The effects of setting similarity on children's learning of the transverse patterning problem

A group of 15 fourth-graders were given training on the transverse patterning problem, a task consisting of three different geometric forms presented in pairs. Three other groups of 15 fourth-graders each received training on problems containing the same geometric forms, along with either one (color or size) or two (color and size) additional nonspatial dimensions varying among the settings comprising the different cue-cue patterns. Contrary to a prediction derived from Croll's (1967) extension of Spiker's (1963) theory of discrimination learning, none of the Ss solved the basic transverse patterning problem, nor was there any improvement in performance on this problem after 90 trials. Consistent with predictions derived from Spiker's theory, it was found that the addition of one nonspatial dimersion resulted in solution, and that the greater the number of nonspatial dimensions present, the better the learning.     

The shape of inhibitory fields in the human visual system

Five point sources of light were displayed sequentially in a horizontal line, with .45 in. of separation between each point, employing a computer-based cathode-ray tube display system. If a particular display order and appropriate display rate is employed, then the first two points being displayed will not be perceived. By systematically varying the spatial location of these two blanked points relative to the three unblanked points, a start is made towards mapping the shape of visual inhibitory fields in man, and this general technique is related to the work of Hartline and of Ratliff on lateral inhibition and to that of Hubel and Wiesel with receptive fields in the cat and monkey striate cortex.     

Visual information processing of sequentially presented inputs: II. Effects of list length and interstimulus interval values on subspan storage and retrieval mechanisms

A computer-based, cathode-ray tube display system was employed to study the effect of subspan list length, i.e., 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, or 7-decimaldigits, at several interstimulus-interval (ISI) values, i.e., 60, 100, 140, 180, 220, 260, and 300 msec, on visual-information processing, storage, and retrieval mechanisms. Complicated interactions, found in an earlier study employing word strings, were found again in the present study between list length and ISI values, and two fundamental questions raised by these interactions still requiring answers were outlined.     

Anticipatory coarticulation in aphasia: acoustic and perceptual data

Two experiments investigated speech motor planning in aphasia by contrasting the degree of labial and lingual anticipatory coarticulation evident in normal subjects' speech with that found in the speech of aphasic subjects. In the first experiment, Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) analyses were conducted for the initial consonants of CV [si su ti tu ki ku] and CCV [sti stu ski sku] productions by 6 normal and 10 aphasic (5 anterior, 5 posterior) subjects. For normal subjects' productions, reliable coarticulatory shift was found for almost all measurements, indicating that acoustic correlates for anticipatory coarticulation obtain for [s], [t], and [k] in a prevocalic environment, as well as when [s] is the initial consonant of a CCV syllable. The data for the aphasic subjects were statistically indistinguishable from those of the normal subject group, and there were no differences noted as a function of aphasia type. In the second experiment, a subset of the consonantal stimuli produced by the normal and aphasic subjects was presented to a group of 10 naive listeners for a vowel identification task. Listeners were able to identify the productions of all subjects at a level well above chance. In addition, small but statistically significant Group differences were observed, with the [sV], [skV], and [tV] productions by anterior aphasics showing significantly lower perceptual scores than those of normal subjects.     

EAR DIFFERENCES IN EVALUATING EMOTIONAL OVERTONES OF UNFAMILIAR SPEECH BY JAPANESE AND ISRAELIS

Forty Japanese and 31 Israeli students evaluated the intensity of positive and negative emotional overtones of unfamiliar speech passages delivered to one ear, while hearing white noise in the other ear. The results indicated that (1) the Israelis evaluated as more intense the negative overtones, while the Japanese evaluated both positive and negative overtones as being about equally intense; (2) that the emotional overtones were evaluated as more intense in the left ear by the Japanese, and in the right ear by the Israelis; and (3) that females evaluated as relatively more intense the negative overtones, while males evaluated both overtones as being equally intense. The findings are discussed in terms of possible cultural effects on cerebral function.     

Accurate reading by nonlexical means: A case study

Accurate reading of irregular words is generally assumed to require intact lexical reading mechanisms. A nonlexical mechanism is usually deemed insufficient for this type of stimulus processing. The maximum level of accuracy attainable by nonlexical means, however, has not been adequately evaluated. We now describe a patient with acquired dyslexia due to impaired lexical reading mechanisms who retained the ability to read irregular words. The patient's poor performance on tasks requiring lexical decision and access to word meaning provided evidence that his lexical mechanisms were impaired. Nevertheless, errors on irregular words became apparent only with special tests that circumvented the patient's ability to use his intact speaking vocabulary to ensure that reading responses were words. The results demonstrate that relatively accurate reading of irregular words is possible despite damage to lexical mechanisms and that this can be achieved by filtering potential responses through the speaking vocabulary.