Reduction of the flash-lag effect in terms of active observation

In the present study, we investigated how observers’ control of stimulus change affects temporal and spatial aspects of visual perception. We compared the illusory flash-lag effects for automatic movement of the stimulus with stimulus movement that was controlled by the observers’ active manipulation of a computer mouse (Experiments 1, 2, and 5), a keyboard (Experiment 3), or a trackball (Experiment 4). We found that the flash-lag effect was significantly reduced when the observer was familiar with the directional relationship between the mouse movement and stimulus movement on a front parallel display (Experiments 1 and 2) and that, although the unfamiliar directional relationship between the mouse movement and stimulus movement increased the flash-lag effect at the beginning of the experimental session, the repetitive observation with the same unfamiliar directional relationship reduced the flash-lag effect (Experiment 5). We found no consistent reduction of the flash-lag effect with the use of a keyboard or a trackball (Experiments 3 and 4). These results suggest that the learning of a specific directional relationship between a proprioceptive signal of hand movements and a visual signal of stimulus movements is necessary for the reduction of the flash-lag effect.     

On the relation between object and action: Response consistency and stimulus–response compatibility

A series of four experiments investigated factors influencing the selection of objects and responses associated with the objects. The experiments focused on the interaction between response consistency and the spatial compatibility of the response (involving inhibition of an irrelevant distractor) in conditions of task switching. To test for the response consistency effect, a cue indicated the dimension of the display to be selected for the participant's response. The stimulus displays were either consistent, neutral, or inconsistent (including a distractor stimulus) with the response to the stimulus. The responses were either compatible or incompatible with the location of the stimulus. Intertrial dependences were examined by switching or repeating the tasks across trials. The results suggest that links between objects and actions set up by targets can be replaced by links between a distractor and a response under certain conditions. The implications for stimulus and response selection are discussed.     

Concurrent vocal interference: Its effects on kana and kanji

An experiment is reported in which Japanese subjects were asked to judge whether pairs of words written in kana or kanji were or were not related in meaning. It was found that concurrent vocal interference impaired the reading of kana but did not affect the reading of kanji. This was taken as evidence that concurrent vocal interference disrupts prelexical phonological coding in kana. It is argued that this result furthers our understanding of the effects of concurrent vocal interference on reading tasks.     

So many options,so little time: The roles of association and competition in underdetermined responding

How do we make decisions when faced with multiple options? In the domain of language, some evidence suggests that we exert cognitive control in order to respond in such underdetermined situations when a good option is hard to find but not when we must select among competing options. However, this conclusion, and conclusions about the neural substrates supporting underdetermined responding, are made on the basis of measures that confound retrieval and selection demands. The present study introduces measures based on latent semantic analyses that better capture the underlying theoretical constructs of association strength and competition. These measures revealed independent effects of retrieval and selection demands on reaction times in verb generation and sentence completion tasks. These results challenge existing accounts of underdetermined responding and highlight the need for unconfounded measures of association strength and competition in studies of localization. We propose a new model governed by both absolute and relative activation levels of alternative responses. 2008 Psychonomic Society, Inc. Author Note     

Are infants in the dark about hidden objects?

Infants appear to search for objects hidden by darkness earlier in development than they search for objects hidden by an occluder in the light. However, these two types of search tasks have differed in numerous ways that may have contributed to better performance in the dark (e.g. in whether the hidden objects made sound, in the number of familiarization trials with visible objects). The current studies controlled such incidental differences between search tasks, so that they could be directly compared. Six‐and‐a‐half‐month‐olds received four types of test events, in which either a toy or no toy was presented and then hidden in the dark or under a cloth in the light. Infants searched more often on toy than no‐toy trials in the dark than with a cloth. The advantage in searching for hidden objects in the dark thus appears to be genuine. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

The effects of warned loss magnitude and timeout duration on human avoidance behavior

This study experimentally investigated the determinants of avoidance behavior when participants are forewarned of aversive outcomes. The effects of 3 variables on avoidance behavior were examined: point-loss amount (5 levels, from 20 to 100 points), duration of timeout from positive reinforcement (5 levels, 20 to 100 s), and 3 predictive accuracy levels (100%, 50%, and 0%) of warning stimuli. Twelve participants completed 3 sessions, each comprising 25 discrete trials, that differed in predictive accuracy level. Throughout a session, a participant engaged in button press responses that were reinforced by points under a conjunctive fixed-ratio fixed-interval schedule. During each trial, a warning stimulus that indicated a loss amount and a timeout duration was presented. If the participant pressed the avoidance button, then the timeout started, otherwise the loss occurred. The trial ended with termination of timeout or an occurrence of the loss. Results showed that avoidance responses increased when the loss amount increased and decreased when the timeout duration increased. The frequency of avoidance responses was lowest when the predictive accuracy of warning stimuli was 0%. These findings demonstrated that this experimental procedure could be useful for investigating human avoidance behavior outside the laboratory.     

An Analysis of Factors Influencing the International Migration of Indian Nurses

Based on our survey conducted in Tamil Nadu, this paper analyses the characteristics of Indian migrant nurses and the factors influencing their migration. India is considered the second largest exporter of nurses after the Philippines. Many Indian nurses have migrated to work in OECD countries, the Gulf countries and some ASEAN countries. While Indian nurses are migrating overseas to fill shortages at their destinations, India has itself been suffering from an acute scarcity of nurses since its independence in 1947. Therefore, the large scale of nurse migration is a serious threat to the Indian healthcare system. The results of the survey imply that international migration by nurses can be explained in part by the gap between the private sector and the public sector in terms of salary and working environment. Since the impact of social status on the migration decisions of nurses has lessened, economic factors are the crucial determinant of international migration of nurses. Policy intervention in this area is the necessary first step to solving this long-standing problem. The priority in any policies formulated should be given to nurses working in the private sector whose salaries are considerably lower than those in the public sector and whose voices are unheard.     

Failure to Replicate the Increased Temporal Resolution Induced by Images That Give Impression of Danger

Kobayashi and Ichikawa (2016) recently reported that briefly presented images with dangerous impressions were detected with higher accuracy than images with safe impressions and concluded that the emotion evoked by such images improves temporal resolution of visual perception. In this study, we assessed confounding effects of the color saturations of the images used in their study. While attempting to replicate their results, we found the opposite results—that is, images with safe impressions were detected with higher accuracy than those with dangerous impressions. This likely reflected an observed correlation between color saturations and detection thresholds. To confirm the effects of color saturations, in subsequent experiments, we independently examined the effects of emotion and of color characteristics. We concluded that the previously reported increased temporal resolution was due to the confounding effect of color saturation, and not by the evoked emotion.