Additive effects of inhibiting attention to objects and locations in three-dimensional displays

One of the processes thought to underlie visual selection works by biasing attention away from either recently examined locations or objects. The extent of this “inhibition” is greatest when the inhibited object and the inhibited location coincide. In Experiment 1, rectangles are presented stereoscopically at different depths but at similar positions horizontally and vertically. Here, any inhibition should be based solely on a spatial code, as the objects, the rectangles are clearly separate objects. In Experiment 2, the corners of the rectangles are joined to produce a single cuboid that extends in depth space. Now inhibition based on both spatial and object codes should be seen because even when on different depth planes the cue and target are associated with the same object. Consistent with our understanding of the additive effects of inhibition of space and object codes, the extent of inhibition in the second study is almost double that of the first. The results further suggest that space-based inhibition operates within a two-dimensional representation while object-based inhibition utilizes a three-dimensional representation.     

Getting one step closer to deduction: Introducing an alternative paradigm for transitive inference

Transitive inference is claimed to be “deductive”. Yet every group/species ever reported apparently uses it. We asked 58 adults to solve five-term transitive tasks, requiring neither training nor premise learning. A computer-based procedure ensured all premises were continually visible. Response accuracy and RT (non-discriminative nRT) were measured as is typically done. We also measured RT confined to correct responses (cRT). Overall, very few typical transitive phenomena emerged. The symbolic distance effect never extended to premise recall and was not at all evident for nRT; suggesting the use of non-deductive end-anchor strategies. For overall performance, and particularly the critical B?D inference, our findings indicate that deductive transitive inference is far more intellectually challenging than previously thought. Contrasts of our present findings against previous findings suggest at least two distinct transitive inference modes, with most research and most computational models to date targeting an associative mode rather than their desired deductive mode. This conclusion fits well with the growing number of theories embracing a “dual process” conception of reasoning. Finally, our differing findings for nRT versus cRT suggest that researchers should give closer consideration to matching the RT measure they use to the particular conception of transitive inference they pre-held.     

Emergency behavior

There is a class of actions — reflex actions — which seem not to spring from any intention, but for which we nevertheless wish to take responsibility. It is suggested that these actions are appropriately said to be done intentionally, in spite of our never having an intention to do them. And this grammatical anomaly indicates that the behavior in question requires a special kind of account; one which might be characterized as derivative: parasitic on the more paradigmatic sort of action explanation.     

Knowledge,bodies, and values: Reproductive technologies and their scientific context

This essay sets human reproductive technologies in the context of biological research exploiting the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule in the early 1950s. By setting these technological developments in this research context and then setting the research in the framework of a philosophical analysis of the role of social values in scientific inquiry, it is possible to develop a perspective on these technologies and the aspirations they represent that is relevant to the concerns of their social critics.     

The Moment of a Star: The Ethics of Narration

The main theme of the following presentation of Ric?ur's philosophical preoccupations with religion is the interrelationship between reflection and revelation. In a first section, Ric?ur's philosophical profile is outlined in order to indicate the tone between sadness and joy, negativity and affirmation, in which religion has its existential and philosophical ambience. The following part discusses the pertinence of Ric?ur's position in light of contemporary debates about divine otherness and kenosis. Finally, a third section examines the antagonism between philosophy of reflection and biblical revelation, which marks the range and limits of Ric?ur's hermeneutic philosophy. The kind of dependency or heteronomy implied in religion, especially in the biblical idea of the absolute as an external truth-event, presents a genuine challenge to both phenomenology and hermeneutics. This problem is addressed in Ric?ur's theories of revelation and testimony.     

Recent data for majority and racial minority differences in intelligence of 5 year olds in the United Kingdom

Data are presented from the UK Millennium Cohort Study for a sample of 14,860 5 year old British children giving the IQs of whites and racial minorities. Africans, Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis obtained lower IQs than whites, while the IQ of the Chinese was higher. These group differences in IQ were consistent with the differences in educational attainments and earnings.     

Anti-stereotypical reflections on today's grandmother

Abstract

The unconditionally accepting and agreeable grandmother image is part of the stero type If she dares to suggest better ways of handling her grandchildren, she risks r ejection and criticism. In the are a of diet, for in stmce, positive contributions might accrue from the grandmother's intervention, although much more research is needed on the psychology of grandparenthood.     

Influences of lateral preference and personality on behaviour towards a manual sorting task

Differences in task behaviour between left- and right-handers and left- and right-eared individuals have been reported (e.g.  and ) with left-handers taking longer to begin a task and right-eared individuals having a more disinhibited approach. Personality measurements are also important when examining approach behaviour. Jackson (2008) reported that those with higher neuroticism levels and a right-ear preference react faster to tasks. The current study investigated the effects of lateral preference and personality on behaviour towards a manual sorting task. Eighty-five participants completed laterality and personality scales and a card-sorting task. Degree of hand preference was found to influence behaviour towards the task with strong left-handers taking longer to begin. Those with a left congruent lateral preference (left-hand, left-ear) took significantly longer to begin the task than those with a right congruent preference. Neither neuroticism nor extraversion influenced task approach. We concluded that hand preference, and more specifically a strong left-hand preference is a good predictor of a longer initiation time on a manual task. Ear preference on its own does not predict initiation time.     

Refining Therapeutic Mandates in Couple Therapy Outcome Research: A Feasibility Study

Using a series of 59 cases of couple therapy, we studied the nature, frequency, and pre-treatment correlates of therapeutic mandates. Following intake, therapists coded mandate and couples completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Relationship Attribution Measure. The distribution of therapeutic mandates showed that 45.8% wished to improve an overtly conflictual relationship, 28.8% consulted to remedy a lack of love and/or desire, and 25.4% aimed to change a specific aspect of an otherwise well-functioning relationship. Over the course of treatment, in 20% of cases, the therapeutic mandate was revised and adjusted. The results of a logistic regression analysis showed that mandate subgroups, men's marital satisfaction, women's responsibility attributions, and women's income are significantly associated with termination status.