Perceiving curvilinear heading in the presence of moving objects.

Four experiments were directed at understanding the influence of multiple moving objects on curvilinear (i.e., circular and elliptical) heading perception. Displays simulated observer movement over a ground plane in the presence of moving objects depicted as transparent, opaque, or black cubes. Objects either moved parallel to or intersected the observer's path and either retreated from or approached the moving observer. Heading judgments were accurate and consistent across all conditions. The significance of these results for computational models of heading perception and for information in the global optic flow field about observer and object motion is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving spatially inseparable objects: Evidence for feature-based object selection not mediated by location.

In 4 experiments, stimulus elements were arranged into an LED-like array, and letters were defined within the array by feature similarity between the elements with respect to color and form. These stimuli allowed the display of a target and a distractor letter simultaneously at the same location. They were spatially inseparable but could be separated in feature space. Participants had to identify the letter on a prespecified feature dimension (color or form). As a result, the distractors produced specific compatibility effects. This showed that nontarget features could not be ignored at an early stage (i.e., that color and form were processed automatically and in parallel up to a high stage). The target was selected from the resulting objects according to the prespecified feature dimension. Results demonstrate that object selection is possible without selecting absolute spatial arrays. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving persons and groups.

This article analyzes the similarities and differences in forming impressions of individuals and in developing conceptions of groups. In both cases, the perceiver develops a mental conception of the target (individual or group) on the basis of available information and uses that information to make judgements about that person or group. However, a review of existing evidence recalls differences in the outcomes of impressions formed of individual and group targets, even when those impressions are based on the very same behavioral information. A model is proposed to account for these differences. The model emphasizes the role of differing expectancies of unity and coherences in individual and group targets, which in turn engage different mechanisms for processing information and making judgments. Implications of the model are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving groups accurately.

This study bridges a gap between traditional group perception research and person perception research by relating group members' perceptions of others to their perceptions of the group's functioning. Ratings of ability, responsibility for a group task, and liking of others were gathered from college students completing group assignments. Group members were able to accurately perceive other group members along task relevant ratings. A social relations model analysis further revealed that individuals' liking of specific others did not impact the accuracy of their judgments of others' abilities or of the group's functioning as a whole. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving the Intensity of Light.

The relationship between luminance (i.e., the photometric intensity of light) and its perception (i.e., sensations of lightness or brightness) has long been a puzzle. In addition to the mystery of why these perceptual qualities do not scale with luminance in any simple way, "illusions" such as simultaneous brightness contrast, Mach bands, Craik-O'Brien-Cornsweet edge effects, and the Chubb-Sperling-Solomon illusion have all generated much interest but no generally accepted explanation. The authors review evidence that the full range of this perceptual phenomenology can be rationalized in terms of an empirical theory of vision. The implication of these observations is that perceptions of lightness and brightness are generated according to the probability distributions of the possible sources of luminance values in stimuli that are inevitably ambiguous. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving affordances for fitting through apertures.

Affordances--possibilities for action--are constrained by the match between actors and their environments. For motor decisions to be adaptive, affordances must be detected accurately. Three experiments examined the correspondence between motor decisions and affordances as participants reached through apertures of varying size. A psychophysical procedure was used to estimate an affordance threshold for each participant (smallest aperture they could fit their hand through on 50% of trials), and motor decisions were assessed relative to affordance thresholds. Experiment 1 showed that participants scale motor decisions to hand size, and motor decisions and affordance thresholds are reliable over two blocked protocols. Experiment 2 examined the effects of habitual practice: Motor decisions were equally accurate when reaching with the more practiced dominant hand and less practiced nondominant hand. Experiment 3 showed that participants recalibrate motor decisions to take changing body dimensions into account: Motor decisions while wearing a hand-enlarging prosthesis were similar to motor decisions without the prosthesis when data were normalized to affordance thresholds. Across experiments, errors in decisions to reach through too-small apertures were likely due to low penalty for error. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving affordances for another person's actions.

The perception of affordances for the actions of other people (actors) was examined. Observers judged the maximum and preferred sitting heights of tall and short actors. Judgments were scaled in centimeters, as a proportion of the observer's leg length, and as a proportion of each actor's leg length. In Experiment 1 observers viewed live actors standing next to a chair. When judgments were scaled by actor leg length, they reflected the actual ordinal relation between the capabilities of the actors. The perception of affordances from kinematic displays was then evaluated. Observers differentiated tall and short actors, but only when the displays contained direct information about relations between the actors and the chair. It is concluded that observers can perceive affordances for the actions of actors and that kinematic displays can be enough to support such percepts if they preserve actor–environment relations that define affordances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving bimodally specified events in infancy.

In 2 experiments with 32 4-mo-olds, it was found that Ss could perceive bimodally specified events. They responded to relationships between optic and acoustic stimulation that carried information about an object. Infants did this by detecting the temporal synchrony of an object's sounds and its optically specified impacts. They were sensitive both to the common tempo and to the simultaneity of such sounds and visible impacts. Findings support the view that intermodal perception depends at least in part on the detection of invariant relationships in patterns of light and sound. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving circular heading in noncanonical flow fields.

Five experiments examined circular heading perception with optical flows that departed from the canonical form. Noncanonicity was achieved through nonrigidity of the environment (Experiments 1 and 2), oscillations of the point of observation (Experiment 3), and the bending of light (Experiments 4 and 5). In Experiments 1 and 2, perception was impaired more by nonrigidity of the ground plane than by nonrigidity of the medium. In Experiment 3, perception was unimpaired by noncanonical flows induced by the bounce and sway of observer locomotion. In Experiments 4 and 5, perception was not impaired when light paths were distorted by a spherical projection, but perception was impaired when they were distorted by a sine function. Results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that the information for perceiving heading is the ordinal pattern of optical flow. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goal Contagion: Perceiving Is for Pursuing.

Six studies examined the goal contagion hypothesis, which claims that individuals may automatically adopt and pursue a goal that is implied by another person's behavior. Participants were briefly exposed to behavioral information implying a specific goal and were then given the opportunity to act on the goal in a different way and context. Studies 1-3 established the goal contagion phenomenon by showing that the behavioral consequences of goal contagion possess features of goal directedness: (a) They are affected by goal strength, (b) they have the quality of goal appropriateness, and (c) they are characterized by persistence. Studies 4-6 show that people do not automatically adopt goals when the observed goal pursuit is conducted in an unacceptable manner, because the goal will then be perceived as unattractive. The results are discussed in the context of recent research on automatic goal pursuits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Illusory figures, illusory objects, and real objects.

Suggests that illusory contours are often described as occurring in special situations and, as a result, are taken to be unecological. In contrast, it can be shown that inducing conditions include displays in which there are (a) mixtures of internal and external support, (b) apparently flat and pictorially bulky elements, and (c) geometrically simple and complex organic shapes. The displays themselves may be either flat drawings or free-standing constructions. The resulting illusory figure may appear to join with (rather than occlude) the inducing elements. As a result of this diversity, it is reasonable to expect that illusory contours arise when, because of low contrast and inadequate lighting, physically real gradients become subliminal. In these cases, the contours, although perceived via illusory-contour processes, would be veridical: Some so-called "illusory" contours, if examined under better conditions, will be found to be real. This seeming paradox is no more than the defining condition of a perceptual system that may overcome inadequacies in stimulation. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Case for Motor Involvement in Perceiving Conspecifics.

Perceiving other people's behaviors activates imitative motor plans in the perceiver, but there is disagreement as to the function of this activation. In contrast to other recent proposals (e.g., that it subserves overt imitation, identification and understanding of actions, or working memory), here it is argued that imitative motor activation feeds back into the perceptual processing of conspecifics' behaviors, generating top-down expectations and predictions of the unfolding action. Furthermore, this account incorporates recent ideas about emulators in the brain-mental simulations that run in parallel to the external events they simulate-to provide a mechanism by which motoric involvement could contribute to perception. Evidence from a variety of literatures is brought to bear to support this account of perceiving human body movement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving Virtual Geographical Slant: Action Influences Perception.

In 4 experiments, the authors varied the extent and nature of participant movement in a virtual environment to examine the influence of action on estimates of geographical slant. Previous studies showed that people consciously overestimate hill slant but can still accurately guide an action toward the hill (D. R. Proffitt, M. Bhalla, R. Gossweiler, & J. Midgett, 1995). Related studies suggest that one's potential to act may influence perception of slant and that distinct representations may independently inform perceptual and motoric responses. The authors found that in all conditions, perceptual judgments were overestimated and motoric adjustments were more accurate. The virtual environment allowed manipulation of the effort required to walk up simulated hills. Walking with the effort appropriate to the visual slant led to increased perceptual overestimation of slant compared with active walking with the effort appropriate to level ground, while visually guided actions remained accurate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving one's own traits and others': The multifaceted self.

Four experiments supported the hypothesis that people see themselves as having rich, multifaceted, and adaptive personalities that result in the perceptions that they possess more traits than other people and are less predictable than other people. Experiment 1 showed that people perceived themselves as having more of opposing pairs of traits than they perceived others as having when they rated both self and an acquaintance on each trait in the pair separately, (e.g., serious and carefree). When the ratings were made on bipolar scales (e.g., serious vs. carefree), the self was rated as closer to the midpoint than was the acquaintance. Experiment 2 showed that the latter result reflects people's belief that they possess both traits in opposing pairs. Subjects in Experiment 2 also rated their behavior as less predictable than that of others. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 2 and showed that people perceive that they have both members of pairs of opposing traits independent of the social desirability and observability of the traits. Experiment 4 indicated that familiar and liked persons are perceived to have more traits than unfamiliar and disliked persons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving surface slant from deformation of optic flow.

Perceived surface orientation and angular velocity were investigated for orthographic projections of 3-D rotating random-dot planes. It was found that (a) tilt was accurately perceived and (b) slant and angular velocity were systematically misperceived. It was hypothesized that these misperceptions are the product of a heuristic analysis based on the deformation, one of the differential invariants of the first-order optic flow. According to this heuristic, surface attitude and angular velocity are recovered by determining the magnitudes of these parameters that most likely produce the deformation of the velocity field, under the assumption that all slant and angular velocity magnitudes have the same a priori probability. The results of the present investigation support this hypothesis. Residual orientation anisotropies not accounted for by the proposed heuristic were also found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving group members: A comparison of derived and imposed dimensions.

Three studies with 54 18–55 yr olds compared 2 methods for spatially representing the perceived internal structure of small groups. R. F. Bales's (1980) Systematic Multiple Level Observation of Groups (SYMLOG) imposes 3 a-priori dimensions of interpersonal behavior—dominant vs submissive, friendly vs unfriendly, and instrumentally controlled vs emotionally expressive. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) derives dimensions on the basis of perceived similarity of group members. Each of the 3 studies demonstrated substantial and statistically significant overlap between the SYMLOG and MDS dimensions. In particular, the 1st MDS dimension was highly correlated with the axis of greatest differentiation in the SYMLOG space. Findings are discussed in terms of psychological salience and the behavioral attributes underlying the 3 SYMLOG dimensions. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vitalizing objects and psychoanalytic psychotherapy.

Patients, with some measure of unconscious hope and dread, seek vitalizing objects. These objects, which represent interactional processes, provide persons with subjective and intersubjective experiences of being alive and real. This article proposes that a constitutional structure of vitality, which is initially nonpropositional and preconceptual, is projected onto objects, rituals, and persons. Ideally this provides persons with subjective and intersubjective organizations and meanings of being alive and real. The development, transformation, and expansion of these organizations and experiences are contingent on the complex interplay of trusted significant figures, primary and secondary transitional phenomena, and the person's constitutional capacities. Patients often display varying degrees of constricted abilities to make use of shared objects to feel alive and real. A goal of therapy is facilitating the patient's capacity to risk creating, projecting onto, and making use of socially shared phenomena for more diverse and expansive organizations and meanings of feeling alive and real. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Melodic and Temporal Cues in Perceiving Musical Meter.

A number of different cues allow listeners to perceive musical meter. Three experiments examined effects of melodic and temporal accents on perceived meter in excerpts from folk songs scored in 6/8 or 3/4 meter. Participants matched excerpts with 1 of 2 metrical drum accompaniments. Melodic accents included contour change, melodic leaps, registral extreme, melodic repetition, and harmonic rhythm. Two experiments with isochronous melodies showed that contour change and melodic repetition predicted judgments. For longer melodies in the 2nd experiment, variables predicted judgments best at the beginning of excerpts. The final experiment, with rhythmically varied melodies, showed that temporal accents, tempo, and contour change were the strongest predictors of meter. The authors' findings suggest that listeners combine multiple melodic and temporal features to perceive musical meter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving the causes of success and failure of male and female performers.

Studied sex differences in attributions of ability, effort, task difficulty, or luck given by 320 Ss at 4 grade levels (5th, 8th, and 11th grades and college) to the outcomes of 4 masculine tasks performed by either male or female actors. Results suggest that differential perceptions of male and female performances appear to be well established in both boys and girls by the 5th grade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)