Eye Metrics: An Alternative Vigilance Detector for Military Operators

Military operators in various environments such as cyber, remotely piloted aircraft, and image analysis are required to use sustained attention or vigilance for long periods. During this time they encounter lapses in attention attributable to the monotonous nature of their tasks. Mistakes during these tasks can have serious consequences. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of an eye-tracker to detect changes in vigilance performance during a simulated cyber operator task. Twenty participants performed 4 sessions of a 40-min vigilance task while wearing an eye-tracker. Blink frequency, blink duration, PERCLOS (percentage of eye closure), pupil diameter, pupil eccentricity, pupil velocity, and signal detection all had a significant change over time (p < .05) during the task. The significant change of oculometric measurements indicates oculometrics could be used to detect changes in vigilance for military operators. Future research is needed to assess real-time effects of these oculometrics on performance, especially in a real-world setting.     

Semantic distance norms computed from an electronic dictionary (WordNet)

WordNet, an electronic dictionary (or lexical database), is a valuable resource for computational and cognitive scientists. Recent work on the computing of semantic distances among nodes (synsets) in WordNet has made it possible to build a large database of semantic distances for use in selecting word pairs for psychological research. The database now contains nearly 50,000 pairs of words that have values for semantic distance, associative strength, and similarity based on co-occurrence. Semantic distance was found to correlate weakly with these other measures but to correlate more strongly with another measure of semantic relatedness, featural similarity. Hierarchical clustering analysis suggested that the knowledge structure underlying semantic distance is similar in gross form to that underlying featural similarity. In experiments in which semantic similarity ratings were used, human participants were able to discriminate semantic distance. Thus, semantic distance as derived from WordNet appears distinct from other measures of word pair relatedness and is psychologically functional. This database may be downloaded fromwww.psychonomic.org/archive/.     

Vengeance: Effects of gender,age, and religious background

Vengeance can be commonly defined as the infliction of harm in return for perceived injury or insult or as simply getting back at another person. Three hundred fifty‐three participants responded to eight hypothetical scenarios that may elicit vengeful behavior in which the offending party was either a romantic partner, a friend, a coworker, or a stranger. Participants also completed a vengeance scale and a measure of biblical literalism. Participants were most vengeful toward coworkers and least vengeful toward romantic partners. Age, religious conservatism, and gender were significant predictors of attitudes toward vengeance. Although men were more likely than women to be accepting of vengeful attitudes as measured by the vengeance scale, only age was a significant predictor of behavior in the vengeance scenarios. The current research provides a basis for a systematic investigation of vengeance within the structure of human relationships and interactions. Aggr. Behav. 27:343–350, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Use of human-given cues by domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and horses (Equus caballus)

Sixteen domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and four horses (Equus caballus) were tested for their ability to use human-given manual and facial cues in an object-choice task. Two of the four horses used touch as a cue and one horse successfully used pointing. The performance of the dogs was considerably better, with 12 subjects able to use pointing as a cue, 4 able to use head orientation and 2 able to use eye gaze alone. Group analysis showed that the dogs performed significantly better in all experimental conditions than during control trials. Dogs were able to use pointing cues even when the cuer’s body was closer to the incorrect object. Working gundogs with specialised training used pointing more successfully than pet dogs and gundog breeds performed better than non-gundog breeds. The results of this experiment suggest that animals’ use of human given communicative signals depends on cognitive ability, the evolutionary consequences of domestication and enculturation by humans within the individual’s lifetime. Received: 15 July 1999 / Accepted after revision: 10 January 2000     

A MEASURE OF OBJECTIFIED BODY CONSCIOUSNESS FOR PREADOLESCENT AND ADOLESCENT YOUTH

Objectified body consciousness (OBC)—the tendency to view oneself as an object to be looked at and evaluated by others—has received recent attention as a possible vulnerability factor for depression and disordered eating. Although OBC generally is discussed in developmental terms, extant research has examined primarily the experiences of undergraduates and adults. Our goal in this study was to develop an age-appropriate measure to allow study of OBC development during preadolescence and adolescence. We modeled the OBC-Youth after McKinley and Hyde's (1996) OBC-Classic to measure three components of OBC: body surveillance, body shame, and appearance control beliefs. The 14-item scale contains modified vocabulary and syntax to make it appropriate for use with preadolescent and adolescent youth. Results indicate that the OBC-Youth scale is a reliable, valid measure of OBC. Initial findings about the correlates of OBC in preadolescence are discussed.     

Adult attachment and body satisfaction. An exploration of general and specific relationship differences

The relationship between general and specific adult relationship attachment and body satisfaction was examined in a community sample of 133 women. Participants completed measures of body image (body surveillance, body-as-object esteem, and body-as-process satisfaction) and general attachment (anxiety and avoidance) and then were primed for a romantic partner or close friend relationship, after which they completed specific measures of attachment and body satisfaction. General attachment results replicated previous research. Specific attachment results demonstrated distinct differences both from general attachment and between romantic partner attachment and close friend attachment. Attachment independently predicted body satisfaction both for general and close friend measures; however, in romantic relationships, only body surveillance independently contributed to body satisfaction.     

The sacred second: religious moments in a Colombo marketplace

How does the marketplace of a busy city shape the religious practices of its shopkeepers? Combining historical and ethnographic research, this article examines the cosmopolitan past and present of Colombo’s Pettah neighbourhood. Its role as an Indian Ocean port resulted in a continual influx of new religious players, leaving its present pluralistic pantheon, from which shopkeepers (many of whom have made their own transoceanic journeys to work in other port cities like Dubai) can choose the saint or god best suited for their needs. Meanwhile, the pace of the marketplace has structured religious time accordingly; sacred moments are improvised sporadically among the bustle of the business day. Religious ritual is now part of the general pattern of marketplace routine, along with a number of other habits for passing time – unscheduled but expected activity, both personally meaningful and socially symbolic. In turn, religious performance can enhance market performance, instrumentalised in spur-of-the-moment sales techniques, lines between sacred and profane continually blurred.     

Semantic distance norms computed from an electronic dictionary (WordNet).

WordNet, an electronic dictionary (or lexical database), is a valuable resource for computational and cognitive scientists. Recent work on the computing of semantic distances among nodes (synsets) in WordNet has made it possible to build a large database of semantic distances for use in selecting word pairs for psychological research. The database now contains nearly 50,000 pairs of words that have values for semantic distance, associative strength, and similarity based on co-occurrence. Semantic distance was found to correlate weakly with these other measures but to correlate more strongly with another measure of semantic relatedness, featural similarity. Hierarchical clustering analysis suggested that the knowledge structure underlying semantic distance is similar in gross form to that underlying featural similarity. In experiments in which semantic similarity ratings were used, human participants were able to discriminate semantic distance. Thus, semantic distance as derived from WordNet appears distinct from other measures of word pair relatedness and is psychologically functional. This database may be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive/.