Visual movement perception: A comparison of absolute and relative movement discrimination

It is proposed that there are two types of visual movement perception, absolute and relative. The former occurs when an object is seen to move in an otherwise homogeneous (or at least locally homogeneous) visual field. Relative judgments occur when one object is seen to move with respect to another, i.e., the separation between them is seen to change. Quantitative models for both processes are developed, and an experiment reported for which the models seem appropriate. The results appear relevant to a theory of size of length perception as well as to the general perceptual issue of absolute and relative judgments.     

Effects of agency on movement interference during observation of a moving dot stimulus

Human movement performance is subject to interference if the performer simultaneously observes an incongruent action. It has been proposed that this phenomenon is due to motor contagion during simultaneous movement performance-observation, with coactivation of shared action performance and action observation circuitry in the premotor cortex. The present experiments compared the interference effect during observation of a moving person with observation of moving dot stimuli: The dot display followed either a biologically plausible or implausible velocity profile. Interference effects due to dot observation were present for both biological and nonbiological velocity profiles when the participants were informed that they were observing prerecorded human movement and were absent when the dot motion was described as computer generated. These results suggest that the observer's belief regarding the origin of the dot motion (human-computer generated) modulates the processing of the dot movement stimuli on their later integration within the motor system, such that the belief regarding their biological origin is a more important determinant of interference effects than the stimulus kinematics.     

Visual movement perception: A comparison of sensitivity to vertical and horizontal movement

A psychophysical model that provides separate measures of judgmental standards and sensitivity is utilized to compare an O’s visual sensitivity for vertical and horizontal movement. The analysis indicates no consistent difference in sensitivity; those asymmetries that do exist simply appear to be due to idiosyncratic judgmental standards.     

A parametric evaluation of the hedonic and motoric effects of drugs: pimozide and amphetamine

This study uses a curve-fitting approach to evaluate the effects of drugs on reinforced responding in rats. The subjects obtained reinforcement according to a series of five different variable-interval schedules (a five-component multiple schedule). For each rat, pimozide, a neuroleptic, decreased response rate, and the decrease was associated with (1) a decrease in the estimated asymptotic response rate and (2) an increase in the rate of reinforcement necessary for half-asymptotic responding. That is, pimozide decreased the proportion of responding maintained by a given rate of reinforcement. In contrast, intermediate doses of amphetamine increased response rate and increased the proportion of responding maintained by a given rate of reinforcement. It was proposed that the response rate asymptote indexes motor capacity, and the rate of reinforcement necessary for half-asymptotic responding indexes reinforcement efficacy; accordingly, pimozide decreased motor capacity and reinforcement strength and amphetamine increased reinforcement strength.     

Visual feedback,movement learning and the representation of movement

Two experiments on movement learning are reported where the orientation of a visual curve on a graphics terminal, defining a relatively complex arm movement, was either orthogonal to or compatible with the direction of the required movement. In addition, individual differences in spatial orientation and visualization abilities were correlated with motor performance. Results in both experiments showed that equivalent amounts of learning occurred in the two visual conditions. However, during transfer trials to the opposite condition, virtually no transfer occurred for the compatible group when they performed in the orthogonal condition whereas there was tranfer when the orthogonal group performed in the compatible condition. The results supported the idea that very early in learning the orthogonal orientation of visual curve promoted the development of an orientation processing stage which facilitated transrer performance of the orthogonal group. Integrating these results with the past literature on movement learning led to the notion that the orientation information processing stage can be considered a cognitive system that interacts with the image of the act. Finally, contrary to expectations, spatial orientation ability failed to account for any performance while spatial visualization ability moderately correlated with performance.     

Corporate social responsibility and work engagement: testing a moderated mediation model

The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating role of collective self-esteem in the relationship between employees’ perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their work engagement. We also explore the moderating role of employees’ concern for face in the linkage between their perceived CSR and collective self-esteem. A two-wave panel data from a final sample of 217 employees in six companies in Wuhan, China, completed the questionnaire survey. Employees’ perceived CSR has a direct and positive effect on their work engagement, which is partially mediated by their collective self-esteem. Furthermore, employees’ concern for face moderates the relationship between their perceived CSR and collective self-esteem. CSR has a stronger effect on collective self-esteem for employees who concern more for face than for those who concern less for face. Understanding the outcomes, the mediating mechanisms, as well as the boundary conditions of perceived CSR on work engagement, help firms to better formulate their CSR strategy. First, we introduce collective self-esteem as an important mediating mechanism in the relationship between CSR and employees’ work engagement. Second, we identify concern for face as an important limiting condition in the linkage between CSR and employees’ collective self-esteem. Finally, previous research investigating employees’ reactions to CSR has predominantly been conducted in the West. We conduct our study in the Chinese or Confucian context to provide some new and complementary insights.     

The effects of instructional cues on performance and mechanics during a gross motor movement

Externally focused instructions specific to performance have shown to improve body mechanics (Gokeler et al., 2015; Welling, Benjaminse, Gokeler, & Otten, 2016). However, the effect of using an external focus instruction may have been more profound if the content of the instruction had been relevant to mechanics. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of externally focused instructions specific to performance and externally focused instructions specific to body mechanics on mechanics and performance. Twenty-four adults (n = 12 males; n = 12 females) performed a series of drop jumps following external focus cues that were specific to performance and landing mechanics. Participants completed a drop jump followed by a maximal effort vertical jump. The initial contact, maximal angle, and range of motion at the knee in the sagittal and frontal plane motion were measured for mechanics and the height of the second vertical jump was measured for performance. The results suggest external focus instructions specific to performance are beneficial for performance, but not for improving landing mechanics. This suggests that external focus instructions must be specific to the contents of the instruction.     

Contextual mediation of perceptions during hauntings and poltergeist-like experiences: a replication and extension

This study is a replication of the experiment by Lange, Houran, Harte, and Havens (1996 on contextual variables, in which hallucinations appear to be affected by the environmental context. These contextual variables are influential in the reporting of haunting and poltergeist-like episodes. This study extended the previous study by adding new factors of time of day, climactic conditions, and emotional feelings. These were analyzed for a different sample, looking for further congruency between experiential content and the context. The sample (N=8431 were reports found on the Internet and in one book. The Lange, et al. study was replicated in that contextual variables were identified in 99.2% of the reports, the content of the reports was judged to be consistent with the nature of the contextual variables in 58.8% of the reports, and contextual variables were related to the percipients' state of arousal and the modalities of experience.     

Test of a mediation model of perceived organizational support

This study examined the mediating influence of trust in organization (TIO) and organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) on the relationship between perceived organization support (POS) and its work outcomes. Data were obtained from employee-supervisor dyads from multiple organizations located in a major city in southern China. Structural equation modeling results revealed that: (a) POS related to TIO and OBSE and (b) TIO and OBSE fully mediated the relationship between POS and the work outcomes of organizational commitment and in-role performance, but partially mediated the POS-organizational citizenship behavior relationship.     

The effects of rumination and negative cognitive styles on depression: a mediation analysis

Research on cognitive models of depression has identified negative cognitive styles and rumination as risk factors for depression. The present study examined the hypothesis that rumination mediates the effect of negative cognitive styles on depression. Specifically, we evaluated the differential effects of two aspects of rumination, characterized by brooding and reflection, on the relationship between negative cognitive styles and level of depressive symptoms. A total of 115 college students and 38 patients suffering from depressive disorders completed a battery of questionnaires measuring levels of depressive symptoms, brooding, reflection, and negative cognitive styles. The results support the notion that there exist two distinct dimensions of rumination and that, of the two, it is brooding and not reflection that mediates the relationship between negative cognitive styles and depression and contributes to its negative outcomes.     

An evaluation of the minimal constraining information during observation for movement reproduction

An important question in the field of imitation is what information is used for movement reproduction. While it is argued that relative motion information is perceived and minimised, direct evidence is lacking. In this experiment relative motion was manipulated to convey a novel kicking action. Twenty-four adults were assigned to one of the three impoverished relative motion display groups showing only the TOE, FOOT or LEG. After practise with partial information, participants watched a full-body display and in a final condition performed the action with an additional context constraint (i.e., a ball). Movement kinematics were collected and difference scores between participants and the model were analysed. The groups did not differ in terms of knee-ankle coordination. For hip-knee, the TOE group performed more like the model than the FOOT and LEG group. When transferred to the full-body display, there were no significant improvements. End-point trajectory information can provide sufficient information to reproduce key characteristics of the movement form.     

Effector-dependent learning by observation of a finger movement sequence

Can observational learning be effector dependent? In 3 experiments, observers watched a model respond to a 6-item unique sequence in a serial reaction time task. Their sequence knowledge was then compared with that of controls who had performed an unrelated task or observed a model responding to random targets. Observational learning was indicated when the introduction of a new sequence was associated with more reaction time elevation in observers than in controls. The authors found evidence of observational learning only when observers used the finger movement sequence that they observed during training, not when they responded at the same sequence of locations using different digits. Free generation and recognition tests also detected observational learning. These results imply that observational learning can be both explicit and effector dependent.     

社会自我效能感与工作倦怠的关系：社会交换视角下有调节的中介模型

本研究基于工作要求-资源模型和领导-成员交换理论,采用两时点追踪问卷调查方法收集了313份数据,探讨了员工的社会自我效能感与工作倦怠之间的关系及其内在机制。分析结果表明：社会自我效能感对工作倦怠有显著的负向预测作用;领导-成员交换关系在社会自我效能感和工作倦怠之间有着显著的中介作用;领导-成员交换社会比较调节了社会自我效能感通过领导-成员交换关系预测工作倦怠的间接效应。     

Friendship network mechanisms linking emotional intelligence and subjective well-being: Beyond a mediation model

ABSTRACT

This study examined whether the status (central or peripheral position) of individuals in a friendship network and the quality of a friendship network represent key mechanisms in determining how emotional intelligence is associated with subjective well-being. Using data collected from 217 Chinese senior undergraduates, we found that the interaction of the quality of a friendship network and a peripheral position in a friendship network mediated relations of emotional intelligence with subjective well-being. Although a central position in a friendship network did not interact with the quality of a friendship network, it did mediate the relations of emotional intelligence with subjective well-being on its own. The findings expand the growing body of research findings on the association between emotional intelligence and subjective well-being by investigating the role of friendship networks and highlight the importance of a network perspective in understanding the association.     

Visual mediation and the haptic recognition of two-dimensional pictures of common objects

A set of three experiments was performed to investigate the role of visual imaging in the haptic recognition of raised-line depictions of common objects. Blindfolded, sighted (Experiment 1) observers performed the task very poorly, while several findings converged to indicate that a visual translation process was adopted. These included (1) strong correlation between image-ability ratings (obtained in Experiment 1 and, independently, in Experiment 2) and both recognition speed and accuracy, (2) superior performance with, and greater ease of imaging, two-dimensional as opposed to three-dimensional depictions, despite equivalence in rated line complexity, and (3) a significant correlation between the general ability of the observer to image and obtained imageability ratings of the stimulus depictions. That congenitally blind observers performed the same task even more poorly, while their performance did not differ for two- versus three-dimensional depictions (Experiment 3), provides further evidence that visual translation was used by the sighted. Such limited performance is contrasted with the considerable skill with which real common objects are processed and recognized haptically. The reasons for the general difference in the haptic performance of two- versus three-dimensional tasks are considered. Implications for the presentation of spatial information in the form of tangible graphics displays for the blind are also discussed.