Showing papers in "Perceptual and Motor Skills in 1970"

Handedness : proficiency versus stated preference

Abstract: An investigation of performance factors of developed hand preference was undertaken. Measurements taken from both the preferred and nonpreferred hands of 50 males and 50 females yielded scores on 6...

Sex-linked inheritance of spatial ability.

Abstract: Studies involving the inheritance of primary mental abilities in twins have generally shown that spatial ability appears to be the ability most influenced by hereditary factors (Thurstone, Thurston...

The wisc subtest syndrome for disabled readers

Abstract: WISC subtest patterns of 101 underachieving and 56 achieving fourth grade readers were determined and the results were contrasted with those from 20 previously published studies. The evidence indicates that the low information, arithmetic, and coding subtest pattern is characteristic of groups of disabled readers but not of individuals and that significantly high performance IQs are characteristic of about 20% of underachieves. The suggestion is made that research be directed toward discovering the possible significance of low subtest scores rather than toward pattern identification.

Comparative study of three stretching techniques.

Abstract: This study involved comparison of three techniques for increasing range of motion. Fast stretch (ballistic), slow stretch, and IA-CA, a modified version of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) were compared using 24 normal male Ss. Controlling for serial order effects, 6 groups of 4 Ss each were administered the treatments, and the differences between pre- and post-exercise measures were observed. Multiple regression analysis indicated the superiority of the IA-CA approach.

Adaptation and Recovery in Vibrotactile Perception

Abstract: Adaptation and recovery were studied under conditions of constant stimulation of sinusoidal vibration (250 c/s) at three different intensity levels: 40, 47, and 54 db above threshold. A two-step scaling method involving cross-modality matching and numerical scaling of the matching continuum was used. It was found that (1) the perceived intensity decreases exponentially with increased time of stimulation, (2) the decrease in perceived intensity is greater at higher intensity levels, (3) longer time was required for complete adaptation at higher intensities, and (4) the process of recovery is fast, requiring only 2 or 3 minutes.

Effects of age and intelligence on trail making test performance and validity.

Abstract: The literature contains evidence that age and intelligence affect Trail Making Test (TMT) performance and probably its validity as a screening device for organicity. This study systematically explored the nature of these effects. The TMT and WAIS were administered to 93 brain-damaged patients and 106 control patients, ranging in age from 20 to 72 yr. The results showed that: (1) TMT performance decreased with age, as did TMT validity; (2) TMT performance increased with intelligence; and (3) Reitan's (1958) cut-off point misclassified half the control patients, the misclassification rate increasing markedly with age. The results clearly indicate the need for local age-corrected norms.

Systematic identification of perceptual disabilities in autistic children.

Abstract: Matching-to-sample tasks were used to test the ability of six autistic children to make visual, vocal, and fine motor responses in response to visual and auditory stimuli. The results indicated that: the testing method was appropriate for low-functioning children; the group was heterogeneous with respect to perceptual deficits; and fine motor performance was poor. The data suggest that a basic difficulty in infantile autism may not be an avoidance of auditory and visual stimuli per se but rather a deficit in ability to make cross-modal associations. It is further suggested that the testing method would be useful for constructing profiles of perceptual disabilities with many types of low-functioning children.

Ego defenses and perceptual styles.

Abstract: This study explored similarities between Voth's personality construct (ego-close—ego-distant) and that of Witkin (field-dependent—field-independent), especially with reference to ego defenses A measure of autokinesis, the Figure-drawing Test, the Rod-and-frame Test and the Defense Mechanisms Inventory were administered to 45 men and 52 women The correlations between autokinetic scores and the Figure-drawing Test and Rod-and-frame Test scores were of low order and not significant Correlations between Figure-drawing and Rod-and-frame Test scores and between combined Figure-drawing—Rod-and-frame scores and the subcategories of the Defense Mechanisms Inventory tended to confirm previous findings Predicted relations between the autokinetic effect and ego defenses were obtained only for men Other significant sex differences are presented Possible explanations for these results are discussed

Relationship between measures of psychological differentiation and intellectual ability.

Abstract: This study was concerned with the nature of the relationship between measures of psychological differentiation and intellectual ability. Significant correlations ranging from –.21 to –.56 (N = 143) were obtained between field-independence measures and diverse measures of intellectual achievement many of which ostensibly have little or no relationship to embedding contexts, spatial-perceptual skills or non-verbal organization. The adequacy of Witkin's notion that significant relationships between measures of field-independence and intelligence can be explained on the basis of a common requirement for overcoming embedded contexts was questioned. An alternative interpretation was proposed and other lines of evidence consistent with this viewpoint were presented.

Left-Cerebral Hemisphere Superiority in Tachistoscopic Word-Recognition Performances

Abstract: Under conditions of monocular unihemispheric projection of word stimuli to the brain, 10 normal Ss uniformly showed superior word recognition ability of the left, as opposed to the right, cerebral hemisphere. Left-hemisphere recognitions were significantly more frequent than right-hemisphere recognitions for both eyes, but the extent of left-hemisphere superiority was significantly greater for the left eye. The results support the hypothesis that words projected to the right hemisphere traverse a less efficient route to the language centers of the left hemisphere.

Test of a cognitive theory of psychophysics: size discrimination.

Abstract: The cognitive theory of psychophysics proposed in an earlier paper by Baird claims that the ratio of exponents obtained in the method of magnitude estimation for 2 stimulus attributes is equal to the ratio of information transmitted in the method of absolute judgment for those attributes. This theoretical prediction was tested experimentally for visual length and area. Results partially supported the prediction, inasmuch as the ordinal relations among exponents (length higher than area) was the same as the ordinal relation among information measures. However, in one instance, the exact quantitative relationship was significantly different from the predicted value.

Social perception of internal-external control.

Abstract: 420 male and 324 female Ss were given photographs, previously scaled as being high, moderate, or low in physical attractiveness, and were instructed to fill out Rotter's I-E scale as they thought the person in the photograph would Persons low in attractiveness were perceived as more external in I-E control than persons either high or moderately attractive, there being no difference between the latter In addition, males perceived females as significantly more external than males, although female Ss did not make this distinction The results were interpreted as demonstrating the relevance of I-E in interpersonal perception, and in particular the cue value of physical attractiveness in evoking varying perceptions of I-E in a first impression setting

Relationship of Field Dependence and Motor-Vehicle-Accident Involvement

Abstract: A group of 28 accident and 27 accident-free drivers were requested by the California Department of Motor Vehicles to participate in a Driver Research Survey, the purpose being to evaluate the relationship between field dependence and motor-vehicle-accident involvement. The multiple regression results indicated that field dependence was significantly related to accident involvement. The results suggest that measures of perceptual style such as field dependence may hold promise for future research in traffic safety.

Relation of Extent of Temporal Removals to Closure and Visuomotor Factors

Abstract: Factor analysis of scores for 159 Ss on the Wechsler-Bellevue Scale of Intelligence, Mooney's Closure Faces test, and a visuomotor task (in which 4 blocks were assembled 10 times alternately into square and triangular frames) yielded 3 similar factors for each sex: Verbal Comprehension, Visual Construction and Closure. Mean factor score estimates showed the expected verbal deficit in 7 patients with left temporal removals and closure deficit in 14 patients with right temporal removals, but no asymmetry for the visuomotor factor. The negative correlation of the latter scores with extent of surgery in the right temporal area was different from the positive one found for the left temporal group.

Functional and Attention-Getting Effects of Color on Graphic Communications

Abstract: This experiment compared the learning and attention effects of color when the color was used either as an information code or decoration on bar charts. 3 groups of 15 Ss were given the opportunity to study either a functionally colored, decoratively colored or black and white chart which was placed in a room with each S while he was participating in another experiment. Ss were not instructed to study the chart, and a test on the content was administered at the conclusion of the other experiment. Results showed that the color, regardless of how it was used, increased the attention given the chart (p < .05). While the learning scores were somewhat higher for the colored charts, the effect was not significant. It was concluded that, for these charts, at least, color's principal effect was motivational, and a black and white code was equally effective as an information transmitter.

When Power Functions Fail: A Theoretical Explanation

Abstract: When the simple power function fails to describe psychophysical results, it is necessary to add or subtract a constant from either the stimuli or responses in order to reinstitute a power function. It is suggested here that this failure results from the nonlinearity of the function between the Weber fraction and stimulus intensity. Computer simulation experiments were conducted which supported this contention.

Recovery of Motor Performance following Startle

Abstract: : Sudden, high-intensity sounds, such as those produced by sonic booms, can be quite startling. Although many studies have investigated physiological response to startle, much less is known concerning the effects of startle on performance. The present study was designed to provide further information concerning the extent to which startle disrupts performance, the rate of recovery, and characteristics of subjects (Ss) who differ in susceptibility to startle. Thirty Ss were trained on both reaction time and tracking tasks. Continuous recordings were taken of heart rate and skin conductance. During a subsequent period of continuous tracking, 'startle' stimuli (115 db random noise) were unexpectedly presented. Results revealed the recovery of tracking performance following startle to be quite rapid; performance returned to pre-stimulus levels within 15 seconds following stimulation. Contrary to several previous studies, reaction times to the startle stimuli decreased relative to nonstartle reaction times. Ss with the greatest increase in tracking error following startle were least proficient prior to startle. There was also an indication that these Ss reacted more strongly to startle, both in terms of subjective response and heart rate acceleration, than those Ss whose tracking was least impaired by startle. An apparent covariation between recovery curves for heart rate and tracking error was found following startle. (Author)

Flicker fusion bibliography, 1953-1968.

Abstract: A list of 1293 references brings up to date Landis' bibliography on flicker fusion. CODEN abbreviations, periodical titles and subject index are included.

Visual Alertness in Neonates: Individual Differences and Their Correlates

Abstract: In a study of individual differences in neonates, frequencies and durations of spontaneous visual alertness were recorded and visual pursuit was measured in 32 2- to 3-day-old healthy neonates. Rank correlations of .60, .65, and .74 between the three visual measures suggested that infants who alerted frequently tended also to be the infants who alerted longest and who were most capable of visual pursuit. The results showed not only this intra-individual stability in the visual behaviors but also high variance between infants in their capacity for visual alertness. The infants' sex, parity, birthweight, estimated conceptual age, and postnatal age were not significantly related to the capacity for visual alertness, nor were the moderate levels of obstetric sedation used in this sample. The three visual measures, while tapping a shared capacity, had different correlates. Frequencies and durations of visual alertness were significantly related to a number of variables which had in common, moderate degrees of ...

Effects of eye position on person perception.

Abstract: Stimulus photographs were prepared of models in 3 conditions, looking straight into the camera, looking downward, and looking sideways. Photographs were shown to 48 Ss who were told to assume they ...

Lateral Organization in Pictures and Aesthetic Preference

Abstract: 416 Ss, drawn with equal sex representation from Grades 1 through university level, rendered aesthetic preferences for original vs mirror-image views of each of a series of 20 pictures. The grand mean number of original views selected was significantly greater than chance expectation. Preference for the original varied significantly over pictures, with the following properties of lateral organization emerging most distinctly as influential in the response: (a) pattern of lighting, (b) profile orientation, (c) handedness characteristics, (d) quadrant distribution of important objects, and (e) ease of entering the picture space. Choice was also a function of the positional arrangement of the two views. In respect of individual differences, when preference behavior is averaged over paintings, educational level is a more important dimension than either sex or handedness. When preference is considered for paintings singly, the influence of sex and handedness may be considerable.

How does language familiarity influence stuttering under delayed auditory feedback

Abstract: The purpose of the experiment was to determine how language familiarity affects stuttering under delayed auditory feedback (DAF). In one condition we compared DAF interference in German-English bilinguals speaking their more and less familiar languages. A language familiarity effect was found: the bilinguals spoke faster and stuttered less under DAF when speaking their more familiar language. This effect was independent of both delay time and language spoken. Moreover, the slower rate in the less familiar language could not explain the language familiarity effect since instructing Ss to slow down their rate of speech decreased rather than increased their stuttering. A second condition showed that the language familiarity effect was not due to paying more attention to feedback in the less familiar language. Rather, practice or experience in producing the motor organization of speech seemed to underlie the effect of language familiarity.

Impulsiveness, sociability, and the preference for varied experience.

Abstract: The possibility that the authors' previous report of a significant relationship of extraversion-introversion to stimulus-seeking motivation was attributable primarily to the impulsivity component of extraversion-introversion, with the sociability component contributing insignificantly to that relationship, was studied in 5 samples of British and American Ss. The results for all samples significantly replicated the extraversion and stimulation-seeking relationship. In addition, impulsivity was generally found to be of slightly greater magnitude in its relation to stimulation-seeking than was sociability.

Repressor-Sensitizer Differences on Repeated Exposures to Pain:

Abstract: A Hardy-Wolff-Goodell heat test and a pressure algometer test of pain tolerance were given to 72 female Ss divided into two groups on the basis of their R-S scores. Half the Ss received the heat test first while half received the pressure test first. 5 min. elapsed between the two trials. Analysis of the data indicated that repressors had a higher tolerance for pain than sensitizers on the first trial. However, repressors showed a significant decrease in their tolerance scores from Trial 1 to 2, but not sensitizers. These results were opposite to those expected, indicating that personality factors may have a different effect on the way an individual copes with repeated exposures to psychological stresses and with repeated exposure to pain.

Attitudes of health professionals toward twelve disabilities.

Abstract: A ranking of 12 disabilities, in the order they were perceived as most disturbing, was obtained from 54 health professionals. It was found that after blindness, the disabilities associated with imp...

What is Signalled by Proximity

Abstract: An experiment was carried out to determine how proximity is perceived as a cue in dyadic interaction. Ss held conversations with 3 confederates at distances of 2, 4, and 8 ft. and completed 21 7-point rating scales. Proximity did not account for any significant amount of variance in any scale. Confederates were perceived differently after interviews than after informal conversations. Ss did not give more favourable ratings to confederates who sat nearer their own preferred proximity, as determined by the method of limits. It is concluded that while proximity has certain dear determinants, e.g., liking and emotional adjustment, these are not reflected in the way proximity is perceived.

Color Connotations among Caucasian Seventh Graders and College Students

Abstract: Seventh grade and college students rated 10 common color names on the semantic differential. Analysis of the ratings by the two groups indicated a high degree of similarity in the affective meanings of the color names along the Evaluation (E), Potency (P), and Activity (A) dimensions, leading to the conclusion that the distinctive affective meanings of color names are learned, for the most part, prior to age 13. In the seventh-grade group the A scores shared considerable common variance with the E scores suggesting that the A dimension had not yet emerged as an independent meaning factor. The results of an analysis of color names often used to designate racial groups (e.g., white, black) were related to the findings of other studies concerned with the effects of racial “color coding” upon racial attitudes.

Volume Feedback and Generalization Techniques in Shaping Speech of an Electively Mute Boy: A Case Study.

Abstract: Summary.-An "electively mute" 12-yr.-old boy was successfully treated using positive reinforcement procedures. Visual feedback from the volume-level meter of a tape recorder was used to help in inducing sounds and to aid in raising speech volume. Various ocher techniques were employed to increase the rate of speech and to generalize it to a variety of environmental situations. The phrase "elective mutism" was first used to describe "children who are silent amongall but a small circle of intimates" (Tramer, 1934). The condition is generally thought to be intractable to treatment and often persists for many years (Reed, 1963). There are numerous papers dealing with the teaching of speech to autistic and schizophrenic children or to children who have never spoken or who have been slow to develop speech (e.g., Black & Moss, 1967; Hewett, 1965; Lovaas, Berberich, Perloff, & Schaeffer, 1966). In contrast, the electively mute child has often developed extensive speech. However, he will only emit words under a highly specific and restricted set of discriminative stimuli. Even when he does speak, his verbal rate is often very low. Behavioral research with elective mutism has not been reported widely. Reid, Hawkins, Keutzer, McNeal, Phelps, Reid, and Mees ( 1967) treated a 6-yr.old in a "marathon behavior modification" session. Straughan ( 1965 ) used an operant approach with a 13-yr.-old; however, it appears that this S was not electively mute. Under the reported baseline conditions he emitted almost 14 words an hour. The presentation in the present paper describes several techniques applied in a severe case of elective rnutism. The techniques appear to have relevance for treatment programs where the goals include increasing the rate of speech, generalizing it to a wide variety of environmental situations, and increasing speech volume. METHOD

Effects of physical exertion on mental performance of college males of different physical fitness level

Abstract: Two mental tests were given to physically “fit” (N = 13) and “less fit” (N = 9) male students. Test 1 consisted of the 30 odd-numbered matrices from the Standard Progressive Matrices (1960) and tes...

Perceptual structuring: cognitive style differences in the perception of ambiguous stimuli

Abstract: The study was designed to investigate the relationship between analysis and structuring as stylistic modes of perceptual functioning. 37 boys, ranging in age from 66 to 75 mo., were administered th...