Integration of stereo and texture cues in the formation of discontinuities during three-dimensional surface interpolation

A series of stereograms are presented which demonstrate that texture boundaries can strongly influence the perception of discontinuities between neighbouring three-dimensional (3-D) surfaces portrayed by means of stereo cues. In these demonstration figures, no stereo information is available in the immediate vicinity of the boundary between the two 3-D stereo surfaces because all texture in that region is removed in one eye's view. On the other hand, various forms of texture boundary information are provided in the resulting monocular region. This stimulus paradigm is used to explore the question: what influence does texture boundary information have on the nature of the perceived 3-D surface that is interpolated between two stimulus regions which carry stereo cues? It is shown that if a clear-cut texture boundary is present in the monocular region then this is used by the human visual system to fix the perceived location of 3-D crease and step surface discontinuities between the stereo regions. Collett (1985) explored this issue with a similar methodology and reported weak and unreliable assistance from monocular texture boundaries in helping shape 3-D stereo surface discontinuities. The strong and robust phenomena demonstrated here seem to rely on two main differences between the present stimuli and those of Collett. In the present stimuli, figurally continuous textures containing strong texture boundaries are used, together with a technique for minimising the complications, including binocular rivalry, that arise from the borders of the stimulus regions present in only one half of each stereogram.     

Determinants of object choice in adulthood: a test case of object-relations theory

A clinical example of the effects of the absence of the father during the early childhood of a male analysand and its consequences for his later object choice is presented. This patient's biological father left the household when the patient was only a few months old, and his mother did not remarry until he was five years of age. Unconscious fantasies of the lost father, with whom the patient had no contact in reality, and longing for him organized the patient's drives and determined his self-identity as well as his later object choice. The patient developed both a positive and negative identification with the lost father. The identification was with a fantasy object not a real one. The case highlights the need to use a precise term in talking of the object, namely the mental representation of the object which may or may not be built up out of experiences with the real object.     

Confidence depends on level of aggregation

The credible intervals that people set around their point estimates are typically too narrow (cf. Lichtenstein, Fischhoff, & Phillips, 1982). That is, a set of many such intervals does not contain the actual values of the criterion variables as often as it should given the probability assigned to this event for each estimate. The typical interpretation of such data is that people are overconfident about the accuracy of their judgments. This paper presents data from two studies showing the typical levels of overconfidence for individual estimates of unknown quantities. However, data from the same subjects on a different measure of confidence for the same items, their own global assessment for the set of multiple estimates as a whole, showed significantly lower levels of confidence and overconfidence than their average individual assessment for items in the set. It is argued that the event and global assessments of judgment quality are fundamentally different and are affected by unique psychological processes. Finally, we discuss the implications of a difference between confidence in single and multiple estimates for confidence research and theory.     

Optimizing treatment of schizophrenia. Enhancing affective/cognitive and depressive functioning

Recognition and treatment of schizophrenia has largely focused on positive symptoms of the disorder, such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganization. However, other important symptoms, such as depression, cognition, and social functioning, have not received comparable attention. Fifty percent of schizophrenic patients suffer from comorbid depression, which is a major risk factor for suicide in this population, while 10% to 25% suffer from comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder. Cognitive deficits commonly observed in patients with schizophrenia include problems with concentration, attention, and memory, as well as problem-solving and verbal skills. These deficits are observed at early stages of the illness and can predict deficits in functional capabilities, such as occupational and social skills, educational attainment, and the ability to live independently. The severity of such impairments affects all patient in this population, including up to 10% of patients working full time and up to one third of those working part time. In light of the debilitating effects of depression, cognitive impairment, and other aspects of affective functioning on the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia, physicians need to partner with their patients to address these concerns and determine an appropriate treatment regimen. This can be done with simple functional-based cognitive questioning, the use of evidence-based psychosocial practices, and psychoeducation on the many pharmacotherapeutic options. It is recommended that depressive or suicidal symptoms of schizophrenia be treated with an antidepressant or mood stabilizer only if the symptoms have not subsided after treatment of the psychosis with an atypical antipsychotic. Additionally, relative to older medications, atypicals have demonstrated benefit in improving some of the cognitive impairments.     

The Temporal Automated System for Taste Experiments (TASTE)

We describe a new, open flow device for presenting taste stimuli to human subjects under controlled conditions of timing. The device delivers each stimulus as a mist to the participant’s tongue through one of 16 nozzles attached to a linear slide. Software controls the position of the slide, the duration of the stimulus, and the duration of the pre- and poststimulus water rinses and records the responses of the participant. Temporal characteristics of this system make it especially applicable to studies on the role of attention in taste perception.     

Psychotherapy with compulsively striving professional women 1: Introducing the patient group

In this paper I develop a profile of compulsively striving professional women with whom I have found myself working in private psychotherapy practice. I put them into a developmental, systemic and cultural context, and suggest a theoretical perspective. In a subsequent article (‘Clinical issues’) I shall describe the challenge they present from a clinical point of view and how these difficulties might be addressed in individual psychotherapy.