Two-dimensional tilt illusions induced by orthogonal plaid patterns: effects of plaid motion, orientation, spatial separation, and spatial frequency

Tilt illusions occur when a drifting vertical test grating is surrounded by a drifting plaid pattern composed of orthogonal moving gratings. The angular function of this illusion was measured as the plaid orientation (and therefore its drift direction) varied over a 180 degrees range. This was done when the test and inducing stimuli abutted and had the same spatial frequency, and when the test and inducing stimuli either differed in frequency by an octave, or were spatially separated by a 2 deg blank annulus, or both differed in frequency and were also separated by the annulus (experiments 1-4). The obtained angular function was virtually identical to that obtained previously with the rod and frame effect and other cases involving orthogonal inducing components, with evidence for illusions induced both by real-line components and by virtual axes of symmetry. Although the magnitude of the illusion was very similar in all four experiments, there was evidence to suggest that largest real-line effects occurred in the abutting same-frequency condition, with a pattern of results similar to that obtained previously with the simple one-dimensional tilt illusion. On the other hand, virtual-axis effects were more prominent with gaps between test and inducing stimuli. A fifth, repeated-measures, experiment confirmed this pattern of results. It is suggested that this pattern-induced tilt effect reflects both striate and extrastriate mechanisms and that the apparent influence of spatially distal virtual axes of symmetry upon perceived orientation implies the existence of AND-gate mechanisms, or conjunction detectors, in the orientation domain.     

Pushing dualism to an extreme: On the philosophical impetus of a new materialism

This article discusses the way in which a group of contemporary cultural theorists in whose work we see a “new materialism” (a term coined by Braidotti and DeLanda) at work constitutes a philosophy of difference by traversing the dualisms that form the backbone of modernist thought. Continuing the ideas of Lyotard and Deleuze they have set themselves to a rewriting of all possible forms of emancipation that are to be found. This rewriting exercise involves a movement in thought that, in the words of Bergson, can be termed “pushing dualism to an extreme.” By this movement, Deleuze has stated, “difference is pushed to the limit,” that is, using Colebrook’s words, “difference is shown differing.” The article addresses the ways in which modernity’s dualisms (structured by a negative relation between terms) are traversed, and how a new conceptualization, and ontology, of difference (structured by an affirmative relation) comes to be constituted along the way. New materialism leaves behind all prioritizations (implicitly) involved in modern dualist thinking since a difference structured by affirmation does not work with predetermined relations (e.g., between mind and body) nor does it involve a (counter-)hierarchy between terms. The article makes explicit the methodology of the current-day rise of non-dualist thought, both in terms of its non-classificatory mode of (Deleuzian) thinking and in terms of the theory of the time of thought thus effectuated (Lyotard’s notion of ‘rewriting modernity’ is not a post-modernism). Throughout the article we will engage with an example in order to demonstrate the ontology that is being practiced following this methodology: How does a new (feminist) materialism traverse the sexual dualisms that structure modernist (feminist) thinking? This example also shows how a feminist post-modernism (found in the canonical work of Butler) has remained dualist, and what makes new materialism “new.” Freed from a dualist methodology, the modernist emancipatory project comes to full fruition in new materialism.     

Mechanisms of developmental change in infant categorization

Computational models are tools for testing mechanistic theories of learning and development. Formal models allow us to instantiate theories of cognitive development in computer simulations. Model behavior can then be compared to real performance. Connectionist models, loosely based on neural information processing, have been successful in capturing a range of developmental phenomena, in particular on-line within-task category learning by young infants. Here we describe two new models. One demonstrates how age dependent changes in neural receptive field sizes can explain observed changes in on-line category learning between 3 and 10 months of age. The other aims to reconcile two conflicting views of infant categorization by focusing on the different task requirements of preferential looking and manual exploration studies. A dual-memory hypothesis posits that within-task category learning that drives looking time behaviors is based on a fast-learning memory system, whereas categorization based on background experience and assessed by paradigms requiring complex motor behavior relies on a second, slow-learning system. The models demonstrate how emphasizing the mechanistic causes of behaviors leads to discovery of deeper, more explanatory accounts of learning and development.     

A meta-analysis of psychoeduational programs for coronary heart disease patients.

In a meta-analysis of 37 studies, the effects of psychoeducational (health education and stress management) programs for coronary heart disease patients were examined. The results suggest that these programs yielded a 34% reduction in cardiac mortality; a 29% reduction in recurrence of myocardial infarction (MI); and significant (p < .025) positive effects on blood pressure, cholesterol, body weight, smoking behavior, physical exercise, and eating habits. No effects of psychoeducational programs were found in regard to coronary bypass surgery, anxiety, or depression. The results also suggest that cardiac rehabilitation programs that were successful on proximal targets (systolic blood pressure, smoking behavior, physical exercise, emotional distress) were more effective on distal targets (cardiac mortality and MI recurrences) than programs without success on proximal targets.     

Organizational identification and “currencies of exchange”: integrating social identity and social exchange perspectives

We integrate social exchange and social identity perspectives to propose and test the prediction that depending on their level of organizational identification, people may reciprocate the received organizational support using different “currencies of exchange”—reducing turnover intentions or, instead, engaging in extra‐role behavior. Specifically, the relationship of perceived organizational support (POS) with turnover intentions is proposed to be stronger with lower identification, whereas POS is proposed to be more closely related to extra‐role behavior with higher organizational identification. These predictions were supported in a cross‐sectional survey of N = 1,000 employees of a financial services firm. These results speak to the added value of integrating the social exchange perspective with its roots in applied psychology and the social identity perspective with its roots in social psychology in understanding the employee‐organization relationship.