Detection of symmetry in tachistoscopically presented dot patterns: Effects of multiple axes and skewing

We examined the effects of multiple axes and skewing on the detectability of symmetry in tachistoscopically presented (100-msec) dot patterns to test the role of normal grouping processes based on higher order regularities in element positions. In addition to the first-order regularities of orientational uniformity and midpoint collinearity (Jenkins, 1983), bilateral symmetry (BS) gives rise to second-order relations between two pairs of symmetric elements (represented by correlation quadrangles). We suggest that they allow the regularity (i.e., BS) to emerge simply as a result of the position-based grouping that takes place normally, so that no special symmetry-detection mechanism has to be postulated. In combination with previously investigated variables— number and orientation of axes—we introduced skewing (resulting from orthographic projection of BS) to manipulate the kind and number of higher order regularities. In agreement with our predictions, the data show that the effect of skewing angle (varied at three 15° steps, clockwise and counterclockwise) on the preattentive detectability of symmetry (measured with d’) increases as the number of axes decreases. On the basis of some more specific findings, we suggest that it is not as much the number of correlation quadrangles that determines the saliency of a regularity as it is the degree to which they facilitate or “bootstrap” each other.     

Spiritual care as eHealth: a systematic review

A systematic review was undertaken of the literature on the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT's) in the provision and support of religious and spiritual care in healthcare. Indexes such as Medline, PsychoINFO and Proquest Religion were searched. The review found little systematic study of the effectiveness of the Internet and other ICT's in religious and spiritual care. It is believed that the results of this review provide a basis for promise spiri care in the further explora of the potential and of ICT's for tual healthcare.     

Revisiting preview search at isoluminance: new onsets are not necessary for the preview advantage

It has been argued that search performance under preview conditions relies on automatic capture by luminance onsets (Donk & Theeuwes, 2001). We present three experiments in which preview search was examined with both isoluminant and nonisoluminant items (e.g., as defined by luminance onsets). Experiment 1 provided evidence against the automatic capture of attention by onsets. Search benefited when onset previews were followed by new onset stimuli, as compared with a full-set baseline matched for the number of new onsets but in which half the distractors appeared simultaneously at isoluminance. Furthermore, both Experiments 1 and 2 established a preview advantage when isoluminant targets followed onset previews, when compared with appropriate full-set baselines. Experiment 3 replicated this result, while showing that the preview benefit was disrupted by dual-task interference. The data indicate that new onsets are not necessary to generate a preview advantage in search. We discuss the data in terms of search's benefiting from active inhibition of old onset-defined stimuli.     

Treatment of panic disorder: live therapy vs. self-help via the Internet

A randomized trial was conducted comparing 10 individual weekly sessions of cognitive behaviour therapy for panic disorder (PD) with or without agoraphobia with a 10-module self-help program on the Internet. After confirming the PD diagnosis with an in-person structured clinical interview (SCID) 49 participants were randomized. Overall, the results suggest that Internet-administered self-help plus minimal therapist contact via e-mail can be equally effective as traditional individual cognitive behaviour therapy. Composite within-group effect sizes were high in both groups, while the between-group effect size was small (Cohen's d=16). One-year follow-up confirmed the results, with a within-group effect size of Cohen's d=0.80 for the Internet group and d=0.93 for the live group. The results from this study generally provide evidence to support the continued use and development of Internet-distributed self-help programs.     

Program Constructions that are Safe for Bisimulation

It has been known since the seventies that the formulas of modal logic are invariant for bisimulations between possible worlds models — while conversely, all bisimulation-invariant first-order formulas are modally definable. In this paper, we extend this semantic style of analysis from modal formulas to dynamic program operations. We show that the usual regular operations are safe for bisimulation, in the sense that the transition relations of their values respect any given bisimulation for their arguments. Our main result is a complete syntactic characterization of all first-order definable program operations that are safe for bisimulation. This is a semantic functional completeness result for programming, which may be contrasted with the more usual analysis in terms of computational power. The 'Safety Theorem' can be modulated in several ways. We conclude with a list of variants, extensions, and further developments.     

Effects of white noise and irrelevant information on speeded classification: A developmental study

The study examined how well subjects were able to ignore the presence of irrelevant stimulus information in noise and in silence, as a function of age. Children aged six and nine, and adults, performed speeded card-sorting tasks with one binary dimension relevant and zero or two dimensions irrelevant. The presence of irrelevant information interfered with performance, the magnitude of interference declining with age. The interfering effects of irrelevant information were greater when it was (relatively) more salient than when it was less salient, but there was no interaction between relative salience and the effects of noise. Noise (95 dB(A)) slowed down sorting performance of adult subjects in all conditions, it slightly improved the performance of nine-year-old children, and it improved the performance of six-year-old children significantly when irrelevant information was present. The effects of noise on attentional control are discussed, mainly with reference to inhibitory effects of noise on subvocal activity.     

Focal lung pathology detection in radiology: Is there an effect of experience on visual search behavior?

In radiology, 60% to 80% of diagnostic errors are perceptual. The use of more efficient visual search behaviors is expected to reduce these errors. We collected eye-tracking data from participants with different levels of experience when interpreting chest X-rays during the completion of a pathology-detection task. Eye-tracking measures were assessed in the context of three existing visual search theories from the literature to understand the association between visual search behavior and underlying processes: the long-term working memory theory, the information-reduction hypothesis, and the holistic model of image perception. The most experienced participants (radiology residents) showed the highest level of performance, albeit their visual search behaviors did not differ from the intermediate group. This suggests that radiology residents better processed the represented information on the X-ray, using a visual search strategy similar to the intermediate group. Since similar visual search resulted in more information extraction in the radiology residents compared with the intermediates, we suggest that this result might support the long-term working memory theory. Furthermore, compared with novices, intermediates and radiology residents fixated longer on areas that were more important to avoid missing any pathology, which possibly confirms the information-reduction hypothesis. Finally, the larger distances between fixations observed in more experienced participants could support the holistic model of image perception. In addition, measures of generic skills were related to a lower time cost for switching between global and local information processing. Our findings suggest that the three theories may be complementary in chest X-ray interpretation. Therefore, a unified theory explaining perceptual-cognitive superiority in radiology is considered.

     

Behavioral consequences of agonistic experiences in the male S3 (Tryon Maze Dull) rat

Aggression occurring during an initial confrontation between two rats may result in significant behavioral changes in one or both animals. The present experiment was designed to study behavioral changes occurring in the course of an agonistic interaction and the consequences of winning or losing. In order to ensure winning, male CPB-S3 Tryon Maze Dull) rats were confronted with males of a more aggressive strain (Long Evans); and to ensure losing they were confronted with those of a less aggressive strain Wistar). Winners were tested against losers, this test being repeated after an interval of 17 days. Winners and losers were also tested with naive S3 opponents. Possible effects of winning and losing in nonagonistic behavioral tests were then examined. These measured open field activity, passive avoidance learning, and masculine sexual behavior. The results replicate and extend earlier findings using a different strain, indicating that significant and relatively permanent behavioral changes are induced in male winners and losers. Behavioral change is most prominent in the losers. Despite the behavioral differences between winners and losers in tests for agonistic behavior, no consistent differences were noted in any of the other behavioral tests.     

Universal sex differences in the desire for sexual variety: tests from 52 nations, 6 continents,and 13 islands

Evolutionary psychologists have hypothesized that men and women possess both long-term and short-term mating strategies, with men's short-term strategy differentially rooted in the desire for sexual variety. In this article, findings from a cross-cultural survey of 16,288 people across 10 major world regions (including North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia) demonstrate that sex differences in the desire for sexual variety are culturally universal throughout these world regions. Sex differences were evident regardless of whether mean, median, distributional, or categorical indexes of sexual differentiation were evaluated. Sex differences were evident regardless of the measures used to evaluate them. Among contemporary theories of human mating, pluralistic approaches that hypothesize sex differences in the evolved design of short-term mating provide the most compelling account of these robust empirical findings.     

Predicting Intense Levels of Child Anxiety During Anesthesia Induction at Hospital Arrival

In children, intense levels of anxiety during anesthetic induction are associated with a higher risk of pain, poor recovery, and emergence delirium. Therefore, it is important to identify these high-risk children at hospital arrival. The current study examined internalizing behavior (Child Behavior Checklist, CBCL) and state anxiety measures (modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale, mYPAS, and State Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, STAIC) at hospital arrival as predictors of anxiety during induction of anesthesia. One hundred children (aged 4 to 12 years) undergoing elective daycare surgery were included. The STAIC and mYPAS at hospital arrival were significant predictors of anxiety during induction, whereas CBCL was not. The STAIC state form at hospital arrival was the strongest predictor and could be used to identify children who will experience intense levels of anxiety during anesthetic induction, with sufficient to good diagnostic accuracy. Using the STAIC at hospital arrival allows targeted interventions to reduce anxiety in children.