Resetting the pitch-analysis system: 1. Effects of rise times of tones in noise backgrounds or of harmonics in a complex tone

The question of whether sudden increases in the amplitude of pure-tone components would perceptually isolate them from a more complex spectrum was investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, a 3.5-sec noise was played as a masker. During the noise, two pure-tone components of different frequencies appeared in succession. Subjects were asked to judge whether the pitch sequence went up or down. The rise time of these components had only a small and inconsistent effect on discrimination. In Experiment 2, the 3.5-sec background signal was a complex tone. The amplitudes of two of its components were incremented in succession. Again, subjects judged whether the pitch pattern went up or down. This time there was a sizable, monotonic effect of the rise time of the increments, with more rapid increments leading to better discrimination. The difference between the two results is interpreted in terms of the auditory system’s response to changing and unchanging signals and the role of its “sudden-change” responses in attracting perceptual processing to certain spectral regions.     

Conceptual memory for picture and prose episodes

In two experiments, subjects decided whether probes were true or false of one of some previously studied picture and prose episodes. The results indicated that response times to probes depicting explicit events were faster when they were in the same modality (picture or prose) as their episodes than when they were in the opposite modality, but response times to probes depicting implicit events were as fast when they were in the opposite modality as when they were in the same modality. These results suggest that the conceptual representations of picture and prose episodes are identical in form. The second experiment indicated that probes could be evaluated as fast from long as from short episodes. This result is consistent with the notion that retrieving information from episodes is done, not by scanning all the events of an episode, but by restricting the search only to the relevant slot in the schema into which the episode is assimilated.     

The role of cosmetics in attributions about sexual harassment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cosmetics use on attributions concerning the likelihood of provoking sexual harassment and of being sexually harassed. Subjects were 85 female and 76 male undergraduate volunteers. The study was a 3×2 between-subjects design with three levels of cosmetics use (heavy, moderate, no cosmetics) and two levels of sex of subject (male, female). Each subject viewed one of three colored photographs of a model wearing either heavy, moderate, or no cosmetics, and then indicated how likely the model was to provoke sexual harassment and to be sexually harassed. Data were analyzed using analyses of variance and the Newman-Keuls test. When the model wore heavy cosmetics, she was rated as more likely to provoke sexual harassment than when she wore moderate cosmetics. Similarly, when the model wore moderate cosmetics, she was rated as significantly more likely to provoke sexual harassment than when she was not wearing cosmetics. When the model wore either heavy or moderate cosmetics, she was also rated as more likely to be sexually harassed than when she did not wear cosmetics. In addition, male subjects rated the model as more likely to provoke and to be sexually harassed than did female subjects. Results are discussed in terms of sex role spillover.     

Invariance of the weight parameter in information integration

The relative effect of each informational dimension in an information integration task is a joint function of its weight and the range of values over which it is varied. A method is developed for separating these two factors. Weights obtained by this method were compared across variations of stimulus range. Subjects rated the performance of students on the basis of midterm exam scores and final exam scores. For some subjects, the range of scores on the final exam was twice that on the midterm and the reverse was true for other subjects. An averaging model was shown to describe the results, and weights did not differ for different stimulus ranges. This was true for each of two instructional conditions: one in which a particular weighting strategy was prescribed and one in which there was no prescribed weighting. Students who were instructed to use a 2∶1 weighting were found to assign more than twice as much weight to the final as to the midterm.     

Demography and cultural complexity

Synthese - This paper begins by calling attention to a puzzling feature of our deep past: an apparent mis-match between morphological evolution in our lineage, including the expansion of our brain...     

Gender Differences in Anti-Gay Prejudice: Evidence for Stability and Change

Sex Roles - In recent years, there has been remarkable change in societal acceptance of lesbians and gay men. This meta-analysis explored whether this positive shift has reduced the gender...     

Dynamics Versus Development in Numerosity Estimation: A Computational Model Accurately Predicts a Developmental Reversal

Perceptual judgments result from a dynamic process, but little is known about the dynamics of number-line estimation. A recent study proposed a computational model that combined a model of trial-to-trial changes with a model for the internal scaling of discrete numbers. Here, we tested a surprising prediction of the model—a situation in which children's estimates of numerosity would be better than those of adults. Consistent with the model simulations, task contexts led to a clear developmental reversal: children made more adult-like, linear estimates when to-be-estimated numbers were descending over trials (i.e., backward condition), whereas adults became more like children with logarithmic estimates when numbers were ascending (i.e., forward condition). In addition, adults’ estimates were subject to inter-trial differences regardless of stimulus order. In contrast, children were not able to use the trial-to-trial dynamics unless stimuli varied systematically, indicating the limited cognitive capacity for dynamic updates. Together, the model adequately predicts both developmental and trial-to-trial changes in number-line tasks.     

Performance of Mental Health Counselors in Integrated Primary and Behavioral Health Care

Integrated primary and behavioral health care (IPBH) is becoming a preferred mode of service delivery in the United States. Integrated care includes the participation of medical and mental health professionals, such as mental health counselors. The clinical outcomes of these professionals need to be studied to determine their effectiveness in such settings. We examined the performance of 10 mental health counselors on the clinical outcome of 1,747 clients treated in an IPBH center. Analyses using growth curve modeling and pre‐post test design revealed that mental health counselors were effective overall, but they differed in client dropout rates and efficiency in reducing clients' initial symptoms. We used the analyses to rank order counselors based on their effectiveness. Counselors who were the most effective varied in their efficiency but demonstrated the lowest client dropout rates. Implications for future research and counseling practice were discussed.     

Effects of ethnic minority adolescents’ peer networks on academic achievement: the case of Damunhwa adolescents in South Korea

Social Psychology of Education - Adolescents’ peer networks are integral part of their lives in school. In South Korea, where the demographics of adolescent population is rapidly changing...