Averaging temporal duration and spatial position.

Pigeons and humans performed on a task in which spatial position and elapsed time redundantly signaled the availability of reward. On each training trial, a landmark moved steadily across a monitor screen. After a fixed amount of time and movement, reward was available for a response. On occasional unrewarded tests, the landmark moved at 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.50, or 2.00 times the training speed. In both pigeons and humans, the central tendency in the response distribution on tests differed across speeds, when measured in terms of both elapsed time and landmark position. Pigeons and humans seem to average a duration of time and a spatial position to find a single criterion time-place corresponding to the expected time-place of reward. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Judged temporal order and spatial context.

Studied the way pattern interpretations affect perceived temporal order in the brain. The coding system is presented as a method of predicting and interpreting pattern change. 40 Ss viewed 24 slides showing random shapes for 1 msec each and then viewed pairs of shapes for 2 sec. Ss then indicated which figure out of the pair had appeared 1st in the 1st stage. In each of these pairs, the interpretation of 1 pattern affected the interpretation of the other, but not the reverse. (French abstract) (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concurrent learning of temporal and spatial sequences.

In a serial reaction time task, stimulus events simultaneously defined spatial and temporal sequences. Responses were based on the spatial dimension. The temporal sequence was incidental to the task, defined by the response-to-stimulus intervals in Experiment 1 and stimulus onset asynchronies in Experiment 2. The two sequences were either of equal length and correlated or of unequal length. In both experiments, spatial learning occurred regardless of sequence length condition. In contrast, temporal learning occurred only in the correlated condition. These results suggest that timing is an integrated part of action representations and that incidental learning for a temporal pattern does not occur independently from the action. Interestingly, sequence learning was enhanced in the correlated condition, reflecting the integration of spatial-temporal information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonspecific, unintended, and serendipitous effects of psychotherapy.

It is important for psychologists to consider the social context in which therapy takes place, as it reveals a plethora of factors that can account for the effects of treatment. These factors are frequently neglected in theoretical formulations about therapeutic procedure and efficacy. They include expectations of change, effects of labeling oneself a patient, reactions of significant others, the regulating effects of the therapeutic structure, unspoken beliefs about the therapist, inadvertent role modeling, and the influence of nonprofessional members of the therapeutic milieu. Recognition of nonspecific effects can help psychologists more accurately understand their clients' progress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of reward probability on spatial and temporal variation.

Gharib, Derby, and Roberts (2001) proposed that reducing reward expectation increases variation of response form. We tested this rule in a new situation and asked if it also applied to variation of response location and timing. In 2 discrete-trial experiments, pigeons pecked colored circles for food. The circles were of 6 possible colors, each associated with a different probability of reward. Reducing reward expectation did not affect peck duration (a measure of form) but did increase horizontal variation of peck location and interpeck-interval variation. The effect of reward probability on the standard deviation of interpeck intervals was clearer (larger t value) than its effect on mean interpeck interval. Two datasets from rats had similar interresponse-interval effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between normal aging, frontal lobe function, and memory for temporal and spatial information.

Young and old participants were evaluated on tests of frontal lobe function, recognition memory, and memory for temporal and spatial information. Older participants showed significant impairments on memory for temporal order, and this impairment was found to correlate with deficits on frontal lobe tests measuring spontaneous flexibility but not reactive flexibility. However, spatial memory showed no evidence of an age effect. An interpretation of this latter finding based on the differential availability of contextual cues is ruled out because similar results were obtained when spatial memory was assessed in a different context to that used during learning. The researchers concluded that memory for temporal order and spatial memory are affected differentially by age. Theoretical interpretations of this difference are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of spatial and temporal contrast sensitivity

This paper reviews work on the development of spatial and temporal contrast sensitivity in human infants. Both electrophysiological and behavioral techniques have been used. Infants' spatial contrast sensitivity functions exhibit a large deficit in spatial resolution and overall contrast sensitivity relative to adult functions. These measurements also reveal continuous development between one and six months of age. Infants' temporal resolution does not exhibit a large deficit relative to adults'. Indeed, critical flicker frequency is essentially adult-like by two months of age. This combination of coarse spatial resolution and fine temporal resolution is analogous to what is observed in the peripheral retina of the adult visual system.     

Dissociating the roles of dorsal and ventral CA1 for the temporal processing of spatial locations, visual objects, and odors.

The differential contributions of the dorsal and ventral hippocampus for learning and memory have long been of interest. The present experiments were designed to evaluate the contributions of dorsal CA1 and ventral CA1 for temporal processing. Animals were run on three temporal ordering paradigms: one with visual objects, one with olfactory stimuli, and one with spatial locations. Animals with lesions to dorsal CA1 showed deficits for the temporal ordering of visual objects relative to control animals, and deficits for the temporal ordering of spatial locations relative to control and ventral CA1 lesioned animals. Animals with lesions to ventral CA1 showed deficits for the temporal ordering of olfactory information relative to control and dorsal CA1 lesioned animals, and a mild deficit for the temporal ordering of visual objects relative to control animals, but not as severe as those shown by the dorsal CA1 lesioned animals. These data suggest that dorsal CA1 and ventral CA1 contribute to temporal ordering processes, and that dorsal CA1 and ventral CA1 are dissociable for temporal ordering based upon the nature of the information that is processed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal and spatial context memory in patients with focal frontal, temporal lobe, and diencephalic lesions

Patients with focal frontal, temporal lobe, or diencephalic lesions were investigated on measures of temporal (recency) and spatial (position) context memory, after manipulating exposure times to match recognition memory for targets (pictorial stimuli) as closely as possible. Patients with diencephalic lesions from an alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome showed significant impairment on the temporal context (recency) task, as did patients with frontal lesions penetrating the dorsolateral frontal cortex, according to MRI (and PET) evidence. Patients with temporal lobe lesions showed only a moderate (non-significant) impairment on this task, and patients with medial frontal lesions, or large frontal lesions not penetrating the dorsolateral cortical margins, performed as well as healthy controls at this task. On the spatial context memory task, patients with lesions in the temporal lobes showed significant impairment, and patients with right temporal lesions performed significantly worse than patients with left temporal lesions. Patients with diencephalic lesions showed only a modest (non-significant) impairment on this task, and the frontal lobe group performed normally. When a group of patients with temporal lobe lesions resulting from herpes encephalitis were examined separately, an identical pattern of results was obtained, the herpes group being significantly impaired on spatial memory and showing a trend towards impairment for temporal context memory. There were strong correlations between anterograde memory quotients and context memory performance (despite the use of an exposure time titration procedure) and a weak association in the frontal group with one frontal/executive task [corrected] (card-sorting perservations). It is predicted that correlations between temporal context memory and frontal/executive tasks will be greater in samples of patients all of whom have frontal lesions invading the dorsolateral cortical margin.     

Intact implicit learning of spatial context and temporal sequences in childhood autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined by atypicalities in domains that are posited to rely on implicit learning processes such as social communication, language, and motor behavior. The authors examined 2 forms of implicit learning in 14 children with high-functioning ASD (10 of whom were diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome) and 14 control children, learning of spatial context known to be mediated by the medial temporal lobes (using the contextual cueing task) and of sequences known to be mediated by frontal-striatal and frontal-cerebellar circuits (using the alternating serial reaction time task). Both forms of learning were unimpaired in ASD. Spatial contextual implicit learning was spared in ASD despite slower visual search of spatial displays. The present findings provide evidence for the integrity of learning processes dependent on integration of spatial and sequential contextual information in high-functioning children with ASD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dissociation of object recognition and spatial localization abilities following temporal lobe lesions in humans.

Discrete extrastriate cortical visual systems in nonhuman primates consisting of an occipitotemporal object recognition system and an occipitoparietal spatial localization system have been proposed. Patients undergoing left (n?=?81) or right (n?=?77) anterior temporal lobectomy were administered tests of object recognition (facial recognition) and spatial localization (line orientation) preoperatively and 6 mo postoperatively to determine the effects on the what and where visual systems. Postoperatively there was dissociation in performance with significant loss in facial recognition ability and concomitant improvement in line orientation performance. The pattern of performance was similar for both groups. The findings suggest that anterior temporal lobectomy had a specific effect on the occipitotemporal object recognition system while leaving the occipitoparietal spatial localization system unaffected. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unintended effects of goals on unintended inferences.

Three studies, with a total of 290 undergraduates, investigated unintended effects of goals on spontaneous trait inferences (STIs). Ss read trait-implying sentences to memorize them, to analyze sentence features, or to make social judgments. Cued recall revealed unintended (spontaneous) trait and behavioral-gist inferences. They were equally frequent with all the social judgment goals and absent or infrequent with feature analysis goals. Memorizing the sentences while ignoring their meaning reduced, but did not eliminate, STIs. Goals also affected whether traits were linked directly to actors in explicit memory. Social inferences can occur without intentions or awareness, even when meanings are intentionally ignored, as incidental results of analyzing stimulus details, and as intermediate but unnoticed results of other social judgments. Goals affect these inference likelihoods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The spatial constraint in intersensory pairing: No role in temporal ventriloquism.

A sound presented in temporal proximity to a light can alter the perceived temporal occurrence of that light (temporal ventriloquism). The authors explored whether spatial discordance between the sound and light affects this phenomenon. Participants made temporal order judgments about which of 2 lights appeared first, while they heard sounds before the 1st and after the 2nd light. Sensitivity was higher (i.e., a lower just noticeable difference) when the sound-light interval was ～100 ms rather than ～0 ms. This temporal ventriloquist effect was unaffected by whether sounds came from the same or a different position as the lights, whether the sounds were static or moved, or whether they came from the same or opposite sides of fixation. Yet, discordant sounds interfered with speeded visual discrimination. These results challenge the view that intersensory interactions in general require spatial correspondence between the stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Utility of predicting group membership and the role of spatial visualization in becoming an engineer, physical scientist, or artist.

Explicates how the prediction of group membership can augment test validation designs restricted to prediction of individual differences in criterion performance, and illustrates the utility of this methodology by documenting the importance of spatial visualization for becoming an engineer, physical scientist, or artist. This involved various longitudinal analyses on a sample of 400,000 high school students tracked after 11 yrs following their high school graduation. The predictive validities of Spatial–Math and Verbal–Math ability composites were established by successfully differentiating a variety of educational and occupational groups. One implication of the findings is that physical science and engineering disciplines appear to be losing many talented persons by restricting assessment to conventional mathematical and verbal abilities, such as those of the Scholastic Aptitude Test and the Graduate Record Examination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of rehearsal of temporal and spatial aspects on the long-term retention of a procedural skill.

The study examined several rehearsal techniques as means of facilitating the retention of a discrete procedural task. 4 rehearsal conditions were defined as: whole task rehearsal, temporal rehearsal, spatial rehearsal, and no rehearsal. All groups were trained for 5 days, given 10 days of no practice, 5 days of rehearsal, 11 more days of no practice, and a retention test. The number of commissive errors showed significant retention differences, with the whole rehearsal group performing best. Omissive errors and reaction time did not show group differences. It was also found that Ss emphasized those metrics of performance which gave the most immediate feedback. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Need for approval and susceptibility to unintended social influence.

Investigated the relationship between Ss' need for approval and their susceptibility to the subtle unintended influence of biased Es. 48 female undergraduates divided into high- and low-need-for-approval groups (on the basis of their Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale scores) were tested by 6 male Es. It was suggested that prior failures to find such a relationship were due to the absence during the programmed pretask interaction of E and S of cues which would be likely to arouse S's approval motivation and thereby make him more susceptible to E's influence. A single sentence designed to arouse S's motivation was thus inserted into the standard pretask instructions. Under these conditions, Ss high in need for approval demonstrated a significant susceptibility to E expectancy effects, while low-approval-motivation Ss did not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)