Left-handedness and tongue-rolling ability

948 undergraduates at The Ohio State University were administered the 10-item Edinburgh Handedness Inventory and asked to indicate the extent to which they could turn up the sides of their tongues. Significantly fewer left-handers than right-handers (62.8% and 74.8%, respectively) reported being able to turn up either or both sides. Sex differences in tongue-rolling ability were also noted. Among the 403 men included in the final sample, 77.4% could roll their tongues, whereas only 69.7% of the 491 women could do so.     

Individual and developmental differences in working memory across the life span

The effects of secondary tasks on verbal and spatial working memory were examined in multiple child, young adult, and older adult samples. Although memory span increased with age in the child samples and decreased with age in the adult samples, there was little evidence of systematic change in the magnitude of interference effects. Surprisingly, individuals who had larger memory spans when there was no secondary task showed greater interference effects than their age-mates. These findings are inconsistent with the hypothesis that age and individual differences in working memory are due to differences in the ability to inhibit irrelevant information, at least as this hypothesis is currently formulated. Moreover, our results suggest that different mechanisms underlie developmental and individual differences in susceptibility to interference across the life span. A model is proposed in which memory span and processing speed both increase with development but are relatively independent abilities within age groups.     

COGNITIVE APPRAISALS OF LIFE STRESS AND DEPRESSION IN THE ELDERLY: A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF ASIANS AND CAUCASIANS

Cognitive models of depression have not been adequately tested in different cultural settings involving personally relevant events that affect the lives of the elderly. A cross-sectional comparison was made of cognitions obtained from Asian and Caucasian subjects, residing in Canada and the United States. The objective was to determine whether cognitive appraisals of stressful events would differentiate the elderly in the two cultural groups. Results supported the hypotheses that cognitive appraisals of locus of control, uncertainty, self-responsibility, self-confidence in future coping and fear about future recurrence of negative events are strongly associated with the depressive responses of the elderly in general. A comparison of the cognitive appraisals of the elderly in the two cultural groups showed depressed Asians more significantly than depressed Caucasians, reporting more external locus of control and self-blaming attributions. The results have implications for community workers, psychotherapists and social welfare agents concerned with the mental well-being of the elderly and the care of the elderly from different cultures.     

Situation awareness as a function of frame of reference, computer-graphics eyepoint elevation, and geometric field of view

The purpose of this study was to determine how 3 variables for the design of a "heads-down" spatial display--the frame of reference (pilot's eye vs. God's eye), geometric field of view, and elevation of the computer graphics eyepoint--influenced situation awareness. Thirteen flight-naive subjects each flew a simulated F-16 over a computer-generated flight environment to lock onto and intercept a series of sequentially appearing targets. The flight scene consisted of both an "out-the-window" view and a computer-generated heads-down spatial display showing an airplane symbol superimposed on a perspective view of the flight environment. During the interactive phase of the experiment, root mean square flight-path error, target lock-on time, and target acquisition time were measured. After the interactive phase of the study was completed, subjects were required to mark the location of the targets from memory on a computer-generated top-down view of the flight scene in an attempt to reconstruct the spatial mental model which subjects formed of the flight environment. The results for the interactive phase of the study indicated that performance was superior using the pilot's-eye display. However, for the spatial reconstruction task, performance was better using the God's-eye display. It was also shown that the ability to maintain the optimal flight-path using the more top-down view of the scene (600 eyepoint) was superior to the 300 eyepoint elevation. Implications of the results for the design of spatial instruments are discussed.     

Stimulus functions in chained fixed-interval schedules

Pigeons were required to complete three successive fixed-interval components to obtain food. When the same exteroceptive stimulus was correlated with the three components, responding was positively accelerated between food deliveries. When different exteroceptive stimuli were correlated with each component in a fixed sequence, prolonged pauses developed in the first component; low response rates developed in the second component; and responding was positively accelerated in the second and third components. When different exteroceptive stimuli were correlated with each component in a variable sequence, responding was positively accelerated in each component. Because the response and reinforcement contingencies were the same in all three procedures, the differences in performances must be due to the changes in the sequence of stimuli.     

Adjusting fixed-ratio schedules in the squirrel monkey

On an adjusting schedule of reinforcement, a parameter of the schedule is varied as a function of some characteristic of the animal's performance. In Experiment I, the fixed-ratio response requirement was varied as a function of the time that elapsed before the animal started responding in each fixed-ratio (initial pause). When initial pauses were shorter than a specified duration, the response requirement was increased; when they were longer than the specified duration, the response requirement was decreased. Specified durations of 1, 2, 4, 8, and 15 min were studied. The average response requirement maintained by each monkey was directly related to the length of the specified duration of initial pause. In Experiment II, the fixed-ratio response requirement was constant, but reinforcement occurred only when the initial pause was longer than a specified duration. The average durations of initial pauses were directly related to the length of the specified duration and to the response requirement. Meprobamate consistently decreased the average durations of initial pauses.     

Sport,Ethics, and Neurophilosophy

Abstract

The influence of neuroscience looms large today. In this introductory essay, we provide some context for the volume by acknowledging the expansion of applied neuroscience to everyday life and the proliferation of neuroscientific disciplines. We also observe that some individuals have sounded cautionary notes in light of perceived overreach of some claims for neuroscience. Then we briefly summarize the articles that comprise this volume. This diverse collection of papers represents the beginning of a conversation focused on the intersection of sport, ethics and neurophilosophy. As such, the essays also represent a new mode of interaction between philosophy and science with sport in the center of the discussion.