Binocular summation in the evoked cortical potential

Computer-averaged evoked potentials were recorded from six subjects presented with flashes under conditions of binocular and monocular viewing, with a device fitted over each eye to produce ganzfeld conditions. Tests were run with red light and with blue. Analysis of the evoked potentials indicates a substantially larger amplitude with binocular stimulation.     

The role of visual monitoring in observational learning of action patterns: making the unobservable observable

The present experiment tested the hypothesis that concurrent visual feedback enhances observational learning of a novel action pattern that normally would be unobservable. Subjects repeatedly enacted a modeled action pattern with visual monitoring of their reproductions throughout enactments, during only early or late phases of enactment, or not at all. At periodic intervals the adequacy of their conception of the modeled pattern was also measured. Visual feedback during ongoing performance enhanced accurate reproduction of the modeled pattern; the facilitative effect was most pronounced for reproduction of complex response components. The superiority of subjects who had enacted these difficult response components with visual feedback was maintained even when both the model and feedback were withdrawn. Visual feedback did not facilitate accurate enactment of the modeled pattern before development of an adequate cognitive representation of it. The results support the social learning view that observationally-learned behaviors are cognitively represented and that visual monitoring serves to decrease discrepancies between conception and action.     

Comparison of culturally deprived school achievers and underachievers on memory function and perception.

To compare the memory function and perception of culturally deprived achievers with underachievers, 36 culturally deprived children were assigned to one of two groups according to their achievement level, in relation to their age and IQ. Underachievers were children achieving 6 mo. or more below expected level. Achievers were children achieving within at least 5 mo. of expected level. All subjects were between the ages of 8 and 12 yr. and were in Grades 4, 5, or 6. Four tests were administered, the Block Design and Digit Span subtests of the WISC, Memory-for-Designs, and the Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test. The two groups did not differ on the first three tests, but the achievers performed significantly better on the last test than the underachievers. It was speculated that the differences were related to level of motor execution.     

Creative analogy and language evolution

The English good and intensifier is discussed as an example of a form that is acceptable even though ungrammatical, both synchronically and diachronically. The construction is analyzed as a case of creative analogy: the extension of a grammatically generated form to a new function, one for which it has no direct grammatical justification. From the perspective of a dynamic theory of language acquisition and evolution, it is argued that such forms constitute a new sort of evidence regarding the nature of language universals.Previous versions of this work were presented to the LSA summer meetings in 1974 and in Carroll (1975, 1978).     

Impact of the format of user instructions on the handling of a wrist blood pressure monitor

Cognitive Processing - Few studies have focused on procedural documents in the field of home medical devices, although incorrect use and usability problems can have important consequences for the...     

Passion for a Cause: How It Affects Health and Subjective Well‐Being

Using the dualistic model of passion (Vallerand et al., 2003), this research investigated how harmonious passion (HP) or obsessive passion (OP) for a cause can affect volunteers' health and subjective well‐being. Three studies with volunteers for local (local emergency crises and community help) and international (humanitarian missions) causes assessed physical and psychological health using cross‐sectional and longitudinal designs. Study 1 (N = 108) showed that HP was positively related to satisfaction with one's involvement in the cause and unrelated to physical injuries due to cause involvement. OP was unrelated to satisfaction but positively associated with injuries. Findings were replicated in Study 2 (N = 83). Moreover, self‐neglect mediated the positive and negative effects of HP and OP, respectively, on injuries. Study 3 (N = 77) revealed that HP predicted an increase in satisfaction and health over a 3‐month mission. OP predicted an increase in physical symptoms and a decrease in health. Furthermore, OP before a mission was positively related to self‐neglect that was positively associated with physical symptoms after a mission. OP also positively predicted rumination that was conducive to posttraumatic stress disorder. HP was unrelated to these variables. Findings underscore the role of passion for a cause in predicting intrapersonal outcomes of volunteers.