Asymmetry of perception in free viewing of chimeric faces

We have devised a new free-vision task to index functional cerebral asymmetry for processing facial characteristics. Confirming its sensitivity to properties of lateralized hemispheric functions, left- and right-handers were clearly differentiated on this task with respect to several aspects of performance that conform with known differences between handedness groups in hemispheric asymmetry. Additionally, there were highly reliable and stable individual differences in perceptual asymmetries within handedness. Analyses of items in the task revealed that most of the differences between items in the asymmetries they elicited were random.     

Facing up to the issues: Reply to Hellige (1983)

In a recent article in this journal, Hellige (Brain and Cognition, 2, 199-203, 1983) presented a critique of the chimeric-face technique that was used by us to validate a hand preference questionnaire. Data were presented by Hellige to show that the left visual field (LVF) bias that occurs on this task is due primarily to differences in detail in the features of the two faces and not because of right hemisphere dominance for face perception. In our rebuttal, we acknowledge that the two faces are not mirror-image duplicates of each other, but contend that this fact does not explain why differences between left-handers and right-handers have been observed on this task. Further data on the role of handedness as well as other variables impacting on this task are presented. A possible explanation is also offered for the rather small extent of LVF bias that Hellige obtained when he used corrected (i.e., true mirror-image) versions of Jaynes' chimeric faces.     

Language function and dysfunction among Chinese- and English-speaking polyglots: Cortical stimulation, Wada Testing, and clinical studies

Language functions in a group of Chinese- and English-speaking polyglots living in a multiracial society have been investigated by several methods: the effects of cortical stimulation on object-naming and reading tasks in patients who required awake craniotomy, lateralization of cerebral dominance for speech by the Wada Test, and the pattern of language loss and recovery following stroke. The data indicate that these polyglots were all left hemisphere dominant for the languages tested: no consistent evidence for increased participation by the right hemisphere for language functions was found. The cortical stimulation experiments provided data most compatible with the "differential localization" model of cerebral localization in bilingualism. The variable which most influenced performance in all of these investigations was which language was used primarily for speaking as well as reading and writing at the time of the study.     

An analysis of situation and person components of jealousy

Previous studies on jealousy have focused on person factors or on situational factors, but none has compared their relative importance. Two studies are presented which analyze the contributions of persons, situations, and their interaction, with respect to jealous reactions. The first study examined intraperson variability in the intensity of jealous responses of 302 males and females when presented with four types of hypothetical jealousy situations (work, family, social, and sexual). The results of the first study supported a dispositional explanation of jealousy (i.e., substantial person and situational variance). In addition, a sizable interaction effect was revealed. Study 2 examined the nature of this interaction for sexual jealousy. Jealousy situations were broken down by distinguishing between the event, characteristics of the partner, and the relationship as separate components of the situation. Seventy-one female respondents indicated their perception of threat and their degree of upset when considering the same hypothetical jealousy-evoking events with three different partners. A substantial person component was found. In addition, responses to the jealousy-evoking events were found to vary as a function of which partner was being considered. The second study demonstrated that aspects of the relationship (i.e., relative involvement) were more important than personality characteristics of the partner in determining this intrasubject variability in the intensity of jealous rections.     

Generalized and lateralized effects of concurrent verbal rehearsal upon performance of sequential movements of the fingers by the left and right hands.

College student subjects performed a sequential typing task requiring bilaterally synchronized movements (Experiment 1) or unilaterally synchronized movements (Experiment 2) singly, and concurrently with silent and vocal rehearsal of verbal lists varying in redundancy. Rehearsal interfered with bilaterally synchronized movements more when the right hand was leading the sequence than when the left hand led, and with movements of the right more than the left hand in unilaterally synchronized movements. Results are interpreted in terms of intrahemispheric and general capacity competition between the concurrent performances.     

Use of first person pronouns as a function of increased objective self-awareness and performance feedback

A recent integrating formalation in social psychology, the Duval-Wicklund theory of “objective self-awareness,” has the core assumption that attention focused on the self is always aversive and, hence, avoided. While faced with either a TV camera or a mirror, and after they had received false feedback concerning their creativity, 98 undergraduates guessed at the meaning of foreign language pronouns, the unobtrusive dependent measure of the direction of the focus of attention. The standard Duval-Wicklund effect was replicated—more attention to self, that is, more first-person pronouns—in the “camera” or “mirror” than in the “no camera” or “no mirror” conditions. However, within the camera or mirror conditions, avoidance of self-focused attention occurred only after negative feedback.     

Job satisfaction among students in work education programs

Data were collected from 1016 students in grades 9–14 from 50 work education programs. Data were also collected from 696 similar students who held part-time jobs but were not participating in work education programs. Participating students were significantly more satisfied with their jobs than were the nonparticipating students. Group atmosphere, availability of adult role models, meaningfulness of work roles, and availability of feedback accounted for much of the variation in job satisfaction among students.     

On signalling that it's your turn to speak

The operation of a “speaker-state signal” in two-person, face-to-face conversations is hypothesized. Display of this signal by an auditor appears to indicate, among other things, that he is claiming the speaking turn, differentiating this action from a “back-channel behavior” by which he merely acknowledges some portion of the speaker's message. The signal also appears to play a part in the resolution of situations in which both participants simultaneously claim the speaking turn. The signal is defined as the display of at least one of a set of four behavioral cues, two in paralanguage and two in body motion.     

Sex and sociability in rats

Three experiments explored the effects of sexual motivation and the opportunity for sexual contact on social attraction in rats. Rats were no more gregarious in cross-sex than in same-sex pairings. Increased male sexual experience and hormonally induced female receptivity both led to increased sexual activity but had no effect on social behavior. Males housed with continuously receptive females showed signs of sexual exhaustion but were as gregarious as males housed alone or with males. It appears that social attraction in rats is not motivated primarily by sexual desires, either direct or sublimated.