Available response choices affect localization of sound

Successful replication of an experiment by Butler and Humanski (1992) showed that listeners are able to proficiently localize sources on a lateral vertical plane on the basis of interaural differences alone. When a lateral horizontal array was included in the test setup, that finding was replicated only for a broadband signal interacting with the pinna, not for ones (lowpass and pure tone) providing only interaural differences. Cross-plane errors conforming to “cones of confusion” were observed for those latter sounds. In a second experiment, response options were made more unconstrained, which clarified the nature of the cross-plane confusions. Lowpass signals from lateral vertical plane sources tend to be heard at or close to the horizon. Measurement of cue values needs to take account of the response options available to listeners, as well as signal properties.     

Orthodox–Hussite Encounters

This article is a contribution to the ongoing debate about how the pan‐Orthodox vision of unity and the overall Christian vision of Christian unity are co‐related, following the Pan‐Orthodox Council in Crete in June 2016. The first section considers how modern Orthodox relations to ecumenism arose: in particular, how the vision of pan‐Orthodoxy and that of Christian unity were intertwined. The sections that follow concentrate on examples taken from Orthodox–Hussite relations.     

Can Reasons and Values Influence Action: How Might Intentional Agency Work Physiologically?

In this paper, we demonstrate (1) how harnessing stochasticity can be the basis of creative agency; (2) that such harnessing can resolve the apparent conflict between reductionist (micro-level) accounts of behaviour and behaviour as the outcome of rational and value-driven (macro-level) decisions; (3) how neurophysiological processes can instantiate such behaviour; (4) The processes involved depend on three features of living organisms: (a) they are necessarily open systems; (b) micro-level systems therefore nest within higher-level systems; (c) causal interactions must occur across all the boundaries between the levels of organization. The higher levels constrain the dynamics of lower levels. The experimental evidence and theoretical arguments are shown to be consistent with previous research on the neuronal mechanisms of conscious choice, and with the interconnected multi-level processes by which organisms harness stochasticity, whether conscious or unconscious.

     

Repetition blindness and homophone blindness in young and older adults

We tested age effects on repetition blindness (RB), defined as the reduced probability of reporting a target word following presentation of the same word in a rapidly presented list. We also tested age effects on homophone blindness (HB), in which the first word is a homophone of the target word rather than a repeated word. Thirty young and 28 older adults viewed rapidly presented lists of words containing repeated, homophone, or unrepeated word pairs and reported all of the words immediately after each list. Older adults exhibited a greater degree of RB and HB than young adults using a conditional scoring method that provides certainty that blindness has occurred. The existence of RB and HB for both age groups, and increased blindness for older compared to young adults, supports predictions of a binding theory that has successfully accounted for a wide range of phenomena in cognitive aging.     

"It's led me astray": How Cognitive Behavioural Therapists experience personal therapy in clinical practice

Personal therapy is considered to be an essential component of most psychotherapeutic training programmes. However, it remains peripheral to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) training courses. We present a subsection of results from a qualitative study that examines how CBT therapists use personal therapy in their clinical practice. Seven CBT therapists who have undergone personal therapy were interviewed. Participants were asked about how they used personal therapy in their clinical practice and their accounts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to identify common themes. This article presents the results of the first master theme, “Personal therapy creates conflict”, which explores a paradox that arises between personal therapy and CBT clinical practice; participants suggest that personal therapy equips them with therapeutic tools that paradoxically hinder their capacity to practice a standardised protocol‐led CBT. Results show that participants found personal therapy created considerable internal conflict, where their use of technical evidence‐based treatment protocols as practitioners was experienced in tension with the relationally oriented therapy they had received as clients. We discuss results in the context of Gabriel Marcel's philosophical insights on the dehumanising effects of technology on human relationships. We conclude with a brief consideration of the current political climate that increasingly privileges short‐term technical solutions to psychological distress.     

Relations between teachers' judgments of girls' and boys' compliance and intellectual competence

This study examined the relation between teachers' perceptions of children's compliance to them and their evaluations of the children's intellectual competence. One hundred and nine boys and 94 girls from 25 preschools participated in the study. Evaluations of the children's intellectual competence and their compliance to teachers were provided by teachers from each preschool. The children were given measures of intelligence and problem solving, which together with age and compliance to teachers were used to predict the teachers' evaluations of the children's intellectual competence. Only IQ and age significantly predicted teachers' evaluations of boys' competence. Teachers' evaluations of girls' intellectual competence were significantly predicted by age, compliance to teachers, and problem-solving scores, with the less compliant girls being perceived as less competent. The results were interpreted as indicating the possible influence of sex role bias on teachers' judgments of girls' intellectual competence.This research was funded by a grant from the Quebec Department of Education and was performed while the second author was supported by a scholarship from the Quebec Department of Education.     

Moral Response in Interpersonal Ethics

This brief article is a concise look at morality. It includes the realms of the intrapsychic and the spiritual. It calls for a moral response in the ethics of the interpersonal. Far from being comprehensive, the article is intended as a springboard for further reflection and discussion.