Time-shrinking: a discontinuity in the perception of auditory temporal patterns.

Recent research at our laboratories in the field of human auditory time perception revealed that the duration of short empty time intervals (less than approximately 200 msec) is considerably underestimated if they are immediately preceded by shorter time intervals. Within a certain range, the amount of subjective time shrinking is a monotonous function of the preceding time interval; the shorter it is, the more it shrinks its successor. In the present study, the preceding interval was kept constant at 50 msec, and the following interval, for which the duration had to be judged, varied from 40 to 280 msec. The results showed that at up to 100 msec, the perceived duration increased to a much lesser extent than did the objective duration. Beyond 120 msec, the perceived duration quickly increased and reached a veridical value at 160 msec. Such a sudden change of perceived duration in a temporal pattern in which the objective duration varies gradually indicates a typical example of categorical perception. We suggest that such a categorization of the time dimension might be a clue for processes of speech and music perception.     

An efficient algorithm for TUCKALS3 on data with large numbers of observation units

A modification of the TUCKALS3 algorithm is proposed that handles three-way arrays of order I × J × K for any I. When I is much larger than JK, the modified algorithm needs less work space to store the data during the iterative part of the algorithm than does the original algorithm. Because of this and the additional feature that execution speed is higher, the modified algorithm is highly suitable for use on personal computers. This research has been made possible by a fellowship from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences to the first author.     

Minimization of a class of matrix trace functions by means of refined majorization

A procedure is described for minimizing a class of matrix trace functions. The procedure is a refinement of an earlier procedure for minimizing the class of matrix trace functions using majorization. It contains a recently proposed algorithm by Koschat and Swayne for weighted Procrustes rotation as a special case. A number of trial analyses demonstrate that the refined majorization procedure is more efficient than the earlier majorization-based procedure. The research of H. A. L. Kiers has been made possible by a fellowship from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.     

Kruskal's polynomial for 2×2×2 arrays and a generalization to 2×n×n arrays

A remarkable difference between the concept of rank for matrices and that for three-way arrays has to do with the occurrence of non-maximal rank. The set ofn×n matrices that have a rank less thann has zero volume. Kruskal pointed out that a 2×2×2 array has rank three or less, and that the subsets of those 2×2×2 arrays for which the rank is two or three both have positive volume. These subsets can be distinguished by the roots of a certain polynomial. The present paper generalizes Kruskal's results to 2×n×n arrays. Incidentally, it is shown that twon ×n matrices can be diagonalized simultaneously with positive probability.The author is obliged to Joe Kruskal and Henk Kiers for commenting on an earlier draft, and to Tom Wansbeek for raising stimulating questions.     

Orthogonal rotations to maximal agreement for two or more matrices of different column orders

Methods for orthogonal Procrustes rotation and orthogonal rotation to a maximal sum of inner products are examined for the case when the matrices involved have different numbers of columns. An inner product solution offered by Cliff is generalized to the case of more than two matrices. A nonrandom start for a Procrustes solution suggested by Green and Gower is shown to give better results than a random start. The Green-Gower Procrustes solution (with nonrandom start) is generalized to the case of more than two matrices. Simulation studies indicate that both the generalized inner product solution and the generalized Procrustes solution tend to attain their global optima within acceptable computation times. A simple procedure is offered for approximating simple structure for the rotated matrices without affecting either the Procrustes or the inner product criterion.The authors are obliged to Charles Lewis for helpful comments on a previous draft of this paper and to Frank Brokken for preparing a computer program that was used in this study.     

The analysis of multitrait-multimethod matrices via constrained components analysis

Multitrait-Multimethod (MTMM) matrices are often analyzed by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). However, fitting MTMM models often leads to improper solutions, or non-convergence. In an attempt to overcome these problems, various alternative CFA models have been proposed, but with none of these the problem of finding improper solutions was solved completely. In the present paper, an approach is proposed where improper solutions are ruled out altogether and convergence is guaranteed. The approach is based on constrained variants of components analysis (CA). Besides the fact that these methods do not give improper solutions, they have the advantage that they provide component scores which can later on be used to relate the components to external variables. The new methods are illustrated by means of simulated data, as well as empirical data sets.This research has been made possible by a fellowship from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences to the first author. The authors are obliged to three anonymous reviewers and an associate editor for constructive suggestions on the first version of this paper.     

Interaural and monaural clicks and clocks: tempo difference versus attention switching

We describe a quantitative model capable of explaining the results of all reported investigations of the counting of interaural and monaural click sequencies. The model is developed by means of three convergent operations: (a) reanalyzing absolute-estimation data of apparent repetition rates of interaural and monaural sequences, (b) deriving interaural and monaural counting times from numerosity-judgement data, and (c) analyzing the time that observers needed to respond to the end of interaural and monaural sequences. The combined evidence demonstrates that the perceived onset asynchrony (POA) between interaural events is 24 msec longer than that between monaural events. The model has three components: (a) a "stimulus clock," which represents the stimulus onset synchrony (SOA) between events; (b) a "memory clock," which represents the POA between events, and (c) a "counting clock," which represents the counter increment time. The transfer functions between the three clocks are deduced from empirical data. Other proposals to explain interaural click counting results (attention switching, streaming by locus, counterincrement deficit) are discussed and rejected.     

Attention-switching and grouping in counting interaurally presented clicks.

The present study tests the hypothesis that attention-switching is time-consuming and performance-limiting. Analysis of previous research on counting interaurally presented clicks shows that estimates of ‘switch-times’ can be made, based on the data of Guzy and Axelrod (1972). In the earlier click-counting studies, however, the number of clicks to be counted and the number of physical switches between the ears were confouned. Hence the number of clicks, number of physical switches and interval between clicks were independently varied. The results showed that (a) counting performance did not decrease monotonically with increasing number of switches in the click sequence; (b) no difference in counting performance could be found between the monaural and completely alternating interaural presentation; (c) when the number of switches in the sequence was small and equal groups of clicks alternated between ears, performance dramatically improved. With these kinds of sequences, subjects presumably do not count the clicks one at a time, but subitize a group of clicks.     

Self‐Control Success Revealed: Greater Approach Motivation Towards Healthy versus Unhealthy Food

Deviating from existing literature on self‐control failure the current research examines self‐control success and the role of motivation. Functional research suggests people visually perceive objects to be bigger when they are motivated to approach them. Using the size perception task, participants estimated the size of a healthy and an unhealthy food object that were identical in size. In the current research we simulated a reflective state vs. impulsive state using an ego‐depletion manipulation in Study 1 and a cognitive load manipulation in Study 2. Results from both studies revealed that participants in a reflective state (vs. impulsive state) assigned increased size estimations to the healthy food item compared to the unhealthy food item. Current findings demonstrate greater approach motivation towards a ‘virtue’ (i.e., healthy food) as a mechanism that underlies self‐control success, suggesting that successful self‐control involves initiating approach towards a virtue rather than inhibiting a vice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Descartes,Malebranche and Leibniz: conceptions of substance in arguments for the immateriality of the soul

ABSTRACT

The most prominent early modern argument against materialism is to be found in Descartes. Previously I had argued that this argument relies crucially on a robust conception of substance, according to which it has a single principal attribute of which all its other intrinsic qualities are modes. In the present paper I return to this claim. In Section 2, I address a question that is often raised about that conception of substance: its commitment to the idea that a substance has a single such principal attribute. Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra and Daniel Garber have argued that this claim relies on Descartes's identification of substance with attribute. But I argue that it relies on his view that a substance has a single, unitary nature. In Section 3, I examine the role of this conception of substance in arguments found in Malebranche and Leibniz and compare these arguments with Descartes's.