Two bs or not two Bs? A signal detection theory analysis of repetition blindness in a counting task

Stimulus repetition usually benefits performance. A notable exception is repetition blindness (RB), in which subjects fail to report a repeated stimulus in a rapid serial visual presentation. Theories differ in attributing RB to either perceptual encoding or memory retrieval and to impaired discrimination versus response bias. In the present study, subjects judged whether one or two letters were imbedded in sequences of digits. Unlike previous studies, false guesses of two unrepeated letters were distinguished from false guesses of two repeated letters. When repeated- and unrepeated-letter trials were randomly intermixed (Experiment 1), RB was entirely attributable to response bias. However, when they were separately blocked (Experiments 2 and 3), RB was manifested in discriminability (d'). The results support perceptual-encoding accounts of RB but indicate that effects on discriminability depend on subjects' processing strategies.     

Discrimination of individual vocalizations by black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapilla)

The auditory perceptual abilities of male black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapilla) were examined using an operant go/no-go discrimination among 16 individual vocalizations recorded at 5 m. The birds learned to discriminate about equally well among eight male chickadee fee-bee songs and eight female zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) distance calls. These results do not indicate that chickadees have a species-specific advantage in individual recognition for conspecific over heterospecific vocalizations. We then transferred the chickadees to a discrimination of the same songs and calls rerecorded at a moderate distance. These results showed accurate transfer of discrimination from 16 vocalizations recorded at 5 m to novel versions of the same 16 songs and calls rerecorded at 25 m. That is, chickadees recognized individual songs and calls despite degradation produced by rerecording at 25 m. Identifying individual vocalizations despite their transformation by distance cues is here described as a biologically important example of perceptual constancy.     

The Use of Multitrait–Multimethod Data for Detecting Nonlinear Relationships: The Case of Psychological Climate and Job Satisfaction

Previous monomethod research has found mixed support for nonlinear effects between certain job characteristics (e.g., job autonomy, job complexity) and outcome variables (e.g., job performance). We hypothesized that these weak nonlinear findings may be due to the prevalence of monomethod research that can lead to a lack of complete measurement and/or introduce common methods variance, either of which may mask the true shape of relationships. Using hierarchical regression analyses and a multitrait–multimethod (MTMM) research design, we found strikingly different results between monomethod and MTMM data when considering the relationships between three psychological climate variables and job satisfaction. While the monomethod results mirrored earlier inconclusive findings, the MTMM data indicated that nonlinear equations explained significantly more of the relationship between all three climate dimensions and job satisfaction. These results suggest that the use of MTMM data allows one to more effectively test for nonlinear effects. Furthermore, these nonlinear results suggest that the format of employee questionnaires should probably change from asking how much an employee has of certain constructs to asking does the employee want more or less of these constructs.     

Evidence for preserved representations in change blindness

People often fail to detect large changes to scenes, provided that the changes occur during a visual disruption. This phenomenon, known as "change blindness," occurs both in the laboratory and in real-world situations in which changes occur unexpectedly. The pervasiveness of the inability to detect changes is consistent with the theoretical notion that we internally represent relatively little information from our visual world from one glance at a scene to the next. However, evidence for change blindness does not necessarily imply the absence of such a representation---people could also miss changes if they fail to compare an existing representation of the pre-change scene to the post-change scene. In three experiments, we show that people often do have a representation of some aspects of the pre-change scene even when they fail to report the change. And, in fact, they appear to "discover" this memory and can explicitly report details of a changed object in response to probing questions. The results of these real-world change detection studies are discussed in the context of broader claims about change blindness.     

Measuring socioeconomic status: reliability and preliminary validity for different approaches

This study investigated issues related to commonly used socioeconomic status (SES) measures in 140 participants from three cities (Atlanta, Boston, and Toronto) in two countries (United States and Canada). Measures of SES were two from the United States (four-factor Hollingshead scale, Nakao and Treas scale) and one from Canada (Blishen, Carroll, and Moore scale). Reliability was examined both within (interrater agreement) and across (intermeasure agreement) measures. Interrater reliability and classification agreement was high for the total sample (ranger = .86 to .91), as were intermeasure correlations and classification agreement (range r = .81 to .88). The weakest agreement across measures was found when families had one wage earner who was female. Validity data for these SES measures with academic and intellectual measures also were obtained. Some support for a simplified approach to measuring SES was found. Implications of these findings for the use of SES in social and behavioral science research are discussed.     

Neuropsychological testing: evolution and emerging trends

Neuropsychological (NP) test batteries have evolved as an amalgam of intelligence tests, various individual measures of "biological" cognition, and sensory and motor testing. The early emphasis of NP testing was to identify "organicity" and central nervous system lesion localization. More recent approaches have emphasized the profiling of performance across individual neurocognitive domains (eg, attention, memory, and language) to facilitate diagnosis and treatment planning. However, the field is still hampered by the use of many tests that are antiquated, excessively long, or of dubious psychometric quality. Some of these problems may have contributed to the current under-utilization of NP testing in diagnostic workups of neuropsychiatric disorders. This paper reviews some of the recent changes in the field that hold promise for substantially shortening assessments, improving diagnostic reliability, and making NP testing more cost-effective and practical.     

Anxiety-related bias in the classification of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions

High- and low-trait socially anxious individuals classified the emotional expressions of photographic quality continua of interpolated ("morphed") facial images that were derived from combining 6 basic prototype emotional expressions to various degrees, with the 2 adjacent emotions arranged in an emotion hexagon. When fear was 1 of the 2 component emotions, the high-trait group displayed enhanced sensitivity for fear. In a 2nd experiment where a mood manipulation was incorporated, again, the high-trait group exhibited enhanced sensitivity for fear. The low-trait group was sensitive for happiness in the control condition. The mood-manipulated group had increased sensitivity for anger expressions, and trait anxiety did not moderate these effects. Interpretations of the results related to the classification of fearful expressions are discussed.     

“The Frog Ate the Bug and Made his Mouth Sad”: Narrative Competence in Children with Autism

This study compares the narrative abilities of 13 children with autism, 13 children with developmental delays, and 13 typically developing children matched on language ability. Although groups did not differ in their use of causal language or internal state terms, children with autism and children with developmental delays were less likely than typical children to identify the causes of characters' internal states. Rather, they tended simply to label emotions and explain actions. Children with autism and children with developmental delays also relied on a more restricted range of evaluative devices, which both convey point of view and maintain listener involvement. In addition, the narrative abilities of children with autism were linked to performance on measures of theory of mind and an index of conversational competence, whereas this was not the case among children with developmental delays. Findings are discussed in relation to the social, cognitive, and emotional underpinnings and consequences of narrative activity.     

Acceptance-based treatment for persons with complex, long standing chronic pain: a preliminary analysis of treatment outcome in comparison to a waiting phase

The concept of acceptance is receiving increased attention as an alternate approach to the suffering that is often associated with persistent and disabling pain. This approach differs from established treatments in that it does not principally focus on reducing pain, but on reducing the distressing and disabling influences of pain as they concern important areas in patients' lives. The present analyses represent a preliminary evaluation of an acceptance-based approach to chronic pain within an interdisciplinary treatment program. One hundred and eight patients with complex chronic pain conditions completed treatment and provided data for the current study. Treatment was conducted in a 3- or 4-week residential or hospital-based format. It included a number of exposure-based, experiential, and other behavior change methods focused on increasing (a) engagement in daily activity regardless of pain and (b) willingness to have pain present without responding to it. Significant improvements in emotional, social, and physical functioning, and healthcare use were demonstrated following treatment. The majority of improvements continued at 3-months post-treatment. Improvements in most outcomes during treatment were correlated with increases in acceptance, supporting the proposed process of treatment.     

Distress tolerance as a predictor of early treatment dropout in a residential substance abuse treatment facility

A large percentage of individuals who enter residential substance abuse treatment drop out before completing treatment. Given that early treatment dropout places individuals at an increased risk for relapse, identifying the mechanisms underlying treatment dropout would have several important theoretical and clinical implications. In the current study, the authors examined levels of psychological and physical distress tolerance as a predictor of early treatment dropout in a residential substance abuse treatment facility. In a sample of 122 individuals entering a residential substance abuse treatment facility, level of psychological distress tolerance was predictive of early treatment dropout above and beyond relevant self-report variables. There was no relationship between physical distress tolerance and early treatment dropout. Implications for future studies and treatment development or modification are discussed.