Do letter features migrate? A note of caution

Summary The feature-integration model of visual information processing (Treisman & Gelade, 1980) predicts perceptual errors based on the incorrect grouping of stimulus features in multi-element displays. Experiment 1 examined the frequency of such errors with a tachistoscopic bar probe task using letters and novel patterns with a production response. A substantial proportion of the errors did involve figures that were not present in the display but contained combinations of features which had been present. Such errors were especially prominent with novel patterns. The results with letters suggested that such responses were due to guessing, not feature migration, and this was confirmed by Experiment 2. In the second study, responses were collected for single character displays but were scored as if they had been responses to the multielement displays in Experiment 1. The results showed the same high proportion of illusory conjunction errors as the previous results and it was concluded that both results were due to guessing. Spatial confusions in the bar probe task with letters appear to involve whole characters, not character features.This research was supported by grant A-9581 from the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada to the senior author. This research was reported as a paper to the annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Toronto, 1981. Ian Morrison is now a post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Psychology, Carnegie-Mellon University.     

Human Agency in the Missio Dei and the Problem of Discipleship

At the heart of this article is an inquiry into the relationship between human and divine agency in the doctrine of the missio Dei and a critique of the turn to the language of discipleship in looking to articulate this agency. Taking the World Council of Churches’ Commission of World Mission and Evangelism's two recent documents, Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes (TTL) and the “Arusha Call to Discipleship,” as a case study, this article will seek to articulate an account of human participation in the missio Dei which maintains the emphasis on spirituality in TTL. Through a close reading of TTL and the Arusha Call, the article will demonstrate that the introduction of discipleship language has not solved the issue of agency but rather has changed the account of agency and, as a result, the missiology. By turning to accounts of faithful participation from qualitative research into British Methodism, to John V. Taylor's Go-between God, and to Pope Francis’ Evangelii gaudium, I will suggest that a better account of human agency in the missio Dei can be developed by emphasizing the pneumatology of TTL and by turning to language of attentiveness, accompaniment, and discernment.     

Are thresholds reduced by illusions? An attempt at replication

Three experiments are reported, which are attempts to replicate the finding of Ross and Gregory (1964) that difference thresholds for weights can be lowered by means of the size-weight illusion. Three different procedures were used, the first one (experiment I) being designed to show whether or not changes in a subject's judgement criterion could account for apparent changes in sensitivity. The second method (Experiment II) was a replication of Ross and Gregory's first procedure, in which the standard weight was judged before the comparison. In Experiments I and II a larger illusion was induced than in the original studies, but in Experiment III both the weights and container sizes were practically identical to those used by Ross and Gregory. The procedure was also the same as their most successful procedure (number 3) in which standard and comparison were judged simultaneously. The findings were uniformly negative: there was no evidence of criterion shift when the size-weight illusion was induced nor did we find the lowering of threshold previously reported.     

Linear Analogue Self-Assessment and Procrustean Measurement: A Critical Review of Visual Analogue Scaling in Pain Assessment

Visual analogue scales (VASs) are one of the most widely used self-report measures of clinical pain. This article reviews the empirical literature on linear analogue self-assessment (LASA) and critically examines the features that appear to have made it such an attractive measurement option in pain assessment. It is concluded that analogue scaling does not withstand critical scrutiny as a primary measure of either pain intensity or pain affect and that, in most circumstances, the overall clinical utility of VASs is inferior to that of more structured pain indices.     

Report of the ACA Ethics Committee: 1993–1994

The activities of the American Counseling Association (ACA) Ethics Committee are reviewed for the year 1993–1994. Summary data of ethical complaints and formal inquiries received during the year are presented followed by a brief discussion of trends noted. Updated information about the revision of the ACA Ethical Standards and the Policies and Procedures for Processing Complaints of Ethical Violations is also provided.     

Development of comprehension of sentences with “because” or “if”

The comprehension of sentences with “because” or “if” was investigated in children aged 2;9–11;11. Imitation, comprehension (choosing one of two picture sequences to go with a sentence), recognition (judging sentences with connective or structure differences as heard before or not), and synonymy (judging equivalence of meaning in sentences with different connectives or structures) tasks were administered, along with logical ordering, reversibility, and classification tasks. Above-chance responding in the comprehension task occurred by age 8, and in recognition and synonymy by age 10. Cognitive performance predicted 28.4% of the variance in the linguistic scores and cognitive success was concurrent with or preceded linguistic success. Comprehension of “because” and “if” appears to develop gradually, and is related to the development of certain operative rules.     

MicroSKED

MicroSKED has transferred the assets of SKED to a microprocessor. Designed around the 6502 microprocessor, MicroSKED contains an editor, compiler, and run-time system. The basic system has 512 words of user memory, 124 inputs, 4 outputs, a time-of-day clock, a keyboard, and a display. The projected cost of the system is $300. The system may be expanded. Differences between SKED and MicroSKED are examined.     

Monaural localization: An analysis of practice effects

Four listeners (experimental group) received one trial a session for 60 sessions on a monaural localization task in which six loudspeakers, positioned 15 deg apart, were placed on the side of the functioning ear. Four additional listeners (control group) received 60 massed trials first and then one trial a session for 60 sessions. The stimulus consisted of a single train of five high-frequency pulses. An ANOVA conducted on the 60 trials distributed over sessions showed that the experimental group’s performance was significantly inferior to that of the control group. Members of the former continued to displace sounds toward the open ear throughout the entire test. Those of the control group exhibited this tendency, but to a much lesser extent. The experience of locating 60 massed trials clearly had a robust effect on subsequent performance. We contend that, by virtue of presenting only one trial a session, the magnitude of the massed-trial effect was little attenuated by our tests to measure it. We interpret our substantive finding to mean that during the 60 massed trials, the control group formed a perceptual representation of the auditory space which served it well when placed on the one-trial-a-session regimen. Those in the experimental group were unable to develop an adequate representation of the auditory space, presumably because their monaural localization experience was restricted to only one trial a session.