A simple but powerful theory of the moon illusion

Modification of Restle's theory (1970) explains the moon illusion and related phenomena on the basis of three principles: (1) The apparent sizes of objects are their perceived visual angles. (2) The apparent size of the moon is determined by the ratio of the angular extent of the moon relative to the extents subtended by objects composing the surrounding context, such as the sky and things on the ground. (3) The visual extents subtended by common objects of a constant physical size decrease systematically with increasing distance from the observer. Further development of this theory requires specification of both the components of the surrounding context and their relative importance in determining the apparent size and distance of the moon.     

The spontaneous facial expression of differential positive and negative emotions

This research examines the expression of positive and negative emotions under minimally social conditions. Male and female encoders were covertly videotaped while they viewed and made written ratings of their responses to a number of slides, using a list of emotion terms derived from members of the same subject pool. Results show that, even when the social nature of the situation is reduced to a minimum, the experience of some emotions is reflected on the face, and there is clear evidence for differential expression of certain positive emotions. However, the reduced social nature of the situation removes the usual female encoding advantage, supporting the suggestion that this reflects the operation of display rules. The ability to recognize the minimal expressions in this study is related to both gender and emotion type in ways that may be explained by a socialization hypothesis.I wish to thank Gill Thorpe and Eiko Mori for running the decoding subjects of this study, and Sylvie Collins, Tony Manstead, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier version of the paper.     

Analysis of long-term stress reactions in emergency room patients: An initial study

The psychological stress reactions of 44 family medicine patients who were treated in the emergency room were examined approximately a year after the event. Patients were assessed on several psychological measures, including one for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and on their perception of how stressful the event was initially and now. Results show continuing stress reactions related to the emergency room event. Three patients endorsed symptoms indicating full PTSD and 13 appeared to have at least partial PTSD. Age appeared to be a factor in the presence of stress symptoms and in degree of perceived communication with the physician.     

Coping with peer stressors and associated dysphoria: Acculturation differences among Chinese-American children

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of acculturation in coping with stress among 264 Chinese-American children. The results confirmed that the subjects used a variety of coping strategies including diversion, suppression, problem solving, minimization, and retaliation and that certain coping strategies influenced the dysphoria experienced as a result of peer stress. High acculturated children used retaliation significantly more often than their low acculturated counterparts and retaliation was found to be associated with less dysphoria for the high acculturated group. In contrast, low acculturated children who utilized suppression tended to report less dysphoria. Contrary to the hypothesis that general self worth would reduce the relationship between peer stressors and dysphoria, it had no bearing on the association for either acculturated group. The hypothesis that greater perceived social competence would lessen the association between peer stressors and dysphoria also failed to be supported by the data. In fact, for the high acculturation group higher social competence was actually associated with more reported dysphoria. In general, the results suggested that the adaptiveness of particular coping strategies may be influenced by acculturation level and that social competence plays a complicated role in the stress and coping process. Implications for counsellors are discussed.     

Parental,child-centered attributions and outcome: A meta-analytic review with conceptual and methodological implications

Eight empirical studies which bear on the relation between parents' child-centered attributions for children's problems and parental satisfaction or child adjustment were meta-analyzed. The parental attributional dimensions of stability and globality garnered the most support as correlates of parental satisfaction and/or children's adjustment; the dimensions of intent, selfish motivation, and blame received initial support and warrant further study. Important methodological and conceptual issues were identified and improvements are suggested. The need for prospective designs aimed at determining the causal relation, if any, between parental attributions and outcome, thorough assessment of attributions and the events which impinge upon them, detailed measurement of symptom and satisfaction variables, a wider array of child diagnoses, and establishment of parental diagnoses, are emphasized.     

Substance use and violent behavior in adolescence

The relation between substance use and violent behavior in adolescence is reviewed, and each of five competing models of this relation is examined. I begin by presenting background material on adolescent substance use and adolescent violence. I then describe five different models that have been proposed to explain the association between substance use and violent behavior. Next, I review the adolescent literature concerning substance use and violence, noting methodological weaknesses that have plagued this research. I conclude with an evaluation of the five models and suggestions for future research.     

Differentiation of brain damage among low IQ subjects with three projective techniques.

Using a battery of three projective techniques (Rorschach, Hand Test, Bender-Gestalt) only slight discrimination was found between low IQ subjects classified according to the presence or absence of brain trauma (exogenous vs endogenous), while substantial discrimination was obtained between the same subjects categorized in terms of "lower" (60-74) and "higher" (75-89) FS WAIS IQ. All four groups used in this study had been first equated on sex and age. Results were interpreted as supporting the position that some sort of brain impairment underlies most or all retardation. Question was raised concerning the efficacy of projective techniques for diagnosing organicity in subjects of average or better intelligence.     

Hemispheric asymmetries in faculty and student musicians and nonmusicians during melody recognition tasks

Current research has suggested that musical stimuli are processed in the right hemisphere except in musicians, in whom there is an increased involvement of the left hemisphere. The present study hypothesized that the more musical training persons receive, the more they will rely on an analytic/left-hemispheric processing strategy. The subjects were 10 faculty and 10 student musicians, and 10 faculty and 10 student nonmusicians. All subjects listened to a series of melodies (some recurring and some not) and excerpts (some actual and some not) in one ear and, after a rest, to a different series of melodies in the other ear. The task was to identify recurring vs. nonrecurring melodies and actual vs. nonactual excerpts. For student musicians, there was a right-ear/left-hemispheric advantage for melody recognition, while for student nonmusicians, the situation was the reverse. Neither faculty group showed any ear preference. There were no significant differences for excerpt recognition. Two possible explanations of the faculty performance were discussed in terms of physical maturation and a functionally more integrated hemispheric approach to the task.     

A review of projective test findings with older adults

The projective test literature on aging is reviewed. It was concluded that, while much critical research remains to be done and many of the studies are flawed, projective testing has contributed a great deal to the understanding of the aging process and has yielded a core of consistent findings. Suggestions for future research which would help resolve some current ambiguities were made.