Thematic fame and melodic originality in classical music: A multivariate computer-content analysis1

In order to understand the foundation of eminence in cultural activities, an attempt was made at learning why some works creators produce are more famous than others. This paper specifically investigates the differential fame of 5,046 themes by 10 eminent composers of classical music. Hypotheses derived from past research in creativity and esthetics were tested using a computerized content analysis. The results show that (a) the fame of a musical theme is a positive linear function of melodic originality (rather then a curvilinear inverted-U function), and (b) melodic originality is a positive function of biographical stress and of historical time, and an inverted backwards-J function of age.     

Integrating information across eye movements

A series of experiments was conducted in which a word initially appeared in parafoveal vision, followed by the subject's eye movement to the stimulus. During the eye movement, the initially displayed word was replaced by a word which the subject read. Under certain conditions, the prior parafoveal word facilitated naming the foveal word. Three alternative hypotheses were explored concerning the nature of the facilitation. The verbalization hypothesis suggests that information acquired from the parafoveal word permits the subject to begin to form the speech musculature properly for saying the word. The visual features integration hypothesis suggests that visual information obtained from the parafoveal word is integrated with foveal information after the saccade. The preliminary letter identification hypothesis suggests that some abstract code about the letters of the parafoveal word is stored and integrated with information available in the fovea after the saccade. The results of the experiments supported the latter hypothesis in that information about the beginning letters of words was facilitatory in the task. The other two hypotheses were disconfirmed by the results of the experiments.     

Concurrent and predictive validity of the psychopathy checklist: youth version across gender and ethnicity

The concurrent and predictive validity of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) were examined across gender and ethnicity using multiple outcome measures on a community-based sample of 130 adjudicated youths. The PCL:YV demonstrated concurrent validity with externalizing behavior problems but, it is important to note, was also associated with internalizing measures of negative affect. With a mean follow-up period of 3 years, the PCL:YV was found to predict general and violent recidivism in male, Native Canadian, and Caucasian youths. However, the PCL:YV demonstrated weaker concurrent and predictive validity with girls and failed to predict nonviolent recidivism in all subgroups. Implications of the findings for clinical practice are discussed.     

The impact of colour, spatial resolution, and presentation speed on category naming

Studies of neurological patients with category-specific agnosia have provided important contributions to our understanding of object recognition, although the meaning of such disorders is still hotly debated. One crucial line of research for our understanding of category effects, is through the examination of category biases in healthy normal subjects. This approach has, however, led to contradictory findings with advantages both for natural kinds and for man-made things being documented in healthy subjects. It has been proposed that task conditions may influence the direction of advantage (Gerlach, 2001) and in particular, that sub-optimal viewing conditions underpin natural kinds advantages, while man-made advantages emerge under more optimal viewing conditions. In two experiments with normal subjects, we examined the roles played by spatial resolution (blurring), stimulus type (colour and texture), and speed of presentation in picture naming across category. In both experiments, healthy subjects showed a natural kind advantage for original stimuli and for blurred colour stimuli (at slow and fast presentation speeds), while an advantage for man-made things emerged for line-drawings that were blurred and presented slowly. The implications for category-specific object recognition deficits are discussed.     

Stereotypes focus defensive projection

Defensive projection is the process of perceiving one's undesirable qualities in others. The present research shows how stereotypes guide and justify the projection of specific traits onto specific group members. In four studies, the authors demonstrated that people who experienced a threat to a specific dimension of their self-concept selectively activated this dimension in a stereotype and derogated stereotyped others on this dimension. They further showed that stereotyped individuals are more likely to serve as targets of projection than are nonstereotyped individuals. These results demonstrate the functional role of stereotypes in guiding and constraining motivated self-enhancement.     

The time course of phonological and orthographic processing of acronyms in reading: Evidence from eye movements

The present experiment presented acronyms preceded by eithera oran in a sentence. The key stimuli were acronyms that begin with a consonant such asF, whose letter name begins with a vowel sound, or with the vowelU, whose letter name begins with a consonant sound. The durations of first fixations were influenced solely by phonology: For example,a FBI caused as much disruption (relative toan FBI1) as didan CIA (relative toa CIA). Somewhat later processing (most notablygo-past time andtotal time) was influenced by orthography as well, as combinations such asan FBI had longer processing times than did combinations such asa CIA. Although the initial coding of visual stimuli must proceed from an orthographic code to a phonological one, these data indicate that the phonological representation of the acronym is the primary initial code that makes contact with the article that precedes it and suggest that the initial contact with the sentence context is phonological.     

Protection of animal research subjects

The use of experimental animals, mostly rodents, in biomedical research and especially in oncology and immunology should be acknowledged with respect, recognizing the contribution of animal experimentation in the fascinating scientific progress in these disciplines of research. It is an obligation of the investigator to justify the scientific and ethical aspects of each study requiring the use of animals. The international guiding principles for using animals in biomedical research are well defined and have been distributed worldwide by the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) since 1956, when this Organization was founded. In Poland the ICLAS philosophy and principles are highly respected and were implemented firstly by the members of the Commission on Biology of Experimental Animals appointed in 1962 by the Department of Medical Science of the Polish Academy of Science in Warsaw. Animal Protection Acts, first proclaimed in 1928 were gradually modified and improved. Actual legislation (enacted in 1997, 2003 and 2005) is consistent with EU Directives (86/609/EEC) and follows the internationally recommended principles that include ICLAS guidelines concerning animal welfare and care condition in biomedical research. The problem of “alternative methods” is briefly discussed. Dr. Donald Boisvert, CCAC — Canadian Council on Animal Care A lecture on the subject of this paper was presented at the 6th International Bioethics Conference entitled ‘The Responsible Conduct of Basic and Clinical Research’, held in Warsaw, Poland, 3–4 June 2005. The author is the National Representative of Polish Academy of Science to the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) and a Member of the ICLAS Governing Board.