Infants' intermodal perception of two levels of temporal structure in natural events

Infants' intermodal perception of two levels of temporal structure uniting the visual and acoustic stimulation from natural, complex events was investigated in four experiments. Films depicting a single object (single, large marble) and a compound object (group of smaller marbles) colliding against a surface in an erratic pattern were presented to infants between 3 and months of age using an intermodal preference and search method. These stimulus events portrayed two levels of invariant temporal structure: (a) temporal synchrony united the sights and sounds of object impact, and (b) temporal microstructure, the internal temporal structure of each impact sound and motion, specified the composition of the object (single vs. compound). Experiment 1 demonstrated that by 6 months infants detected a relation between the audible and visible stimulation from these events when both levels of invariant temporal structure guided their intermodal exploration. Experiment 2 revealed that by 6 months infants detected the bimodal temporal microstructure specifying object composition. They looked predominantly to the film whose natural soundtrack was played even though the motions of objects in both films were synchronized with the soundtrack. Experiment 3 assessed infants' sensitivity to temporal synchrony relations. Two films depicting objects of the same composition were presented while the motions of only one of them was synchronized with the appropriate soundtrack. Both 6-month-olds showed evidence of detecting temporal synchrony relations under some conditions. Experiment 4 examined how temporal synchrony and temporal microstructure interact in directing intermodal exploration. The natural soundtrack to one of the objects was played out-of-synchrony with the motions of both. In contrast with the results of Experiment 2, infants at 6 months showed no evidence of detecting a relationship between the film and its appropriate soundtrack. This suggests that the temporal asynchrony disrupted their detection of the temporal microstructure specifying object composition. Results of these studies support on invariant-detection view of the development of intermodal perception.     

Judgments about the duration of brief stimuli

Visual duration discrimination data for durations between 70 and 1,020 msec are presented. A model for duration discrimination proposed by Allan, Kristofferson, and Wiens (1972) is elaborated, and the data are discussed in terms of the model. The data axe in agreement with the basic assumptions of the model. Differences between our data and duration discrimination data presented by others are discussed.     

How high school students view women: The relationship between perceived attractiveness,occupation, and education

The proportion of women seeking advanced degrees in the sciences and engineering was no greater in the 1970s than it was in the 1920s. This study seeks to determine if the stereotype of an unattractive professional woman is a factor in dissuading young women from pursuing careers in these fields. Twenty slides of women were rated by 301 male and female high school students for attractiveness, occupation, and educational background. There was a positive correlation, significant at the .001 level, between women perceived to have taken traditionally masculine courses, those perceived to have careers in professions generally viewed as masculine, and those perceived to be more physically attractive. The formerly held stereotype of the studious, career-oriented girl who is unattractive appears to be changing and should not discourage high school girls from seeking academic excellence.     

Comprehension of past and future reference revisited

Sentences containing either past tense, future tense, before, or after were presented with sets of sequential pictures to 150 children from 3 to 7 years. Analysis of errors and correct answers led to the following conclusions: (a) Linguistic factors had a major influence on the results, (b) past and future are understood first as mutually exclusive domains, (c) understanding of linguistic reference to past and future increases gradually from 3 through 7 years, and (d) the ability to temporally decenter increases with age. In addition, before and after were better understood than past or future verb tense. This finding is discussed in terms of (a) the difficulty of establishing the limits of the present in relation to past and future, (b) the center picture serving as a reference point for sentences with before and after, and (c) the difference between understanding reference to three sequenced actions and understanding reference to the sequence of past, present, and future relations.     

A reevaluation of angle-contingent color aftereffects

It has been argued that adaptation to a series of angles with vertices pointing up and illuminated in one color, and to angles with vertices pointing down and illuminated in the opponent color, results in color aftereffects that are contingent on angle direction. In the present paper, using a number of test figures, we demonstrate that adaptation to these ascending/descending angles results in color aftereffects that can be accounted for in terms of spatially localized, orientation-color pairings. In the light of our results, we suggest that previous inferences concerning angle-contingent color aftereffects should be reconsidered.     

Validity of the distinction between generalized social phobia and avoidant personality disorder.

Disorders of pervasive social anxiety and inhibition are divided into 2 categories, generalized social phobia (GSP) and avoidant personality disorder (APD). We explored the discriminative validity of this categorization by examining the comorbidity of GSP and APD and by comparing these groups on anxiety level, social skills, dysfunctional cognitions, impairment in functioning, and presence of concurrent disorders. Results from 23 subjects showed high comorbidity of the 2 diagnoses: All subjects who met criteria for APD also met criteria for GSP. APD was associated with greater social anxiety, impairment in functioning, and comorbidity with other psychopathology, but no differences in social skills or performance on an impromptu speech. GSP and APD seem to represent quantitatively different variants of the same spectrum of psychopathology rather than qualitatively distinct disorders. We also investigated a proposed social phobia subtyping scheme.     

Characteristics of the indirect McCollough effect

Induction of contingent color aftereffects with a single chromatic grid sometimes results in an illusory color on a grid different from the one presented during induction. Such illusory color, contingently elicited by a noninduced grid, has been termed the indirect McCollough effect (indirect ME). We show that the indirect ME occurs only when the color complementary to the grid color is present during induction (either physically present or as a color afterimage), and that the indirect ME is seen only on gratings that are orthogonal to the induction orientation. These findings are in accord with the account of the indirect ME proposed by Humphrey, Dodwell, and Emerson (1989). We also show that characteristics of the indirect ME (seen following one-grid induction), both on induced and orthogonal orientations, are similar to those observed with the direct ME (seen following the usual two-grid induction procedure). Both procedures result in contingent aftereffects that display substantial retention and that do not display interocular transfer.