Is it really too far? Overestimating walk time and distance reduces walking

In this paper we use an intercept survey of 1,297 people at seven locations in New Jersey to answer three questions about perceived distances and walk times to nearby destinations. First, we seek to clarify conflicting results from the literature by asking: what factors are associated with perceived distance and walk times? Like other studies, we find that people overestimate both walk times and distances. We find that characteristics of the route matter. People are more likely to overestimate in car-dependent locations, along routes with many turns or barriers, or for destinations that are relatively closer. In terms of personal characteristics, experience walking and familiarity with the area both lead to lower estimates, while concerns about crime, getting lost, or carrying something heavy increase estimates. Next, we explore whether overestimating walk times and distances reduces the likelihood of walking. We find that people who overestimate are less likely to walk, everything else equal. Together, these results suggest that wayfinding campaigns that clarify the travel time to nearby destinations and ease the fear of getting lost are likely to improve perceptions and increase walking. We make an additional contribution by highlighting important differences between our university and town center samples, which raises questions about the reliance on student samples in research.     

Would you rather teleport or spend some time commuting? Investigating individuals’ teleportation preferences

The “teleportation test” is a unique question—used in some travel behavior research since the 2000s—to examine individuals’ perceptions towards travel time and affinities for travel. It gives people a hypothetical choice between teleporting or spending some time traveling. All studies (using different methods, including focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires) have consistently reported high teleportation preferences (about 70%). Yet, few correlates of teleportation preferences (especially sociodemographic and perceptual characteristics) have been investigated. Using data from an online questionnaire of 648 commuters in Portland, Oregon, this study investigated factors affecting individuals’ teleportation preferences. While generally representative of the area’s commuters, the sample did have higher shares of high-income workers and people using active modes or transit. Overall, 62% of respondents preferred to teleport than to spend some time commuting. Results from binary logit models identified actual commute duration, typical mode of travel, and “ideal” travel time (but no demographic attributes) as major predictors of preferences to teleport. As expected, people with longer commute durations had a greater desire to teleport, whereas bicyclists and pedestrians more often preferred to commute. People with longer ideal travel times had a greater affinity to commute and were less keen to teleport. Analysis of follow-up questions exploring reasons for respondents’ answers suggested that most “teleporters” were motivated by saving time to do other things, while most “commuters” found parts of their commutes to be enjoyable or productive. Findings from this study are consistent with related studies in implying that a teleportation preference does not necessarily represent zero ideal travel time or viewing travel time as wasted. Finally, this study discusses several travel behavior policy implications of the teleportation test, along with limitations and areas for future research.     

Direct social perception of others’ subjective time

In this paper, I deploy Gallagher et al.’s theory of Direct Social Perception (DSP) to help explain how we perceive others’ subjective time. This process of second-person temporal perception plays an important role in interpersonal interaction, yet is often glossed over in discussions of intersubjectivity. Using A.D. Craig (2009) ‘awareness’ model of subjective time to unify converging evidence that subjective time is embodied, affective, and situated, I argue that subjective time cannot be considered as a hidden or invisible aspect of a private mind, but is partially externally visible through our gestures, expressions, and other behaviours as they unfold within a particular context. My central thesis is that, in face to face interactions, we are able to directly perceive these visible components of other people’s subjective time. This is made possible by our “enculturated” (Menary, 2015) and enactive perceptual faculties. The process of social perception is not a passive, unidirectional affair where static information about one person’s subjective time is transmitted to the other, but rather inextricably linked with action (both at the personal and subpersonal level) and interaction effects produced by a dynamic coupling between participants. Such an enactive perspective reveals how others’ subjective time can be perceived in everyday interactions.     

An extension of the exemplar-based random-walk model to separable-dimension stimuli

An extension of Nosofsky and Palmeri's (Psychol. Rev. 104 (1997a) 266) exemplar-based random-walk (EBRW) model of categorization is presented as a model of the time course of categorization of separable-dimension stimuli. Nosofsky and Palmeri (1997a) assumed that the perceptual encoding of all stimuli was identical. However, in the current model, we assume as in Lamberts (J. Exp. Psychol.: General 124 (1995) 161) that the inclusion of individual stimulus dimensions into the similarity calculations is a stochastic process with the probability of inclusion based on the perceptual salience of the dimensions. Thus, the exemplars that enter into the random-walk change dynamically during the time course of processing. This model is implemented as a Markov chain. Its predictions are compared with alternative models in a speeded categorization experiment with separable-dimension stimuli.     

Does Monitoring Performance Eliminate the Ego-depletion Phenomenon and Influence Perception of Time?

This study evaluated whether monitoring performance against an objective measure eliminated ego-depletion and enhanced the accuracy of one's temporal perception. Two independent variables, depletion level and monitoring status, were manipulated in 83 undergraduates (71% female, median age = 21.2 years), who were then measured for persistence on a series of anagram puzzles (first dependant variable) and subjective time perception estimates (second dependant variable). While depleted participants in the nonmonitoring condition exhibited significantly less persistence than those in the performance-monitoring or low-depleted conditions, no differences in time perception scores were detected among the four groups. It appears monitoring behavior against an objective measure is a robust tool to improve self-control ability in depleted individuals; however, this effect is unrelated to perception of time.     

Accounting for sensation seeking in route choice behavior with travel time information

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that latent variables, with the focus on sensation seeking concepts, incorporated in new technique of route choice modeling, improve our analyzing of route choice behavior with pre-trip travel time information. The application of a hybrid discrete choice model framework integrates a latent variable model and a route choice model by combining their measurement and structural equations. The model is estimated based on data from a laboratory experiment and a field study of a simple network. The results show that certain sensation seeking domains (e.g., thrill and adventure seeking) alongside traditional variables (e.g., travel time information) enrich our understanding and provide more insight into route choice behavior. Furthermore, observed personal variables, such as gender and marital status, may serve as causal indicators to sensation seeking variables.     

风险认知策略的计算机模拟实验

风险认知策略是个体面临风险情景时的风险认知倾向,可以通过个体的行为策略加以判断。本实验采用计算机模拟风险情景,以严格的２×２×３的实验变量设计,研究个体的风险认知策略与风险情景因素的关系。实验结论表明,风险认知策略的调整与风险情景中的实际风险程度（风险概率）、风险信息类型以及对风险情景可控与不可控性的知觉有关。个体的冒险性倾向是相对稳定的心理特征,但风险认知策略的调整不仅与个体的心理特征有关,还与风险情景因素有关。     

Contextualism and a puzzle about seeing

Contextualist solutions to skeptical puzzles have recently been subjected to various criticisms. In this paper, I will defend contextualism against an objection pressed by Jason Stanley. In the course of doing so, I argue that either semantic context-sensitivity is very widespread in natural language, or else Stanley's ``binding' test for the presence of hidden variables in logical form is not a good test.     

Procedural Text Structure and Reader Perceptions and Performance

This research tested the relationship between text structural variables (on vs. off the causal chain, active vs. static information, and hierarchical structure) and reader perceptions, reading time, and true-false performance for procedural texts. Twenty-four college-age participants each read 3 procedural texts. As predicted, sentences that were (a) on the causal chain, (b) active, and (c) associated with task steps were read more slowly and judged to be more important (p < .05). The results were similar to those previously found with narratives, except for the hierarchical structure variable. Also as predicted, text differences were found such that as the variation in the type of information contained in the text increased, relationships with the structural variables increased.     

Fixed-interval matching-to-sample: intermatching time and intermatching error runs

Four pigeons were trained on a matching-to-sample task in which reinforcers followed either the first matching response (fixed interval) or the fifth matching response (tandem fixed-interval fixed-ratio) that occurred 80 seconds or longer after the last reinforcement. Relative frequency distributions of the matching-to-sample responses that concluded intermatching times and runs of mismatches (intermatching error runs) were computed for the final matching responses directly followed by grain access and also for the three matching responses immediately preceding the final match. Comparison of these two distributions showed that the fixed-interval schedule arranged for the preferential reinforcement of matches concluding relatively extended intermatching times and runs of mismatches. Differences in matching accuracy and rate during the fixed interval, compared to the tandem fixed-interval fixed-ratio, suggested that reinforcers following matches concluding various intermatching times and runs of mismatches influenced the rate and accuracy of the last few matches before grain access, but did not control rate and accuracy throughout the entire fixed-interval period.     

The origins of touchscreen competence: Examining infants’ exploration of touchscreens

Infants’ exposure to images presented on screens is increasing with the accelerating use of technology in society and at home. Touchscreen technology provides numerous interactive screen opportunities geared toward infants and toddlers. Touchscreens are unique in that they possess the 2D qualities of a picture, but a set of manipulation possibilities similar to, but distinct from, a 3D object. Research comparing infants’ manual exploration of photographs, objects, and screen images has demonstrated that although 7–10-month-old infants direct different actions towards 3D objects, their exploration of screen images does not differ significantly from their exploration of 2D photographs (Ziemer & Snyder, 2016). The current investigation compares the ways in which 7–10-month-old infants and 15–18-month-old infants manually explore screen images, photographs, and objects. Infants in the older age group were shown examples of objects, photographs, and screen images presented within a well in a table with a Plexiglas® cover to create identical tactile feedback. Coders noted the presence or absence of appropriate actions displayed toward the various surfaces. Results were compared to data collected earlier (Ziemer & Snyder, 2016) to demonstrate the evolution of touchscreen competence across the first years of infant development. By 15–18 months, infants demonstrate an emerging repertoire of touchscreen-appropriate behaviors directed towards touchscreens that is not demonstrated by 7–10-month-old infants. Differences in haptic exploration suggest the beginnings of a touchscreen competence that enables infants to understand and interact with touchscreens in a new way.     

学习、笔画和线索注视时间对汉字知觉干扰效应的影响

采用经高斯模糊技术处理的汉字,以命名为任务,实验一考察了事先学习以及笔画数、实验二考察了笔画数和线索注视时间对干扰效应的影响.结果发现:1.无论是否学习,汉字识别均存在于扰效应;2.无论汉字笔画多少均存在干扰效应;3.模糊线索的注视时间足够长久之后不再影响干扰效应.这些结果似乎表明当激活超过一定水平时,和汉字激活水平有关的因素对知觉干扰效应不再起作用.