Inverting the joint Simon effect by intention

The joint Simon effect (JSE) is a spatial-compatibility effect that emerges when two people complete complementary components of a Simon task. In typical JSE studies, two participants sit beside each other and perform go-no-go tasks in which they respond to one of two stimuli by pressing a button. According to the action co-representation account, JSEs emerge because each participant represents their partner's response in addition to their own, causing the same conflicts in processing that would occur if an individual responded to both stimuli (i.e., as in a two-choice task). Because the response buttons are typically in front of participants, however, an alternative explanation is that JSEs are the result of a dimensional overlap between target and response locations coded with respect to another salient object (e.g., the co-actor's effector). To contrast these hypotheses, the participants in the present study completed two-choice and joint Simon tasks in which they were asked to focus on generating an aftereffect in the space contralateral to their response. Hommel (Psychological Research 55:270-279, 1993) previously reported that, when participants completed a two-choice task under such effect-focused instructions, spatial-compatibility effects emerged that were based on the aftereffect location instead of the response location. Consistent with the co-representation account, the results of the present study were that an inverse aftereffect-based (i.e., not a response-location-based) compatibility effect was observed in both the two-choice and joint tasks. The overall pattern of results does not fit with the spatial-coding account and is discussed in the context of the extant JSE literature.     

Perirhinal cortex resolves feature ambiguity in configural object recognition and perceptual oddity tasks

The perirhinal cortex (PRh) has a well-established role in object recognition memory. More recent studies suggest that PRh is also important for two-choice visual discrimination tasks. Specifically, it has been suggested that PRh contains conjunctive representations that help resolve feature ambiguity, which occurs when a task cannot easily be solved on the basis of features alone. However, no study has examined whether the ability of PRh to resolve configural feature ambiguity is related to its role in object recognition. Therefore, we examined whether bilateral excitotoxic lesions of PRh or PPRh (perirhinal plus post-rhinal cortices) in the rat would cause deficits in a configural spontaneous object recognition task, and a configural simultaneous oddity discrimination task, in which the task could not be solved on the basis of features, but could only be solved using conjunctive representations. As predicted by simulations using a computational model, rats with PPRh lesions were impaired during a minimal-delay configural object recognition task. These same rats were impaired during a zero-delay configural object recognition task. Furthermore, rats with localized PRh lesions were impaired in a configural simultaneous oddity discrimination task. These findings support the idea that PRh contains conjunctive representations for the resolution of feature ambiguity and that these representations underlie a dual role for PRh in memory and perception.     

Shaping academic task engagement with percentile schedules

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of percentile schedules as a method of quantifying the shaping procedure in an educational setting. We compared duration of task engagement during baseline measurements for 4 students to duration of task engagement during a percentile schedule. As a secondary purpose, we examined the influence on shaping of manipulations of the number of observations used to determine the criterion for reinforcement (the m parameter of the percentile formula). Results showed that the percentile formula was most effective when a relatively large m value (20 observations) was used.     

Replications and extensions in arousal assessment for sex offenders with developmental disabilities

Three adult male sex offenders with developmental disabilities participated in phallometric assessments that involved repeated measures of arousal when exposed to various stimuli. Arousal assessment outcomes were similar to those obtained by Reyes et al. (2006). Additional data-analysis methods provided further information about sexual preferences, thus replicating and extending previous research. The results provide preliminary data for establishing a preference gradient by age. Implications for the use of repeated measures and preference gradients in arousal assessments are discussed.     

Contextual Interference in Movements of the Same Class: Differential Effects on Program and Parameter Learning

Contextual interference effects in motor learning usually were not found when the tasks to be learned presumably required the same generalized motor program (GMP) and differed only with regard to the movement parameters (see Lee, Wulf, & Schmidt, 1992; Magill & Hall, 1990). Thus, tasks requiring different motor programs (e.g., different relative timings) seemed to be a prerequisite for random practice to be more effective than blocked practice. However, the previous studies (that did not find random/blocked differences) used global error measures that confounded errors in relative timing and errors in absolute timing. In the present study, subjects practiced three movement patterns that had the same relative timing (requiring the same GMP) but different overall durations (requiring different parameters). Errors in relative timing and in absolute timing were assessed separately. The results indicate that random practice is more effective for the learning of relative timing (GMP learning) and less effective for the learning of absolute timing (parameter learning) than blocked practice. Preliminary ideas as to the reasons for this effect are discussed.     

An evaluation of textual prompts and generalized textual instruction‐following

The benefit of permanent prompts depends on the extent to which their use is generalized. Previous research has demonstrated both control by and efficacy of pictorial prompts (e.g., Phillips & Vollmer, 2012). The present studies similarly evaluated stimulus control by textual prompts. Six school aged children with intellectual disabilities were taught to complete four 5‐step instructional sets under the control of textual prompts. All 6 subjects showed some generalization to the final set. The results suggest that training served 1 of 3 purposes: (a) established control by the textual prompts or the ordinal sequence thereof, (b) addressed a reading deficit, or (c) addressed the lack of a motivating operation during baseline. Training a single task sequence may not be sufficient for acquisition of generalized textual instruction‐following. However, establishing appropriate stimulus control by the textual prompts may facilitate acquisition of a generalized repertoire.     

Consciousness and Self‐Regulation in Mobile Communication

The everyday use of mobile devices is sometimes performed in a minimally conscious manner (e.g., automaticity, habits, impulses), whereas other times it is performed in a highly conscious manner (e.g., immersion, presence, absorption). In Study 1, we surveyed individuals (n = 250) to evaluate the seemingly oppositional relationship between automatic (less conscious) and immersive (more conscious) tendencies toward texting. Despite their standard separation, confirmatory factor analyses revealed that automaticity and immersion were actually positively related independent of usage frequency. In Study 2 (n = 526), these consciousness tendencies were related to select facets of trait self‐control and mindfulness. Together, these studies underline the importance of media cognition in combination with personality factors for understanding the psychology of mobile device use.     

Central Fixations are Inadequately Controlled by Instructions Alone: Implications for Studying Cerebral Asymmetry

A fundamental concern when using visual presentations to study cerebral asymmetry is to ensure that stimuli are presented with the same degree of retinal eccentricity from a central fixation point in either visual field. However, a widely used procedure intended to control fixation location merely instructs participants to fixate appropriately without any other means of ensuring that central fixations actually occur. We assessed the validity of assuming that instructions alone ensure central fixation by using the traditional R VF advantage for words and either (a) only instructions to fixate centrally, or (b) an eye-tracking device that ensured central fixation on every trial. Experiments 1 and 2 found that when only instructions were given, the vast majority of fixations were not central, and more occurred to the right of centre than to the left. Moreover, the prevalence of non-central fixations was otherwise disguised by the finding that both fixation procedures produced similar R VF advantages in overt performance. The impact of typical non-central fixations on performance was revealed by systematically manipulating fixation location in Experiment 3, where deviations in fixation of only 0.25 from centre had a reliable impact on visual field effects. Implications of these findings for studies of cerebral asymmetry are discussed.