Eye position affects audio-visual fusion in darkness

We investigated the frame of reference involved in audio-visual (AV) fusion over space. This multisensory phenomenon refers to the perception of unity resulting from visual and auditory stimuli despite their potential spatial disparity. The extent of this illusion depends on the eccentricity in azimuth of the bimodal stimulus (Godfroy et al, 2003 Perception 32 1233-1245). In a previous study, conducted in a luminous environment, Roumes et al 2004 (Perception 33 Supplement, 142) have shown that variation of AV fusion is gaze-dependent. Here we examine the contribution of ego- or allocentric visual cues by conducting the experiment in total darkness. Auditory and visual stimuli were displayed in synchrony with various spatial disparities. Subjects had to judge their unity ('fusion' or 'no fusion'). Results showed that AV fusion in darkness remains gaze-dependent despite the lack of any allocentric cues and confirmed the hypothesis that the reference frame of the bimodal space is neither head-centred nor eye-centred.     

Contemporary attitudes and their ideological representation in Flanders (Belgium), Poland,and the Ukraine

The present research tests the validity of a two‐dimensional cultural and economic right‐wing model of ideology, as well as the relationships between these dimensions and attitudes toward recent political issues. Opinions about environmentalism, war on terror, and European Union enlargement were selected as representative contemporary attitudes. The present research questions were investigated in a Flemish (N = 176), Polish (N = 93), and Ukrainian (N = 93) sample. The results revealed that two dimensions underlie the ideological spectrum in all samples, one referring to cultural conservatism and right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA), and one referring to economic conservatism and social dominance orientation (SDO). Although the validity of differentiating between these ideological dimensions has been amply illustrated in studies on Western samples, the replication of these dimensions in former communist countries add to their validity and generality, because these countries have a specific political culture and history. However, important cross‐cultural differences with respect to the representation of the contemporary attitudes in this two‐dimensional ideological space were obtained as well. Whereas the war on terror attitude was meaningfully related to the cultural right‐wing dimension in all samples, the relationships for the environmentalism and EU enlargement attitudes were sample dependent. These cross‐cultural differences were explained in terms of saliency of the issue (nonsignificant versus significant relationships in the case of environmentalism) and pragmatic concerns in terms of profits and costs (in the case of EU enlargement). In the discussion it is also argued that the closer correspondence between the ideological representation of these attitudes in Polish and Western society may be caused by the fact that communism was less successful in penetrating political mentality in Poland than in the Ukraine.     

Herding by attribution of privileged information

We study a situation where agents take extreme actions and how these actions are imitated by others. First, Experiment 1 showed that an expert first mover had an advantage in obtaining herding by others on his investment decision, when compared to a non‐expert first mover. Experiment 2 showed that this advantage only appeared when the first mover's investment was out‐of‐the‐ordinary (in fact, highly aberrant). We obtained the same level of herding in Experiment 3 when the first mover had privileged information, instead of being an expert. Second, Experiment 4 showed that when people observed the same out‐of‐the‐ordinary investment and did not know whether the first mover had privileged information or not, they herded on him as if he had privileged information. In fact, our data revealed that participants thought that the unknown first mover had privileged information. Furthermore, herding was statistically indistinguishable from the condition where observers knew unambiguously that the first mover had privileged information. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Subjective frequency and imageability ratings for 3,600 French nouns

Subjective frequency and imageability estimates for a sample of 3,600 French nouns were collected from two independent groups of 72 young adults each. Both groups received standard instructions and provided their ratings on a 7-point scale. The timing, sequencing, presentation of lexical stimuli, and recording of responses were controlled by a computer. All estimates of internal consistency and test—retest reliability (≥.98) confirm the high level of precision and reliability of the ratings. Correlations with ratings drawn from similar studies were found to be positive and significant for subjective frequency (r ≥ .85) and for imageability (r ≥ .69). Subjective frequency was positively and significantly correlated with objective frequency estimates drawn from 10 different sources (r ≥ .42). Subjective frequency and imageability were significantly correlated (r=.26), a relationship that was driven primarily by a sudden drop in imageability ratings for words with a subjective frequency rating below 2.5. The methodological implications of these findings are discussed. The ratings can be downloaded as supplemental materials from brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.     

Ergonomie cognitive d’un conseil génétique pour le test présymptomatique de maladie de Huntington

We would like to propose the analysis of a multidisciplinary genetic counselling activity. More precisely, we study an interaction that took place in the consultation between an asymptomatic patient who requests for a predictive genetic testing of Huntington’s disease and two doctors successively. We describe the failure of the multidisciplinary team’s attempt to influence the conviction, or the personal rationality, of the patient for the genetic risk perception. More generally, this study illustrates the communication practices which are engendered by modern medicine can be very delicate. Therefore, this information is carried by the act of informing. This action is made of processes which are relatively independent.     

The Need for Inclusion: The relationships between Relational and Collective inclusion needs and psychological well-and ill-being

The Need to Belong concept encompasses the need for inclusion and the discomfort with exclusion. The Need to Belong Scale of Leary, Kelly, Cottrell, and Schreindorfer (2013, p. 610), however, primarily probes into the discomfort aspect, and it does not distinguish between relational and collective self-levels. Two studies (total N = 429) provided evidence of the reliability, distinctiveness, and validity of the newly developed Need for Inclusion scale. The results revealed that Relational Need for Inclusion positively contributes to psychological well-being and negatively to ill-being. Collective Need for Inclusion was distinctively related to collective and group-level outcomes of self, such as social trust and collective self-esteem. Need to Belong yielded a reversed pattern of results for the studied outcomes. It is concluded that inclusion needs and discomfort with exclusion are positively related but clearly distinct, and that future studies should investigate their joint effects in a single research design.     

Saliva DHEAS changes in patients suffering from psychopathological disorders arising from bullying at work

BACKGROUND: Psychological disorders arising from bullying at work (BW) are common. The relationship between these disorders and putative markers is not well established. AIMS: To measure saliva dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) and saliva cortisol as putative markers in individuals suffering from BW. METHODS: Forty one subjects suffering from BW were screened for mental distress at the institute of occupational health in Clermont-Ferrand, France. They were compared with 28 psychologically healthy controls (group C). The conditions causing BW were recorded. The hospital anxiety and depression (HAD) scale, the Beech questionnaire and the visual analogic scale (VAS) of stress were used to determine the psychological consequences of BW. Saliva samples were collected at awakening (7am), 30 and 60min after awakening, and then every 2h until bed time (11pm). RESULTS: The BW group had significantly higher scores on the HAD scale, higher stress on the VAS, and a higher score on the Beech questionnaire. They also had a significantly higher saliva concentration of DHEAS. There was no significant difference between groups in cortisol levels at any time, nor in area under the curve (AUC) and cortisol awakening response (CAR). There was a significant positive correlation between HAD and VAS scores and DHEAS levels, but not between cortisol levels or AUC or CAR. CONCLUSION: In contrast to saliva cortisol levels, saliva DHEAS levels are modified after psychological distress arising from BW. This discrepancy probably arises from the stability conferred by the very long half life of DHEAS of about 15h.     

Unjust Lies,Just Wars? A Christian Pacifist Conversation with Augustine

Pacifism is routinely criticized as sectarian, incoherent, and preoccupied with moral purity at the expense of responsibility. The author contends that the pacifism of John Howard Yoder is vulnerable to none of these charges and defends this claim by establishing parallels between Yoder's analysis of killing and Augustine's analysis of lying. Although, within the terms of his own argument, Augustine's rejection of all lying as unjust is consistent with his condoning of some killing as just, the author shows that given a different conception of the defining characteristic of God (noncoercive love instead of truth), Augustine's theological argument against lying would become an argument against violence. The author therefore suggests that Yoder's rejection of killing is no more sectarian, incoherent, or irresponsible that Augustine's rejection of lying.     

Computational Evidence That Frequency Trajectory Theory Does Not Oppose But Emerges From Age‐of‐Acquisition Theory

According to the age‐of‐acquisition hypothesis, words acquired early in life are processed faster and more accurately than words acquired later. Connectionist models have begun to explore the influence of the age/order of acquisition of items (and also their frequency of encounter). This study attempts to reconcile two different methodological and theoretical approaches (proposed by Lambon Ralph & Ehsan, 2006 and Zevin & Seidenberg, 2002 ) to age‐limited learning effects. The current simulations extend the findings reported by Zevin and Seidenberg (2002) that have shown that frequency trajectories (FTs) have limited and specific effects on word‐reading tasks. Using the methodological framework proposed by Lambon Ralph and Ehsan (2006) , which makes it possible to compare word‐reading and picture‐naming tasks in connectionist networks, we were able to show that FT has a considerable influence on age‐limited learning effects in a picture naming task. The findings show that when the input–output mappings are arbitrary (simulating picture naming tasks), the links formed by the network become entrenched as a result of early experience and that subsequent variations in frequency of exposure of the items have only a minor impact. In contrast, when the mappings between input‐output are quasi‐systematic or systematic (simulating word‐reading tasks), the training of new items was generalized and resulted in the suppression of age‐limited learning effects. At a theoretical level, we suggest that FT, which simultaneously takes account of time and the level of exposure across time, represents a more precise and modulated measure compared with the order of introduction of the items and may lead to innovative hypotheses in the field of age‐limited learning effects.     

Discrete Visual Samples May Control Locomotor Equilibrium and Foot Positioning in Man

The static or dynamic visual cues required for equilibrium as well as for foot guidance in visually guided locomotion in man were studied using a variety of locomotion supports and illumination and visual conditions. Stroboscopic illumination (brief flashes) and intermittent lighting (longer flashes) were used to control and to vary the visual sampling frequency of static (positional/orientational) visual cues. There were three main findings: First, visual control of foot positioning during locomotion over discontinuous terrain depends mainly upon static visual cues with a low sampling frequency (about 3 Hz); second, visual control of dynamic equilibrium during locomotion over a narrow support depends mainly upon the availability of high frequency static visual cues (up to about 12 Hz); and third, static visual cues required for equilibrium control are extracted from both the peripheral and the central visual field.

Assuming that discrete demands for feedback occur, a simple probabilistic model was proposed, according to which the mean time that elapses following presentation of static visual cues about positions or changes of position accounts for the differences in the difficulty of the various illumination conditions.