Examination of apparent extent as an explanation of the Poggendorff effect

The explanation of apparent misalignment in the Poggendorff figure, based on underestimation of the intertransversal distance, was investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, subjects judged the intertransversal distance in the traditional Poggendorff figure and two of its variants. The size of the acute angle and the intertransversal distance were manipulated. Half of the subjects made the judgments with the method used by Wilson and Pressey (1976) and the other half made their judgments with the method used by Greist-Bousquet and Schiffman (1981). The results indicated that perceived intertransversal distance was greater with the former method. In Experiment 2, subjects adjusted the transversals to apparent collinearity in the same displays as were used in Experiment 1. The collinearity judgments were transformed to allow comparison with the results of Experiment 1. Comparison of the collinearity judgments with the distance judgments indicated that they did not follow similar trends. For each Poggendorff variant, proportional distance judgments increased as the size of the acute angle increased, and decreased as the intertransversal distance increased. Collinearity judgments did not vary as a function of intertransversal distance. As the size of the acute angle increased, collinearity judgments increased for two of the Poggendorff variants but decreased for the third. It was concluded that the findings did not support the explanation of apparent misalignment based on underestimation of the intertransversal distance.     

Further tests of an exemplar-similarity approach to relating identification and categorization

Further tests were provided of an exemplar-similarity model for relating the identification and categorization of separable-dimension stimuli (Nosofsky, 1986). On the basis of confusion errors in an identification paradigm, a multidimensional scaling (MDS) solution was derived for a set of 16 separable-dimension stimuli. This MDS solution was then used in conjunction with the exemplar-similarity model to accurately predict performance in four separate categorization paradigms with the same stimuli. A key to achieving the accurate quantitative fits was the assumption that a selective attention process systematically modifies similarities among exemplars across different category structures. The tests reported go well beyond earlier ones (Nosofsky, 1986) in demonstrating the generalizability and utility of the theoretical approach. Implications of the results for alternative quantitative models of classification performance, including Ashby and Perrin's (1988) general recognition theory, were also considered.     

Search performance without eye movements

Visual search performance (with sets chosen to elicit both serial and parallel search patterns) under two conditions that precluded saccades was compared to the typical situation in which visual inspection of the array is possible. In one condition, the display duration was so brief that any saccades that were executed would be too late to bring the targeted portion of the array into the fovea. In the other, the display remained present until the subject's response, but eye position was monitored and trials with shifts in fixation were excluded from analysis. The latter condition produced search latencies that were nearly identical to those with free inspection. Brief exposure, in contrast, did not produce the pattern typical of serial search, presumably because of strategies induced to deal with the rapid decay of the visual array. It is concluded that saccadic eye movements play little role in the patterns of performance used to infer serial and parallel search, and that brief exposure is not a satisfactory technique for exploring the role of saccadic eye movements in visual search.     

Extraretinal information about eye position during involuntary eye movement: optokinetic afternystagmus

Despite importance for theories of perception, controversy exists as to whether information is available to the perceptual system about involuntary as well as voluntary eye movements. We measured the perceived direction of targets flashed briefly in an otherwise dark field during the primary phase of optokinetic afternystagmus (OKAN), an involuntary eye movement that persists in darkness following optokinetic stimulation. Perceived direction was measured by unseen pointing in one experiment and by pointing made under visual control in a second experiment. Pointing was essentially veridical in both experiments, indicating that accurate extra-retinal information about eye position (presumably, as efference copy) exists for OKAN. Illusory motion of visual targets, which can occur during involuntary oculomotor responses, therefore cannot be attributed to a lack of efference-copy signals for such eye movements.     

Relationship between two nontraditional procedures for assessing speech-sound discrimination

Test of speech-sound discrimination are used by special educators, reading specialists and speech-language pathologists in assessing children's ability to differentiate between speech sounds occurring in standard English. Such tests are important in determining if speech-sound articulation errors are caused by difficulty in making such differentiations. However, during the past 10 years, these tests have been criticized on the basis of their reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of two alternative methods of assessing speech-sound discrimination with a school-aged population to determine if they elicited responses in a similar manner.     

Measurements of gaze movements while driving

In this study, gaze movements of drivers driving through an intersection were investigated. Gaze movements of drivers in large vehicles were compared with those in small vehicles. There were both similarities and differences in the visual search behaviors of drivers of large and small vehicles. The two groups were similar in that, when approaching an intersection, drivers made repeated saccadic gaze movements; after entering the intersection, saccadic gaze movements were directed ahead in the direction of turning. Differences arose in the frequency and distribution of gaze movements. The number of gaze movements was significantly greater in drivers of large vehicles. The distribution of gaze movements in driving a large vehicle showed a peak at the point 50 to 60 degrees to the right and left of the median plane of the driver. The distribution of gaze movements of drivers of small vehicles showed no peak across the visual field.     

Mood profiles of Masters track and field athletes

In several studies attributing positive health benefits to running, the benefits include reduced depression, fatigue, anger, and increased vigor. Until now, little research has focused on Masters track and field athletes. The present study reports on 587 men and women Masters who participated in a mailed survey measuring mood states using the Profile of Mood States. In comparison to other groups of athletes, these Masters tend to be less depressed, less angry, and less fatigued. Attribution to lifestyle and maturity with their sport is discussed.     

H-reflexes during a motor skill acquisition task

H-reflex amplitudes were studied during the acquisition of a motor skill involving coordinated isometric plantarflexion at the ankle joints as subjects learned to trace a triangular pattern on an oscilloscope screen by controlling plantarflexion torque applied against load cells. Torque feedback was presented on a subject oscilloscope with the right foot controlling a vertical cursor and the left foot a horizontal cursor. Eleven subjects reached criterion performance. H-reflexes were recorded from the right soleus and timed to the initiation of soleus muscle activity to plantarflex the foot. Average time to complete one trial decreased from 9 sec. in the prelearning block to 4 sec. postlearning. No single learning strategy was evident as subjects varied widely in their levels of H-reflex amplitude, but during postlearning, H-reflex amplitude became consistent within subjects as tracing performance became faster and accurate.     

Pitch motion with random chord sequences

Perception of global pitch motion was studied through psychoacoustic experiments with random chord sequences. Chords contained either six or eight (fixed) tone elements, being sinusoidal, sawtooth-like, or Shepard tones, which were either on or off according to a probability controlled by the experimenter. Sequences of 2, 4, 5, or 8 chords were used. Identification by subjects of the perceived direction of overall pitch motion (up or down) was found to be well accounted for by a model in which the ultimate pitch motion percept is given by a sum of contributions from selected element transitions--that is, transitions between adjoining tone elements in successive time frames only. In its simplest form, this dipole contribution model has only one free parameter, the perceptual noise for an element transition, which was estimated for various acoustic tone representations and chord arrangements. Results of two experiments, which were carried out independently in two different laboratories, are reported.     

Do response time advantage and interference reflect the order of processing of global- and local-level information?

Navon's (1977) global precedence hypothesis was based primarily on the joint occurrence of two effects: a response time (RT) advantage for identifying global targets, and interference by global distractors on responding to local targets. Although the hypothesis has been questioned on the basis of experiments in which it has been shown that a local RT advantage and local interference can occur, it is still frequently assumed that these two effects are a valid measure of the order in which local and global levels of structure are processed. In the present experiment, this assumption was examined. Subjects identified target letters that occurred randomly at the global or local level in a divided-attention task. The visual angle subtended by the stimulus pattern was varied, a manipulation known to affect the relative speed of response to local- or global-level information. Local targets were identified faster than global targets at the larger visual angles, but there was no difference in RT at the smallest visual angle. Despite this change in RT advantage, the interference effect did not change as a function of the visual angle of the stimulus pattern. Moreover, global distractors interfered with responding to local targets but local targets had no effect on responding to global targets, which is exactly the opposite of the finding one would expect if RT advantage and interference reflected order of processing. These findings are not consistent with the assumption that RT advantage and interference reflect order of processing in a simple way.