Using spatial frequency adaptation to study word recognition

The study of spatial frequency is being used increasingly often to investigate processes underlying visual word recognition. However, research in this area has adopted techniques that require the physical deformation of word targets used in experiments (e.g., filtered images of words, words embedded in visual noise), and this approach may limit the inferences that can be made about the role of spatial frequencies in normal word recognition. Spatial frequency adaptation is described in this article as an additional technique for studying the role of spatial frequency information in word recognition. The advantage of this technique is that it alters participants' sensitivity to particular spatial frequencies and so allows the study of spatial frequency involvement in word recognition using normal images of word stimuli. The application of the adaptation technique to studies of word recognition is explained in detail and its potential is then demonstrated by an example word recognition experiment in which spatial frequency adaptation was used.     

Mercy as a Public Virtue

James F. Keenan defines mercy as “the willingness to enter the chaos of another.” Mercy thus defined, he argues, is the distinctive characteristic of Christian morality. This essay asserts that mercy is, in fact, a public virtue, one that can be affirmed across a broad range of religious and moral traditions. As a public virtue, mercy ought to shape both affective and effective responses to the Syrian refugee crisis in the United States.     

Changes in colour and location as cues of generative transmission in perception of causality

Observers viewed modified launching effect displays containing a spatial gap between the final location of the launcher (a black square) and the initial location of the target (a black outline square with a white interior). In some conditions, a set of stationary objects (black outline squares with white interiors) filled the spatial gap, and these objects began changing colour upon contact from the launcher. The colour changes could involve all gap objects turning black, the first gap object turning dark grey and subsequent gap objects turning successively lighter grey, or first gap object turning light grey and subsequent gap objects turning successively darker grey. The colour changes could move from the launcher to the target or from the target to the launcher. The gap objects could also remain unchanged. Participants rated whether the launcher caused subsequent motion of the target and how much force the launcher imparted to the target. The sequence of colour changes, and the sequence of locations in which colour changes occurred, influenced ratings; sequences of colour changes consistent with the idea that influence of the launcher was transmitted across gap objects to the target resulted in higher ratings. Implications for visual perception of causality are discussed.     

Questions of condom use in the Muslim and Catholic response to HIV and AIDS in Nairobi,Kenya

Religious leaders in Roman Catholic and Sunni Muslim communities in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi are charged with responding in an official capacity to the pressing concerns facing their respective communities both theologically and practically. However, speaking about sexuality from a religious perspective particularly on the use of condoms in AIDS prevention has been rather troublesome topic many leaders and clergy find problematic discussing openly. This paper offers a comparative analysis of Muslim and Catholic views on sexuality by establishing the parameters within which to consider the presence and activity of Catholic and Muslim leaders in Kenya and the holistic, grassroots approach in responding to the AIDS epidemic in Nairobi regarding condom use.     

Rodent ultrasonic vocalizations as biomarkers of future alcohol use: A predictive analytic approach

Excessive alcohol consumption has a vast, negative impact on society. Rodent models have been successful in furthering our understanding of the biological underpinnings that drive alcohol consumption. Rodents emit ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) that are each composed of several acoustic characteristics (e.g., frequency, duration, bandwidth, power). USVs reflect neurotransmitter activity in the ascending limb of the mesolimbic dopaminergic and cholinergic neurotransmitter systems and serve as noninvasive, real-time biomarkers of dopaminergic and cholinergic neurotransmission in the limbic system. In the present study, we recorded spontaneously emitted USVs from alcohol-naïve Long-Evans (LE) rats and then measured their alcohol intake. We compared the USV acoustic characteristics and alcohol consumption data from these LE rats with previously published data from selectively bred high-alcohol (P and HAD-1) and low-alcohol (NP and LAD-1) drinking lines from studies with the same experimental method. Predictive analytic techniques were applied simultaneously to this combined data set and revealed that (a) USVs emitted by alcohol-naïve rats accurately discriminated among high-alcohol consuming, LE, and low-alcohol consuming rat lines, and (b) future alcohol consumption in these same rat lines was reliably predicted from the USV data collected in an alcohol-naïve state. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that alcohol consumption is predicted directly from USV profiles of alcohol-naïve rats. Because USV acoustic characteristics are sensitive to underlying neural activity, these findings suggest that baseline differences in mesolimbic cholinergic and dopaminergic tone could determine the propensity for future alcohol consumption in rodents.     

An evaluation of a visual–visual successive matching‐to‐sample procedure to establish equivalence classes in adults

Traditionally, behavior analysts have studied stimulus equivalence using a matching‐to‐sample (MTS) preparation. Although researchers have shown the utility of MTS to yield equivalence classes, the procedure requires several prerequisite skills for a learner to accurately respond. Previous research with humans and nonhumans has shown that relational responding can be produced via compound stimulus discrimination and successive matching‐to‐sample (S‐MTS). We conducted four experiments with college students to further evaluate the effectiveness of S‐MTS in the establishment of stimulus relations. S‐MTS trials consisted of the presentation of a single sample stimulus followed by one comparison in a fixed location on a computer screen. Depending upon the sample–comparison relation, participants touched (i.e., go) or did not touch (i.e., no‐go) the comparison stimulus. Following training of the baseline relations (AB/BC), we assessed the emergence of symmetry, transitivity, and equivalence performances (i.e., BA/CB and AC/CA). Results support the utility of the S‐MTS procedure as a possible alternative to traditional MTS. This study has direct implications for participants for whom traditional three‐array MTS procedures may be challenging.     

BETWEEN KNOWING AND BEING: REFLECTIONS ON BEING TAUGHT SCIENCE AND RELIGION BY PROFESSOR CHRISTOPHER SOUTHGATE

It is a joy to be asked to contribute to this commemorative edition of Zygon, in honor of my friend Christopher Southgate. But a narrowly academic article seems not to fit the brief of writing a reflection on Southgate's teaching of science and religion, as one who has witnessed it, gladly, as both student and colleague. What follows, then, is deliberately reflective in tone, with little in the way of academic references apart from occasional links to Southgate's own work—though, I hope, enough of a strand of argument to justify inclusion in these pages. My argument is simply put: Southgate teaches by not teaching, but by drawing out knowledge from students and thereby empowering their growth. He is an exemplar, a kind man committed to the unfolding of understanding, interested too in forming dispositions in his students that will lead to their flourishing as thinkers and as people.     

Collaboration facilitates abstract category learning

We examined the effects of collaboration (dyads vs. individuals) and category structure (coherent vs. incoherent) on learning and transfer. Working in dyads or individually, participants classified examples from either an abstract coherent category, the features of which are not fixed but relate in a meaningful way, or an incoherent category, the features of which do not relate meaningfully. All participants were then tested individually. We hypothesized that dyads would benefit more from classifying the coherent category structure because past work has shown that collaboration is more beneficial for tasks that build on shared prior knowledge and provide opportunities for explanation and abstraction. Results showed that dyads improved more than individuals during the classification task regardless of category coherence, but learning in a dyad improved inference-test performance only for participants who learned coherent categories. Although participants in the coherent categories performed better on a transfer test, there was no effect of collaboration.     

Peer Assessment of Aviation Performance: Inconsistent for Good Reasons

Research into expertise is relatively common in cognitive science concerning expertise existing across many domains. However, much less research has examined how experts within the same domain assess the performance of their peer experts. We report the results of a modified think‐aloud study conducted with 18 pilots (6 first officers, 6 captains, and 6 flight examiners). Pairs of same‐ranked pilots were asked to rate the performance of a captain flying in a critical pre‐recorded simulator scenario. Findings reveal (a) considerable variance within performance categories, (b) differences in the process used as evidence in support of a performance rating, (c) different numbers and types of facts (cues) identified, and (d) differences in how specific performance events affect choice of performance category and gravity of performance assessment. Such variance is consistent with low inter‐rater reliability. Because raters exhibited good, albeit imprecise, reasons and facts, a fuzzy mathematical model of performance rating was developed. The model provides good agreement with observed variations.