Assessing the role of different spatial frequencies in word perception by good and poor readers

Numerous studies indicate that dyslexic and nondyslexic individuals exhibit different patterns of sensitivity to spatial frequency. However, the extension of this effect to normal (nondyslexic) adults of good and poor reading abilities and the role played by different spatial frequencies in word perception have yet to be determined. In this study, using normal (nondyslexic) adults, we assessed reading ability, spatial frequency sensitivity, and perception of spatially filtered words and nonwords (using a two-alternative forced choice paradigm to avoid artifactual influences of nonperceptual guesswork). Good and poor readers showed different patterns of spatial frequency sensitivity. However, no differences in accuracy of word and nonword perception were found between good and poor readers, despite their differences in spatial frequency sensitivity. Indeed, both reading abilities showed the same superior perceptibility for spatially filtered words over nonwords across different spatial frequency bands. These findings indicate that spatial frequency sensitivity differences extend to normal (nondyslexic) adult readers and that a range of spatial frequencies can be used for word perception by good and poor readers. However, spatial frequency sensitivity may not accurately reveal an individual's ability to perceive words.     

Modulation of the effective salience of a stimulus by direct and associative activation of its representation

In 2 experiments, rats received exposure to presentations of a footshock preceded by a given cue. In the PRf (partial reinforcement) condition, this cue also occurred in the absence of the shock; in the CRf (continuous reinforcement) condition, it did not. Subsequent testing in which a new stimulus was used to signal the shock (Experiment 1) showed that the shock was more effective as a reinforcer for the PRf than for the CRf group. In Experiment 2, the shock was used as a conditioned stimulus signaling food delivery, and it was found that conditioning occurred more readily in the PRf than in the CRf group. These results accord with the hypothesis that preexposure to the shock results in a decline in its effective salience but that experience of a cue that signals shock in the absence of the shock itself attenuates this effect and helps maintain stimulus salience.     

Spatial frequency discrimination in schizophrenia

Pathways within the visual system can be distinguished on the basis of selectivity for low or high spatial frequencies. Spatial frequency discrimination was evaluated in 17 medicated male patients with schizophrenia and 19 male control subjects. Subjects were required to discriminate whether pairs of high contrast, sinusoidally modulated gratings were the same or different in spatial frequency. Accuracy performance was compared at high, medium, and low spatial frequencies on tasks matched for control performance. Patients showed a greater performance decrement of 12% on low as compared with 4% on high spatial frequencies. These findings suggest a disturbance of right hemisphere mechanisms involved in spatial perception and attention in schizophrenia.     

Bridging the gap between theory and model: a reflection on the balance scale task

At first glance, the two lead articles in this issue share little except the balance scale task, yet we view them as complementary rather than unrelated or contradictory. Our Reflection focuses on the individual strengths of the two lead articles and, to a greater extent, the potential power of their combined perspectives. Our general approach is to allow psychological theory to suggest a model of performance that can both evaluate specific theoretical claims and reveal important features of the data that had been previously obscured using conventional statistical analyses. Our guiding principle is that model, theory, and data all should be connected.     

The Soteriology of Role-Play in the Bhagavad Gītā

I will here apply the classical Indian model of the dramatic actor as a methodology for interpreting the soteriological psychology of the Bhagavad Gītā, paying special attention to the usefulness of this approach for clarifying K???a's rationale in showing his divine form in Chapter 11. I argue that the Gītā advocates creative role-play as both the means and the end of liberation. Further, while K???a's teachings can be understood in terms of orthodox Hindu soteriologies that have in view an overcoming of the emotions, I argue that K???a looks to transform Arjuna into an ‘athlete of emotion’, much like traditional Indian-based training methods do for theatrical actors.     

The roles of working memory and intervening task difficulty in determining the benefits of repetition

Memory is better when learning events are spaced, as compared with massed (i.e., the spacing effect). Recent theories posit that retrieval of an item’s earlier presentation contributes to the spacing effect, which suggests that individual differences in the ability to retrieve an earlier event may influence the benefit of spaced repetition. The present study examined (1) the difficulty of task demands between repetitions, which should modulate the ability to retrieve the earlier information, and (2) individual differences in working memory in a spaced repetition paradigm. Across two experiments, participants studied a word set twice, each separated by an interval where duration was held constant, and the difficulty of the intervening task was manipulated. After a short retention interval following the second presentation, participants recalled the word set. Those who scored high on working memory measures benefited more from repeated study than did those who scored lower on working memory measures, regardless of task difficulty. Critically, a crossover interaction was observed between working memory and intervening task difficulty: Individuals with low working memory scores benefited more when task difficulty was easy than when it was difficult, but individuals with high working memory scores produced the opposite effect. These results suggest that individual differences in working memory should be considered in optimizing the benefits of repetition learning.     

Mutual Interactions Between Speech and Finger Movements

Speech output and finger movements were recorded as right-handed males repeated a syllable while making cyclical finger movements in three experimental conditions: (a) maintaining constant amplitude in both response systems; (b) alternating speech amplitude while attempting to maintain constant finger movement amplitude; and (c) alternating finger movement amplitude while attempting to maintain constant speech amplitude. Observations showed that output of the two response systems was coupled (one syllable was uttered with each finger movement) and entrained in amplitude (the amplitude pattern of the response that the subject attempted to keep constant followed that of the concurrently-active amplitude-modulated response).

These interactions were bidirectional and were present with both left-handed and right-handed finger movements. The interactions are more extensive and subtle than mere interference with one response system by the other, and apparently do not depend on anatomical overlap of the responding neural systems.     

Current Assessment Practice,Personality Measurement,and Rorschach Usage by Psychologists

The hypothesis under evaluation was that persons giving a larger number of M responses (minimum 5) would show greater ease in expressing themselves creatively than a group of persons giving low M in the Rorschach (0 to 2). Groups were matched on variables of age, education, and socio-economic status. Twenty-two high M and 21 low M persons were tested for creative expression by means of written and verbal TAT, drawings and Lowenfeld Mosaic Designs. Ability to be creatively expressive for high as compared to low M Ss was very great, reaching significance levels beyond .001 on all tests. Flexor and extensor quality of M appeared to be unrelated to ease of creative expression.