Visual texture perception and Fourier analysis

The relationship between the Fourier spectra of visual textures (represented by four hypothetical visual channels sensitive to spatial frequencies) and the perceptual appearance of the textures was investigated. Thirty textures were synthesized by combining various spatial frequencies of different amplitudes. Twenty subjects grouped the textures into 2, 3, 4, and 5 groups based on the similarity of their appearance. The groupings were analyzed by means of linear discriminant analysis using the activity of the four channels as predictor variables. The groupings were also examined by multidimensional scaling, and the resulting stimulus configuration was canonically correlated with the channel activity. The results of both analyses indicate a strong relationship between the perceptual appearance of the textures and their Fourier spectra. These findings suport a multiple-channel spatial-frequency model of perception.     

Eysenck's theory of incubation: A critical analysis

Eysenck's theory of incubation is summarized. Arguments and evidence concerning its validity and potential value are presented.     

Seat belt usage: A potential target for applied behavior analysis

Results of 1,579 observations of cars entering or exiting campus parking lots showed direct relationships between seat belt wearing and the intrusiveness of the engineering device designed to induce belt usage, and between device intrusiveness and system defeat. For example, all drivers with working interlocks or unlimited buzzer reminders were wearing a seat belt; but 62% of the systems with interlocks or unlimited buzzers had been defeated, and only 15.9% of the drivers in these cars were wearing a seat belt. The normative data indicated marked ineffectiveness of the negative reinforcement contingencies implied by current seat belt inducement systems; but suggested that unlimited buzzer systems would be the optimal system currently available if contingencies were developed to discourage the disconnection and circumvention of such systems. Positive reinforcement strategies are discussed that would be quite feasible for large-scale promotion of seat belt usage.     

Effects of training students to identify the semantic base of prose materials

Feedback and feedback plus points toward a course grade were applied to the attentional behaviors (defined as the ability to identify the semantic base of text passages) of 30 undergraduate students participating in a reading comprehension development program. Correct underlining was increased, extraneous underlining was decreased, and postreading comprehension test scores improved as a result of the procedures. Scores on a standardized test of reading comprehension also increased significantly.     

The Stigma Associated with Various Criminal Offenses in Hiring Decisions

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of prospective employers toward hiring ex-offenders based on the nature of the crime committed. Thirty-nine male and 30 female students in a personnel management class at a major Midwestern university were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward hiring persons convicted for the following crimes: kidnapping, armed robbery, homicide, assault and battery (nonsexual), automobile theft, rape, burglary, sale of hard narcotics, forgery, and child molesting. Statistical analyses revealed a significant difference in the total group's rankings of the 10 crimes but no significant differences between males and females.     

Attention switching is not a fatigable process: methodological comments on Axelrod and Guzy (1972)

Guzy and Axelrod investigated auditory attention switching by means of the click-counting paradigm and concluded that attention switching is a fatigable process. In the present comment it is shown that this conclusion is based on a faulty analysis of the data: The scores subjected to the analysis of variance were transformed such that they were no longer linear combinations of the factorial effects. Reanalyzing the data in the correct way renders perfectly linear conting functions that deviate from theoretical fatigue functions. It is concluded that the attention-switching mechanism is not fatigable.     

The psychophysics of iconic storage

Some simple models of iconic storage, based on the persisting responses of photoreceptors, were tested in two experiments. Substantial changes in such physical parameters as adapting luminance, stimulus luminance, and stimulus contrast produced little or no change in the duration of partial-report performance. This is at odds with most receptoral models. It seems unlikely that any model based on receptoral persistence can accommodate the results, thus forcing one to locate the icon beyond the receptors and probably beyond the retina as a whole.