bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SEMANTIC SATIATION OF WORDS AND NUMBERS*
Authors: MESSER S. , JAKOBOVITS L. A. , KANUNGO R. , LAMBERT W. E.
Published: April 2011

One purpose of the study reported is to compare the effect of continuous verbal repetition on the semantic ratings of words and numbers. A second is to examine the effectiveness of the semantic differential to index distinctive features of numbers as well as words. The procedure used is parallel to an earlier study on semantic satiation with words with the notable difference that, in the present case, a completely mechanized method is developed to present stimuli and record rating responses and their latencies. The following main findings are reported: (1) Regular semantic differential wales reflect significant satiation effects with words, but not with numbers, while a ‘Meaningful‐Meaningless’ scale indexes significant shifts toward the ‘Meaningless’ pole with numbers, but not with words. (2) Certain differences are observed between words and numbers in the manner in which these are rated on standard semantic differential scales. (3) The M‐shaped relationship between response latency and scale position reported earlier by Osgood is confirmed in the present paper. The implications of these findings in relation to the earlier study and with respect to the applicability of the semantic differential to numbers are discussed.
BINOCULAR BRIGHTNESS AVERAGING AND CONTOUR INFORMATION
Authors: LEVELT W. J. M.
Published: April 2011

Binocular brightness averaging has been investigated under two conditions: with identical contour information in both eyes and with different contour information.

Equibrightness curves are presented for the simple case, in which right and left test fields are identical in pattern but different in luminance. These curves are for the most part linear; i.e. if the weighted sum of left and right luminance is constant, the same binocular brightness impression is produced. The sum of the weighting co‐efficients is unity (law of complementary shares). In the absence of eye dominance, the weights are equal; otherwise a correction for eye dominance must be made.

If monocular contour information is present in one test field, brightness averaging remains linear, but the weight for that eye increases at the cost of the weight for the other eye. In a region close to a monocular contour (within 1° of visual angle), the weight approaches unity, so that binocular brightness in this region is dependent upon the luminance in one eye only.

A suggested explanation of Fechner's paradox is given, and the implications of the approach for the mechanism of binocular rivalry are considered.
EFFECTS OF AGE ON SHORT‐TERM STORAGE AND SERIAL ROTE LEARNING
Authors: INGLIS JAMES , ANKUS MARY N.
Published: April 2011

Previous studies have shown that, as age advances, there is a progressive decrease in the ability to respond sequentially to simultaneous stimuli. It has been suggested that this impairment with age is due to a decline in the efficiency of some short‐term storage process. In those studies, however, the relation of this process to performance on other learning tasks had not been traced in normal subjects, nor have the possible effects of changes in sensory acuity, perception or attention been adequately controlled.

This paper describes the results obtained from 120 normal subjects aged from 11 to 70 yr in their reproduction of dichotic digits (a) when the order of recall is left to the free choice of the subject, (b) when the order of recall has been specified before, and (c) after these digits have been delivered. The correlation of performance on this task with performance on serial learning is also described.

The results obtained confirm the view that it is a change in some short‐term storage process rather than in any perceptual function which principally affects performance in this kind of experimental situation. Evidence was also obtained that short‐term storage is an important, but not a unique component, of longer term learning.
MEMORY AND THOUGHT IN HUMAN INTELLECTUAL PERFORMANCE
Authors: POSNER MICHAEL I.
Published: April 2011

This paper is a review of efforts to extend the use of information techniques to tasks which are intellectual in nature. Complex tasks such as problem solving and concept formation are viewed in terms of simpler processes of information transformations and immediate memory. The first section of the paper considers efforts to describe the difficulty of transformations such as occur in arithmetic operations and concept utilization in terms of their informational parameters. The second part considers the relationship of these transformations to tasks which require retention. The final section extends the analysis to the complex sequential tasks of induction, problem solving and reading. The paper as a whole may be considered as a quantitative extension of the view of thinking as skilled performance (Bartlett, 1958).
THE DIFFICULTY AND GRADED SCORING OF ELITHORN'S PERCEPTUAL MAZE TEST
Authors: DAVIES ANN D. M. , DAVIES M. G.
Published: April 2011

This paper describes an attempt to relate the subjective difficulty of a maze test, as provided by the success of a panel of subjects in solving it, with certain definable physical parameters of the maze. By assuming that the fewer solution paths there are through the maze the harder it is to find one, the correlation between subjective and calculated difficulty is + 0·77. By empirically including the complications of maze saturation and of the number of ‘legs' in the solution path, this value is increased to + 0·94. Using these ideas, a weighted scoring scheme is suggested whose values correlate more highly with subjects' Progressive Matrices scores than does the right‐wrong value.
PREFERRED HANDEDNESS AS A FACTOR IN THE ABILITY TO FORM A SET BASED ON IMAGINAL SITUATIONS
Authors: SCHWARTZ STEWART , SPITZER GILBERT
Published: April 2011

An experimental study is summarized in which the ability to form a set based on imaginal situations was studied under two conditions: when the imaginal situation is in direct conflict with the preferred handedness of the individual, and when the imaginal situation conforms to the preferred handedness of the individual. A fixated set resulting from the imagined situation of handling objects differing in size manifested itself in the subjects' subsequent perception of objectively equal objects or balls as being unequal. Set was more readily established in those subjects whose handedness conformed with the imaginal situation.
ABILITY AND SEASON OF BIRTH
Authors: ORME J. E.
Published: April 2011

The evidence available suggests that an association between season of birth and subsequent ability can occur for a number of reasons. In the present study, groups of subnormal and supernormal ability are used to examine one relevant factor. This hypothesis is that climatic temperature changes during foetal development are associated with subsequent ability at all levels, and not only with subnormal subjects. The hypothesis is confirmed, although for climatic environments different from that of the British Isles the particular relationships between climate and ability might vary. The investigation of such relationships, however, might provide a mode of examining the processes whereby ability develops from its genetic origins.
GUIDING DEUTSCH'S MODEL IN REVERSE
Authors: PRITCHATT D. , HOLDING D. H.
Published: April 2011

In order to test a prediction from Deutsch's ‘structural’ theory of behaviour twenty‐four mice were divided into three groups which were given twenty trials of (a) forward trolley guidance, (b) backward trolley guidance and (c) no trolley guidance, before testing for learning in a four‐unit Y‐maze. The results showed significant differences between these groups, the forward guidance being the most effective. These results are not consistent with possible predictions from Deutsch's postulates in their present form.
THE EFFECTS OF DISTRACTION ON PURSUIT ROTOR LEARNING, PERFORMANCE AND REMINISCENCE
Authors: EYSENCK HANS J. , THOMPSON WARREN
Published: April 2011

Five groups of thirty subjects were equated for performance on the pursuit rotor, and were then given massed practice under conditions of no distraction, a little, medium or considerable distraction, as well as a control distracting condition. It was found that performance declined proportionally to the amount of distraction given and that the effect of distraction was on performance only, and not on learning. During a subsequent rest pause half the subjects were given a distracting task, the other half were simply rested; performance after this rest period failed to show any effect of the distracting task on consolidation processes theoretically taking place during the rest period.
THE EFFECT OF DRIVE ON PERFORMANCE AND REMINISCENCE IN A COMPLEX TRACING TASK
Authors: EYSENCK H. J. , WILLETT R. A.
Published: April 2011

An experiment is reported in which high‐drive and low‐drive groups equated for intelligence were given a complex tracing task. Under conditions of spaced practice the low‐drive group performed significantly better than the high‐drive group, and similar differences were observed under conditions of massed practice. A rest pause of 10 min was interpolated in the performance of the groups tested under conditions of massed practice, and reminiscence was found to be greater for the low‐drive groups than for the high‐drive groups. Significant post‐rest decline of performance under massed conditions was observed only for the groups having long pre‐rest massed practice and not for those having short pre‐rest massed practice.
AGE AND PERCEPTUAL‐MOTOR TRANSFER IN IMBECILES: TASK COMPLEXITY AS A VARIABLE
Authors: CLARKE A. D. B. , COOPER G. M.
Published: April 2011

Earlier work with imbecile subjects suggested a relation between low chronological age and amount of transfer, in the manner suggested by McGeoch and Hebb. It remained possible, however, that adults were nearer their ultimate limits and had benefited from the transfer processes earlier in life. It was necessary therefore to evolve a method enabling a fair comparison to be made between children and adults. Task complexity was thus adjusted either for adults or for children so that identical starting scores were obtained. Two experiments yielded similar acquisition curves and transfer scores for both groups, suggesting that task complexity is a major variable in transfer. Hebb's view that adults will have already gained maximum benefit from transfer early in life may only hold for simple or oft‐used processes. Transfer seems to be a function of early development indirectly rather than directly, for all experiences will tend to be complex and unfamiliar to the young organism.
PERCEPTUAL SENSITIZATION, RESPONSE SUPPRESSION, AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
Authors: CAINE T. M.
Published: April 2011

A sentence‐building test is described which elicits (i) ‘acting out hostility’ versus ‘neutral’ responses; (ii) ‘projected hostility’ versus ‘neutral’; (iii) ‘guilt’ versus ‘neutral’; (iv) ‘neutral’ versus ‘neutral’ responses. The test is composed of sets of sixteen items each, covering each of these four areas. Under two conditions of administration, one of which facilitates response suppression, normals were found to suppress the emotionally toned material in all areas. The psychotics suppressed emotionally toned material, when the conditions of administration provided opportunity, in an area not related to their psychopathology (the ‘acting out hostility’ area). The implications for psychological testing situations are discussed.
AN EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED CONFLICT BETWEEN VISION AND PROPRIOCEPTION
Authors: OVER RAY
Published: April 2011

Settings of a bar so that if felt horizontal were examined under conditions where subjects were given false visual information of the slant of the bar. With a distortion of 15° subjects reported that the bar felt horizontal when it in fact looked horizontal. Although for larger distortions most subjects became aware of a conflict between what was seen and felt, few were able to make accurate settings. The bar tended to be set at a slant between the visual horizontal and the physical horizontal. Settings were variable over trials but there was no trend towards greater accuracy. The data indicate that in making spatial judgements more reliance is placed on visual than proprioceptive input.
TRANSFER IN CATEGORY LEARNING OF YOUNG CHILDREN: ITS RELATION TO TASK COMPLEXITY AND OVERLEARNING
Authors: CLARKE ANN M. , COOPER G. M.
Published: April 2011

An investigation with normal pre‐school children is reported which confirms and extends earlier findings on subnormal subjects. That transfer is related to the complexity of intervening training is again demonstrated across widely different tasks. In addition, evidence is offered for the interaction of overlearning with complexity, and the possible relevance of transfer in cognitive development is briefly discussed.
ADAPTING WITKIN'S FIELD INDEPENDENCE THEORY TO ACCOMMODATE NEW INFORMATION FROM AFRICA
Authors: WOBER MALLORY
Published: April 2011

Theories developed in America hold that the same cognitive style informs both the pattern of an individual's social relations and his performance in certain tests. The tests used in America have largely provided problems in a visual idiom. It is hypothesized that cultures found in Africa may attune skills relatively more highly in an auditory or proprioceptive, than in the visual sphere dominant in Euro‐American cultures. Results using a visual, and a mixed visual and proprioceptive test suggest a different pattern of response from African than from American subjects. This is taken to show that the sameness of cognitive style through all fields of an individual's behaviour may not occur for Africans as it may for Americans. Differences of cognitive style for proprioceptive problems may have their own correlates of social behaviour patterns, and these remain to be studied.
INFORMATION PROCESSING RELATED TO STIMULUS NOVELTY AND COMPLEXITY IN A SIGNAL DETECTION PARADIGM
Authors: WEINER BERNARD , FELDMAN PAUL
Published: April 2011

Three experiments are reported which investigated the informational properties of novel and complex stimuli. Irrelevant visual stimuli varying in novelty and complexity were employed as noise in an auditory signal detection task. Signal detection increased over the time of exposure of the visual stimuli, suggesting that the amount of information being processed from a stimulus is a function of its novelty. The judged complexity of the stimulus did not systematically influence signal detection. The investigations employed both within‐ and between‐subjects experimental designs.
BASAL CONDUCTANCE LEVEL AND MOTOR PERFORMANCE
Authors: CORTEEN R. S.
Published: April 2011

The relations between log. basal conductance and performance on three tasks were investigated. Significant relations were found with end spurt and reminiscence on the pursuit rotor, with overall performance on a dotting task, and with abnormally slow responses and optimum response speed in reaction time. These results are consistent with a view of basal conductance as a measure of ‘tonic’ activation or the ergotropic‐trophotropic dimension of Hess.
MUSICAL TASTE AND PERSONALITY
Authors: PAYNE ELSIE
Published: April 2011

An account is given of an experimental investigation into the nature of discriminative musical taste. The aim was to discover the kind of music people enjoy, and in particular, the impact of personality upon taste. The results suggest that personality is an important basic factor in the motivation of taste, though environmental factors strongly modify it, and that a definite if not fully consistent relation exists between classical/romantic tastes and the neuroticism factor of personality. The dimensions are positively related in the sense of classical/romantic taste to stable/neurotic personality.
NOTE ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF DOMINANCE TIMES IN BINOCULAR RIVALRY
Authors: LEVELT W. J. M.
Published: April 2011

The dominance periods of a stimulus in binocular rivalry show a characteristic time distribution that gives important clues as to the underlying mechanism in alternation. It is shown that the distribution can be approximated by a γ‐function, which turns out to have a positive integral exponent. With an integral exponent the function describes a Poisson distribution. This suggests the existence of an underlying dominance generating process that is discrete in nature. The parameters of this process are determined by properties of the recessive stimulus in the other eye. The discrete events may be ‘flicks' of eye movement.
A NOTE ON INTELLIGENCE AND SEASON OF BIRTH
Authors: BERGLUND GÖSTA W.
Published: April 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the relation between intelligence and season of birth, reported by some British and other workers, can be confirmed (1) in a sample of 708 normal Swedish children and (2) in a sample of 237 Swedish children below normal intelligence. In the normal sample, no significant difference in intelligence was obtained between groups of children born during different parts of the year. In the sample of backward children a trend was observed; the mean i.q. was highest in the group consisting of children born during the autumn.
MEANING MEDIATION IN VERBAL TRANSFER
Authors: KANUNGO R.
Published: April 2011

The role of synonymity and antonymity as mediators in verbal transfer in the absence of any confounding effects of associative connexions was studied. Using an A—B, A—B', A—B paradigm, subjects learned under three different conditions in each of which B and B had least pre‐laboratory associative connexions. In a control condition, B and B′ were semantically unrelated and, in the other two experimental conditions, B and B′ had either synonym or antonym relation. Results suggest that implicit meaning reaction alone can mediate verbal learning. Positive and negative transfer effects were obtained in the synonym and antonym condition respectively. Such mediational effects were more pronounced in fast than slow learners.
AGE DIFFERENCES IN THE TEMPORAL INTEGRATION OF LANGUAGE
Authors: CRAIK F. I. M. , MASANI P. A.
Published: April 2011

Results of a previous experiment suggested that old subjects are no worse than young subjects at remembering meaningless verbal material but are at a disadvantage when dealing with meaningful material. This result contradicts established views, so two short experiments were carried out to examine age differences in short‐term memory for various types of verbal material. The results confirmed the original observation that old subjects are at a greater disadvantage when dealing with highly meaningful material and also showed old subjects to be more vulnerable to the effects of supraspan interference. An explanation of the results is put forward in terms of age differences in temporal integration.
WATER, FOG AND THE SIZE—DISTANCE INVARIANCE HYPOTHESIS
Authors: ROSS HELEN E.
Published: April 2011

Objects generally appear too large under water. The usual explanation for this is that they are magnified by the change of refractive index between air and water. However, they are only magnified because they are optically nearer. If size constancy operates normally they should be seen the correct size but nearer, or enlarged in size but farther than the optical distance. The problem was investigated by requiring sixteen divers to make size and distance judgements of a range of white disks of different sizes set at various distances. Judgements were made for the same display both under water and on land. It was found that size judgements were greater under water, and that this corresponded to relative overestimation of distance. A weak form of size—distance invariance was found both under water and on land, but the relation between size and distance judgements was not the same in both conditions.

Overestimation of size and distance was also found in a fog on land. It was suggested that the overestimation of distance in a fog and under water was due to the exaggerated reduction of brightness contrast with distance, which increases ‘aerial perspective’.
ADAPTATION TO PRISMS: CHANGE IN INTERNALLY REGISTERED EYE‐POSITION
Authors: CRASKE B.
Published: April 2011

It was shown that subjects who inspected immobile parts of their own body through ophthalmic prisms subsequently pointed incorrectly towards visual targets with both hands, i.e. they pointed as if signals derived from the system responsible for positioning the eye had been changed by a constant. It was further shown by a direct method that the subjects' appreciation of eye‐position had indeed undergone a change as a result of such inspection, and that it was of an order great enough to explain the observed changes in pointing behaviour.
COMPONENTS OF CURIOSITY: BERLYNE RECONSIDERED
Authors: GREENBERGER ELLEN , WOLDMAN JANET , YOURSHAW SARAH WILLIAMS
Published: April 2011

Berlyne has found that collative stimuli—stimuli with the attributes of complexity, incongruity, or ambiguity, among others—attract longer visual exploration than their less perplexing counterparts. He has postulated a curiosity motive to account for the finding; this paper suggests an alternative explanation of some of his results. The first of two experiments evaluates whether viewing time allotted to collative stimuli is increased by prior curiosity‐arousal. The second evaluates whether a ‘set to remember’ also increases viewing of collative stimuli. Results indicate (a) that both experimental conditions elevate attention to collative stimuli, and to approximately the same extent; but (b) that curiosity‐arousal particularly elevates attention to incongruous stimuli, whereas, a ‘set to remember’ increases attention to complex stimuli. Control subjects given instructions patterned after Berlyne's seem to exhibit a self‐induced remembering set. This emphasizes the need to separate the effects due to curiosity from those due to a remembering orientation.
AN EXAMINATION OF TEST SITUATIONS INVOLVING SUGGESTIBILITY BY INDIRECTION
Authors: SINGER G.
Published: April 2011

The hypothesis that the ‘progressive lines test’ represents a test of ‘suggestibility by indirection’ was tested in a series of experiments. In Expt I fifty‐six subjects who were given no indirection pretraining did not differ from fifty‐six subjects who were given this training. In Expt II it was shown that a systematic ‘time error’ is operative in this test situation and that this effect confounds the measurement of suggestibility by indirection.
THE CONTRADICTION OF EPIPHENOMENALISM: A RESPONSE TO E. A. LOCKE
Authors: NORTON W. A.
Published: April 2011

In the past two years there have been contributions to this journal by Keehn (1964) and Burt (1964) on the topic of consciousness and behaviourism. In a further related paper, Locke (1966) has pointed out the logical difficulty inherent in any attempt to maintain the truth of epiphenomenalism, in so far as a behaviourist, for example, might be described as believing this doctrine and, at the same time, concerned with establishing its truth. The argument appears to the present writer to be somewhat contrived. It may be that there are other grounds on which behaviourism is open to criticism as a would‐be exclusive movement in psychology than simply the apparent contradiction of epiphenomenalism as examined from the perspective of those who hold other views about consciousness.
AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF RECTILINEAR AND CURVILINEAR ILLUSIONS
Authors: FISHER GERALD H.
Published: April 2011

The magnitudes of the illusory distortions apparent in the Ponzo figure and in three newly devised spatial patterns are estimated. Comparison of these with an appropriate control situation indicates that significant spatial distortions remain present in configurations which do not necessarily define angular contexts. Implications of these findings for ‘the perspective theory’ of illusions and for ‘the carpentered world hypothesis’ are discussed.
EFFECTS OF FOOD DEPRIVATION, DEPRIVATION EXPERIENCE AND SEX ON EXPLORATION IN RATS
Authors: HUGHES R. N.
Published: April 2011

Following 0 or 48 hr current deprivation male and female rats were individually observed for 15 min in an exploration box consisting of a novel and a familiar half. Half of the subjects had gained deprivation experience by being allowed food for only 30 min a day for 10 consecutive days prior to testing. The remainder had been on an ad lib. diet for the same period. Current deprivation of 48 hr decreased locomotor activity (total number of units entered) only for deprivationally experienced rats, who showed more locomotion than naive animals when neither group was currently deprived. Also, current deprivation produced a higher frequency of exploratory activity for males but not for females. Males engaged in less exploration than females when neither sex was currently deprived. All rats showed an over‐all preference for the novel half of the apparatus, but this preference was not affected by any of the three experimental variables. However, currently deprived rats entered the novel half sooner than non‐deprived animals.
BRAIN AND CONSCIOUSNESS
Authors: BURT CYRIL
Published: April 2011

The purpose of the following paper is to consider what light has been thrown on the problem of consciousness by recent researches on the brain, particularly those carried out by the many new techniques which have become available during the last fifteen years. It appears (i) that the nerve cell differs in no essential way, either in its basic structure or in its metabolic processes, from other gland‐like cells, though, like all cells, it is differentiated for its specific function; (ii) that conduction in the nerve fibre is a relatively simple electro‐chemical process; (iii) that the transmission of the nerve impulse across the synapse is chemical, and the transmitter substances are of a familiar hormonal character; and (iv) that, apart from the greater complexity and the greater instability of the synaptic thresholds, there are no essential differences between those parts of the neuronal network (n.g. the cortex) which are accompanied by consciousness and those parts (e.g. the spinal cord) which are not. A comparison of the specific micro‐neural situations in which consciousness does and does not arise suggests that the brain functions, not as a generator of consciousness, but rather as a two‐way transmitter and detector; i.e. although its activity is apparently a necessary condition, it cannot be a sufficient condition, of conscious experience.
REDUCTION OF RESPONSE INTERFERENCE THROUGH VERBAL REPETITION
Authors: ELLISON ANNE E. , LAMBERT WALLACE E.
Published: April 2011

The results of this study indicate that continuous verbal repetition of the interfering colour words on the Stroop test facilitates performance on the colour‐naming task. There was no overall tendency for the groups repeating the colour words to show a decrement or increment in the meaning of the words as measured by the semantic differential scales. However, individual differences in meaning change were significantly related to time‐improvement scores in colour‐naming. The effect of repetition worked differently with two different forms of the Stroop card. With the regular Stroop card, an increase in rated meaning (a generation effect) was associated with the most improvement, while with a revised card, a decrease in rated meaning (a satiation effect) was associated with the most improvement in time scores. The implications of these results for theories of interference and verbal satiation are discussed.
A NOTE ON A MACHINE THAT ‘LEARNS’ RULES
Authors: SHOTTER JOHN
Published: April 2011

A machine (C) is described which will learn to mimic creatively the behaviour of another machine (M) in this sense: after a certain number of ‘observations’ of M, C will begin to produce sequences of symbols not only like those that M produced but also like those that M might have produced but did not in the circumstances do so. If we say that M's behaviour is as if it were regulated by rules then we could say that C has learnt them. For human beings, postulation of an ability of this type seems to be necessary to account for the learning of language and for other social activities where behaviour is regulated by conventions. ‘Reinforcement theory’ is unable to account for this type of learning. C carries out its task without any ‘feedback’ or ‘reward’ from M; indeed, the only function for ‘motivational’ factors is to direct C's ‘attention’ from observing M to observing another machine or to cut off C's input entirely. If C were an organism it would need a set of primitive perceptual categories and an innately active nervous system to carry out certain restructuring operations on the knowledge that it acquires.
A STUDY OF TWO FACTORS WHICH AFFECT AROUSAL LEVEL AND THE APPARENT DURATION OF A TEN‐MINUTE INTERVAL
Authors: AITKEN R. C. B. , GEDYE J. L.
Published: April 2011

Interview studies of aircrew suggested that the apparent duration of an interval during flight might be affected both by the demand made on the individual by his allotted task and by the amount of background distraction to which he was exposed. In a laboratory experiment, eight pilots were isolated for four intervals of 10 min. During two of the intervals the pilots were required to perform a simple tracking task, whilst in the other two they were not required to do anything; on one occasion for each task condition they were exposed to distracting stimulation. The palmar skin resistance was measured every 1/2 min. during each 10 min. interval; afterwards the subject estimated its duration and indicated how alert he had been during it. The apparent duration was increased by the presence of distraction and decreased by the performance of the task; however, the effects of distraction and performance of the task on alertness and skin conductance were similar, both being in the direction of an increase in arousal. It was found that arousal changes could not account for more than an insignificant proportion of the observed alterations in apparent duration. It is concluded that an explanation in terms of the way in which attention is organized under the particular conditions of isolation obtaining is both consistent with the findings and may be a fruitful line for future investigation.
DISINHIBITION AND REMINISCENCE
Authors: MOHAN JITENDRA
Published: April 2011

The present experiment investigated the effect of a visual disinhibitor (instead of an auditory stimulus as used by Rachman, 1962) on reminiscence in a human pursuit‐rotor task. Four groups of 10 subjects each took part. A control group was presented with no light flash during practice. Group E 1 was presented with the light flash early in a 5 min. practice period, group E 2 in the middle and group E 3 late in the practice period. The results indicate an adverse effect of disinhibitor on reminiscence, significantly marked when presented very late in the course of practice.
RECENT TRENDS IN PSYCHOLINGUISTICS: A CRITICAL NOTICE
Authors: INGRAM ELISABETH
Published: April 2011

The Genesis of Language—a Psycholinguistic Approach. Edited by Frank Smith and George A. Miller

Psycholinguistic Papers. Edited by J. Lyons and R. J. Wales
AN EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL APPRAISAL OF THE INAPPROPRIATE SIZE‐DEPTH THEORIES OF ILLUSIONS
Authors: FISHER GERALD H.
Published: April 2011

Many explanations have been proposed to account for the distortions evident in illusions. Important examples of these suggest that the apparent size of a stimulus is determined by its apparent distance. The Müller‐Lyer figure is frequently used to illustrate this principle. Problems are raised which make it difficult to explain the illusion in this way. Figures embodying depth features similar to those in the Müller‐Lyer illusion are illustrated. These may be seen in depth and they will reverse in aspect also. If the ‘inappropriate size—depth’ theories are valid, illusory distortions should be seen in them. The apparent lengths of lines bounded by arrowheads are measured: they are inconsistent with the outcome expected if their sizes were determined from their apparent locations in depth. Detailed consideration is given to the implications of the findings for the inappropriate size—depth theories. Particular reference is made to the ‘perspective’, ‘carpentered environment’ and ‘size‐constancy’ theories. It is concluded that these theories fail to explain why illusions appear in two‐dimensional figures.
TWO‐FLASH FUSION THRESHOLD: THE INFLUENCE OF AGE, PSYCHOPHYSICAL METHOD, INSTRUCTIONS, VIEWING CONDITIONS, SEX AND SUBJECT VARIABILITY
Authors: PEARSON L. A. , TONG J. E.
Published: April 2011

In a series of studies with normals concerned with the time interval required for two successive light flashes to be perceived as one flash (TFF threshold) it was found that: age and psychophysical method are related significantly to the TFF score; binocular viewing requires a shorter inter‐flash interval for fusion than monocular viewing; handedness has no significant relation to monocular score; sex and instructions are not significant variables, but results suggest the importance of strict experimental control. Age is also related to vacillation around the fusion point. The data indicate that theoretical excursions with the psychopathology of TFF could be premature.
INFORMATION THEORY AND STIMULUS‐INDEPENDENT THOUGHT
Authors: ANTROBUS JOHN S.
Published: April 2011

The production of stimulus‐independent thought (e.g. fantasy and imagery) was measured as a function of the rate at which information was presented to human subjects. Information in the form of simple tones was presented at rates from 0·2 to 6 bits per sec. The linear regression of reported stimulus‐independent thought on information rate accounted for 83 per cent of the between‐cell variance. The results support a model in which both sensory and memory events are operated on by a common central cognitive unit.
A COMPARISON OF STEREOGNOSTIC RECOGNITION IN NORMAL CHILDREN AND SEVERELY SUBNORMAL ADULTS
Authors: MACKAY C. K. , MACMILLAN JANETTE
Published: April 2011

Recently some doubt has been cast on the generality of Hermelin & O'Connor's (1961) finding that imbecile children perform better on a tactual exploration—tactual recognition task than do normals of equivalent mental age. The present investigation is in part a replication of the original study, using normal children and SSN adults matched for mental age. The same subjects are used to investigate differences in stereognostic recognition of familiar material, where verbal coding may be assumed to be involved.

Both groups obtained higher recognition scores on the familiar material. The normals were superior to the SSNs on recognition of common objects, but the SSNs were superior to the normals on recognition of unfamiliar material. An attempt is made to explain this interaction by postulating relatively intact stereognostic ability in the SSN group and by examining the role of verbal coding in the retention of information from stereognostic exploration. It is also suggested that apparently dissonant evidence on the tactual recognition of shapes by normal and retarded children is not incompatible with the present findings.
REASONING WITH AMBIGUOUS SENTENCES
Authors: Johnson‐LAIRD P. N.
Published: April 2011

Eight inferences with quantified sentences were judged as valid or invalid. Each inference involved an active and its correlative passive sentence, e.g. ‘Some medicine cures every disease. Therefore: Every disease is cured by some medicine.’ There were four logically distinct pairs of sentences, and each pair was presented twice: once as an inference from active to passive, and once as the converse inference from passive to active. As predicted, what was crucial in evaluating these inferences was not voice but the position of ‘some’. An inference from a premise with ‘some’ in the grammatical subject to a conclusion with ‘some’ in the grammatical object tended to be judged as valid, whereas an inference in the converse direction tended to be judged as invalid. The results of an earlier study of the ambiguity of the sentences provided a good estimate of performance in the present inferential task.
INDUCED AROUSAL AND TIME OF RECALL AS DETERMINANTS OF PAIRED‐ASSOCIATE RECALL
Authors: Mclean P. D.
Published: April 2011

High arousal at the time of verbal learning has previously been shown to result in impaired immediate recall and facilitated delayed recall, while low arousal results in the reverse effect. The present experiments, one involving incidental and the other intentional learning, were designed to see whether or not this phenomenon could be brought under experimental control when arousal was manipulated, independent of the learning material, by means of white noise presented at 85 db. Skin‐resistance recordings showed that white noise was effective in inducing arousal. There was a significant interaction between recall interval and arousal, in both types of learning, in the direction predicted by the theory of perseverative consolidation.
TWO STUDIES OF THE DEPTH HYPOTHESIS
Authors: WRIGHT Patricia
Published: April 2011

Two experiments are reported which examine whether the memory load imposed by sentences of different syntactic forms is better predicted by measures derived from transformational generative grammar or from the phrase structure analysis of sentences (Yngve's measure of sentence depth). The first experiment shows that if an adverbial phrase is introduced into an active sentence, so that the phrase structure of the active sentence resembles that of a passive negative sentence, the memory requirements are also those of a passive negative. This supported the depth hypothesis. In the second experiment a subordinate noun clause was introduced into the sentence so that when an active sentence was made passive its phrase structure was less complex than the corresponding active. Here it was found that transformational complexity affected memory requirements but phrase structure complexity did not. It was concluded that both syntactic measures of complexity are reflected in performance, but, with content factors closely controlled, transformational complexity had the greater effect.
CONCEPT—SCALE INTERACTION IN THE SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR FACTOR SCORES
Authors: PRESLY A. S.
Published: April 2011

The lack of information on the extent of the concept–scale interaction effect in semantic differentials is pointed out. Some evidence is presented to show the extent of this effect within one concept class and its implications for factor‐scoring procedures are discussed. A scoring method is suggested which overcomes the difficulties inherent in the factor‐scoring methods generally used.
FIGURAL AFTER‐EFFECTS, SENSORY CODING, EXPECTATION AND EXPERIENCE
Authors: DODWELL P. C. , GENDREAU LORNA
Published: April 2011

Eight experiments on figural after‐effects (FAEs) are reported. The roles of induced set, and of experience in making judgements in a set‐free environment, were analysed. It was found that set can play a dominant part in the generation, or pseudo‐generation, of FAEs. Unless exceptional precautions are taken, set is likely to contaminate most reports of FAEs, and this factor probably accounts for most of the conflicting reports in the literature. In particular, it was shown that attempts to assess the relative importance of apparent size and retinal size in FAE situations can be vitiated by failure to control set. Two attempts to measure orientation‐specific FAEs in experienced, but set‐free, subjects met with limited success, and tended to confirm the interpretation of FAEs as functions of the coding system inherent in mammalian visual receptive field organization.
EXTRAVERSION—INTROVERSION AND THE EEG
Authors: GALE ANTHONY , COLES MICHAEL , BLAYDON JENNIFER
Published: April 2011

Studies relating measures of the EEG to extraversion—introversion are reviewed and criteria set up for their evaluation. A new measure of mean dominant frequency is proposed. Extravert and introvert EEGs are compared, firstly across the whole frequency range (with eyes closed) and secondly across theta, alpha and beta ranges under alternating conditions of eyes closed/eyes open. With the eyes closed, the extravert EEG is higher in integrated output than the introvert EEG across the whole measured range, the differences in output being greater in the lower alpha range. Such differences in alpha are not so readily apparent with eyes closed when recording with a gross filter which fails to discriminate among within‐alpha frequencies. However, with eyes open, and given monotonous visual stimulation, even a gross filter shows differential output. Prolonged recording also reveals differences in theta and beta these differences are stronger when the eyes are shut.
FIVE RATED CHARACTERISTICS OF 650 WORD ASSOCIATION STIMULI
Authors: BROWN W. P. , URE DOROTHY M. J.
Published: April 2011

Ratings are presented for 650 stimuli from word‐association lists on each of five scales: good—bad, pleasant—unpleasant, emotional—neutral, concrete—abstract, and easy to associate to—difficult to associate to. The ratings are shown to be highly reliable, and to agree well with previously collected norms of a similar character. The intercorrelations of the five scales with one another and with word frequency are reported.
CODING AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR
Authors: BIGGS J. B.
Published: April 2011

The concept of coding is used to construct a model of cognitive behaviour: particular attention is paid to the potential usefulness of the model in the applied field. Two major meta‐rule systems, the receptivity and economy programs, and a finite processing space, are postulated. A flow diagram outlining some important stages in information processing, and their general sequence, is presented. It is argued that the model may account for both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated behaviour and for the fact that the former is usually of a higher quality and complexity than the latter. Some implications of the model are discussed: in particular, its relevance to the question of what‐is‐learned, to the possible loci of individual differences in complex learning and to the role of these differences in determining the quality of performance, and to mapping the structure of complex behaviour with a view to improving the efficiency of learning.
EFFECTS OF INFANTILE STIMULATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL FAMILIARITY ON EXPLORATORY BEHAVIOUR IN THE RAT
Authors: WELLS P. A. , LOWE G. , SHELDON M. H. , WILLIAMS D. I.
Published: April 2011

Adult rats, which had either been handled daily between birth and weaning or left undisturbed during this period, were tested (i) in an enclosed Y‐maze for 3 min. on five successive days, and (ii) in a dark soundproof box for 1/2 hr. on six successive days; the box had a single lever, a response to which produced dim light of 1 sec. duration on the final three sessions only. An interaction between the effects of handling and of environmental familiarity was predicted. This was found in the response‐contingent light condition, but not in the maze study.
THE INFLUENCE OF AGE AND TEMPERAMENT ON THE ADULT HUMAN SLEEP—WAKEFULNESS PATTERN
Authors: TUNE G. S.
Published: April 2011

Over 600 adult subjects (aged 20–79) were asked to keep a day‐by‐day record of their hours of sleep on sleep charts for a period of 56 days. When completed the charts gave details of the duration of sleep, the times of falling asleep and awakening, the number and duration of nocturnal disturbances of sleep and the number and duration of mid‐day naps. A sample of 240 subjects (20 males and 20 females in each decade from the 20s to the 70s inclusive) was made consisting only of people who recorded for 50 or more days. These subjects were matched, as far as possible, in terms of neuroticism, temperament and intelligence.

It was found that although the average amount of sleep taken per day declined slightly from the 20s to the 50s, there was an increase in the 60s. This was partly due to an increase in the number of mid‐day naps taken. The extraverts slept longer than the introverts. The incidence of nocturnal disturbances increased with advancing age, especially in females. These and other findings are discussed and it is suggested that in later years, when social and occupational pressures are reduced, there is a tendency for a polycyclic sleep—wakefulness pattern to reappear.
THE EFFECT OF ELECTROCONVULSIVE SHOCK ON A CONDITIONED EMOTIONAL RESPONSE IN THE RHESUS MONKEY
Authors: WILLI FRANZ J. P.
Published: April 2011

A series of four experiments were conducted with Rhesus monkeys in order to investigate previously reported attenuating effects of electroconvulsive shocks (ECS) upon a conditioned emotional response (CER) of the ‘fear’ or ‘anxiety’ type. The fourth experiment in this series investigated the cardiovascular changes associated with the CER procedure and the effects of ECS upon such cardiovascular functions.

The results of Expt. I identified the previously reported attenuating effect of ECS upon the CER and confirmed the transient nature of this effect. Expt. II failed to confirm the protective effect of ‘prophylactic’ ECS treatments in preventing the reappearance of the CER 20 days after completion of an intensive ECS treatment series. There were, however, important variations in procedure to which this outcome may be attributable. Similarly, procedural variations may account for the only partial replication in Expt. III of the previously reported reduction in the effectiveness of delayed ECS in attenuating the CER. Finally, Expt. IV demonstrated that the cardiovascular changes (significant reductions in heart rate and blood pressure) which accompany the behavioural changes observed during the CER are also markedly attenuated as a result of the ECS treatments.
THE EFFECT OF ALCOHOL AND NOISE ON COMPONENTS OF A TRACKING AND MONITORING TASK
Authors: HAMILTON P. , COPEMAN A.
Published: April 2011

Recent findings in stress research indicate the necessity for examining the distribution of the operator's attention in complex tasks as well as his information transmission capabilities. This study examines the effects of alcohol and noise on a complex tracking and signal‐detection task with particular reference to changes in selective attention. The operator was instructed to give the tracking task priority. In noise tracking performance improved, but detection of lights placed on the periphery of vision was degraded. Alcohol had the same effect on peripheral detection, but tracking performance fell. It was concluded that the effect of alcohol on such simulated driving skills embodied two factors: the first an increase in attentional bias towards the high priority regions of the visual field, and the second a decrease in the information transmission rate. Since from the point of view of the tracking task these factors are mutually antagonistic, there may be an offsetting of the loss in transmission rate by more optimal dispositions of attention. The loss of peripheral awareness in this event is inevitable, and even at the low alcohol levels used was of apparently serious proportions.
THE EFFECTS OF ACUTE SLEEP DEPRIVATION ON SELECTIVE ATTENTION
Authors: NORTON ROYAN
Published: April 2011

It has been shown that performance in vigilance tasks deteriorates greatly after loss of sleep. It is hypothesized that deterioration in these and other tasks is largely due to a breakdown in the ability to attend selectively to relevant information in the task. An experiment is described in which subjects' performance in a task involving ignoring irrelevant information was shown to deteriorate more after sleep loss than performance on the same task without irrelevant information present. It is suggested that sleep plays an important part in maintaining selective attention and the symptoms shown by sleep‐deprived subjects are largely due to a failure in selective attention.