The dual-conception view reexamined: attentional demands and the encoding of verbal and physical information in action events

In two experiments the influence of attentional demands at encoding on recall of different features of subject-performed tasks (SPTs) was studied. In Experiment 1, memory of verbs and colors of objects was tested, with object names serving as cues. In Experiment 2, object and color memory were tested, with verbs serving as cues. Results from both experiments indicated that SPTs were affected by divided attention at encoding. In contrast to previous research, verbal and physical properties of SPTs were not differently affected by the requirements of dual-task performance (i. e., the combination of an SPT task and a secondary task). The results are discussed in terms of the nature of the secondary task.     

Extending the temporal range of psychometric prediction by optimal linear filtering of mental test scores

Incorporating temporal decline in predictive validity into mental testing theory is outlined. Starting from multivariate regression of criterion on repeated measurements, an analytic extension results in a weighting function for repeated measurements, replacing the beta weights. Besides optimizing, the procedure permits an evaluation of any particular prognosis setting: In cases of exponentially declining predictive validity, prognostic range can be extended if concurrent validity is nonperfect by optimal weighting (predictive filtering) of repeated measurements. Considerable gain in prognostic range over the traditional approach can be achieved if predictive validity declines concavely downwards.This work was supported by grant Dr 58/3 from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

Acquisition of phobias and anxiety response patterns in clinical patients

The ways in which phobic patients (N = 106; animal-, social- and claustrophobics) acquired their phobias were investigated in the present study. The results showed that a large majority (58%) of the patients attributed their phobias to conditioning experiences, while 17% recalled vicarious experiences, 10% instructions/information and 15% could not recall any specific onset circumstances. There was no clearcut relationship between the ways of acquisition and anxiety components (subjective, behavioral, physiological), nor did the conditioning and indirectly acquired phobias differ in severity. However, some interesting trends emerged in the data, showing that animal phobics who recalled conditioning experiences to a larger extent also responded physiologically. For patients with indirect onset experiences (for all three types of phobias) the reverse was true, i.e. they responded to a larger extent in a cognitive-subjective way, rather than with increased physiological arousal.     

Name ambiguity and androgyny

Subjects with gender-ambiguous names or nicknames (i.e., names that can belong to either males or females) were compared on Bem's androgyny scale to subjects having common or uncommon first names or nicknames to determine if name ambiguity was related to sex-role identification. The results showed that for our sample of college undergraduates (N=489), both males (N=246) and females (N=243) with ambiguous nicknames (e.g., Pat, Tony, Marty) were more often classified as androgynous on the Bem inventory than were subjects with uncommon, common, or no nicknames. Ambiguous first names were unrelated to the androgyny scale. Name and nickname ambiguity were not related to liking of name, self-concept, family tradition, social class differences, or grade point average.A version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, March 1978.     

Motion structure in five-dot patterns as a determinant of perceptual grouping

The effect of basic motion structures on perceptual grouping was studied with five-dot motion patterns. Four basic motion structures were identified in terms of proximal common and relative motion vectors. In a forced-choice situation, the observers had to decide to which of two pairs of dots a fifth critical dot seemed to belong. Thus, one of two possible three-dot units was chosen by the observers. The two possible three-dot units defined different motion structures, and the chosen motion structure was considered to have stronger grouping power than the alternative structure had. It was found that parallel common motions (perceived translation in the plane) had the strongest grouping power; these were followed by circular common motions (perceived rotation in the plane), concurrent relative motions (perceived translation in depth), and, finally, parallel relative motions (perceived rotation in depth). The results also suggested effects of proximity and orientation of axis of rotation. It is further argued that the relative grouping power of the motion structures could not solely be interpreted in terms of changes of directions and distances between the dots. Instead it is suggested that vector analysis is a fundamental perceptual activity and that basic motion structures determine grouping power.     

The normal distribution in scaling subjective stimulus differences: Less “normal” than we think?

The Gaussian, or “normal,” distribution is routinely used to model distributions of subjective quantities. This practice rests on a trust in the central limit theorem, yet this theorem does not cover the case of a mixture of Gaussian distributions with different standard deviations, which yields a distribution that is heavier tailed than the Gaussian. In psychophysical judgment experiments, this may result, for example, from fluctuating or interindividually varying attention. Two candidates for describing this commonly encountered type of distribution are the logistic distribution and thet distribution with a small number of degrees of freedom. In reanalyses of experimental data on three-category loudness comparisons, as well as in a Monte Carlo simulation,t(4) was found to model the underlying mixed inter- and intraindividual-distribution of subjective loudness differences quite satisfactorily.     

Realism of confidence in sensory discrimination: The underconfidence phenomenon

This paper documents a very pervasive underconfidence bias in the area of sensory discrimination. In order to account for this phenomenon, a subjective distance theory of confidence in sensory discrimination is proposed. This theory, based on the law of comparative judgment and the assumption of confidence as an increasing function of the perceived distance between stimuli, predicts underconfidence—that is, that people should perform better than they express in their confidence assessments. Due to the fixed sensitivity of the sensory system, this underconfidence bias is practically impossible to avoid. The results of Experiment 1 confirmed the prediction of underconfidence with the help of present-day calibration methods and indkated-a-good quantitative fit of the theory. The results of Experiment 2 showed that prolonged experience of outcome feedback (160 trials) had no effect on underconfidence. It is concluded that the subjective distance theory provides a better explanation of the underconfidence phenomenon than-do previous accounts in terms of subconscious processes.     

Apparent size as a function of vertical gaze direction: new tests of an old hypothesis

The hypothesis was tested that the decline of apparent size with elevated gaze results from a latent tendency of the eyes to diverge and thus increased vergence effort. Through the use of a method of category estimation, the decline of apparent size on elevation or depression of gaze was found not to be different between subjects with larger or smaller changes of dark vergence and thus vergence effort. In a 2nd experiment, vergence effort was varied by varying gaze elevation and the angle of convergence. With vergence effort constant, apparent size was dependent on the angle of convergence rather than being constant. It is concluded that apparent size does not depend on vergence effort and that the effect of gaze elevation on apparent size cannot be attributed to its concomitant effect on dark vergence.     

Aids,myth, and ethics

The present paper is a commentary on an article by Larry Churchill [1]. Churchill has argued that the negative attitudes and adverse behavior we commonly encounter in connection with (suspected) AIDS patients may be understood in terms of a dualistic myth inspiring a ritual avoidance of dirt, of dirt as something that does not belong to a clean world order. The deep-seated mythical character of attitudes and behavior here makes them less accessible to the kind of rational argument commonly employed in ethics. Churchill also proposes a remedy for the (morally outrageous) dualistic mythical-ritual behavior he has focused — a remedy that may be overly intellectualistic.Three further comments are made: on the metaphorical meaning of myth, on a reductionist tendency in Churchill's deep-looking project, and on an ethically crucial ambiguity in the meaning of the other person's otherness. These (mildly critical) comments do not, however, detract from a positive overall evaluation of Churchill's basic idea that we will understand more about adverse attitudes and behavior in connection with AIDS if we think in terms of myth, ritual, dirt, and cleanliness.