The ground is dominant in infants’ perception of relative distance

When making relative distance judgments, adults attend to information provided by the ground surface and generally ignore information provided by ceiling surfaces. In the present study, we asked whether this ground dominance effect is present in infancy. Groups of 5- and 7-month-old infants viewed a display depicting textured ground and ceiling surfaces. Two toys, which were attached to vertical rods, were affixed to the display. The toys/rods were positioned so that one toy was specified as being nearer by the ground surface but farther away by the ceiling surface, while the other toy was specified as being farther away by the ground surface but nearer by the ceiling surface. Under monocular viewing conditions, the infants in both age groups reached preferentially for the toy that was specified as being nearer by the ground surface. This effect was significantly stronger than that observed under binocular viewing conditions. The findings indicate that the infants responded to the distance information provided by the ground surface to a greater extent than to information provided by the ceiling.     

Infants' perception of directional alignment of texture elements on a spherical surface

By appropriately compressing texture elements on a circular surface, one can evoke the impression of being confronted with the depiction of a spherical object in the picture plane. According to Todd and Akerstrom (1987), the 3D perception of such an object can be eliminated if the optical elements are not sufficiently elongated or if they are not aligned with one another. In the current investigation, 4‐month‐old infants were tested for their ability to react to a disruption of the directional alignment variable. They were habituated to either a spherical surface or a surface the spatial layout of which was destroyed by reorienting the texture elements, and were afterwards tested with a further ellipsoid object and with a further flat surface. Data analysis revealed that the female infants, but not the male participants, preferred the novel posthabituation display, that is, the test stimulus which included a change in the orientational alignment of texture elements. These findings are discussed within the context of development of sensitivity to pictorial depth cues. It is possible that infants as young as 4 months of age respond to manipulations of the directional alignment factor per se, while older infants are capable of using this factor as a cue for 3D object shape. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Embedding Logics into Product Logic

We construct a faithful interpretation of ukasiewicz's logic in product logic (both propositional and predicate). Using known facts it follows that the product predicate logic is not recursively axiomatizable.We prove a completeness theorem for product logic extended by a unary connective of Baaz [1]. We show that Gödel's logic is a sublogic of this extended product logic.We also prove NP-completeness of the set of propositional formulas satisfiable in product logic (resp. in Gödel's logic).     

Recent Russian Pavloviana

In recent years three books have appeared which contribute greatly to our knowledge of Pavlov’s life and work, and of the development of the laboratory in Leningrad which bears his name and his intellectual imprint. These works are (1) A volume of brief, highly personal comments on I. P. Pavlov (Kreps, 1967); (2) A collection of short biographies, pictures, and selective bibliographies of individuals who had worked with Pavlov (Kvasov and Fedotova-Grot, 1967); and (3) An outline of the history of the I. P. Pavlov Institute of Physiology which grew from a most unprepossessing laboratory, taken over by I. P. Pavlov in 1907, into a giant institution with a staff currently exceeding 1,000 (Lange, 1968).     

Adaptation effects on evoked electrical taste

In spite of a clear increment in absolute thresholds as an effect of self-adaptation, the electrically provoked taste sensation does not show a reduction in subjective intensity during the protracted stimulation time. Chemical cross-adaptation effects on the threshold and suprathreshold levels of electrical taste are observed only when the adapting solutions are electrolytes regardless of their taste qualities. It seems that the stability of perceived intensity during current flow is principally due to some irritation of the sensitive tissue of the tongue, whereas cross-adaptation effects may be attributed to the potential changes across the excitable membranes caused by electrical properties of adapting electrolytic solutions.     

Parental Attachment and Adolescents' Perception of School Alienation: The Mediation Role of Self-Esteem and Adjustment

The present study examined the relationship between adolescents' attachment to parents and their feelings of alienation in the school context by considering the mediating role of adjustment and self-esteem. It was proposed that the degree of attachment to one's parents was associated with adjustment and self-esteem, which in turn predicted possible school alienation. A total of 227 students completed self-report measures on parental attachment, adjustment, self-esteem, and alienation from school. Results were consistent with the attachment theory and related literature that posits that (a) secure attachment to parents was associated with adjustment and self-esteem, (b) secure attachment to parents was negatively associated with feelings of school alienation, and (c) adjustment and self-esteem were a crucial mediators between attachment to parents and school alienation. In addition to enhanced adjustment, the self-esteem of adolescents may be an additional factor in reducing alienation at school. The results also supported the mediator role of self-esteem in the relationship between attachment to parents and adjustment. Finally, the relationship between self-esteem and school alienation were shown to be fully mediated by adjustment. The results were discussed in the context of responsibilities of teachers and school counselors, which may provide both students and parents with the skills to improve social functioning in the school context.