AN INVESTIGATION OF VELOCITY SYNTHESIS

C ohen , R. L. An investigation of velocity synthesis. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1962, 3 , 97–111.—A short series of experiments has shown that it is possible to divide up the distribution of scores obtained from a group of subjects performing on the velocity synthesis apparatus mainly on the basis of (1) instructions and (2) eye behaviour. It was further found that the difference in scores dependent on differences in eye behaviour could be traced to the effect of the Aubert-Fleischl Paradox. An alternative to the gestalt model was suggested, viz. a signal/interference model.     

Training of fast tapping with reduction of kinaesthetic, tactile, visual and auditory sensations

Five subjects were trained to tap on a light Morse-key during nerve compression block. The training sessions lasted for 40 sec., with a 5 sec. rest after the first 20 sec. work period. The group learning curve reached 89.5 per cent. level of normal performance by the eighth training session. In the ninth, the testing session, subjects tapped with visual and auditory sense reduction superimposed on the kinaesthetic and tactile impariment of the training condition. Performance in the testing session reached 40.9 per cent. of normal.

The sixth subject was trained in the same task as the other five subjects, but the training condition included elimination of cues from all four sensory channels. He reached 79.09 per cent. of his normal tapping performance in the seventh session.

These results show that the motor skill of tapping can be relearned in the absence of kinaesthetic cues. Furthermore when the subject has no conscious knowledge of any peripheral sensory cues connected with the ongoing motor activity, learning can nevertheless take place. These findings lead to the hypothesis, that skilled motor activity can be monitored by central processes alone.

During the training sessions subjects showed a tendency of tapping in groups of gradually increasing length. It is hypothesized that increased number of taps forming a group gives an indication to the possible mode of action of these central processes.     

ADAPTATION EFFECTS AND AFTER EFFECTS OF MOVING PATTERNS VIEWED IN THE PERIPHERY OF THE VISUAL FIELD

Different patterns of figures moving behind a window were viewed by subjects while fixating a point 8.5–11° visual angle NW of the display. With prolonged viewing and small figures, the motion appeared to stop completely. With moving figures which stretched the whole way across the field, perpendicular to the direction of motion, a pulsating or wave motion was experienced. A reduction in the number of moving figures was also reported with all the patterns. When the stimulus motion was stopped, the expected after effect of motion in the opposite direction was usually experienced, although in many cases the stopping of the stimulus motion led to an immediate disappearance of the stimulus figures.     

Arguers as editors

People use editorial criteria to decide whether to say or to suppress potential arguments. These criteria constitute people's standards as to what effective and appropriate arguments are like, and reflect general interaction goals. A series of empirical investigations has indicated that the standards fall into three classes: those having to do with argument effectiveness, those concerned with personal issues for arguer and target, and those centered on discourse quality. The essay also sketches the affinities certain types of people have for the different criteria.     

Public self-Attention and personal standards: The impact of group composition

Increases in self-attention as a function of decreases in the relative size of one’s subgroup in a heterogeneous group context have been shown to result in increased regulation of behavior toward social (normative) standards for behavior. The present study demonstrated increased regulation of behavior toward a personal standard for behavior as a function of variations in group composition. One hundred twenty-five subjects individually completed the Creativity subscale of Scott’s Personal Value Scale assessing attitudes toward originality. They then completed a word-association task in groups ranging in size from 2 to 8. Originality of word-associations was determined by reference to previously established word-association norms and norms based on frequency of responses given in the present study. Results indicate that originality in responses increase as the relative size of one’s own subgroup decreases (indexing increases in self-attention) for subjects who value originality. Discussion centers on the distinction between experimentally manipulated public and private self-attention and standards that are adopted for behavioral self-regulation. Portions of this study were presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, April 1991.