Tactile enumeration of small quantities using one hand

Our study explores various aspects of enumerating small quantities in the tactile modality. Fingertips of one hand were stimulated by a vibro-tactile apparatus (for 100/800 ms). Between 1 and 5 stimuli were presented to the right or the left hand and applied to neighboring (e.g., thumb–index–middle) or non-neighboring (e.g., thumb–middle–pinkie) fingers. The results showed a moderate increase in RT up to 4 stimuli and then a decrease for 5 stimuli. Right hand stimulation evoked more accurate performance than left hand stimulation only under short exposures (100 ms). Importantly, when the stimuli were presented to neighboring fingers, the accuracy rate was higher and the RT was faster than when presented to non-neighboring fingers. We discuss the results and suggest that when the stimuli are presented to one hand the subitizing range is 4 rather than 3. Furthermore, the right hand advantage and the efficiency for neighboring fingers are further support for the association between number and spatial arrangement of the fingers.     

The numerical distance effect is task dependent

Number comparison tasks produce a distance effect e.g., Moyer & Landauer (Nature 215: 1519-1520, 1967). It has been suggested that this effect supports the existence of semantic mental representations of numbers. In a matching task, a distance effect also appears, which suggests that the effect has an automatic semantic component. Recently, Cohen (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 16: 332-336, 2009) suggested that in both automatic and intentional tasks, the distance effect might reflect not a semantic number representation, but a physical similarity between digits. The present article (1) compares the distance effect in the automatic matching task with that in the intentional number comparison task and suggests that, in the latter, the distance effect does include an additional semantic component; and (2) indicates that the distance effect in the standard automatic matching task is questionable and that its appearance in previous matching tasks was based on the specific analysis and design that were applied.     

Children's loneliness, sense of coherence, family climate, and hope: developmental risk and protective factors

The study examined the contributions of individual and familial variables for the prediction of loneliness as a developmental risk and the sense of coherence as a protective factor. The sample consisted of 287 children from grades 5-6. Their loneliness, sense of coherence, hope, effort, and family climate were assessed. Separate hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that family cohesion and children's hope contributed to the explanation of the risk and protective outcomes. Yet, the contribution of the family adaptability was not significant. Cluster analysis of the family climate dimensions (i.e., cohesion and adaptability) was performed to clarify the interactive roles of family adaptability together with family cohesion. The authors identified 4 separate family profiles: Children in the 2 cohesive families' clusters (Cohesive Structured Families and Cohesive Adaptable Families) reported the lowest levels of loneliness and the highest levels of personal strengths. Children within rigid and noncohesive family cluster reported the highest levels of loneliness and the lowest levels of children's sense of coherence. The unique role of the family flexibility within nonsupportive family systems was demonstrated. The results further clarified the unique profiles' characteristics of the different family clusters and their adjustment indexes in terms of loneliness and personal strengths.     

A unique asymmetrical stroop effect in absolute pitch possessors

The Stroop task has been employed to study automaticity or failures of selective attention for many years. The effect is known to be asymmetrical, with words affecting color naming but not vice versa. In the current work two auditory-visual Stroop-like tasks were devised in order to study the automaticity of pitch processing in both absolute pitch (AP) possessors and musically trained controls without AP (nAP). In the tone naming task, participants were asked to name the auditory tone while ignoring a visual note name. In the note naming task, participants were asked to read a note name while ignoring the auditory tone. The nAP group showed a significant congruency effect only in the tone naming task, whereas AP possessors showed the reverse pattern, with a significant congruency effect only in the note reading task. Thus, AP possessors were unable to ignore the auditory tone when asked to read the note, but were unaffected by the verbal note name when asked to label the auditory tone. The results suggest that pitch identification in participants endowed with AP ability is automatic and impossible to suppress.     

Reflexive orienting by central arrows: Evidence from the inattentional blindness task

It was demonstrated that central arrows produce orienting of attention even when they are nonpredictive as to the target location. This finding was suggested to indicate reflexive orienting of attention by central arrows. However, it is not clear whether central arrows can produce an attentional effect without awareness. In two experiments, using a variation of the inattentional blindness task, we examine whether orienting of attention by a central arrow can be demonstrated without conscious perception of the arrow. We found that attention could be directed to the cued location even when the arrow was not consciously perceived.