Picture perception and monocular vision: a reply to Hagen

It is argued that M. A. Hagen's (see record 1975-00215-001) review of picture perception contains a number of inaccuracies involving the nature of higher order variables in perception, the demonstration of visual compensation, the manipulation of relative size information, the postulation of an ability to discriminate the correctness of viewing point, and the existence of ambiguity in monocular perception. It is suggested that such errors are the result of a misunderstanding of the formal basis of J. J. Gibson's (1950, 1966) perceptual theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preserving Informational Separability and Violating Decisional Separability in Facial Perception and Recognition.

The holistic encoding hypothesis (M. J. Farah, K. D. Wilson, M. Drain, & J. N. Tanaka, 1998) proposes that faces are encoded and used in perception and cognition as relatively undifferentiated wholes. A previous study (M. J. Wenger & E. M. Ingvalson, 2002) found very little support for the strong version of this hypothesis and instead found evidence that shifts in decisional criteria may be important. This study provides a replication and stronger test of those findings, demonstrating consistent violations of decisional separability and preservation of informational separability in both immediate perception and delayed recognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Auditory coding, cues, and coherence in phonetic perception.

C. T. Best, M. Studdert-Kennedy, S. Manuel, and J. Rubin-Spitz (1989) reported that listeners given speech labels showed categorical-like perception of a series of complex tone analogs to a /la/-/ra/ speech series, whereas nonspeech listeners were unable to classify the stimuli consistently. In 2 experiments, a new training and testing procedure was used with adult listeners given nonspeech instructions. They classified the /la/-/ra/ tone analogs consistently, showed categorical-like perception, and generalized their training to a new, /li/-/ri/ tone analog series. Two sets of auditory attributes were described for coding the /l/-/r/ distinction, and 1 was shown to quantitatively predict listeners' classification of both series. These results are consistent with models of perception in which a rich, abstract auditory code is computed and forms the basis for both speech and nonspeech auditory categories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compte rendu d'Psychologie sociale.

Reviews the book, Psychologie sociale by Sylvie Jutras, Claude Champagne, Claude Hamel, K. J. Gergen, and M. M. Gergen (1984). This work has the following goals: (1) to propose a coherent explanation of principal ideas and theories in the field, (2) to demonstrate the value and the importance of empirical research (3) to show the contribution of the psychosocial knowledge in the realm of life and (4) to present all that in the form more interesting and most useful to the student reader. There are chapters on social perception, interpersonal attraction, prejudgement and discrimination, attitude changes, morality (a subject which is not very common in other handbooks of this kind), positive social action, aggression, leadership capacity, social influence, social exchange (another not very common subject), interaction in groups, and finally a chapter on "the physical and social environment." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transsaccadic perception of saccade target and flanker objects.

To account for location-dependent and location-independent preview benefits in transsaccadic object perception, J. M. Henderson (1994) and J. M. Henderson and M. D. Anes (1994) proposed a dual-route model in which both episodic object representations and long-term memory representations store information across a saccade. Four experiments are reported in which the dual-route model was assessed. Preview benefits for saccade target objects were found to be location independent, whereas preview benefits for flanker objects were location dependent. These results support a single-route, 2-stage model of transsaccadic object perception. First, preattentive object files are set up to parse a set of attentional and/or saccade targets from peripheral vision, causing location-dependent preview benefits. Second, 1 object is attentionally selected for further processing, activating long-term memory representations and resulting in location-independent preview benefits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychophysical Test for the Independence of Perception and Action.

Research has suggested that perception and action are independent (see M. A. Goodale & A. Haffenden, 1998). The authors used the Ebbinghaus illusion to test this hypothesis in 2 experiments. Verbal reports of perceived size were compared with maximum grip aperture during grasping (Experiment 1) and manual reports of perceived size (Experiment 2). A multidimensional signal detection analysis was used to distinguish among the possible interactions between the two processes in each experiment (H. Kadlec & J. T. Townsend, 1992a, 1992b). In Experiment 1, the percepts were independent, and there were no interactions between processes for verbal and visuomotor responses. In Experiment 2, the percepts associated with verbal and manual reports were independent, but the processes interacted at the levels of the stimulus information and the decision rules used to transform each percept into a response. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal phenomenology as a function of sexual orientation, sex, sentiment, and trait categories in long-term dyadic relationships.

Studied homo- and heterosexual relationships with the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (EPAQ) as modified by the interpersonal perception method (IPM). Ss were 20 gay male, 20 lesbian, and 40 heterosexual couples. The F+ scale of the EPAQ accounted for greater congruence among IPM perspectives than any of the other EPAQ scales (M+, M–, F–). Positive EPAQ scales showed more consistency among inter- and intrapersonal perspectives than negative scales. Homosexual partners perceived themselves more similar to each other on the F+ scales than did heterosexual partners. Ss with female partners had higher expectations and greater accuracy in these expectations than those with male partners. Differences within the interpersonal phenomenology of heterosexual couples found in an earlier study by the 2nd author and W. J. Friedman (see record 1984-01263-001) were fully replicated. Treating the M and F scales of the EPAQ as instrumental and expressive traits rather than masculine and feminine sex roles, as suggested by J. T Spence and R. L. Helmreich (see record 1982-12888-001), clarifies the interpretation of these results. (75 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individualism-collectivism, social-network orientation, and acculturation as predictors of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Chinese Americans.

Several culturally based variables were used to predict the patterns of help-seeking attitudes among a sample of 219 Chinese-American students in a large midwestern university. Cultural values operationalized by the H. C. Triandis et al (see record 1988-13667-001) Individualism-Collectivism Scale, social support attitudes operationalized by A. Vaux's (see record 1987-09232-001) Network Orientation Scale, and the continuous variable of acculturation operationalized by the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-ldentity Acculturation Scale (R. M. Suinn et al; see record 1987-30187-001) were selected as predictors of attitudes as measured by E. H. Fischer and J. L. Turner's (1970) Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale. Each of the 4 independent variables were found to be significant predictors of attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. The counseling and research implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Action-centred attention in virtual environments.

A recent action-centred model of selective attention holds that attention depends upon the relation between the intended target, distracting stimuli, and the action to be performed (S. P. Tipper et al; see record 1993-12302-001). In contrast to many earlier studies, where perception and action seem to be dissociated, an action-centred approach stresses that what is perceived depends on how we intend to interact with the environment (R. J. Bootsma; see record 1990-06529-001). Consequently, selective attention is best studied under conditions analogous to the three-dimensional, real-world action in which humans typically engage (Tipper et al). In this study, three experiments were conducted to assess the predictions of this model when participants are required to direct action to intended targets located within a computer-generated virtual environment. Taken together, the results suggest that human selective attention is predominately influenced by the degree to which perception and action space is aligned. Specifically, unless a reasonably direct spatial alignment of perception and action is evident, any competing response afforded by irrelevant stimuli is less likely to impede either movement preparation or execution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chaos theory, nonlinear dynamical models, and psychological assessment.

This article is the first in a special section on chaos theory and psychological assessment. This introductory article provides the basic definitions, measurement approaches, and data analytic techniques that are collectively referred to as chaos theory (T. Y. Li & J. A. Yorke, 1975). Chaos refers to certain unstable transitional phenomena that heretofore had been viewed as random (S. Krasner, 1990). Some have suggested that unstable human behavior of interest to psychological assessment may be chaotic, such as some extreme mood changes (L. Glass & M. C. Mackey, 1988). Chaos theory testing involves quantification of idiographic time series data with nonlinear dynamic mathematical modeling. Chaotic behavior exhibits abrupt changes in the parametric values of variables that are an iterative function of past values, yielding an irreversible and hierarchical pattern. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problems with picture perception: A reply to Rosinski.

Maintains that R. R. Rosinski's (see record 1977-20263-001) reply to the present author's (see record 1975-00215-001) review of picture perception assumes a degree of knowledge of stimulus information and variables, which influence picture perception, that far exceeds that current in the field. It is argued that Rosinski forecloses on further specification of optical information, confuses formal and perceptual equivalence, narrows the original definition of compensation, ignores the problem of information-preserving misprojections, mistakenly identifies knowledge with perception, and fails to consider the specified set of assumptions that underlies J. J. Gibson's (1950) theory of optical information. It is suggested that such problems arise from an overextension of early work, which fails to take note of the continuing development of the theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tactual roughness perception: Spatial and temporal determinants.

Investigated M. M. Taylor and S. J. Lederman's (see record 1975-10788-001) model of tactual roughness perception. According to this model, felt roughness is best predicted by modeling the intensive aspects of instantaneous skin displacement, as determined primarily by groove and ridge width and by finger force. Two experiments involving a total of 14 young right-handed adults were conducted. Exp I showed that magnitude estimates of the felt roughness of linear gratings were not affected by either spatial period or groove-to-ridge ratio. Exp II found only negligible effects on perceived roughness of varying the relative speed of motion between skin and surface, whether active or passive touch was used. The results of both experiments argue strongly against a temporal coding theory of roughness perception, and serve to clarify and strengthen Taylor and Lederman's model. (French abstract) (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Life experiences, coping, and weight preoccupation in young adult women.

Relationships among stress, 3 different styles of coping (task-, emotion-, or avoidance-oriented) and weight preoccupation were examined in 206 female college students (aged 19–55 yrs). The relationships among these variables were examined using the Life Experiences Survey (I. G. Sarason et al, 1978), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (N. S. Endler and J. D. A. Parker, 1999), and the Eating Disorder Inventory (D. M. Garner and M. P. Olmsted, 1984). A hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine whether coping styles and life stress would predict weight preoccupation in this nonclinical sample of university women. Results showed that emotion-oriented coping predicted weight preoccupation regardless of stress. These findings suggest that how one copes with stress is associated with weight preoccupation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing effects of the horizontal-vertical illusion on grip scaling and judgment: Relative versus absolute, not perception versus action.

The discovery that the prehension component of an open-loop, two-fingered reach is largely immune to certain salient pictorial illusions has been used to suggest that humans possess 2 distinct visual systems, 1 that subserves perceptual judgment and 1 that mediates visually controlled action. In this article, the authors present evidence that suggests that the critical distinction is not that of reaching and judgment but of relative and absolute perception. Experiment 1 extends the findings of S. Aglioti, J. F. X. DeSouza, and M. A. Goodale (1995) and suggests that the manual prehension component of open-loop reaching is affected by the horizontal-vertical illusion to a much smaller degree than perceptual size judgments. In Experiments 2 and 3, however, when perceptual size judgment is directed at a single element of the display, this difference vanishes. Experiment 4 demonstrates that grip scaling is strongly affected by the illusion when a single reach is scaled to both the horizontal and vertical components of a triangular figure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors associated with rehabilitation outcome in patients with low back pain (LBP): Prediction of employment outcome at 9-month follow-up.

Examined which admission and treatment change variables predicted return to work for 117 male patients (mean age 40.2 yrs) with work-related LBP. Pain and disability perception, coping strategies, depression, and functional status were examined at admission and discharge for Ss who participated in an interdisciplinary work rehabilitation program. Discriminant function analyses, using employment status 9 mo later as the dependent variable, resulted in correct classification rates of 79% when admission and treatment change scores were used as predictors. Psychological factors at admission were the salient variables that predicted employment outcome at follow-up. Of the treatment change variables, physical status and S's perception of his/her disability significantly predicted return to work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Prospective study of postpartum depression: Prevalence, course, and predictive factors": Correction.

Reports an error in "Prospective study of postpartum depression: Prevalence, course, and predictive factors" by Michael W. O'Hara, Danny J. Neunaber and Ellen M. Zekoski (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1984[May], Vol 93[2], 158-171). Much of the data reported in Tables 4 and 5 are incorrect. Most of the errors are small and they do not affect the p values shown in the tables, with three exceptions which are provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1984-23277-001.) 99 women (mean age 26.5 yrs) were followed from the 2nd trimester of pregnancy until about 6 mo postpartum. Depression diagnostic and severity assessments were conducted during pregnancy and after delivery. Instruments included the Beck Depression Inventory and an interview adapted from the Schedule of Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. Depression severity decreased steadily from the 2nd trimester until 9 wks postpartum. Approximately 9% of the Ss during pregnancy and 12% of the Ss during the postpartum period were diagnosed as having a major or minor depression. A model of depression was constructed to account for both postpartum depression symptomatology and the syndrome of postpartum depression. Predictor variables (e.g., prepartum depression symptomatology, obstetric risk factors) accounted for about 50% of the variance in depressive symptomatology. Predictor variables (e.g., depression history, stressful childcare events) accounted for about 30% of the variance in diagnostic status. Findings underscore the importance of studying changes in depression diagnostic status as well as changes in level of depressive symptomatology in prospective studies. (43 ref) (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)     

The relation between infants' activity with objects and attention to object appearance.

The authors examined the relation between infants' motor skills and attention to objects features in events in which a hand acted on an object (e.g., squeezed it) that then produced a sound (e.g., squeaking). In this study, 6- to 7-month-old infants (N = 41) were habituated to a single event and then tested with changes in appearance and action. Infants robustly responded to changes in action, but as a group did not respond to changes in appearance. Moreover, more skilled activity with objects during naturalistic play was associated with longer looking in response to a change in appearance, but not to a change in action. Implications for the relation between perception and action in infancy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

10 years of illusions.

A decade ago, S. Aglioti, J. F. X. DeSouza, and M. A. Goodale (1995) published an experiment that has had a big influence on the way that visual information is thought to control human behavior. Their findings have often been simplified as suggesting that action is immune to perceptual illusions. The current authors critically analyze the 4 steps involved in this simplification and argue that research during the last 10 years has shown that the validity of 3 of the 4 steps is doubtful. They conclude that this experiment cannot be regarded as firm support for the 2-visual-systems hypothesis (i.e., that the ventral stream is for perception and the dorsal stream is for visually guided actions). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)