Limitations for Change Detection in Multiple Gabor Targets

We investigate the limitations on the ability to detect when a target has changed, using Gabor targets as simple quantifiable stimuli. Using a partial report technique to equalize response variables, we show that the log of the Weber fraction for detecting a spatial frequency change is proportional to the log of the number of targets, with a set-size effect that is greater than that reported for visual search. This is not a simple perceptual limitation, because pre-cueing a single target out of four restores performance to the level found when only one target is present. It is argued that the primary limitation on performance is the division of attention across multiple targets, rather than decay within visual memory. However in a simplified change detection experiment without cueing, where only one target of the set changed, not only was the set-size effect still larger, but it was greater at 2000 msec ISI than at 250 msec ISI, indicating a possible memory component. The steepness of the set-size effects obtained suggests that even moderate complexity of a stimulus in terms of number of component objects can overload attentional processes, suggesting a possible low-level mechanism for change blindness.     

Persuasion and the contexts of dissuasion: Causal models and informal arguments

This paper develops the view that in arguing informally individuals construct a dual representation in which there is a coupling of arguments and the structure of the qualitative (mental) causal model to which these refer. Invited to consider a future possibility, individuals generate a causal model and mentally simulate the consequences of certain actions. Their arguments refer to the causal paths in the model. Correspondingly, faced with specific arguments about a policy option they generate a model with particular causal paths and mentally simulate the outcomes. The results of Experiment 1 are consistent with this notion. Decisions on the percentage of funds to be allocated to genetically modified (GM) crop research depended on the structure of the arguments elicited in response to imagining a future state of affairs. Specifically, the presence of a dissuasive argument eliminated the impact of any persuasive argument. The non-monotonic properties of everyday informal argument can then be seen as a corollary of change to causal structure in the model. The dual representation view predicts that the impact of a dissuasive argument will depend on the structure of the causal model. Experiment 2 tested and confirmed this prediction by requiring individuals to judge the relative persuasiveness of two cases referring either to a model with two independent causal paths or to a model in which one causal path depended on the other. In contrast to Experiment 1, prior opinion on GM crop research did not affect allocation decisions. An advisory role in contrast to a participant role may encourage a more decontextualised mode of thinking. According to the dual representation view, ease of mental simulation should exert wide-ranging effects on judgements and the rhetoric of arguments should also be important. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of these expectations.     

Causality and the categorisation of objects and events

The “Tower of London” puzzle was adapted to tablet PCs to be used as a clinical bedside test. “Iso-problems”, a specific class of problems, require identical moves but ball colours are permuted. Thus difficulty is the same even if the appearance is different. We wanted to determine the impact of these as yet little-studied tasks and hypothesised that there may be a learning effect specific to them (the “iso-effect”). We interspersed a set of six iso-problems within one selection of 22 tasks and analysed problem solving by 81 healthy adults (mean age 41.6 years). Participants showed learning across iso-problems (less time, fewer moves, increasingly efficient solutions). This effect was distinct from general learning, as was obvious from comparison with a series of non-isomorphic tasks. However, participants seem not to be aware of solving such problems. This “iso-effect” may be related to implicit memory, a domain that so far has not been assessed using the Tower of London.     

Normative Transmission and Necessary Means

Philosophia - This paper focuses on the interaction of reasons and argues that reasons for an action may transmit to the necessary means of that action. Analyzing exactly how this phenomenon may be...     

Screening,Brief Intervention,and Referral to Treatment for Military Spouses Experiencing Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders: A Literature Review

This paper provides an overview of alcohol and substance use issues in military spouses, and explore how the screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) model may enable health care providers to identify individuals at risk for developing substance use related disorders. The information presented is based on a broad literature scan relating to the characteristics of the military lifestyle, health infrastructure, screening and intervention processes, and the uses of SBIRT in military and civilian settings. Current literature suggests that military spouses, and families, tend to be at different points in their life course than civilian families of similar ages. Marrying earlier and having children sooner coupled with military lifestyle stressors place them at increased risk for developing adverse coping mechanisms, particularly during deployment. SBIRT has been recognized as an effective method among civilian patients although there is limited research on the efficacy of SBIRT for military spouses at risk of or experiencing substance use problems.     

Opposition to Antiracism Laws Across Swiss Municipalities: A Multilevel Analysis

Public opposition to antiracism laws—an expression of prejudice toward immigrants—is widespread in Switzerland as well as in other European countries. Using data from the European Social Survey 2002 (N = 1,711), the present study examined across Swiss municipalities individual and contextual predictors of opposition to such laws and of two well‐established antecedents of prejudice: perceived threat and intergroup contact. The study extends multilevel research on immigration attitudes by investigating the role of the ideological climate prevailing in municipalities (conservative vs. progressive), in addition to structural features of municipalities. Controlling for individual‐level determinants, stronger opposition to antiracism laws was found in more conservative municipalities, while the proportion of immigrants was positively related to intergroup contact. Furthermore, in conservative municipalities with a low proportion of immigrants, fewer intergroup contacts were reported. In line with prior research, intergroup contact decreased prejudiced policy stances through a reduction of perceived threat. Overall, this study highlights the need to include normative and ideological features of local contexts in the analysis of public reactions toward immigrants.