The delayed trigger voice key: an improved analogue voice key for psycholinguistic research

Many researchers rely on analogue voice keys for psycholinguistic research. However, the triggering of traditional simple threshold voice keys (STVKs) is delayed after response onset, and the delay duration may vary depending on initial phoneme type. The delayed trigger voice key (DTVK), a standalone electronic device that incorporates an additional minimum signal duration parameter, is described and validated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, recorded responses from a nonword naming task were presented to the DTVK and an STVK. As compared with hand-coded reaction times from visual inspection of the waveform, the DTVK was more accurate than the STVK, overall and across initial phoneme type. Rastle and Davis (2002) showed that an STVK more accurately detected an initial [s] when it was followed by a vowel than when followed by a consonant. Participants’ responses from that study were presented to the DTVK in Experiment 2, and accuracy was equivalent for initial [s] in vowel and consonant contexts. Details for the construction of the DTVK are provided.     

Use of visual information in speech perception: evidence for a visual rate effect both with and without a McGurk effect

The McGurk effect, where an incongruent visual syllable influences identification of an auditory syllable, does not always occur, suggesting that perceivers sometimes fail to use relevant visual phonetic information. We tested whether another visual phonetic effect, which involves the influence of visual speaking rate on perceived voicing (Green & Miller, 1985), would occur in instances when the McGurk effect does not. In Experiment 1, we established this visual rate effect using auditory and visual stimuli matching in place of articulation, finding a shift in the voicing boundary along an auditory voice-onset-time continuum with fast versus slow visual speech tokens. In Experiment 2, we used auditory and visual stimuli differing in place of articulation and found a shift in the voicing boundary due to visual rate when the McGurk effect occurred and, more critically, when it did not. The latter finding indicates that phonetically relevant visual information is used in speech perception even when the McGurk effect does not occur, suggesting that the incidence of the McGurk effect underestimates the extent of audio-visual integration.     

Observed classroom behavior of children with ADHD: relationship to gender and comorbidity

Examined hypothesized gender and comorbidity differences in the observed classroom behavior of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The behavior of 403 boys and 99 girls with ADHD, ages 7–10, was compared (a) to observed, sex-specific classroom behavior norms, (b) by sex, and (c) by comorbid subgroups. Boys and girls with ADHD deviated significantly from classroom norms on 15/16 and 13/16 categories, respectively. Compared to comparison girls, girls with ADHD had relatively high rates of verbal aggression to children. Boys with ADHD engaged in more rule-breaking and externalizing behaviors than did girls with ADHD, but the sexes did not differ on more neutral, unobtrusive behaviors. The sex differences are consistent with notions of why girls with ADHD are identified and referred later than boys. Contrary to hypothesis, the presence of comorbid anxiety disorder (ANX) was not associated with behavioral suppression; yet, as hypothesized, children with a comorbid disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) had higher rates of rule-breaking, and impulsive and aggressive behavior, than did children with ADHD alone and those with ADHD+ANX. Elevated rates of ADHD behaviors were also observed in children with comorbid DBD, indicating that these behaviors are truly present and suggesting that reports of higher ADHD ratings in this subgroup are not simply a consequence of negative halo effects and rater biases.     

The color of two alphabets for a multilingual synesthete

Interviews with a multilingual synesthete (MLS), who experiences colored letters for Roman and Cyrillic alphabets and for digits, revealed stable synesthetic experiences over 2 1/2 - 5 years. Colors of Cyrillic letters were based on Roman letters. Four Stroop tests involving both types of letters showed that MLS was able to name print color faster if the colors matched her synesthetic colors, showing that synesthesia is automatic. Letter-naming times for blocks of color were slower than those of actual letters, supporting unidirectionality of synesthesia. Stroop tests with Roman, but not Cyrillic, letters showed MLS acquired new temporary letter-color pairings and her color-naming times for these were not different from those for her original synesthetic colors.     

The bizarreness effect: evidence for the critical influence of retrieval processes

People show better memory for bizarre sentences relative to common sentences, a finding referred to as the bizarrness effect. Interestingly, this effect is typically only obtained using a mixed-list design, in which participants study common and bizarre sentences in the same list. This bizarreness effect in mixed-list designs has been explained as the result of both enhanced encoding processes and efficient retrieval processes. The present experiment was designed to isolate the unique contributions of the retrieval context to the bizarreness effect. Participants studied common sentences in one room under one set of instructions, and bizarre sentences in another room under another set of instructions. At test, participants recalled the common and bizarre sentences either together or separately. The results showed that the bizarreness effect was only obtained when participants recalled the common and bizarre items together; no bizarreness advantage emerged when participants were required to recall the common and bizarre items separately. These results suggest that differential encoding processes are not necessary for explaining the bizarreness effect in memory. Rather, retrieval of the mixed-list context appears to be critical for obtaining the effect.     

victims and offenders: accounts of paybacks,invulnerability, and financial gain among homeless youth

In recent years, club-drug use among a segment of urban gay men has gained in popularity, contributing to a range of effects, including heightened sexual stimulation, increased sexual performance and endurance, but also, unsafe sexual practices, drug overdose, drug addiction and death. This article draws from a larger study of urban sexual careers and identifies two prominent forms of club-drug use: the first, to facilitate sexual performance; and the second, to facilitate community. The author argues that the basis of both patterns of drug use lie in adaptations to the institutional organization of urban gay sexual sociality.     

Difficulties in emotion regulation are associated with panic symptom severity following a quit attempt among cannabis dependent veterans

Background and Objectives: Prior research suggests that difficulties in emotion regulation are associated with elevations in panic symptoms. The present study aimed to extend this work by prospectively examining the relation between difficulties in emotion regulation and panic symptoms over the course of a self-guided cannabis cessation attempt. Design and Method: One hundred and four cannabis-dependent military veterans participated in the study. Difficulties in emotion regulation and panic symptoms were assessed at baseline and at each week during a four-week cessation attempt for a total of five time-points. Results: Fewer difficulties in emotion regulation were associated with a greater reduction in panic symptoms during the self-guided cannabis cessation period. Results remained significant after statistically adjusting for mean substance use (i.e., cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco) during the study period. Conclusions: Results are discussed in terms of integrating adaptive emotion regulation skills training into existing evidence-based treatments for cannabis dependence.     

Infants Determine Others' Focus of Attention by Pragmatics and Exclusion

ABSTRACT

Children learning a verb may benefit from hearing it across situations . At the same time, in everyday contexts, situations in which a verb is heard will be interrupted by distracting events. Using Structural Alignment theory as a framework, Study 1 asks whether children can learn a verb when irrelevant, interleaved events are present. Two½- and 3½-year-old children saw dynamic events and were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions (differing in orders of events) or one of two control conditions. They extended the verbs in the experimental conditions, and not the control conditions. Three ½-year-olds were more successful than 2½-year-olds, though the younger children could extend verbs. A more difficult task is segmenting dynamic action into subevents that could be relevant for a verb (e.g., finding “chopping” in a cooking scene). In Study 2, 2½-, 3½-, and 4½-year-old children were assigned to experimental conditions in which relevant events flowed into irrelevant events (or vice versa) or to a control. Two½-year-olds failed to extend the verbs at test, differing from the older children; children in experimental conditions extended the verbs while children in the control condition did not. Altogether, these results show children can ignore irrelevant events (and subevents), and extend new verbs by 3½ years. Results are important to understand learning in everyday contexts in which verbs are heard in varied situations over time.