Timing of in situ visual information pick-up that differentiates expert and near-expert anticipation in a complex motor skill

The timing of visual information pick-up for visual anticipation was examined by comparing the capability of multiple skill groups, expert and near-expert karate athletes and novices, to block attacks using an in situ temporal occlusion paradigm. Participants stood facing a karate opponent and then attempted to block attacks (kicks and punches), whilst their vision of attacks was occluded: (a) prior to onset of opponent motion (O1), (b) after preparatory head movement (O2), and (c) after initiation of the attacking motion (O3). A no occlusion control condition provided complete vision of attacks (O4). Results revealed that expert anticipation was not significantly different to that of near-experts at O1, but was significantly different to the other group across O2–O4. Expert anticipation, however, was significantly above chance across all occlusion conditions, but near-experts performed above chance at O3 and O4, whilst novices were better than chance at O4. Unexpectedly, unique evidence was found that expert anticipation could be differentiated from near-expert anticipation in the earliest occlusion condition, where it was found that only experts were capable of using visual information from a static opponent to anticipate and block attacks above chance. The findings further understanding of expert visual anticipation to guide motor skills beyond existing expert–novice comparisons.     

Temporal dynamics of the eye–voice span and eye movement control during oral reading

The distance between eye movements and articulation during oral reading, commonly referred to as the eye–voice span, has been a classic issue of experimental reading research since Buswell (1921). To examine the influence of the span on eye movement control, synchronised recordings of eye position and speech production were obtained during fluent oral reading. The viewing of a word almost always preceded its articulation, and the interval between the onset of a word's fixation and the onset of its articulation was approximately 500 ms. The identification and articulation of a word were closely coupled, and the fixation–speech interval was regulated through immediate adjustments of word viewing duration, unless the interval was relatively long. In this case, the lag between identification and articulation was often reduced through a regression that moved the eyes back in the text. These results indicate that models of eye movement control during oral reading need to include a mechanism that maintains a close linkage between the identification and articulation of words through continuous oculomotor adjustments.     

Geographical Concomitants of Negro Criminal Intelligence

This study attempts to demonstrate the relationship between teachers’ personal early experiences of attachment with their parents and their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions to a hypothetical student's request to speak with them, expressed in short or detailed form. A similar procedure has been used by Perrine and Steele King for students, and now has been used for teachers. For this purpose, self-report questionnaires were administered to a sample of 395 female teachers. The results showed a significant relationship between parental bonding experiences and behavioral and emotional, but not cognitive, reactions to an hypothetical student's request. The optimal parenting group reported more positive emotional and behavioral reactions, while the affectionate control group reported more negative emotional reactions to the hypothetical student's request than the other groups. These results offer useful implications to be utilized in teachers’ training programs.     

Signal detection models for the same–different task

Signal detection models for the same–different task are presented. In contrast to the standard approach that only considers the proportion correct, the models apply to the full four by two same–different table. The approach allows one to consider models that recognize bias and other effects. Two basic signal detection models, associated with different decision rules, are presented. A version of the covert decisions rule is introduced that directly allows for same–different bias, in contrast to earlier versions. It is shown how to fit the models with standard software for nonlinear mixed models. The models are applied to data from a recent same–different study.     

Ervin Laszlo's Akashic Field and The Dilemmas of Modern Consciousness Research

Ervin Laszlo's revolutionary concept of the Akashic Field and his connectivity hypothesis offer elegant solutions for the baffling paradoxes associated with “anomalous phenomena”—otherwise unexplainable observations which many scientific disciplines encountered in the course of the 20th century. This article explores the ground-breaking contributions that Laszlo's work has made to psychology by providing a plausible conceptual framework for a large number of observations and experiences amassed by modern consciousness research, which challenge the most fundamental assumptions of the traditional scientific worldview.     

Many-body potential for nitrogen in α-iron

N atom is one of the most frequent foreign interstitial atoms in α-iron along with C atoms. The Fe–C potential has been well-developed and can reproduce many significant interactions of C with point defects present in α-iron. However, there exists no satisfactory Fe–N potential to describe the interactions of N with point defects. Here, we develop a many-body potential for N in α-iron. The potential parameters are determined by fitting to ab initio data, which includes energetics, configurations, and relaxations of Fe atoms close to N atom. This potential successfully describes the interactions of Fe–N across a wide range of defect environments. The potential employs the embedded atom method form and hence is appropriate for large-scale molecular dynamics simulation.     

Infant search strategies with containers that move but do not alter the location at which contents can be found

A number of hypotheses about infants' delayed search accuracy have been based upon the notion that a location associated with repeated retrieval of the object attains privileged status. Infants may need strong cues to search at a new location. However, a test is reported in which performance of 12- and 15-month-old infants was shown to be indifferent to the location. The results were reliable at an individual level. The data accord with previous research upon the canonicality effect in infant spatial search, an effect which is taken to index an experiential constraint on spatial discrimination. The experimental design thus serves as a discriminative test between three approaches: the original privileged location hypothesis, a newer spatial-contrast hypothesis, and a wider approach which focuses on experiential constraints on learning, including the canonicality effect.     

Decay of Stimulus Spatial Code in Horizontal and Vertical Simon Tasks

Evidence on the processes underlying the horizontal and vertical Simon effect is still controversial. The present study uses experimental manipulations to selectively delay the stages of response execution, response selection, and stimulus identification in three experiments. A reduction is observed for both horizontal and vertical Simon effects when response execution is delayed by a go-signal presented 400–600 ms post-stimulus onset or when a spatial precue is presented 200–400 ms before the stimulus. When the overlap between stimulus spatial code formation and response selection is prevented by decreasing stimulus discriminability, the horizontal Simon effect decays, but the vertical Simon effect does not change. Activation theories, which propose a decay of the automatically activated response ipsilateral to the stimulus, mainly apply to the horizontal Simon effect. In contrast, translation theories, which propose that the effect occurs when stimulus features are translated into a response code, are more suitable to account for the vertical Simon effect.     

Motor inhibition associated with the affordance of briefly displayed objects

Research has demonstrated that left- and right-hand responses are facilitated when they are performed with the hand compatible with the orientation of a viewed object. This suggests that graspable objects automatically activate the motor representations that correspond to their orientation. It has recently been proposed that similar positive stimulus–response compatibility effects (PCE) may turn into negative compatibility effects (NCE) when a prime object is displayed very briefly. These NCEs are suggested to reflect motor inhibition mechanisms—motor activation triggered by briefly viewed objects may be treated by the motor system as unwanted, and thus it is rapidly inhibited. We examined whether the motor activation triggered by the orientation of a task-irrelevant object is similarly inhibited when the object is displayed briefly. In Experiment 1, a NCE was observed between the orientation of an object and the responding hand when the object was displayed for 30 or 70 ms. The effect turned into a PCE when the object was displayed for 370 ms. Experiment 2 confirmed that this motor inhibition effect was produced by the handle affordance of the object rather than some abstract visual properties of the object.     

Response to commentaries on discussion paper Gene–environment interdependence

There is a high measure of agreement on the key issues concerning gene–environment interdependence. Contrary to arguments on the need for direct exact replication of findings, it is suggested that “robust” replication using the same constructs is needed. RCTs have an important role for testing for environmental mediation but cannot be used for environmental risks in childhood that show G×E in relation to adult outcomes. Instead, greater use needs to be made of natural experiments. Experimental methods are needed to study biological mediating mechanisms and these should include both animal models and human brain imaging studies. In addition to further research on G×E, further studies of gene–environment correlations are required. Many challenges remain but the future for gene–environment interdependence is bright.