Are size illusions in simple line drawings affected by shading?

In a number of simple line drawings, such as the Müller-Lyer or Judd figures, we can experience strong distortions of perceived space-geometric illusions. One way of explaining these effects is based on the perspective information that can be read from the line drawings. For instance, the 'inappropriate constancy scaling' theory advocates that the inferred three-dimensional structure of the pictured object is used by the perceptual system to adjust the size of line-drawing components. Such a theory would predict that additional depth cues, for instance shading added to line drawings, should affect these illusions because they influence the three-dimensional appearance. We present here systematic measurements of the magnitude of length misjudgments in horizontal Müller-Lyer and Judd figures for three configurations: (i) pure line drawings, and with shading attached to (ii) the top, and (iii) the bottom of the figures. The latter two configurations are unambiguously interpreted as 'folded' structures with a horizontal edge behind the image plane or protruding from it, respectively. While we could not find any effect of shading in our experimental data, we did observe a length misjudgment in Judd figures that corresponds precisely to the asymmetry that can be observed in the Müller-Lyer illusion for inward and outward fins. This pattern of results is not consistent with notions of inappropriate constancy scaling but is fully coherent with the view that neural filtering mechanisms, which are affecting the perceived position of line intersections, are responsible for this type of geometrical illusions.     

Working-memory capacity and the control of attention: the contributions of goal neglect,response competition,and task set to Stroop interference

Individual differences in working-memory (WM) capacity predicted performance on the Stroop task in 5 experiments, indicating the importance of executive control and goal maintenance to selective attention. When the Stroop task encouraged goal neglect by including large numbers of congruent trials (RED presented in red), low WM individuals committed more errors than did high WM individuals on the rare incongruent trials (BLUE in red) that required maintaining access to the "ignore-the-word" goal for accurate responding. In contrast, in tasks with no or few congruent trials, or in high-congruency tasks that followed low-congruency tasks, WM predicted response-time interference. WM was related to latency, not accuracy, in contexts that reinforced the task goal and so minimized the difficulty of actively maintaining it. The data and a literature review suggest that Stroop interference is jointly determined by 2 mechanisms, goal maintenance and competition resolution, and that the dominance of each depends on WM capacity, as well as the task set induced by current and previous contexts.     

Wearable Activity Technology And Action-Planning (WATAAP) to promote physical activity in cancer survivors: Randomised controlled trial protocol

Background/Objective: Colorectal and gynecologic cancer survivors are at cardiovascular risk due to comorbidities and sedentary behaviour, warranting a feasible intervention to increase physical activity. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) is a promising theoretical framework for health behaviour change, and wearable physical activity trackers offer a novel means of self-monitoring physical activity for cancer survivors. Method: Sixty-eight survivors of colorectal and gynecologic cancer will be randomised into 12-week intervention and control groups. Intervention group participants will receive: a Fitbit Alta? to monitor physical activity, HAPA-based group sessions, booklet, and support phone-call. Participants in the control group will only receive the HAPA-based booklet. Physical activity (using accelerometers), blood pressure, BMI, and HAPA constructs will be assessed at baseline, 12-weeks (post-intervention) and 24-weeks (follow-up). Data analysis will use the Group x Time interaction from a General Linear Mixed Model analysis. Conclusions: Physical activity interventions that are acceptable and have robust theoretical underpinnings show promise for improving the health of cancer survivors.     

On the role of indeterminism in libertarian free will

In a recent paper in this journal, “How should libertarians conceive of the location and role of indeterminism?” Christopher Evan Franklin critically examines my libertarian view of free will and attempts to improve upon it. He says that while Kane's influential [view] offers many important advances in the development of a defensible libertarian theory of free will and moral responsibility?…?[he made] “two crucial mistakes in formulating libertarianism” – one about the location of indeterminism, the other about its role – “both of which have helped fan the flame of the luck argument”. In this paper, I respond to Franklin's criticisms, arguing that, so far from making it significantly more difficult to answer objections about luck and control, as he claims, giving indeterminism the location and role I do makes it possible to answer such objections and many other related objections to libertarian free will. A central theme of this paper will emerge in my responses: In order to make sense of freedom of will in general and to do justice to the complex historical debates about it, one must distinguish different kinds of control agents may have over events and correspondingly different kinds of freedom they may possess.     

Effects of group goal content on group processes,collective efficacy,and satisfaction

We examined the efficacy of groups possessing learning as opposed to performance goals on an interactive group task. As such, we predicted that the possession of learning goals focuses groups more on strategic processes than the possession of performance or do‐best goals. We further hypothesized that collective efficacy beliefs are most strongly correlated with performance for groups that possess performance goals because performance goals direct attention to task outcomes. Results indicated that groups assigned learning goals discussed more strategic information and reported greater satisfaction with performance. In addition, the relationship between task performance and collective efficacy was stronger for performance‐goal groups than learning‐goal groups. Overall, results suggested that causing groups to attend to processes required for effective group performance influences how groups regulate behavior and interpret feedback.     

Childhood,Growth, and Dependency in Liberal Political Philosophy

Political philosophy presents a static conception of childhood as a state of lack, a condition where intellectual, physical, and moral capacities are undeveloped. This view, referred to by David Kennedy as the deficit view of childhood, is problematic because it systematically disparages certain universal features of humanity—dependency and growth—and incorrectly characterizes them as features of childhood only. Thus there is a strict separation between childhood and adulthood because adults are characterized as fully autonomous agents who have reached the end of their moral and cognitive development. I argue that this view is mistaken, and limits both the developmental abilities of adults and ongoing moral development within an organized state. I propose that we view dependency as a human condition. By doing so, children and adults form the kind of relationship with one another that encourages the growth and development of our moral sense in both childhood and adulthood.     

Behavioral intervention to reduce physical restraint of adolescents with developmental disabilities

Physical restraint procedures sometimes are approved for implementation in human service settings for children and adults who have developmental disabilities and seriously challenging behaviors. Although use of restraint may be clinically justified to manage behavior disorders and prevent injury to self and others, procedures should be evaluated to decrease, and possibly eliminate, such methods. This study addressed the effects of restraint‐reduction procedures with two adolescents who had developmental disabilities and displayed severe aggression. Clinically significant reductions in the frequency of physical restraint were achieved through a treatment package that included the behavior‐specific criterion for the application of restraint and antecedent control approaches. The implementation of strategic interventions to decrease physical restraint utilization is discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceptual criteria and attributes used for evaluation of clothing by women using wheelchairs.

The apparel and clothing attributes important to persons with disabilities are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to identify apparel attributes of personal value to persons using a wheelchair and used to evaluate clothing. Four focus group interviews on three categories of clothing, formal wear, casual wear, and undergarments, were conducted with 19 female wheelchair users. Participants discussed clothing generally and after viewing garments designed especially for people with disabilities. Analysis of the content of the interviews yielded 49 phrases or words that could be categorized into Physical Appearance, Physical Performance, Expressiveness, and Extrinsic Attributes. Participants were concerned most about Physical Appearance for which criteria are observable attributes of the garment. Attributes of value in order of importance are styling of garment, fabric, garment construction, and color. The Physical Performance criteria include in order of attention benefits of physical aspects such as convenience, performance of garment, fabric, and effect of care. Expressiveness criteria evoked participants' feelings and reaction to use. Extrinsic Attribute criteria are those used to evaluate and make purchase decisions and are of less importance. These 19 persons with disability value casual clothing which had regular features. Results describe useful information on the criteria disabled persons use to evaluate clothing for use.     

The validity of “conceptual span” as a measure of working memory capacity

Three experiments tested whether a modified version of the Clustered Conceptual Span task (H. J. Haarmann, E. J. Davelaar, & M. Usher, 2003), which ostensibly requires active maintenance of semantic representations, predicted individual differences in higher-order cognitive abilities better than short-term memory (STM) span tasks or nonsemantic versions of the "Conceptual" task did. Nonsemantic Conceptual tasks presented short word lists clustered by color, first letter, or initial vowel sound, and cued subjects to recall only 1 of 3 clusters from each list; the Semantic task clustered words by taxonomic category. The Semantic Conceptual task generally failed to predict incremental variance in either verbal abilities or general fluid intelligence beyond the other Conceptual tasks or STM span tasks. Although the Semantic task showed a stronger relation to working memory span tasks than did the nonsemantic tasks (Experiment 3), that stronger relation did not translate into strong prediction of cognitive individual differences.