Auditory temporal discrimination by trained listeners

Previous reports from this laboratory have shown that untrained listeners cannot name the order of sounds in extended sequences of unrelated items such as hisses, tones, and buzzes at item durations of 200 msec, even though identification of order for the sounds of speech and music is accomplished readily at much shorter item durations. The present study indicates that under appropriate conditions subjects can be trained to distinguish between and to identify permuted orders within sequences of nonrelated sounds each lasting only 10 msec or less. Evidence is presented suggesting that much of what passes for direct identification of order is actually based on prior identification of a larger pattern. Two principal mechanisms seem to mediate discrimination of auditory temporal order: (1) fine resolution (requiring prior training) permitting identification of over-all patterns and capable of operating with item durations of only a few msec; (2) coarse resolution (special prior training not required) allowing naming of order of items having minimal durations usually above 200 msec for unfamiliar sequences.     

Frequency of Exposure and Evaluation of Candidates and Campaign Speeches1

Three slides, each showing the photograph of a college-age male, were shown either 5, 10, or 25 times to a total of 95 students (S s). After the presentation, the slides, plus a fourth not previously shown, were presented as photographs of candidates in a campus election, each being paired with a campaign speech. Three speeches consisted of bland platitudes, whereas the fourth argued in favor of a large tuition increase. Ratings of the speeches and the candidates indicated that subjects were accurate in ranking the relative frequency of exposure of the four slides and that the controversial speech elicited less agreement and less favorable ratings than the three other messages. There were U-shaped curvilinear effects of exposure on S s' agreement with the messages, and with ratings of the persuasiveness of the message. Neither exposure nor speech effects were found in ratings of the candidates themselves. Implications of these findings for the frequency of exposure hypothesis (Zajonc, 1968) and for political campaigns are discussed.     

The longitudinal effects of early identification and counseling of underachievers

This study examined the effects of early identification and psychological services on underachievement through a follow-up study conducted six years later. One hundred and seventeen fourth-grade underachievers had been identified through a regression equation and were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received psychological services during their fourth, fifth, and sixth grades from a team of university professors. Psychological services were primarily adult centered, focusing on the redirection of parents and teachers who were the primary influence on the lives of these underachievers. Follow-up studies of them at high school graduation indicated that differences between these groups reached at least the .05 level of significance for class rank, the ACT composite, the ITED composite and its subtests, and level of educational and vocational performance after high school graduation. Differences which were not statistically significant were found for pregraduation aspirations for the immediate future.