The role of “chirp” identification in duplex perception

Duplex perception occurs when the phonetically distinguishing transitions of a syllable are presented to one ear and the rest of the syllable (the “base”) is simultaneously presented to the other ear. Subjects report hearing both a nonspeech “chirp” and a speech syllable correctly cued by the transitions. In two experiments, we compared phonetic identification of intact syllables, duplex percepts, isolated transitions, and bases. In both experiments, subjects were able to identify the phonetic information encoded into isolated transitions in the absence of an appropriate syllabic context. Also, there was no significant difference in phonetic identification of isolated transitions and duplex percepts. Finally, in the second experiment, the category boundaries from identification of isolated transitions and duplex percepts were not significantly different from each other. However, both boundaries were statistically different from the category boundary for intact syllables. Taken together, these results suggest that listeners do not need to perceptually integrate F2 transitions or F2 and F3 transition pairs with the base in duplex perception. Rather, it appears that listeners identify the chirps as speech without reference to the base.     

Appletree: A multinomial processing tree modeling program for macintosh computers

Multinomial processing tree (MPT) models are statistical models that allow for the prediction of categorical frequency data by sets of unobservable (cognitive) states. In MPT models, the probability that an event belongs to a certain category is a sum of products of state probabilities. AppleTree is a computer program for Macintosh for testing user-defined MPT models. It can fit model parameters to empirical frequency data, provide confidence intervals for the parameters, generate tree graphs for the models, and perform identifiability checks. In this article, the algorithms used by AppleTree and the handling of the program are described.     

Determinants of Differential Acculturation of Developmental Timetables among Adolescent Immigrants to Germany

The acculturation of developmental timetables for autonomy was studied in a sample of 220 ethnic German immigrants from Romania, Poland, and countries of the former Soviet Union. A distinction was made between the timing of autonomy from parental supervision and autonomy in social relationships. Four waves of semi-annual asessments were conducted for two groups, newcomers (0–18 months of residence in Germany) and experienced immigrants (more than 18–36 months). From these assessments a gradual acculturation of timetables was observed, resulting, as expected, in considerably earlier ages at which the two facets of autonomy were accomplished. The rate of acculturation was predicted to be related to prior interindividual differences in parent-adolescent interaction and frequency of adolescents' activities outside the home. As expected, higher levels of conflict and permissiveness reported by parents, and lower levels of monitoring and more frequent out-of-home activities, corresponded to a more accelerated acculturation to earlier timetables concerning autonomy from parental supervision—especially among the newcomers. With regard to autonomy in social relationships, the results were less clear, presumably due to the fact that prior interpersonal experiences were less associated with this facet of autonomy. Higher levels of the family variables studied encourage “escape” from the constraints of the newcomers' provisional homes, and thus provide opportunities to make contacts and adopt the lifestyle of adolescents from the general German population. In general, prediction was not possible concerning adolescents whose residence in Germany was longer than 18 months. For this group of immigrants, such escapes no longer serve the expected purpose because they have access to other opportunities, which were not measured in this study.     

Multicomponent models for the retention of numbers

Summary Several multicomponent models of memory (Bower, 1967) are presented and applied to the retention of three-digit numbers. Their application is based on the notion that both the digits making up a number stimulus and the position in which they appear can be interpreted as the components of a memory vector. The models are fitted to the data obtained in a Peterson-type experiment in which a single three-digit number was shown per trial. During the retention interval the subject engaged in an arithmetical task for either 13.6, 19.6, or 25.6 s. Following this, the subject attempted recall. Confidence ratings were also obtained. Twenty-four different types of correctly and incorrectly recalled responses were scored. Their frequency distributions were best predicted at each retention interval by a dual encoding model which relies on the assumption that stimuli are stored both component-wise and by means of a single unit code encoding the entire stimulus number. It is also shown that the confidence ratings may be successfully predicted from estimates of the expected number of components retained. About 80% of the rating variance is predicted by a parameter-free procedure.The original experimental study was funded by Grant Ey 4/3, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bad Godesberg. Further developments were made possible by Grant Sch 350/1 to R.S. from the same agency. Part of the theoretical work was done while D.V. was an NSF postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Psychology of New York University, New York. Free computer time was generously supplied by the Courant Institute of Applied Mathematics. We are grateful to Dietrich Albert, Stephanie Kelter, Micha Razel, and Paul Vitz for stimulating discussions.     

Crowding and mental health

An epidemiologic investigation of the mental needs and services of 1645 respondents, aged 17 to 92 years and living in a representative southeastern county in Florida, revealed that 7.8% of the sample lived in crowded conditions. The crowded respondents scored significantly higher than did the uncrowded on both a depression scale and on the Health Opinion Survey. Associations between crowding and high scores on both scales were strongest among: (1) respondents in the childrearing and middle years of life, (2) blacks at all income levels, (3) whites in the intermediate annual family income range of $6000 to $9999, and especially, females rather than males. Consistently, the crowded black population, and particularly, crowded white women, had much higher scores than did the uncrowded women. A multiple regression analysis showed that three variables—being a female, having a lower income, and crowding—accounted for 16.5% of the variance. The discussion emphasizes that the relationship between crowding and higher scores on indices of emotional distress is quite complicated. In crowded situations, depression may be a costly, semi-adaptive reaction to excessive interpersonal stimulation. Women living in crowded situations appear to be at high risk for depressive illness; their plight brings to mind the classic animal experiments which showed that the maternal behavior of females deteriorated in crowded situations.     

Loss,Pain, and Growth

This article discusses, with case illustrations, different kinds of loss encountered throughout life and the emotional reactions to them. Understanding losses and their common responses will enable helping professionals to assist others more effectively in dealing with their experience of loss and turning it into an opportunity for personal growth. Guidelines are given for helping those who have undergone loss.     

Sequential modulations of interference evoked by processing task-irrelevant stimulus features

Compatibility level repetition benefits in interference paradigms have been taken to reflect enhanced processing selectivity in response to cognitive conflict elicited by a task-irrelevant stimulus feature. The authors demonstrate such sequential effects in the Simon task which (a) occur independent of previous behavioral conflict effects and (b) cannot be accounted for by selectivity enhancement. Furthermore, when presenting more than one type of irrelevant stimulus features, compatibility level repetition effects occurred in a type-specific manner. The results do not support the notion that cognitive conflict results in enhanced processing selectivity and favor a feature integration account.     

Socioemotional selectivity in cancer patients

This study analyzed the contact preferences of newly diagnosed cancer patients and healthy control group participants. In line with the theory of socioemotional selectivity, patients were more likely than control participants to prefer contact with familiar social partners, but this difference was stronger in younger and middle-aged patients than in older patients. Across a 6-month interval, patients' contact preferences changed according to the perceived success of therapy. For example, if therapy was perceived to be successful, patients showed an increasing interest in contacts with unfamiliar social partners. Results indicate that contact preferences are adapted to the perception of limited versus extended future lifetime.