Does color synesthesia pose a paradox for early-selection theories of attention?

Abstract— P.M. is a synesthete who experiences colors when viewing alphanumeric symbols. Her search for a target differing from distractors by a synesthetic color feature takes the form of a pop-out search. Thus, it would seem that synesthesia can occur preattentively. However, discrepancies between the regression functions of response times observed in target-present trials and target-absent trials, and the fact that fast response times occur only when the target is within a few degrees of visual angle from fixation, indicate that P.M.'s synesthesia does not occur preattentively, but rather is within the focus of attention. We conclude that synesthesia is a genuine perceptual phenomenon that can have substantial influence on visual processing.     

The old and thee, uh, new: disfluency and reference resolution

Most research on the rapid mental processes of on-line language processing has been limited to the study of idealized, fluent utterances. Yet speakers are often disfluent, for example, saying "thee, uh, candle" instead of "the candle." By monitoring listeners' eye movements to objects in a display, we demonstrated that the fluency of an article ("thee uh" vs. "the") affects how listeners interpret the following noun. With a fluent article, listeners were biased toward an object that had been mentioned previously, but with a disfluent article, they were biased toward an object that had not been mentioned. These biases were apparent as early as lexical information became available, showing that disfluency affects the basic processes of decoding linguistic input.     

How dogs navigate to catch frisbees

Using micro-video cameras attached to the heads of 2 dogs, we examined their optical behavior while catching Frisbees. Our findings reveal that dogs use the same viewer-based navigational heuristics previously found with baseball players (i.e., maintaining the target along a linear optical trajectory, LOT, with optical speed constancy). On trials in which the Frisbee dramatically changed direction, the dog maintained an LOT with speed constancy until it apparently could no longer do so and then simply established a new LOT and optical speed until interception. This work demonstrates the use of simple control mechanisms that utilize invariant geometric properties to accomplish interceptive tasks. It confirms a common interception strategy that extends both across species and to complex target trajectories.     

The ups and downs of attributional ambiguity: stereotype vulnerability and the academic self-knowledge of African American college students

This research examined whether stereotype vulnerability-the tendency to expect, perceive, and be influenced by negative stereotypes about one's social category-is associated with uncertainty about one's academic self-knowledge in two important ways. We predicted that stereotype-vulnerable African American students would (a) know less about how much they know than less vulnerable students do and (b) have unstable academic efficacy. In Study 1, Black and White participants took a verbal test and indicated the probability that each of their answers was correct. As expected, stereotype-vulnerable Black participants were more miscalibrated than other participants. In Study 2, participants completed measures of self-efficacy twice daily for 8 days. Also as expected, the academic efficacy of stereotype-vulnerable Blacks fluctuated more-and more extremely-than that of other participants. The results suggest that, in addition to undermining intellectual performance, stigma interferes with academic self-knowledge.     

The activity of the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system in response to acute stressor exposure: neuroendocrine and electrophysiological observations

The present mini review focuses on stress-induced alterations of the electrical and secretory activity of vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT) neurones originating within the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and constituting the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system (HNS) in the male rat. Previously, it was thought that SON neurones are predominantly activated by osmotic and reproductive stimuli. However, recent findings also suggest a selective activation of AVP and/or OXT neurones in response to specific stressors. Inhibitory amino acids seem to participate at the level of the SON in the control of HNS activity during stress. Taurine, probably of glial origin, selectively inhibits the secretory activity of AVP neurones. In contrast, GABA, probably of neuronal origin, interferes with the release of OXT both from axon terminals into blood and from somata/dendrites into the extracellular fluid of the SON. Depending upon whether a defined stressor triggers taurine and/or GABA release within the SON the secretion of AVP and/or OXT from HNS neurones will be inhibited. These observations shed new light on the neurone-neurone and glial-neurone interactions that ensure an appropriate neuroendocrine stress response.     

Development and psychometric properties of the disability application appraisal inventory

This article describes the development and psychometric properties of an inventory to assess cognitive appraisal of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability application process, the Disability Application Appraisal Inventory (DAAI). Participants were 439 veterans seeking disability status for posttraumatic stress disorder through the VA and subgroups from that sample. The 3 DAAI scales assess (a) understanding of the disability application process (Knowledge scale) (b) expectations specific to the process (Negative Expectations scale) and (c) investment in obtaining disability status (Importance scale). The scales are internally consistent and largely uncorrelated. Test-retest correlations are adequate for the Negative Expectations and Importance scales. Evidence of factorial and construct validity is presented.     

Are dietary restraint scales valid measures of acute dietary restriction? Unobtrusive observational data suggest not

The finding that dietary restraint scales predict onset of bulimic pathology has been interpreted as suggesting that dieting causes this eating disturbance, despite the dearth of evidence that these scales are valid measures of dietary restriction. The authors conducted 4 studies that tested whether dietary restraint scales were inversely correlated with unobtrusively measured caloric intake. These studies, which varied in foods consumed, settings, and populations, indicated that common dietary restraint scales were largely uncorrelated with acute caloric intake. Results suggest that these scales are not valid measures of short-term dietary restriction and imply that it may be prudent to reinterpret findings from studies thai use these scales, including those that suggest dietary restraint is a risk factor for bulimic pathology.     

In sight but out of mind: do competing views test the limits of perception without awareness?

Over a century's worth of research suggests that "perception" without awareness is a genuine phenomenon. However, relatively little research has explored the question of whether all visually presented information activates representations in long term memory without awareness. Two experiments explored the use of a figure-ground display consisting of competing views in which one view dominates the other such that subjects are (initially) unaware of the non-dominant view. Neither experiment provided evidence that the non-dominant view (an embedded word) activated its representation in long term memory when the subject failed to report being aware of the embedded word in that priming was not seen on a subsequent stem completion task. In contrast, priming was seen when subjects reported being aware of the embedded word. It is suggested that two competing figure-ground relations are not concurrently computed unconsciously.