Varying the response code in the blindness to response-compatible stimuli

Previous work has indicated that action-control processes can specifically influence perceptual processes. The identification of a left- or right-pointing arrow is impaired when it appears during the preparation and execution of a compatible left-right keypress (Müsseler & Hommel, 1997a, b). The present study examines the role of the response-specifying cue in order to manipulate the coding of the action-control processes. Experiment 1 shows that the size of the perceptual impairment is not affected by whether the cue has high or little feature overlap with the to-be-performed response. Cues were omitted in Experiment 2 and participants generated their responses endogenously, but the perceptual impairment still occurred. Experiment 3 examines in more detail which feature of the response contributes to the effect. The results show that it needs both an intended action goal and a corresponding motor activity to bring about the perceptual impairment.     

Children Who Murder: A Review

Despite considerable research on juvenile homicide, pre-adolescent homicide offenders have received less attention. This paper reviews the existing literature on preteen murderers in order to characterize the current state of research knowledge about this population, and draws on some of the work on adolescent homicide as well. The analysis of this literature considers historical context, methodological issues, previous attempts to classify youthful homicide offenders, and predictors of preteen homicidal behavior. While there is a high degree of heterogeneity within this population, several developmental similarities emerged across cases that were associated with the perpetration of homicide by preteens. A high percentage of preteen homicide offenders come from homes characterized by physical abuse, domestic violence, poor or absent parenting, and overall instability. Gun availability may have been a facilitating factor. Support for different etiologies of preteen versus adolescent homicide is weak. Recommendations for future research directions are offered.     

Attention and sensitivity in visual search

Summary In continuous visual search, targets can be detected within a certain area around the fixation point (control area). Recent observations have suggested that these areas are asymmetrical in their vertical extent, i.e., that targets can be detected at greater distances below than above the fixation point. In order to obtain more direct evidence on this asymmetry, two experiments were conducted using a contingent-display technique. Pronounced asymmetry of the vertical detection span was observed. A model is presented according to which the asymmetry results from the superposition of two sources: the permanent distribution of sensitivity and the actual distribution of attention along the vertical axis of the visual field. The detectability of a target at a given location is a joint function of the strength of these two factors at that location.     

The pupil evaluation inventory

The Pupil Evaluation Inventory was developed to assess peer ratings of the behavior of male and female children in grades one through nine. Three homogeneous and stable factors emerged from a factor analysis: Aggression, Withdrawal and Likeability. High interrater agreement between male and female raters, stability of factorial structure, high internal consistency, and moderate concurrent validity were found across sex and grade levels. Test-retest reliability was high for a separate sample of third and sixth graders. There was a tendency for higher internal consistency and teacher-peer correlations for the Aggression factor.This research was supported by grant MH 21145 from the National Institute of Mental Health and by funds from the D. Grant Foundation, Inc. We wish also to acknowledge the support of the many school districts who have assisted us in this research.     

Nicht-visueller Transfer in einer visuellen Suchaufgabe

Zusammenfassung Der Begriff der Verarbeitungsstufe (level of processing) im Sinne Posners wird kritisch diskutiert. Es wird vorgeschlagen, von der von diesem Autor herausgearbeiteten Konzeption der expliziten nicht-visuellen Kodierung eine bisher nur ansatzweise untersuchte Verarbeitungsform zu unterscheiden: die implizite oder latente nicht-visuelle Kodierung, die stillschweigend bei verbalem Material auch dann stattfindet, wenn in der Versuchssituation nicht-visuelle Komponenten keine Rolle spielen. Zum Nachweis dieses Phänomens wird ein Transferversuchsplan mit einer Buchstabensuchtechnik nach Neisser verwendet. Es zeigt sich, daß Transfer zwischen verschiedenen Suchaufgaben sowohl auf visueller als auch auf nicht-visueller Ebene stattfindet. Darüberhinaus kann Transfer auf Target- und Kontextbasis unterschieden werden. Die Beziehungen zwischen der Kodierungsebene (visuell/nicht-visuell) und der Target-Kontextbindung des Transfers werden diskutiert; beide Dimensionen werden als orthogonal angenommen.

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Non-visual transfer in a visual-search task

Summary The notion of level of processing sensu Posner is critically examined. It is proposed to distinguish between two kinds of non-visual coding of visually presented verbal material: explicit (viz. instruction-produced) and implicit or latent non-visual coding. The latter is supposed to go on silently even if Ss are not instructed to pay attention to other than visual aspects of the stimulus situation. A transferdesign with a visual-search technique after Neisser is used to trace the effects of latent non-visual coding. It is shown that search transfer takes place on visual and on non-visual level as well. Moreover, transfer may be target-based or context-based. Relations between level of processing (visual/non-visual) and basis of transfer (target vs. context) are discussed; both aspects are supposed to be independent of each other.

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Die hier mitgeteilten Experimente wurden von S. Hartlich und W. Lahmeyer im Rahmen von Diplomarbeiten durchgeführt.     

Continuous selection

Summary A model of target selection in continuous search tasks is outlined. The model was designed to account for two basic observations that are difficult to cover within the framework of the traditional target-control-type models of search, namely, pure detection (detection without identification) and pseudotarget detection (detection of new items not to be searched for). The model combines two basic assumptions: first, that targets are detected by default, that is, by virtue of the fact that they do not fit into an internal model of to-be-expected events (target detection by default) and second, that this internal model is generated, maintained, and updated on the basis of the nontarget information encountered during search (integration of non-target information). Furthermore, it is assumed that non-target integration and target detection can both be carried out at several processing levels simultaneously. The evidence available to support and develop the model is reviewed, and some of its general implications for a theory of selective attention are discussed.This paper is a selective summary of experimental work done in collaboration with Dieter Nattkemper and Cristina Meinecke and supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant Pr 118/5)     

Authorship effects in the prediction of handwriting strokes: Evidence for action simulation during action perception

Does the action system contribute to action perception? Recent evidence suggests that actions are simulated while being observed. Given that the planning and simulating system are the same only when one observes one's own actions, it might be easier to predict the future outcomes of actions when one has carried them out oneself earlier on. In order to test this hypothesis, three experiments were conducted in which participants observed parts of earlier self- and other-produced trajectories and judged whether another stroke would follow or not. When the trajectories were produced without constraints, participants accomplished this task only for self-produced trajectories. When the trajectories were produced under narrow constraints, the predictions were equally accurate for self- and for other-generated trajectories. These results support the action simulation assumption. The more the actions that one observes resemble the way one would carry them out oneself, the more accurate the simulation.