Learning to perceive the relative mass of colliding balls: the effects of ratio scaling and feedback

The theory of direct perception holds that competent observers are able to detect optical patterns that specify the relative mass of colliding balls. Heuristic theorists, on the other hand, claim that judgments of relative mass are based on variables that do not specify relative mass. We contrasted these views with an experiment in which participants were given feedback on their ratio-scaled estimates of the relative mass of simulated colliding balls. Correlations between judged relative mass and various kinetic and kinematic measures of the collisions revealed that (1) judgments of relative mass become more accurate with feedback, (2) different observers use different variables, (3) during training, many observers change which variables they use, (4) before training, observers tend to use nonspecifying variables or combinations thereof, (5) after a minimal amount of training, at least some observers seem to detect mass-specifying information, and (6) the judgments do not support a generalization of the heuristic model of Gilden and Proffitt (1989, 1994). These findings suggest that direct perception of relative mass is a skill that can be developed through appropriate training.     

Graphemes are perceptual reading units

Graphemes are commonly defined as the written representation of phonemes. For example, the word 'BREAD' is composed of the four phonemes /b/, /r/, /e/ and /d/, and consequently, of the four graphemes 'B', 'R', 'EA', and 'D'. Graphemes can thus be considered the minimal 'functional bridges' in the mapping between orthography and phonology. In the present study, we investigated the hypothesis that graphemes are processed as perceptual units by the reading system. If the reading system processes graphemes as units, then detecting a letter in a word should be harder when this letter is embedded in a multi-letter grapheme than when it corresponds to a single-letter grapheme. In Experiment 1A, done in English, participants were slower to detect a target letter in a word when the target letter was embedded in multi-letter grapheme (i.e. 'A' in 'BEACH') than when it corresponded to a single-letter grapheme (i.e. 'A' in 'PLACE'). In Experiment 1B, this effect was replicated in French. In Experiment 2, done in English, this grapheme effect remained when phonemic similarity between the target letter alone and the target letter inside the word was controlled. Together, the results are consistent with the assumption that graphemes are processed as perceptual reading units in alphabetic writing systems such as English or French.     

Interresponse times in serial recall: effects of intraserial repetition

The authors examined the effects of intraserial repetition on multitrial serial learning of random consonant lists, analyzing both learning rates and perfect trial interresponse times (IRTs). Lists varied along 3 dimensions: list length, presence or absence of a repeated element, and lag between repeated elements. After achieving a forward-recall criterion on a given list, participants (N = 20) attempted backward recall. At small lags, IRTs between the repeated elements were very short (compared with IRTs from identical positions in nonrepetition lists). At larger lags, the IRT to recall the second repeated item was substantially longer than in control lists. These results reveal a latency analogue of the Ranschburg pattern seen in accuracy data. A Ranschburg pattern was also found in participants' learning rates. These results both generalize the Ranschburg phenomenon and present further challenges to theories of serial order memory.     

Husserl,the active self,and commitment

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - In “On what matters: Personal identity as a phenomenological problem” (2020), Steven Crowell engages a number of contemporary interpretations...     

From children’s expressive control to emotion regulation: Looking back,looking ahead

Abstract

In 1984, Carolyn Saarni published an important cross-sectional study on the development of children’s expressive control. That paper, as with much of her early work, presaged interest in the development of emotion regulation and of the efforts to understand emotion regulation both in typical and at risk children. In this paper, we look back on Dr. Saarni’s work on expressive control and studies that used her creative disappointment task. We discuss conclusions from that work and how this germinal work on expressive control contributed to the study of the broader concept of emotion regulation. We look ahead to the next steps that carry this line of research forward contributing to the development of emotional competence and mental health.     

Professionalism: A Competency Cluster Whose Time Has Come

Despite the burgeoning literature on professionalism in other health professions, psychology lags behind in the level of attention given to this core competency. In this article, we review definitions from other health professions and how they address professionalism. Next, we review how this competency evolved within health service psychology (HSP), and we propose a definition. We offer an approach for assessing professionalism within HSP. Consideration is given to strategies and methods for providing effective education and training in this multifaceted competency. Finally, recommendations are made for creating a culture of professionalism within HSP and honoring psychology’s social contract with multiple publics.     

Tool use and the distalization of the end-effector

We review recent neurophysiological data from macaques and humans suggesting that the use of tools extends the internal representation of the actor’s hand, and relate it to our modeling of the visual control of grasping. We introduce the idea that, in addition to extending the body schema to incorporate the tool, tool use involves distalization of the end-effector from hand to tool. Different tools extend the body schema in different ways, with a displaced visual target and a novel, task-specific processing of haptic feedback to the hand. This distalization is critical in order to exploit the unique functional capacities engendered by complex tools.

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