The effects of temporal synchrony on the perceived organization of elements in spatially symmetric and asymmetric grids

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of fast temporally segmented presentations of alternate rows or columns on the perception of grids of either symmetrically or asymmetrically spaced dot-like stimuli. Experiments 1a and 1b demonstrated that observers were able to discriminate between temporally segmented presentations of rows/columns stimuli, but showed a reduced performance in discrimination between non-temporally segmented stimuli and temporally segmented stimuli that were spatially unstructured. Experiment 2 confirmed the influence of temporally segmented presentations of rows and columns using elements whose mean luminance summed to the same as the display background. Experiment 3 demonstrated that the influence of temporal cues reduced when display elements were asymmetrically spaced. The results are discussed in terms of the influence of external spatio-temporal factors on the neural mechanisms of visual grouping.     

Children's perception of the Thatcher illusion: Evidence for development in configural face processing

The present study reports the ability of young children to detect the Thatcher illusion. Participants were asked to detect the “unusual” face in a two-alternative forced-choice version of the Thatcher illusion with greyscale (Experiment 1) and monochrome “Mooney” face images (Experiment 2). The results of Experiment 1 showed that all groups of children could see the Thatcher illusion. When processing demands were increased (Experiment 2) sensitivity to the Thatcher task increased with age and was absent for 6-year-olds. The results are discussed in terms of differential task demands determining whether evidence for or against the development of configural face processing is found.     

On boxing: Notes on the past,present and future of a sport in transition

Boxing is a sport in transition and has been under increasing attack for about 30 years. This article examines the current status of boxing, questions the basis for criticism of the sport and draws parallels between boxing and nineteenth century prize fighting (bare-knuckle boxing). Finally, it speculates briefly about the future of the sport in light of attempts to enact legislation that would ban boxing. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 8th Annual Meeting of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, Edmonton, Canada, November 4–7, 1987.     

The influence of anxiety on processing capacity for threat detection

In the present study, we explored the proposition that an individual’s capacity for threat detection is related to his or her trait anxiety. Using a redundant signals paradigm with concurrent measurements of reaction times and eye movements, participants indicated the presence or absence of an emotional target face (angry or happy) in displays containing no targets, one target, or two targets. We used estimates of the orderings on the hazard functions of the RT distributions as measures of processing capacity (Townsend & Ashby, 1978; Wenger & Gibson, Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance, 30,708–719, 2004) to assess whether self-reported anxiety and the affective state of the face interacted with the level of perceptual load (i.e., the number of targets). Results indicated that anxiety was associated with fewer eye movements and increased processing capacity to detect multiple (vs. single) threatening faces. The data are consistent with anxiety influencing threat detection via a broadly tuned attentional mechanism (Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, Emotion, 7,336–353, 2007).     

Neuropsychological impairment in veterans who are HIV-positive

The purpose of this study was to compare the neuropsychological functioning of 12 veterans who were HIV-positive to 21 age-matched veterans who were HIV-negative. Consistent with expectations, the HIV-positive group was found to perform more poorly in areas related to attention and concentration, immediate and delayed verbal recall, immediate and delayed visual recall, visual learning, and tasks requiring psychomotor speed, while a number of language tasks were left intact. This was similar to dysfunction often seen in HIV-related dementia cases. However, this group was also significantly more impaired in confrontation naming, planning, mental calculations, and abstract thought when compared to the HIV-negative group. Comorbid substance abuse found in the majority of our HIV-positive subjects was thought to contribute to the HIV-related dysfunction.     

The Importance of Affective Beliefs and Attitudes in the Theory of Planned Behavior: Predicting Intention to Increase Physical Activity1

Standard theory of planned behavior (TPB) questions to elicit salient behavioral beliefs may elicit instrumental consequences of behavior, and overlook affective consequences. Two hundred thirteen English adults (35 to 75 years of age) completed a questionnaire that contained closed measures of TPB constructs, and open‐ended questions that asked not only about advantages and disadvantages, but also what respondents would like or enjoy and dislike or hate about being more physically active. Beliefs elicited by affective questions were associated more strongly with a closed affective attitude scale. Beliefs elicited by instrumental questions were associated more strongly with a closed instrumental attitude scale. Closed measures of the standard TPB variables explained 48% of the variance in intention to increase physical activity, while affective attitude explained an additional 11% of the variance. Applications of the TPB should consider affective and not just instrumental determinants of behavior.     

The role of stranger harassment experiences in college women's perceived possibility of gender crimes happening to them

The present study examined the relation between stranger harassment experiences and college women's perceived possibility of gender and nongender crimes happening to them. Undergraduate women attending a British university completed self‐report measures of stranger harassment and self‐objectification (i.e., self‐surveillance and body shame), and then evaluated four vignettes of various crimes on the severity of the crime and the likelihood of the crime happening to them. Results indicated that stranger harassment is a common experience for these British university women. Serial mediation analyses revealed a direct effect of stranger harassment on perceived likelihood of rape and perceived likelihood of intimate partner violence, and an indirect effect of stranger harassment on rape through self‐surveillance, whereas stranger harassment and indices of self‐objectification were unrelated to perceived likelihood of human trafficking and burglary. Discussion is centered on the role of objectifying experiences in perceptions of gender crimes where sexual and physical harm to women's bodies is emphasized, and the potential impact for those women on the receiving end of unwanted sexual objectification.