The perception of biological motion across apertures

To understand the visual analysis of biological motion, subjects viewed dynamic, stick figure renditions of a walker, car, or scissors through apertures. As a result of the aperture problem, the motion of each visible edge was ambiguous. Subjects readily identified the human figure but were unable to identify the car or scissors through invisible apertures. Recognition was orientation specific and robust across a range of stimulus durations, and it benefited from limb orientation cues. The results support the theory that the visual system performs spatially global analyses to interpret biological motion displays.     

Variance estimation in factor analysis: An application of the bootstrap

Sampling variability of the estimates of factor loadings is neglected in modern factor analysis. Such investigations are generally normal theory based and asymptotic in nature. The bootstrap, a computer-based methodology, is described and then applied to demonstrate how the sampling variability of the estimates of factor loadings can be estimated for a given set of data. The issue of the number of factors to be retained in a factor model is also addressed. The bootstrap is shown to be an effective data-analytic tool for computing various statistics of interest which are otherwise intractable.     

Response to Pashler et al. (2016)

Pashler, Rohrer, Abramson, Wolfson, and Harris (2016/this issue) in their critique of Chatterjee, Rose, and Sinha (2013 Chatterjee, P., Rose, R., &; Sinha, J. (2013). Why money meanings matter in decisions to donate time and money. Marketing Letters, 24, 109–118. doi:10.1007/s11002-012-9215-0[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) data argue that (a) large effect sizes in Study 1 and Study 2 undermine the credibility of the data; (b) in a lexical task that is part of Study 3, a concentration of participants in (5,0) and (0,5) benefit/cost word data points and the similarity of 9 neutral word responses at these points are extremely unlikely; and (c) there are apparent errors in the execution of Study 3. In this response, I examine these issues in detail. A recent review of money prime literature (Vohs, 2015 Vohs, K. (2015). Money priming can change people’s thoughts, feelings, motivations, and behaviors: An update on 10 years of experiments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(4), e86–e93. doi:10.1037/xge0000091[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) notes many effect sizes that are as big as or bigger than ours. Although 8 coding errors were discovered in Study 3 data and this particular study has been retracted from that article, as I show in this article, the arguments being put forth by the critics are untenable. For instance, my analysis shows that results hold even without the concentration of (5,0) and (0,5) participants, and I offer statistical simulations to counter critics’ arguments. Regarding the apparent errors in Study 3, I find that removing the target word stems SUPP and CE do not influence findings in any way. I also report findings from MacDonnell and White (2015 MacDonnell, R., &; White, K. (2015). How construals of money versus time impact consumer charitable giving. Journal of Consumer Research, 42, 551–563. doi:10.1093/jcr/ucv042[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), who replicate the basic finding of Chatterjee et al. in a different context.     

Development of Bengali Audio–Visual Test Battery for Assessment of Pragmatic Skills: Preliminary Normative Data Based on Educational Level

Pragmatic competence may be disrupted due to psychological and neurological causes. For appropriate remedy and rehabilitation, a precise assessment of pragmatic skills is important. However, there is no test battery in the Bengali language, and consequently, there is no published data on pragmatic ability of Bengali speakers. Due to the vast diversity of the population, it becomes increasingly difficult to assess pragmatic ability of an individual without a proper knowledge of the normal variations. To address this problem we have developed a test battery in Bengali, and to begin with, we have administered it to one hundred and five (105) normal healthy persons having different levels of education. The four groups having 17 years and above, 15 to < 17 years, 12 to < 15 years and 10 to < 12 years of education yielded a normative score of 193, 189, 171 and 150, respectively. These normative scores will allow clinicians to make a proper assessment of patients suffering from pragmatic deficits and help avoid interpreting social differences as neurological deficits.     

Influence of motivated reasoning on saving and spending decisions

The decision to save enhances well-being in the long-term but it conflicts with the desire to spend money to gain immediate gratification. In this research, we examine the influence of having single versus multiple accounts on individuals’ savings and spending decisions. We find that individuals save more with a single account than with multiple liquid accounts. Utilizing work on motivated reasoning and fuzzy-trace theory, we suggest that multiple accounts engender fuzzy gist representations, making it easier for people to generate justifications to support their desired spending decisions. However, a single account reduces the latitude for distortion and hinders generation of justifications to support desirable spending decisions. Across four studies that provide participants with the opportunity to earn, spend, and save money, we demonstrate the proposed effect and test the underlying process.     

Sex role attitudes of self and those inferred of peers,performance, and career opportunities as reported by women in nontraditional vs. traditional training programs

Compared to 135 women in traditional training programs (health care — nursing assistantship), the 151 women in nontraditional training programs (trades and technology — welding, drafting, electronics engineering technology, air conditioning technology, metal fabrication, etc.) were expected to report more egalitarian sex role attitudes and to perceive their peers in the program as more egalitarian also. They were expected to demonstrate greater academic success than traditional women in these nontraditional programs. Overall support was found with the exception that nontraditional women in the nontraditional program expected more difficulties than the traditional women outside than program. These findings were interpreted as reflecting person by environment fit and the consensual validation of sex role attitudes made possible by perceived similar-minded peers. The greater difficulties foreseen by women in the nontraditional program suggested systemic discrimination in the work force outweighed person by environment fit, in the women's assessment of nontraditional career opportunities.     

Simultaneous activation of reading mechanisms: evidence from a case of deep dyslexia

We report the performance of LC, a deep dyslexic. We investigated extensively her errors according to serial cognitive neuropsychological models of oral reading. Initial evaluation of her reading suggested impaired access to the phonological output lexicon (POL). Impaired grapheme-to-phoneme conversion (GPC) and semantic errors in reading suggested that LC read via an impoverished semantic route. However, a serial model of oral reading could not explain error differences in reading, picture naming, spontaneous speech, and repetition. Neologisms occurred in oral reading but not in spontaneous speech and repetition. Semantic errors in naming exceeded those in oral reading. To account for these different error patterns we propose that the semantic route, the direct route from the orthographic input lexicon to the POL, and GPC activate simultaneously during reading, converging at the POL to constrain phonological selection. These routes are modular but not functionally encapsulated. For LC, the POL receives ambiguous information due to degradation of all routes, causing reading errors.