A tachistoscopic study of hemispheric processing in stuttering and nonstuttering children

Hemispheric processing, expressed as mean reaction time to various visual stimuli presented to the left and right visual fields, was investigated in eighteen stuttering and nonstuttering children. Tachistoscopic procedures were used to present linguistic stimuli (words and nonwords) as well as nonlinguistic stimuli (familiar and unfamiliar geometric figures) to the visual fields. Subjects responded by pressing a telegraph key when they perceived a real word or a familiar geometric figure. They were to make no response when they perceived nonwords or unfamiliar geometric figures. Faster reaction times were taken as an index of the most efficient or dominant hemisphere for a given task. No significant differences were found in mean reaction times for groups, visual fields, type of task, nor any of their interactions. Likewise, the data on accuracy also did not suggest that a larger proportion of stutters responded more accurately when linguistic stimuli were presented to the right hemisphere. Based on mean reaction times and on accuracy data, the stuttering and nonstuttering children performed with similar efficiencies and processing patterns.     

Inherited predisposition to alcoholism: characteristics of sons of male alcoholics

Sons of male alcoholics (SOMAs) are at markedly heightened genetic risk for the development of alcohol abuse. Study of SOMAs could therefore conceivably increase the efficiency of research aimed at uncovering those heritable factors that predispose to alcoholism. SOMAs manifest observable behavioral, cognitive, and psychophysiological abnormalities while sober and react idiosyncratically to alcohol intoxication. They are most commonly described as conduct disordered and hyperactive, appear heir to a variety of deficits in verbal and abstract cognition, and perform more poorly in the academic environment. SOMAs are characterized by abnormal patterns of cued psychophysiological response, and appear more sensitive to the putatively reinforcing aspects of alcohol intoxication. Various methodological weaknesses permeate the relevant literature. Some straightforward improvements are suggested.     

Sex and cultural differences in lefthandedness

Sex differences are presented for the students of architecture and music, and the distribution of sex in the tested sample, and the population is discussed. The results are related to other studies in Scandinavia, which give comparable results. A genetic/cultural model is used to discuss the differences between results from Scandinavia, USA, and other parts of the world.     

Matfit: A fortran subroutine for comparing two matrices in a subspace

This research was supported by grant APA 3020 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The author would like to thank Dr. David O'Hare for providing the data used to illustrate the use of the program MATFIT.     

一种快速记忆法个案报告

作者以自己为被试,运用自己创造的一系列数序形象挂钩法识记105位化学元素名称和300位圆周率数字,结果表明:运用此法记忆顺序性极强、数量很大、难于记住的材料快速高效,能倒顺背诵和随点随背,能冲破前摄和倒摄干扰,使识记很快通过短时记忆而迅速地顺利进入长时记忆,在识记后的开初(26小时)遗忘不多也不快,在隔一天以后进行检查(复习)并强化未记牢的材料,可使保持率在数百日后不下降,因而作者认为,艾宾浩斯遗忘曲线应界定为机械识记的遗忘曲线较为妥当。作者在文中第一次较详细地公开了在一天内就能倒顺背诵105位化学元素名称和300位圆周率数字的数序形象挂钩法及其关键与技巧。     

Relative preference and adaptiveness of behavioral blame for observers of rape victims

Observers viewed one of nine dramatized videotaped interviews of a rape victim describing her rape. Information in the interview varied the prudence of the victim's behavior (careful, careless, no information provided) and the respectability of her character (good, bad, no information provided). Behavioral blame was significantly greater than characterological blame when the victim was careless or when no information was provided about behavior, regardless of the victim's character. When the behavior was careful, behavioral blame was equal in magnitude to characterological blame. In no case was characterological blame preferred. The adaptive value of behavioral blame for preserving a belief in a controllable and meaningful world was examined using a hierarchical multiple regression. After removing the effects of the prebeliefs of the subjects and the independent variable manipulations, only behavioral blame was significantly related to the maintenance of adaptive beliefs. Implications of the adaptive value of behavioral blame are discussed along with the importance of distinguishing observers' behavioral and characterological blaming strategies in the victimization literature.     

Knowing others through the self—Influence of self-perception on perception of others: A review

The literature relating to the influence of self-perception on the perception of others is reviewed. Projective effects are shown to occur in judgments of a wide range of psychological characteristics. Cognitive and dissonance theories of the projective process are critically examined. Drawing on the developmental literature, a cognitive theory of the projective process is proposed in which projective phenomena are conceptualized as side effects of a basic mechanism involved in knowing others.     

Pattern-directed attention in uncertain-frequency detection

The role of early pattern components as cues in uncertain frequency detection was investigated in four probe-signal experiments. Listeners heard two consecutive presentations of one of two 12-tone patterns in a noise background. One presentation of the pattern was complete, whereas the other was missing the 11th (primary) tone. Listeners were required to indicate which presentation was complete. On 20% of the test trials, the 11th component of the complete pattern was replaced with one of four probe tones. The results indicated that listeners were more sensitive to the primary tone than to probe tones, and this selective sensitivity changed on a trial-by-trial basis as a function of the attentional cues provided by early pattern components. The data suggested two cue functions: (1) an “informational” function in providing information regarding which of two primary tones is likely to occur on a given trial, and (2) a “frequency” function that “automatically” directs listening to an appropriate frequency range and narrows or “fine tunes,” the listening band.