The dimensions of stage theories

Stage theories are commonly used to represent the structure of cognitive processes in the domains of cognitive processing and cognitive development. Hierarchical unidimensional theories consisting of a single sequence of stages through which development proceeds in one direction only have predominated. However, a review of stage theories revealed that a two-dimensional, interactive (multidimensional) structure is warranted. Particularly in the area of cognitive development, results of research have supported subdivision of the stages of prominent unidimensional theories. Following this trend a small number of theorists have developed multidimensional theories, most of which consist of a sequence of stages in which each stage contains a number of subsidiary stages or levels. The emergence of a similar trend in other domains is examined, and the prospects of using an existing multidimensional framework to enable future comparisons and integration of different stage theories is explored.     

Sexuality and cyberporn: Towards a new agenda for research

This article presents theoretical considerations based on cultural analysis approaches to studying pornography and sexuality as a means of starting to suggest a new agenda for cyberporn research. By bringing to the forefront concepts of how subjectivity and sexuality are produced within the computer/Internet apparatus, I hope to diversify the focus in cyberporn research away from social science approaches and pre-Foucaultian assumptions of the subject which obscure understandings of new media and cyberporn use. Through a summary of visual culture studies and reception studies of pornography, I argue that cyberporn must be understood as contingent within the encoding and decoding processes and discourses of sexuality (Foucault) in which it is produced and consumed. My focus here is the home office/terminal as the site of reception/cyberporn use. While there is potential for a great variety of cultural analytic approaches to the study of cyberporn and how new media use influences sexuality, I end with specific suggestions for researching cyberporn reception in the home. The computer’s allure is more than utilitarian or aesthetic; it is erotic. Instead of a refreshing play with surfaces, as with toys or amusements, our affair with information machines announces a symbiotic relationship and ultimately a mental marriage to technology. Rightly perceived, the atmosphere of cyberspace carries the scent that once surrounded Wisdom. The world rendered as pure information not only fascinates our eyes and minds, but also captures our hearts. We feel augmented and empowered. Our hearts beat in the machines. This is Eros. (Michael Heim, The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality)     

The depth and selectivity of suppression in binocular rivalry

Binocular rivalry occurs when the two eyes are presented with incompatible stimuli and the perceived image alternates between the two stimuli. The aim of this study was to find out whether the periodic perceptual loss of a monocular stimulus during binocular rivalry is mirrored by a comparable loss of contrast sensitivity. We presented brief test stimuli to one eye while its conditioning stimulus was dominant or suppressed. The test stimuli were varied widely across four stimulus domains--namely, the relative stimulation of medium- and long-wavelength-sensitive cones, duration, spatial frequency, and grating orientation. The result in each case was the same. Suppression depended slightly or not at all on the type of test stimulus, and contrast sensitivity during suppression was around 64% of that during dominance. The effect of suppression on sensitivity is therefore very weak, relative to its effect on the perceived image. Furthermore, suppression was largely independent of the similarity between the conditioning and the test stimuli, indicating that our results are better explained by eye suppression than by stimulus suppression. A model is presented to account for the small, monocular sensitivity loss during suppression: It assumes that test detection precedes conditioning stimulus perception in the visual pathway.     

The emotional attentional blink is robust to divided attention

The emotional attentional blink (EAB) refers to a temporary impairment in the ability to identify a target when it is preceded by an emotional distractor. It is thought to occur because the emotional salience of the distractor exogenously captures attention for a brief duration, rendering the target unattended and preventing it from reaching awareness. Here we tested the extent to which the EAB can be attenuated by inducing a diffuse top-down attentional state, which has been shown to improve target identification in an analogous attentional phenomenon, the attentional blink. Rapid sequences of landscape images were presented centrally, and participants reported the orientation of a ± 90° rotation of a landscape target. To induce a diffuse state of attention, participants were given a secondary task of monitoring for the appearance of a colored dot in the periphery. We found that emotional distractors impaired target recognition performance to comparable extents, regardless of whether or not participants concurrently performed the peripheral-monitoring task. Moreover, we found that performance of the secondary task led to an impaired ability to ignore neutral distractors. Subjective ratings of target vividness mirrored the behavioral accuracy, with frequent reports of intermediate levels of vividness suggesting that the EAB might impair target visibility in a graded manner. Our results demonstrate that the EAB is robust to manipulations of top-down attention, suggesting that the temporary capture of attention by emotionally salient stimuli involves processes that are distinct from those that produce the attentional blink.     

Calculating and graphing within-subject confidence intervals for ANOVA

The psychological and statistical literature contains several proposals for calculating and plotting confidence intervals (CIs) for within-subjects (repeated measures) ANOVA designs. A key distinction is between intervals supporting inference about patterns of means (and differences between pairs of means, in particular) and those supporting inferences about individual means. In this report, it is argued that CIs for the former are best accomplished by adapting intervals proposed by Cousineau (Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 1, 42–45, 2005) and Morey (Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology, 4, 61–64, 2008) so that nonoverlapping CIs for individual means correspond to a confidence for their difference that does not include zero. CIs for the latter can be accomplished by fitting a multilevel model. In situations in which both types of inference are of interest, the use of a two-tiered CI is recommended. Free, open-source, cross-platform software for such interval estimates and plots (and for some common alternatives) is provided in the form of R functions for one-way within-subjects and two-way mixed ANOVA designs. These functions provide an easy-to-use solution to the difficult problem of calculating and displaying within-subjects CIs.     

Optimal sample sizes for precise interval estimation of Welch’s procedure under various allocation and cost considerations

Welch’s (Biometrika 29: 350–362, 1938) procedure has emerged as a robust alternative to the Student’s t test for comparing the means of two normal populations with unknown and possibly unequal variances. To facilitate the advocated statistical practice of confidence intervals and further improve the potential applicability of Welch’s procedure, in the present article, we consider exact approaches to optimize sample size determinations for precise interval estimation of the difference between two means under various allocation and cost considerations. The desired precision of a confidence interval is assessed with respect to the control of expected half-width, and to the assurance probability of interval half-width within a designated value. Furthermore, the design schemes in terms of participant allocation and cost constraints include (a) giving the ratio of group sizes, (b) specifying one sample size, (c) attaining maximum precision performance for a fixed cost, and (d) meeting a specified precision level for the least cost. The proposed methods provide useful alternatives to the conventional sample size procedures. Also, the developed programs expand the degree of generality for the existing statistical software packages and can be accessed at brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/ supplemental.     

Heuristic Value of Eclecticism in Theory Development: The Case of Piagetian-Vygotskian <Emphasis Type="Italic">dialogue</Emphasis> about Proportional Reasoning

Køppe’s proposition of four layers in theoretical building are used here in the exploration of a specific case of eclectic combination, the use of Piagetian and Vygotskian general approaches to the analysis of proportional reasoning as a cognitive mathematical ability. It is proposed here that the eclectic consideration of these contributions depends on the consideration of their specificity, in the sense that they highlight different aspects of the phenomenon under scrutiny, and also on the consideration of the coherence between this eclectic convergence and premises in terms of schools of thought under which each contribution is framed. We conclude proposing in accordance to S. Køppe’s proposal that eclecticism can be valuable and heuristic in theory development, but this contribution will depend largely on the effort in establishing careful relations between the four layers of theory-building.     

Is the Continuity of Externalizing Psychopathology the Same in Adolescents and Middle–Aged Adults? A Test of the Externalizing Spectrum’s Developmental Coherence

Externalizing psychopathology (EXT) is a framework for understanding diagnostic comorbidity and etiology of antisocial and substance-use behaviors. EXT indicates continuity in adulthood but the structure of adolescent EXT is less clear. This report examines whether adolescent EXT is trait-like, as has been found with adults, or categorical. We use tests of measurement invariance to determine how diagnostic indicators of EXT differ in adolescents compared to adults. The EXT measures employed were DSM-IIIR diagnoses of adult antisocial behavior, conduct disorder, and alcohol, marijuana, and drug dependence. Latent trait, latent class, and hybrid models were fit to two separate data sets: 2,769 seventeen-year-old adolescents and 2,619 adults from the Minnesota Twin Family Study. The best model in both samples was a single-trait LT model. Parameters from the adolescent and adult models were equivalent for all disorders except alcohol dependence. It appears that EXT in adolescence can be accurately represented by a single-trait model, and the measurement properties of EXT are similar during these time periods with the exception of alcohol dependence.     

The Effects of Parental Depressive Symptoms,Appraisals, and Physical Punishment on Later Child Externalizing Behavior

Examined a cognitive-behavioral pathway by which depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers increase risk for later child externalizing problem behavior via parents’ appraisals of child behavior and physical discipline. Participants were 245 children (118 girls) at risk for school-age conduct problems, and their parents and teachers. Children were approximately 3 years old at Time 1 (T1) and 5 ½ years old at Time 2 (T2). At T1, mothers and fathers reported their depressive symptoms, perceptions of their child’s reciprocal affection and responsiveness, frequency of physical punishment, and child externalizing problems. Mothers, fathers, and teachers provided ratings of externalizing behavior at T2. Structural equation modeling revealed that parents’ negative attributions mediated positive relations between their depressive symptoms and frequency of physical punishment for both fathers and mothers. More frequent physical punishment, in turn, predicted increased child externalizing behavior at T2. In future research, transactional mechanisms underlying effects of clinical depression on child conduct problems should be explored at multiple stages of development. For parents showing depressive symptoms, restructuring distorted perceptions about their children’s behavior may be an important component of intervention programs.