Perceived depth vs. structural relevance in the object-superiority effect

When subjects must identify a barely visible line in a briefly flashed display, their accuracy depends on the configuration of the context in which the target line appears. Weisstein and Harris (1974) found that accuracy is highest when the target is part of a pattern that resembles a unified, three-dimensional object, and lowest in a flat-looking pattern composed of disconnected lines; they labeled this phenomenon the object-superiority effect. In the three experiments reported here, identification accuracy was found to correlate highly and significantly (r =.78) with the judged depth of the patterns. Judged structural relevance of the target line to the pattern (McClelland & Miller, 1979) was uncorrelated with accuracy (r=?.28). Even when the target line appeared as an isolated fragment within the context pattern, a pattern perceived as three-dimensional yielded higher identification accuracy than one perceived as flat.     

SUPPRESSION OF SELF-STIMULATION: THREE ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES

Four boys with autistic-like behavior were treated for self-stimulatory behavior with three different treatment procedures—time-out, differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), and overcorrection. All four boys showed a rapid response to the overcorrection procedure. Three boys demonstrated some evidence of decrement in responding with time-out. During the DRO procedure, one showed a modest decrease, two showed no change, but one exhibited a consistent increase in responding under this condition. A multiple baseline applied to one of the subjects failed to reveal any generalization of suppression from one setting to another. A strong but not perfect relationship was found between a frequency and a duration measure of self-stimulation. There was some evidence of negative side effects for one boy during overcorrection and for another during time-out. None of these negative side effects was enduring. There was also some indirect evidence that overcorrection facilitated appropriate play.     

Memory for metaphors

Three experiments examined memory for metaphorical sentences. No differences between metaphors and nonmetaphorical equivalents (e.g.,The ivy cuddled up to the window vs.The ivy grew up to the window) in the number of correct recalls or recognitions were found. There was, however, a significant trend for recall errors that were meaning-preseving to be less metaphorical than the input sentence. The results supported hypotheses that metaphors and nonmetaphors are equally easy to remember and that the stored memory representation does not distinguish whether its antecedent linguistic input was metaphorical or not.This research was supported by Grant MH 28493-01 from NIMH and by a grant from the Kansas State University Bureau of General Research.Some of the data were reported at the Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Denver, November 1975.     

The desirability of control

The psychological construct of desirability of control was related to several theoretical statements (e.g., Kelley, 1971; White, 1959) and areas of current research (e.g., Glass & Singer, 1972; Deci, 1975) in psychology. A scale designed to measure individual differences in the general level of motivation to control the events in one's life was presented. The Desirability of Control Scale was found to have substantial internal consistency (.80) and test-retest reliability (.75), as well as discriminant validity from measures of locus of control (Rotter, 1966) and social desirability (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). The results of an illusion of control study (cf. Langer, 1975) provided construct validation: only subjects high in the desire for control displayed a belief in personal control over chance outcomes. Construct validation was also provided from studies on learned helplessness and hypnosis. The practical, as well as theoretical, value of the instrument was discussed.This research was facilitated by National Science Foundation grant BNS78-08834 to Harris Cooper.     

Dichoptic induction of movement aftereffects contingent on color and on orientation

Some comparative experiments on the dichoptic induction of the movement aftereffect (MAE) contingent on color and the MAE contingent on orientation are reported. Colorcontingent movement aftereffects could be evoked only when the eye which had viewed color during adaptation also viewed color during test sessions. When the apparent color of the test field was changed by binocular color rivalry, contingent movement aftereffects (CMAEs) appropriate to the suppressed color were reported. After dichoptic induction of the orientation-contingent MAE, aftereffects could be obtained whether the eliciting gratings and stationary test fields were presented together to either eye alone or were dichoptically viewed.     

SELF-STIMULATION AND LEARNING IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN: PHYSICAL OR FUNCTIONAL INCOMPATIBILITY?1

This study investigated whether an observed inverse relationship between self-stimulation and learning in autistic children is due to a physical inability of the subject to use the same body part for self-stimulation and task responding, or whether self-stimulation “distracts” the subject from task responding. Four actively self-stimulating autistic children were taught two discrimination tasks; one required a response that physically interferred with their self-stimulation; the other did not. Results were: (a) all subjects responded similarly across both tasks; (b) the three subjects with higher mental age scores learned both tasks without external suppression of self-stimulation; and (c) none of the subjects showed an inverse relationship between self-stimulation and learning. The study demonstrated that elimination of self-stimulation is not a necessary prerequisite for the acquisition of a new behavior in all autistic children.     

Classifying pictures and words: Implications for the dual-coding hypothesis

In deciding that two items come from the same category, subjects were delayed if the items were presented as a word and a picture, as compared with two words or two pictures. Subjects were not delayed if the items were not to be compared. Hence, the delay appears to occur during the retrieval and comparison of know ledge about the items, not during their perceptual analysis. The results suggest that there are two distinct codes involved in the categorization of words and pictures, rather than a single code.     

Handling negative inputs: On the plausible equity formulae

Equity research has been based on defining formulae that do not necessarily imply the hypotheses thought to have been derived from them and that are not consistent with empirical data cited as supporting equity theory. Neither Adams' (1965) ratio definition nor Walster et al.'s (1970, 1972, 1973) formula satisfy the fundamental criterion that, when equity holds, outcome should be an increasing function of input. Six formulae that do satisfy this fundamental criterion (including Adams' ratio definition restricted to positive ratios, Walster et al.'s revision of their formula, three formulae generated by a simple constructive procedure, and an exponential definition) are compared with respect to 11 other criteria and with respect to their predictions of the results of two thought experiments.     

Referrals to school psychologists: A national survey

School psychologists serving a national, systematic sample of public elementary and secondary schools were surveyed regarding recent referrals. Most referrals were initiated by school staff members (75% of referrals), and the majority occured initially through formal mechanisms (55% of referrals). Most informal requests for assistance or information eventually became, or were thought likely to become, formal referrals. In 92% of cases, the referral agent's initial communication with the psychologist included some designation of what the pupil was doing or not doing that was viewed as problematic. Poor academic performance was of primary concern in 52% of referrals and social/emotional problems in 31%. More boys were referred than girls, and one-half of referrals from the elementary grades involved pupils in grades K-2. Frequency of referral and reason for referral were not independent of pupil's grade or sex. Reason for referral was independent of time of year (October vs. May) and geographical region.