Resetting the pitch-analysis system: 1. Effects of rise times of tones in noise backgrounds or of harmonics in a complex tone

The question of whether sudden increases in the amplitude of pure-tone components would perceptually isolate them from a more complex spectrum was investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, a 3.5-sec noise was played as a masker. During the noise, two pure-tone components of different frequencies appeared in succession. Subjects were asked to judge whether the pitch sequence went up or down. The rise time of these components had only a small and inconsistent effect on discrimination. In Experiment 2, the 3.5-sec background signal was a complex tone. The amplitudes of two of its components were incremented in succession. Again, subjects judged whether the pitch pattern went up or down. This time there was a sizable, monotonic effect of the rise time of the increments, with more rapid increments leading to better discrimination. The difference between the two results is interpreted in terms of the auditory system’s response to changing and unchanging signals and the role of its “sudden-change” responses in attracting perceptual processing to certain spectral regions.     

Is a common grouping mechanism involved in the phenomena of illusory continuity and stream segregation?

Two auditory phenomena--stream segregation and illusory continuity through a wide-band noise interruption--were studied to determine whether the same principles of perceptual organization applied to both. A cycle was formed of a repeating alternation of two short bursts of narrow-band noise (NBN), one centered at a high frequency (H) and the other at a low frequency (L), with shorter bursts of wide-band noise (WBN) inserted between successive NBNs (H WBN L WBN H WBN...). In some conditions, listeners could hear a single NBN moving up and down behind the WBN bursts, although there was no NBN present with the WBN. Listeners rated the strength of this illusory continuity. Center frequency separation, rate of onsets, and bandwidth of the NBNs were varied. Increases in values of all three variables decreased illusory continuity. Other listeners rated the stream segregation of the H and L bands when successive NBNs were separated either by WBN bursts (as above) or by silences. The same three acoustic variables were manipulated. Increases in all three variables decreased the perception of a single stream. The similar disruptive effects on illusory continuity and on the one-stream percept in the stream segregation task support the idea that both phenomena depend on a common preliminary process of linking together the parts of a sequence that have similar frequencies.     

Constructive thinking inventory: evidence of validity among Iranian managers

This study examined the validity and incremental validity of the Constructive Thinking Inventory in a sample of Iranian managers. These 159 men were 39.9 yr. old (SD=2.5) and volunteered to participate in a project in which they responded to the Constructive Thinking Inventory, the Big Five Factors, the Costello and Comrey Depression and Anxiety Scales, and the Perceived Stress Scale. Numerous findings confirmed the validity of the Constructive Thinking Inventory, and the Global Constructive Thinking subscale displayed incremental validity. These data supported the validity of the Constructive Thinking Inventory and its associated theoretical assumptions in a sample of Iranian managers.     

Exploring the Link between Interparental Conflict and Adolescents’ Adjustment in Divorced and Intact Iranian Families

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Although a considerable body of research has indicated that interparental conflict and divorce are risk factors for adolescents’ adjustment problems, few...     

Philosophy, self-knowledge, and personality in Iranian teachers and students of philosophy

Like psychology, philosophy apparently operates from a commitment to the belief that self-knowledge should be a goal of disciplinary and personal development. Iranian teachers and students of philosophy responded to a Philosophical Orientations Scale created for this study that assessed the possible content of a high school philosophy course, along with instruments measuring self-knowledge, need for cognition, the five-factor model, anxiety, depression, and perceived stress. As the authors hypothesized, self-knowledge predicted higher levels of a philosophical orientation, even after controlling for the variance explained by need for cognition and openness to experience. Philosophical orientations and self-knowledge were also correlated with psychological adjustment, and teachers scored higher than students on these two sets of constructs. These data supported the hypothesis that personal and disciplinary interests in an adaptive self-knowledge converge in philosophy.     

Effects of time intervals and tone durations on auditory stream segregation

Adult listeners rated the difficulty of hearing a single coherent stream in a sequence of high (H) and low (L) tones that alternated in a repetitive galloping pattern (HLH-HLH-HLH...). They could hear the gallop when the sequence was perceived as a single stream, but when it segregated into two substreams, they heard H-H- ... in one stream and L-L- ... in the other. The onset-to-onset time of the tones, their duration, the interstimulus interval (ISI) between tones of the same frequency, and the frequency separation between H and L tones were varied. Subjects' ratings on a 7-point scale showed that the well-known effect of speed's increasing stream segregation is primarily due to its effect on the ISI between tones in the same frequency region. This has implications for several theories of streaming.     

Dimensions of the Mysticism Scale: Confirming the Three-Factor Structure in the United States and Iran

In a mostly Christian American sample (N = 1,379), confirmatory factor analysis of Hood's (1975) Mysticism Scale verified the existence of Stace's (1960) introvertive and extrovertive dimensions of mystical phenomenology along with a separate interpretation factor. A second study confirmed the presence of these three factors in not only another group of Americans (N = 188), but also in a sample of Iranian Muslims (N = 185). Relationships of the introvertive and extrovertive factors with the interpretation factor were essentially identical across these two cultures, but the Americans displayed a stronger association between the two phenomenology factors. In both samples, the interpretation factor correlated positively with an intrinsic and negatively with an extrinsic religious orientation, and the introvertive factor predicted psychological dysfunction. Associations of the interpretation factor with relative mental health appeared only in the Iranians. These data offered general support for Stace's phenomenology of mysticism, although the ineffability he linked with interpretation proved to be as much or even more a feature of the introvertive experience, as hypothesized by Hood.     

Bridging the Gap Between Ethical Theory and Practice in Medicine: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study

Science and Engineering Ethics - Physicians try hard to alleviate mental and physical ailments of their patients. Thus, they are heavily burdened by observing ethics and staying well-informed while...     

Stream segregation of narrow-band noise bursts

Normally hearing adults heard rapid alternations of a pair of band-limited noise bursts that had flat spectra (in terms of equal-loudness weighting of components) and sharp band edges. The bursts differed in center frequency (CF), but were matched on overall intensity, on bandwidth (BW) on a logfrequency scale, and (roughly) on pitch strength. Listeners judged the ease with which the sequence could be held together perceptually in a single auditory stream (vs. forming separate high and low streams). Involuntary segregation was examined as a function of the following measures of frequency separation of the alternating noise bands: (1) the closest band edges, (2) the most remote band edges, (3) the CFs of the bands on a logarithmic scale, and (4) the BWs. Segregation was best predicted from the separation of the two CFs on a log-frequency scale (very strong effect). Increasing the BWs of the two alternating bursts (the same size, in log frequency, for both bands) also led to greater segregation (very weak effect).     

Students' Views of Business Ethics: An Analysis

This study investigates the difference in perceptions between undergraduate business and MBA students regarding selected ethical issues facing employees and managers of today's businesses. Furthermore, the study investigates the intergroup (i.e., at each educational level) and intragroup (i.e., between undergraduates and MBAs) differences in terms of the "situation"; that is, their position as an employee or a manager of the company. A sample of 104 undergraduate and MBA students was used. The results indicate that undergraduate students tend to act more ethically than do MBA students, and both groups tend to be more ethically oriented the higher their professional corporate position is. The findings have direct implications for business practitioners and for educators.