The importance of ‘mass’ in line drawings of faces

Previous research (Davies, Ellis and Shepherd, 1978; Rhodes, Brennan and Carey, 1987) has shown that accurate line drawings of familiar faces are identified rather poorly. However, artists can produce lifelike portraits with pen and ink, and Pearson and Robinson (1985) described an automatic method for producing computer-drawn sketches (‘cartoons’) of faces which appear very similar to those produced by a human artist. In this paper we show that subjects can identify famous faces depicted in such computer-drawn ‘cartoons’ almost as well as full grey-scale images. The cartoon algorithm comprises two components. One component draws lines at the locations of intensity changes corresponding to luminance valleys and edges (the ‘valledge’ detector). The other component applies a ‘threshold’ to the original intensity distribution, and replaces any area darker than threshold with black. Thus the full cartoon contains both ‘line’ and ‘mass’. Neither the valledges nor the threshold components alone were as well identified as full cartoons containing both components. The results suggest that the addition of the threshold component adds significantly to the identifiability of line drawings of faces.     

The role of spatially selective attention in the tactile perception of texture

During manual sensing of object attributes like surface texture, the tactile receptor sheet is conjointly activated at numerous loci. What is the role of spatially selective attention in perception under these conditions? We show that the requirement for spatial focus of attention is minimal in the detection of an abrupt change in texture. In contrast, spatial attention may help in a variety of other tasks of comparable difficulty. These include detecting the absence of a texture change at one of many loci, distinguishing its direction, and discriminating between different textures. Attentional demand appears to vary along a continuum in these tasks, rather than being all-or-none.     

The role of spatially selective attention in the tactile perception of texture.

During manual sensing of object attributes like surface texture, the tactile receptor sheet is conjointly activated at numerous loci. What is the role of spatially selective attention in perception under these conditions? We show that the requirement for spatial focus of attention is minimal in the detection of an abrupt change in texture. In contrast, spatial attention may help in a variety of other tasks of comparable difficulty. These include detecting the absence of a texture change at one of many loci, distinguishing its direction, and discriminating between different textures. Attentional demand appears to vary along a continuum in these tasks, rather than being all-or-none.     

Selective attention in vibrotactile tasks: detecting the presence and absence of amplitude change

Selective spatial attention has a greater effect on detection of the absence of an amplitude change than it has on detection of the presence of such a change. Attention to one of four fingertips was manipulated by an 80% valid tactile cue in two-interval forced-choice tasks. In one task, the target was a vibrotactile amplitude change appearing among constant-amplitude distractors; in the other task, targets of constant amplitude had to be detected amid amplitude changes at the other fingertips. Cuing had a greater effect on the latter task than it did on the former. This asymmetry is consistent with the presence-absence asymmetry found in visual search and does not depend on the difficulty of the two tasks. A statistical model shows that a pooled activity mechanism could account for these experimental results.     

Skipping and hopping of undergraduates: recollections of when and why.

The purpose of this study was to compare the reasons why young adults skip and hop and when they last skipped and hopped. Retrospective data collected from 664 undergraduate students showed that the most common explanation for skipping was related to affect (54%), but the most common explanations for hopping were more functional. No significant differences appeared in the time frames of the participants' last remembered bout of skipping or hopping, although significantly more failed to remember the last time they hopped than the last time they skipped.     

If-then contingencies and the differential effects of the availability of an attractive alternative on relationship maintenance for men and women

In 7 experiments, the causal effects of the availability of an attractive alternative (AA) relationship partner on current relationship thoughts and intentions were tested using confederates, mental simulations, and virtual reality. Men behaved consistent with traditional relationship-commitment theories, showing decreased willingness to tolerate their partner's transgressions after the availability of an AA was made salient. However, consistent with a motivated cognition approach to commitment and work on relational self-construals, women increased their tolerance when presented with the relationship threat of an alternative. Word-fragment and lexical decision data suggested that AAs may activate threat for women, and their ability to dampen threat accessibility is associated with prorelationship responses. Finally, this "if relationship is threatened, then defend the relationship" contingency was induced in men with an implementation intention induction.     

Teleconferencing model for forensic consultation, court testimony, and continuing education

A medical center-based forensic clinic that provides the necessary comprehensive consultation, continuing education, court testimony, and clinical services through an applied model of teleconferencing applications is addressed. Telemedicine technology and services have gained the attention of both legal and clinical practitioners, examining trends and models of health care for underserved populations, and identifying where consultation with a team of professionals may benefit service providers in rural communities. The contribution offered herein provides an understanding of the history of the development of the clinic, a theoretical model that has been applied to a clinical forensic program that employs telepsychiatry services, and the ethical and malpractice liability issues confronted in using teleconferencing services. This model is examined through a child and adolescent forensic evaluation clinic. The goals of this model are offered, as are a number of applications within the broad spectrum of services utilizing telemedicine. Finally, changing patterns are addressed in clinically based health-care delivery for criminal justice, social services, and forensic mental health.     

Linking Justice, Performance, and Citizenship via Leader–Member Exchange

While organizational justice continues to garner attention by researchers, why perceptions of justice influence a variety of outcomes is still in need of explanation. In this paper, we examine one type of social exchange process that may provide a better link between perceptions of fairness and important organizational outcomes. Specifically, we examine how leader–member exchange (LMX) affects the relationship between employee perceptions of fairness and supervisor-rated performance and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Data from our study demonstrates that LMX fully mediates the relationship between interactional justice and performance and OCBs. In addition, the results demonstrate that LMX moderates the relationship between both distributive and procedural justice and OCBs.