A developmental study of shape integration over space and time.

Three experiments, with 172 Ss (aged 6–24 yrs), examined the integration of shape information over successive glances. In Exps I and II, Ss classified line drawings subtending 1–26° visual angle as possible or impossible objects. Response times and errors increased as a function of figure size for all age groups. The decline in performance with figure size was greater for children than for adults. In Exp II, Ss also performed a classification task based on only 1 of the informative regions in each figure. Performance in the 2 tasks suggested that the ability to encode shape information from a single region of the figures did not change with age. In Exp III, a simultaneous condition, in which an intact figure was presented, was compared with sequential conditions in which blank intervals of 0–3 sec separated 2 views of different parts of the figure. All Ss classified the figures most quickly and accurately in the simultaneous condition, and children were more affected by longer delays between views than adults. It is concluded that these results point to age-related improvements in sequential integration of shape information, both when integration occurs through successive glimpses over space and when information is separated only in time. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subjective landmarks in perception and memory for spatial location.

Four experiments involving 125 undergraduates investigated the use of cognitive strategies for encoding spatial location in visual figures. Ss reproduced the position of a dot in a square figure that had distance markers placed along 2 sides. Ss' responses were biased toward imaginary points of intersection formed by the distance markers when Ss responded from memory (Exp 1) or while viewing the figures (Exp 2). Findings demonstrate that empty regions of a figure can serve as subjective landmarks for spatial localization. In Exp 3, dot relocation was similarly distorted toward physical cross marks placed at the intersections of distance markers. The attraction of dots to intersection points depended on the viewer employing a strategy of mentally projecting from distance markers to form imaginary intersections. In Exp 4, attraction toward intersection points was observed only when Ss employed the projection strategy. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Displaced aggression in young children.

Young children played a card game in which some Ss associated losses with a child-figure card and winnings with a plain card, while others associated losses with a plain card and winnings with the child-figure card. Following the card game, Ss played a shooting game in which they selected targets from among pairs of figures that varied from the card game figure on a dimension of physical similarity. Both sexes showed a significant tendency to select, as targets, either figures more like or figures less like the card game figure. There were no differences in target choices as a function of conditions. Among Ss who lost to the card game figure, boys and girls differed, boys favoring more like figures and girls favoring less like figures. The Ss also shot the card game figure itself. Boys who lost the most to that figure shot the greatest number of times; those who lost less, the fewest numbers of times; and boys who won from the figure were in between. No differences were found for girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Asymmetric identification of parafoveal stimulus pairs: Feature perturbations or failure in feature extraction?

The peripheral member of a parafoveally presented figure pair is more accurately identified than the central member. Explanations involving feature extraction were contrasted in 3 experiments with 32 undergraduates. In the 1st experiment, Ss identified letter pairs deliberately combined to encourage certain perturbations. Feature extraction failure better explained the identification asymmetry than did feature perturbations. In the 2nd experiment, Ss identified the position of a gap in a circle flanked centrally or peripherally by a disk. Since a disk apparently does not have different features susceptible to perturbation to cover the gap, the asymmetry observed is not easily explained in terms of feature perturbations. In the 3rd experiment, 14 additional Ss identified the position of a gap in a circle flanked centrally or peripherally by either 1 or 2 ungapped circles. Two ungapped peripheral circles allowed better identification accuracy than one. Apparently feature extraction is concentrated on the most peripheral figure, producing inhibition of extraction for more central figures that decreases with distance. (French abstract) (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Scanning of compound geometric forms in infant rhesus monkeys.

Human infants younger than 2 mo scan predominantly the external contours of compound figures; in contrast, 2-mo-olds scan internal and external features of such patterns. Whether infant rhesus monkeys (N?=?12) show a similar shift over the first weeks of life was examined in the present study. Visual activity was monitored while Ss viewed squares with internal details, a square without internal details, and the internal details alone. Results show that Ss scanned the internal details of compound figures even during the first week of life. By Weeks 3 and 7, they scanned the internal details less, increasing fixations of the external contour. Amount of looking during the first week was influenced predominantly by the number of elements in a pattern; in contrast, at Weeks 3 and 7 it was influenced foremost by the amount of perimeter and secondarily by the number of elements. The differences between visual activity in rhesus and human infants are discussed. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual masking and visual integration across saccadic eye movements.

Studied visual masking and visual integration across saccadic eye movements in 4 experiments. In a 5th experiment, 4 randomly chosen dots from a 3?×?5 dot matrix were presented in 1 fixation, and 4 different dots from the matrix were presented in a 2nd fixation. Ss reported the location of the missing dot. When the 1st display was presented just before the saccade (as in Exps I–III), Ss accurately specified the missing dot location when the dots were presented to the same region of the retina but not when they were presented in the same place in space. When the 1st display was presented well before the saccade (as in Exp IV), Ss performed poorly regardless of retinal or spatial overlap. Results indicate the existence of a short-lived retinotopic visual persistence but provide no support for a spatiotopic visual persistence capable of fusing the contents of successive fixations. It is concluded that transsaccadic integration depends instead on an abstract memory that accumulates position and identity information about the contents of successive fixations. Results are discussed in relation to the work by M. L. Davidson et al (see record 1974-10245-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preservation of cross-modal transfer of a rate discrimination in the bushbaby (Galogo senegalensis) with lesions of posterior neocortex.

Assessed the effect of lesions of posterior neocortex, using a test method that permits the demonstration of cross-modal transfer in intact bushbabies. Eight Ss were trained to discriminate light flashes of 18/sec and 3/sec in a go-no-go shock avoidance task. On completion of training, 4 Ss received lesions of posterior neocortex by aspiration. After 6 wks both lesion and intact Ss were returned to training in the visual discrimination. On the day following criterion performance on the visual test, auditory clicks of the same rate and contingencies were substituted and maintained to criterion. All 8 Ss demonstrated rapid transfer, and the lesion Ss were not retarded as compared with intact Ss. The cross-modal transfer of a specific rate discrimination was thus preserved in the absence of posterior intersensory neocortex. Results are discussed in terms of a hypothetical subcortical system capable of the amodal coding of simple stimulus dimensions. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pervasive influence of social schemata.

Ss placed human figures cut from felt on a field under free response instructions and then reconstructed displays of the figures in a judgment task where the figures were presented with a fixed separation and replaced by the Ss. Next the Ss attempted to replace human statuettes while blindfolded. Finally, a word association test was administered. Those Ss who kept man and woman figures together in free placements made the largest errors of replacing man-woman pairs of figures closer together than they replaced other pairs in both the visual and nonvisual reconstructions. These Ss were significantly more likely to give "man" and "woman" as reciprocal verbal associations. The same social schema was aroused by the specific social content whether the stimuli were visual, nonvisual, or verbal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Restoration of eidetic imagery via hypnotic age regression: A preliminary report.

Eidetic imagery involves the ability to examine a visual stimulus briefly, such as a picture or a design, and later project onto a neutral surface an image that represents an exact duplication of the original. This phenomenon is reliably found in a minority of children (8-20%), but is essentially nonexistent in adults. The present study used the differential frequency of eidetic imagery ability between children and adults as a basis for testing the validity or efficacy of hypnotic age regression. It was hypothesized that hypnotized adult Ss, given suggestions to regress to an earlier age, would revert to earlier modes of information processing, which for a small minority would include the ability to form eidetic images. Results indicate that 2 of the 20 undergraduate Ss achieved the criterion by identifying the correct figure in 3 10,000-dot stereograms while age regressed. None of the Ss correctly identified any stereogram figures while awake or merely hypnotized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-modal transfer in 6-month-old infants.

Investigated in 4 studies with 101 infants 25.5–32 wks of age the ability of Ss to transfer information about shape across modalities. Ss were familiarized either orally or tactually and then tested for visual recognition memory. In Exp I, Ss failed to show evidence of cross-modal transfer on any of the tasks (1 oral–visual, 2 tactual–visual). When familiarization times were increased from 30 to 60 sec in Exp II, Ss showed evidence of transfer on both tactual–visual tasks. Exp III eliminated the 5–7 sec delay that generally intervenes between the familiarization and test phase. Ss were permitted to retain the stimulus in their hand (or mouth) during the test phase while simultaneously viewing a novel stimulus and a duplicate of the familiar stimulus. This modification resulted in successful transfer on 1 of the 2 tactual–visual tasks. Ss did not show evidence of transfer on the oral–visual problem in any of these studies, despite evidence from Exp IV that they could visually discriminate the paired stimuli used in these tasks and that they showed recognition memory when familiarization and testing were both visual. Results suggest that, although cross-modal transfer of information about shape is present among 6-mo-olds, it is a less robust phenomenon than that seen in older infants. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Boredom as a limiting condition on the mere exposure effect.

Three experiments investigating the role of boredom as a limiting condition on R. B. Zajonc's (1968) mere exposure effect are described. In Experiment 1, non-boredom-prone Ss showed significant exposure effects for Welsh figure stimuli, whereas boredom-prone Ss showed no exposure effects at all for these stimuli. In Experiments 2 and 3, complex stimuli (line-drawn optical illusions) produced significantly stronger exposure effects than relatively simple stimuli (Welsh figures). The difference in affect ratings for optical illusion vs. Welsh figure stimuli was greater when Ss rated both types of stimuli (Experiment 2) than when Ss rated only 1 type of stimulus (Experiment 3). Furthermore, Welsh figures showed a decline in affect ratings with increasing exposure frequency in Experiment 2 and an increase in affect ratings with increasing exposure frequency in Experiment 3, suggesting that stimulus "contrast" effects are important in determining affect judgments in mere exposure experiments. Results support the role of boredom as a limiting condition on the mere exposure effect and are consistent with a 2-factor learning-satiation model of the exposure effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety arousing effects of inappropriate crowding.

Evaluated the anxiety arousing effects of inappropriate crowding in a dyadic experimental setting. 48 female undergraduates were presented 8 Make A Picture Story test settings, containing 2 doll figures accompanied by a brief narrative describing the situation. Ss rated the amount of dysphoria they believed the female figure would feel in each setting. Ss were run under either an inappropriately crowded or appropriately spaced seating arrangement. Results indicate that crowded Ss projected more anxiety in their ratings of the figures than did the uncrowded Ss, with the effects becoming more pronounced during the latter 1/2 of the experimental period. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving the social skills of males in a maximum security psychiatric setting.

34 male patients (mean age 26 yrs) in a maximum security psychiatric hospital, selected on the basis of their low ratings on role-play situations, the Communication and Social Contact subscales of the MACC Behavior Adjustment Scale, and the Social Adjustment Rating Scale, were assigned to either social skills training (SST) or client-centered therapy (CCT) and were given either contingent or noncontingent reinforcement for social behavior. Ss in the SST condition received 10 wks of SST; Ss in the CCT condition participated in 2 90-min nondirective group psychotherapy sessions per week for 10 wks. Ss in all conditions showed dramatic improvements on the assessment battery when tested postintervention. Consistent with other studies of SST, Ss in the SST condition showed significant improvements in role-play measures of social skills during treatment, while Ss given CCT did not. However, there was no evidence of transfer of training onto the ward nor evidence that the effects persisted at 1-mo follow-up. Thus, the data question the application of SST in maximum security settings. (French abstract) (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of familiarization time on visual recognition memory in infant pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina).

Used the familiarization-novelty procedure in 2 experiments to examine the effects of study time on visual recognition memory in 34 infant pigtailed macaques. In Exp I, Ss were familiarized with abstract black-and-white patterns for 10 sec. They then were given a test trial in which the familiar stimulus was paired with a novel one. Results show that during the test trial, Ss directed significantly more visual attention toward the novel stimulus, a finding that provides evidence for recognition memory. In Exp II, a different group of Ss was familiarized with abstract black-and-white patterns for 1, 5, and 10 sec. Ss demonstrated recognition after the 10-sec familiarization period. Ss older than 6 wks of age at test also demonstrated recognition after the 5-sec study time, a finding that is consistent with the hypothetical 4:1 ratio between macaque and human infant development of some basic sensory, perceptual, and cognitive processes. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of young infants' reaching behavior to stimulus distance and solidity.

The reaching behavior of 12 infants in the presence of solid objects and pictures of objects placed within and beyond possible contact distance was videotaped in 3 sessions at 15, 19, and 24 wks of age. From 15 wks onward the Ss adjusted their reaching behavior to changes in the physical distance of stimuli. However, infants who attempted to manipulate the solid objects tended to reach for pictured objects in the same way. The different amounts of visual attention Ss paid to objects and pictures indicated that they could visually discriminate between the flat and solid stimuli, but it seemed this capacity for depth perception could be obscured by the rather compulsive tendency of young infants to manipulate patterned surfaces situated within reach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infant visual attentiveness in relation to birth condition.

28 preterm infants tested at 40 wks conceptional age showed significantly longer periods of attention to 2-dimensional stimuli than did 28 full-term infants of the same conceptional age (Exp I). To determine whether attentiveness of the full-term infants was diminished by transient birth effects, visual attentiveness was measured in a group of 15 full-term infants in the 1st 2 days of life and 2 wks later (Exp II). There was no significant increase in attention over this period. Furthermore, data from 62 additional preterm infants showed that fixation times were not significantly related to length of postnatal experience (Exp III). The only attention measure relating to birth condition was a measure of initial responsiveness. Healthier infants showed slightly longer first fixations on the first exposure of the stimulus. Initial responsiveness to visual stimuli may represent infant attentiveness more accurately than sustained attention to unchanging 2-dimensional stimuli. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infant perception of the invariant size of approaching and receding objects.

After habituation of looking at an object that repeatedly approached and receded through 50 cm along the medial axis, 30 infants (16.1–19.6 wks old) were presented with both the same moving object and one of a different size falling within the same range of visual angles as those projected during habituation. The starting point for movement varied widely from trial to trial to "desensitize" Ss to a range of changing distances and visual angles. Recovery from habituation of looking was greater for the moving object of a different size than for the same object, indicating that Ss perceived an object's invariant size with changing visual angle (i.e., that visual size constancy was operative). A secondary finding was that following habituation to the smaller object there was a markedly greater recovery with the larger object than with the smaller, but following habituation with the larger one there was no difference between their recovery. Outcomes were attributed to the additive effects of object salience and recovery from habituation. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of hysterectomy on sexual receptivity, food intake, running wheel activity, and hypothalamic estrogen and progestin receptors in rats.

Ovariectomized-hysterectomized (OH) CD rats given sequential treatments with 2 μg of estradiol benzoate (EB) and .5 mg of progesterone (P) showed significantly higher lordosis quotients than ovariectomized (OV) Ss in 2 tests, 1 and 2 wks after surgery. To test whether the effects of hysterectomy persist, 3 groups of OV and OH Ss received weekly injections of EB, EB?+?P, or sesame oil for 4 wks, were given 2 μg of EB followed 24 hrs later by .5 mg of P, and tested for receptivity. Only the OH Ss that had received hormones for 4 wks showed a significantly higher lordosis score than OV Ss. The effects of hysterectomy on food intake, weight gain, and running wheel activity were also tested. After 1 wk of 2 μg/day EB, OH Ss lost significantly more weight and consumed less food than OV Ss, but by 2 wks the effects of hysterectomy were no longer evident. Treatment with .5 μg/day EB resulted in a significant loss in weight and food intake in OH Ss throughout the experiment. OH Ss implanted with Silastic capsules containing EB were significantly more active in running wheels than OV Ss over the 1st 9 days, but by Day 23 the activity of both groups was similar. 24 hrs following a single injection of EB, hypothalamic-preoptic area cell nuclear estrogen receptors and cytoplasmic progestin receptors were significantly higher in OH than in OV Ss. Possible mechanisms by which hysterectomy might act to enhance hormone-dependent behaviors are discussed. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of psychotropic medication on selected cognitive and perceptual measures.

Assessed the effects of antipsychotic drugs on schizophrenic (SZ) and affective disordered (AD) patients (mean age 28.1 yrs) who completed 11 cognitive tests, including 4 subscales of the WAIS. Two hospital experimental groups (SZs and ADs), 2 hospital comparison groups (SZs and ADs), and a normal control group (mean age 28.7 yrs) were tested on 2 occasions. The 34 experimental SZ Ss and the 26 experimental AD Ss were removed from all medication for 3 wks and were then tested; they were tested again 4 wks after being placed on their prescribed therapeutic drugs. The 13 control SZ Ss and the 6 control AD Ss were tested twice, 4 wks apart, and medicated on both occasions. The 26 normal, drug-free controls were also tested twice, 4 wks apart. Results show the following: (1) During drug-free periods, there were significant differences between drug-free and drug-treated Ss, attributable most likely to generalized deficits. (2) Medication did not affect performance on the tests in any manner. (3) Presence or absence of clinical improvement did not account for performance on these measures. (4) The test performance of Ss already on drugs changed in ways that were very similar to those of Ss who are first off drugs and then put on drugs. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Induction of depressive affect after prolonged exposure to a mildly depressed individual.

Administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to 44 undergraduate roommate pairs during the 1st, 5th, and 11th wks of a 13-wk quarter. 22 pairs contained mildly or moderately depressed Ss; the other 22 pairs contained only nondepressed Ss (NSs). These mildly or moderately depressed Ss included 8 unremitted depressives and 14 transient-remitted depressives. Analyses indicated that after 5 wks and 11 wks of living together, the roommates of unremitted depressives had significantly higher BDI scores than NSs. Moreover, their BDI scores at 5 and 11 wks were significantly higher than they were at the 1st wk. Results also show that at 5 and 11 wks the BDI scores of the roommates of transient-remitted persons were significantly higher than scores of NSs. Possible causes for this induction of depressive affect include direct induction stemming from day-to-day contact, a modeling process, or increased dysphoria associated with an unhappy roommate relationship. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)