Computer program for standardization of curriculum-based probes

This computer program will compute standard scores with any desired mean and standard deviation. The program requires the user to enter the raw scores of each member of the sample to be standardized. The program accepts input from the computer keyboard, stores data in files on a floppy disk, and produces output on the printer.     

Spatial memory averaging, the landmark attraction effect, and representational gravity

The effect of a large stationary landmark on memory for the location of a stationary target was examined. Memory for a stationary target was displaced toward the landmark, and targets that were larger, further from, or above the landmark exhibited greater magnitudes of displacement. Displacement was generally larger when the landmark vanished prior to judgment than when the landmark was visible during judgment. Memory for stationary targets offset from the major vertical or horizontal cardinal axis of the landmark was also displaced toward that cardinal axis. The data support the hypotheses that spatial memory averaging of the locations of a target and landmark occurs, and that this averaging may be combined with representational gravity in determining the remembered position of a stationary target. Received: 17 May 1999 / Accepted: 8 February 2000     

A low-cost, accurate method of producing large quantities of digitally filtered images

We demonstrate how to produce complex image transformations of bitmap files for vision experiments using the Cogimatic Vision Starter Kit (VSK) library of mathematical routines along with Visual Basic, C++, or the Delphi Pascal compiler. Implementing this system on an IBM-compatible PC running Windows 95, 98, or NT4 enables researchers to quickly and economically manipulate images for vision research. The VSK includes a simple stand-alone image-processing application. In addition, VSK has the ability to automate image transformations and to fully integrate image processing into new experimental software on the PC platform.     

Do you see what I see? Co-actor posture modulates visual processing in joint tasks

ABSTRACT

Interacting with other people is a ubiquitous part of daily life. A complex set of processes enable our successful interactions with others. The present research was conducted to investigate how the processing of visual stimuli may be affected by the presence and the hand posture of a co-actor. Experiments conducted with participants acting alone have revealed that the distance from the stimulus to the hand of a participant can alter visual processing. In the main experiment of the present paper, we asked whether this posture-related source of visual bias persists when participants share the task with another person. The effect of personal and co-actor hand-proximity on visual processing was assessed through object-specific benefits to visual recognition in a task performed by two co-actors. Pairs of participants completed a joint visual recognition task and, across different blocks of trials, the position of their own hands and of their partner's hands varied relative to the stimuli. In contrast to control studies conducted with participants acting alone, an object-specific recognition benefit was found across all hand location conditions. These data suggest that visual processing is, in some cases, sensitive to the posture of a co-actor.