The other-race effect does not rely on memory: Evidence from a matching task

Viewers are typically better at remembering faces from their own race than from other races; however, it is not yet established whether this effect is due to memorial or perceptual processes. In this study, UK and Egyptian viewers were given a simultaneous face-matching task, in which the target faces were presented upright or upside down. As with previous research using face memory tasks, participants were worse at matching other-race faces than own-race faces and showed a stronger face inversion effect for own-race faces. However, subjects' performance on own and other-race faces was highly correlated. These data provide strong evidence that difficulty in perceptual encoding of unfamiliar faces contributes substantially to the other-race effect and that accounts based entirely on memory cannot capture the full data. Implications for forensic settings are also discussed.     

Visual working memory for dynamic objects: Impaired binding between object feature and location

In daily life, people frequently need to observe dynamic objects and temporarily maintain their representations in visual working memory (VWM). The present study explored the mechanism underlying the binding between perceptual features and locations of dynamic objects in VWM. In three experiments, we measured and compared the memory performance for feature-location binding of multiple dynamic and static objects. The results showed that the feature-location binding was impaired for the dynamic objects compared with the static objects. The impairment persisted when the global spatial configuration of the objects remained intact during the motion, as well as when the binding task was relatively easy, such as binding between single-feature objects and coarse locations. The results indicate that object features and locations are not maintained in VWM as well-integrated object files; rather, the formation of feature-location binding may require additional processes, which are disrupted by the constant change of locations in dynamic circumstances. We propose a consolidation process as possible underlying mechanism, and discuss factors that may influence the strength of feature-location binding in dynamic circumstances.     

Optimal matching analysis in career research: A review and some best-practice recommendations

Optimal matching is a method for the analysis of sequential data. It allows researchers to detect patterns in career sequences or occupational trajectories. We first give a brief introduction to the method and review the existing career literature that employs optimal matching. To examine which data properties are required for optimal matching analysis, we conducted Monte Carlo simulations of career sequences with varying parameters for sequence length, sample size and missing items. We find that sequence length is the relevant factor for correct results, while sample size does not substantially affect result quality. Another important finding is that sequences with up to 30% elements missing can be used for optimal matching analysis. We also show which settings for the optimal matching procedure deliver the best results.     

Not looking yourself: The cost of self‐selecting photographs for identity verification

Photo‐identification is based on the premise that photographs are representative of facial appearance. However, previous studies show that ratings of likeness vary across different photographs of the same face, suggesting that some images capture identity better than others. Two experiments were designed to examine the relationship between likeness judgments and face matching accuracy. In Experiment 1, we compared unfamiliar face matching accuracy for self‐selected and other‐selected high‐likeness images. Surprisingly, images selected by previously unfamiliar viewers – after very limited exposure to a target face – were more accurately matched than self‐selected images chosen by the target identity themselves. Results also revealed extremely low inter‐rater agreement in ratings of likeness across participants, suggesting that perceptions of image resemblance are inherently unstable. In Experiment 2, we test whether the cost of self‐selection can be explained by this general disagreement in likeness judgments between individual raters. We find that averaging across rankings by multiple raters produces image selections that provide superior identification accuracy. However, benefit of other‐selection persisted for single raters, suggesting that inaccurate representations of self interfere with our ability to judge which images faithfully represent our current appearance.     

Behavioral pharmacology of the odor span task: Effects of flunitrazepam,ketamine, methamphetamine and methylphenidate

The Odor Span Task is an incrementing non‐matching‐to‐sample procedure that permits the study of behavior under the control of multiple stimuli. Rats are exposed to a series of odor stimuli and selection of new stimuli is reinforced. Successful performance thus requires remembering which stimuli have previously been presented during a given session. This procedure has been frequently used in neurobiological studies as a rodent model of working memory; however, only a few studies have examined the effects of drugs on performance in this task. The present experiments explored the behavioral pharmacology of a modified version of the Odor Span Task by determining the effects of stimulant drugs methylphenidate and methamphetamine, NMDA antagonist ketamine, and positive GABA_A modulator flunitrazepam. All four drugs produced dose‐dependent impairment of performances on the Odor Span Task, but for methylphenidate and methamphetamine, these occurred only at doses that had similar effects on performance of a simple odor discrimination. Generally, these disruptions were based on omission of responding at the effective doses. The effects of ketamine and flunitrazepam were more selective in some rats. That is, some rats tested under flunitrazepam and ketamine showed decreases in accuracy on the Odor Span Task at doses that did not affect simple discrimination performance. These selective effects indicate disruption of within‐session stimulus control. Overall, these findings support the potential of the Odor Span Task as a baseline for the behavioral pharmacological analysis of remembering.     

目标大小变化对多目标视觉追踪的影响

采用多目标追踪任务（MOT）对追踪过程中被试（16名）的眼动进行记录,探讨目标特征变化对视觉追踪的影响。结果表明：视觉追踪机制能够对物体的特征属性进行编码加工,但加工程度受制于目标物与分心物之间的特征竞争关系;追踪过程中,视觉系统采用知觉组织加工策略,以被追踪目标构成的多边形中心为注意中心;物体大小特征没有引起较多的外源性注意,在物体大小特征的变化条件下,视觉追踪主要是内源性的注意控制加工过程。     

There are at least two kinds of probability matching: evidence from a secondary task

Probability matching is a suboptimal behavior that often plagues human decision-making in simple repeated choice tasks. Despite decades of research, recent studies cannot find agreement on what choice strategies lead to probability matching. We propose a solution, showing that two distinct local choice strategies—which make different demands on executive resources—both result in probability-matching behavior on a global level. By placing participants in a simple binary prediction task under dual- versus single-task conditions, we find that individuals with compromised executive resources are driven away from a one-trial-back strategy (utilized by participants with intact executive resources) and towards a strategy that integrates a longer window of past outcomes into the current prediction. Crucially, both groups of participants exhibited probability-matching behavior to the same extent at a global level of analysis. We suggest that these two forms of probability matching are byproducts of the operation of explicit versus implicit systems.