The Presence of a Weapon Shrinks the Functional Field of View

This study examined whether the functional field of view shrinks by the presence of a weapon or the increase of emotional arousal. In Experiment 1, participants viewed two types of pictures depicting scenes involving weapons or control objects and were asked to identify digits presented at the periphery when the pictures disappeared. The results showed that the presence of a weapon impaired identification of the peripheral digits, even when the pictures were equal with respect to emotional arousal level. In Experiment 2, participants viewed emotionally arousing pictures or neutral pictures, neither of which included weapons, and they were asked to identify digits presented at the periphery when the pictures disappeared. The results revealed that the increased emotional arousal did not impair identification of the peripheral digits. These results indicate that the functional field of view shrinks because of the presence of a weapon but not because of increased emotional arousal.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Appearance of an illusory object in the blind spot

We report a phenomenon showing new aspects of perceptual filling-in at the blind spot. When two and three discs were presented below the blind spot, observers perceived them as three and four discs, respectively, but when they were presented in the nasal visual field as a control, the perceived numbers were veridical. The phenomenon demonstrates that the visual system produces an illusory object in the blind spot even when the inducing objects presented on only one side of the blind spot are clearly discrete and countable.     

Sensitivity to social contingency or stability of interaction? Modelling the dynamics of perceptual crossing

We introduce a series of evolutionary robotics simulations that address the behaviour of individuals in socially contingent interactions. The models are based on a recent study by Auvray, Lenay and Stewart [(2006). The attribution of intentionality in a simulated environment: The case of minimalist devices. In Tenth meeting of the association for the scientific study of consciousness, Oxford, UK, 23-26 June, 2006] on tactile perceptual crossing in a minimal virtual environment. In accordance, both the empirical experiments and our simulations point out the essential character of global embodied interaction dynamics for the sensitivity to contingency to arise. Rather than being individually perceived by any of the interactors, sensitivity to contingency arises from processes of circular causality that characterise the collective dynamics. Such global dynamical aspects are frequently neglected when studying social cognition. Furthermore, our synthetic studies point out interesting aspects of the task that are not immediately obvious in the empirical data. They, in addition, generate new hypotheses for further experiments. We conclude by promoting a minimal but tractable, dynamic and embodied account to social interaction, combining synthetic and empirical findings as well as concrete predictions regarding sensorimotor strategies, the role of time-delays and robustness to perturbations in interactive dynamics.     

Trait Emotional Intelligence,Self‐Reported Affect,and Salivary Alpha‐Amylase on Working Days and a Non‐Working Day

This study examined the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (EI) and variation in psychological (positive affect: PA, negative affect: NA) and psychophysiological (salivary alpha‐amylase: sAA) indicators among Japanese employees over 3 consecutive days (working day 1, non‐working day, working day 2). The analyses revealed that higher trait EI was associated across the days with higher PA, but not with NA. Moreover, diurnal sAA levels were lower in the high trait EI group than in the low trait EI group on the intervening non‐working day, and this difference between the EI groups continued to show a tendency to significance on working day 2. The results indicate that higher EI may be related to the preservation of higher levels of PA and lower levels of sympathetic activity in recovery in the naturalistic condition.     

Associations of Trait Emotional Intelligence with Social Support,Work Engagement,and Creativity in Japanese Eldercare Nurses

Work‐related resources can be positive antecedents of employee work engagement (WE) and creativity. Although trait emotional intelligence (EI) and social support may be crucial resources in nursing, their relationships with WE and creativity remain unclear. Hence, with special focus on the role of trait EI, we examined this relationship by applying the job demands‐resources (JD‐R) model. The participants were 489 eldercare nurses in Japan (female: n = 401; male: n = 88; age = 39.5 ± 11.0 years). The results showed positive associations between EI and the other studied variables. Furthermore, moderated mediation analyses revealed that higher trait EI enhanced the positive association among the triad of social support, WE, and creativity. The findings provide additional evidence that, in nurses, trait EI may be a noteworthy personal resource for creativity in the relationship between social support and WE.     

On Evans's Vague Object from Set Theoretic Viewpoint

Gareth Evans proved that if two objects are indeterminately equal then they are different in reality. He insisted that this contradicts the assumption that there can be vague objects. However we show the consistency between Evans's proof and the existence of vague objects within classical logic. We formalize Evans's proof in a set theory without the axiom of extensionality, and we define a set to be vague if it violates extensionality with respect to some other set. There exist models of set theory where the axiom of extensionality does not hold, so this shows that there can be vague objects.     

An Examination of Sex and Masculinity/Femininity as Related to the Taste Sensitivity of Japanese Students

The purpose of the present study was to examine the influences of gender differences and masculinity–femininity on taste thresholds and food preferences. The participants were 108 Japanese undergraduate students (44 men and 64 women); their mean age was 19.6 years (SD = 1.3). Their detection and recognition thresholds for caffeine and sucrose were measured. Multiple regression analyses showed that women tended to have a lower detection threshold for caffeine than men did. The recognition threshold for caffeine was positively associated with scores for masculinity. For men, masculinity may be associated with smoking and drinking behavior, thereby resulting in a lower sensitivity for bitterness. Masculinity and femininity related to food preferences are also discussed.     

Psychological factors influencing the vividness and affect of visitors’ recall of nostalgic life memories in museums

Current Psychology - This study investigated the effect of nostalgia on museum visitors’ memories of life episodes from the distant past following their encounters with museum objects they...     

Optical Information to Guide the Head and Handle Movements While Playing Kendama

This study focuses on the perceptual skills used when playing kendama, a toy with a ball, string, and handle. It examines the visual information required for guiding the head and handle movements during the “swing-in” catching maneuver and determines whether information-based strategies such as canceling the rate of change of α (the optical depression angle from the horizon) or cot α (optical acceleration), using tau coupling, or a combination thereof, could be applied to this empirical task. The regressions of both α and cot α with time are found to be highly linear and increase when the skill level increases. For expert players, the k values for the tau coupling based on the center of the ball are clearly lower than those for the tau coupling based on the hole in the ball compared with skilled players. These results suggest that, with increasing skill level, kendama players tend to utilize α or cot α for regulating the observation point and use the sight of the hole as the tau coupling information for controlling the handle.