Control' of reflexive and voluntary saccades in the gap effect.

In two experiments, we examined whether voluntary and reflexive saccades shared a common fixation disengagement mechanism. Participants were required to perform a variety of tasks, each requiring a different level of information processing of the display prior to execution of the saccade. In Experiment 1, participants executed either a prosaccade or an antisaccade upon detecting a stimulus array. In Experiment 2, participants executed a prosaccade to a stimulus array only if the array contained a target item. The target could be a line (easy search) or a digit (difficult search). The critical manipulation in both experiments was the relative timing between the removal of the fixation stimulus and the onset of the stimulus array. In both experiments, it was found that saccadic latencies were shortest when the fixation stimulus was removed before the onset of the stimulus array--a gap effect. It was concluded that reflexive and voluntary saccades share a common fixation disengagement mechanism that is largely independent of higher level cognitive processes.     

Testimony based on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory: review, commentary, and guidelines

Test results from the MCMI have been ruled admissible in court for a variety of clinical and forensic issues. This article addresses MCMI issues such as the test's applicability and admissibility of test results in forensic evaluations, test administration, test scoring, malingering and deception, prediction and diagnosis of behavior, reliability, validity, operating characteristics and diagnostic efficiency statistics, and use of computer-assisted interpretation of test results for forensic presentation. Recommendations are suggested for dealing with each of these issues in a forensic context.     

Inductive and Explanatory Irrelevance

Philosophical Studies -     

Control of reflexive and voluntary saccades in the gap effect

In two experiments, we examined whether voluntary and reflexive saccades shared a common fixation disengagement mechanism, Participants were required to perform a variety of tasks, each requiring a different level of information processing of the display prior to execution of the saccade. In Experiment 1, participants executed either a prosaccade or an antisaccade upon detecting a stimulus array. In Experiment 2, participants executed a prosaccade to a stimulus array only if the array contained a target item. The target could be a line (easy search) or a digit (difficult search). The critical manipulation in both experiments was the relative timing between the removal of the fixation stimulus and the onset of the stimulus array. In both experiments, it was found that saccadic latencies were shortest when the fixation stimulus was removed before the onset of the stimulus array—a gap effect. It was concluded that reflexive and voluntary saccades share a common fixation disengagement mechanism that is largely independent of higher level cognitive processes.     

The importance of semantic similarity to the irrelevant speech effect

Irrelevant speech disrupts immediate recall of a short sequence of items. Salamé and Baddeley (1982) found a very small and nonsignificant increase in the irrelevant speech effect when the speech comprised items semantically identical to the to-be-remembered items, leading subsequent researchers to conclude that semantic similarity plays no role in the irrelevant speech effect. Experiment 1 showed that strong free associates of the to-be-remembered items disrupted serial recall to a greater extent than words that were dissimilar to the to-be-remembered items. Experiment 2 showed that this same pattern of disruption in a free recall task. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

(Non)Complementary updating of belief in two hypotheses

Past research has led to the conclusion that two competing hypotheses are represented dependently, and confidence in them is updated in a complementary manner. It is argued here that confidence in two hypotheses can be represented either dependently or independently. Changes in confidence in the former case are always complementary, but changes in the latter case are complementary only under certain conditions. In three simulated medical diagnosis experiments, subjects learned about two illnesses in a manner expected to lead to either dependent or independent confidence. They were then presented with two symptoms sequentially (for each of several patients), updating confidence after each. Experiment 1 demonstrated that changes in confidence in the two illnesses were largely complementary for subjects with dependent, but not independent, confidence. Experiment 2 showed that encouraging consideration of the alternative led to more complementary changes for subjects with independent confidence. Experiment 3 succeeded in producing complementary changes from these subjects. Thus, complementarity does not imply dependent confidence, nor does independent confidence imply non-complementarity.     

Attributions and affective reactions of family members and course of schizophrenia.

The authors tested an attribution-affect model of schizophrenic relapse attending to the role of families' positive affect (warmth) and negative affect (criticism). Coders listened to interviews of 40 family members taken from C. E. Vaughn, K. S. Synder, S. Jones, W. B. Freeman, and I. R. Falloon (1984) and rated their attributions of controllability for the symptoms and behaviors of their relatives with schizophrenia. For family members not designated as emotionally overinvolved, perceptions that their ill relatives' symptoms and behaviors were under the patients' control were related to family members' warmth and criticism and to patients' clinical outcomes. Of the affective reactions, only criticism predicted outcome. In addition, patients' use of street drugs was related to attributions, criticism, and outcome. Together these findings suggest that families' attributions and criticism are important in understanding the relationship between family factors and course of illness.     

The Microanalysis of Memory Span and Its Development in Childhood

It is not clear from the literature why, as children develop, there are important increases in memory span, the number of just-presented items that the participant can repeat in the correct serial order. To understand this, some recent results on capacity limits and processing rates were re-analyzed. We first describe results using a conventional measure of performance in immediate memory tasks that is affected by the list length (proportion correct). Next we describe results using a less conventional measure (number correct) that is unaffected by list length under circumstances in which attention to the list during its presentation is curtailed. This measure can estimate an individual's limited-capacity storage ability. Last, we examine measures of spoken response timing that do and do not change with list length. We show that unconventional measures that do not change with list length, but do change with development, are especially useful in assessing basic changes in information processing parameters, including increases in memory capacity and processing speed.     

Subtypes of severe psychological distress among US Air Force remote warriors: A latent class analysis

US Air Force remote warrior personnel include a range of military personnel composed of remotely piloted aircraft aircrew, intelligence operators, and cyber warfare operators. Job duties in these professions entail long work hours, rotating shifts, and regular engagement in combat operations. Although research has identified a number of factors correlated with elevated burnout and emotional distress in this population, little is known about the unique needs of discrete subgroups of distressed personnel. In a sample of 7,550 US Air Force remote warriors, results of latent class analysis yielded four distinct classes. Three of the four reported moderately elevated burnout and job dissatisfaction but differed with respect to demographics and development career stage. The fourth group reported significantly higher levels of emotional distress, burnout, job dissatisfaction, and problems in living. This latter group was comparable to the mid-career group with respect to demographics, although this group had much lower levels of responsibility and indicators of career advancement. Results suggest that, among remote warrior personnel, there are several subtypes of elevated emotional distress. Prevention and intervention strategies that are matched to each subtype may yield better occupational and mental health outcomes than universal, “one size fits all” strategies.