Priming of luminance-defined motion direction in visual search

Features that we have recently attended to strongly influence how we allocate visual attention across a subsequently viewed visual scene. Here, we investigate the characteristics of any such repetition effects during visual search for Gabor patch targets drifting in the odd direction relative to a set of distractors. The results indicate that repetition of motion direction has a strong effect upon subsequent allocation of attention. This was the case for judgments of a target’s presence or absence, of a target’s location, and of the color of a target drifting in the odd direction. Furthermore, distractor repetition on its own can facilitate search performance on subsequent trials, indicating that the benefits of repetition of motion direction are not confined to repetition of target features. We also show that motion direction need not be the target-defining dimension throughout a trial block for motion priming to occur, but that priming can build up with only one presentation of a given target direction, even within blocks of trials where the target may, unpredictably, be defined by a different feature (color, in this case), showing that dimensional-weighting accounts cannot, on their own, account for motion direction priming patterns. Finally, we show by randomizing the set size between trials that priming of motion direction can decrease search rates in visual search.     

The relationship between intercultural abilities and cultural identity styles: A longitudinal cross-lagged analysis

Hybrid and alternating identity styles are dynamic strategies that members of immigrant and ethnic minority groups use to maintain multiple cultural identities. Although research shows that the two strategies predict different outcomes for cultural identity development and psychological well-being, less is known about their antecedents. The present study investigated the temporal relationship between intercultural abilities (i.e. intercultural effectiveness) and the activation of hybrid and alternating identity styles in a community sample of Filipino and Indian New Zealanders. Cross-lagged analysis indicated that intercultural abilities positively predicted the hybrid identity style and negatively predicted the alternating identity style. Cultural identity styles were not predictive of intercultural abilities over time. Multigroup analysis indicated equivalence of regression paths across ethnic groups. Findings suggest that intercultural abilities function as an antecedent of cultural identity styles.     

Diagrammatic carriers and the acceptance of Newton’s optical theory

Synthese - A permissivist framework is developed to include images in the reconstruction of the evidential base and of the theoretical content. The paper uses Newton’s optical theory as a...     

NEW PHENOMENOLOGY IN FRANCE

Phenomenology is a basic philosophical movement belonging to what is called “continental philosophy.” Recently, a new phenomenology has emerged in France. In the period from Levinas and Henry to Marion and Richir, it has become evident that the phenomenon as such cannot be reduced to a mere constitution by intentional consciousness; rather, it must be considered as an event of appearing that establishes itself by itself. This fundamental insight entails important consequences: on the one hand, a new concept of the subject has been elaborated; on the other hand, a new approach to effective reality and objectivity has been developed. Idealism is overcome, transcendentalism is revised and reinterpreted. These changes will certainly have an impact on the destiny of continental philosophy.     

Imputation methods for missing data in educational diagnostic evaluation

In the diagnostic evaluation of educational systems, self-reports are commonly used to collect data, both cognitive and orectic. For various reasons, in these self-reports, some of the students' data are frequently missing. The main goal of this research is to compare the performance of different imputation methods for missing data in the context of the evaluation of educational systems. On an empirical database of 5,000 subjects, 72 conditions were simulated: three levels of missing data, three types of loss mechanisms, and eight methods of imputation. The levels of missing data were 5%, 10%, and 20%. The loss mechanisms were set at: Missing completely at random, moderately conditioned, and strongly conditioned. The eight imputation methods used were: listwise deletion, replacement by the mean of the scale, by the item mean, the subject mean, the corrected subject mean, multiple regression, and Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm, with and without auxiliary variables. The results indicate that the recovery of the data is more accurate when using an appropriate combination of different methods of recovering lost data. When a case is incomplete, the mean of the subject works very well, whereas for completely lost data, multiple imputation with the EM algorithm is recommended. The use of this combination is especially recommended when data loss is greater and its loss mechanism is more conditioned. Lastly, the results are discussed, and some future lines of research are analyzed.     

Schizophrenia and modern culture: reasons for insanity

After pointing out the uncertainty and confusion to which neurobiological research has led schizophrenia, as shown and acknowledged in recent reviews, we offer seven reasons for reconsidering schizophrenia a disorder of the self, rather than of the brain. The first reason starts out conceiving schizophrenia as a disorder of the self, in the perspective of current phenomenology. The second relates the fact of its recent origin (as of 1750) with the particular configuration of the modern self and with the great transformation of the community into a society of individuals (industrialization, urbanization). The third reason emphasizes the affinity between schizophrenia and adolescence, a critical age in the formation of the self, which started to be problematic at the end of the 18th century. The fourth is the better prognosis of schizophrenia in developing countries, in comparison to developed countries, which probably has to do with the process of modernization (which still maintains community structures in less developed countries). The fifth is the high incidence of schizophrenia among immigrants, as a fact to be explained in terms of a socio-evolutionary model. The sixth reason reviews the genetic legend of schizophrenia, and how epigenetics gives protagonism back to the environment. The seventh and last reason refers to the reconsideration of psychological therapy as the possible treatment of choice and not merely an adjunct to medication, as it is known that, for patients, interpersonal chemistry is more important than neurochemistry.     

Tourist Assessment of Archaeological Sites: The Case of The Archaeological Complex of Itálica (Seville,Spain)

ABSTRACT

Few studies have examined visitors’ assessments of their stay at archaeological complexes. This study analyzed this issue, focusing on Itálica (Seville, Spain). The results show that three factors are important in assessing a visit: quality of service, perceived sacrifice and satisfaction. With regard to these three factors, significant differences were found depending on whether the visitor had previously been to Itálica and where he or she came from. From these results, the authors have identified possible ways of improving the services provided, and, consequently, visitor satisfaction.     

Quality of Life and Mental Health Comparisons Among Liver Transplant Recipients and Cirrhotic Patients with Different Self-Perceptions of Health

Our aim was to analyze the differences in quality of life and mental health among liver transplant recipients with better (G₁) and worse (G₂) perceived health and decompensated cirrhotic patients (G₃). We selected two groups of patients: 168 liver transplant recipients and 75 cirrhotic patients. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and SF-36 Health Survey were used. Statistically significant differences showed that cirrhotic patients (G₃) suffered the highest impairment, and liver transplant recipients with better self-perceived health (G₁) had the lowest impairment, whereas patients with worse self-perceived health (G₂) were in an intermediate position between both groups. Moreover, very striking differences, based on large effect sizes, were found among groups on some quality of life dimensions: physical-role, general health, vitality, and physical functioning. In conclusion, the biopsychosocial well-being of liver transplant recipients is better than that of cirrhotic patients, even if the former do not perceive their health positively.     

Viewing Cognitive Conflicts as Dilemmas: Implications for Mental Health

The idea that internal conflicts play a significant role in mental health has been extensively addressed in various psychological traditions, including personal construct theory. In the context of the latter, several measures of conflict have been operationalized using the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT). All of them capture the notion that change, although desirable from the viewpoint of a given set of constructs, becomes undesirable from the perspective of other constructs. The goal of this study is to explore the presence of cognitive conflicts in a clinical sample (n = 284) and compare it to a control sample (n = 322). It is also meant to clarify which among the different types of conflict studied provides a greater clinical value and to investigate its relationship to symptom severity (SCL-90-R). Of the types of cognitive conflict studied, implicative dilemmas were the only ones to discriminate between clinical and nonclinical samples. These dilemmas were found in 34% of the nonclinical sample and in 53% of the clinical sample. Participants with implicative dilemmas showed higher symptom severity, and those from the clinical sample displayed a higher frequency of dilemmas than those from the nonclinical sample.