Perceptually Equivalent Judgments Made Visually and via Haptic Sensory-Substitution Devices

ABSTRACT

According to the ecological theory of perception–action, perception is primarily of affordances, which are directly perceivable opportunities for behavior. The current study evaluated participants’ ability to use vision and haptic sensory-substitution devices to support perceptual judgments of affordances involving the task of passing through apertures. Sighted participants made perceptual judgments about whether they could walk through apertures of various widths and their level of confidence in each judgment, using unrestricted vision and, when blindfolded, using two haptic sensory-substitution instruments: a cane-like wooden rod and the Enactive Torch, a device that converts distance information into vibrotactile stimuli. The boundary between aperture widths that were judged as pass-through-able versus non-pass-through-able was statistically equivalent across sensory modalities. However, participants were not as confident in their judgments using the rod or Enactive Torch as they were using vision. Additionally, participants’ judgments with the haptic instruments were significantly more accurate than with vision. The results underscore the need to assess sensory-substitution devices in the context of functional behaviors.     

Concurrent cognitive task modulates coordination dynamics

Does a concurrent cognitive task affect the dynamics of bimanual rhythmic coordination? In‐phase coordination was performed under manipulations of phase detuning and movement frequency and either singly or in combination with an arithmetic task. Predicted direction‐specific shifts in stable relative phase from 0° due to detuning and movement frequency were amplified by the cognitive task. Nonlinear cross‐recurrence analysis suggested that this cognitive influence on the locations of the stable points or attractors of coordination entailed a magnification of attractor noise without a reduction in attractor strength. An approximation to these findings was achieved through parameter changes in a motion equation in relative phase. Results are discussed in terms of dual‐task performance as limited resources, dynamics rather than chronometrics, and reparameterization rather than degradation.     

Metamers in the haptic perception of heaviness and moveableness

It is hypothesized that heaviness perception for a freely wielded nonvisible object can be mapped to a point in a three-dimensional heaviness space. The three dimensions are mass, the volume of the inertia ellipsoid, and the symmetry of the inertia ellipsoid. Within this space, particular combinations yield heaviness metamers (objects of different mass that feel equally heavy), whereas other combinations yield analogues to the size-weight illusion (objects of the same mass that feel unequally heavy). Evidence for the two types of combinations was provided by experiments in which participants wielded occluded hand-held objects and estimated the heaviness of the objects relative to a standard. Further experiments with similar procedures showed that metamers of heaviness were metamers of moveableness but not metamers of length. A promising conjecture is that the haptic perceptual system maps the combination of an object's inertia for translation and inertia for rotation to a perception of the object's maneuverability.     

The belief in a just world: an examination of reliability estimates across three measures

In this study, we utilized reliability generalization procedures to examine internal consistency estimates across 3 scales measuring the belief in a just world. The distribution of reliability estimates for the measures suggest low to moderate ranges of internal consistency reliability coefficients. The Global Belief in a Just World Scale (Lipkus, 1991) produced the highest average reliability score (alpha = .81) compared to the Just World Scale (Rubin & Peplau, 1973; alpha = .64) and the Just World Scale Revised (Rubin & Peplau, 1975; alpha = .68).     

Carrying the height of the world on your ankles: encumbering observers reduces estimates of how high an actor can jump

The authors investigated how changes in action capabilities affect estimation of affordances for another actor. Observers estimated maximum jumping-reach height for themselves and another actor. Half of the observers wore ankle weights that reduced their jumping ability. The ankle weights reduced estimates of maximum jumping-reach height that observers made for themselves and for the other actor, but only after observers had the opportunity to walk while wearing the weights. Changes in estimates closely matched changes in actual jumping-reach ability. Results confirm and extend recent investigations that indicate that perception of the spatial layout of surfaces in the environment is scaled to an observer's capacity to act, and they link that approach to another embodied cognition perspective that posits a link between one's own action capabilities and perception of the actions of other agents.     

Mentor-protégé commitment fit and relationship satisfaction in academic mentoring

Based on a sample of students and their faculty mentors, this study examined how the fit between mentor and protégé levels of commitment is associated with both partners’ relationship satisfaction. Mentoring dyads were classified into groups according to fit between partners’ commitment, and relationship satisfaction was compared across groups. Overall, results provided partial support for our hypothesis that mentors and protégés report greatest satisfaction when commitment levels are mutually high. Specific results varied depending on the source of reported commitment levels (i.e., mentor vs. protégé reports). Implications are discussed in terms of the importance of both mentor and protégé commitment.     

The role of working memory in carrying and borrowing

The present study analyzed the role of phonological and executive components of working memory in the borrow operation in complex subtractions (Experiments 1 and 2) and in the carry operation in complex multiplications (Experiments 3 and 4). The number of carry and borrow operations as well as the value of the carry were manipulated. Results indicated that both the number of carry/borrow operations and the value of the carry increased problem difficulty, resulting in higher reliance on phonological and executive working-memory components. Present results are compared with those obtained for the carry operation in complex addition and are further discussed in the broader framework of working-memory functions.     

Rotational inertia and multimodal heaviness perception

Perceived heaviness of wielded objects has been shown to be a function of the objects’ rotational inertia—the objects’ resistance to rotational acceleration. Studies have also demonstrated that if virtual objects rotate faster than the actual wielded object (i.e., a rotational gain is applied to virtual object motion), the wielded object is perceived as systematically lighter. The present research determined whether combining those inertial and visual manipulations would influence heaviness perception in a manner consistent with an inertial model of multimodal heaviness perception. Rotational inertia and optical rotational gain of wielded objects were manipulated to specify inertia multimodally. Both visual and haptic manipulations significantly influenced perceived heaviness. The results suggest that rotational inertia is detected multimodally and that multimodal heaviness perception conforms to an inertial model.     

Protégé anxiety attachment and feedback in mentoring relationships

A model focused on protégé anxious attachment and feedback in mentoring relationships was tested with a sample of matched doctoral student protégés and their faculty mentors. Results show that protégé anxious attachment was associated with less feedback seeking and less feedback acceptance. Protégé feedback acceptance was associated with both the quality and frequency of feedback provided by the mentor. Frequency, but not quality of mentor feedback, was associated with protégé scholarly productivity. Results underscore the value of focusing on specific behavioral aspects of the mentoring process.