Combining letter-matching and tone discrimination: Evidence of automatic perceptual and spatial congruity effects

Dual task and priming paradigms were combined to investigate the distinction between automatic and attentional processes. Subjects in two experiments performed a primed letter-matching and a tone discrimination task separately and concurrently. The interval between prime onset and letter pair (SOA) was varied from 50 to 500 msec. Cost-benefit analyses in Experiment 1 indicated that primes that matched target letter pairs began to facilitate performance at an SOA of 150 msec. Primes inhibited performance when they mismatched identical letter pairs at SOA 100. In the dual-task situation, the benefits of priming letter targets were reflected in probe latencies with no evidence of concurrent costs in tone latencies. Experiment 2 revealed that two tasks could be primed simultaneously as effectively as when each was primed alone. Findings are discussed in reference to Posner and Snyder's (1975a, 1975b) two-process theory of priming and the applicability of a secondary task technique.     

METANOIA AND HEALING: TOWARD A GREAT PLAINS LAND ETHIC

A Great Plains land ethic is shaped by an intimate knowledge of and appreciation for the evolution, ecology, and aesthetics of the plains landscape. The landscape evokes a sense of wonder and mystery suggested by the word "sacrament." The biblical concept of "covenant" points to God as a community-forming power, a creative process that has evolved into the earth community to which we humans belong. In contrast to an anthropocentric ethic which emphasizes human dominion over nature, a Theo-centric land ethic seeks a balance, reflected in Genesis 1–3, between humans who are members of the earth community and moral agents accountable to God for the earth. A land ethic identifies concrete practices of metanoia and healing: agricultural practices to address the loss and degradation of soil; conservation and protection of water sources; utilization of wind and solar energy; and prescribed burning to restore processes vital to the prairie ecosystem. The concept of subsidiarity suggests that practices of metanoia and healing are a combination of wise public policy balanced by personal, family, church, business, and community responsibility.