Pain in the eye of the beholder: Variations in pain visual representations as a function of face ethnicity and culture

Pain experienced by Black individuals is systematically underestimated, and recent studies have shown that part of this bias is rooted in perceptual factors. We used Reverse Correlation to estimate visual representations of the pain expression in Black and White faces, in participants originating from both Western and African countries. Groups of raters were then asked to evaluate the presence of pain and other emotions in these representations. A second group of White raters then evaluated those same representations placed over a neutral background face (50% White; 50% Black). Image-based analyses show significant effects of culture and face ethnicity, but no interaction between the two factors. Western representations were more likely to be judged as expressing pain than African representations. For both cultural groups, raters also perceived more pain in White face representations than in Black face representations. However, when changing the background stimulus to the neutral background face, this effect of face ethnic profile disappeared. Overall, these results suggest that individuals have different expectations of how pain is expressed by Black and White individuals, and that cultural factors may explain a part of this phenomenon     

Cation and anion contributions to gustatory quality of simple salts

Curves of mean percentages of the four gustatory quality responses as a function of concentration of solutions of LiCl, KCl, lithium sulfate, and potassium sulfate were evaluated as to the relative contributions of the cation and anion to the quality. It was concluded that chloride ion, and sulfate ion to a lesser degree, were responsible for the salty quality. In the mid-range concentrations, potassium ion was responsible for the bitter quality, and lithium ion, by means of an ion-soliient interaction; was responsible for the sour quality reported. At the very low concentrations, at which all salts tested evoked sweet responses, a structure produced by a solvent-cation interaction was assumed to be responsible. The details of the presumed structure are still to be clarified. Although one ion in each salt is primarily responsible for a particular quality over a given concentration, the other ion usually modifies the effect.     

Variability in gustatory quality identification

A total of 60 male and 60 female non-smoking undergraduates were tested on two gustatory screening tasks in which solutions representing the four basic taste qualities were used. The solution concentrations chosen were low, but supposedly distinct as to their qualities. Only 16% of the males were able to identify all solutions correctly, i.e., to a criterion of 4 correct out of 7 presentations, as compared to 34% of the females. A further 28% of the males consistently confused the sour and bitter qualities as did 10% of the females. A correction procedure used in one part of the experiment did not prevent this confusion. We suggest that the sour-bitter confusion may be the gustatory analogue of abnormal color vision.     

Evaluating the decay gradient for collinearity bias with lateral displacement from the axis of induction

The misperception of alignment which is found in many geometric illusions can be quantified using relatively simple stimulus configurations. Perceived collinearity of one segment (designated as the test segment) is biased by a second segment (designated as the induction segment), with the size of effect being a function of the relative angle between the two segments. The process can be described as angular induction. The strength of bias is greatest when the induction segment is centered at the tip of the test segment. Tong and Weintraub have reported that lateral displacement from the tip, i.e., at right angles to the axis of the induction segment, produces a sharp drop in the strength of effect. This decline is described as a decay gradient for the angular induction. One experiment replicates and provides better quantification of this decay gradient. Two other experiments examine the decay gradient using a pair of induction segments, one on each side of the tip of the test segment. Displacement of the segments (either in the same direction or in opposite directions) produces substantially the same gradient of effect. Therefore, previous evidence of tandem boosting of effect for segment pairs does not depend on collinearity among the stimulus components. Finally, a fourth experiment finds that an induction segment which is at a fixed position and orientation differentially affects the influence of a variable induction segment. At some angles the influence of the variable segment is augmented, and at others it is suppressed. These findings are discussed in a neuroreductionist context, and a simple model for angular induction is presented.     

Session helpfulness and session evaluation in short‐term counselling

The relationship between perceived session helpfulness and session evaluation was examined in 11 dyads during eight sessions of short‐term counselling. Results based on the Session Evaluation Questionnaire (Stiles, 1980) showed that, for clients, while depth, arousal, and positivity correlated with perceived session helpfulness, only depth and positivity entered a stepwise regression, yielding a multiple correlation of 0.76. For counsellors, while depth and positivity correlated with session perceived helpfulness, only depth entered the stepwise regression analysis, with a correlation of 0.70. Session depth also consistently correlated with change in perceptions of helpfulness from one session to another. Clients had higher depth scores for sessions that both participants rated as helpful. They had lower depth scores for sessions rated as less helpful by both participants or for sessions where participants disagreed in their helpfulness ratings. The centrality of counselling depth in affecting experiences of counselling helpfulness is discussed.