Assessing auditory distance perception using perceptually directed action

Three experiments investigated auditory distance perception under natural listening conditions in a large open field. Targets varied in egocentric distance from 3 to 16 m. By presenting visual targets at these same locations on other trials, we were able to compare visual and auditory distance perception under similar circumstances. In some experimental conditions, observers made verbal reports of target distance. In others, observers viewed or listened to the target and then, without further perceptual information about the target, attempted to face the target, walk directly to it, or walk along a two-segment indirect path to it. The primary results were these. First, the verbal and walking responses were largely concordant, with the walking responses exhibiting less between-observer variability. Second, different motoric responses provided consistent estimates of the perceived target locations and, therefore, of the initially perceived distances. Third, under circumstances for which visual targets were perceived more or less correctly in distance using the more precise walking response, auditory targets were generally perceived with considerable systematic error. In particular, the perceived locations of the auditory targets varied only about half as much in distance as did the physical targets; in addition, there was a tendency to underestimate target distance, except for the closest targets.     

Sensitivity to shifts of a point stimulus: An instance of tactile hyperacuity

The sensitivity of the tactile sense to shifts in the position of a point stimulus was determined at four body loci: the index finger, forehead, belly, and back. Water-jet stimulation was used, a method which allows frictionless travel of a point stimulus over the skin. Three subjects were tested by means of the method of forced choice, with the task being to say whether the stimulus moved to the right or to the left. The shift threshold was defined as that shift excursion which gave rise to 75% correct responding. The basic finding was that shift thresholds were on the order of 10 to 30 times smaller than the corresponding two-point limens obtained by Weinstein (1968) for the same body loci. These unexpectedly small shift thresholds indicate an exquisite sensitivity of the cutaneous sense to rapid changes in position of a point stimulus. A physiological model is presented which accounts for the difference between localization and spatial resolution. nt]mis|This research was supported by Department of Health~ Education, and Welfare Grant 14-P-SS282/9 from the Social and Rehabilitation Services, NIH Research Grant R01-EY-00686 from the National Eye Institute, and the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Foundation.     

Televised Models of Female Achievement Revisited: Some Progress

In a previous study which analyzed the content of a sample of 1972 primetime television programming, Manes and Melnyk (1974) concluded that television portrayed employment and marriage as incompatible life-styles for women. The present study applied the same content analysis procedures to a sample of 1978 prime-time television programming. Results indicated that female characters employed outside the home were significantly less likely to be married than were employed male characters ( p <.001), a finding which replicated the result obtained previously. In contrast to the 1972 results, however, analyses of the 1978 data revealed that employed married women were not significantly less likely than either their male counterparts or unemployed housewives to be depicted as successfully married.     

Necessity,The A Priori,And The Standard Meter

This article critically examines SaulKripke's (1972) argument for the separability ofnecessary truths from truths known a priori,focusing on his criticism of the standard meter casepresented by Wittgenstein (1968). It attempts to showthat Kripke's argument is unworkable on any of severalreadings. Wittgenstein's own broadly conventionalistaccount of necessary truth is then considered in thelight of the standard meter example.     

Counterexample to the hypothesis of functional similarity between tactile and visual pattern perception

In earlier work, the author has demonstrated that tactile pattern perception and visual pattern perception exhibit many parallels when the effective spatial resolution of vision is reduced to that of touch, thus supporting the hypothesis that the two pattern senses are functionally similar when matched in spatial bandwidth. The present experiments demonstrate a clear counter-example to this hypothesis of functional similarity. Specifically, it was found that the lateral masking effect of a surround on tactile character recognition increases when the surround changes in composition from solid lines to dots, whereas for vision, recognition performance goes in the opposite direction. This finding necessitates some modification of the model of character recognition proposed by the author (Loornis, 1990) as it applies to the sensing of raised tactile patterns. One possible modification would be to incorporate, as the initial stage of pattern transformation, the continuum mechanics model for the skin that was developed by Phillips and Johnson (1981b).     

Sensorimotor alignment effects in the learning environment and in novel environments

Four experiments investigated the conditions contributing to sensorimotor alignment effects (i.e., the advantage for spatial judgments from imagined perspectives aligned with the body). Through virtual reality technology, participants learned object locations around a room (learning room) and made spatial judgments from imagined perspectives aligned or misaligned with their actual facing direction. Sensorimotor alignment effects were found when testing occurred in the learning room but not after walking 3 m into a neighboring (novel) room. Sensorimotor alignment effects returned after returning to the learning room or after providing participants with egocentric imagery instructions in the novel room. Additionally, visual and spatial similarities between the test and learning environments were independently sufficient to cause sensorimotor alignment effects. Memory alignment effects, independent from sensorimotor alignment effects, occurred in all testing conditions. Results are interpreted in the context of two-system spatial memory theories positing separate representations to account for sensorimotor and memory alignment effects.     

The Motive for Sensory Pleasure: Enjoyment of Nature and Its Representation in Painting,Music, and Literature

ABSTRACT Eight studies assessed the motive for sensory pleasure (MSP) involving a general disposition to enjoy and pursue pleasant nature‐related experiences and avoid unpleasant nature‐related experiences. The stated enjoyment of pleasant sights, smells, sounds, and tactile sensations formed a unitary construct that was distinct from sensation seeking, novelty preference, and need for cognition. MSP was found to be related to (a) enjoyment of pleasant nature scenes and music of high but not low clarity; (b) enjoyment of writings that portrayed highly detailed nature scenes; (c) enjoyment of pleasantly themed paintings and dislike of unpleasant paintings, as distinct from findings with Openness to Experience; (d) choice of pleasant nature scenes over exciting or intellectually stimulating scenes; (e) view duration and memory of artistically rendered quilts; (f) interest in detailed information about nature scenes; and (g) frequency of sensory‐type suggestions for improvement of a museum exhibit.     

Utilizing Need for Cognition and Perceived Self‐Efficacy to Predict Academic Performance1

A study was conducted to determine whether academic performance could be predicted on the bases of the constructs need for cognition (NFC) and academic self‐efficacy. Two hypotheses were generated: Positive correlations will be found between academic self‐efficacy, NFC, and grade point average (GPA); and efficacy and NFC will serve as significant predictors of GPA. The path mediation technique recommended by Baron & Kenny (1986) for testing mediated relationships was also performed in order to assess the causal direction of the NFC and academic self‐efficacy variables. Participants were 138 undergraduate students. The first hypothesis was generally supported in that significant correlations were found between NFC, efficacy beliefs, and GPA. In support of the second hypothesis, path analysis revealed that NFC and academic self‐efficacy were significant predictors of GPA. Furthermore, the NFC‐GPA relationship was shown to be mediated by efficacy beliefs.     

Judgments of exocentric direction in large-scale space

Judgments of exocentric direction are quite common, especially when judging where others are looking or pointing. To investigate these judgments in large-scale space, observers were shown two targets in a large open field and were asked to judge the exocentric direction specified by the targets. The targets ranged in egocentric distance from 5 to 20 m with target-to-target angular separations of 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 135 degrees. Observers judged exocentric direction using two methods: (i) by judging which point on a distant fence appeared collinear with the two targets, and (ii) by orienting their body in a direction parallel with the perceived line segment. In the collinearity task, observers had to imagine the line connecting the targets and then extrapolate this imagined line out to the fence. Observers indicated the perceived point of collinearity on a handheld 360 degrees panoramic cylinder representing their vista. The two judgment methods gave similar results except for a constant bias associated with the body-pointing response. Aside from this bias, the results of these two methods agree with other existing research indicating an effect of relative egocentric distance to the targets on judgment error--line segments are perceived as being rotated in depth. Additionally, verbal estimates of egocentric and exocentric distance suggest that perceived distance is not the cause for the systematic errors in judging exocentric direction.     

Body-based senses enhance knowledge of directions in large-scale environments

Previous research has shown that inertial cues resulting from passive transport through a large environment do not necessarily facilitate acquiring knowledge about its layout. Here we examine whether the additional body-based cues that result from active movement facilitate the acquisition of spatial knowledge. Three groups of participants learned locations along an 840-m route. One group walked the route during learning, allowing access to body-based cues (i.e., vestibular, proprioceptive, and efferent information). Another group learned by sitting in the laboratory, watching videos made from the first group. A third group watched a specially made video that minimized potentially confusing head-on-trunk rotations of the viewpoint. All groups were tested on their knowledge of directions in the environment as well as on its configural properties. Having access to body-based information reduced pointing error by a small but significant amount. Regardless of the sensory information available during learning, participants exhibited strikingly common biases.