Interference effects in an auditory Stroop task: congruence and correspondence

Two auditory Stroop experiments are reported in which subjects responded vocally to the gender of the speaker of stimulus words. The interference effects found were broadly similar to those of a manual-response auditory Stroop paradigm although response-set effects appeared to operate in the data. In all experimental conditions responses were slower to stimulus words which named potential responses than to those words which did not. Such effects have not been found in previous manual-response experiments and it is suggested that the relatively high degree of S-R and of ideomotor compatibility in the vocal response task, compared with the manual task, may be responsible for this difference between the paradigms.The second experiment enabled a comparison to be made between the effects of congruence between relevant and irrelevant elements of the Stroop stimulus and the effects of correspondence between the response and the irrelevant aspect of the stimulus. A predominant influence of congruence was found when the subject responded using words semantically related to speaker gender, but an effect of correspondence was obtained when an arbitrary pairing of response word and speaker gender was required.     

Fourier analysis of reaction time data

The popularity of the assumption of stages in models of the reaction time process and the availability of fast and efficient means of computing approximations to the Fourier transform makes the Fourier analysis of reaction time data attractive. This paper indicates some problems associated with such analyses and suggests convenient ways to overcome some of the difficulties.     

Genetic Counseling, Reproductive Behavior and Future Reproductive Intentions of People with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1)

Neurofibromatosis type 1(NF1) is a complex and variable inherited disorder. The complexity and variability present particular difficulty for genetic counseling. Thirty-three people with NF1 of reproductive age were interviewed about their experience of genetic counseling, their past reproductive behavior and future intentions. One third reported having had no genetic counseling or not having it until after their first child. In part, this may be due to delay in diagnosis but also indicates poor access to genetic services. Only three people had ever been offered prenatal genetic testing and only one had accepted. Although testing is still technically difficult, the greatest deterrent to uptake of prenatal testing for NF1 is the variability of the disorder. However, six of the 17 people planning future pregnancies would want a test with a view to termination if necessary. Others would welcome testing in order to be prepared but not to terminate. We discuss some of the factors which influence reproductive decision making for people with NF1 and some of the difficulties in genetic counseling in such a variable and complex disorder.     

Introductory psychology laboratories using graphic simulations of virtual subjects

Graphical simulations of the behavior of virtual subjects in laboratory or field microworlds were developed to teach research principles to introductory psychology students. Students conduct studies in laboratory classes, assuming the primary role of being an experimenter. Microworld modules were designed to foster the flexible exploration of important steps in the research process, including hypothesis generation, research planning and design, behavioral observation or testing, and data summarization and analysis. The modules were designed to impart a sense of behavioral “presence” so that students would obtain an appreciation of realistic behavioral observation and of testing methodologies. Microworlds that have been developed include infant preferential looking (cognitive processes), courting behavior of fireflies, personality test development, working memory, operant conditioning, single-cell recording of sensory function, and testing of brain-damaged people. Principles that guided the development of software modules and laboratory class exercises are discussed.     

Variability and sequential effects in magnitude production and estimation of auditory intensity

Magnitude production and estimation data from the same subjects are analyzed in three ways. The coefficient of variation of the ratio of successive responses Inumbers in estimation, SPL in production) are compared; both exhibit, as a function of stimulus difference, the V-shaped pattern previously found in estimation data. A multiple regression of responses on the stimulus and on these events of the previous trial exhibit similar patterns, although the effects of the previous trial in production are somewhat less. The correlation between successive responses, averaged over constant stimulus differences, are very large for small differences and about zero for large ones. These somewhat surprisng results for production are examined from the point of view of an intensity attention band hypothesis.