Concrete mindset impairs filtering in visual working memory

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - Two studies tested whether a mindset manipulation would affect the filtering of distractors from entering visual working memory (VWM). In Study 1, participants...     

Protection from light-rays by cold-weather goggles

To arrive at transmittance standards for cold-weather goggles, the levels of natural radiation were estimated, and the amounts by which they must be reduced to fall below the damage thresholds for various bands of electromagnetic radiation were calculated. No more than 16% of UV from 320 to 40 nm, and no more than 5% of UV from 290 to 320 nm should be transmitted. If the short wavelengths of the visible spectrum (less than 500 nm) are filtered out, the remaining wavelengths appear to pose no danger. Measurements of the transmittances of a random selection of 13 commercial skigoggles showed that most offer satisfactory protection.     

Perception of,and adaptation to,a three-dimensional curvature distortion

The curvature distortion perceived under water was measured in three dimensions before and after 15 min of adaptation to the underwater environment. Subjects initially perceived distortions in all three dimensions. After 15 min under water, they exhibited significant adaptation to the curvature distortion in all dimensions. The type of task performed while in the water did not significantly affect the amount of adaptation. The results are compared with those of previous experiments which have reported evidence of counteradaptation when more than one kind of adaptation is measured simultaneously.     

A multilevel model of safety climate: cross-level relationships between organization and group-level climates

Organizational climates have been investigated separately at organization and subunit levels. This article tests a multilevel model of safety climate, covering both levels of analysis. Results indicate that organization-level and group-level climates are globally aligned, and the effect of organization climate on safety behavior is fully mediated by group climate level. However, the data also revealed meaningful group-level variation in a single organization, attributable to supervisory discretion in implementing formal procedures associated with competing demands like safety versus productivity. Variables that limit supervisory discretion (i.e., organization climate strength and procedural formalization) reduce both between-groups climate variation and within-group variability (i.e., increased group climate strength), although effect sizes were smaller than those associated with cross-level climate relationships. Implications for climate theory are discussed.     

Conflicting visual and tactual-kinesthetic stimulation

The effects of stimulus and response probability on choice reaction time (RT) were independently investigated. In different conditions, two sets of three stimuli of probabilities of.1, .3, .6 and.3, .3, .4 were assigned to two responses-two of the stimuli assigned to one response. All combinations of S-R assignments were studied, yielding response probabilities of .1-.9, ,3-.7, and ,4-.6. With response probability held constant, variations in stimulus probability led to consistent and substantial effects on both RT and error rates. Response-probability effects were confined to error rates, and repetition effects were negligible. The results support the assumption of recent models of choice behavior that adjustments are made to the absolute (rather than just to the ordinal) values of stimulus probability.     

Dual route for subtask order control: Evidence from the psychological refractory paradigm

A change in subtask order in the psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm increases the effect of stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) on the second response. We used a paradigm with cued, randomly determined subtask order to test the hypothesis that this SOA by order switch overadditivity reflects order control, via “copying” stimulus order. In Experiments 1a and 1b, overadditivity was evident only with insufficient opportunity for cue-based order control. In Experiment 2, overadditivity was decreased by using the same set of stimuli in the two subtasks, presumably by removing the opportunity to rely on stimulus order. In Experiment 3, removing the order cue increased the overadditivity, presumably because control was based solely upon copying stimulus order. The results indicate interactive top-down and bottom-up order control. Implications to theories of the PRP paradigm are discussed.     

Comparing the handwriting behaviours of true and false writing with computerized handwriting measures

The goal of this study is to compare the handwriting behaviours of true and false writing. Based on the cognitive load and dis‐automaticity known to be experienced while communicating a deceptive message, we hypothesized a difference (in temporal and spatial, pressure measures and peak velocities) between the handwriting of true vs. false messages. Thirty‐four participants wrote true and false sentences on a digitizer, which is part of a new system called the Computerized Penmanship Evaluation Tool (ComPET). The ComPET evaluates brain‐hand performance, as manifested through handwriting behaviour, and was found to be a valid measure for detecting the dis‐automaticity that is indicative of certain diseases in the clinical field. Differences were found in mean pressure, spatial measures (mean stroke length and mean stroke height), but no differences were found in temporal measures and in the number of peak velocities. The use of ComPET in lie detection is discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.