The linkage between stimulus frequency and covert peak areas as it relates to monaural localization

Head-related transfer functions for differently centered narrow noise bands were obtained on 6 subjects. Derived from these measurements were covert peak areas (CPAs), defined as the spatial constellation of loudspeakers that generates maximal sound pressure at the entrance of the ear canal for specific bands of frequency. On the basis of previous data, we proposed that different frequency bands served as important spectral cues for monaural localization of sounds from different loci and that location judgments were directed toward the CPAs associated with the different bands. In the first study, the stimuli were bandpass filtered so that they contained only those frequencies whose associated CPAs occupied either the monaural listener’s “upper” or “lower” spatial regions. Loudspeakers, separated by 15°, were stationed in the left hemifield, ranging from 0° to 180° azimuth and ?45° to 60° elevation. Subjects reported the loudspeaker from which the sound appeared to originate. Judgments of the sound’s elevation were in general accord with the CPAs associated with the different frequency segments. In the second study, monaural localization tests were administered in which different 2.0-kHz-wide frequency bands linked with specific CPAs were notch filtered from a 3.5-kHz highpass noise band. For the control condition, the highpass noise was unfiltered. The data demonstrated that filtering a frequency segment linked with specific CPAs resulted in significantly fewer location responses directed toward that particular spatial region. These results demonstrate in greater detail the relation between the directional filtering properties of the pinna and monaural localization of sound.     

The culture of perceptual expertise and the other-race effect

In our commentary, we propose that the ORE can be viewed as a form of perceptual expertise. Like experts, we recognize own-race faces at the subordinate level as individuals and novices when recognize other-race faces at the basic level of race. Applying a perceptual expertise account, we explain the ORE in terms of its cognitive, neural, and motivational factors. We suggest that by creating a culture of “other-race” expertise, improvements in other-race face recognition can be achieved.     

Guidance and counselling in Irish schools

The development of guidance services in Irish schools since the sixties is described and discussed. Provision for the full-time training of guidance teachers began in 1967, and after a brief attempt to use short courses as a substitute, this has now been accepted as the standard form of basic training. Since 1972 approximately 90 guidance teachers have qualified each year, and by 1974 they were present in about 24% of post-primary schools. Data is reported from a survey of early graduates from the one-year course at University College Dublin, and also from a survey of the attitudes to guidance of the heads of schools with guidance teachers. Some comments are also provided on the current status of guidance in Ireland.     

Using Three Reporters to Identify Pre-Adolescent Peer Victims through Latent Profile Analysis

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - The goals of the current study were to use a three-reporter methodology and multi-level Latent Profile Analysis: (a) to determine the victim...     

Parent-Implemented Early Social Communication Intervention for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Behavioral Education - Numerous developmental difficulties differentiate children with autism from typically developing children, including delays in social communication skills. In this...     

Grandfamilies and the Opioid Epidemic: A Systemic Perspective and Future Priorities

Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review - As a result of the devastating impact of the opioid epidemic, increased numbers of children are being raised by their grandparents in what are known as...