bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EXPOSURE FREQUENCY AND STIMULUS PREFERENCE
Authors: HAMID PAUL N.
Published: April 2011

Three experiments were carried out to determine the effect of exposure frequency on preferences for random shapes. Other variables investigated were sex, instructional set, initial stimulus meaning, duration of exposure, and the subject's orientation towards stimulation. Exposure frequency was found to increase significantly stimulus preference in all three experiments. While there were no sex or set differences, low meaning and short exposures were found to significantly enhance the frequency‐affect relationship. Different orientations to novel versus repetitive stimulation were clearly evident in the preference functions in Expts. I and III.
WHEN ARE VISION AND KINAESTHESIS COMPARABLE?
Authors: JONES B.
Published: April 2011

It has been frequently found that cross‐modal matching between vision and kinaesthesis is asymmetric such that the kinaesthetic—visual matching is more accurate than the reverse condition (e.g. Connolly & Jones, 1970; Millar, 1972). The present article points out that vision and ‘kinaesthesis’ should not always be regarded as equivalent sensory channels. It is shown that if kinaesthesis is taken as passive movement (the subject's relaxed arm was moved by the experimenter) then the passive movement matching of a visual standard corresponds very well to the reverse condition. However, matching a visual standard with a voluntary excursion of the limb (active movement) differs from the other two conditions both in absolute accuracy and in proportion of undershooting to overshooting. It is argued that some operations usually regarded as kinaesthetic depend only upon central monitoring of efference while others which can also be called kinaesthetic are based upon peripheral feedback. Some implications for cross‐modal matching of shapes and for theories of visualkinaesthetic memory are briefly discussed.
LEARNING AND THE SPIRAL ILLUSION
Authors: HOUTMAN S. D.
Published: April 2011

A generally accepted explanation of the spiral illusion is that the receptor cells sensitive to the specific motions being observed become ‘suppressed’ by inhibition consequent upon that stimulation. However, an original neurological model suggests that inhibition is a short‐term process, whereas perception is also dependent upon longer‐term ‘learning’. The model predicts that the duration of the illusion will be increased by the accumulation of ‘learned records’ of the moving spiral.

In the experiment, ‘learning sessions’ followed daily tests of duration, and an increase was demonstrated on the next day, more than 22 hours after such a session. No increase was detected where the ‘learning session’ was omitted or replaced by a ‘fatigue session’ employing an oppositely drawn spiral. In this way the ‘learning effect’ was distinguished from ‘suppression’, or a possible improved ‘discrimination’ due to practice. The results confirm the predictions of the new model and are difficult to reconcile with the ‘suppression’ hypothesis.
HEMISPHERE FUNCTION AND PAIRED‐ASSOCIATE LEARNING
Authors: DIMOND STUART , BEAUMONT GRAHAM
Published: April 2011

Stimuli for the paired‐associate learning of digits and symbols were projected to the left, right or both cerebral hemispheres in a group of right‐handed and a group of left‐ and mixed‐handed subjects. It was found that the performance of non‐right‐handed subjects was superior. Presentation to the left or to both cerebral hemispheres resulted in an equivalent level of performance which was superior to that found when stimuli were directed to the right hemisphere.
EXTRAVERSION AND PREFERRED LEVEL OF SENSORY STIMULATION
Authors: LUDVIGH ELEK J. , HAPP DEBORAH
Published: April 2011

Based on the work of Eysenck (1967), the present study hypothesizes a positive correlation between extraversion scores and the amount of ambient illumination and sound necessary to provide optimum hedonic tone and to create a slightly unpleasant level of hedonic tone. The subjects were 120 male undergraduates at Michigan State University. The results support the existence of a positive correlation between extraversion and sensory‐seeking behaviour hypothesized by Eysenck (1967), but suggest that the relationship between the variables is due to differences between introverts and extraverts as to what constitutes an excessive level of stimulation.
THE EFFECTS OF REPRESSION‐SENSITIZATION ON A BRIGHTNESS SCALING MEASURE OF PERCEPTUAL DEFENCE
Authors: WAGSTAFF GRAHAM F.
Published: April 2011

The relationship between perceptual sensitivity and stimulus emotionality was investigated employing a methodology aimed to preclude the intervention of response variables. Forty‐six subjects estimated the relative brightness of pairs of physically identical light signals superimposed on subliminal words presented below the awareness threshold. Byrne's Repression‐Sensitization scale was used as a possible personality correlate. Results supported the perceptual defence hypothesis, and significant differences in modes of responding were found between sexes, and categories on the R‐S scale.
TEMPORAL INTEGRATION IN THE PIGEON
Authors: WHITE K. GEOFFREY
Published: April 2011

Temporal integration in pigeons was examined in the context of a procedure which required the subject to integrate information from successively presented stimuli in order to make a correct choice. If two previous stimuli presented successively on the centre key of three response keys were the same, a response to the left key was reinforced, whereas if they were different, a right‐key response was reinforced. Thus a correct response could only be made on the basis of abstracting a relationship between temporally separated stimuli. Not only were the pigeons able to integrate temporally, but also, their ability to do so decreased as the blackout interval separating the successive stimuli was increased.
AH 2 AND AH 3: PARALLEL TESTS OF REASONING
Authors: HEIM A. W. , WATTS K. P. , SIMMONDS V.
Published: April 2011

Tests AH 2 and AH 3 are group tests of reasoning with several features usually associated with individual tests of intelligence. In particular, they yield a three‐point profile in addition to their total or general score, and their range of relevance extends from 10‐year‐olds to intelligent young adults. They have a certain flexibility in that they can be administered with either a long or a short time‐limit, norms having been established on both sets of times. New techniques have been used in devising items and building‐in checks to ensure that there is one and only one defensible answer for each question.

In the course of standardizing the two tests, several widely accepted findings have been confirmed, notably male superiority on Numerical, female superiority on Verbal and the greater variance found generally among males than females. Two further results are, however, worth noting: (a) the data do not support the suggestion, often made by teachers and other educationists, that girls tend to excel boys around 10–12 years of age owing to their earlier physical and mental maturation ‐ to be rejoined, or surpassed, by the boys in their early teens; (b) it seems well worth while incorporating pictorial items in a group test of reasoning, intended to cover a wide age range. This type of item enables the younger (and the less able) to show their strength in an area usually neglected in group tests and it proves to be a task in which they delight.
THE ROLE OF VISUAL‐HOLDING CUES AND THE SIMULTANIZING STRATEGY IN INFANT OPERANT LEARNING
Authors: MILLAR W. STUART
Published: April 2011

The operant acquisition of a manipulative response and concurrent visual fixation behaviour were monitored in 6‐ and 9‐month‐old infants under conditions where a cue marked the discontiguous feedback source, and where no such cue was available. Non‐availability of the visual cue disrupted manipulative response acquisition of 6‐month‐old but not 9‐month‐old infants. Cue‐assisted younger infants responded at a level comparable to the 9‐month‐olds and at a level reliably higher than the younger no‐cue group. Nine‐month‐old infants performed equally well under no‐cue and cue‐assisted conditions. This finding which demonstrates the importance of visual‐holding during the inter‐response interval is interpreted in terms of the increasing capability of infants during the second half of the first year to spontaneously relate centrally retrieved information to concurrent activity and to regulate behaviour on the basis of this information.

Non‐contingent stimulation elicited greater visual fixation of the feedback source at both ages in the presence of the cue and related to the occurrence of acquisition. Nine‐month‐old infants revealed more coincidental visual and manipulative behaviour than did younger infants, but only with the cue available. The visual data are discussed in terms of the prerequisite discrimination of contingent from non‐contingent stimulation for response acquisition, and the generalized use of the simultanizing strategy.
COGNITIVE ORIENTATION AND CURIOSITY
Authors: KREITLER SHULAMITH , KREITLER HANS , ZIGLER EDWARD
Published: April 2011

The study focused on the role of cognitive contents as antecedents of curiosity. Following the theory of cognitive orientation and a previous factor‐analytic study of curiosity behaviours, the hypothesis was that a measure of cognitive contents reflecting four belief types would predict curiosity behaviours. The subjects were 84 U.S. first‐grade boys and girls. They were administered five tasks which yielded 20 measures of curiosity behaviours and a questionnaire of the cognitive orientation of curiosity which enabled assessment of the four belief types. The results showed that a measure reflecting all belief types predicted curiosity behaviours on 14 of the 20 original measures, the unpredicted measures being mostly unrelated to curiosity. Implications for the cognitive orientation theory and for curiosity training are discussed.
ORIENTING AND DEFENCE REACTIONS TO SIMPLE AUDITORY STIMULATION IN MAN
Authors: CARROLL DOUGLAS
Published: April 2011

Soviet psychophysiologists have presented evidence that two distinct physiological arousal reactions can be isolated on the basis of forehead vasomotor response to moderate and intense stimulation. Recent Western studies, however, have generally found forehead vasomotor response to be insensitive to stimulus intensity manipulations. In the present study forehead blood volume and blood volume pulse were monitored from the temporal artery area while subjects received bursts of moderate and intense auditory stimulation. Both aspects of circulatory change were found to be sensitive to stimulus intensity.
REALISM AND LINGUISTIC COMPLEXITY IN REASONING
Authors: VAN DUYNE P. C.
Published: April 2011

An experiment was performed to determine whether there would be a difference in insight between an inferential problem expressed in a symbolic and in a realistic form. The task consisted of the selection of cards which, if turned over, could violate a given rule. The logical relation which the rule expressed was that of material implication, presented in four different linguistic forms. In addition, the rule expressed either an arbitrary relation between symbols, or a realistic relation between supposed states of affairs. There was a large difference between the symbolic condition and realistic condition: only 7 out of 24 subjects made the correct response in the symbolic condition, whereas 18 of them did so in the realistic condition. There was an interaction between the linguistic form of the rule and the mode of presentation of the problem, and a different error pattern for different linguistic forms. It is argued that the crucial underlying variables in the realistic condition may be revealed by manipulating those variables in concrete material which affect insight.
RELATIONS BETWEEN SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS: ARE THEY ‘EASY TO SEE’?
Authors: CAMBON JACQUELINE , SINCLAIR HERMINE
Published: April 2011

Recent findings in developmental psycholinguistics have shown that below the age of eight children have difficulty in understanding English sentences that do not conform to the normal SVO pattern (Chomsky, 1969). Experiments with French‐speaking children are reported which duplicate and extend this research. Results for English and French are compared. Certain discrepancies have led to an investigation of a possible parallel development in the semantic interpretation of the verb ‘to see’. A hypothesis based on Piaget's developmental psychology is formulated to link these findings to the more general trends of cognitive development.
SOCIAL LEARNING AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: MODELLING EFFECTS ON CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF CONSERVATION
Authors: MURRAY JOHN P.
Published: April 2011

Cognitive limitations of social learning were studied in 120 children. On the basis of a pre‐test of conservation of substance, children were described as conservers, partial conservers or nonconservers. Next, each child observed either a conserving, mixed or non‐conserving model perform in a standard Piagetian conservation task via videotape. A post‐test followed. Results indicated that the extent of post‐modelling behaviour change was related to the child's initial developmental level. Children who observed a non‐conserving model failed to regress in their understanding of conservation. These data suggest that positive effects of modelling are predictable according to initial cognitive level.
INFORMATION COMPLEXITY AND CROSS‐MODAL FUNCTIONS
Authors: FREIDES DAVID
Published: April 2011

Intra‐modal and cross‐modal presentations of a matching procedure were compared at two levels of information complexity in the same subjects. The modalities were visual and somato‐sensory. Sequence of information type and sex of experimenter and subject were systematically controlled. Pattern of accuracy among the several modality combinations and the effect of sequence varied as a function of information complexity. Sex of experimenter and subject yielded significant differences with simple information but not complex. The results, involving several detailed comparisons, confirmed generalizations derived from a review of prior studies in which only one type of information had been administered to any single group of subjects. Further examination of the relations between type of information and sensory modality is discussed.
STIMULUS COMPLEXITY, EEG ABUNDANCE GRADIENTS, AND DETECTION EFFICIENCY IN A VISUAL RECOGNITION TASK
Authors: GALE ANTHONY , SPRATT GRAHAM , CHRISTIE BRUCE , SMALLBONE ADRIAN
Published: April 2011

Occipital EEG was monitored while subjects inspected 27 projected patterns. The number (N) and variety (V) of elements in the patterns were varied systematically. There were three levels of N (6, 12 or 24 elements) and three levels of V (circles, squares or hexagons occupying all, one half or one third of the element locations for all levels of N). Subjects were instructed that they would be required in a post‐test to recognize the patterns, among patterns which had not appeared; they were also informed that the patterns had been constructed according to a set of simple rules, but the nature of these rules was not made fully explicit. The EEG was quantified by means of low‐frequency analysis, yielding measures of abundance (theta, alpha and beta) and mean dominant frequency. For the recognition task, nine stimulus items were embedded among 45 items. Recognition efficiency was measured by means of the signal detection theory discrimination index (d'). The results were as follows: (i) Both N and V were inversely related to alpha abundance (P < 0.01); (ii) the strongest relationship between stimulus parameters and the EEG held for N and EEG beta activity (13.5–19.5 Hz; P < 0.001), where again the EEG and N were inversely related; (iii) there was a significant (P < 0.05) direct relationship between N and theta activity; (iv) contrary to prediction, mean dominant alpha frequency decreased as 'N increased; (v) d' correlated significantly with a number of effects for N, i.e. subjects who exhibited greatest EEG discriminability of items during exposure of the patterns, subsequently obtained the higher detection scores in the recognition task. The work described therefore demonstrates that not only do stimulus parameters have systematic effects upon brain activity as measured by the EEG, but that such effects have functional value and reflect aspects of efficiency. The results are fully compatible with arousal theory constructs relating physiological reactivity and performance.
VISUAL IMAGERY AND THE DISCRIMINATION OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ALTERED PICTURES SIMULTANEOUSLY AND SUCCESSIVELY PRESENTED
Authors: GUR RUBEN C. , HILGARD ERNEST R.
Published: April 2011

Ten ‘good’ visual imagers and ten ‘poor’ imagers, representing the upper and lower halves of an unselected sample of adult volunteers, were given a task of detecting differences between altered pictures presented in pairs, either simultaneously or successively. Performance was measured by reaction time. ‘Good’ imagers reacted faster than ‘poor’ imagers, and the mode of presentation (simultaneous v. successive) did not affect their performances. ‘Poor’ imagers, on the other hand, reacted significantly slower when the pictures compared were presented successively. The results suggest that self‐rated visual imagery can be used to predict the successful recall of visual information required in a discrimination task.
THE SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION OF MOVEMENT AND THE ‘SUPPRESSION’ IN BINOCULAR RIVALRY
Authors: WALKER PETER
Published: April 2011

An analogy is drawn between the perceptual limitation that characterizes the dichotic listening paradigm and the ‘suppression’ that occurs in binocular rivalry when different stimuli are presented to the two eyes. An experiment is reported which focuses on the fate of the information residing in a suppressed eye (unattended channel) during binocular rivalry. It is demonstrated that the temporal course of rivalry is sensitive to the presence of a subliminal moving stimulus within the currently suppressed field. The effects are seen to confirm a literal interpretation of Levelt's (1966) thesis which relates changes in the ‘stimulus strength’ of a rivalling field to subsequent changes in the temporal course of the phenomenon. This interpretation is consistent with the hypothesis that, despite phenomenal suppression, a full analysis is undertaken on the currently non‐dominant stimulus. The data are related to models of selective attention, and to the notion that there are parallel visual systems.
EXPERIMENTER BIAS AND SUBLIMINAL PERCEPTION
Authors: BARBER PAUL J. , RUSHTON J. PHILIPPE
Published: April 2011

It has been suggested that subliminal perception phenomena may be in part due to experimenter bias effects. Two studies that obtained positive evidence of subliminal perception were therefore replicated with experimenters tested under blind and not blind conditions. There was only marginal support for the subliminal perception hypothesis and, although there were fairly clear indications of diffuse experimenter effects, the evidence for the experimenter bias explanation of subliminal perception was not strong. The need for more extensive replications of subliminal perception researches is noted. It is argued that the experimenter bias hypothesis lacks detail and generality; it is essential for it to be examined in the context of theoretically substantial issues.
CHOICE OF NON‐REINFORCEMENT FOLLOWING FORCED ALTERNATION
Authors: HOLDING DENNIS H. , BIRKIMER JOHN C. , DANIELS KENNETH R. , BROWN ROBERT P.
Published: April 2011

Previous research has suggested conditions for the learning of the non‐rewarded instead of the rewarded of two alternatives. Two experiments were performed with a reconvergent maze, in which food reward depended upon passing through only one of the two pathways. Rats given a block of non‐rewarded then a block of rewarded trials chose predominantly the rewarded pathway during free‐choice extinction testing, but those subjected to simple alternation sequences of rewarded and non‐rewarded trials chose primarily the non‐rewarded pathway. Faster running on non‐rewarded trials preceded choice of the non‐rewarded pathway by alternation subjects, and the evidence suggests that increased training led to greater preference for the non‐rewarded alternative.
SPATIAL MEMORY BY BLIND AND SIGHTED CHILDREN
Authors: MILLAR SUSANNA
Published: April 2011

Non‐verbal recall of haptically presented spatial positions by three age groups of blind and sighted children was tested under conditions varying cueing, recall type and stimulus position in a within‐subject design. Sighted status was not only significant, but interacted significantly with recall type, and further with stimulus position, consistent with sequential haptic by blind and quasi‐simultaneous visual processing by sighted children. Age was significant, but its only significant interaction was a relatively small one with cueing conditions and stimulus position, suggesting that the oldest group, regardless of sightedness, used verbal strategies in pre‐cued conditions. The findings support the hypothesis that visual and haptic modalities of representation have demonstrably different effects on processing and efficiency in spatial recall, but counterindicate the hypothesis that these relate differentially to age. Results also suggest that a combination of cue utilization and verbal strategies is a significant, but relatively minor, factor in improvements in spatial recall.
DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN CONSENSUS IN CONSTRUING WITHIN A SPECIFIED DOMAIN
Authors: APPLEBEE ARTHUR N.
Published: April 2011

Developmental changes in the amount of social consensus in grid ratings are investigated in six samples of school children spanning the age range 6–17. The grids studied use supplied constructs and elements elicited to represent various categories of stories (e.g. favourite, hard). On these grids there is increasing consensus in construing across the age span studied. This consensus is substantially higher for patterns of inter‐construct relationships (the structure of the system) than for ratings of specific elements on specific constructs (the implications of the system). The results also suggest that systematic relationships can be expected between group and individual patterns of response, when the structure is considered in terms of specific ‘interpreted’ dimensions of variation. Correspondence between group and individual patterns at this more global level does not show any clear developmental pattern. Instead, the lesser consensus of the younger subjects seems to reflect a more idiosyncratic patterning of the major dimensions of construing, within which the dimensions themselves are preserved.
THE EFFECTS OF CHRONOLOGICAL AGE ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF INTELLIGENCE AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT WITH EXTRAVERSION AND NEUROTICISM
Authors: SEDDON G. M.
Published: April 2011

This study examines the possibility that the relationships of intelligence and academic achievement with both extraversion and neuroticism may vary with chronological age. A sample of 741 students in the 15–19 age group worked through a battery of four tests, two of which were tests of intelligence and two tests of achievement in chemistry. The nature of the relationships between performance on these tests and measures of extraversion, neuroticism and chronological age were then expressed as multiple regression equations. The results showed a consistently different pattern of significant relationships for both extraversion and neuroticism with the achievement tests on the one hand and with the intelligence tests on the other. Only the performance on the two achievement tests depended upon an interaction between extraversion and chronological age. There were no such interactions involving neuroticism and chronological age.
PERSONALITY AND DIFFERENTIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TO HYPNOSIS: FURTHER REPLICATION AND SEX DIFFERENCES
Authors: GIBSON H. B. , CORCORAN M. E.
Published: April 2011

Following the study of Gibson & Curran (1974), a further sample of 45 subjects was tested on the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and a slightly modified form of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale (SHSS) in precisely the same way. The results in this second sample were broadly the same as those obtained in the earlier study. Combining the two samples, it was found that the sex variable provided some interesting contrasts. The power of the lie scale of the EPI to predict hypnotic susceptibility observed earlier was found to be a significant effect only for males. While there was no significant difference between the sexes in terms of the means and S.D.S of the extraversion (E) and neuroticism (N) scales, when the interaction of these scales was studied males and females differed significantly. The population from the two studies (n = 88) was analysed by means of polar coordinates in the manner suggested by Eysenck (1966) with regard to the E and N scales. Eysenck's prediction as to hypnotic susceptibility was strikingly confirmed. These data are briefly discussed in terms of alternative approaches to hypnosis from the ‘state’ and the ‘non‐state’ viewpoints.
THE GOLDEN SECTION HYPOTHESIS
Authors: BENJAFIELD J. , ADAMS‐WEBBER J.
Published: April 2011

The golden section is a proportion the aesthetic properties of which have been extolled since antiquity. The data from five experiments in which subjects made dichotomous judgements of acquaintances on bipolar dimensions (e.g. pleasant‐unpleasant) were reported. These data indicated that the mean proportion of positive adjectives used in making interpersonal judgements is an excellent approximation of the golden section. An explanation of this finding was offered in terms of Berlyne's ‘strikingness hypothesis’. It was suggested that Boucher & Osgood's ‘Pollyanna hypothesis’ should be extended to include the possibility that, by tending to organize his judgements in the golden section ratio, the person is able to pay special attention to negative events.
IMPLICIT‐SHAPE CONSTANCY AS A FACTOR IN PICTORIAL PERCEPTION
Authors: DEREGOWSKI J. B.
Published: April 2011

Schoolboys from the Ivory Coast and from Kenya were tested on a simple task intended to detect the effect of implicit‐shape constancy. The presence of such an effect was confirmed. Comparison of two Ivorean subsamples differing in their responses to a request to build a model of a depicted structure showed that those subjects who built flat (2D) models were less influenced by the implicit‐shape constancy than those subjects who built three‐dimensional structures. This confirms a postulated link between the implicit constancy and perception of pictorial depth.
CONSTRAINTS ON CLASSIFICATORY SKILLS IN YOUNG CHILDREN
Authors: CAMPBELL ROBIN , DONALDSON MARGARET , YOUNG BRIAN
Published: April 2011

On three occasions over a one‐year period 23 children aged 3–4 were asked to match target objects with other objects which were similar to the target in shape or in colour but not in both. A sequence of matches to each target was asked for. The structure of these sequences is examined for evidence of classificatory abilities. Many subjects appear to be attempting (not always successfully) to follow a strategy of ‘holding fast’ to their original choice of matching criterion (colour or shape) on subsequent trials. The striking differences between performance after a first‐trial colour‐match and after a first‐trial shape‐match are described. It is argued that development during this period involves an increasing ability to ignore the more salient attribute (shape) when matching by colour. The general developmental significance is discussed.
SEMANTIC CONSTRAINTS AND SENTENCE PERCEPTION
Authors: NEWSTEAD STEPHEN E.
Published: April 2011

This study investigates semantic constraints in reversible sentences and their relationship to sentence perception. In Expt. I, subjects were given anagrams of reversible sentences to solve, and any preferences for one version of the sentence over the other were taken to indicate the presence of semantic constraints in that sentence. In the second part of the experiment, subjects were presented with these sentences masked with white noise, and there was found to be a relationship between the semantic constraints and the ease of perceiving the sentences. Expts. II and III provide evidence that these constraints derive from a knowledge of the overall relationship expressed in the sentence rather than from the meanings of individual words. Previous experiments have failed to find any effect of semantic constraints in sentence perception; this discrepancy is explained in terms of the strategies subjects might have adopted in the various tasks.
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION‐PROCESSING CAPACITY IN THE CONSERVING OPERATION
Authors: HAMILTON VERNON , LAUNAY GILLES
Published: April 2011

Previous studies had shown that success in solving conservation of quantity problems varies with the amount of information contained in the problem, and that there are individual differences in coping with increasing informational loads. Amount of information was defined by the number of equational steps required for the solution of a problem. In testing the validity of this definition, it was predicted that criterion groups of subjects would differ significantly in other test situations measuring information‐processing capacity. Groups of 10 non‐conservers, 30 poor conservers, and 47 good conservers were selected from a subject pool of 150 aged between 6 and 9 years. The validation was carried out on card‐sorting tasks differing in binary choice demands, and on coding tasks differing in the number of primary stimuli and the number of recoding steps. Most of the predictions received highly reliable confirmation.
THE INFLUENCE OF REVERSIBILITY AND TRUNCATION ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PASSIVE VOICE BY YOUNG CHILDREN
Authors: HARRIS MARGARET
Published: April 2011

Reversible and non‐reversible active and passive sentences, half of which were truncated and half not, were presented to children aged between three and seven years. Comprehension of each sentence was tested by the simultaneous presentation of picture pairs, one of which showed the actor and object in the same roles and the other in the opposite roles to that described by the sentence. Selection of the pictures which the children considered to match the sentences confirmed the prediction that children whose comprehension of passive sentences was imperfect were aided not only by non‐reversibility but also by agent‐deletion. The most difficult type of passive to comprehend was one which was reversible and contained an agent. Non‐reversibility was also found to aid comprehension of active sentences by the younger subjects.
THE EFFECT OF EMBEDDED WORDS IN A BRIEF VISUAL DISPLAY
Authors: SOMEKH DAVID E.
Published: April 2011

In a replication and extension of an experiment by Eagle, Wolitzky & Klein (1966), subjects wrote brief stories describing an Object Relations Test card following exposure to a 7 × 7 letter matrix in which were embedded either neutral words or emotive words. Of six groups of subjects who participated, two groups were exposed to the matrices for 10 sec (‘supraliminal control condition’), and the remaining four groups for 1 sec (‘subliminal condition’).

Independent judges were able to distinguish, to a significant degree, between the stories of subjects who were exposed to emotive words and those exposed to neutral words under the ‘subliminal condition’; they could not distinguish, however, between the stories of subjects exposed for the longer duration (‘supraliminal condition’) to emotive and neutral words respectively.

A crude content analysis yielded significantly more unpleasant words in stories from the subgroups exposed to emotive rather than neutral words, but again only under the very brief exposure condition, the difference being absent in supraliminal control groups. The relevance of these findings to previous experiments is discussed.
THE COMPONENTS OF THE POGGENDORFF ILLUSION
Authors: DAY R. H. , DICKINSON R. G.
Published: April 2011

An explanation of the Poggendorff misalignment illusion in terms of three basic components, the horizontal‐vertical, longitudinal‐transverse and obtuse angle effects, is proposed. It is argued that these effects may either singly or jointly give rise to an apparent elongation‐contraction of the space between the aligned elements with consequent change in apparent oblique direction. Experimental evidence for the involvement of the three components in various combinations and for modification of perceived direction between the transversals is presented. It is shown that the illusion in various forms of the Poggendorff figure can be accounted for by the involvement of one or more of the three components, each of which can be demonstrated independently of the illusion. It is suggested that other classical illusions, including the Müller‐Lyer, might also be analysed in terms of basic components.
RESPONSES TO HOMOPHONES AS A FUNCTION OF CUE WORDS ON THE UNATTENDED CHANNEL
Authors: HENLEY S. H. A.
Published: April 2011

A prediction based on the model of attention advanced by Dixon (1971) was tested: namely, that responses to homophones presented to one ear, at supraliminal intensities, would be influenced by subliminal cue words presented to the other ear. Considerable support was found for the hypothesis in terms of response latencies, but not in terms of verbal content. It is suggested that these data make it possible to reconcile apparent discrepancies between the results of other recent studies of dichotic listening.
THE RELATIVE DIFFICULTY POSITION FUNCTION
Authors: AGRUSO VICTOR M. , RECKASE MARK D.
Published: April 2011

A study was conducted to determine if the serial position curve remains invariant across developmental levels under different rote verbal learning tasks when the curves are expressed as Indices of Relative Difficulty. Eighty students, ages 5–11, from the University of Missouri‐Columbia Laboratory School served as subjects for this study. Each subject participated in two experimental tasks, multitrial free recall and serial recall, counterbalanced in presentation. Seven words for each of the two experimental tasks and for each of the two practice tasks constituted the list length. On each task, every subject received a different random order of the list. The data consisted of an error score, cumulated over five trials, at each of seven serial positions for each subject in two tasks. The data were transformed into the Index of Relative Difficulty, which was the method used in representing the serial position effect. The statistical analyses were a multiple discriminant analysis on the four age groups for each of the two tasks and a Hotelling T2 analysis on the serial versus free recall mean vectors. All analyses were performed on the Index of Relative Difficulty. The analyses indicated that age or grade level in and of itself is not a significant factor in changing the bowed skewed curve found in rote verbal learning tasks. The effect of serial position on the shape of the serial position curve has been shown to be consistent with the findings of other investigators.
THE DIFFICULTY OF AN IMPLICATION TASK
Authors: BRÉE DAVID S. , COPPENS GEORGE
Published: April 2011

An experiment was conducted to distinguish between two cognitive processing models that attempt to account for the difficulty of a reasoning task. The task requires that subjects select the appropriate cards to test the proposition ‘if on one half of the card there is a vowel, then there is an even digit on the other half', when only one‐half of each card is visible. Few subjects select the correct cards. Johnson‐Laird & Wason (1970) put forward a model suggesting that the difficulty is due to a set for verification, i.e. that subjects select cards that could conform to the proposition rather than those which could disconfirm it. An alternative model (Brée, 1973) attributes the difficulty to a failure to hypothesize, i.e. to a lack of consideration of the possible hidden symbols. Only 2 out of 24 subjects in the experiment failed to conform to a prediction of the latter model, which the former model was not able to make.
The meaning and measurement of memory imagery
Authors: RICHARDSON Alan
Published: April 2011

Some contemporary trends in social and clinical psychology suggest that individual differences in imaging abilities may become increasingly important. This paper outlines some of the conceptual and methodological problems that must be clarified if productive research is to be undertaken and reports the results of three studies designed to isolate tests which might provide independent measures of imagery vividness and imagery control.
Impairment of a motor skill in children with spina bifida cystica and hydrocephalus: An exploratory study
Authors: ANDERSON ELIZABETH M. , PLEWIS IAN
Published: April 2011

Twenty 7–10 year old children with spina bifida cystica and hydrocephalus and 20 normals matched for age, sex and IQ were compared on a 12‐trial target task, first used by Connolly, Brown & Bassett (1968). Analysis of the results, in which particular attention was paid to statistical method and to ways of analysing individual differences, showed a significant impairment in dotting speed in the spina bifida group, although both groups improved with practice. In a second experiment immediately following the first, visual monitoring of this task was restricted. The spina bifida children were initially more affected than the controls but able to recover. The findings are discussed in relation to neurological abnormalities in the spina bifida group.
Sequential contrast effects with retarded subjects after discrimination learning with and without errors
Authors: LAMBERT JEAN‐LUC
Published: April 2011

Four retarded adults were exposed to a multiple variable interval‐extinction schedule of reinforcement. The 2 min components were presented in a random order. Two subjects acquired the discrimination with an errorless procedure. The two other subjects learned the discrimination with errors. The schedule generated sequential contrast effects under both training procedures: response rates during periods of reinforcement were higher when a reinforcement period followed an extinction period than when it followed another reinforcement period. These results were confirmed in a second observation where eight retarded children were exposed to a multiple fixed ratio‐extinction schedule of reinforcement. This study is the first demonstration of sequential contrast effects with human subjects during the acquisition of a discrimination without errors. The results are discussed in terms of Terrace's theory of errorless learning.
The influence of language training on seriation of 5–6 year old children initially at different levels of descriptive competence
Authors: HEBER Margery
Published: April 2011

Among explanations of the relation of language to cognitive development Bruner, Olver & Greenfield, 1966) and Piaget (1970) provide a contrast. Bruner has held language to be the major instrument of external influences moulding thought, while Piaget views it as merely one medium which represents developing thought systems. The present work is based on the language training experiment in seriation of Sinclair‐de‐Zwart (1967). Two groups of children comparable in seriation but who were initially at different levels of competence in the appropriate use of the relevant descriptions e.g. bigger/smaller, were trained in this use and then compared for subsequent progress in seriation, immediately and two weeks later. Significant progress followed for experimental subjects which was notably more rapid among those with prior command of the descriptions (middle class children). This advance was eventually equalled by a lower working class group. These results taken together appear to suggest an interactive process uniting speech‐in‐context with cognition.
Children's perceptual organization of seriated displays: Evidence against a memory reorganization hypothesis
Authors: CROMER RICHARD F.
Published: April 2011

The memory for a seriated display and its reorganization over an eight‐month interval was examined in educationally subnormal children. By including groups of children who viewed a random display and an array of disordered sticks, it was found that the reorganization into a more seriated drawing after the passage of time was not directly based on the original stimulus. Various controls including copying of the original material, and matching and recognition conditions, give evidence that the child's cognitive level affects encoding of the material as well as its later output. The observed phenomenon of ‘memory’ improvement may have little to do with stored images, and may instead be linked to the developmental symbolic level of the child which influences original perception as well as ‘memory’. It was also found that educationally subnormal children perform like normal children of the same mental age on the seriation task.
Verification processes in recognition memory: The role of natural language mediators
Authors: MARSHALL PHILIP H. , SMITH RANDOLPH A. S.
Published: April 2011

The existence of verification processes in recognition memory was confirmed in the context of Adams' (Adams & Bray, 1970) closed‐loop theory. Following a session of learning 100 CVCs by either a mediation or rote strategy, subjects' recognition was tested. Retention of items, learning strategy, and possible NLMs were assessed, as was the confidence associated with each decision. The expectation was that the data would reveal consistent internal relationships supporting the position that natural language mediation plays an important confirmatory role in recognition performance. The data are relevant to discussions of the relationship between recognition and recall, and the existence of retrieval processes in recognition memory.
Social class and communication style: The ability of middle and working class five year olds to encode and decode abstract stimuli
Authors: JOHNSTON RHONA POOLE , SINGLETON C. H.
Published: April 2011

This study investigated whether five year old children would show similar social class differences in coding style to those found in Heider's (1971) study of ten year old children. Fifty‐six middle and working class children aged five were asked to encode an abstract stimulus from an array of six similar items, so that another child present could identify the target item using only the information given by the encoder. Middle class children were found to make significantly greater use of a part‐descriptive coding style, whereas working class children made a significantly greater use of a whole‐inferential style; the findings were congruent with those of Heider on ten year olds. These differences were found to hold for a subsample of children matched on verbal intelligence, and, furthermore, the use of the various coding styles showed no significant correlation with verbal intelligence. The origins and implications of these social class preferences in coding style are discussed.
Experimenter bias against subliminal perception? Comments on a replication
Authors: Spence Donald P. , Smith Gudmund J. W.
Published: April 2011

Criticizes three replications of experiments on subliminal perception for not being true replications. The lack of subliminal effects in the replications could very well be explained by a change from sensitive to insensitive instruments of measurement.
Self‐rated imagery and vividness of task pictures in relation to visual memory
Authors: Berger Göran H. , Gaunitz Samuel C. B.
Published: April 2011

Marks (1973) and Gur & Hilgard (1975) have reported success in predicting performance in visual‐memory tasks from scores in a questionnaire of self‐rated vividness of imagery, i.e. the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ; Marks, 1973). The results obtained were attributed to the use of the VVIQ and pictures with a high degree of vividness in the memory task.

These findings were disconfirmed in two experiments in which the VVIQ was used and vivid pictures were presented in the memory tasks. Subjects were to judge whether pairs of similar, successively presented pictures were identical or not. The results indicated that subjects rated as ‘good’ imagers did not perform differently from those rated as ‘poor’ imagers. The influences of demand characteristics in the previous experiments and differences in experimental procedures were referred to as possible causes of the observed inconsistencies in results. It is also suggested that questionnaires of self‐rated visual imagery are ineffective as predictors of performance, since they only cover a limited aspect of imagery.
Selective encoding processes in recognition
Authors: Wright Jon , Ciccone Donald S. , Brelsford John W.
Published: April 2011

Recent studies using orienting tasks (Hyde & Jenkins, 1969, 1973) suggest that a subject's encoding operations are best characterized as a directed or selective process. Inferences about encoding from these experiments, however, are based on quantitative differences in recall performance. It was felt that more sensitive tests of the nature of information stored as the result of hypothetical encoding operations were necessary. In a recognition paradigm, critical items were presented in the context of meaningful modifiers or in the context of nonsense, rhyming modifiers to encourage subjects to selectively encode specified sets of stimulus attributes. The effectiveness of the manipulation was evaluated in terms of the false alarm errors to either semantically related distractors, or non‐semantically related distractors. Despite indications of an effective encoding manipulation, no recognition performance differences to unrelated control items were obtained. Some implications for the levels of processing theory of Craik & Lockhart (1972) were discussed.
A developmental study of the effects of instructions on visual shape judgements
Authors: Field Jeffrey , Collins John K.
Published: April 2011

Previous developmental studies of visual shape judgements have failed to instruct subjects clearly as to the type of shape judgements required. Using the method of adjustment 180 subjects in five age groups, 6, 8 10, 12 and 19 years, were instructed to judge either the real or projected shape of an elliptical standard slanted 39, 57 and 72 degrees from the fronto‐parallel. No age changes were found in the tendency towards shape constancy. Objective shape judgements exhibited a significantly greater degree of constancy than projective judgements and there was no decline in constancy with increasing slant of the standard under objective instructions, in contrast to a marked decline under projective instructions. Female subjects consistently manifested a greater tendency towards shape constancy than males.