Can attention select only a fixed number of objects at a time?

Several previous studies have suggested that we may attend only a fixed number of 'objects' at a time. However, whereas findings from two-target experiments suggest that we can attend only one object at a time, other results from object-tracking and enumeration paradigms point instead to a four-object limit. Here, we note that in these previous studies the number of objects covaried with the overall size and complexity of the stimulus, such that apparent one-object or four-object limits in those tasks may reflect changes in the complexity of attended stimuli, rather than the number of objects per se. Accordingly, in the current experiments we employ stimuli in which the number of objects varies, while overall size and complexity are held constant. Using these refined measures of object-based effects, we find no evidence for a one-object or four-object limit on attention. Indeed, we conclude that the number of attended objects does not affect how efficiently we can attend a given stimulus. We propose and test an alternative approach to object-based attention limitations based on within-object and between-object feature-binding mechanisms in human vision.     

Effectiveness of Abstinence‐Based Sex Education Curricula: A Review

Teenage premarital sexual activity has become an important concern for parents and educators in recent years. Many attempts have been made to address this problem in order to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The authors review some of those efforts and attempt to identify the approaches that seem to be effective. Implications for research are also presented.     

Phonological Awareness and Reading Proficiency in Adults with Profound Deafness

This study investigated differences in the phonological knowledge and reading skill of deaf adults using three experimental conditions that tested sensitivity to syllables, rhyme, and phonemes. Analysis of response latencies and accuracy in the three awareness tasks demonstrated that skilled deaf readers had superior phonological awareness skill to that of less-skilled readers and showed less reliance on orthography when making their phonological judgments. Rhyme had greater independent predictive strength than syllable or phoneme awareness for reading comprehension. Phoneme awareness did not contribute independently to either reading comprehension or word reading, but it did independently predict application of grapheme-phoneme correspondences.     

Revisiting the God/World Difference

On what basis do we distinguish God from the world? I argue that the doctrine of creation, more specifically the analogical notion of causa , supplies a salutary foundation. My conversation partners are Karl Barth and Thomas Aquinas. I take up the former's five conditions for a right theological use of causa , demonstrating that despite his basic misreading of Thomas, both theologians share some basic convictions regarding God's independence. I argue, moreover, that Thomas provides a more theologically satisfying anchor for what distinguishes God from what is not God. I conclude by reflecting on the importance of experience in articulating the distinction.     

How does orthographic knowledge influence performance on phonological awareness tasks?

Three experiments explored the nature of orthographic influences on performance on phonological awareness tasks. Experiment 1 demonstrated that adults find it easier to perform phoneme deletions on items where there is a direct correspondence between letters and target sounds (e.g., take the /r@/ from struggle) than where there is not (e.g., take the /w@/ from squabble). Analogous results were found in a phoneme reversal task. Spelling production ability tended to correlate more strongly with performance on the former type of item than on the latter, suggesting that elevated performance on phonological awareness tasks is associated with the use of orthographic information. Experiment 2 produced similar results in Grade 5 children. Experiment 3 suggested that adults cannot inhibit orthographic activation when it is disadvantageous to them, as they performed no better on items such as squabble when they were presented in pure blocks than when they were presented in mixed blocks. It is concluded that there are substantial automatic orthographic influences on phonological awareness task performance that need to be taken into account in interpreting data concerning the relationship between phonological awareness and reading.