Planning and articulation in incremental word production: syllable-frequency effects in English

We investigated the role of syllables during speech planning in English by measuring syllable-frequency effects. So far, syllable-frequency effects in English have not been reported. English has poorly defined syllable boundaries, and thus the syllable might not function as a prominent unit in English speech production. Speakers produced either monosyllabic (Experiment 1) or disyllabic (Experiment 2-4) pseudowords as quickly as possible in response to symbolic cues. Monosyllabic targets consisted of either high- or low-frequency syllables, whereas disyllabic items contained either a 1st or 2nd syllable that was frequency-manipulated. Significant syllable-frequency effects were found in all experiments. Whereas previous findings for disyllables in Dutch and Spanish-languages with relatively clear syllable boundaries-showed effects of a frequency manipulation on 1st but not 2nd syllables, in our study English speakers were sensitive to the frequency of both syllables. We interpret this sensitivity as an indication that the production of English has more extensive planning scopes at the interface of phonetic encoding and articulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).     

MBTI and historical data

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator presents a model of personality which may be useful for understanding historical personalities, but empirical verification is necessary.     

逻辑经验主义与心理学哲学

逻辑经验主义对实验心理学的关注并非只是由于其结果的作用或其态度上的相似性,而且由于(或许是更为重要的)对澄清其概念的共同需要。逻辑经验主义对物理概念的分析是一种哲学成就的范式,而他们在心理学中同样的分析工作也被看做是规范科学的疑难解决方案。在这种范式的背后隐藏着统一科学的哲学理想。围绕经验问题,逻辑经验主义与心理学之间在20世纪30年代出现了大量互动;正是根据这个问题,以及在逻辑经验主义对统一科学的强调的关联中,我们才能很好地理解逻辑经验主义的心理学哲学及其对心理学的影响。以卡尔纳普、费格尔和托曼为最初代表,他们提出完全不同的处理方式,把心理学看做经验科学,就可以得到其他科学同样具有的主体间性,因此,这就使得逻辑经验主义获得了它希望得到的地位。     

Identifying the task characteristics that predict children's construction task performance

Construction tasks form a major part of children's play and can be linked to achievement in maths and science. However there is a lack of understanding of construction task ability and development. Therefore, there is little foundation for the applied use of construction tasks, such as in teaching or research, as there are no apparent methods for assessing difficulty. This empirical research identifies four construction task characteristics that impact on cognition and predict construction task difficulty in children aged 7–8 and 10–11 years and adults. The results also reveal a developmental trajectory in construction ability. The research provides a method to quantify, predict and control the complexity of construction tasks for future research and to inform applied use. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Object identification without foveal vision: Evidence from an artificial scotoma paradigm

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the degree to which foveal information is necessary for object identification. To explore this question, we used an artificial moving scotoma paradigm to eliminate a region of a currently viewed display in real time as a function of eye position. Subjects examined linear arrays of four line drawings of objects while their eye movements were recorded. Immediately following each array, a test probe was presented to test the degree to which the subject had identified those objects. Three conditions were compared, one in which a central foveal scotoma was created, one in which an extrafoveal scotoma was created, and a control condition in which the scotoma was absent. The main result was that identification accuracy was very good, but eye-movement behavior was disrupted when a foveal scotoma was present. These results suggest that foveal information is not necessary but is beneficial for perceptual encoding during object identification; the loss of foveal information can be overcome as long as compensatory extrafoveal processing is possible.     

Preferences for skill versus chance-determined activities: The influence of gender and task sex-typing

Three experiments tested the hypothesis that skill-chance activity preference by men and women is moderated by task sex relatedness. Men and women (total N = 368) opted to perform either skill or chance versions of masculine and feminine tasks, and then provided ratings of performance expectancy, importance of success, and perceptions of task characteristics. Results support the conclusion that men do not prefer skill and women chance as had been found previously, but rather that while men's skill preferences are higher than women's on a masculine taks, women prefer skill more than do men on a feminine task. Skill-chance preferences were primarily a function of the expectancy of success on skill tasks.     

Computerized assessment in neuropsychology: A review of tests and test batteries

This article contains detailed reviews of 13 computerized neuropsychological and performance test batteries and six stand-alone computer tests. Tasks found on these instruments are described and tables illustrate which batteries employ which measures. In addition to issues of reliability and validity, special considerations apply to computerized assessment. These issues are discussed and readers are provided information to help them assess computerized tests in relation to their particular clinical and research needs. Since many computerized tests were developed as performance assessment tools, the relationship between performance and neuropsychological assessment is examined.     

Moments of Spontaneity and Surprise: The Nonlinear Road to Something More

Moments of spontaneity and surprise create opportunities for change to occur through perturbations in the analyst-analysand system. These moments of authentic person-to-person contact violate anticipated patterns of intersubjective engagement. Mutative potential arises from the coconstruction of new relational configurations and the resultant modifications in the procedural memory system of both members of the analytic dyad. Three moments of spontaneity and surprise from the analysis of a man with a rigid character structure are presented and discussed.