DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OBJECTS AND NONOBJECTS IN VISUAL EXTINCTION:

Abstract— We used visual extinction as a method for investigating the influence of objects on selective visual attention. Two subjects demonstrating extinction following damage to right parietal cortex were tested in a simple detection task. The task required only that subjects detect the presence or absence of any item in the left and right visual fields. Both subjects showed an advantage for good objects in the impaired field However, this advantage for good objects held only in the presence of a simultaneous stimulus in the undamaged field. We suggest that objects are not simply easier lo detect than nonobjects, instead we argue that objects are stronger competitors for attentional selection.     

SOURCE-RELATED DETERMINANTS OF PERCEIVED JOB SCOPE

The effect of manipulating source competence, locus of control, and social cues on perceived job scope was examined in an experimental study. A total of 185 business students participated in a 2×2×2×2 factorial research design. The design partitions were: task level (enriched versus unenriched), social cues (positive versus neutral), source competence (high versus low), and locus of control (high versus low). Subjects were screened on a locus of control measure such that those either in the upper or lower third score range were eligible to participate. A three-way interaction was found, involving source competence × social cues × locus of control on perceived job scope. The results of this study are discussed in terms of the Social Information Processing Approach (SIPA) to task design.     

ON THE PROBLEMS OF PERCEIVED DIFFICULTY

BORG, G., BRATFISCH, O. & DORNI'C, S. On the problems of perceived difficulty. Scand. J. Psychol. , 1971, 12, 249–260.–The development and meaning of the concept of "perceived difficulty" is presented. A concise survey of experiments carried out so far is given with regard to the main theoretical, methodological and applied problems at which the investigations aimed. A substantial part of the paper is devoted to the analysis of the concept of perceived difficulty and to the possibilities of measurement. The concept of perceived difficulty is dealt with also in a differential connection and a model for interindividual comparisons is suggested. It is emphasized that a systematic investigation of perceived difficulty is both possible and useful, and that it yields an opportunity to improve and facilitate the construction of psychological tests. Finally, possible future research projects are briefly outlined.     

THE PERCEIVED VALUE OF FRINGE BENEFITS

One hundred eighty-two University of Arizona employees each participated in one of two field studies of the valuation of fringe benefits. Findings included: (a) a lack of employee knowledge regarding employer cost and market value of the studied benefit, and (b) significant undervaluation of the benefit by employees. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that employee benefit valuations anchor on employee contributions. Implications for practitioners and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

LOCKE AND THE OBJECTS OF PERCEPTION

Abstract: It is common to assume that if Locke is to be regarded as a consistant epistemologist he must be read as holding that either ideas are the objects of perception or that [physical] objects are. He must either be a direct realist or a representationalist. But perhaps, paradoxical as it at first sounds, there is no reason to suppose that he could not hold both to be true. We see physical objects and when we do so we have ideas. We see or hear birds and bells but we also have visual and auditory ideas of birds and bells. This suggestion is explored through examination of what Locke says about perception in his Elements of Natural Philosophy and the accounts offered both by Locke in the Essay Concerning Human Understanding and by some of Locke's successors.     

PERCEIVED INTENSITY OF ODOR AS A FUNCTION OF TIME OF ADAPTATION

The perceived intensity of odor under conditions of constant stimulation with hydrogen sulphide was investigated in two experiments. A two-step scaling method, involving cross-modality matching and numerical scaling of the matching continuum, was used for measuring intensity of odor. Perceptual intensity was found to decrease exponentially with increase of time of stimulation. Preliminary data concerning the subsequent recovery phase were also obtained.     

THE VISUAL EXPERIENCE OF CAUSATION

The thesis that we can visually perceive causal relations is distinct from the thesis that visual experiences can represent causal relations. I defend the latter thesis about visual experience, and argue that although they are suggestive, the data provided by Albert Michotte's experiments on perceptual causality do not establish this thesis. Turning to the perception of causality, I defend the claim that we can perceive causation against the objection that its arcane features are unlikely to be represented in experience.     

SIMULTANEOUS DISCRIMINATION OF VISUAL ATTRIBUTES

LIE, I. & ORSZAGH, G. Simultaneous discrimination of visual attributes. Scand. J. Psychol , 1971, 12, 128–130.–The accuracy of simultaneous discrimination of two attributes (colour and size) of a common visual object was compared with discrimination of a single attribute. No significant difference between single and double discrimination tasks was obtained for any of the four durations of exposure (40, 100, 175, 500 msec).     

VISUAL PERCEPTION OF CAPITAL LETTERS

The quantitative similarity of nine capital letters was studied (1) by the direct multidimensional ratio scaling method and (2) by the method of similarity analysis. Three factors, 'E', 'O' and T, were found. Factor loadings were nearly identical in both methods. A previously proposed equation did not describe the relation between subjective similarity and angular separation of percept vectors.     

TRAINING OF PERIPHERAL VISUAL ACUITY

An experiment was performed to investigate whether the duration of exposure and the size of the test objects are factors critical for obtaining a training effect in peripheral visual acuity. Contrary to previous results it is shown that considerable improvement may be obtained even under conditions of flash stimulation, provided that the test object used for training is sufficiently small to be just discriminable. The results are interpreted in terms of shifts in the maximum momentary level of attention from the central to the peripheral area of the visual field.     

THE LOCUS OF VISUAL AFTER-IMAGES

K olehmainen , K. & T uomisaari , R. The locus of visual after-images. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1969, 10 , 45–48.—Three bright spots of light aligned horizontally were presented, so that the distances between them were equal. Two adjacent lights were flashed on simultaneously and the third one somewhat later. The subjects reported the distance between the midmost light and the light which appeared later to be longer than the distance between the simultaneous lights (the 'tau-effect'). As to the after-images, however, the intervening distances were judged equal. The results are, accordingly, suggestive of a peripheral basis of the after-images.     

NOTE ON THE EFFECT OF VELOCITY ON PERCEIVED DURATION

Ten subjects made magnitude productions of duration in two velocity conditions when going by car. Productions for the higher of the two velocities were found to be reliably longer than those for the lower due to a negative relation between velocity and the slope of the R-S function relating perceived to physical duration. It was suggested that the effect of velocity on the slope of the R-S function might account for the discrepant results from previous studies investigating the effects of velocity on perceived duration.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASURE OF PERCEIVED HOMOPHILY IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

This paper reports the development of a measure of perceived homophily. In both an initial investigation and in four subsequent studies employing samples from diverse populations, four dimensions of response were observed. These dimensions were labeled Attitude, Morality, Appearance, and Background. Additional results indicated that opinion leaders are perceived as more homophilous than non-opinion leaders on the dimensions of Attitude, Morality, and Background. The scales found to measure these dimensions are suggested for consideration by researchers concerned with homophily or interpersonal similarity in human communication.     

COGNITIVE STYLE AND ATTITUDINAL CORRELATES OF THE PERCEIVED CAUSES OF RAPE SCALE

This study examines the relations between beliefs about the causes of rape and attitudinal and cognitive style (the tendency to think about social problems systemically, the view of people as complex and changeable, and an intellectual personality) measures in a sample of 270 community-college students. The Perceived Causes of Rape (PCR) Scale included the following subscales: Male Dominance, Society and Socialization, Female Precipitation, Male Sexuality, and Male Hostility. Beliefs about the causes of rape varied on three dimensions: individual versus sociocultural causes of rape, those causes that focus on the perpetrator versus those that focus on the victim, and rape myths versus feminist beliefs. The causes of rape identified as rape myths were associated with male sexuality stereotypes, a version of Burt's (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, attitudes toward feminism, and self-identification as a feminist. Agreement with the sociocultural causes of rape was associated with cognitive style measures and age. We suggest that belief in sociocultural causes of rape may require a predisposition to think systemically as much as an ideological stance.