Statistical learning of adjacent and nonadjacent dependencies among nonlinguistic sounds

Previous work has demonstrated that adults are capable of learning patterned relationships among adjacent syllables or tones in continuous sequences but not among nonadjacent syllables. However, adults are capable of learning patterned relationships among nonadjacent elements (segments or tones) if those elements are perceptually similar. The present study significantly broadens the scope of this previous work by demonstrating that adults are capable of encoding the same types of structure among unfamiliar nonlinguistic and nonmusical elements but only after much more extensive exposure. We presented participants with continuous streams of nonlinguistic noises and tested their ability to recognize patterned relationships. Participants learned the patterns among noises within adjacent groups but not within nonadjacent groups unless a perceptual similarity cue was added. This result provides evidence both that statistical learning mechanisms empower adults to extract structure from nonlinguistic and nonmusical elements and that perceptual similarity eases constraints on nonadjacent pattern learning. Supplemental materials for this article can be downloaded from pbr.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.     

The Spurious Correlation of Ratios that Have Common Variables: A Monte Carlo Examination of Pearson's Formula

Pearson (1897) investigated correlations of ratios of bone measurements and found that although the correlations among the original measures were low, the correlations among ratios with common measures were about .5. To understand this result, he developed an approximate equation for the correlations of ratios. In the present study, Monte Carlo methods were used to show that Pearson's equation is fairly accurate and that correlations among ratios with common elements (e.g., X/C, Y/C) are indeed at least partly spurious, as Pearson concluded. This finding should serve as a two-fold warning to those who might correlate ratios that have common elements: (a) Interpretation of the observed relationship between such ratios may at best be tenuous, and (b) the relationships among the elements themselves may call into question the usefulness of addressing a hypothesis that can be tested only with a correlation between ratios that share elements.     

Visual search for positional relationships between pattern elements

The purpose of these experiments was to illustrate how a search for positional relationships between the elements in a stimulus pattern is effortful and serial, whereas a search for pattern elements (without requiring any positional information) takes place rapidly and in parallel. In all three experiments of this study, the target and distractor patterns consisted of two vertical line segments. In the experiment concerning the search for positional relationships between pattern elements, one of the line segments in a line pair had a gap, and the observer's task was to indicate whether the positional order of the two lines was identical in all the line pairs of the display, or whether the line segments were in a mirror-image order in one line pair (the target). In the two experiments concerning the search for pattern elements (no positional information was required), the observer's task was to look for a line pair with one gap line (the target) among line pairs containing two broken lines or among line pairs with unbroken lines. In all three tasks, the reaction time for a correct target detection was measured. The results showed that the search in the first task was highly serial, and in the second and third tasks of "feature" searches, the search time was nearly independent of the number of distractor pairs. It is suggested that this dissociation may be interpreted in the context of the quality of information processing in extrafoveal vision, i. e. the elements of a stimulus pattern can be clearly visible outside the fovea, but it is not possible to perceive accurately the positional relationships between them.     

The perceptual fate of letters in two kinds of apparent movement displays

Two experiments investigated the importance of figurai relationships among stimulus elements in the determination of the kind of motion perceived in bistable apparentovement displays. Stimulus frames containing the words MITE and ITEM were constructed in such a way that the letters I, T, and E appeared in corresponding locations while the M was in disparate locations between frames. When the frames were alternated with a 20-msec ISI, observers maintained local figurai identity in their percepts of apparent movement. However, when the frames were alternated with an 80-msec ISI, observers reported apparent movement of the entire groups of letters and thereby ignored figurai relationships in their percepts of apparent movement. In a second experiment, it was found that figurai nonidentity between elements of successive frames always resulted in apparent movement of a perceptual group or “blob” regardless of ISI. It is suggested that short-range apparent-movement percepts rely strongly upon figurai identity among corresponding stimulus elements, whereas long-range apparent-movement percepts do not.     

Using a new taxonomy to combine the uncombinable: integrating results across diverse interventions

Researchers have examined numerous psychosocial and behavioral interventions intended to alleviate distress among family caregivers of persons with dementia. Many of these interventions are complex, combining numerous treatment components. Although some multicomponent interventions have been successful in reducing caregiver distress, the impact of specific elements of these interventions on outcomes is not known. The article presents results of an analytic approach that allows researchers to describe the individual elements of multicomponent interventions and to examine the relationships between those components and outcomes. This approach is successfully applied to interventions being evaluated in the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) program. The results indicate that actively targeting caregiver behavior is effective in achieving positive outcomes with respect to caregiver depression.     

Indsales Model: A Facet-Level Job Satisfaction Model among Salespeople

While a debate exists with regard to the measurement of job satisfaction as a global or multifaceted construct, research has yet to understand how the facets of job satisfaction behave in a developmental process. Using the INDSALES satisfaction scale, this research theoretically develops and empirically tests a multifaceted job satisfaction model using a sample of 226 business-to-business sales representatives. The results demonstrate the linkages among different elements of satisfaction and illustrate the interdependencies inherent to job satisfaction facets. Drawing from expectancy theory and the established relationships among satisfaction facets, sales organizations should focus their efforts on increasing salesperson satisfaction with policy and support and properly aligning salesperson expectations.     

An organizing framework for collective identity: articulation and significance of multidimensionality

The authors offer a framework for conceptualizing collective identity that aims to clarify and make distinctions among dimensions of identification that have not always been clearly articulated. Elements of collective identification included in this framework are self-categorization, evaluation, importance, attachment and sense of interdependence, social embeddedness, behavioral involvement, and content and meaning. For each element, the authors take note of different labels that have been used to identify what appear to be conceptually equivalent constructs, provide examples of studies that illustrate the concept, and suggest measurement approaches. Further, they discuss the potential links between elements and outcomes and how context moderates these relationships. The authors illustrate the utility of the multidimensional organizing framework by analyzing the different configuration of elements in 4 major theories of identification.     

Motivating and Stressful Properties of Jobs: Integration of Research Approaches Through Facet Analysis

This study applied the methodology of Facet Analysis in order to develop and test a definitional framework for the study of job characteristics. Five facets were used to define job characteristics, integrating the motivational and stressful properties of jobs. Perceptual responses were compared to attitudinal assessments. Analysis of the correlational structures of responses from a sample of 240 executives using Smallest Space Analysis supported the definitional system. The empirical data verified the five facets. Results indicated that the structure of relationships among job elements remains invariant across the three assessments of perception, importance, and satisfaction.     

Modeling influence of change readiness on knowledge acquisition process: A case study

Change readiness (CR) has important impact on the success of knowledge acquisition (KA). So it is necessary for managers to know how KA is shaped by CR elements. Review of the extant literature shows a paucity in this regard specially regarding intra-organizational rather than inter-organizational level. Therefore, to bridge this gap, this study aims to present a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) model in which interactions among CR elements for KA are identified. To do so, first, elements for measuring CR for KA were extracted from the relevant literature. Then, the identified elements were screened through distributing the first designed questionnaire among the select sample of survey organization. Then, the second questionnaire was used to measure the select elements and find the relation between them, using FCM and Mental Modeler Software. To improve CR for KA, some scenarios are suggested by the managers and the impact of each scenario on the whole CR elements is identified using sensitive analysis of the FCM model. After comparing the scenarios, it is concluded improving more elements in one scenario does not necessarily result in better impact on the whole CR for KA. This is due to the interaction among the elements which sometimes could be negative. The proposed model might help managers of the survey organization evaluate their CR improvement plans for KA before taking any actions. In addition, this study can give an idea to other organizations and industries to apply this approach according to their own relevant criteria. This study is among the first in its kind which presents a model using FCM method in which the interactions among the CR elements influencing KA are considered.     

Hierarchical motion organization in random dot configurations

Motion organization has 2 aspects: the extraction of a (moving) frame of reference and the hierarchical organization of moving elements within the reference frame. Using a discrimination of relative motions task, the authors found large differences between different types of motion (translation, divergence, and rotation) in the degree to which each can serve as a moving frame of reference. Translation and divergence are superior to rotation. There are, however, situations in which rotation can serve as a reference frame. This is due to the presence of a second factor, structural invariants (SIs). SIs are spatial relationships persisting among the elements within a configuration such as a collinearity among points or one point coinciding with the center of rotation for another (invariant radius). The combined effect of these 2 factors--motion type and SIs-influences perceptual motion organization.     

Can friendship serve as an impetus for safe driving among young drivers?

Reckless driving is a key factor in injury and death among young people, especially men, throughout the world. At this developmental stage (ages 17–24), the youngster’s behavior, including driving habits, is strongly influenced by the social discourse. Whereas previous studies have investigated the impact of concepts such as peer pressure and the number of passengers in the car, they have dealt little with the overall social relations that characterize young people, particularly, the nature of their friendships and their reflection in safe versus risky driving.Using qualitative phenomenological methodology, the present study relies on 32 semi-structured in-depth interviews to explore the elements of the relationships among young drivers in the context of driving behavior. Aristotle’s conceptualization of three types of friendship was employed as the interpretative framework. The findings reveal that a young driver’s behavior when driving with friends is associated with the different perceptions of friendship, and is gender and age sensitive. The elements of a friendship of utility (reciprocal interests, practical and beneficial interactions) were connected with safety at all ages and in both genders, and those of a friendship of virtue (responsibility, equality, concern for others) were associated with safe driving among females of all ages and among some of the older male drivers (21–24 years). In contrast, the components of a friendship of pleasure (spending leisure time together, sharing mutual interests) were related to risky and distracted driving, especially among the younger male drivers (17–19 years). It is suggested that interventions might promote safe driving among young people by fostering the positive aspects of their peer relationships.     

Prioritizing selection of new elements: bottom-up versus top-down control

Watson and Humphreys (1997) have proposed that prioritized selection of new over old elements occurs because observers can apply top-down inhibition to the locations of the old elements by a mechanism they refer to as visual marking. However, recent evidence has suggested that the top-down mechanism is questionable (Donk & Theeuwes, 2001). In the present study, we investigated whether prioritized selection of new over old elements occurs in a bottom-up or a top-down fashion. Observers were presented with displays containing one set of elements (old elements) followed, after a certain time interval, by a second set of elements (new elements). The observers were instructed to search for the presence of a target that was presented with equal probability among the old and the new elements (Experiments 1 and 2) or twice as often among the old elements than among the new elements (Experiment 3). The results show that new elements were prioritized for selection over old ones even though the observers had no incentive to do so. The results suggest that prioritized selection of new over old elements is not mediated by a top-down inhibition process, as was proposed by Watson and Humphreys (1997). Instead, prioritization of new elements appears to be a bottom-up process. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of models of attentional control.     

Distant melodies: statistical learning of nonadjacent dependencies in tone sequences

Human listeners can keep track of statistical regularities among temporally adjacent elements in both speech and musical streams. However, for speech streams, when statistical regularities occur among nonadjacent elements, only certain types of patterns are acquired. Here, using musical tone sequences, the authors investigate nonadjacent learning. When the elements were all similar in pitch range and timbre, learners acquired moderate regularities among adjacent tones but did not acquire highly consistent regularities among nonadjacent tones. However, when elements differed in pitch range or timbre, learners acquired statistical regularities among the similar, but temporally nonadjacent, elements. Finally, with a moderate grouping cue, both adjacent and nonadjacent statistics were learned, indicating that statistical learning is governed not only by temporal adjacency but also by Gestalt principles of similarity.     

Integrating covariates into circumplex structures: an extension procedure for Browne’s circular stochastic process model

Circumplex structures are elements of various psychological domains. Most work focuses on assessing the circular ordering of circumplex indicators and their relationships with covariates. In this article, an extension procedure for Browne’s circumplex model is presented. Our approach models the relationships among circumplex indicators and the relationships of covariates with a latent circumplex simultaneously without affecting the circumplex indicators’ positions on the circumplex. The approach builds upon Browne’s Fourier series parameterization of a correlation function, which is used to model the latent circumplex correlation structure. It extends the shape of the correlation function to the profile of each covariate’s correlations with the circumplex. The model is specified in the framework of structural equation modeling, thereby making it possible to test various hypotheses. Procedures are presented for deriving interval estimates for the parameters that relate the covariates to the circumplex. The model is compared to other approaches for assessing the relationships of a circumplex with covariates. The results of the exemplary applications and a simulation study were in favor of the suggested model. The approach is furthermore illustrated with a real-data example, focusing on the relationships between the interpersonal circumplex and the rivalry and admiration aspects of narcissism.     

Classes and collections: Internal organization and resulting holistic properties

This work presents an analysis of a type of concept, the collection, not readily characterized by class inclusion models. Collections, the referents of collective nouns (e.g., pile, family, bunch), are argued to differ from classes in (a) how membership can be determined, (b) part-whole relationships, (c) internal structure, and (d) the nature of the higher order units they form. From this analysis, it is hypothesized that the psychological integrity of collections is greater than that of classes. Collections and objects, in contrast to classes, both require specified relationships among the parts and both result in a coherent psychological unit. It was suggested that objects form a relatively more stable unit than collections. Corresponding to this analysis the degree of psychological integrity is hypothesized to lead to different degrees of difficulty in making part-whole comparisons for objects, collections, and classes in modified Piagetian class-inclusion paradigms. The hypothesized difference in performance was found for collections and classes and an alternative linguistic explanation for the greater success with collections was eliminated. However, children performed equally well on tasks involving collections and objects, raising the possibility that when elements are organized into collections, they form psychological units which are as coherent as objects.     

Rethinking Psychosocial Interventions in Natural Disasters: Lessons from Holistic Ecocentrism and Religious Beliefs

The history of thought has been determined by the understanding and regulation of the relationships among the human being, Nature and God. This trilogy traditionally consists of completely differentiated elements with suggestive implications in the aesthetic landscape experience. But it is possible to identify cultures in different parts of the world or historic moments characterized by the assimilation of humans as part of Nature, or Nature as part of God. These considerations are particularly important in the so-called “primitive” contemporary societies when devastating natural phenomenon occur, since the design of psychosocial intervention strategies could become linked to religious rituals.     

Perceived Sources of Happiness: A Network Analysis

This study investigated the perceived sources of happiness among young men and women. Rank scores of the perceived reasons for happiness were compared between the two groups and seven significant differences were discerned. Men ranked “sexual activity”, “sports”, being “liked” and having a “good social life” significantly higher than women. Women ranked “helping others”, having a “close family” and being “loved by loved ones” significantly higher than men. A modified form of network analysis was also conducted. Both networks demonstrated similar core representations of happiness with a focus on self-confidence, being free of stress, occupational and social factors, family support and personal relationships. However, the networks show an association between sexual activity and male personal relationships, whereas emotional factors are associated with female personal relationships. The male network also demonstrates the importance of sports and physical activity in male happiness. Despite some gender differences, it is suggested that the similarities within the mean rank scores and networks form the core elements of a shared social representation of happiness.     

Dual Relationships: A Continuum Ranging From the Destructive to the Therapeutic

This article is a review of the literature regarding the nature, scope, and complexity of dual relationships, which range from the destructive to the therapeutic. The dynamics, consequences, standards of practice, and ethical dilemmas regarding sexual and nonsexual counselor–client dual relationships are discussed. Common elements of concern pertaining to both types of relationships are identified, and the potential benefits of some forms of nonsexual dual relationships are explored.     

Visual marking beside the mark: Prioritizing selection by abrupt onsets

In a standard visual marking experiment, observers are presented with a display containing one set of elements (old elements) followed after a certain time interval by a second set of elements (new elements). The task of observers is to search for a target among the new elements. Typically, the time to find the target depends only on the number of new elements in the display and not on the number of old elements, showing that observers search only among the new elements. This effect of prioritizing new elements over old elements is explained in terms of top-down inhibition of old objects—that is, visual marking (Watson & Humphreys, 1997). The present study addressed whether this prioritizing is in fact mediated by top-down inhibition of old objects, as suggested by Watson and Humphreys (1997), or whether it is mediated by the abrupt onsets of the newly presented elements (Yantis & Jonides, 1984). In three experiments, the presentations of the old and new elements were or were not accompanied by a luminance change. The results showed that if new elements were equiluminant with the background, no visual marking occurred, suggesting that new elements must have a luminance onset in order to be prioritized over old elements. Implications for current theories on visual selection are discussed.     

Visual marking beside the mark: prioritizing selection by abrupt onsets

In a standard visual marking experiment, observers are presented with a display containing one set of elements (old elements) followed after a certain time interval by a second set of elements (new elements). The task of observers is to search for a target among the new elements. Typically, the time to find the target depends only on the number of new elements in the display and not on the number of old elements, showing that observers search only among the new elements. This effect of prioritizing new elements over old elements is explained in terms of top-down inhibition of old objects-that is, visual marking (Watson & Humphreys, 1997). The present study addressed whether this prioritizing is in fact mediated by top-down inhibition of old objects, as suggested by Watson and Humphreys (1997), or whether it is mediated by the abrupt onsets of the newly presented elements (Yantis & Jonides, 1984). In three experiments, the presentations of the old and new elements were or were not accompanied by a luminance change. The results showed that if new elements were equiluminant with the background, no visual marking occurred, suggesting that new elements must have a luminance onset in order to be prioritized over old elements. Implications for current theories on visual selection are discussed.