bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RETROACTIVE INTERFERENCE IN THE RECALL OF SIMPLE SENTENCES
Authors: MEHLER JACQUES , MILLER GEORGE A.
Published: April 2011

A list of English sentences was learned by the method of free recall. Performance was scored both for sentences recalled precisely and for sentences recalled in content regardless of their syntactic form. Interpolated lists of sentences differing from the original list in syntactic details or in semantic form were used to produce retroactive inhibition (RI). The RI for semantic content was negligible; when the interpolated list differed only in syntax and preserved the semantic content of the original list the effect was facilitatory rather than inhibitory. When performance was scored for syntactic as well as semantic aspects RI was appreciable. The results are interpreted as additional support for the hypothesis that the two aspects, semantic content and syntactic form, pose more or less distinct tasks for the learner.
PERCEPTION OF VERTICALITY IN ADULT LIFE
Authors: DAVIES ANN D. M. , LEYTHAM G. W. H.
Published: April 2011

Comalli, Wapner & Werner's (1959) developmental study on the perception of verticality has been repeated and extended using eight men and eight women matched for distribution of intelligence in each of the age decades from 20–29 to 70–79. Following Comalli et al. subjects were seated in a dark room in the upright position or tilted at ± 30°. They were asked to adjust a luminescent rod set initially at ± 10°, ± 30°, until they thought it was upright. Estimates of verticality were found to depend on the starting position of the rod and to be related to nonverbal intelligence.

The subjects, unlike those of Comalli et al., located the vertical to the side opposite to the body tilt throughout the 20–79 age range.
INFORMATION, ACOUSTIC CONFUSION AND MEMORY SPAN
Authors: CONRAD R. , HULL A. J.
Published: April 2011

Immediately after visual presentation, subjects were required to recall 6‐letter sequences. Sequences were drawn from four vocabularies. There were two 3‐letter vocabularies, distinguished by the probability of acoustic confusion within them, and two 9‐letter vocabularies similarly distinguished. Memory span is shown to be effectively independent of information per item, and to depend substantially on the probability of acoustic confusion within vocabularies.
TRANSFER OF TRAINING BETWEEN SPACE‐ORIENTED AND BODY‐ORIENTED CONTROL SITUATIONS
Authors: HAMMERTON M. , TICKNER A. H.
Published: April 2011

An experiment was designed to determine whether skill in a control task is learned as a pattern of body‐oriented limb‐movements, or as a system of space‐oriented relationships. A control task was set up which could be correctly oriented: A, both bodily and spatially; B, bodily but not spatially; C, spatially but not bodily. Four groups of six subjects were used severally to study transfer of training from A to B, B to A, A to C, and C to A. It was found that transfer to condition C was significantly the worst. It is tentatively concluded that this type of skill is learned mainly as a body‐oriented pattern of limb‐movements.
VALIDATION OF THE MAUDSLEY PERSONALITY INVENTORY E SCALE
Authors: CAINE T. M. , HOPE K.
Published: April 2011

The Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI) E scale is validated by a direct method which has not hitherto been employed. It is shown that, in a neurotic sample, it measures a dimension of personality which has been called the hysteroid‐obsessoid dimension and is unrelated to type of illness.
A DEUTERANOMALOUS ARTIST*
Authors: PICKFORD R. W.
Published: April 2011

An artist, who claimed to be colour blind, according to a report in the local newspapers, kindly cooperated in efficient colour vision tests, two long discussions about his paintings with the writer, and allowed nine of his paintings to be photographed as colour transparencies. This paper presents notes made during these discussions, detailed results of the tests, and a short commentary on his paintings.
RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS AND THE SPEED OF RELATIVE JUDGEMENTS
Authors: WALLIS C. P. , AUDLEY R. J.
Published: April 2011

Subjects were required to make easy pitch discriminations at four frequency levels. In a counterbalanced design, for half their judgements they were required to choose the higher of the pair of tones, and for the other half, the lower. It was found that subjects were quicker at choosing the higher than the lower of two high tones, but quicker at choosing the lower than the higher of two low tones. This ‘cross‐over’ effect was found to be graded across the stimulus levels intermediate in the series, the intersection point being somewhat below the geometric mean of the series of frequencies used. While latencies tended to decrease during the course of an indiviual session, the cross‐over effect was consistently observable in an analysis that controlled for such practice effects. Whether the tone responded to was the first or the second of the pair discriminated was found to be a significant variable. The ‘cross‐over’ phenomenon was only consistently effective when the second tone was chosen. Linking these findings to similar phenomena previously demonstrated in brightness discrimination, theoretical suggestions are advanced which are relevant to all judgemental processes.
THE EFFECTS OF CONTEXT ON THE VISUAL DURATION THRESHOLD FOR WORDS
Authors: MORTON JOHN
Published: April 2011

Visual duration thresholds for words were measured under three conditions: (i) with a highly predictive context; (ii) with a lesser predictive context; (iii) a control condition with no context. The results show that the visual duration threshold for a word is reduced in the presence of a context by an amount depending on the probability of the word given the context. This result agrees with previous related findings.

The errors made by the subjects could be classified into three main groups. The first of these groups showed the effect of expectancy, or response bias. Further errors showed the influence of previous stimuli or responses and the third group indicated the role of the stimulus in determining the response. A model for the recognition of words is outlined which accounts for these results and attempts to define what is meant by ‘the effects of response bias in the perception of words’.
FURTHER TESTS WITH THE SPIRAL AFTER‐EFFECT OF A THEORY OF HOMOEOSTATIC EXCITATION‐INHIBITION
Authors: COSTELLO C. G.
Published: April 2011

On the basis of a theory of homoeostatic excitation‐inhibition, a number of predictions concerning the spiral after‐effect were tested in four experiments. The predicted effect of the interaction of direction of rotation of the spiral and duration of stimulation was confirmed. The predicted effect of the interaction of the above two variables: (1) with the extroversion‐introversion variables tested in Expt. II, and (2) with stimulant v. depressant drugs tested in Expt. III, received only partial confirmation. The predicted alternating decrease and increase in the after‐effect with massed practice and the effects of the interaction of massed practice with the direction of rotation were confirmed. The predicted effect of depressant and stimulant drugs interacting with massed practice and duration of rotation was not confirmed.

The results are discussed in relation to the usefulness of the theory of homoeostatic excitation‐inhibition, and the value of molar neuropsychological theories is questioned.
REPETITION AND VERBAL LEARNING
Authors: WARR PETER B.
Published: April 2011

An analysis is developed of the possible consequences of presenting for learning an item amongst others in a list, and a hypothesis is generated about the factors determining which of these outcomes will occur. A technique for measuring the effect of repetition is described and discussed. Two experiments are reported which test predictions about the manner in which task difficulty mediates the effect of repeated presentation. The results appear to confirm the predictions. Some implications of these experiments are considered.
REMINISCENCE, INHIBITION AND CONSOLIDATION
Authors: RACHMAN S. , GRASSI J.
Published: April 2011

The inability of the two‐factor theory of inhibition to account for some of the experimental findings on psycho‐motor learning has led Eysenck to formulate a new theory which introduces the concept of consolidation. The present experiment describes an attempt to separate the inhibitory factors and the consolidation process. Fifty‐five subjects were randomly assigned to one of four groups and made to practise on the pursuit rotor for five minutes without a rest. They were then re‐tested four hours later and reminiscence scores were obtained. The results indicate that if an interfering task is given immediately after the initial practice period is completed, then the process of consolidating the motor learning is adversely affected.
EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF DRUG EFFECTS ON HUMAN PERFORMANCE USING INFORMATION THEORY CONCEPTS
Authors: BERRY COLIN , GELDER MICHAEL G. , SUMMERFIELD ARTHUR
Published: April 2011

Effects of differences in mean stimulus information under two coding conditions and of sub‐anaesthetic doses of nitrous oxide (15, 25 and 35% in oxygen) were investigated in two card‐sorting experiments with student subjects In Expt. I, in which conventional playing cards were sorted into two, four or eight classes, the effect of the drug increased significantly with task complexity. Expt. II, in which cards bearing numerals were used, showed a drug effect which was independent of task complexity measured by mean information per stimulus. Neither result was to be explained in terms of a drug effect on the motor component of the tasks. Reasons for the difference between the two experiments are considered in relation to other evidence of effects of central nervous depressant drugs on input processes and short‐term memory. The value of communication models for research on effects of drugs on human skills is discussed.
SEARCHING THROUGH WORD LISTS*
Authors: NEISSER ULRIC , BELLER HENRY K.
Published: April 2011

Two experiments are reported in which subjects searched through lists of words, looking for targets defined only in terms of their meaning (e.g. ‘any animal’). Under these conditions, scanning is much slower than when the target is a known word, or a member of a small fixed set. It is argued that printed words are processed in two stages, termed ‘stimulus examination’ and ‘memory examination’ respectively. Preliminary data relevant to other aspects of the scanning method are also presented: error rates, the importance of motivation, the extent to which words scanned over can be recognized later, and the relation between scanning and reading aloud.
THE EFFECTS OF REDUNDANCY AND FAMILIARITY ON TRANSLATING AND REPEATING BACK A FOREIGN AND A NATIVE LANGUAGE
Authors: TREISMAN ANNE M.
Published: April 2011

The experiment explored the effect of sequential constraints on two speech transmission tasks: (a) ‘shadowing’ or repeating back passages in a native and in a foreign language; (b) simultaneous translation between a foreign and a native language. Three factors affecting performance were revealed: (1) efficiency decreased in both tasks with increased information rate in the presentation of the passages; (2) the familiarity of the language affected subjects' performance in shadowing; this effect was independent of sequential constraints; (3) translation proved more difficult than shadowing, but in this case the decrement was greater the higher the information content of the passages. This suggested (i) that sequential constraints are important in facilitating both types of speech transmission; (ii) that they are learnt concurrently with vocabulary in the acquisition of a foreign language; (iii) that translating is more difficult than shadowing not only because of decreased familiarity of either input or output, but also because of the increased decision load imposed by the more complex transformation between input and output. The roles of grammatical and semantic constraints were separated by the use of passages with words chosen at random but syntax conforming to normal rules. Performance with these passages was intermediate between that with normal prose and that with random words; the grammatical constraints seemed relatively more important than constraints of meaning in shadowing than in translating, in a native than in a foreign language, and in French than in English. The ear‐voice span was measured for six subjects and was found to be greater for translating than for shadowing, but to be unaffected by the degree of sequential constraints.
SEQUENTIAL PART PRESENTATION: A METHOD OF STUDYING VISUAL FORM PERCEPTION
Authors: McFARLAND JOSEPH H.
Published: April 2011

Everyday perception of a form's parts as simultaneous and joined is viewed as a perceptual achievement dependent on the central operations of analysis and integration. Experiments have been conducted which employ a method of stimulus presentation which assures that neural response simulates the hypothesized analysis operation, viz. sequential part presentation. Perceptual measures are employed which are assumed to reflect the hypothesized integration. In one experiment, interpart intervals between the sequentially presented sides of a line triangle were varied and 50% points determined for judgements of simultaneity and joining between the lines. In a second experiment, these thresholds were also determined, but for side part versus angle part presentation of the line triangle. With side part presentation, thresholds for both judgements of simultaneity and joining were found to be higher. It is concluded that normal perception of form, i.e., perception of parts as simultaneous and joined, can take place at larger intervals when sequential response is to side parts.
THE EFFECT OF STIMULUS CONFIGURATION ON THE INCIDENCE OF THE COMPLETION PHENOMENON
Authors: WARRINGTON ELIZABETH K.
Published: April 2011

The phenomenon of ‘completion’ of incomplete figures across hemianopic field defects was studied in relation to the nature of the stimulus forms used. While the highest incidence of complete responses occurred with simple geometrical forms a substantial number occurred also in response to other types of forms, including complex representational material characterized neither by symmetry, nor ‘goodness' in the Gestalt sense, but depicting objects which are familiar and readily named. It was concluded that completion responses are most readily given to those forms with which the patient is familiar and which he would expect to see in complete form. Unfamiliar forms not readily named are infrequently completed.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE RECENCY IN TWO‐CHOICE GUESSING
Authors: DALE H. C. A.
Published: April 2011

According to the nature of the run of stimuli and outcomes, either positive or negative recency may be exhibited in the initial responses to a two‐choice guessing task. When red and black two‐digit numbers printed in two columns were used as stimuli, subjects responded to a run on one colour with positive recency, but to a run on one column with negative recency. Responses were found to be related to prior expectations in a way which occurs with a rational Bayesian decision process. With a very long run on one position (either column) the marked negative recency which occurred initially eventually gave way to positive recency. Three experiments are reported.
THE EFFECT OF LEARNING INSTRUCTION ON MOTOR AND VERBAL RESPONSES IN RECALL
Authors: TAYLOR FITZ J.
Published: April 2011

An experiment was designed to compare the effect of instruction (set) on verbal performance (recall) on the one hand and on overt behaviour (application) on the other. The experiment, using six groups of twenty subjects and three types of instruction procedures, showed that (a) a set‐to‐recall led to high recall‐scores but low application scores; (b) a set‐to‐apply led to high application‐scores and low recall‐scores; (c) most surprising of all a learning instruction by which subjects were asked merely to learn without any indication of the purpose for learning resulted in significantly lower application and lower recall scores than either of the other two sets. Thus it seems that even a wrong instruction can sometimes be better than no instruction at all.
AN INFORMATION‐PROCESSING EXPLANATION OF SOME PERCEPTUAL PHENOMENA*
Authors: SIMON HERBERT A.
Published: April 2011

An information‐processing system that scans stimuli serially, part‐by‐part, and attempts ‘simple’ interpretations of the parts would experience a number of the well‐known perceptual illusions that human subjects report. The hypothesized system has the same basic characteristics as systems which have been used to explain a wide range of cognitive phenomena. The description of the system is proposed as an explanation of some of the mechanisms for human perceptual processing.
SENSORY SPATIAL AFTER‐EFFECTS IN RELATION TO CHRONOLOGICAL AGE, MENTAL RETARDATION AND SCHIZOPHRENIA
Authors: DAY R. H. , BURNS R. , SINGER G. , HOLMES V. , LETCHER D.
Published: April 2011

Claims that the visual and kinaesthetic spatial after‐effect vary as a function of chronological age, mental retardation, and schizophrenia have been tested in four experiments. The principal after‐effect studied was that involving judgements of the horizontal following stimulation by a slanted pattern or object. In Exps. III and IV more traditional visual (alignment) and kinaesthetic (width estimation) tasks were also investigated. Data from Exp. I show that no variation in the kinaesthetic after‐effect occurs with age but suggest that the visual after‐effect may decline with age. The latter may be because adjustment times increase with age. The data from Exps. II and III indicate that there is no difference between normal and mentally retarded subjects in two visual and two kinaesthetic after‐effects. Experiment IV showed that schizophrenic subjects do not differ from normal and psychopathological controls in two visual and two kinaesthetic after‐effects.
SENSORY PROCESSING AND THE RECOGNITION OF FORMS IN NURSERY‐SCHOOL CHILDREN
Authors: DENNER BRUCE , CASHDAN SHELDON
Published: April 2011

Recognition of forms under varying sensory input conditions was studied in three groups of pre‐school children. One group inspected an object visually while the two other groups were given the additional experience of handling the object either directly or encased in a ball of clear plastic (haptic and manual conditions). Recognition and verbal recall measures were obtained two days later. No differences in verbal recall were observed. In agreement with previous research, performance by the ‘visual only’ group was worse than by the other two groups. Since the recognition by first two groups was equally good, it is suggested that the component underlying haptic facilitation of learning may simply be the amount of concrete activity involved.
THE INTERACTION OF NOISE AND PERSONALITY WITH CRITICAL FLICKER FUSION PERFORMANCE
Authors: FRITH C. D.
Published: April 2011

A theory of the interaction of arousal, performance and personality is outlined. On the basis of this theory it is predicted that an increase in noise will improve the performance of extraverts in a c.f.f. task more than that of introverts. An experiment confirming this prediction is described.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN PAIN THRESHOLD AND LEVEL OF AROUSAL
Authors: HASLAM DIANA R.
Published: April 2011

The pain thresholds of a group of introverts and extraverts were assessed. It was found that the mean pain threshold of the introverts was significantly lower than that of the extraverts. In a further experiment it was found that caffeine, a stimulant drug, lowered the mean pain threshold significantly. The relation between the perception of pain and level of arousal is discussed, and it is argued that the difference in mean pain threshold values as between introverts and extraverts is attributable to a difference in level of arousal.
MEMORY AFTER READING ALOUD AND READING SILENTLY
Authors: POULTON E. C. , BROWN C. H.
Published: April 2011

Twenty‐four housewives read passages aloud and silently in balanced order, and then answered questions on them. Time allowed for silent reading was matched to time taken to read aloud. Memory for the first 30 per cent of the passage was reliably (P < 0·02) less after reading aloud, as if the monitoring of speech put an extra load upon the central mechanisms, thus interfering with memorization. For most of the remainder of the passage memory was equally good after reading aloud and silently. Presumably the vocal output had been programmed to run with the minimum of attention. The last 10 per cent of the passage was remembered reliably better after reading aloud (P < 0·01), as if vocalization had given it extra emphasis.
SOME PROBLEMS IN REPERTORY GRID MEASUREMENT
Authors: MAIR J. M. M.
Published: April 2011

Whole‐figure constructs (e.g. like self, like father, etc.) have often been used in repertory grid testing to gain indirect assessments of a person's conceptual picture of important figures in his life. Some problems in the use and interpretation of such constructs were explored experimentally. Ten male medical student volunteers acted as subjects. The results indicate that direct ratings of figures and comparable grid scores are not equivalent, and reveal various kinds of discrepancy from expectations concerning: (a) relations between one whole‐figure construct (like self) and personal constructs elicited to define ‘like’ and ‘unlike self’ characteristics; (b) relations between supplied constructs matching highly with like self and elicited constructs defining self and non‐self; (c) relations among and between elicited ‘like’ and ‘unlike self’ constructs. Limitations of the present grid form are discussed in the light of these findings, and interpretations of some of the discrepancies are suggested.
FURTHER STUDIES OF PATTERN PERCEPTION AND A STABILIZED RETINAL IMAGE: THE USE OF PROLONGED AFTER‐IMAGES TO ACHIEVE PERFECT STABILIZATION
Authors: EVANS C. R.
Published: April 2011

A technique to allow the study of prolonged after‐images as perfectly stabilized retinal images is described. A simple model to account for the variability of unitary or fragmentary disappearance of stabilized images is proposed and tested. Results suggest the presence of recognition units mediating the perception of straight lines which vary in size from approximately 30 to 90 min arc in the human fovea and perifovea. These units appear to be arrayed independently of orientation, and may be primarily represented in the cortex. A reappraisal of the methodology and theoretical significance of stabilization studies is attempted.
AGE AND LEARNING IN QUAIL
Authors: CANE VIOLET R. , VINCE MARGARET A.
Published: April 2011

The relation between age and learning capacity was investigated in two species of quail, and in two different experimental situations. Detailed curves were obtained by testing a large number of different age‐groups between hatching and maturity. The results show age changes which are not monotonic in character, but suggest the interplay of a number of different factors.
ANALYSIS OF AUGMENTED RECALL IN SHORT‐TERM MEMORY FOLLOWING A SHIFT IN CONNOTATION
Authors: TURVEY M. T.
Published: April 2011

The effect of connotative history upon a critical triad of connotatively defined words was studied in short‐term memory. The critical triad was presented subsequent to a build‐up in proactive interference. A release from proaction was obtained only when the history was one of homogeneous items connotatively different from the critical items; heterogeneous items connotatively different from the critical items did not produce the effect. This observation replicated in a second experiment was interpreted in terms of the operation of collative variables in the condition producing the release from proactive interference.
UNHAPPY MEMORIES OF ‘THE HAPPY PAST’: STUDIES IN COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
Authors: KREITLER HANS , KREITLER SHULAMITH
Published: April 2011

The aim of the two studies reported was to test two extensions of the dissonance model. The hypothesis was that over longer time periods the congruence between initially dissonant emotional attitudes with regard to a past (not recent) life period will become more pronounced. The main variables were the evaluative attitude to the whole past period in terms of happiness, expressed as a ratio of unpleasant (U) to pleasant (P) checked adjectives, the ratio of U:P memories recalled from that period, U and P being judgements from the viewpoint of the present, and the wish to return to that period.

The sample of Study I included 126 Kibbutz children, who were all the children in three Kibbutzim similar in child‐rearing methods in the following three age‐groups: 8.1–10, 10.1–12 and 12.1–14. Each child was interviewed individually according to a questionnaire about his childhood (the period 1–6 yr). The results revealed no significant differences between the groups in the U:P memories ratio (average = 2·15) or U:P adjectives ratio (average = 0·38), and no significant correlations between the variables of wish to return to childhood, U:P adjectives and U:P memories, but for the correlation between the latter two in the 8.1–10 yr old group. The results refute the hypothesis in revealing the persistence of dissonances.

In Study II 35 adults in the age range 30–50 yr, chosen randomly from three localities, were interviewed in an identical manner about the period of 20–25 yr as well as about their evaluation of happiness in personal childhood, wish to return to childhood, evaluation of happiness in childhood in general and of humanity in the past. In addition to corroborating fully all the results of Study I in regard to the age of 20–25 yr it was found that evaluation of happiness in personal and general childhood are correlated, as well as the lack of wish to return to one period with that to another. Possible explanations and implications of the persistence of the dissonances are discussed.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE REPORTED PERSISTENCE OF VISUAL AND LABYRINTHINE AFTER‐SENSATIONS, AND OF EXPONENTIALLY DECAYING VISUAL AND AUDITORY SIGNALS
Authors: REASON J. T. , BENSON A. J.
Published: April 2011

Two experiments are reported in which positive and significant correlations were found between the reported persistence of visual and post‐rotatory labyrinthine after‐sensations. In addition, the persistence of these after‐sensations was also positively and significantly correlated with the time for which exponentially decaying, auditory and visual signals were discriminable against a fixed background signal. On the basis of these findings, it was suggested that the relatively stable interpersonal variation observed within these tasks was largely due to the function of a ‘judgement’ or ‘discrimination’ mechanism within the central nervous system which was common to several sensory projections.
DIFFICULTIES IN PICTORIAL DEPTH PERCEPTION IN AFRICA
Authors: DEREGOWSKI JAN B.
Published: April 2011

Hudson's Pictorial Perception test and a construction test, in which subjects were asked to construct geometrical models shown on pictures, were administered to Central African schoolboys and domestic servants. It was found that a significant proportion of subjects who were judged to be two‐dimensional perceivers on Hudson's test built three‐dimensional models; the validity of Littlejohn's and Du Toit's explanation is therefore questioned. The models thus obtained were, however, often both distorted and oddly oriented. Domestic servants were found to be more often two‐dimensional perceivers than schoolboys; it appears therefore that passive exposure to pictorial material can play only a minor role in determining pictorial depth perception. It is suggested, on the basis of the results obtained, that the two‐dimensional responses on Hudson's test may be due, at least in part, to the subjects' inability to organize the material presented in the test pictures.
ON INTRODUCING SUPRAMINIMAL DATA TO ITEMS WHOSE SOLUTION DEMANDS THE USE OF INDIRECT PROCEDURES
Authors: CAMPBELL ALISON C.
Published: April 2011

A study was undertaken to determine the effects of incorporating supraminimal data, i.e. data over and above those logically sufficient for solution, into code items whose solution requires the use of ‘indirect’ procedures involving the identification of certain coded words via the elimination of all alternative possibilities. Supraminimal data relevant to item solution were found to impede the solution process, but not to a statistically significant degree (at the 0·05 significance level). Supraminimal data not relevant to item solution had a more deleterious effect, being found significantly to impede the solution process at the 0·01 significance level. The study further confirms that problems whose solution demands the use of indirect (eliminative) procedures are intrinsically difficult for undergraduate subjects. It is concluded that when problems are intrinsically difficult for the subjects at hand then the presence of supraminimal data will impede item solution and lead to longer solution times. This will be true for supraminimal data relevant to problem solution, and even more so for supraminimal data not relevant.
SEASON OF BIRTH, INTELLIGENCE AND PERSONALITY
Authors: FARLEY FRANK H.
Published: April 2011

Intelligence and the personality dimensions of extraversion—introversion and neuroticism were studied as a function of season of birth, the latter being divided into birth during Winter—Spring (W—S) (November—April inclusive) and Summer—Autumn (S—A) (May—October inclusive). Two hundred and thirty adolescent males, homogeneous with respect to age, occupation and socioeconomic background, were tested under controlled conditions. No differences in intelligence and personality, as measured, were found between W—S and S—A births. Little optimism was expressed for the possibility of finding such season‐of‐birth effects among other than severely intellectually subnormal subjects.
IS THERE A MOTOR‐CONSTANCY MECHANISM?
Authors: LEGGE D. , POTTINGER JUDITH M.
Published: April 2011

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the extent to which subjects can compensate for the effects of elbow angle on the mechanical efficiency of the elbow muscle‐joint system. Subjects were found to be able to match movements made in different directions and made from different starting‐points but unable to match isometrically produced torques made under comparable conditions. The results are compatible with the hypothesis that subjects possess a limited motor‐constancy mechanism operating on the basis of temporal modulation of muscle activity.
RELATIONS BETWEEN MOTION SICKNESS SUSCEPTIBILITY, THE SPIRAL AFTER‐EFFECT AND LOUDNESS ESTIMATION
Authors: REASON J. T.
Published: April 2011

This paper reports two experiments designed to elucidate those sensory characteristics which influence motion sickness susceptibility. In the first, a positive and significant correlation was obtained between the score derived from a biographical motion sickness questionnaire (MSQ) and the rate at which spiral after‐effect persistence increased as a logarithmic function of the induction period (SAE slope score). A positive but insignificant relation was also found between the MSQ score and the slope of the sensation cupulogram. The second experiment revealed a significant concordance between the MSQ score, the SAE slope score and the slope of the psychophysical function describing individual loudness estimates of a 1000 c/s tone. The notion of ‘receptivity’ was advanced to account for these findings.
DEUTSCH'S MODEL APPLIED TO A CONDITIONAL MAZE
Authors: SHELDON M. H.
Published: April 2011

Holding & Pritchatt have recently suggested that an experiment by Sheldon, in which rats learned to choose the more frequently rewarded of two paths to the same goal, is not a critical test of Deutsch's theory of behaviour since that theory can be shown to predict that certain schedules of training will establish temporary preferences for one of the paths. The results of an experiment with mice were offered as confirming this prediction. In the present paper it is argued (1) that Holding & Pritchatt's results are not entirely satisfactory; (2) that their experiment is probably not relevant to Sheldon's experiment; (3) that Deutsch's theory cannot explain the apparent stability of conditional learning.
LESS IS MORE: A STUDY OF LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION IN CHILDREN
Authors: DONALDSON MARGARET , BALFOUR GEORGE
Published: April 2011

A task devised to study comprehension of the words ‘more’ and ‘less’ was given to a group of 15 children aged between 3:5 yr. and 4:1 yr. Another task, designed to assess comprehension of ‘less’ without reference to ‘more’, was given to the same group approximately 6 months later. The main finding (which holds for both occasions) is that only one subject gave consistently correct responses to ‘less’. For the others it seemed that ‘less’ remained largely undifferentiated from ‘more’. The children showed a marked tendency to make the same response, irrespective of which of the two words was used in the instruction. ‘More’ was dominant as the interpretation given to the undifferentiated pair.
INDUCTIVE THINKING IN CHILDREN OF PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE
Authors: WETHERICK N. E. , FREELAND Carol
Published: April 2011

It has been shown (Wetherick, 1966) that, in adults, the decline with age in inductive thinking capacity takes a certain form. It was hypothesized that the development of this capacity in childhood might reflect the form of the decline observed with age, i.e. that the very young might perform like the very old and the less young like the less old. This hypothesis was tested in an experiment using as subjects children between the ages of 4 1/2 and 10 1/2 yr. and was supported. It is suggested that inductive thinking capacity may be related to the capacity of the short‐term memory store; if so, known changes with age in that capacity might account for the change in characteristic behaviour observed here.
HANDEDNESS IN MUSICIANS
Authors: OLDFIELD R. C.
Published: April 2011

An inquiry by means of a questionnaire which included a ‘handedness inventory’ was made into the prevalence of left‐handedness among musicians, and the difficulties, if any, which lefthanders experienced in acquiring executant skills. It was found that left‐handedness is neither less nor more common in the group of musicians studied than in a population of psychology undergraduates, and that left‐handedness did not in general occasion any special difficulty. The left‐handers adapted successfully to the ‘right‐handedness’ of their instruments, the only substantial connexion in which left‐handed practices were retained being in conducting. It is suggested on the basis of these findings that ‘right‐handedness’ is less a matter of superior inherent ‘dexterity’ or the capacity for agility, precision and speed in the right hand than of closer, more immediate, availability of the right hand as the instrument of the individual's conceptions and intentions. It is further suggested that the especial function of the dominant cerebral hemisphere is to mediate between the executive intentions of the individual and his physical means of expressing them, whether through manual or vocal channels.
SELF‐REPORT AND ERROR CHOICE: AN APPLICATION OF THE ERROR‐CHOICE PRINCIPLE TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF PERSONALITY TEST ITEMS
Authors: Wilde G. J. S. , FORTUIN S.
Published: April 2011

An investigation was made of the error‐choice principle as a possible alternative to the usual form of direct questioning used in personality questionnaires. A standard personality questionnaire consisting of 91 items of the ‘yes— ?—no’ type was administered to a sample of 150 subjects (normals, neurotics and psychosomatic patients). The questionnaire, which comprised scales for neuroticism, extraversion, test‐taking attitudes, masculinity and social desirability, was administered along with an error‐choice version of the same items. The latter consisted of items followed by two alternative percentages (‘representing’ the p‐values in the general population) each of which was equally wrong, but in opposite directions from the correct p‐value. The subject had to circle the percentage that he believed to be correct. The error‐choice inventory was presented to the subjects under the disguise of being a test of subject's ability to be insightful of people. Of all 91 items, 90 showed positive correlation between endorsement in the self‐report format and over‐estimation in the error‐choice version. These correlations were significant at the 5 per cent level in 73 of the 90 items. A further analysis of items belonging to the distinct scales and of the various response categories was carried out and the operation of some response sets was investigated.
A NOTE ON THE FACTORIAL NATURE OF THE F AND D SCALES
Authors: WARR PETER B. , LEE R. E. , JÖRESKOG K. G.
Published: April 2011

The suggestion that authoritarianism and dogmatism are separate constructs is examined by several factor‐analytic techniques. Two studies are described in which item–item correlation matrices are factored to determine whether systematic patterns of D and F items are observed. Results provide strong support for Kerlinger & Rokeach's (1966) view that the two constructs are factorially discriminable. Details of the consistently obtained factor structure of the dogmatism scale are presented.
TOWARDS A NEW EXPLANATION FOR THE GEOMETRICAL ILLUSIONS
Authors: FISHER GERALD H.
Published: April 2011

This is the first of a series of papers describing the development of a new theoretical account of illusions. The theory invokes the distorting influence exerted by one set of spatial contours upon another. A general case of this effect gives rise to a gradient of apparent distortion in a column of horizontal lines bounded by sets of vertical bars. The magnitude of this gradient is measured in three conditions. The results show that the extent of distortion is influenced directly by inter‐contour distance, by the dimensions of the contours which induce the illusion and by their contrast with the background display. It is suggested that failure to control these properties of the patterns used to study illusions may be responsible for considerable variation obtained in the results of previous experiments.
VISUAL AND SPEECH IMAGERY
Authors: WEBER ROBERT J. , BACH MICHAEL
Published: April 2011

Undergraduate subjects processed the alphabet in one of three conditions: Visual Imagery (VI), in which subjects were instructed to visualize letters appearing one at a time, as on a movie screen; Speech Imagery (SI) in which subjects were instructed to say letters implicitly or silently; and a control condition Speech Explicit (SE) in which letters were said aloud. Conditions SE and SI produced virtually identical processing times (about 6·5 letters/sec.) while VI was much slower (about 2·5 letters/sec.). No consistent practice effects were observed over trials. In addition, each subject subjectively localized (in his head) the origin of the letter processing. Some notable differences were obtained, with the VI group indicating a more frontal localization than the others. It is suggested that imagery may follow different laws in different modalities.
THE INTERACTION EFFECTS OF CS INTENSITY AND CS‐UCS INTERVAL IN HUMAN EYELID CONDITIONING
Authors: FISHBEIN HAROLD D. , REES JANET F.
Published: April 2011

The joint effects of low CS intensity and CS‐UCS interval (ISI) on human eyelid conditioning performance were investigated. Five paid subjects were run in 36 test sessions, in a within‐subjects design in which six CS intensities were varied orthogonally to three CS durations. Conditioning performance was measured by the percentage of conditioned responses corrected for spontaneous blinks, and by d'CR, a measure based upon a signal detection analysis. Both measures yielded similar results which showed a continued shift toward longer optimum ISIs with decreases in CS intensity, i.e. the optimum ISI shifted from 0·5 sec. to 2·0 sec. A partial explanation of this finding was based on a consideration of neurophysiological and reaction‐time studies.
SOME FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING AND TRANSFER OF TRAINING IN VISUAL‐MOTOR SKILLS
Authors: HAMMERTON M. , TICKNER A. H.
Published: April 2011

Three experiments were carried out in which subjects transferred from a body‐orientated to a space‐orientated visual‐motor acquisition control task. The first experiment compared the effect of such transfer upon gross and fine acquisition time; the second examined the effect of reversed target orientation; and the third examined possible changes in the type of learning with respect to time. Each experiment involved the use of two groups of six subjects. It was found that both gross and fine acquisition time are adversely affected; that reversal of target orientation had scant effect; and that the body frame of reference was more important in learning at all stages.
RELIABILITY AND FACTORIAL VALIDITY OF THE WALLACH‐KOGAN CREATIVITY TESTS
Authors: CROPLEY A. J. , MASLANY G. W.
Published: April 2011

The Wallach‐Kogan tests of ‘creativity’ and the Primary Mental Abilities test were administered to 207 university students. The creativity tests were scored for originality, and KR20 reliabilities calculated. Intercorrelations among the five creativity tests were also calculated and compared with those among the six ‘intelligence’ tests. Results indicated that the Wallach‐Kogan tests were highly reliable, clustered strongly among themselves, and correlated poorly with the intelligence tests. A factor analysis indicated the existence of large loadings of creativity tests on the intelligence factor, and of intelligence tests on the creativity factor.
THE ROLE OF TWO FACTORS IN A GROSS MOTOR AIMING TASK
Authors: DICKINSON J.
Published: April 2011

An experiment was carried out to determine the relation between kinaesthetic sensitivity and distance perception in a skill learning situation involving an aiming task. Kinaesthetic sensitivity was determined by establishing individual difference limens in weight discrimination, and distance perception was measured by means of a new test. The results of these two pretests were correlated with the performance of novices in learning to aim a shuttlecock with a badminton racket. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between kinaesthetic sensitivity and aiming performance and that this relation was constant throughout learning. No significant relation was found between distance perception and aiming performance, nor was there any correlation between the two pretests.
DETECTION OF SIMULATION ON THE MPI BY SUBJECTS GIVEN THE RATIONALE OF THE LIE SCALE
Authors: POWER R. P. , O'DONOVAN D.
Published: April 2011

The MPI was administered to independent groups of 34 subjects under four sets of instructions. Group C was given the standard instructions, group FSI was asked to simulate a ‘desirable’ personality and told the rationale of the lie scale, group FSIE was given the FSI instructions plus examples of lie scale items and group FSIP was asked to simulate and was given a previously established ‘popular’ version of the rationale of lie scales. The three experimental groups presented themselves as ‘desirable’. Group FSI evaded detection by the lie scale most effectively, obtaining a mean score similar to that of group C. Groups FSIE and FSIP obtained similar and significantly higher scores on the lie scale, but 50 per cent of the subjects evaded detection. It was concluded that a fresh approach to detection of simulation on questionnaires is needed.
ATTENTION AND THE VON RESTORFF EFFECT
Authors: JOHANSSON BO S.
Published: April 2011

The hypothesis that the von Restorff effect is caused by the isolated (I) item attracting attention, which results in increased recall, was tested on the basis of the assumption that the attention activities are time‐consuming. The variables tested were: presentation time, presentation mode, isolated or non‐isolated sequence, position of the I item, material of the I item and delay between presentation and recall. The results only partly supported the above attention hypothesis, neither could interference theory, based upon acoustic similarity, give a complete account of the findings.
REPRESENTATIONAL PROCESSES IN COMPREHENSION OF PRINTED WORDS
Authors: SEYMOUR PHILIP H. K.
Published: April 2011

Three studies of the latency of response initiation for complex classifications of the word–shape configurations circle/CIRCLE, square/SQUARE, square/CIRCLE and circle/SQUARE are reported. Delays in response initiation, attributable to discrepancy between the display components, or the order of reporting identities and congruence, or alterations in the processing demands imposed on the subject, were analysed with the aim of formulating some conclusions about the nature of the representational processes involved when a printed word is read with comprehension.
NON‐COGNITIVE FACTORS IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE
Authors: HAMILTON VERNON
Published: April 2011

A quantitative assessment of 64 scholastic, intelligence, personality and motivational variables was carried out on a group of students who were in their first year at university. The main purpose of the investigation was the assessment of the relationship between non‐cognitive parameters and performance in university examinations compared with cognitive and scholastic antecedents. The results indicate that the predictors most frequently used by university selectors are as imperfect as was feared, and that personality and motivational variables have statistically significant relationships with the examination criterion.
EFFECTS OF ACOUSTIC AND SEMANTIC SIMILARITY ON SHORT‐TERM PAIRED‐ASSOCIATE LEARNING
Authors: BADDELEY A. D.
Published: April 2011

The coding system used in short‐term paired‐associate learning was investigated by studying the effects of acoustic and semantic similarity. Performance was affected by acoustic similarity (Expts. IV, V and VI), while semantic similarity had no reliable effect (Expts. II and III). Serial position curves suggested that the primary and secondary memory components of the task were equally affected by acoustic similarity. The implications of this for the relationship between acoustic similarity and short‐term memory are discussed.
ADAPTATION OF DIVERS TO SIZE DISTORTION UNDER WATER
Authors: ROSS HELEN E. , FRANKLIN S. S. , WELTMAN G. , LENNIE P.
Published: April 2011

A diver's face‐mask produces an optical distortion of the relationship between size and distance under water, with the result that objects normally appear further than the optical distance and enlarged. Adaptation to size enlargement was examined by obtaining size estimates in air and water, before and after a period of 20–40 min. underwater activity in which objects of known size were handled. Size estimates were obtained by adjusting a line to an estimated length of 12 in. Initial estimates in water indicated that novices experienced more size enlargement than experienced divers. Both groups of divers showed significant aftereffects in air, indicating that some size adaptation had occurred. The aftereffect declined rapidly, and was significant for only the first two trials. A second experiment showed that the greater accuracy of experienced divers also occurred when looking into water through a porthole: it was not, therefore, ‘situation‐contingent’ in the sense that it depended upon wearing a face‐mask in water.