Gaze stability of observers watching Op Art pictures

It has been the matter of some debate why we can experience vivid dynamic illusions when looking at static pictures composed from simple black and white patterns. The impression of illusory motion is particularly strong when viewing some of the works of 'Op Artists, such as Bridget Riley's painting Fall. Explanations of the illusory motion have ranged from retinal to cortical mechanisms, and an important role has been attributed to eye movements. To assess the possible contribution of eye movements to the illusory-motion percept we studied the strength of the illusion under different viewing conditions, and analysed the gaze stability of observers viewing the Riley painting and control patterns that do not produce the illusion. Whereas the illusion was reduced, but not abolished, when watching the painting through a pinhole, which reduces the effects of accommodation, it was not perceived in flash afterimages, suggesting an important role for eye movements in generating the illusion for this image. Recordings of eye movements revealed an abundance of small involuntary saccades when looking at the Riley pattern, despite the fact that gaze was kept within the dedicated fixation region. The frequency and particular characteristics of these rapid eye movements can vary considerably between different observers, but, although there was a tendency for gaze stability to deteriorate while viewing a Riley painting, there was no significant difference in saccade frequency between the stimulus and control patterns. Theoretical considerations indicate that such small image displacements can generate patterns of motion signals in a motion-detector network, which may serve as a simple and sufficient, but not necessarily exclusive, explanation for the illusion. Why such image displacements lead to perceptual results with a group of Op Art and similar patterns, but remain invisible for other stimuli, is discussed.     

The otolaryngologist's role in management of hearing loss in infancy and childhood

This article reviews the role of the otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon-in the diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss in infants and young children. The otolaryngologist is well-versed in the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of the auditory system, as well as the craniofacial syndromes that can involve the head and neck in combination with deafness. In this paper, the various causes of congenital hearing loss are described, as well as the steps required for proper diagnosis. Finally, surgeries used by otolaryngologists to treat childhood hearing loss, their indications, and outcomes, are discussed.     

Sociability and susceptibility to the common cold

There is considerable evidence that social relationships can influence health, but only limited evidence on the health effects of the personality characteristics that are thought to mold people's social lives. We asked whether sociability predicts resistance to infectious disease and whether this relationship is attributable to the quality and quantity of social interactions and relationships. Three hundred thirty-four volunteers completed questionnaires assessing their sociability, social networks, and social supports, and six evening interviews assessing daily interactions. They were subsequently exposed to a virus that causes a common cold and monitored to see who developed verifiable illness. Increased sociability was associated in a linear fashion with a decreased probability of developing a cold. Although sociability was associated with more and higher-quality social interactions, it predicted disease susceptibility independently of these variables. The association between sociability and disease was also independent of baseline immunity (virus-specific antibody), demographics, emotional styles, stress hormones, and health practices.     

Situational and Individual Influences on Judgments of Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment1

The current research examines the judgment processes of third-party evaluators of sexual harassment situations. Four situational variables were hypothesized to influence ratings of situation appropriateness and judgments of sexual harassment. The evaluator's gender and personality also were hypothesized to influence both ratings. Participants were 73 male and 51 female undergraduate students. Results indicated that behavior severity and victim response significantly influenced ratings. The frequency of the behavior influenced appropriateness ratings, but interacted with behavior severity for harassment judgments. The effects of the gender of the evaluator were mediated by the evaluator's level of tolerance for harassment. The effects of the power relationship and rater personality were not significant.     

Examining approaches to encourage COVID-19 vaccination on social media

Following the release of the first COVID-19 vaccinations many people utilized social media to promote vaccination among their social circles. These attempts to persuade others to get vaccinated ranged from positive encouragement (e.g., emphasizing the prosocial benefits and positive outcomes) to shame and threats (e.g., name calling and threating to end friendships over vaccination status). The present study investigated how these different social media messages affected COVID-19 vaccination intentions. In June 2021, shortly after vaccines had been made freely available to anyone over the age of 16 in the United States, unvaccinated participants read a manipulated Twitter message designed to be either encouraging or shaming. Message-type did not significantly affect intentions to become vaccinated against COVID-19; however, participants who saw the encouraging message reported that the post made them feel more likely to get vaccinated. Self-efficacy was also manipulated but did not reveal any significant effects. Additional analyses suggest that having personal experience with COVID-19 moderates reactions to these different messages. We discuss limitations and promising avenues for future research on the effects of social media messages on health behaviors.     

Long-term stability of the Child Behavior Checklist in a clinical sample of youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Evaluated the long-term stability of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in a longitudinal clinical sample of youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), testing the hypothesis that the CBCL scales will show stability over time. Participants were 105 Caucasian, non-Hispanic boys with ADHD between the ages of 6 and 17 assessed at baseline and at a 4-year follow-up. Stability of CBCL scales were computed for dimensional (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICCs], Pearson correlations) and dichotomized scale scores (kappa coefficients and odds ratios [ORs]). Evidence was found for stability of the categorical and dimensional types of scores, as demonstrated by statistically significant stability of the Pearson correlation coefficients, kappas, and ORs. The robust findings obtained from ICCs and kappa coefficients document substantial stability for CBCL scales over time within individuals with ADHD. These results support the informativeness of the CBCL as a useful measure of longitudinal course in clinical samples of youth with ADHD.     

Expanding retrieval practice: an effective aid to preschool children's learning

The benefits of expanding retrieval practice for preschool children were explored in two experiments. In Experiment 1, three groups learned names for six plush toy pigs using expanding retrieval practice, a reward incentive, or a control condition. Reward did not significantly improve learning but retrieval practice doubled recall. In Experiment 2, three groups learned names to soft toys, comparing recall following massed elaborative study with either expanding retrieval practice or expanding re-presentation. Recall was tested after 1 minute, 1 day, and 2 days. A very large effect size (d = 1.9) indicated the very considerable benefit from expanding retrieval practice over the elaboration condition. Comparison with the re-presentation condition suggested that half of the benefit of expanding retrieval practice came from spaced scheduling and half from retrieval practice. Expanding retrieval practice provides an effective method to improve learning by young children.