of many small elements and the individuation of few large elements both mature by age 5. In contrast, the time-consuming and effortful grouping of few large elements and the individuation of many small elements improve substantially with age, primarily between ages 5 and 10. These findings support the view that perceptual organization involves multiple processes that vary in time course, attentional demands, and developmental trajectories.     

To pass or not to pass: More a question of body orientation than visual cues

This study investigated the influence of pitch body tilt on judging the possibility of passing under high obstacles in the presence of an illusory horizontal self-motion. Seated subjects tilted at various body orientations were asked to estimate the possibility of passing under a projected bar (i.e., a parking barrier), while imagining a forward whole-body displacement normal to gravity. This task was performed under two visual conditions, providing either no visual surroundings or a translational horizontal optic flow that stopped just before the barrier appeared. The results showed a main overestimation of the possibility of passing under the bar in both cases and most importantly revealed a strong influence of body orientation despite the visual specification of horizontal self-motion by optic flow (i.e., both visual conditions yielded a comparable body tilt effect). Specifically, the subjective passability was proportionally deviated towards the body tilt by 46% of its magnitude when facing a horizontal optic flow and 43% without visual surroundings. This suggests that the egocentric attraction exerted by body tilt when referring the subjective passability to horizontal self-motion still persists even when anchoring horizontally related visual cues are displayed. These findings are discussed in terms of interaction between spatial references. The link between the reliability of available sensory inputs and the weight attributed to each reference is also addressed.     

Assembling a task space: global determination of local shift costs

Most theorizing on the origin of the costs that are associated with task shifts focuses on local transitions between individual trials. In the present article we argue that this emphasis has resulted in a neglect of more global representational structures, which also determinate shift costs. To substantiate this claim, we employed a set of four tasks that results from a factorial combination of two types of judgment and two judgment-to-response mappings. From previous work it is known that this kind of task combination is associated with a characteristic profile of shift costs as a function of the relation between successive tasks. Previously we have interpreted this profile as an indication of a hierarchically ordered dimensional representation of the two types of judgment and the two judgment-to-response mappings. Such a representation can only be expected to emerge when the two task features, judgment and mapping, vary independently of each other within the same situation. It is shown that the characteristic shift cost profile can indeed only be observed when the performance of any of the four tasks is required in a block of trials. In contrast, with only two tasks occurring in each block of trials, shift costs do not reflect the relation between successive tasks. This finding confirms the importance of global representational structures as a determinant of shift costs beyond local transitions between individual trials.     

Contrast class cues and performance facilitation in a hypothesis-testing task: evidence for an iterative counterfactual model

Hypothesis-testing performance on Wason’s (Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 12:129–140, 1960) 2–4–6 task is typically poor, with only around 20% of participants announcing the to-be-discovered “ascending numbers” rule on their first attempt. Enhanced solution rates can, however, readily be observed with dual-goal (DG) task variants requiring the discovery of two complementary rules, one labeled “DAX” (the standard “ascending numbers” rule) and the other labeled “MED” (“any other number triples”). Two DG experiments are reported in which we manipulated the usefulness of a presented MED exemplar, where usefulness denotes cues that can establish a helpful “contrast class” that can stand in opposition to the presented 2–4–6 DAX exemplar. The usefulness of MED exemplars had a striking facilitatory effect on DAX rule discovery, which supports the importance of contrast-class information in hypothesis testing. A third experiment ruled out the possibility that the useful MED triple seeded the correct rule from the outset and obviated any need for hypothesis testing. We propose that an extension of Oaksford and Chater’s (European Journal of Cognitive Psychology 6:149–169, 1994) iterative counterfactual model can neatly capture the mechanisms by which DG facilitation arises.