Bisection of loudness

In a loudness bisection task, subjects varied one sound to lie halfway between two given sounds in terms of loudness. The two given sounds were varied from 30 to 90 dB in a 4 by 9 factorial design. Functional measurement methods based on monotone analysis provided good support for the bisection model, and yielded a loudness scale with an exponent of about .3, except for a falloff at lower intensities. Two other tasks, judging average loudness and difference in loudness of the two given sounds, yielded mixed results. In Experiment 2, in particular, the differencing judgments were not additive, even under monotone transformation. These analyses also indicated that previous applications of monotone analysis have typically lacked adequate power to allow any conclusion about the operative model. Overall, the present bisection scale agrees with Garner’s lambda scale, and the present theoretical approach agrees with that of Garner in its emphasis on algebraic models as a foundation for psychological measurement.     

Catching more than pocket monsters: Pokémon Go's social and psychological effects on players

ABSTRACT

The augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go has reached unprecedented popularity since its release in 2016. The game has received intense media attention, but scientific inquiry into its popularity and the effects of play are in the early stages. Previous work has used secondary data or simple correlational analysis to draw early conclusions. A seven-day diary study was conducted to investigate potential health, psychological, and social outcomes of daily gameplay. Daily time spent playing Pokémon Go was related to higher scores of life satisfaction, vitality, and greater social interactions and conversation with both friends and strangers, but not with increased daily exercise. Increased total gameplay across the week was associated with increased interaction and conversations along with more exercise. Future directions for this unique type of game along with the need for theoretical development for unique style of games are discussed.     

A review of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is quantitatively the most abundant hormone in humans and mammals, with a wide variety of physiological effects, including major regulatory effects upon the immune system. Two of the most striking aspects of DHEA are a steady decline in DHEA with age and a significant deficiency in DHEA in patients with several major diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. The hormone is secreted in a non-sulfated (DHEA) and sulfated form (DHEA-S). The two are apparently interchangeable, and it appears likely that its physiological effects are achieved by derivative molecules that have yet to be identified.