Pattern alternation: Effects of spatial frequency and orientation

Campbell and Howell (1972) reported an effect called “monocular pattern alternation.” They found that a pattern composed of two orthogonal sinusoidal gratings, one horizontal and the other vertical, underwent rivalry when viewed monocularly for a period of time. In the present study, it has been shown that monocular pattern alternation depends upon the orientation of the pattern and the spatial frequency of its components. Fewer reversals were found for an obliquely oriented pattern than for a pattern with components in the horizontal and vertical meridians. Alternation rate was higher when the gratings were similar in frequency but differed in orientation than when the components of the pattern differed in both dimensions. It was concluded that pattern alternation reflects an antagonistic interaction between interdependent channels in the human visual system that respond to orientation and spatial frequency.     

Compliance without pressure: Some further data on the foot-in-the-door technique

A replication of the Freedman and Fraser (1966) “foot-in-the-door” technique was attempted in which subjects were exposed to one of two prior requests and were then asked to comply with a larger request. The results showed that subjects receiving prior requests complied with the larger request significantly more often than did control subjects. The mechanism by which the technique operates was discussed.     

The marriage of perception and memory: Creating two-way illusions with words and voices

By most theories of lexical access, idiosyncratic aspects of speech (such as voice details) are considered noise and are filtered in perception. However, episodic theories suggest that perceptual details are stored in memory and mediate later perception. By this view, perception and memory are intimately linked. The present investigation tested this hypothesis by creating symmetric illusions, using words and voices. In two experiments, listeners gave reduced noise estimates to previously heard words, but only when the original voices were preserved. Conversely, in two recognition memory experiments, listeners gave increased old responses to words (or voices) presented in relatively soft background noise. The data suggest that memory can be mistaken for perceptual fluency, and perceptual fluency can be mistaken for memory. The data also underscore the role of detailed episodes in lexical access.     

Landmark Discrimination Learning in the Dog

Allocentric spatial memory was studied in dogs of varying ages and sources using a landmark discrimination task. The primary goal of this study was to develop a protocol to test landmark discrimination learning in the dog. Using a modified version of a landmark test developed for use in monkeys, we successfully trained dogs to make a spatial discrimination on the basis of the position of a visual landmark relative to two identical discriminanda. Task performance decreased, however, as the distance between the landmark and the “discriminandum” was increased. A subgroup of these dogs was also tested on a delayed nonmatching to position spatial memory task (DNMP), which relies on egocentric spatial cues. These findings suggest that dogs can acquire both allocentric and egocentric spatial tasks. These data provide a useful tool for evaluating the ability of canines to use allocentric cues in spatial learning.     

The Practice of Counselling HIV/AIDS Clients

AIDS/HIV has been described as one of the most pressing medical and social problems of this century. A review of the psychosocial and counselling literature relating to it indicates that the predominant psychotherapeutic approach with clients is symptom-focused and presents psychological problems as being inevitable in the course of illness. A systems approach is considered to have a good fit' with HIV-related problems because of issues relating to unpredictability, relationships, interaction, complexity and secrecy which arise in the course of the illness and its management. Some of the counselling tasks of an AIDS counsellor are set out. Consideration of these can help the system (client, family, health care team, counsellor) both to define problems and to find solutions to them without resorting to prior assumptions about either.     

Multiple schedules with response interruption and redirection to reduce stereotypy in children with autism spectrum disorder: Generalization and social validity

Although response interruption and redirection (RIRD) and multiple schedule arrangements have sometimes been shown to be effective in reducing stereotypy for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), important questions remain about optimal methods for facilitating generalization and social validity. In the current study, we sought to extend the literature on stereotypy treatment and MSAs in several ways. First, we programmed for generalization by conducting sessions with two exemplars of two different categories of activities (i.e., school work, toy play) and assessing generalization with novel exemplars and activities and during the participant's typical instructional program. Second, we used RIRD instructions that were contextual models of appropriate behavior relevant to each activity. Third, during the free access component of the multiple schedule, we used a child's play tent as a first step toward teaching participants to engage in stereotypy during private free time. For all three participants with ASD, stereotypy decreased quickly and substantially, with reductions generalizing to novel activities and contexts. An extensive social validity assessment with board-certified behavior analysts indicated high social acceptability of the goals, procedures, and outcomes.     

Understanding Exercise and Diet Motivation in Overweight Women Enrolled in a Weight-Loss Program: A Prospective Study Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine the utility of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs for exercise and diet behavior with women enrolled in a 4-week weight-loss program. Sixty-nine females participated in group exercise 3 times a week and they consumed a low-calorie diet for 1 month. They completed baseline measures of exercise behavior, demographic variables, and the TPB constructs for exercise and diet at the start of the program. Adherence to the exercise and diet was recorded, along with pre- and post-measurements of body composition. Significant decreases in body mass index, body fat percentage, and circumference measurements occurred from pre- to post-program. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that diet adherence was predicted by intention. However, the TPB constructs failed to predict exercise adherence, exercise intention, and diet intention. These results are discussed in relationship to previous research, and recommendations for future studies with this special population are highlighted.     

P300 as an index of attention to self-relevant stimuli

Past work suggests that information related to the self receives ‘preferential access’ to the limited pool of attentional resources. However, these studies have been limited by their reliance on response-time measures, which require overt responding and represent the combined effects of multiple stages of information processing. One aim of the present study was to extend past work by obtaining a response-independent index of attention allocation sensitive to changes in discrete stages of information processing. An additional goal was to explore the potential time course of differential sensitivity to self-relevant cues. We assessed the P300, an ERP component that provides an index of attentional resources, evoked by autobiographical self-relevant stimuli (e.g., one’s own name). As expected, P300 was augmented for self-relevant stimuli relative to control stimuli. In addition, analyses of P300 latency indicate that the effects of self-relevance are present during higher-order stages of cognitive processing related to selective attention. These results complement and extend previous work on the role of self-relevance in the selection of material for further processing.     

Group membership and everyday social comparison experiences

In two everyday experience studies, we examined the degree to which everyday social comparisons are framed by group membership. In the first study, 30 undergraduates attending a public university in the United States completed short questionnaires about their social comparison experiences whenever they were signalled. In the second study, 34 ethnic minority undergraduates from the same university completed similar questionnaires about their social comparison experiences. Across both studies, comparisons in which participants viewed themselves as an ingroup member in comparison to an outgroup comprised less than 10% of the comparison experiences reported by participants. However, minorities in the second study who reported closer identification with their ethnic group reported more comparison experiences in which they mentioned their own or the comparison target's ethnicity.