Lesioning a connectionist model of visual search: Selective effects on distractor grouping.

Presents a connectionist model of visual search, Search via Recursive Rejection (SERR) by G. W. Humphreys and H. J. Muller (in press), in which search is determined by patterns of grouping between distractors and between simple form elements. The performance of SERR is examined after it is subject to various types of "lesion." Lesioning is produced either by increasing the internal noise on the activation functions governing the interactions between processing units or by eliminating processing units from different loci in SERR. Simulations demonstrate that (1) search processes can be disrupted by adding internal noise to search functions, (2) there can be selective effects on grouping processes, and (3) these selective effects can be associated with different types of lesion to different stages in SERR. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The temporal dynamics of visual search: Evidence for parallel processing in feature and conjunction searches.

Feature and conjunction searches have been argued to delineate parallel and serial operations in visual processing. The authors evaluated this claim by examining the temporal dynamics of the detection of features and conjunctions. The 1st experiment used a reaction time (RT) task to replicate standard mean RT patterns and to examine the shapes of the RT distributions. The 2nd experiment used the response-signal speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT) procedure to measure discrimination (asymptotic detection accuracy) and detection speed (processing dynamics). Set size affected discrimination in both feature and conjunction searches but affected detection speed only in the latter. Fits of models to the SAT data that included a serial component overpredicted the magnitude of the observed dynamics differences. The authors concluded that both features and conjunctions are detected in parallel. Implications for the role of attention in visual processing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Top-down attentional control for distractor locations: The benefit of precuing distractor locations on target localization and discrimination.

This study investigated the active inhibition of precued distractor locations. In this study, the distractor location was precued by an arrow. Experiment 1 indicated that a valid precue could facilitate target localization. Experiment 2 demonstrated that when conflict trials were included, the distractor precue benefit was eliminated. Experiment 3 further showed that active inhibition required time to operate. The distractor precue benefit was observed only when the stimulus onset asynchrony between the precue and the target and distractor display was long. Experiment 4 illustrated that the benefit was not contingent on precuing the distractor response. Experiment 5 indicated that the benefit of distractor precuing was not due to the activation of target locations, and Experiment 6 showed that this benefit was due to attentional inhibition. Finally, Experiment 7 demonstrated that active inhibition of spatial location required an attentional resource to operate. These results indicated how a top-down mechanism exerted control on distractor locations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Active inhibition of a distractor word: The distractor precue benefit in the Stroop color-naming task.

The current study investigated attentional control through active inhibition of the identity of the distractor. Adapting a Stroop paradigm, the distractor word was presented in advance and made to disappear, followed by the presentation of a Stroop stimulus. Participants were instructed to inhibit the distractor in order to reduce its interference. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that the distractor precue facilitated Stroop color naming by reducing Stroop interference. Experiment 3 demonstrated beneficial effects of the distractor precue when congruent trials were introduced. Experiment 4 showed that the distractor precue benefit was observed when the cue and target were in different forms. Experiment 5 indicated that if the item used as the cue became the target, naming it took longer in order to overcome the inhibitory effect. Experiment 6 demonstrated that the benefit of the distractor precue was not observed when the cue was uninformative. Finally, Experiment 7 demonstrated that active inhibition required working-memory resources to operate. This study suggests that the best explanation for the distractor precue benefit is the active inhibition account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Lesioning a connectionist model of visual search: Selective effects on distractor grouping": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by G. W. Humphreys et al (Canadian Journal of Psychology, 1992, Vol 46, 417–460). The figures in the article were printed in the wrong order. Figures 2 and 6 should be interchanged, as should Figures 3 and 5. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1993-24303-001.) Presents a connectionist model of visual search, Search via Recursive Rejection (SERR) by G. W. Humphreys and H. J. Muller (in press), in which search is determined by patterns of grouping between distractors and between simple form elements. The performance of SERR is examined after it is subject to various types of "lesion.' Lesioning is produced either by increasing the internal noise on the activation functions governing the interactions between processing units or by eliminating processing units from different loci in SERR. Simulations demonstrate that (1) search processes can be disrupted by adding internal noise to search functions, (2) there can be selective effects on grouping processes, and (3) these selective effects can be associated with different types of lesion to different stages in SERR. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Action planning in the presence of distracting stimuli: An investigation into the time course of distractor effects.

Humans have a remarkable capability to respond efficiently to a stimulus of interest despite other stimuli competing for neural resources. The current study investigated how the human system copes with distracting stimuli. During each trial, participants viewed 2 sequential stimuli that were each associated with a specific action based on an arbitrary mapping. The 1st stimulus served as a distractor, and the 2nd stimulus required a response (target). When the distractor preceded the target by more than a few hundred milliseconds, response latencies were slower when the 2 stimuli were associated with the same response. The authors propose that this negative compatibility effect stemmed from an inhibitory mechanism that the human system utilizes to prevent the distractor from eliciting an unwanted response. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The reciprocal effects of science on practice: Insights from the practice and science of goal setting.

The hypothesis of this paper is that the science and practice of psychology are interdependent. Science drives practice which drives science. The science and practice of 25 years of programmatic research on goal setting theory in industrial-organizational psychology (I/O) is used in support of this hypothesis. I/O research on goal setting includes findings that (1) high goals lead to higher performance; (2) there is a linear relationship between goal difficulty and performance; (3) variables such as feedback, participative decision making, and competition affect performance to the extent that they lead to the setting of and commitment to high goals; and (4) mediators of goal setting are motivational and cognitive, with other variables mediating the effects of goals on performance in I/O settings. Scientists, practitioners, and scientist–practitioners alike are encouraged to work in unison in order to advance psychology for all. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of target and distractor familiarity on visual search in de novo Parkinson's disease patients: Latent inhibition and novel pop-out.

De novo Parkinson's disease (PD) patients identified presence or absence of a unique shape presented with homogeneous distractors. Response time (RT) was examined as a function of prior experience with target and/or distractor assessing latent inhibition (LI; slower RTs to a target that was formerly a distractor against a background of distractors that were formerly targets as compared with a novel target with distractors that were formerly targets) and novel pop-out effects. PD patients were slower than controls in detecting test-phase targets compared with preexposure-phase targets. Female PD patients with right-side motor symptoms had elevated LI compared with female controls and female PD patients with left-side symptoms. Male PD patients with right-side symptoms did not exhibit LI. Results are discussed in terms of the dopamine hypothesis and the reciprocal relationship between PD and schizophrenia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Illusory conjunctions are an illusion: The effects of target–nontarget similarity on conjunction and feature errors.

The results of previous studies on visual perception suggest that conjunction errors partly derive from imperfect binding of correctly perceived features. However, the paradigms used in these studies do not generally allow one to discriminate between errors of feature binding and errors of target-nontarget confusion. In Experiments 1–4, an altered paradigm was used enabling discrimination between errors of feature binding and errors of target-nontarget confusion. The results showed that conjunction errors between color and identity do not derive from imperfect binding. In Experiments 5 and 6, a typical mainstream paradigm was used. The results indicated that, in such a paradigm, data patterns suggesting the existence of illusory conjunctions are likely to be due to errors of target-nontarget confusion instead of imperfect feature binding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Representation of order information: An analysis of grouping effects in short-term memory.

Exps I–IV tested the independence model, 2 hierarchical models, and the dependence model of matrix relationships with a probed recall procedure in which 91 undergraduates were presented with a grouped sequence of items and were then required to recall the position and group of 1 of the items. This technique provided information about how well Ss correctly recalled both the group and position, the group only, the position only, and neither the group nor the position of an item. Findings reveal that when the items in a group were letters, digits, or musical notes, the data conformed to a hierarchical structure. When the nonalphanumeric characters were used, a matrix structure emerged. Exps V–VII required 50 undergraduates to judge the dissimilarity of 2 sequences of grouped items, the 2nd of which (the variation) was a reordering of the 1st (the original). The variation was made by reordering the groups in the original, reordering positions within groups, or reordering both groups and positions. Results show that when the members of a group were able to be encoded as single verbal units, the data supported a hierarchical system. When this was not possible, a matrix system fitted the data best. It is concluded that there is no general code for representing the order of grouped sequences and that the results are more compatible with a theory that postulates a number of specific subsystems in short-term memory, each with its own format for preserving order, than one that assumes a generalized order code. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impression valence constrains social explanations: The case of discounting versus conjunction effects.

Discounting refers to a reduction in explanation plausibility in light of another explanation, whereas conjunction effects refer to an increase in plausibility of explanations judged in combination rather than in isolation. Explanation compatibility moderates these effects, such that discounting is greater for incompatible explanations and conjunction effects are greater for compatible explanations. Three experiments examined whether this effect reflects perceptions regarding (a) the prior statistical association of causal factors, (b) the sharing of common causal mechanisms, or (c) coherence with regard to global impressions. Results indicated that impression valence predicts and also directly influences discounting and conjunction effects independent of covariation and mechanism, underscoring the pervasive impact of impressions on attributions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory of lectures: Effect of delay and distractor type.

Tested recognition memory for critical sentences from a classroom lecture as a function of lecture instructions, length of retention interval, and type of recognition test items, using 85 undergraduates. When tested immediately after the lecture, Ss differentiated the original sentences from reworded and inferential statements that were similar in meaning. At longer delays, however, only the inferences were recognized as not having been presented in the lecture. Labeling a lecture statement as important had little effect on recognition of the original item, although it did enhance recognition of the other item types. Findings confirm other recent reports of verbatim memory for natural speech. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"订单式"培养的实践与体会

山东工业职业学院经过几年“订单式”培养教学的实践，走出了一条校企联合办学成功之路。学院步入了快速、高效、可持续发展的轨道，同时也充分体现了“为学生就业服务，为企业发展服务”的办学思想。本文阐述了“订单式”培养的实施情况，并对在“订单式”培养教学的组织过程中需要注意的问题作了分析。     

The effects of smoking on periodontal structures: a literature review

Periodontal disease seems to be more prevalent in smokers than in nonsmokers. Studies have reported both increases and decreases in gingival blood flow due to smoking. Smoking does not increase the presence of the periodontopathogens Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Bacteroides intermedius. Both the chemotaxis and the phagocytic capacity of the polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) harvested from smokers are lower than with those harvested from nonsmokers. Furthermore, smokers have lower IgA, IgG, IgM, and suppressor CD8 lymphocytes levels than nonsmokers. These differences between smokers and nonsmokers should be taken into account by clinicians during periodontal examinations, therapy, and the healing process.     

Brainstorming on a "hot" problem: Effects of training and practice on individual and group performance.

Assigned 96 undergraduates to 8 treatments in a 2 * 2 * 2 analysis of variance in which the factors were videotape training, practice, and individual vs. group brainstorming. Ss were asked to generate ways that individuals might influence United States foreign policy. Significant interactions were found between videotape training and practice and between videotape training and individual vs. group brainstorming. Expected facilitation of performance through videotape training did not materialize. Group practice followed by individual brainstorming produced the largest number of ideas. The general superiority of individuals over groups appears even more pronounced when the problem is real and motivation is high. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental effects on motor development: the case of "African infant precocity"

In order to clarify the extent and cause of African infants' precocity in motor development, as reported by Geber and others, 64 babies and their families were intensively studied in a rural Kenyan community. It was found that the motor skills of sitting and walking, which the Kenyan babies acquired early (by American standards), are (a) specifically taught by the caretakers and (b) can be practised in the course of their usual daily routines. They are not advanced in skills which are not taught or practised. Middle-class urban Kenyan children from the same ethnic background were found generally to be intermediate in both environmental encouragement and rate of advancement. Preliminary results from other groups in Kenya suggest that encouragement of motor development is widespread and that for behaviors which are differentially encouraged among groups, the average age of attainment is predictable from environmental measures.     

Phenomenology and psychiatry: Duquesne Conference considers the conjunction.

The Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center of Duquesne University sponsored its fourth annual symposium on March 6-7 , 1986. The topic this year was "Phenomenology and Psychiatry." Headlining the group of notable symposiasts was J. H. van den Berg from the University of Leiden. Other participating phenomenological psychiatrists were Gion Condrau of Zurich, Alfred Kraus of Heidelberg, and Dieter Wyss of Wurzburg. After introductory remarks by Father Edward L. Murray, professor of psychology at Duquesne, Dr. van den Berg gave the opening presentation, entitled "The beginning and waning of the medical model in Psychiatry." During the first afternoon of the conference, Dr. Kraus read a paper entitled "The significance of Phenomenology for diagnosis in Psychiatry." The symposium's third paper presentation was Dr. Wyss' "Saintliness and psychosis: A phenomenological study of St. Theresa of Avila." In the final presentation, Dr. Condrau, director of the Daseinanalytic Institute of Zurich, delivered a paper entitled "Daseinanalytic psychotherapy." All four symposium presentations were followed-up by pointed commentaries and replies by fellow symposiasts. In addition, lively exchanges ensued between audience members and the panel. The audience included psychiatrists and psychologists from both the Pittsburgh area and various U.S. locales, non-professionals interested in phenomenology, and Duquesne faculty members and graduate students, both past and present. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)