The effects of delayed and displaced visual feedback on motor control

Developments in television technology have made possible new approaches to the study of the role of visual feedback in motor control. In two experiments using a special videodisc recording and playback system, the effects of delaying for 66 msec a subject's view of his own hand during a target-directed movement was investigated. The observed effects of such visually delayed feedback compared to spatially distorted feedback produced by prisms led to three major conclusions: (a) despite the behavioral similarity (overshooting) induced by the two kinds of altered feedback, the role of each in the visual-motor control loop is different; (b) adaptation to and the after effect of the two kinds of altered feedback are based on different control mechanisms (c) the processing and use of visual information in hand control requires less time than previous experiments have indicated.     

An investigation of the arousal model of interpersonal intimacy

In a study designed to test Patterson's arousal model of nonverbal intimacy, the heartrate, gaze, smiles, body orientation, and body lean of each of 40 female subjects who interacted with an accomplice were measured. Within a factorial design, subjects were induced to view more or less favorably the accomplice, who subsequently increased or maintained the same level of nonverbal immediacy as she did in an earlier session. It was hypothesized that (1) an increase in the accomplice's immediacy would effect an increase in subjects' arousal (heartrate) which, in turn, (2) would lead to either reciprocal or compensatory nonverbal adjustments by subjects, depending on whether they viewed the accomplice more or less favorably, respectively. The results supported the first but not the second hypothesis. However, interpretation of the results suggests, nevertheless, that they may be consistent with the arousal model.     

Test for effects of visual and position cues on T-maze learning in toads

This research was concerned with the effects of different classes of cues on the ability of toads (Bufo marinus) to learn an escape task, discrimination learning, in a T-maze. The cues were either a black or white brightness cue, a right or left position cue, or combinations of brightness and position cues. The toads were given a .6-A shock until they made the correct response. Results suggested that toads are capable of learning a discrimination task based on either a position or brightness cue. However, the rate of learning was influenced by strong aversion to the white arm when escaping from an aversive stimulus. No particular preference for either brightness or position cues was found independent of this aversion.     

Fluid and crystallized intelligence: effects of diffuse brain damage on the WAIS

In the 1940's two forms of intelligence, fluid and crystallized, were postulated. Active mental processing (WAIS performance subtests) were fluid while well learned abilities (WAIS verbal subtests) were crystallized. Brain damage was considered to affect fluid abilities more than crystallized. WAIS scores comparing normal and diffusely organically damaged subjects indicated that, as hypothesized, the verbal subtests were more affected than the performance subtests.     

VARIABILITY IN COMMON DIMENSIONS OF MANAGERIAL VALUES DUE TO VALUE ORIENTATION AND COUNTRY DIFFERENCES1

This study identifies twelve common dimensions of values of managers in five countries, describes the content of the value dimensions identified, and locates the differences in these value dimensions due to value orientation and country effects and their interaction. Value orientation and country differences account for a substantial portion of the variance in six of the dimensions. The results extend studies of managers' values to underlying dimensions and provide directions for future research on the correlates of value dimensions.     

Implications for phonetic symbolism: The relationship between pure tones and geometric figures

In studies of phonetic symbolism, the most commonly cited attribute of speech relevant to the phenomenon has been frequency. The present study was conducted in order to examine the relationship between pure tone frequencies and geometric figures. A pure tone oscillator was constructed which produced tones in a continuous sweep from 40–12,250 Hz. Six geometric shapes were employed and varied along three binary dimensions (size, complexity, and density) producing a total of 48 stimulus figures. Twelve male and twelve female subjects adjusted pure tone frequencies until they best fit the visually presented geometric figure in a complete within-subject, block-randomization design of 48 trials. There was consistency in the assignment of pure tone frequencies to the dimensions of the geometric figures. Round figures (circles and ellipses) generally received lower frequency assignments than other figures, and the shape by size interaction was also found to be statistically significant. The results are interpreted in light of recent research in psycholinguistics and in particular to the hypothesis of a universal phonetic symbolism.This research was a portion of a Master's thesis submitted to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, by Michael W. O'Boyle, who is now at the University of Southern California.