To perceive is to know.

"Perceiving is a cognitive process involving knowing, understanding, comprehending, organizing and even cognizing… . [The] factors known in perception are properties of sets of stimuli, not properties of individual stimuli (to say nothing of the elements which make up these individual stimuli)… . [Perceiving] is an active process, 1 in which the perceiver participates fully." The experiments cited illustrate "that to perceive is to know. It is to know and comprehend the nature of a stimulus; it is to know the nature of the alternatives to a stimulus; and it is to know the structure and organization of sets of stimuli." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Eleanor J. Gibson: Learning to perceive and perceiving to learn.

E. Gibson essentially defined the domain of perceptual learning, which includes both improvement in perception as a function of experience and learning and acquisition of knowledge as a function of changes in perception. In her view, differentiation, as opposed to association, is the process underlying perceptual development as well as perceptual learning. She considered perceptual development to be an important aspect of cognitive development. To a considerable degree, children's acquisition of knowledge and their increasingly complex conceptual sophistication can be attributed to their ability to detect more and more meaningful aspects of the rich stimulation impinging on them. This theoretical analysis was instantiated in empirical research on a wide range of topics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transformations in the recognition of visual forms.

Conducted 3 experiments in which Ss were required to learn to recognize 4 flexible plastic shapes photographed on different backgrounds from different angles. Slides were designated as either prototypes (photographed from overhead on a black background), cued (photographed from many angles on a definite background, e.g., a chair), or uncued (the cued photographs placed on a black background). Ss were 80 undergraduates in Exp I, 80 16-24 yr olds in Exp II, and 43 undergraduates in Exp III. Variables investigated were (a) order, amount, and type of training (prototype, cued, or uncued); (b) type of training instructions (Ss were told either that there were 4 classes of objects or 4 objects viewed from various backgrounds); and (c) presence or absence of context in training or testing (background which gave cues to transformation). Results indicate that (a) type of training had a significant effect on performance; (b) the presentation of uncued test slides before cued ones decreased performance on the cued slides, while cued slides presented first facilitated performance on the uncued slides; and (c) the presence of context in training significantly increased rates of pattern learning and success in recognizing new material. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Direct visual perception: A reply to Gyr.

Notes that in J. Gyr's (see PA. Vol. 48:4093) criticism of J. J. Gibson's theory of perception, Gyr did not take into account the basic issue of the availability of stimulus information nor consider the radically new conception of proprioception and self-awareness that is an essential part of the theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Causal Dimension Scale: A measure of how individuals perceive causes.

A shortcoming of previous attribution research has been the assumption that researchers can accurately translate causal attributions into causal dimensions. Attributional statements are often ambiguous and even when clearly stated may be perceived quite differently by the attributor and the researcher. The studies reported describe the development of the Causal Dimension Scale, a measure designed to assess how the attributor perceives the causes he or she has stated for an event. This scale assesses causal perceptions in terms of the locus of causality, stability, and controllability dimensions described by B. Weiner (1979). Two studies (288 undergraduates) tested the reliability and validity of the Causal Dimension Scale. All 3 subscales were found to be reliable and valid, and a 3-mode factor analysis confirmed the 3-dimensional structure of the scale. Results also indicate differences in the perception of causes of success and failure, with attributions for success being perceived as more internal, stable, and controllable than attributions for failure. The relationship between the Causal Dimension Scale and other attribution measures (such as locus of control or "attributional style" measures) is discussed. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two forms of persistence in visual information processing.

Iconic memory, once regarded as a unitary phenomenon, has been subdivided into several components. We examined the joint effects of 2 such components (visible persistence and the visual analog representation [VAR]) on performance in a partial report task. The display consisted of 15 letters arranged around the perimeter of an imaginary circle on the face of an oscilloscope. The observer named the character singled out by a bar-probe. Two factors were varied: exposure duration of the array (10, 50, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, or 500 ms) and duration of blank period (interstimulus interval [ISI]) between the termination of the array and the onset of the probe (0, 50, 100, 150, or 200 ms). Performance was progressively impaired as exposure duration and ISI were increased. Results were explained in terms of a probabilistic combinatorial model in which the timecourses of visible persistence and of the VAR are regarded as time-locked to the onset and to the end of stimulation, respectively. The impairing effect of exposure duration was attributed to the relatively high spatial demands of the task that could be met optimally by information in visible persistence, but less adequately by information in the VAR. A second experiment, employing a task with lesser spatial demands, confirmed this interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in infant visual attention: recognition of degraded visual forms by four-month-olds

In 5 experiments, 4-month-old infants were tested for their ability to recognize degraded visual targets as a function of individual differences in fixation duration. Targets were degraded by removing 10% of the total contour either from vertices (vertex-absent) or from midsegments (vertex-present). Both qualitative and quantitative differences were found in long and short lookers' ability to recognize the degraded forms. Short-looking infants were able to recognize degraded forms in both vertex-absent and vertex-present conditions, but the vertex-absent discrimination was more difficult. Long-looking infants required longer familiarization times before showing evidence of recognition in the vertex-present condition, and were unable to recognize targets in which contour was removed at vertices. The findings are discussed within the framework of the persistence of early visual processing strategies, and reliance of long-looking infants on particular local elements in visual analysis.     

Spatial factors in visual attention: A reply to Crassini.

Notes that distances between stimuli and compactness of stimulus subsets are pervasive determiners of discrimination and classification performance. Contrary to B. Crassini (see record 1986-26308-001), these factors are sufficient to account for the major patterns in the chronometric data of the present authors (see PA, Vols 61:259 and 71:3057). Other factors, such as the dichotomous one distinguishing what Crassini terms unitary and nonunitary subsets, may exert some additional influence. But a convincing demonstration would require formulation of a quantitative model capable of being pitted against the present authors' distance-based model within the context of their entire body of data. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intermittent versus continuous visual control: A reply to Elliott.

Responds to D. Elliott (see record 1986-26291-001), who reported data that he claims are inconsistent with the present author's (see record 1984-03021-001) hypothesis that a short-term motor memory system exists for guiding locomotion and other action in space. The present author argues that methodological flaws in Elliott's design make such conclusions unjustified and inappropriate and that insofar as comparisons can be made at all, Elliott's results are completely consistent with the present author's data. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

From visual acuity to hyperacuity: A 10-year update.

Reviews studies on infant spatial vision over the past 10 yrs, updating a 1979 review by R. Held (see record 1981-12484-001). Major advances include the measurement of basic visual functions other than resolution. Normative data tracing the development of both vernier acuity and stereoacuity and the techniques used to obtain them are now applied to determine the effects of pathologies and monitor their treatment. Findings have increasingly been correlated with underlying neuronal developments. Discoveries in human visual development made by behavioral methods now raise new questions for neural scientists. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ability to perceive duration: Its relation to the development of the logical concept of time.

Seventy-two children, ages 34 to 73 months, were presented with one of six different relative duration problems that involved judging which of two lights was on longer. In addition to the traditional 4- versus 7-s duration condition, each child was tested on a long (4- vs. 28-s) and a short (1- vs. 7-s) condition. Two of the problems were logically impossible to solve on the basis of nontemporal cues. Results showed that, contrary to predictions based on standard models of the logical time concept, long and short conditions were easier for children to solve than the traditional 4- versus 7-s condition. Furthermore, children were able to solve problems that are logically impossible to solve on the basis of nontemporal information. These results indicate that children have a perceptual experience of duration separate from one derived inferentially from nontemporal knowledge (e.g., start/stop relationships, speed, distance, and brightness) and that they can use this perceptual knowledge to solve relative duration problems. This suggests that the logical time concept involves the capacity to experience duration perceptually and that models of the time concept that do not acknowledge such a capacity (e.g., Piaget's) must be reassessed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How clients perceive therapist empathy: A content analysis of "received" empathy.

Examined the structure and phenomenology of 52 undergraduates' perceptions of empathy. Ss, 27 of which were in therapy, completed self-reports on situations in which a therapist (if they had received counseling) or someone else had demonstrated empathy toward them. Analysis of Ss' self-reports revealed 4 types of client-perceived empathy: therapist (facilitative), therapist affective, therapist sharing, and therapist nurturant empathy. Findings suggest that empathy is not a global, unidimensional concept. Results are discussed in terms of previous studies, which have concentrated mainly on the therapist's and not the client's experience of therapy. The therapeutic efficacy and measurement of received empathy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical and counseling psychology doctoral trainnees: How students perceive internships.

The authors examined applicants' perceptions of internship site types by specialty affiliation (clinical and counseling psychology). Multidimensional scaling analyses suggest that clinical psychology students focus their attention on internship site prestige, future job opportunities, opportunities for research, degree of client psychopathology and physical illness, and their overall comfort in working with the client population associated with the site type. Counseling students focus on fewer attributes, including site prestige, quality of supervision, degree of client physical illness, and comfort in working with the client population. Specialty affiliation also accounted for systematic differences in internship site preferences. Results are discussed with regard to internship supply-and-demand issues, and implications are offered for student applicants, academic training directors, and internship training directors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in reaction to meprobamate: A study in visual perception.

An investigation of the effect of meprobamate upon reactions to Necker Cube, Retinal Rivalry, Archimedes Spiral, and Peripheral Span on 68 college-age males, divided equally between drug and placebo conditions by the doubleblind method. No significant relationship appeared between the Maudsley Personality Inventory Extraversion scale and the test scores, nor between the tests themselves, with exception of cube and rivalry (r = + .35, p     

Why minority group members perceive or do not perceive the discrimination that confronts them: The role of self-esteem and perceived control.

Self-esteem and perceived control were examined to explain why minority group members sometimes perceive discrimination but, more often, minimize the discrimination. Women (Study 1), and Asians and Blacks (Study 2) reacted to negative feedback after information about the probability for discrimination. Minority group members tended to minimize discrimination and attributed their failure to themselves. By perceiving discrimination as a reason for failure, minority group members protected their performance state self-esteem. In contrast, by minimizing discrimination, they protected their social state self-esteem and maintained the perception of control in the performance and social domains. Results suggest that minority group members minimize discrimination because the consequences of doing so are psychologically beneficial. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practice effect on the Minnesota Clerical Test when alternate forms are used.

"1. Repeated administrations of alternate forms of the Minnesota Clerical Test show less practice effect than repeated tests with identical forms. 2. The degree of practice effect is a 6.4% increase in mean score on the Numbers test, 6.5% in the Names test, when Forms A and B are administered in ABBA order. 3. The immediate development of alternate test forms of the Minnesota Clerical Test is contra-recommended in view of the substantial differences in test difficulty on the Numbers test. 4. Any attempt to develop alternate forms of the Minnesota Clerical Test for the Numbers test should be preceded by a basic study of test-content factors underlying inequalities in form difficulty." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A correction to the hierarchical regression analysis used by Smyth: A comment on Pedhazur.

The author acknowledges that E. J. Pedhazur (see record 1984-13952-001) correctly pointed out errors in the present author's (see record 1983-07281-001) use of ANCOVA via hierarchical regression analysis in a study on psychopathology as a function of neuroticism. One of the conclusions reached in the study required modification once the errors were corrected. That is, J. Reyher's (1962) paradigm did produce psychopathology in highly hypnotically susceptible Ss, but the Ss' neuroticism did not influence their reports of psychopathology. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)