Moving window generator for reading experiments

An inexpensive PC-based moving window generator with an eye movement recording system is described. The moving window technique, activated by current eye movements, has an advantage over the fixed window technique in measuring the effective visual field size during reading. A variable rectangular window, through which the subject observes the text, is generated on a PC-controlled CRT screen. The system includes a frame buffer memory, an analog-to-digital conversion unit, and an eye movement recording system. The system works well for measuring approximate field size during reading.     

How accurate is size and distance perception for very far terrestrial objects? Function and causality

This study investigated absolute estimation of size and distance for natural and artificial objects at viewing distances of 1.1–15.3 km (Experiments 1 and 2) and 0.4–5.0 m (Experiment 3). The main results were that, regardless of distance range, size and distance estimates (S′ andD′) were related to objective size and distance (S andD), respectively, by a power function with an exponent of unity, but great individual differences in exponent were obtained for the far objects. The ratioS′/D′ was reasonably represented byS′/D′ =Kθ ⁿ andS′/D′ = tan(aθ +b), rather thanS′/D′ = tan θ, where θ is the visual angle. Partial correlations were obtained to examine whether (1) apparent size is determined by taking apparent distance into account or (2) both apparent size and apparent distance are determined directly by external stimuli. The combined data for the far objects and the data for the close objects showed that there were high correlations betweenS andS′ and betweenD andD′ and a low correlation betweenD′ andS′. The data of Experiment 2 showed that bothD′ andS′ were highly correlated withS D, and θ, and there was a high positive correlation betweenD′ andS′. It was suggested that the direct-perception model is valid under some situations, but the taking-into-account model is not supported in any set of data.     

Spatial imagery of novel places based on visual scene transformation

The hippocampus is known to maintain memories of object-place associations that can produce a scene expectation at a novel viewpoint. To implement such capabilities, the memorized distances and directions of an object from the viewer at a fixed location should be integrated with the imaginary displacement to the new viewpoint. However, neural dynamics of such scene expectation at the novel viewpoint have not been discussed. In this study, we propose a method of coding novel places based on visual scene transformation as a component of the object-place memory in the hippocampus. In this coding, a novel place is represented by a transformed version of a viewer’s scene with imaginary displacement. When the places of individual objects are stored with the coding in the hippocampus, the object’s displacement at the imaginary viewpoint can be evaluated through the comparison of a transformed viewer’s scene with the stored scene. Results of computer experiments demonstrated that the coding successfully produced scene expectation of a three object arrangement at a novel viewpoint. Such the scene expectation was retained even without similarities between the imaginary scene and the real scene at the location, where the imaginary scenes only functioned as indices to denote the topographical relationship between object locations. The results suggest that the hippocampus uses the place coding based on scene transformation and implements the spatial imagery of object-place associations from the novel viewpoint.     

Assessing acute stress with the Implicit Association Test

Assessments of acute stress using self-report questionnaires can be biased by various factors, including social desirability. The present study used a bias-free method, the Implicit Association Test (IAT), to assess stress. Unlike a previous study (Schmukle & Egloff, 2004) in which acute stress was not detected with the IAT, this study manipulated stress by generating test anxiety and threatening self-esteem. The results revealed that the IAT effect was greater in the high-stress group than in the low-stress group. Participants in the high-stress group associated their concept of self with the concept of anxiety more strongly than did those in the low-stress group. This result suggests that the IAT is a sensitive measure for detecting group differences in acute stress.     

Use of subjective estimation in motor skill tests of young children: judgment based on observation of behavior in daily life

This study assessed what motor skill tests were appropriate by observing 636 young children's behavior in daily life (low-aged classes, M = 3.7 yr.; middle-aged classes, M = 4.7 yr.; high-aged classes, M = 5.7 yr.). A homeroom teacher and an assistant teacher estimated motor achievement as pass-or-fail, and then judged pass-or-fail based on practical testing. Estimate-re-estimate agreement, interrater agreement, and agreement between estimated values and measured values were examined for 27 items, e.g., skipping, bouncing a ball, and turning on one leg. Estimate-re-estimate agreement was high on the whole. Interrater agreement ranged from 34% to 100% for 3-yr.-olds, 21% to 100% for 4-yr.-olds, and 89% to 100% for 5-yr.-olds. Agreement between estimated values and measured values greater than 80% was found in most items for 5-yr.olds (14 items). After examining the above-mentioned agreements, 26 items were selected as possible tests to judge motor development, using a pass-or-fail, from the observation of young children's behavior in daily life.     

Autonomy and relatedness in psychopathology and treatment: a cross-cultural formulation

A cross-cultural view of psychopathology is proposed, contending that there are two basic systems of self-organization. These two systems of self-organization, labeled autonomy and relatedness, are essential to a person's well-being regardless of the culture or society to which the person belongs. The degree of autonomy and relatedness required to maintain mental health in a specific society is affected by cultural mores. People in collectivistic (primarily non-Western) cultures require high levels of relatedness and moderate levels of autonomy to maintain mental health. People in individualistic (primarily Western) cultures require high levels of autonomy and moderate levels of relatedness to maintain mental health. This view, based on a review of past work in various areas of psychology, is discussed in the context of various forms of psychotherapy existing in individualistic and collectivistic cultures.     

Wheatstone—Panum limiting case: Occlusion, camouflage, and vergence-induced disparity cues

We examined effects of binocular occlusion, binocular camouflage, and vergence-induced disparity cues on the perceived depth between two objects when two stimuli are presented to one eye and a single stimulus to the other (Wheatstone—Panum limiting case). The perceived order and magnitude of the depth were examined in two experimental conditions: (1) The stimulus was presented on the temporal side (occlusion condition) and (2) the nasal side (camouflage condition) of the stimulus pair on one retina so as to fuse with the single stimulus on the other retina. In both conditions, the separation between the stimulus pair presented to one eye was systematically varied. Experiment 1, with 16 observers, showed that the fused object was seen in front of the nonfused object in the occlusion condition and was seen at the same distance as the nonfused object in the camouflage condition. The perceived depth between the two objects was constant and did not depend on the separation of the stimulus pair presented to one eye. Experiment 2, with 45 observers, showed that the disparity induced by vergence mainly determined the perceived depth, and the depth magnitude increased as the separation of the stimulus pair was made wider. The results suggest that (1) occlusion provides depth-order information but not depth-magnitude information, (2) camouflage provides neither depth-order nor depth-magnitude information, and (3) vergence-induced disparity provides both order and magnitude information.     

Visual contribution to the multistable perception of speech

The multistable perception of speech, or verbal transformation effect, refers to perceptual changes experienced while listening to a speech form that is repeated rapidly and continuously. In order to test whether visual information from the speaker's articulatory gestures may modify the emergence and stability of verbal auditory percepts, subjects were instructed to report any perceptual changes during unimodal, audiovisual, and incongruent audiovisual presentations of distinct repeated syllables. In a first experiment, the perceptual stability of reported auditory percepts was significantly modulated by the modality of presentation. In a second experiment, when audiovisual stimuli consisting of a stable audio track dubbed with a video track that alternated between congruent and incongruent stimuli were presented, a strong correlation between the timing of perceptual transitions and the timing of video switches was found. Finally, a third experiment showed that the vocal tract opening onset event provided by the visual input could play the role of a bootstrap mechanism in the search for transformations. Altogether, these results demonstrate the capacity of visual information to control the multistable perception of speech in its phonetic content and temporal course. The verbal transformation effect thus provides a useful experimental paradigm to explore audiovisual interactions in speech perception.     

Crystal structure of a hexagonal phase and its relation to a quasicrystalline phase in Zn-Mg-Y alloy

The crystal structure of a Zn-Mg-Y hexagonal phase, considered to be related to that of the quasicrystalline phase, has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The atomic model, refined to a final R value of 0.027, has the composition Zn65.22Mg27.92Y6.86 and 92 atoms in a unit cell with lattice constants a = 14.579(2) A and c = 8.687(1) A and the space group P63/mmc. The Y atoms are situated at two different sites; one is fully occupied by Y atoms, while the other is shared with Mg atoms. The structure can be characterized by a layer structure stacked along the c axis, and also viewed as a columnar structure composed of fused Friauf polyhedras sharing hexagonal rings. The similarity of this hexagonal phase to the MgZn2 phase is shown. The structural relationship between this hexagonal phase and the icosahedral phase is also discussed.