Prism adaptation with opposed base orientation: The weighting of direction information from the two eyes

The aftereffect of wearing 20-diopter vertically displacing prisms with bases oriented in opposite directions on the two eyes was measured in each eye. Five groups of 20 Ss differed in the density of a neutral filter worn over one eye. With no filter, the base-down prism dominated the directional judgments of both eyes, although there was a difference between the eyes consistent in direction with their differential treatment. The characteristics of the function relating aftereffect measures to filter density were found to depend upon the base orientation of the prism associated with the filter.     

The psychology of whistleblowing

Whistleblowing, its antecedents, and its aftermath are complex and varied phenomena. Motivational factors in the perception of alleged misconduct and in the response to such allegations by the accused and the institution are examined. Understanding the psychological processes that underlie some of the surprising behavior surrounding whistleblowing will enable those who perceive wrongdoing, as well as the professional societies and work organizations which voice their concern, to better respond to apparent wrongdoing, while preserving the reputation and mental health of all parties to such cases. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the symposium entitled “Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t: What the Scientific Community Can Do About Whistleblowing” held during the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Seattle, Washington, 15 February, 1997.     

Effects of syllable duration on stop-glide identification in syllable-initial and syllable-final position by humans and monkeys

Humans and monkeys were compared in their identification of phoneme boundaries along synthetic stop-glide continua in syllable-initial /ba/-/wa/ or syllable-final /bab/-/baw/ contrasts differing in overall syllable duration. For both contrasts, humans were first tested with a conventional written identification procedure. Here, similar phoneme boundaries emerged and shifted with increases in syllable duration toward longer transitions, as has previously been reported in the literature for syllable-initial data (Miller & Liberman, 1979). Humans and monkeys were then tested on these contrasts, using a go/no-go identification procedure specifically designed for monkeys. Here also, stop-glide boundaries emerged and shifted with increased syllable duration for both species, although monkey “boundaries” were at longer durations than humans’ in syllable-final position. The results indicate that there are both gross similarities and subtle differences between humans and monkeys with regard to the stop-glide context effect. The results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that general mammalian auditory mechanisms are responsible for this effect.     

The sensory match effect in recognition memory: Perceptual fluency or episodic trace?

The sensory match effect in recognition memory refers to the finding that recognition is better when the sensory form in which an item is tested is the same as that in which it was studied. This paper examines the basis for the sensory match effect by manipulating whether a studied fragmented picture is tested with the same or a complementary set of fragments in a recognition memory test (Experiment 1) and in a fragment-identification test (Experiment 2). Assuming that fragment identification is a direct measure of perceptual fluency, we expected identical patterns of results across the two tests if perceptual fluency accounted for the sensory match effect in recognition memory. Instead, recognition memory showed a robust overall sensory match effect (the same fragmented image was recognized better than the complementary image), whereas fragment identification showed no overall sensory match effect (the same fragmented image was identified no better than the complementary fragmented image). Experiments 3 and 4 combined the two responses and showed that the basis for the sensory match effect in recognition memory was a subject’s ability to recognize the matching fragments in the absence of conceptual information (when the test stimulus could not be identified), supporting the idea that the episodic trace of the sensory code is responsible for the sensory match effect in recognition memory. Experiment 5 demonstrated that subjects are able to use this sensory code as the sole basis for recognition memory.     

Why be moral: Humanist and behavioral perspectives

Students of philosophy have struggled with the question, “Why should I be moral?” Many diverse theorists have constructed elaborate logical arguments that explain why people in general should behave morally, but have had difficulty explaining why any given individual, safe from detection or retribution, should behave in a moral fashion. To avoid this problem, the notion of a supernatural deity (one who is always watching and thus removes the notion of nondetection and nonretribution) has been introduced by numerous thinkers. Philosophical systems that pride themselves on being based only on natural phenomena, however, can make no such recourse (leading to the charge, particularly from the religious, that without a god concept there can be no morality). Naturalistic humanists and behavior analysts are two groups who have found themselves unable to invoke a deity and thus face the question “Why should I behave morally?” Parallel attempts from both camps will be described and analyzed, with the conclusion being drawn that although such naturalists may not be better off than their more religious friends, they are certainly no worse off.     

The Development of Early Externalizing Problems Among Children from Low-Income Families: A Transformational Perspective

The present study examined pathways leading to early externalizing problems from age 1 to 31/2 in a design that took advantage of our knowledge of normative progression and normative socialization as well as findings from research on risk. A sample of 130 low-income participants was followed longitudinally from 12 to 42 months using observational measures of developmentally salient parenting and child disruptive behavior to predict early externalizing problems. Results are best accommodated by concepts such as transformation and transaction from developmental psychology. For boys, both child and parent variables predicted later externalizing. For girls and boys, the interaction between child noncompliance and maternal rejection was significant.     

Relations between infant irritability and maternal responsiveness in low-income families

Relations between infant irritability and maternal responsiveness at 12 and18 months were investigated in low-income mother-infant dyads. Emphasis was placed on whether results varied according to measurement strategies, infant gender, or level of maternal social support and satisfaction with that support. Irritability was measured separately through observation and maternal report, responsiveness was measured observationally, and maternal social support and satisfaction were self-reported via questionnaire. Concurrent relations between irritability and responsiveness were, in general, negative and were larger when irritability was measured observationally rather than by maternal report. Correlations were similar across gender. No longitudinal relations were found between irritability and responsiveness. Amount of maternal social support was weakly related to responsiveness and to responses to infant irritability, and the nature of these relations was unexpected. Irritability-responsiveness relations varied as a function of measurement strategies, which may in part explain mixed findings in the empirical literature.     

Learning the functional significance of mnemonic actions: A microgenetic study of strategy acquisition

How children learn to use memory strategies in a microgenetic investigation of learning and metacognition is examined. Seven- and eight-year-olds were given two memory trials with 24 pictures on each of 5 consecutive days. Days 1 and 2 were baseline, practice trials; Day 3 included strategy training; and Days 4 and 5 were unprompted tests of strategy maintenance. All children were taught how to label, rehearse, and group the pictures as well as to self-test their own memories and use blocked recall. Half of the children were shown the actions and told to do them; the other half received elaborated feedback on the usefulness and appropriateness of the techniques for remembering. The elaborated instructional group exhibited significantly greater recall, clustering, strategic study behavior, and metamemory regarding the mnemonic techniques than the other group. Path analysis provided evidence of a causal role of training and metacognitive awareness that mediated the use of sorting and higher recall. The study illustrates how learning the significance and utility of mnemonic techniques can influence children's acquisition of the tactics as self-controlled strategies. In addition, the microgenetic method affords patterns of data across time and experience that permit richer interpretations of strategy learning and memory development.