Why do pitched horizontal lines have such a small effect on visually perceived eye level?

In two experiments, visually perceived eye level (VPEL) was measured while subjects viewed two-dimensional displays that were either upright or pitched 20 degrees top-toward or 20 degrees top-away from them. In Experiment 1, it was demonstrated that binocular exposure to a pair of pitched vertical lines or to a pitched random dot pattern caused a substantial upward VPEL shift for the top-toward pitched array and a similarly large downward shift for the top-away array. On the other hand, the same pitches of a pair of horizontal lines (viewed binocularly or monocularly) produced much smaller VPEL shifts. Because the perceived pitch of the pitched horizontal line display was nearly the same as the perceived pitch of the pitched vertical line and dot array, the relatively small influence of pitched horizontal lines on VPEL cannot be attributed simply to an underestimation of their pitch. In Experiment 2, the effects of pitched vertical lines, dots, and horizontal lines on VPEL were again measured, together with their effects on resting gaze direction (in the vertical dimension). As in Experiment 1, vertical lines and dots caused much larger VPEL shifts than did horizontal lines. The effects of the displays on resting gaze direction were highly similar to their effects on VPEL. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that VPEL shifts caused by pitched visual arrays are due to the direct influence of these arrays on the oculomotor system and are not mediated by perceived pitch.     

Effects of visual information and task constraints on intersegmental coordination in playground swinging

The authors investigated how and to what extent visual information and associated task constraints are negotiated in the coordinative structure of playground swinging. Participants (N = 20) were invited to pump a swing from rest to a prescribed maximal amplitude under 4 conditions: normal vision, no vision, and 2 visual conditions involving explicit phasing constraints. In the latter conditions, participants were presented with a flow pattern consisting of a periodically expanding and contracting optical structure. They were instructed to phase the swing motion so that the forward turning point coincided with either the maximal size (enhanced optical flow) or the minimal size (reduced optical flow) of the presented flow pattern. Removal of visual information clearly influenced the swinging behavior, in that intersegmental coordination became more stereotyped, reflecting a general stiffening of the swinger. The conditions involving explicit phasing requirements also affected the coordination, but in an opposite way: The coordination became less stereotyped. The two phasing instructions had differential effects: The intersegmental coordination deviated more from normal swinging (i.e., without phasing constraints) when optical flow was enhanced than when it was reduced. Collectively, those findings show that visual information plays a formative role in the coordinative structure of swinging, in that variations of visual information and task constraints were accompanied by subtle yet noticeable changes in intersegmental coordination.     

Visually perceived eye level with reversible pitch stimuli: implications for the great circle and implicit surface models

Visually perceived eye level (VPEL) and perceived pitch were measured while subjects viewed two sets of stimuli that were either upright or pitched top-toward or top-away from them. The first set of stimuli, a pair of vertical lines viewed at various angles of pitch, caused systematic changes in perceived pitch and upward and downward VPEL shifts for the top-toward and top-away pitches, respectively. Neither the perceived pitch nor the VPEL measures with these stimuli differed between monocular and binocular viewing. The second set of stimuli was constructed so that, when viewed at the appropriate pitch angle, the projected orientations of the lines in the retinal image of each stimulus were similar to those generated by a pair of vertical lines pitched by a lesser amount in the opposite direction. When viewed monocularly, these stimuli appeared pitched in the direction opposite their physical pitch, yet produced VPEL shifts consistent with the direction of their physical pitch. These results clearly demonstrate a dissociation between perceived pitch and VPEL. The same stimuli, when viewed binocularly, appeared pitched in the direction of their physical pitch and caused VPEL shifts indistinguishable from those obtained monocularly. The retinal image orientations of these stimuli, however, corresponded to those of vertical line stimuli pitched in the opposite direction. This finding is therefore consistent with the hypothesis that VPEL and perceived pitch are processed independently, but inconsistent with the specific version of this hypothesis which states that differences in VPEL are determined solely on the basis of the orientation of lines in the retinal image.     

Effects of an inquiry-focused school improvement program on the development of pupils’ attitudes towards curiosity,their implicit ability and effort beliefs,and goal orientations

Motivation and Emotion - The present study describes the effects of a 2-year inquiry-focused school improvement intervention on pupils’ attitudes towards epistemic curiosity, their implicit...     

Postscript: sortal concepts are fundamental for tracing identity

Our discussion with Rips, Blok, and Newman (2006; Blok, Newman, & Rips, in press; Rhemtulla & Xu, in press) has brought together theory and evidence from researchers in adult cognition and those in infant development. By this point, researchers all recognize that any theory of concepts of individuals must consider the evidence from infants' first concepts as well as explicit adult reasoning tasks. Despite this agreement, we continue to disagree on several fundamental issues.     

Work–Family Conflict and Turnover Intentions Among Scientists and Engineers Working in R&D

Purpose  In this study we evaluate competing models of the direct and indirect effects of work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) on two turnover intentions relevant to scientists and engineers: (i) leaving R&D for non-R&D work within the same organization and (ii) leaving one’s organization for another one. Design/methodology/approach  A cross-sectional design was used. Our sample consists of almost 500 scientists and engineers in dual-earner families and with dependent care responsibilities. Findings  We find some support for the domain-specific predictors-to-outcomes model: FIW indirectly (but not directly) increases intentions to change organization through work dissatisfaction. Contrary to expectations from the stress management model we find neither direct nor indirect relationships between WIF and turnover intentions. Implications  Our findings suggest that organizations that help employees manage the effects of FIW on work dissatisfaction may be able to reduce the turnover among their technical workforce. Originality/value  The study examines an overlooked outcome of work-family conflict: turnover intentions. In addition, it provides much needed attention to the implications of workfamily conflict for scientists and engineers, who have received little attention in the work-family conflict literature despite longstanding efforts to understand the relationship between marriage, parenthood, and productivity in these fields.

Monkey business: Children’s use of character identity to infer shared properties

Children’s toys provide a rich arena for investigating conceptual flexibility, because they often can be understood as possessing an individual identity at multiple levels of abstraction. For example, many dolls (e.g., Winnie-the-Pooh) and action figures (e.g., Batman) can be construed either as characters from a fictional world or as physical objects in the real world. In two experiments, 72 4- and 5-year-olds took part in a property extension task, the results of which provide evidence of an understanding that (1) two representations of a character share certain properties in virtue of their shared character identity, and this sharing does not stem simply from having the same name, and (2) one representation of a character is more likely to share properties with another representation of the character if the properties were acquired by the character than if they were acquired by the representation. Children’s understanding of a representational object’s abstract character identity thus enabled them to transcend using its unique spatio-temporal history as a sole basis for inferring its idiosyncratic properties.