Role of Attention and Perceptual Grouping in Visual Statistical Learning

Statistical learning has been widely proposed as a mechanism by which observers learn to decompose complex sensory scenes. To determine how robust statistical learning is, we investigated the impact of attention and perceptual grouping on statistical learning of visual shapes. Observers were presented with stimuli containing two shapes that were either connected by a bar or unconnected. When observers were required to attend to both locations at which shapes were presented, the degree of statistical learning was unaffected by whether the shapes were connected or not. However, when observers were required to attend to just one of the shapes' locations, statistical learning was observed only when the shapes were connected. These results demonstrate that visual statistical learning is not just a passive process. It can be modulated by both attention and connectedness, and in natural scenes these factors may constrain the role of stimulus statistics in learning.     

Transfer of pattern recall skills may contribute to the development of sport expertise

Superior recall of domain‐specific patterns is well established as a defining attribute of expert performers. Recent studies on the developmental histories of expert team ball sport players (e.g. Baker, Côté, & Abernethy, 2003a ) also suggest that experts characteristically receive exposure to a wide range of sports in their developing years and that this related sports experience may reduce the amount of sport‐specific training needed to become an expert. This study examined whether the facilitation of expertise associated with other sport experience might arise from positive transfer of pattern recall skills from one sport to another. Expert netball, basketball and field hockey players and experienced non‐experts performed a recall task for patterns of play derived from each of these sports. Experts from sports different to those shown in the presented pattern consistently outperformed non‐experts in their recall of defensive player positions, suggesting some selective transfer of pattern recall skills may indeed be possible. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mathematical Spandrels

The aim of this paper is to open a new front in the debate between platonism and nominalism by arguing that the degree of explanatory entanglement of mathematics in science is much more extensive than has been hitherto acknowledged. Even standard examples, such as the prime life cycles of periodical cicadas, involve a penumbra of mathematical features whose presence can only be explained using relatively sophisticated mathematics. I introduce the term ‘mathematical spandrel’ to describe these penumbral properties, and focus on the property that cicada period lengths are expressible as the sum of two perfect squares. I argue that mathematical spandrels pose a particular problem for nominalism because of the way in which they are entangled with scientific explanations.     

Magic Learning Pill: Ontological and Instrumental Learning in Order to Speed Up Education

The purpose of this research is to investigate the phenomenology of learning — people”s attitudes toward their learning experiences that have inherent worth in themselves (i.e., ontological learning) or have value outside of the learning itself (i.e., instrumental learning). In order to explore this topic, 58 participants from the U.S., Russia, and Brazil were interviewed with a central question derived from the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov’s short story “Profession”: whether participants would take a “Magic Learning Pill” (MLP) to avoid the process of learning, and instead magically acquire the knowledge. The MLP would guarantee the immediate learning by skipping the process of learning while achieving the same effect of gaining skills and knowledge. Almost all participants could think of some learning experiences for which they would take MLP and others for which they would not. Many participants would not take MLP for ontological learning, which is learning experiences that have inherent value for the people, while they would take MLP for instrumental learning, which is learning that mainly serves some other non-educational purposes. The main finding suggests that both instrumental and ontological types of learning are recognized by a wide range of people from diverse cultures as present and valued in their lives. This is especially significant in light of the overwhelmingly instrumental tone of public discourse about education. In the context of formal education, ontological learning was mentioned 35 times (28.0%) while instrumental learning was mentioned 74 times (60.2%). Although ontological learning was often mentioned as taking place outside of school, incorporating pedagogy supporting ontological learning at school deserves consideration.     

Children's understanding of the war in Iraq: views from Britain and Bosnia

Sixty‐one children (aged 9–17) from the United Kingdom (31) and Bosnia (30) were interviewed about the war in Iraq. Significant differences emerged in their views of the war. The Bosnian children were more affected by the Iraq War, more aware of who is involved in it, had different views about its causes, viewed the consequences of the war with greater gravity, and expressed a greater desire to end war and have peace. Two factors which might account for these differences – recent Bosnian history and the nature of media representations of the war in the two countries – are discussed.     

Recapturing a Context for Psychology: The Role of History

ABSTRACT— With the ever-increasing fragmentation of psychology into narrower subspecialties, the field devolves further and further into a focus on specialized knowledge, answering smaller questions and avoiding the larger and more meaningful ones. It is argued that specialized knowledge acquires its meaning only from an understanding of its place in a broader intellectual context. Psychology appears to have lost that context and perhaps the opportunity for a more significant role in modern science. An understanding of the history of psychological science offers a way to recapture that context and to prepare future psychologists to address the truly significant behavioral problems that face our world.     

Predictors of Recent Mental Health Service Use in a Medical Population: Implications for Integrated Care

This study investigated the relationship between physical and mental health and psychosocial variables and recent (within the last 12 months) mental health service use among 240 medical patients recruited from general and specialty outpatient clinics at an academic medical center. Results indicated 43.3% of the participants had recently received mental health services in the form of psychotropic medication (75%), psychotherapy (2%), or a combination of these treatments (20.2%). Among patients with moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety or depression, approximately two-thirds were receiving mental health treatment. Moreover, four variables (healthcare provider referral for mental health services, perceived need for mental health services, prior use of mental health services, and frequency of medical appointments) were significant unique predictors of recent mental health service use. This suggests collaborative/integrated medical care may increase needed mental health service use.     

Male risk-taking as a context-sensitive signaling device

Evolutionary theorists have suggested that sex differences in risk-taking are due ultimately to greater intrasexual competition among men (compared with women) over access to mating opportunities. The current work provides one of the first direct tests of the hypothesis that risk-taking serves self-presentational functions associated with mating. Results of an experimental study indicated a strong positive relationship between sexual arousal and risk-taking, but only in men exposed to a romantically available female confederate who purportedly would view their risk-taking performance. Findings suggest that risk-taking can serve as a signaling device in the context of mating, that this function is sex-specific, and that it is highly sensitive both to the situational context and to the current psychological state of the risk-taker. This research highlights the utility of an evolutionary approach in understanding the proximate social psychological determinants of risky decision-making.     

A Content Analysis of Prime Time Commercials: A Contextual Framework of Gender Representation

For this content analysis we recorded a sample of 1,337 prime time commercials from the 3 major networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) in 1998. There were 5,473 primary and secondary characters identified. Each character was coded for gender, age, acting role, and product being advertised. The findings were then compared to Bretl and Cantor (1988), the U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 population statistics, and Mediamark Research and Simmons syndicated marketing services. The commercials' producers cast their female and male characters much the same way as was done in the 1980s. Although women make most purchases of goods and services, they are still underrepresented as primary characters during most prime time commercials except for health and beauty products. Women are still cast as younger, supportive counterparts to men, and older women are still the most underrepresented group. Television commercials perpetuate traditional stereotypes of women and men.