Stimulus display geometry and colour discrimination learning by pigeons

Pigeons learned a successive conditional visual discrimination on vertically and horizontally arranged pairs of stimulus-response keys. When the discriminanda were two similar hues the pigeons' performance was significantly better on the vertical than on the horizontal task. This was also found in an experiment in which the subjects could see only monocularly. When, however, the discriminative stimuli were patterns of different orientation or markedly dissimilar hues then the performance on the horizontal task had an advantage over that on the vertical one. A horizontal advantage also obtained when similar hues were discriminated on keys clustered closely together. Pigeons thus seem more adept at solving successive conditional discriminations on horizontal than on vertical pairs of keys except when similar hues are displayed on widely separated keys where the reverse is true. It is hypothesized that colour vision inequalities due to regional retinal differentiations are responsible for this latter effect.     

From Performance to Decision Processes in 33 Years: A History ofOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processesunder James C. Naylor

For the past 33 years,Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processeshas thrived under a single editor. That editor, James C. Naylor, is retiring from his long stewardship. This article chronicles the course of the journal under Jim's direction and marks some of the accomplishments and changes over the past three decades that go to his credit.     

Judging the cross on rings: a matter of achieving shape constancy

The present study examines the influence of viewing position, experience, processing time, and attention on shape constancy in gymnastics judging. In an experiment, 40 gymnastics judges and as many laypeople were presented with a series of photographs that show athletes holding a ‘cross on rings’. They were simultaneously taken from different viewpoints. Participants had to judge how many degrees the arms deviated from horizontal for each picture. One half of the participants had a secondary task, to judge the duration of the picture presentation, which varied also. The overall performances of the gymnastics judges were much better than those of the laypeople, and in contrast to the lay‐judgments, they were not influenced by the secondary task. However, gymnastics judges were still significantly influenced by viewpoint, that is, their error rate increased with an increase in deviation from a frontal view. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Acquiring a Taste: Alcohol Experiences of German Elementary School Children

Few data are available on alcohol experiences among elementary school children, although early onset and trying of alcohol use is known to be a risk factor for adolescent alcohol abuse. Until now, research leaves open the question on which factors encourage early trying behavior. In a cross-sectional study design, a written survey was conducted in 49 randomly selected elementary schools in Germany. The survey was carried out among 3rd and 4th graders with a median age of 9 years during class time in the school year 2010/2011. 1806 questionnaires were included in the study. The risk behavior of having tried alcohol was analyzed. A total of 37.7% (n = 681) of all children reported to have already tried alcohol. While grade and age had no significant influence in the final multivariate model, the gender effect stayed relevant (Male: aOR 1.2, 95%-CI 1.0–1.5), as did the question of whether the child liked going to school (No: aOR 1.4, 95%-CI 1.1–1.7), a lack of parental monitoring (aOR 1.5, 95%-CI 1.1–2.1), consistent parenting (Sometimes/never: aOR 1.5, 95%-CI 1.1–1.9), a regularly provided break-time snack (No: aOR 2.2, 95%-CI 1.3–3.8), as well as parents’ drinking (Yes: aOR 2.0, 95%-CI 1.6–2.6) and drinking among peers (Yes: aOR 8.5, 95%-CI 6.2–11.6). Our study shows that alcohol experiences can be highly prevalent among 3rd and 4th grade elementary school children in Germany. Our findings suggest that especially those variables which may be controlled by the parents are strongly associated with children’s alcohol experiences suggesting a starting point for preventative intervention measures. The results also indicate the need for innovative gender-sensitive approaches in the living environment of elementary school children.     

Goethe and the study of life: a comparison with Husserl and Simmel

In the paper at hand I introduce Goethe’s ontology and methodology for the study of life as an alternative to current theories. ‘Life,’ in its individual, social and/or pan-natural form, has been a recurring topic in the social sciences for the last two centuries and may currently experience a renaissance, if we are to believe Scott Lash. Goethe’s approach is of particular interest because he formulated it as one of the first critical responses to the nascent discipline of biology. It can be characterised broadly as phenomenology with a strong dose of life philosophy. For this reason, and to draw its contours more clearly, I compare his approach to the respective thoughts in Husserl’s and Simmel’s work. The comparison focuses on the two central concepts phenomenon and life but also discusses broader epistemological and methodological issues, such as the relationship between observer and observed, the relationship between culture (cultural sciences) and nature (natural sciences), the nature of causality as well as preferred methods of study.     

Attentional bias for body and food in eating disorders: increased distraction, speeded detection, or both?

Previous research suggests that eating disorder patients show an attentional bias for body- and food-related information. However, so far little is known about the mechanisms that underlie the attentional favoring of this particular information in eating disorder patients. In the present study, we used both a body and a food visual search task to study speeded detection and increased distraction in eating disorder patients (n=67) and healthy controls (n=60). Compared with controls, eating disorder patients showed evidence of speeded detection of body-related information, and increased distraction by food information. These results suggest that the mechanism underlying the biased attentional allocation of eating disorder patients varies, and is dependent upon the type of information they are presented with.     

Psychometric properties of the Highly Sensitive Child scale across developmental stage,gender, and country

Adolescents differ in their degree of Environmental Sensitivity, that is, the ability to perceive and process information about their environment. The present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Highly Sensitive Child scale (HSC), a self-report measure of Environmental Sensitivity, in two Belgian and UK samples with a total of 3056 adolescents. First, the factor structure, internal consistency, dimensionality, and construct validity of the HSC scale were examined. Second, measurement invariance of the HSC scale across developmental stage, gender, and country was tested. Results supported a bifactor model with a general sensitivity factor and three group factors: Ease of Excitation (EOE), Low Sensory Threshold (LST), and Aesthetic Sensitivity (AES). Cronbach’s alpha and McDonalds’s (hierarchical) omega indicated that the HSC scale is a reliable measure of Environmental Sensitivity, except for AES. Furthermore, AES was associated with different personality traits than EOE and LST. Second, the HSC scale was partially measurement invariant across developmental stage, gender, and country. The results provide important insights in the psychometrics of a first measurement of Environmental Sensitivity in early to late adolescents. Implications for further research are discussed.

     

Are Lovers Ever One? Reconstructing the Union Theory of Love

Current analytical philosophies of romantic love tend to identify the essence of such love with one specific element, such as concern for the beloved person, valuing the beloved person or the union between the lovers. This paper will deal with different forms of the union theory of love which takes love to be the physical, psychic or ontological union of two persons. Prima facie, this theory might appear to be implausible because it has several contra-intuitive implications, and yet, I submit, it is more coherent and attractive than it seems to be. I shall distinguish three specific models and thereby offer a differentiated account of the union theory which has not previously been provided in the literature (1). I will claim that two of these models (the strong ontological model and the striving model) should be rejected (2). I shall then defend the third model (the moderate ontological model) against certain possible objections (3); but nevertheless, I shall conclude by showing how this model, too, faces further significant objections which ultimately expose the limits of the union theory of love (4). In conclusion, I will sketch the outlines of a non-reductive cluster theory of love.