The effect of contrast upon perceived speed: a general phenomenon?

The perceived speed of a grating pattern has often been reported to slow as the contrast of the pattern is reduced (though there are some contradictory reports). The mechanism of this perceived slowing has not yet been established nor have the conditions under which the effect occurs (or does not occur). We have therefore examined a range of stimuli that differ upon such aspects as one versus two dimensions, periodic versus nonperiodic, and whether the stimuli occur within a static window. We have also examined a range of stimulus speeds, different types of motion, and simultaneous versus successive presentations. We have found evidence for contrast-induced changes in perceived speed in all our stimuli, and thus suggest that none of the stimulus factors listed above is critical in producing the effect. Though the pattern of results is complex and shows substantial intersubject variation, we generally found that slowly moving patterns presented simultaneously produced the greatest decrease in perceived speed with decreasing contrast. On the other hand faster speeds and successive presentation produced more veridical matches or even an increase in perceived speed with decreasing contrast.     

The influence of gender and temperament on children's interaction with a baby

This study examined gender differences in children's interaction with a baby who visited their day-care center over several weeks. Twenty-two children ranging in age from 47 to 64 months of age participated. The children's teacher filled out a questionnaire assessing each child's extraversion, activity level, and loudness. A female baby visited the day care center from one to three times a week over a two-month period. Each child's interactions with the baby were observed twice. Active, outgoing, loud girls were much more likely to interact with the baby than either quiet girls or any boys. Several of these highly interactive girls had no younger siblings. Children were found to interact with the baby more on their second observation.The research reported here was supported by a grant from the Purdue Research Foundation. I would like to thank Connie Clauss for her help with data collection.     

Synaesthetic perception of colour and visual space in a blind subject: an fMRI case study

In spatial sequence synaesthesia (SSS) ordinal stimuli are perceived as arranged in peripersonal space. Using fMRI, we examined the neural bases of SSS and colour synaesthesia for spoken words in a late-blind synaesthete, JF. He reported days of the week and months of the year as both coloured and spatially ordered in peripersonal space; parts of the days and festivities of the year were spatially ordered but uncoloured. Words that denote time-units and triggered no concurrents were used in a control condition. Both conditions inducing SSS activated the occipito-parietal, infero-frontal and insular cortex. The colour area hOC4v was engaged when the synaesthetic experience included colour. These results confirm the continued recruitment of visual colour cortex in this late-blind synaesthetes. Synaesthesia also involved activation in inferior frontal cortex, which may be related to spatial memory and detection, and in the insula, which might contribute to audiovisual integration related to the processing of inducers and concurrents.     

Developmental changes in effects of risk and valence on adolescent decision-making

Recent research on risky decision-making in adults has shown that both the risk in potential outcomes and their valence (i.e., whether those outcomes involve gains or losses) exert dissociable influences on decisions. We hypothesised that the influences of these two crucial decision variables (risk and valence) on decision-making would vary developmentally during adolescence. We adapted a risk-taking paradigm that provides precise metrics for the impacts of risk and valence. Decision-making in 11–16 year old female adolescents was influenced by both risk and valence. However, their influences assumed different developmental patterns: the impact of valence diminished with age, while there was no developmental change in the impact of risk. These different developmental patterns provide further evidence that risk and valence are fundamentally dissociable constructs and have different influences on decisions across adolescence.     

The Child Gender Socialization Scale: A Measure to Compare Traditional and Feminist Parents

This paper presents four studies conducted to develop a measure of parents’ attitudes about gendered behaviors in their children. Participants were US college students and community residents. It was expected that scores on the measure would distinguish between parents of sons and daughters, and between parents with traditional and feminist beliefs. To begin, we created a self-report questionnaire consisting of ratings of 84 gender-related behaviors, characteristics, and educational and occupational aspirations for children. Based on factor analysis and other analyses of scale scores to refine the measure, our final measure has 28 items on five scales. In keeping with expectations, the five scales consistently differentiated between boys and girls and/or traditional and feminist parents.     

Development of the social brain during adolescence

Adolescence is usually defined as the period of psychological and social transition between childhood and adulthood. The beginning of adolescence, around the onset of puberty, is characterized by large hormonal and physical changes. The transition from childhood to adulthood is also characterized by psychological changes in terms of identity, self-consciousness, and cognitive flexibility. In the past decade, it has been demonstrated that various regions of the human brain undergo development during adolescence and beyond. Some of the brain regions that undergo particularly protracted development are involved in social cognitive function in adults. In the first section of this paper, I briefly describe evidence for a circumscribed network of brain regions involved in understanding other people. Next, I describe evidence that some of these brain regions undergo structural development during adolescence. Finally, I discuss recent studies that have investigated social cognitive development during adolescence.     

I Can't Wait to Get Married: Gender Differences in Drive to Marry

In this study we examined a new construct—the Drive to Marry (DTM). Young single men and women (149 men and 246 women) rated their desire to get married and completed measures of their valuing of marital, parental, and occupational roles; concern about others' views of them; and feminist attitudes. We found that women had a higher DTM than did men. In both genders, DTM was predicted by the value of parental role and by concern about others' views of them. In women, DTM was also predicted by traditional attitudes toward gender roles, and there was a trend for women who valued the occupational role to have a lower DTM. Conservative women, women who valued the parental role, and women with a higher DTM were also more likely to want to use the title “Mrs.” and to adopt their husband's surname. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association in May 2004.     

A Role for Biology in Gender-Related Behavior

We take the opportunity of the 35th anniversary of Sex Roles to examine the journal and the field of gender research from a biological perspective. We discuss the limited coverage of biological perspectives in the pages of the journal and likely reasons for it in light of historical perspectives on the role of biology in gendered psychological processes and behaviors, review briefly contemporary research on biological (especially hormonal) influences on gender-related behavior, advocate for greater attention to biological perspectives, and suggest ways to integrate biological and socialization approaches into questions of interest to gender researchers.