Serial dependence in the estimation of a car's arrival time

Serial dependence of a car's arrival time. We have studied the sequential structure of data in the arrival- time estimations. Forty participants estimated the arrival-time of a vehicle under two experimental conditions: real car and video-image. Various time series regression models were fit to our data, and residuals autocorrelations were computed. For each serial-dependence model, data were fit to three functions, namely, power, logarithmic, and linear. In both experimental conditions, the response magnitude (R) on a given trial in t was a function of the stimulus intensity (S) in such a trial (t) and of the S and R on t-1 and t-2. Assimilation effect to the previous responses and contrast effect to the previous stimuli has been found.     

Comparing speed estimations from a moving vehicle in different traffic scenarios: absence versus presence of traffic flow

The aim of this research was to study the performance in a speed estimation task of a passenger travelling in a real car in different scenarios: a closed track used in previous experimental studies was compared with interurban traffic environment involving a secondary road and a highway. At the same time, the effect of sex and driving experience on speed estimation was analyzed. Thirty-six participants (18 male and 18 female, half of each group being drivers and half non-drivers) estimated the speed of the car in which they travelled as passengers. The actual speed values varied in the range of 40-100 km/h for the secondary road, 70-120 km/h for the highway condition, and 40-120 km/h for the track. The results obtained for the track in previous studies (Recarte and Nunes, 1996; Recarte, Conchillo, and Nunes, 2004, 2005) were replicated in the same condition and were also verified for the secondary road scenario. However, a different pattern of errors was found for the highway. From the viewpoint of psychophysics, the participants were more accurate on the without-traffic track than in real traffic conditions, considered as a whole. The differences found between road and highway are discussed. No effect was found for between- subject variables, sex, and driving experience.     

Social Network Characteristics,Social Support,and Cigarette Smoking among Asian/Pacific Islander Young Adults

Cigarette smoking may be one of the factors contributing to the high levels of cancer‐related mortality experienced by certain Asian/Pacific Islander (A/PI) subgroups (e.g., Native Hawaiian). Given the collectivist cultural orientation attributed to A/PI groups, social strategies are recommended for substance abuse or smoking cessation treatment among A/PI. However, research examining how social network characteristics and social support relate to smoking across A/PI subgroups has been lacking. This study investigated the associations between social network characteristics (e.g., size, composition), perceived social support, and recent cigarette use across Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and East Asian (e.g., Japanese, Chinese) young adults (18–35 year old). Cross‐sectional, self‐report data were collected from N = 435 participants (M age = 25.6, SD = 8.3; 61% women). Ethnic differences were found in a number of pathways linking social network characteristics, perceived social support, and cigarette smoking. Larger network size was strongly associated with higher perceived social support and lower recent cigarette smoking among Native Hawaiians but not Filipinos or East Asians. Higher perceived social support was associated with lower recent smoking among East Asians and Filipinos but not Native Hawaiians. Implications are discussed with regard to smoking prevention and cessation among A/PI.