Dimensions of self-concept of pregnant unwed teens

The study examined the self-esteem of pregnant teens enrolled in a program designed to maximize their chances of completing school. The Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory (Battle, 1981) and the Coopersmith (1981) Self-Esteem Inventory were completed by the teens. The mean score of the group on the Culture Free Total Self Scale was below average in comparison to the norm.     

The object-detection effect: configuration enhances perception.

Line drawings used by Weisstein and Harris (1974) are seen as box-like three-dimensional figures if the lines are arranged properly. A flat two-dimensional pattern is seen when these same lines are disarranged. A target line contained within the three-dimensional figure is identified more readily than is the same line contained within a two-dimensional figure. This finding was extended in the present experiments: The three-dimensional stimulus was detected more quickly than the two-dimensional stimulus, under conditions of visual backward masking. Three-dimensional stimuli were also classified more quickly than two-dimensional stimuli. Just as with the face-detection effect and the word-detection effect, object detection can be affected by the form of the visual stimulus.     

Research on the clinical usefulness of the Rorschach: 2. The assessment of cerebral dysfunction

A review of research on the use of the Rorschach in the assessment of cerebral dysfunction indicated that the Rorschachs of patients with cerebral dysfunction do not manifest any characteristic response in terms of percentages, ratios, or any unique response to any one of the stimulus determinants of the blots (color, shading, the stimulus for movement). The patient with cerebral dysfunction does manifest a unique style of thinking; responses tend to be concrete, perseverative, and stereotypic. This finding is similar to that found with schizophrenics where research, summarized by Frank in 1990, also indicated no uniquely 'objective' response style but reflected a unique cognitive style. These two reviews taken together suggest that the better way to use Rorschach data in clinical work is as an opportunity to assess patients' thinking as opposed to the Rorschach being used as a psychometric device, yielding 'numbers.'     

Attentionally splitting the mass distribution of hand-held rods

Two experiments on the length-perception capabilities of effortful or dynamic touch differed only in terms of what the subject intended to perceive, while experimental conditions and apparatus were held constant. In each trial, a visually occluded rod was held as still as possible by the subject at an intermediate position. For two thirds of the trials, a weight was attached to the rod above or below the hand. In Experiment 1, in which the subject's task was to perceive the distance reachable with the portion of the rod forward of the hand, perceived extent was a function of the first moment of the mass distribution associated with the forward portion of the rod, and indifferent to the first moment of the entire rod. In Experiment 2, in which the task was to perceive the distance reachable with the entire rod if it was held at an end, the pattern of results was reversed. These results indicate the capability of selective sensitivity to different aspects of a hand-held object's mass distribution, without the possibility of differential exploration specific to these two tasks. Results are discussed in relation to possible roles of differential information, intention, and self-organization in the explanations of selective perceptual abilities.     

Recovery of 3-D shape from deforming contours

Three experiments were conducted to examine the accuracy of 3-D shape recovery from deforming-contour displays. The displays simulated silhouettes of ellipsoids rotating about a vertical axis. Subjects judged the horizontal cross-section of the ellipsoids. The shape of the ellipsoid, the position of the axis of rotation, and the type of projection were manipulated in Experiment 1. The results indicated relatively accurate shape recovery when the major axis of the ellipsoid was small. In Experiment 2, the shape of the ellipsoid and the velocity and curvature of the contour were manipulated. When the rate of deformation of curvature was decreased, more eccentric shapes were reported. In Experiment 3, the shape of the object and the amount of simulated rotation were manipulated. Subjects made both shape and extent of rotation judgments. The results showed that eccentricity of shape responses could be accurately predicted from rotation responses, suggesting that the recovery of 3-D shape from smooth, deforming contours is dependent on the perceived extent of rotation.     

Formant frequency characteristics of children, young adult, and aged female speakers

Previous literature indicates that a difference may exist between formant frequencies (F1 and F2) of children, young adult, and elderly speakers. The purpose of this study was to compare F1 and F2 of 3 young, 6 young adult, and 3 elderly female speakers for the /i/, /ae/, /u/, and /a/ vowels. Analysis indicates a trend towards vowel reduction across the life span. These findings support previous research regarding age-associated acoustic changes as well as support for the possible anatomical and physiological alterations which may influence such changes.     

The effect of training on visual alignment discrimination and grating resolution.

The effect of training on an observer's ability to detect the misalignment of three points, a hyperacuity, and to resolve a six-line grating was studied in a transfer-of-training design with observers (4 in each of two experiments) who were experienced in making psychophysical judgments of other visual stimuli. The transfer-of-training design enabled us to look for any training-based improvement. Long periods of training produced no statistically significant improvement in performance under any condition. There were small practice-based improvements, but the primary patterns indicated threshold fluctuation rather than improvement. We interpret the results to indicate that the neural mechanisms underlying three-point alignment and grating discrimination, like those for gap bisection (Klein & Levi, 1985), are not malleable to any significant extent.     

Development and evaluation of CHIPASAT, an attention test for children: II. Test-retest reliability and practice effect for a normal sample.

The CHIPASAT (Children's Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task), developed to assess auditory-verbal attention, was administered to a sample of 70 normal school children on two occasions separated by an interval of approximately 4 weeks. A significant practice effect was found, independent of age and sex, with performance improved by approximately 20% on retest. The test-retest reliability of .90 was significant, indicating task stability. The practice effect was consistent with that reported in the literature for the adult PASAT, and reasons for this effect are discussed. Initial test raw scores on WISC--R Arithmetic and Digit Span subtests yielded low but significant correlations of .38 and .35 with CHIPASAT scores.     

The Fraser illusion: complex figures

The cause of the Fraser illusion, which occurs when a line made up of tilted segments itself appears tilted, is examined further. In this series of experiments, we used figures that resembled the original Fraser illusion; they were more complex than those reported on in our previous paper (Stuart & Day, 1988). The figures were used to explore two theories of the Fraser illusion further: that it is the result of interactions between orientation selective units, and that it is a consequence of the local, distributed processing of orientation. The presence of background elements like those used in the original illusion led to an increase in the strength of the illusion, but the shape of these elements had no differential effect on illusion strength. There was a differential effect of the background on the assimilative and contrast illusions, owing respectively to small and large tilts of the inducing elements. The illusion was markedly reduced at small visual angles when the background was absent, but it was only slightly affected when the background was present. All these findings are difficult to explain in terms of interactions between single units, either at the same or at different scales in the image. The effects of luminance contrast and isoluminance on the illusion were not consistent with either theory, but they indicated that researchers need to consider the role of figure-ground organization in this illusion.     

Effects of media violence on viewers' aggression in unconstrained social interaction

This article provides a meta-analytic review of the experimental effects of media violence on viewers' aggression in unstructured social interaction. In the reviewed experiments, children or adolescents were exposed to violent or control presentations and their postexposure behavior was coded for aggression during spontaneous social interaction. Exposure to media violence significantly enhanced viewers' aggressive behavior when the findings were aggregated across studies, but the effect was not uniform across investigations. Only suggestive evidence was obtained concerning moderators of the effect: Marginally stronger relations were obtained in those studies using a cross-section of the normal population of children (vs. emotionally disturbed children) and in those studies conducted in laboratory settings (vs. other contexts).