A program for constructing SVT tests: An alternative way of assessing text comprehension

The sentence verification technique (SVT), developed by Royer, Hastings, and Hook (1979), provides developmental and educational researchers with an alternative way of assessing text comprehension based on all of the information contained in a passage. Students must decide if test sentences have the same meaning as sentences that appeared in an original passage. The program described here automates the more laborious aspects of constructing SVT tests. The user must create a passage using a word processor. The program will prompt the user for information as needed. Finally, printable text files (SVT test and answer key) are generated. The program is written in BASIC for IBM and IBM-compatible computers.     

Detection of symmetry

The time to detect symmetries in square field patterns was measured. The same relationships among mean detection times for different symmetries was found in both well-practiced and naive subjects. When the task was to detect any symmetry, detection times were faster for multiply symmetry was faster than diagonal, singly symmetric ones. Horizontal-vertical symmetry was faster than diagonal, which was faster than centric. When the task was to detect specific symmetry, that is, vertical, horizontal,diagonal, or centric only, detection times were faster again for multiply symmetric patterns, suggesting that "irrelevant" symmetry facilitates performance. Errors and response times indicate that certain symmetries are more difficult to reject than others, depending on the type of symmetry to be detected. Thus, the results suggest interference effects arising from certain symmetries. The data are best accounted for by a model in which symmetry is encoded integrally. When decoding is required by the task, as in detection tasks, the observer performs a serial hierarchical decomposition of the code.U     

Introduction to two-dimensional Fourier analysis

The application of two-dimensional Fourier analysis provides new avenues for research in visual perception. This tutorial serves as an introduction to some of the methods used in two-dimensional Fourier analysis and an introduction to two-dimensional image processing in general.     

Contextual effects on word production: A lifespan study

The effect of sentence priming on picture naming was investigated across the lifespan, from age 3 to 87 years. Names that are normally acquired before 3 years of age were presented in auditory contexts that were semantically congruent, incongruent, or neutral in relation to each picture and its name. Sentential priming was present at all age levels. Facilitation (neutral vs. congruent) was significantly by 4 years of age and did not vary significantly with age. Interference (incongruent vs. neutral) was significant at all age levels, but changed nonmonotonically with age (largest in the youngest children, stable from young adulthood through age 70, with a small increase in the oldest participants). We conclude that picture naming is a useful tool for the investigation of sentential priming effects across the lifespan and that it can reveal potentially interesting developmental changes in the effects of sentential context on word retrieval.     

Personality determinants of the commitment to the profession of art

The model of commitment presented in the present report postulates personality to be the crucial element in the development and maintenance of commitment to the profession of art. The objectives of the research reported here were to (a) demonstrate the typicality of the artist personality and (b) identify the traits which characterize committed and uncommitted artists. Three groups of artists were compared: mature established artists described as committed over a lifetime, committed art students, and uncommitted art students. The instrument used to evaluate personality was the Adjective Check List (ACL; Gough 8c Heilbrun, 1983). Both committed and uncommitted artists presented a typical personality structure; but in contrast to the committed, the uncommitted were characterized by low self‐esteem, a negative self‐image, impaired motivation, low staying power, and an inability to find a clear direction. Both art students and mature artists agreed about the order of importance of 11 factors considered to be determinants of committment. They both placed particular emphasis on autonomy, possibility to experiment, ease of inspiration, and early identification with the profession.     

The influence of natural contour and face size on the spatial frequency tuning for identifying upright and inverted faces

Psychological Research - It has previously been proposed that holistic face processing is based on low spatial frequencies (SFs) whereas featural processing relies on higher SFs, a hypothesis still...     

Children's dietary recalls from three validation studies: types of intrusion vary with retention interval

Using previously collected data of fourth‐grade children observed eating school meals and then interviewed, we categorized intrusions (food items reported but not observed eaten) as stretches (on the child's tray) or confabulations (not on the child's tray). We investigated intrusions, confabulations, and stretches and the role of liking, at different retention intervals (morning interviews about the previous day's intake; evening interviews about that day's intake) and under different reporting‐ order prompts (forward; reverse). As retention interval between consumption and report increased, the likelihood (1) increased that reported items were intrusions, that reported items were confabulations and that intrusions were confabulations; and (2) was constant that reported items were stretches. Results concerning reporting‐order prompts were inconclusive. Liking ratings were higher for matches (reports of items observed eaten) than stretches, for confabulations than stretches, and for matches than omissions (unreported items observed eaten), but did not vary by retention interval or reporting‐order prompts. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age-related changes in auditory temporal processing

Two tone bursts separated by a silent interval and imbedded in a background white noise were presented to elderly subjects (M age = 71.3 years) and young subjects (M age = 22.2 years). Subjects were required to judge when the two tone bursts fused perceptually by adjusting the duration of tone-one. The bursts were separated by six discrete interstimulus intervals of 4, 8, 16, 24, 32, or 40 ms. The tone-two burst was held constant at 100 ms. Fusion point was defined as that critical tone-one duration at which the two tones fused (were perceived as one). Elderly subjects reached fusion point at longer critical tone-one durations than young subjects at each interval tested. The function relating tone-one duration and interval conformed to an exponential curve and is discussed with respect to an exponential decay model of the inhibitory interactions of neural systems responding to onsets and offsets of sensory events.