Effect of meaning on letter detection.

Six experiments examined whether familiarity of word meaning affected letter detection in common function words. Fewer detection errors occurred for the when it had an unusual meaning, was contrastive, or had an ambiguous referent. Fewer errors occurred for less common meanings of in and it even when it took on less semantic content and was a function word. These experiments suggest that the length of time spent processing a given word is a major determinant of letter detection errors on that word, that common meanings of words are more quickly accessed than uncommon meanings, that word meaning plays an important role in letter detection, and that visual processing of letters occurs during a late stage of semantic accessing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retention of sequences of responses by very young children as a function of instructional condition.

Eight males and 8 females in each of 3 age-groups (28-31, 34-37, and 42-54 mo) were tested for their ability to process verbal and nonverbal instructional sequences. Each S was presented 3 different lengths of instruction in each of 4 different conditions: In the static condition each test item was prearranged in a receptacle so that during the trial the E told the S where to place the item while pointing to each item in each container; in the verbal instructions condition the S was simply told how to place the items in the containers; in the modeling condition, the S watched the E perform the task first; in the final condition, both modeling and verbal instructions were combined to determine whether adding modeling cues to the verbal instructions improved performance. Statistical analysis showed that performance in the static condition was significantly poorer than the performance in all other conditions. When instructions only indicated the prearranged location of items in containers, completion of the task was impaired relative to performance when modeling cues were added. Very young Ss did as well in the verbal conditioning as in the modeling condition. This experiment fails to support the superiority of visual over verbal information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Radar target detection as a function of search area and viewing distance.

The detection task employed a 9?-in. plan position indicator (PPI) and simulated targets. 30 Army trainees served as Ss. Each S performed the 9 combinations of viewing distance, (a) 6 ins., (b) 12 ins., (c) 18 ins., and, search area, (a) whole scope, (b) ? scope, and (c) –1–1??-diameter circle within the whole scope. A Treatments X Treatments X Subjects analysis of variance indicated significant main and interaction effects: as viewing distance increases, detection performance is degraded; as search area increases, detection performance is degraded; optimum viewing distance when searching the whole scope is approximately 12 ins., while optimum viewing distance for a small area (–1–1??-in. diameter) within a larger area is 6 ins. or less. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The enhancement effect in letter detection: Further evidence for the structural model of reading.

According to the structural model of reading (A. Koriat and S. N. Greenberg; 1994), the extraction of structure leads the way to the analysis of meaning. Consistent with this model, previous letter-detection studies have documented an inordinately high rate of letter omissions in function morphemes, suggesting that the cognitive representation of function morphemes is diminished once they have been utilized to set phrase structure. The present study revealed a new and complementary enhancement effect: Letter detection in content morphemes that immediately followed functors was superior to that of content morphemes positioned elsewhere in the text. Together these effects suggest an on-line figure–ground representation of text in which structural elements recede as semantic elements are pushed to the foreground. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age changes in processing speed as a leading indicator of cognitive aging.

Bivariate dual change score models were applied to longitudinal data from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging to compare the dynamic predictions of 2-component theories of intelligence and the processing speed theory of cognitive aging. Data from up to 5 measurement occasions covering a 16-year period were available from 806 participants ranging in age from 50 to 88 years at the first measurement wave. Factors were generated to tap 4 general cognitive domains: verbal ability, spatial ability, memory, and processing speed. Model fitting indicated no dynamic relationship between verbal and spatial factors, providing no support for the hypothesis that age changes in fluid abilities drive age changes in crystallized abilities. The results suggest that, as predicted by the processing speed theory of cognitive aging, processing speed is a leading indicator of age changes in memory and spatial ability, but not verbal ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choice of association by schizophrenics as a function of probability.

Used a complex probability-learning paradigm in a study with 15 inpatient schizophrenics (mean age = 28 yr.) and 44 normal college students. An 80:20 and 60:40 probability ratio was used to establish 2 response hierarchies simultaneously. Only the 60:40 ratio discriminated the schizophrenics from normals: schizophrenics chose the primary association significantly more often. There are at least 2 interpretations possible: (a) schizophrenics differ from normals on associative chains lacking a strong primary association and respond by overemphasizing small differences, or (b) schizophrenics are less sensitive to exact probability cues and adopt arbitrary response ratios that recognize that 1 association is more probable than the other. Results support L. Chapman's conception of schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's intention-cue detection as a function of maternal social behavior: Pathways to social rejection.

This study examined the role of maternal social behavior in children's behavioral reactions to provocation. Popular and rejected 1st graders and their mothers independently completed an intention-cue detection task. Mothers also completed a questionnaire assessing if their responses to their child were based on the child's intent. A moderate relation within the mother–child dyad was noted for all measures. Rejected children and their mothers reported more aggressive behavioral responses to nonhostile and ambiguous provocations than did popular children and their mothers. Mothers of popular children provided more prosocial resolutions to provocation than did mothers of rejected children. In addition, mothers of popular children focused more on the intent of their children's actions than did mothers of rejected children, particularly when behavior led to negative outcomes. Implications of these findings in terms of the correlates of social status are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification of words and letters during reading: A sentence inferiority effect for letter detection.

Examined the behavior of searching rapid serial visual presentations (RSVP) of normal sentences that involves identification of words as units and the focus on word meaning and syntax. As a result of RSVP, individual letters are difficult to identify. In 2 experiments Ss searched for targets in RSVP displays of normal sentences and of scrambled sentences. Ss more accurately detected word targets when searching normal as compared with scrambled sentences. The opposite result, a sentence inferiority effect, was obtained when Ss searched for single-letter targets. It is concluded that the predisposition to attend to higher level information in sentences interferes with the ability to detect individual letters. (French abstract) (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attractiveness of group as function of self-esteem and acceptance by group.

"Persons made to feel well accepted in a group found the group more attractive than did those made to feel poorly accepted. But this difference was significantly greater among persons with low self-esteem… low self-esteem being taken as an indication of strong need for acceptance. Some support was given to the additional predictions that attractiveness of membership in a group varies directly with need for acceptance when a group is accepting and inversely when a group is non-accepting." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concept attainment by pairs and individuals as a function of vocalization.

A concept attainment task comparing vocalization and nonvocalization by pairs and individuals was conducted using 84 female college student volunteers, who solved 4 3-attribute conjunctive problems. Vocalizing pairs and individuals vocalizing to a peer apparently learning the task were superior to nonvocalizing pairs. Further distinction between 2 problem-solving processes, strategy process (measured by focusing ratio) and monitoring (measured by ratio of untenable hypotheses), was demonstrated. In terms of overall effectiveness, vocalizing pairs were superior; individuals vocalizing to a confederate, individuals vocalizing to the E, and nonvocalizing individuals were intermediate, in that order; and nonvocalizing pairs were consistently inferior. Ss in all conditions improved over problems on all measures. Implications for educational applications are discussed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Protective effect of amiloride against reperfusion damage as evidenced by inhibition of accumulation of free fatty acids in working rat hearts

To examine whether amiloride protects against ischemia-induced or reperfusion-induced damage to the heart, mechanical and metabolic studies were performed in the isolated, working rat heart. Ischemia decreased both mechanical function and the tissue levels of high-energy phosphates and increased the tissue levels of free fatty acids (FFAs). Reperfusion restored the levels of high-energy phosphates but further increased FFA accumulation. For this reason, accumulation of FFAs was used as an indicator of both ischemia-induced and reperfusion-induced damage. Drugs were added to the perfusion solution 5 min before ischemia until the end of ischemia (pre) or until 10 min after reperfusion (pre + post). Diltiazem (1 or 5 mumol/L pre) decreased the mechanical function of the non-ischemic heart and attenuated both ischemia-induced and reperfusion-induced accumulation of FFAs. Amiloride (50 mumol/L pre) did not affect the mechanical function of the non-ischemic heart or attenuate ischemia-induced or reperfusion-induced FFA accumulation effectively. However, amiloride (50 mumol/L pre + post) did markedly attenuate the reperfusion-induced accumulation of FFAs. In conclusion, diltiazem attenuates both ischemia-induced and reperfusion-induced myocardial damage, probably through its energy-sparing effect as a result of a decrease in mechanical function before ischemia. In contrast, amiloride attenuates only the reperfusion-induced myocardial damage through mechanisms other than the energy-sparing effect.     

Effects of metric and harmonic rhythm on the detection of pitch alterations in melodic sequences.

Tested response time to alterations. Metric rhythm and harmonic rhythm of 13-note tonal sequences were either matched or mismatched. Metric rhythm (3/4 or 4/4 meter) was induced by dynamic accents. Harmonic rhythm was induced by implied chord progressions initiated on the first note and on either every third or every fourth note. Responses were not always faster for matched rhythms or for alterations occurring on the dynamic accent. Responses were consistently faster for sequences presented in 4/4 meter. Musically untrained Ss performed similarly to trained Ss, but were slower and more variable. Accuracy of recall on a music dictation task also favored 4/4 meter rather than matched rhythms. Coding of pitch content may have been facilitated by the structural framework of 4/4 meter rather than by expectancies arising from the match of temporal and pitch organization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The detection of anisochrony in monaural and interaural sound sequences

Nakao and Axelrod (1976) and van Noorden (1975) showed that the threshold for discriminating an anisochronous duple rhythm (a series of clicks with a temporal offset on every other one) from an isochronous rhythm (no offset) is poorer when the clicks are presented alternately to the two ears than when they are presented to the same ears. Van Noorden reported that the difference between the thresholds in the alternating and nonalternating conditions varied with the tempo of the sequence. Nakao and Axelrod found invariance of this threshold difference with sequence speed. According to our quantification of temporal processing of interaural sequences, the latter result should be expected. We carried out five psychophysical experiments to establish interaural and monaural discrimination between isochronous and anisochronous rhythms. Across experiments, base time intervals of 60-720 msec were spanned. The main result was that we replicated the poorer discrimination for interaural sequences. This deterioration in discrimination was the same for all sequence speeds. It was also the case that the thresholds were almost constant up to a sound repetition rate of about 3 per second, but increased linearly with slower rates. This result supports evidence in the literature that temporal processing of sequences faster than about 3-4 sounds per second differs from temporal processing of slower sequences.     

Prejudice as a function of self-organization.

This article reviewed the traditional psychoanalytic theories of the development and maintenance of prejudiced attitudes and affects. To this body of understanding, the authors offered a self psychological perspective. They described the treatment of Sandy, a woman who presented with extreme expressions of prejudice, to illustrate how self psychology provides a framework for understanding the narcissistic roots of her prejudice and a therapeutic stance for promoting the transformation of her prejudiced attitudes and affects. From this perspective, prejudice is understood not as the displacement or projection of aggression, but as an expression of a vulnerable, fragmentation-prone self-organization struggling to overcome a traumatic developmental history. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dual-task interference as an indicator of on-line programming in simple movement sequences.

The probe reaction time paradigm was used to investigate the processing demands of an elbow extension and 2 types of extension-flexion movements, one with a short pause time (50–100 ms) at reversal and another with a long pause time (250–300 ms). The probe task consisted of a bite response to an auditory signal. The locations of the probe were determined by on-line analysis of electromyographic activity and kinematic profiles. Depending on the temporal location of the probe relative to the initiation of the flexion phase, participants either initiated the masseter and biceps muscles successively or grouped them together as a single conjoint response. Results are discussed in terms of limitations during on-line preparation and execution of movements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Displacement as a function of conflict.

"Miller's theory of displacement was extended by integration with his conflict theory into a three-dimensional model… . To test deductions from this model rats were first trained to get food at one end of an alley and then shocked while eating until they no longer approached the food cup. They then left this alley and entered other alleys differing slightly from the original alley. Here they went closer to the food end than in the original alley. Tracings of their movements followed a pattern predicted from the model… . After making goal responses in the generalized alleys, the rats returned to eat in the original alley, showing a 'therapeutic' effect." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition of a spatial discrimination by rats as a function of age.

144 female albino Sprague-Dawley rats, equally divided among 3 levels of food deprivation, were given 10 trials/day on a spatial discrimination until 1 errorless day occurred. 1/2 of the Ss were 33 days old (juveniles) when training began; the other Ss were between 100 and 120 days old (adults). Results show that juveniles learned more slowly than adults, and Ss given a smaller daily food ration learned in fewer trials. The age-related difference in learning rate was interpreted to be a consequence of relatively ineffective inhibitory processes among the juveniles in view of the associated differences in sequence of choices and other behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using variance as a discriminator in lie detection.

Used GSR data from a study of 207 male undergraduates conducted by M. T. Orne and R. I. Thackray (see record 1968-08483-001) to show that the variance of response was a suitable discriminator between liars and truthtellers when an individual's deception was detected on a single trial. Ss who were liars differed from Ss who were truthtellers on all trials, not just on the ones in which they tried to deceive E. The discrimination between liars and truthtellers was facilitated by G. Gruvaeus and H. Wainer's 1972 method of cluster analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of consonant letter names in beginning spelling.

Middle-class American children usually learn the names of letters several years before they begin formal instruction in reading and spelling. How does this knowledge affect their subsequent acquisition of spelling? The results of 4 experiments speak against the idea that children go through a stage of spelling development during which they are equally likely to symbolize any sequence of phonemes that matches the name of a letter with the corresponding letter. Although kindergartners and 1st graders sometimes spell the nonword /var/ as "vr," using the letter r to represent both of the phonemes in its name, they are less likely to spell the nonword /vεs/ as "vs" or the nonword /tib/ as "tb." These differences are interpreted as reflecting the phonological or sound properties of the letters' names. Implications for models of spelling development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)