Changing motor perception by sensorimotor conflicts and body ownership

PubMed Central

Salomon, R.; Fernandez, N. B.; van Elk, M.; Vachicouras, N.; Sabatier, F.; Tychinskaya, A.; Llobera, J.; Blanke, O.

2016-01-01

Experimentally induced sensorimotor conflicts can result in a loss of the feeling of control over a movement (sense of agency). These findings are typically interpreted in terms of a forward model in which the predicted sensory consequences of the movement are compared with the observed sensory consequences. In the present study we investigated whether a mismatch between movements and their observed sensory consequences does not only result in a reduced feeling of agency, but may affect motor perception as well. Visual feedback of participants’ finger movements was manipulated using virtual reality to be anatomically congruent or incongruent to the performed movement. Participants made a motor perception judgment (i.e. which finger did you move?) or a visual perceptual judgment (i.e. which finger did you see moving?). Subjective measures of agency and body ownership were also collected. Seeing movements that were visually incongruent to the performed movement resulted in a lower accuracy for motor perception judgments, but not visual perceptual judgments. This effect was modified by rotating the virtual hand (Exp.2), but not by passively induced movements (Exp.3). Hence, sensorimotor conflicts can modulate the perception of one’s motor actions, causing viewed “alien actions” to be felt as one’s own. PMID:27225834

The social perception of emotional abilities: expanding what we know about observer ratings of emotional intelligence.

PubMed

Elfenbein, Hillary Anger; Barsade, Sigal G; Eisenkraft, Noah

2015-02-01

We examine the social perception of emotional intelligence (EI) through the use of observer ratings. Individuals frequently judge others' emotional abilities in real-world settings, yet we know little about the properties of such ratings. This article examines the social perception of EI and expands the evidence to evaluate its reliability and cross-judge agreement, as well as its convergent, divergent, and predictive validity. Three studies use real-world colleagues as observers and data from 2,521 participants. Results indicate significant consensus across observers about targets' EI, moderate but significant self-observer agreement, and modest but relatively consistent discriminant validity across the components of EI. Observer ratings significantly predicted interdependent task performance, even after controlling for numerous factors. Notably, predictive validity was greater for observer-rated than for self-rated or ability-tested EI. We discuss the minimal associations of observer ratings with ability-tested EI, study limitations, future directions, and practical implications. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Top-down influences on ambiguous perception: the role of stable and transient states of the observer

PubMed Central

Scocchia, Lisa; Valsecchi, Matteo; Triesch, Jochen

2014-01-01

The world as it appears to the viewer is the result of a complex process of inference performed by the brain. The validity of this apparently counter-intuitive assertion becomes evident whenever we face noisy, feeble or ambiguous visual stimulation: in these conditions, the state of the observer may play a decisive role in determining what is currently perceived. On this background, ambiguous perception and its amenability to top-down influences can be employed as an empirical paradigm to explore the principles of perception. Here we offer an overview of both classical and recent contributions on how stable and transient states of the observer can impact ambiguous perception. As to the influence of the stable states of the observer, we show that what is currently perceived can be influenced (1) by cognitive and affective aspects, such as meaning, prior knowledge, motivation, and emotional content and (2) by individual differences, such as gender, handedness, genetic inheritance, clinical conditions, and personality traits and by (3) learning and conditioning. As to the impact of transient states of the observer, we outline the effects of (4) attention and (5) voluntary control, which have attracted much empirical work along the history of ambiguous perception. In the huge literature on the topic we trace a difference between the observer's ability to control dominance (i.e., the maintenance of a specific percept in visual awareness) and reversal rate (i.e., the switching between two alternative percepts). Other transient states of the observer that have more recently drawn researchers' attention regard (6) the effects of imagery and visual working memory. (7) Furthermore, we describe the transient effects of prior history of perceptual dominance. (8) Finally, we address the currently available computational models of ambiguous perception and how they can take into account the crucial share played by the state of the observer in perceiving ambiguous displays. PMID:25538601

Aging and the visual, haptic, and cross-modal perception of natural object shape.

PubMed

Norman, J Farley; Crabtree, Charles E; Norman, Hideko F; Moncrief, Brandon K; Herrmann, Molly; Kapley, Noah

2006-01-01

One hundred observers participated in two experiments designed to investigate aging and the perception of natural object shape. In the experiments, younger and older observers performed either a same/different shape discrimination task (experiment 1) or a cross-modal matching task (experiment 2). Quantitative effects of age were found in both experiments. The effect of age in experiment 1 was limited to cross-modal shape discrimination: there was no effect of age upon unimodal (ie within a single perceptual modality) shape discrimination. The effect of age in experiment 2 was eliminated when the older observers were either given an unlimited amount of time to perform the task or when the number of response alternatives was decreased. Overall, the results of the experiments reveal that older observers can effectively perceive 3-D shape from both vision and haptics.

Enhancing Motion-In-Depth Perception of Random-Dot Stereograms.

PubMed

Zhang, Di; Nourrit, Vincent; De Bougrenet de la Tocnaye, Jean-Louis

2018-07-01

Random-dot stereograms have been widely used to explore the neural mechanisms underlying binocular vision. Although they are a powerful tool to stimulate motion-in-depth (MID) perception, published results report some difficulties in the capacity to perceive MID generated by random-dot stereograms. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the performance of MID perception could be improved using an appropriate stimulus design. Sixteen inexperienced observers participated in the experiment. A training session was carried out to improve the accuracy of MID detection before the experiment. Four aspects of stimulus design were investigated: presence of a static reference, background texture, relative disparity, and stimulus contrast. Participants' performance in MID direction discrimination was recorded and compared to evaluate whether varying these factors helped MID perception. Results showed that only the presence of background texture had a significant effect on MID direction perception. This study provides suggestions for the design of 3D stimuli in order to facilitate MID perception.

Toward Meaningful Evaluation of Medical Trainees: The Influence of Participants' Perceptions of the Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watling, Christopher J.; Lingard, Lorelei

2012-01-01

An essential goal of evaluation is to foster learning. Across the medical education spectrum, evaluation of clinical performance is dominated by subjective feedback to learners based on observation by expert supervisors. Research in non-medical settings has suggested that participants' perceptions of evaluation processes exert considerable…

The Enhanced Musical Rhythmic Perception in Second Language Learners

PubMed Central

Roncaglia-Denissen, M. Paula; Roor, Drikus A.; Chen, Ao; Sadakata, Makiko

2016-01-01

Previous research suggests that mastering languages with distinct rather than similar rhythmic properties enhances musical rhythmic perception. This study investigates whether learning a second language (L2) contributes to enhanced musical rhythmic perception in general, regardless of first and second languages rhythmic properties. Additionally, we investigated whether this perceptual enhancement could be alternatively explained by exposure to musical rhythmic complexity, such as the use of compound meter in Turkish music. Finally, it investigates if an enhancement of musical rhythmic perception could be observed among L2 learners whose first language relies heavily on pitch information, as is the case with tonal languages. Therefore, we tested Turkish, Dutch and Mandarin L2 learners of English and Turkish monolinguals on their musical rhythmic perception. Participants’ phonological and working memory capacities, melodic aptitude, years of formal musical training and daily exposure to music were assessed to account for cultural and individual differences which could impact their rhythmic ability. Our results suggest that mastering a L2 rather than exposure to musical rhythmic complexity could explain individuals’ enhanced musical rhythmic perception. An even stronger enhancement of musical rhythmic perception was observed for L2 learners whose first and second languages differ regarding their rhythmic properties, as enhanced performance of Turkish in comparison with Dutch L2 learners of English seem to suggest. Such a stronger enhancement of rhythmic perception seems to be found even among L2 learners whose first language relies heavily on pitch information, as the performance of Mandarin L2 learners of English indicates. Our findings provide further support for a cognitive transfer between the language and music domain. PMID:27375469

Midwives' perceptions of communication during videotaped counseling for prenatal anomaly tests: how do they relate to clients' perceptions and independent observations?

PubMed

Martin, Linda; Gitsels-van der Wal, Janneke T; Pereboom, Monique T R; Spelten, Evelien R; Hutton, Eileen K; van Dulmen, Sandra

2015-05-01

This study aimed to provide insight into Dutch midwives' self-evaluation of prenatal counseling for anomaly screening in real life practice and, the degree of congruence of midwives' self-assessments with clients' perceptions and with observed performance. Counseling sessions were videotaped. We used the QUOTE(prenatal) questionnaire to have each midwife (N = 20) and her client (N = 240) rate the prenatal counseling that they had together. We used an adapted version of the RIAS video-coding system to assess actual counseling during videotaped prenatal counseling (N = 240). Midwives perceived the following functions of counseling performed well: 100% of Client-Counselor relation (CCR); 80% of Health Education (HE); and 17% Decision-Making Support (DMS). Congruence on HE of midwives with observers and with clients was ≥ 75%; congruence on DMS was higher between midwives and observers (80%) compared to midwives and clients (62%). Midwives perceive that during prenatal counseling the CCR and HE functions of counseling were performed well, whereas DMS was not. Furthermore, this study shows incongruence between midwives and clients about the discussion during DMS, indicating DMS is more difficult to assess than HE. The best way to measure prenatal counseling practice might be by using assessments of different sources within one study. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Reading your own lips: common-coding theory and visual speech perception.

PubMed

Tye-Murray, Nancy; Spehar, Brent P; Myerson, Joel; Hale, Sandra; Sommers, Mitchell S

2013-02-01

Common-coding theory posits that (1) perceiving an action activates the same representations of motor plans that are activated by actually performing that action, and (2) because of individual differences in the ways that actions are performed, observing recordings of one's own previous behavior activates motor plans to an even greater degree than does observing someone else's behavior. We hypothesized that if observing oneself activates motor plans to a greater degree than does observing others, and if these activated plans contribute to perception, then people should be able to lipread silent video clips of their own previous utterances more accurately than they can lipread video clips of other talkers. As predicted, two groups of participants were able to lipread video clips of themselves, recorded more than two weeks earlier, significantly more accurately than video clips of others. These results suggest that visual input activates speech motor activity that links to word representations in the mental lexicon.

Music and Speech Perception in Children Using Sung Speech

PubMed Central

Nie, Yingjiu; Galvin, John J.; Morikawa, Michael; André, Victoria; Wheeler, Harley; Fu, Qian-Jie

2018-01-01

This study examined music and speech perception in normal-hearing children with some or no musical training. Thirty children (mean age = 11.3 years), 15 with and 15 without formal music training participated in the study. Music perception was measured using a melodic contour identification (MCI) task; stimuli were a piano sample or sung speech with a fixed timbre (same word for each note) or a mixed timbre (different words for each note). Speech perception was measured in quiet and in steady noise using a matrix-styled sentence recognition task; stimuli were naturally intonated speech or sung speech with a fixed pitch (same note for each word) or a mixed pitch (different notes for each word). Significant musician advantages were observed for MCI and speech in noise but not for speech in quiet. MCI performance was significantly poorer with the mixed timbre stimuli. Speech performance in noise was significantly poorer with the fixed or mixed pitch stimuli than with spoken speech. Across all subjects, age at testing and MCI performance were significantly correlated with speech performance in noise. MCI and speech performance in quiet was significantly poorer for children than for adults from a related study using the same stimuli and tasks; speech performance in noise was significantly poorer for young than for older children. Long-term music training appeared to benefit melodic pitch perception and speech understanding in noise in these pediatric listeners. PMID:29609496

Music and Speech Perception in Children Using Sung Speech.

PubMed

Nie, Yingjiu; Galvin, John J; Morikawa, Michael; André, Victoria; Wheeler, Harley; Fu, Qian-Jie

2018-01-01

This study examined music and speech perception in normal-hearing children with some or no musical training. Thirty children (mean age = 11.3 years), 15 with and 15 without formal music training participated in the study. Music perception was measured using a melodic contour identification (MCI) task; stimuli were a piano sample or sung speech with a fixed timbre (same word for each note) or a mixed timbre (different words for each note). Speech perception was measured in quiet and in steady noise using a matrix-styled sentence recognition task; stimuli were naturally intonated speech or sung speech with a fixed pitch (same note for each word) or a mixed pitch (different notes for each word). Significant musician advantages were observed for MCI and speech in noise but not for speech in quiet. MCI performance was significantly poorer with the mixed timbre stimuli. Speech performance in noise was significantly poorer with the fixed or mixed pitch stimuli than with spoken speech. Across all subjects, age at testing and MCI performance were significantly correlated with speech performance in noise. MCI and speech performance in quiet was significantly poorer for children than for adults from a related study using the same stimuli and tasks; speech performance in noise was significantly poorer for young than for older children. Long-term music training appeared to benefit melodic pitch perception and speech understanding in noise in these pediatric listeners.

Confidence in word detection predicts word identification: implications for an unconscious perception paradigm.

PubMed

Haase, S J; Fisk, G

2001-01-01

The present experiments extend the scope of the independent observation model based on signal detection theory (Macmillan & Creelman, 1991) to complex (word) stimulus sets. In the first experiment, the model predicts the relationship between uncertain detection and subsequent correct identification, thereby providing an alternative interpretation to a phenomenon often described as unconscious perception. Our second experiment used an exclusion task (Jacoby, Toth, & Yonelinas, 1993), which, according to theories of unconscious perception, should show qualitative differences in performance based on stimulus detection accuracy and provide a relative measure of conscious versus unconscious influences (Merikle, Joordens, & Stoltz, 1995). Exclusion performance was also explained by the model, suggesting that undetected words did not unconsciously influence identification responses.

Impairment of holistic face perception following right occipito-temporal damage in prosopagnosia: converging evidence from gaze-contingency.

PubMed

Van Belle, Goedele; Busigny, Thomas; Lefèvre, Philippe; Joubert, Sven; Felician, Olivier; Gentile, Francesco; Rossion, Bruno

2011-09-01

Gaze-contingency is a method traditionally used to investigate the perceptual span in reading by selectively revealing/masking a portion of the visual field in real time. Introducing this approach in face perception research showed that the performance pattern of a brain-damaged patient with acquired prosopagnosia (PS) in a face matching task was reversed, as compared to normal observers: the patient showed almost no further decrease of performance when only one facial part (eye, mouth, nose, etc.) was available at a time (foveal window condition, forcing part-based analysis), but a very large impairment when the fixated part was selectively masked (mask condition, promoting holistic perception) (Van Belle, De Graef, Verfaillie, Busigny, & Rossion, 2010a; Van Belle, De Graef, Verfaillie, Rossion, & Lefèvre, 2010b). Here we tested the same manipulation in a recently reported case of pure prosopagnosia (GG) with unilateral right hemisphere damage (Busigny, Joubert, Felician, Ceccaldi, & Rossion, 2010). Contrary to normal observers, GG was also significantly more impaired with a mask than with a window, demonstrating impairment with holistic face perception. Together with our previous study, these observations support a generalized account of acquired prosopagnosia as a critical impairment of holistic (individual) face perception, implying that this function is a key element of normal human face recognition. Furthermore, the similar behavioral pattern of the two patients despite different lesion localizations supports a distributed network view of the neural face processing structures, suggesting that the key function of human face processing, namely holistic perception of individual faces, requires the activity of several brain areas of the right hemisphere and their mutual connectivity. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trust that binds: the impact of collective felt trust on organizational performance.

PubMed

Salamon, Sabrina Deutsch; Robinson, Sandra L

2008-05-01

The impact of employees' collective perceptions of being trusted by management was examined with a longitudinal study involving 88 retail stores. Drawing on the appropriateness framework (March, 1994; Weber, Kopelman, & Messick, 2004), the authors develop and test a model showing that when employees in an organization perceive they are trusted by management, increases in the presence of responsibility norms, as well as in the sales performance and customer service performance of the organization, are observed. Moreover, the relationship between perceptions of being trusted and sales performance is fully mediated by responsibility norms. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

Use of cues in virtual reality depends on visual feedback.

PubMed

Fulvio, Jacqueline M; Rokers, Bas

2017-11-22

3D motion perception is of central importance to daily life. However, when tested in laboratory settings, sensitivity to 3D motion signals is found to be poor, leading to the view that heuristics and prior assumptions are critical for 3D motion perception. Here we explore an alternative: sensitivity to 3D motion signals is context-dependent and must be learned based on explicit visual feedback in novel environments. The need for action-contingent visual feedback is well-established in the developmental literature. For example, young kittens that are passively moved through an environment, but unable to move through it themselves, fail to develop accurate depth perception. We find that these principles also obtain in adult human perception. Observers that do not experience visual consequences of their actions fail to develop accurate 3D motion perception in a virtual reality environment, even after prolonged exposure. By contrast, observers that experience the consequences of their actions improve performance based on available sensory cues to 3D motion. Specifically, we find that observers learn to exploit the small motion parallax cues provided by head jitter. Our findings advance understanding of human 3D motion processing and form a foundation for future study of perception in virtual and natural 3D environments.

A Bayesian observer replicates convexity context effects in figure-ground perception.

PubMed

Goldreich, Daniel; Peterson, Mary A

2012-01-01

Peterson and Salvagio (2008) demonstrated convexity context effects in figure-ground perception. Subjects shown displays consisting of unfamiliar alternating convex and concave regions identified the convex regions as foreground objects progressively more frequently as the number of regions increased; this occurred only when the concave regions were homogeneously colored. The origins of these effects have been unclear. Here, we present a two-free-parameter Bayesian observer that replicates convexity context effects. The Bayesian observer incorporates two plausible expectations regarding three-dimensional scenes: (1) objects tend to be convex rather than concave, and (2) backgrounds tend (more than foreground objects) to be homogeneously colored. The Bayesian observer estimates the probability that a depicted scene is three-dimensional, and that the convex regions are figures. It responds stochastically by sampling from its posterior distributions. Like human observers, the Bayesian observer shows convexity context effects only for images with homogeneously colored concave regions. With optimal parameter settings, it performs similarly to the average human subject on the four display types tested. We propose that object convexity and background color homogeneity are environmental regularities exploited by human visual perception; vision achieves figure-ground perception by interpreting ambiguous images in light of these and other expected regularities in natural scenes.

Influence of age, sex, and education on the Visual Object and Space Perception Battery (VOSP) in a healthy normal elderly population.

PubMed

Herrera-Guzmán, I; Peña-Casanova, J; Lara, J P; Gudayol-Ferré, E; Böhm, P

2004-08-01

The assessment of visual perception and cognition forms an important part of any general cognitive evaluation. We have studied the possible influence of age, sex, and education on a normal elderly Spanish population (90 healthy subjects) in performance in visual perception tasks. To evaluate visual perception and cognition, we have used the subjects performance with The Visual Object and Space Perception Battery (VOSP). The test consists of 8 subtests: 4 measure visual object perception (Incomplete Letters, Silhouettes, Object Decision, and Progressive Silhouettes) while the other 4 measure visual space perception (Dot Counting, Position Discrimination, Number Location, and Cube Analysis). The statistical procedures employed were either simple or multiple linear regression analyses (subtests with normal distribution) and Mann-Whitney tests, followed by ANOVA with Scheffe correction (subtests without normal distribution). Age and sex were found to be significant modifying factors in the Silhouettes, Object Decision, Progressive Silhouettes, Position Discrimination, and Cube Analysis subtests. Educational level was found to be a significant predictor of function for the Silhouettes and Object Decision subtests. The results of the sample were adjusted in line with the differences observed. Our study also offers preliminary normative data for the administration of the VOSP to an elderly Spanish population. The results are discussed and compared with similar studies performed in different cultural backgrounds.

Dancer perceptions of the force reduction of dance floors used by a professional touring ballet company.

PubMed

Hopper, Luke S; Wheeler, Talia J; Webster, James M; Allen, Nick; Roberts, Jonathan R; Fleming, Paul R

2014-01-01

The mechanical properties of dance floors have the potential to influence dancers' performance and injury risk. Little information is available that describes dancers' preferences for dance floor mechanical properties. Investigation of dancers' perceptions of varied dance floors can serve to enlighten governing bodies, floor manufacturers, and the dance community. The aim of this study was to assess the perceptions of dancers from a touring professional ballet company regarding four floors with varied force reduction (FR) that were created to replicate those used by the company in normal dance training and performance. A specialized questionnaire was developed that incorporated a series of qualitative and quantitative measures that could be used by participants to express their perceptions of the custom built dance floors. Floor FR was quantified with reference to the protocols specified by European standards. Dancer perceptions were in general agreement with floor FR values; however, some discrepancies were observed. Dancers expressed a preference for floor FR within the mid to upper limits (57% to 72%) of the European standards, although a minority preferred low FR (approximately 36%) floors. A limited ability to perceive inconsistencies in FR across test floors was observed, which may have implications for injury risk. Investigation of the perceptions of dancers from more diverse backgrounds, on floors that provide a closer representation of typical dance studio and stage sizes, over longer periods of time, would provide further insight into the perceptual and adaptive responses of dancers to varied floor mechanical properties.

Higher levels of motor competence are associated with reduced interference in action perception across the lifespan.

PubMed

Wermelinger, Stephanie; Gampe, Anja; Daum, Moritz M

2017-11-07

Action perception and action production are tightly linked and elicit bi-directional influences on each other when performed simultaneously. In this study, we investigated whether age-related differences in manual fine-motor competence and/or age affect the (interfering) influence of action production on simultaneous action perception. In a cross-sectional eye-tracking study, participants of a broad age range (N = 181, 20-80 years) observed a manual grasp-and-transport action while performing an additional motor or cognitive distractor task. Action perception was measured via participants' frequency of anticipatory gaze shifts towards the action goal. Manual fine-motor competence was assessed with the Motor Performance Series. The interference effect in action perception was greater in the motor than the cognitive distractor task. Furthermore, manual fine-motor competence and age in years were both associated with this interference. The better the participants' manual fine-motor competence and the younger they were, the smaller the interference effect. However, when both influencing factors (age and fine-motor competence) were taken into account, a model including only age-related differences in manual fine-motor competence best fit with our data. These results add to the existing literature that motor competence and its age-related differences influence the interference effects between action perception and production.

The Student-to-Student Chemistry Initiative: Training High School Students To Perform Chemistry Demonstration Programs for Elementary School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voegel, Phillip D.; Quashnock, Kathryn A.; Heil, Katrina M.

2004-05-01

The Student-to-Student Chemistry Initiative is an outreach program started in the fall of 2001 at Midwestern State University (MSU). The oncampus program trains high school science students to perform a series of chemistry demonstrations and subsequently provides kits containing necessary supplies and reagents for the high school students to perform demonstration programs at elementary schools. The program focuses on improving student perception of science. The program's impact on high school student perception is evaluated through statistical analysis of paired preparticipation and postparticipation surveys. The surveys focus on four areas of student perception: general attitude toward science, interest in careers in science, science awareness, and interest in attending MSU for postsecondary education. Increased scores were observed in all evaluation areas including a statistically significant increase in science awareness following participation.

Contrasting accounts of direction and shape perception in short-range motion: Counterchange compared with motion energy detection.

PubMed

Norman, Joseph; Hock, Howard; Schöner, Gregor

2014-07-01

It has long been thought (e.g., Cavanagh & Mather, 1989) that first-order motion-energy extraction via space-time comparator-type models (e.g., the elaborated Reichardt detector) is sufficient to account for human performance in the short-range motion paradigm (Braddick, 1974), including the perception of reverse-phi motion when the luminance polarity of the visual elements is inverted during successive frames. Human observers' ability to discriminate motion direction and use coherent motion information to segregate a region of a random cinematogram and determine its shape was tested; they performed better in the same-, as compared with the inverted-, polarity condition. Computational analyses of short-range motion perception based on the elaborated Reichardt motion energy detector (van Santen & Sperling, 1985) predict, incorrectly, that symmetrical results will be obtained for the same- and inverted-polarity conditions. In contrast, the counterchange detector (Hock, Schöner, & Gilroy, 2009) predicts an asymmetry quite similar to that of human observers in both motion direction and shape discrimination. The further advantage of counterchange, as compared with motion energy, detection for the perception of spatial shape- and depth-from-motion is discussed.

Predictors of Biased Self-perception in Individuals with High Social Anxiety: The Effect of Self-consciousness in the Private and Public Self Domains.

PubMed

Nordahl, Henrik; Plummer, Alice; Wells, Adrian

2017-01-01

"Biased self-perception," the tendency to perceive one's social performance as more negative than observers do, is characteristic of socially anxious individuals. Self-attention processes are hypothesised to underlie biased self-perception, however, different models emphasise different aspects of self-attention, with attention to the public aspects of the self being prominent. The current study aimed to investigate the relative contribution of two types of dispositional self-attention; public- and private self-consciousness to biased self-perception in a high ( n = 48) versus a low ( n = 48) social anxiety group undergoing an interaction task. The main finding was that private self-consciousness explained substantial and unique variance in biased negative self-perception in individuals with high social anxiety, while public self-consciousness did not. This relationship was independent of increments in state anxiety. Private self-consciousness appeared to have a specific association with bias related to overestimation of negative social performance rather than underestimation of positive social performance. The implication of this finding is that current treatment models of Social anxiety disorder might include broader aspects of self-focused attention, especially in the context of formulating self-evaluation biases.

Kinematic parameters that influence the aesthetic perception of beauty in contemporary dance.

PubMed

Torrents, Carlota; Castañer, Marta; Jofre, Toni; Morey, Gaspar; Reverter, Ferran

2013-01-01

Some experiments have stablished that certain kinematic parameters can influence the subjective aesthetic perception of the dance audience. Neave, McCarty, Freynik, Caplan, Hönekopp, and Fink (2010, Biology Letters 7 221-224) reported eleven movement parameters in non-expert male dancers, showing a significant positive correlation with perceived dance quality. We aim to identify some of the kinematic parameters of expert dancers' movements that influence the subjective aesthetic perception of observers in relation to specific skills of contemporary dance. Four experienced contemporary dancers performed three repetitions of four dance-related motor skills. Motion was captured by a VICON-MX system. The resulting 48 animations were viewed by 108 observers. The observers judged beauty using a semantic differential. The data were then subjected to multiple factor analysis. The results suggested that there were strong associations between higher beauty scores and certain kinematic parameters, especially those related to amplitude of movement.

Controlling attentional priority by preventing changes in oculomotor programs: a job for the premotor cortex?

PubMed

Michael, G A; Kleitz, C; Sellal, F; Hirsch, E; Marescaux, C

2001-01-01

Abruptly presented items capture attention automatically so they constitute the first items to be examined [Yantis and Jonides, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1984;10:601; Jonids and Yantis, Perception and Psychophysics, 1988;43:346; Theeuwes, Perception and Psychophysics, 1992;51:599; Theeuwes, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1994;20:799]. This attentional priority can be controlled in a top-down manner by directing attention towards the locus of interest [Yantis and Johnson, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1990;16:812; Theeuwes. Perception and Psychophysics, 1991;49:83; Miller, Perception and Psychophysics, 1989;45:567; Folk et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1992; 18:1030]. The premotor theory of attention [Rizzolatti et al., Neuropsychologia 1987;25:31; Rizzolatti et al., Attention and Performance XV, 1994, p. 231] assumes that the mechanism responsible for the attentional shifts is strictly linked to that responsible for eye movements, and several studies [Corbetta et al., Society of Neuroscience Abstracts 1997;23:122.12; Nobre et al., Brain 1997;120:515; Theeuwes et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1999;25:1595] suggested that the premotor cortex plays a role in the control of attention. However, the nature of this involvement is still unclear. We have been asking a patient (RJ) with a damage of the right premotor cortex to decide whether a target had a discontinuity on its right or left side. The absolute location of the target was pre-cued. In Section 2, an interference was observed when a sudden onset occurred in the visual space, suggesting that RJ was not able to control attentional capture. The possibility to attribute this interference to an insufficient focalization of attention or a grouping effect were discarded by Sections 3 and 4, respectively. Section 5 revealed that this interference followed exclusively the onset occurring in the hemifield opposite the one containing the target (meridian effect [Rizzolatti et al., Neuropsychologia 1987;25:31]). The results suggest that the control of attentional capture may be achieved by keeping constant the parameters of the appropriate oculomotor program.

Seeing what you want to see: priors for one's own actions represent exaggerated expectations of success

PubMed Central

Wolpe, Noham; Wolpert, Daniel M.; Rowe, James B.

2014-01-01

People perceive the consequences of their own actions differently to how they perceive other sensory events. A large body of psychology research has shown that people also consistently overrate their own performance relative to others, yet little is known about how these “illusions of superiority” are normally maintained. Here we examined the visual perception of the sensory consequences of self-generated and observed goal-directed actions. Across a series of visuomotor tasks, we found that the perception of the sensory consequences of one's own actions is more biased toward success relative to the perception of observed actions. Using Bayesian models, we show that this bias could be explained by priors that represent exaggerated predictions of success. The degree of exaggeration of priors was unaffected by learning, but was correlated with individual differences in trait optimism. In contrast, when observing these actions, priors represented more accurate predictions of the actual performance. The results suggest that the brain internally represents optimistic predictions for one's own actions. Such exaggerated predictions bind the sensory consequences of our own actions with our intended goal, explaining how it is that when acting we tend to see what we want to see. PMID:25018710

Visual perception and frontal lobe in intellectual disabilities: a study with evoked potentials and neuropsychology.

PubMed

Muñoz-Ruata, J; Caro-Martínez, E; Martínez Pérez, L; Borja, M

2010-12-01

Perception disorders are frequently observed in persons with intellectual disability (ID) and their influence on cognition has been discussed. The objective of this study is to clarify the mechanisms behind these alterations by analysing the visual event related potentials early component, the N1 wave, which is related to perception alterations in several pathologies. Additionally, the relationship between N1 and neuropsychological visual tests was studied with the aim to understand its functional significance in ID persons. A group of 69 subjects, with etiologically heterogeneous mild ID, performed an odd-ball task of active discrimination of geometric figures. N1a (frontal) and N1b (post-occipital) waves were obtained from the evoked potentials. They also performed several neuropsychological tests. Only component N1a, produced by the target stimulus, showed significant correlations with the visual integration, visual semantic association, visual analogical reasoning tests, Perceptual Reasoning Index (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition) and intelligence quotient. The systematic correlations, produced by the target stimulus in perceptual abilities tasks, with the N1a (frontal) and not with N1b (posterior), suggest that the visual perception process involves frontal participation. These correlations support the idea that the N1a and N1b are not equivalent. The relationship between frontal functions and early stages of visual perception is revised and discussed, as well as the frontal contribution with the neuropsychological tests used. A possible relationship between the frontal activity dysfunction in ID and perceptive problems is suggested. Perceptive alteration observed in persons with ID could indeed be because of altered sensory areas, but also to a failure in the frontal participation of perceptive processes conceived as elaborations inside reverberant circuits of perception-action. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Students' perception of the learning environment and its relation to their study year and performance in Sudan.

PubMed

Ahmed, Yasar; Taha, Mohamed H; Al-Neel, Salma; Gaffar, Abdelrahim M

2018-05-24

To evaluate students' perceptions of the learning environment and to assess any differences in perception related to students' performance and their year of study. A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed of 638 students from the second, sixth and tenth semesters at the Faculty of Medicine at Gezira University, Sudan. This study employed the Arabic-translated Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure. The main predictor variables were the study year and academic performance. Descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance with a post hoc Tukey-Kramer multiple comparisons test were used for data analysis. The overall score for this study was 122/200 (SD=16.6), indicating a positive perception of the learning environment. The overall mean score was 109.94/200 (SD=21.2) for Semester 2 students, 122.9/200 (SD=20.29) for Semester 6 students, and 116.53 (SD=20.12) for Semester 10 students, reflecting a significant difference in students' perceptions in different years of study (F (2,2422) = 3.21, p=0.04). There was also a significant difference between the mean overall scores with respect to academic performance. High-achieving students' mean DREEM score was 126 (SD=24.4); while low-achieving students' mean DREEM score was 102 (SD=26.25) (F (2,2453) = 3.53, p=0.029). High achievers' perceptions of the learning environment are significantly better than those of low achievers. A significant difference was observed between students in different years of study. The differences in students' academic performance should be further investigated, targeting specific domains. A large-scale study is required to differentiate between the weakness and the strength of each academic level.

Deficient motion-defined and texture-defined figure-ground segregation in amblyopic children.

PubMed

Wang, Jane; Ho, Cindy S; Giaschi, Deborah E

2007-01-01

Motion-defined form deficits in the fellow eye and the amblyopic eye of children with amblyopia implicate possible direction-selective motion processing or static figure-ground segregation deficits. Deficient motion-defined form perception in the fellow eye of amblyopic children may not be fully accounted for by a general motion processing deficit. This study investigates the contribution of figure-ground segregation deficits to the motion-defined form perception deficits in amblyopia. Performances of 6 amblyopic children (5 anisometropic, 1 anisostrabismic) and 32 control children with normal vision were assessed on motion-defined form, texture-defined form, and global motion tasks. Performance on motion-defined and texture-defined form tasks was significantly worse in amblyopic children than in control children. Performance on global motion tasks was not significantly different between the 2 groups. Faulty figure-ground segregation mechanisms are likely responsible for the observed motion-defined form perception deficits in amblyopia.

Angular Declination and the Dynamic Perception of Egocentric Distance

PubMed Central

Gajewski, Daniel A.; Philbeck, John W.; Wirtz, Philip W.; Chichka, David

2014-01-01

The extraction of the distance between an object and an observer is fast when angular declination is informative, as it is with targets placed on the ground. To what extent does angular declination drive performance when viewing time is limited? Participants judged target distances in a real-world environment with viewing durations ranging from 36–220 ms. An important role for angular declination was supported by experiments showing that the cue provides information about egocentric distance even on the very first glimpse, and that it supports a sensitive response to distance in the absence of other useful cues. Performance was better at 220 ms viewing durations than for briefer glimpses, suggesting that the perception of distance is dynamic even within the time frame of a typical eye fixation. Critically, performance in limited viewing trials was better when preceded by a 15 second preview of the room without a designated target. The results indicate that the perception of distance is powerfully shaped by memory from prior visual experience with the scene. A theoretical framework for the dynamic perception of distance is presented. PMID:24099588

The Perception of Materials through Oral Sensation

PubMed Central

Howes, Philip D.; Wongsriruksa, Supinya; Laughlin, Zoe; Witchel, Harry J.; Miodownik, Mark

2014-01-01

This paper presents the results of a multimodal study of oral perception conducted with a set of material samples made from metals, polymers and woods, in which both the somatosensory and taste factors were examined. A multidimensional scaling analysis coupled with subjective attribute ratings was performed to assess these factors both qualitatively and quantitatively. The perceptual somatosensory factors of warmth, hardness and roughness dominated over the basic taste factors, and roughness was observed to be a less significant sensation compared to touch-only experiments. The perceptual somatosensory ratings were compared directly with physical property data in order to assess the correlation between the perceived properties and measured physical properties. In each case, a strong correlation was observed, suggesting that physical properties may be useful in industrial design for predicting oral perception. PMID:25136793

From Perception to Practice: The Impact of Teachers' Scoring Experience on Performance-based Instruction and Classroom Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldberg, Gail Lynn; Roswell, Barbara Sherr

2000-01-01

Studied the impact of experience scoring the Maryland School Performance Assessment tasks on teachers' instructional and classroom assessment practice. Interview data, questionnaires, classroom observation, and classroom artifacts from approximately 5 teacher-scorers demonstrated that teachers' appropriation of performance-based instruction may be…

Early Binocular Input Is Critical for Development of Audiovisual but Not Visuotactile Simultaneity Perception.

PubMed

Chen, Yi-Chuan; Lewis, Terri L; Shore, David I; Maurer, Daphne

2017-02-20

Temporal simultaneity provides an essential cue for integrating multisensory signals into a unified perception. Early visual deprivation, in both animals and humans, leads to abnormal neural responses to audiovisual signals in subcortical and cortical areas [1-5]. Behavioral deficits in integrating complex audiovisual stimuli in humans are also observed [6, 7]. It remains unclear whether early visual deprivation affects visuotactile perception similarly to audiovisual perception and whether the consequences for either pairing differ after monocular versus binocular deprivation [8-11]. Here, we evaluated the impact of early visual deprivation on the perception of simultaneity for audiovisual and visuotactile stimuli in humans. We tested patients born with dense cataracts in one or both eyes that blocked all patterned visual input until the cataractous lenses were removed and the affected eyes fitted with compensatory contact lenses (mean duration of deprivation = 4.4 months; range = 0.3-28.8 months). Both monocularly and binocularly deprived patients demonstrated lower precision in judging audiovisual simultaneity. However, qualitatively different outcomes were observed for the two patient groups: the performance of monocularly deprived patients matched that of young children at immature stages, whereas that of binocularly deprived patients did not match any stage in typical development. Surprisingly, patients performed normally in judging visuotactile simultaneity after either monocular or binocular deprivation. Therefore, early binocular input is necessary to develop normal neural substrates for simultaneity perception of visual and auditory events but not visual and tactile events. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reflections on mirror neurons and speech perception.

PubMed

Lotto, Andrew J; Hickok, Gregory S; Holt, Lori L

2009-03-01

The discovery of mirror neurons, a class of neurons that respond when a monkey performs an action and also when the monkey observes others producing the same action, has promoted a renaissance for the Motor Theory (MT) of speech perception. This is because mirror neurons seem to accomplish the same kind of one to one mapping between perception and action that MT theorizes to be the basis of human speech communication. However, this seeming correspondence is superficial, and there are theoretical and empirical reasons to temper enthusiasm about the explanatory role mirror neurons might have for speech perception. In fact, rather than providing support for MT, mirror neurons are actually inconsistent with the central tenets of MT.

Reflections on mirror neurons and speech perception

PubMed Central

Lotto, Andrew J.; Hickok, Gregory S.; Holt, Lori L.

2010-01-01

The discovery of mirror neurons, a class of neurons that respond when a monkey performs an action and also when the monkey observes others producing the same action, has promoted a renaissance for the Motor Theory (MT) of speech perception. This is because mirror neurons seem to accomplish the same kind of one to one mapping between perception and action that MT theorizes to be the basis of human speech communication. However, this seeming correspondence is superficial, and there are theoretical and empirical reasons to temper enthusiasm about the explanatory role mirror neurons might have for speech perception. In fact, rather than providing support for MT, mirror neurons are actually inconsistent with the central tenets of MT. PMID:19223222

A perception system for a planetary explorer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hebert, M.; Krotkov, E.; Kanade, T.

1989-01-01

To perform planetary exploration without human supervision, a complete autonomous robot must be able to model its environment and to locate itself while exploring its surroundings. For that purpose, the authors propose a modular perception system for an autonomous explorer. The perception system maintains a consistent internal representation of the observed terrain from multiple sensor views. The representation can be accessed from other modules through queries. The perception system is intended to be used by the Ambler, a six-legged vehicle being built at CMU. A partial implementation of the system using a range scanner is presented as well as experimental results on a testbed that includes the sensor, one computer-controlled leg, and obstacles on a sandy surface.

Motivating nurses' organizational citizenship behaviors by customer-oriented perception for evidence-based practice.

PubMed

Chang, Ching Sheng; Chang, Hae Ching

2010-12-01

There is a gap in the literature about the influence of customer-oriented perception on nursing personnel's organizational citizenship behaviors. Organizational citizenship behaviors are the type of contextual behaviors that are difficult to observe and measure as such behaviors are usually generated in quite subtle and unpredictable ways. This study tested the hypothesis: Customer-oriented perception is associated with increased organizational citizenship behaviors for nurses. If nursing personnel's customer-oriented perception can increase their willingness to display organizational citizenship behaviors, it may facilitate hospital operation and enhance organizational effectiveness. A cross-sectional design using a questionnaire survey of nurses in 10 medical centers was used. Five hundred copies of the questionnaire were distributed, and 232 effective copies were retrieved, with a valid response rate of 46.4%. Structural equation modeling was performed in SPSS 11.0 and Amos 7.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) statistical software packages. The main finding was that favorable customer-oriented perception is associated with increased organizational citizenship behaviors for nurses. Extensive training and customer-oriented performance evaluation are proposed in the hope of creating customer-oriented perception among nursing personnel and subsequently inspiring the display of organizational citizenship behaviors. ©2010 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Parenting behaviors, perceptions, and psychosocial risk: impacts on young children's development.

PubMed

Glascoe, Frances Page; Leew, Shirley

2010-02-01

The goal of this study was to assess which parenting behaviors, perceptions, and risk factors were associated with optimal versus delayed development. A total of 382 families from the national Brigance Infant and Toddler Screens standardization and validation study participated. Data sources included parent questionnaires, child testing, and examiner observations of parent-child interactions. Parenting styles research was operationalized with the Brigance Parent-Child Interactions Scale, a brief measure of parenting behaviors and perceptions. Six positive parenting behaviors and perceptions predicted average to above-average development on the Brigance screens. Conversely, <2 positive parenting behaviors and negative perceptions of children indicated child performance nearly 2 SDs below the mean on Brigance screens. Psychosocial risk factors associated with fewer positive parenting behaviors and with negative perceptions included >3 children in the home, multiple moves, limited English, and parental depression. A dearth of positive parenting behaviors plus negative perceptions of children, with or without psychosocial risk factors, negatively affect child development, which is apparent as early as 6 months of age. The older the child is, the greater the performance gaps are. Language development is particularly at risk when parenting is problematic. Findings underscore the importance of early development promotion with parents, focusing on their talking, playing, and reading with children, and the need for interventions regarding psychosocial risk factors.

Teachers' and Students' Perceptions on the Problems of Effective Teaching and Learning of Science and Technology in Junior Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gimba, R. W.; Hassan, A. M.; Yaki, A. A; Chado, A. M.

2018-01-01

It has been observed that students shy away from the study of Science and Technology even though Science and Technology occupies a central position in the development of the nation. This shows the negative attitude and poor performance of students in Science and Technology. This has prompted the research into teachers and students' perceptions of…

Synchronization, Attention and Transformation: Multidimensional Exploration of the Aesthetic Experience of Contemporary Dance Spectators

PubMed Central

Joufflineau, Coline; Vincent, Coralie; Bachrach, Asaf

2018-01-01

The co-presence of bodies in intersubjective situations can give rise to processes of kinesthetic empathy and physiological synchronization, especially in the context of dance: the body and attention of the spectators are oriented towards the dancers. In this study, we investigate the processes of “body-mind” resonance between a choreography and its spectators, and more specifically the lasting impact of this resonance post-performance. We then explore the relation between the observed effects and subjective measures of attention. The study focuses on the work of the French choreographer Myriam Gourfink, who develops a unique movement, based on the slower breathing of dancers: the breathing generates an extremely slow movement without rhythmic ruptures. Phenomenological studies of her work report changes in temporal perception and changes in bodily attentional states. We made use of two cognitive tasks in order to quantify this change in temporal perception: Spontaneous Motor Tempo (SMT) and Apparent Motion effect (AM) before and after a 40-min live performance. Subjective reports were collected at the end of the performance. Physiological data were recorded before and after the performance. We performed a control experiment with a choreography of a distinctly different quality of movement. Post-Gourfink performance, we observed a significant deceleration of SMT and a decrease in its variability, while AM was reported with longer temporal intervals. Neither of these effects was observed in the control condition. Furthermore, an increase in perception of AM was correlated with a slower breathing rate after the performance. Correlations with subjective reports suggest a link between changes in cognitive and physiological dynamics and the degree of absorption of the spectators in the performance. In addition, these changes were related to specific reported attentional dispositions that we interpret as a form of attentional resonance. The ensemble of the results suggests an expansion of the “specious present” that is related to the slowing of physiological rhythms, and an attentional resonance between spectators and the choreography. The intricate relation we observed between inter-personal resonance and temporal cognition, foregrounds the notion of shared present as a neurophenomenological construct. PMID:29439435

Synchronization, Attention and Transformation: Multidimensional Exploration of the Aesthetic Experience of Contemporary Dance Spectators.

PubMed

Joufflineau, Coline; Vincent, Coralie; Bachrach, Asaf

2018-02-10

The co-presence of bodies in intersubjective situations can give rise to processes of kinesthetic empathy and physiological synchronization, especially in the context of dance: the body and attention of the spectators are oriented towards the dancers. In this study, we investigate the processes of "body-mind" resonance between a choreography and its spectators, and more specifically the lasting impact of this resonance post-performance. We then explore the relation between the observed effects and subjective measures of attention. The study focuses on the work of the French choreographer Myriam Gourfink, who develops a unique movement, based on the slower breathing of dancers: the breathing generates an extremely slow movement without rhythmic ruptures. Phenomenological studies of her work report changes in temporal perception and changes in bodily attentional states. We made use of two cognitive tasks in order to quantify this change in temporal perception: Spontaneous Motor Tempo (SMT) and Apparent Motion effect (AM) before and after a 40-min live performance. Subjective reports were collected at the end of the performance. Physiological data were recorded before and after the performance. We performed a control experiment with a choreography of a distinctly different quality of movement. Post-Gourfink performance, we observed a significant deceleration of SMT and a decrease in its variability, while AM was reported with longer temporal intervals. Neither of these effects was observed in the control condition. Furthermore, an increase in perception of AM was correlated with a slower breathing rate after the performance. Correlations with subjective reports suggest a link between changes in cognitive and physiological dynamics and the degree of absorption of the spectators in the performance. In addition, these changes were related to specific reported attentional dispositions that we interpret as a form of attentional resonance. The ensemble of the results suggests an expansion of the "specious present" that is related to the slowing of physiological rhythms, and an attentional resonance between spectators and the choreography. The intricate relation we observed between inter-personal resonance and temporal cognition, foregrounds the notion of shared present as a neurophenomenological construct.

Action and familiarity effects on self and other expert musicians’ Laban effort-shape analyses of expressive bodily behaviors in instrumental music performance: a case study approach

PubMed Central

Broughton, Mary C.; Davidson, Jane W.

2014-01-01

Self-reflective performance review and expert evaluation are features of Western music performance practice. While music is usually the focus, visual information provided by performing musicians’ expressive bodily behaviors communicates expressiveness to musically trained and untrained observers. Yet, within a seemingly homogenous group, such as one of musically trained individuals, diversity of experience exists. Individual differences potentially affect perception of the subtleties of expressive performance, and performers’ effective communication of their expressive intentions. This study aimed to compare self- and other expert musicians’ perception of expressive bodily behaviors observed in marimba performance. We hypothesized that analyses of expressive bodily behaviors differ between expert musicians according to their specialist motor expertise and familiarity with the music. Two professional percussionists and experienced marimba players, and one professional classical singer took part in the study. Participants independently conducted Laban effort-shape analysis – proposing that intentions manifest in bodily activity are understood through shared embodied processes – of a marimbists’ expressive bodily behaviors in an audio-visual performance recording. For one percussionist, this was a self-reflective analysis. The work was unfamiliar to the other percussionist and singer. Perception of the performer’s expressive bodily behaviors appeared to differ according to participants’ individual instrumental or vocal motor expertise, and familiarity with the music. Furthermore, individual type of motor experience appeared to direct participants’ attention in approaching the analyses. Findings support forward and inverse perception–action models, and embodied cognitive theory. Implications offer scientific rigor and artistic interest for how performance practitioners can reflectively analyze performance to improve expressive communication. PMID:25400601

Predictive Modeling of Human Perception Subjectivity: Feasibility Study of Mammographic Lesion Similarity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Songhua; Tourassi, Georgia

2012-01-01

The majority of clinical content-based image retrieval (CBIR) studies disregard human perception subjectivity, aiming to duplicate the consensus expert assessment of the visual similarity on example cases. The purpose of our study is twofold: (i) discern better the extent of human perception subjectivity when assessing the visual similarity of two images with similar semantic content, and (ii) explore the feasibility of personalized predictive modeling of visual similarity. We conducted a human observer study in which five observers of various expertise were shown ninety-nine triplets of mammographic masses with similar BI-RADS descriptors and were asked to select the two masses withmore » the highest visual relevance. Pairwise agreement ranged between poor and fair among the five observers, as assessed by the kappa statistic. The observers' self-consistency rate was remarkably low, based on repeated questions where either the orientation or the presentation order of a mass was changed. Various machine learning algorithms were explored to determine whether they can predict each observer's personalized selection using textural features. Many algorithms performed with accuracy that exceeded each observer's self-consistency rate, as determined using a cross-validation scheme. This accuracy was statistically significantly higher than would be expected by chance alone (two-tailed p-value ranged between 0.001 and 0.01 for all five personalized models). The study confirmed that human perception subjectivity should be taken into account when developing CBIR-based medical applications.« less

Pitch perception prior to cortical maturation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lau, Bonnie K.

Pitch perception plays an important role in many complex auditory tasks including speech perception, music perception, and sound source segregation. Because of the protracted and extensive development of the human auditory cortex, pitch perception might be expected to mature, at least over the first few months of life. This dissertation investigates complex pitch perception in 3-month-olds, 7-month-olds and adults -- time points when the organization of the auditory pathway is distinctly different. Using an observer-based psychophysical procedure, a series of four studies were conducted to determine whether infants (1) discriminate the pitch of harmonic complex tones, (2) discriminate the pitch of unresolved harmonics, (3) discriminate the pitch of missing fundamental melodies, and (4) have comparable sensitivity to pitch and spectral changes as adult listeners. The stimuli used in these studies were harmonic complex tones, with energy missing at the fundamental frequency. Infants at both three and seven months of age discriminated the pitch of missing fundamental complexes composed of resolved and unresolved harmonics as well as missing fundamental melodies, demonstrating perception of complex pitch by three months of age. More surprisingly, infants in both age groups had lower pitch and spectral discrimination thresholds than adult listeners. Furthermore, no differences in performance on any of the tasks presented were observed between infants at three and seven months of age. These results suggest that subcortical processing is not only sufficient to support pitch perception prior to cortical maturation, but provides adult-like sensitivity to pitch by three months.

An Expressive Bodily Movement Repertoire for Marimba Performance, Revealed through Observers' Laban Effort-Shape Analyses, and Allied Musical Features: Two Case Studies

PubMed Central

Broughton, Mary C.; Davidson, Jane W.

2016-01-01

Musicians' expressive bodily movements can influence observers' perception of performance. Furthermore, individual differences in observers' music and motor expertise can shape how they perceive and respond to music performance. However, few studies have investigated the bodily movements that different observers of music performance perceive as expressive, in order to understand how they might relate to the music being produced, and the particular instrument type. In this paper, we focus on marimba performance through two case studies—one solo and one collaborative context. This study aims to investigate the existence of a core repertoire of marimba performance expressive bodily movements, identify key music-related features associated with the core repertoire, and explore how observers' perception of expressive bodily movements might vary according to individual differences in their music and motor expertise. Of the six professional musicians who observed and analyzed the marimba performances, three were percussionists and experienced marimba players. Following training, observers implemented the Laban effort-shape movement analysis system to analyze marimba players' bodily movements that they perceived as expressive in audio-visual recordings of performance. Observations that were agreed by all participants as being the same type of action at the same location in the performance recording were examined in each case study, then across the two studies. A small repertoire of bodily movements emerged that the observers perceived as being expressive. Movements were primarily allied to elements of the music structure, technique, and expressive interpretation, however, these elements appeared to be interactive. A type of body sway movement and more localized sound generating actions were perceived as expressive. These movements co-occurred and also appeared separately. Individual participant data revealed slightly more variety in the types and locations of actions observed, with judges revealing preferences for observing particular types of expressive bodily movements. The particular expressive bodily movements that are produced and perceived in marimba performance appear to be shaped by music-related and sound generating features, musical context, and observer music and motor expertise. With an understanding of bodily movements that are generated and perceived as expressive, embodied music performance training programs might be developed to enhance expressive performer-audience communication. PMID:27630585

An Expressive Bodily Movement Repertoire for Marimba Performance, Revealed through Observers' Laban Effort-Shape Analyses, and Allied Musical Features: Two Case Studies.

PubMed

Broughton, Mary C; Davidson, Jane W

2016-01-01

Musicians' expressive bodily movements can influence observers' perception of performance. Furthermore, individual differences in observers' music and motor expertise can shape how they perceive and respond to music performance. However, few studies have investigated the bodily movements that different observers of music performance perceive as expressive, in order to understand how they might relate to the music being produced, and the particular instrument type. In this paper, we focus on marimba performance through two case studies-one solo and one collaborative context. This study aims to investigate the existence of a core repertoire of marimba performance expressive bodily movements, identify key music-related features associated with the core repertoire, and explore how observers' perception of expressive bodily movements might vary according to individual differences in their music and motor expertise. Of the six professional musicians who observed and analyzed the marimba performances, three were percussionists and experienced marimba players. Following training, observers implemented the Laban effort-shape movement analysis system to analyze marimba players' bodily movements that they perceived as expressive in audio-visual recordings of performance. Observations that were agreed by all participants as being the same type of action at the same location in the performance recording were examined in each case study, then across the two studies. A small repertoire of bodily movements emerged that the observers perceived as being expressive. Movements were primarily allied to elements of the music structure, technique, and expressive interpretation, however, these elements appeared to be interactive. A type of body sway movement and more localized sound generating actions were perceived as expressive. These movements co-occurred and also appeared separately. Individual participant data revealed slightly more variety in the types and locations of actions observed, with judges revealing preferences for observing particular types of expressive bodily movements. The particular expressive bodily movements that are produced and perceived in marimba performance appear to be shaped by music-related and sound generating features, musical context, and observer music and motor expertise. With an understanding of bodily movements that are generated and perceived as expressive, embodied music performance training programs might be developed to enhance expressive performer-audience communication.

Benefit and predictive factors for speech perception outcomes in pediatric bilateral cochlear implant recipients.

PubMed

Chang, Young-Soo; Hong, Sung Hwa; Kim, Eun Yeon; Choi, Ji Eun; Chung, Won-Ho; Cho, Yang-Sun; Moon, Il Joon

2018-05-18

Despite recent advancement in the prediction of cochlear implant outcome, the benefit of bilateral procedures compared to bimodal stimulation and how we predict speech perception outcomes of sequential bilateral cochlear implant based on bimodal auditory performance in children remain unclear. This investigation was performed: (1) to determine the benefit of sequential bilateral cochlear implant and (2) to identify the associated factors for the outcome of sequential bilateral cochlear implant. Observational and retrospective study. We retrospectively analyzed 29 patients with sequential cochlear implant following bimodal-fitting condition. Audiological evaluations were performed; the categories of auditory performance scores, speech perception with monosyllable and disyllables words, and the Korean version of Ling. Audiological evaluations were performed before sequential cochlear implant with the bimodal fitting condition (CI1+HA) and one year after the sequential cochlear implant with bilateral cochlear implant condition (CI1+CI2). The good Performance Group (GP) was defined as follows; 90% or higher in monosyllable and bisyllable tests with auditory-only condition or 20% or higher improvement of the scores with CI1+CI2. Age at first implantation, inter-implant interval, categories of auditory performance score, and various comorbidities were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Compared to the CI1+HA, CI1+CI2 provided significant benefit in categories of auditory performance, speech perception, and Korean version of Ling results. Preoperative categories of auditory performance scores were the only associated factor for being GP (odds ratio=4.38, 95% confidence interval - 95%=1.07-17.93, p=0.04). The children with limited language development in bimodal condition should be considered as the sequential bilateral cochlear implant and preoperative categories of auditory performance score could be used as the predictor in speech perception after sequential cochlear implant. Copyright © 2018 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Angular declination and the dynamic perception of egocentric distance.

PubMed

Gajewski, Daniel A; Philbeck, John W; Wirtz, Philip W; Chichka, David

2014-02-01

The extraction of the distance between an object and an observer is fast when angular declination is informative, as it is with targets placed on the ground. To what extent does angular declination drive performance when viewing time is limited? Participants judged target distances in a real-world environment with viewing durations ranging from 36-220 ms. An important role for angular declination was supported by experiments showing that the cue provides information about egocentric distance even on the very first glimpse, and that it supports a sensitive response to distance in the absence of other useful cues. Performance was better at 220-ms viewing durations than for briefer glimpses, suggesting that the perception of distance is dynamic even within the time frame of a typical eye fixation. Critically, performance in limited viewing trials was better when preceded by a 15-s preview of the room without a designated target. The results indicate that the perception of distance is powerfully shaped by memory from prior visual experience with the scene. A theoretical framework for the dynamic perception of distance is presented. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Confinement has no effect on visual space perception: The results of the Mars-500 experiment.

PubMed

Sikl, Radovan; Simeček, Michal

2014-02-01

People confined to a closed space live in a visual environment that differs from a natural open-space environment in several respects. The view is restricted to no more than a few meters, and nearby objects cannot be perceived relative to the position of a horizon. Thus, one might expect to find changes in visual space perception as a consequence of the prolonged experience of confinement. The subjects in our experimental study were participants of the Mars-500 project and spent nearly a year and a half isolated from the outside world during a simulated mission to Mars. The participants were presented with a battery of computer-based psychophysical tests examining their performance on various 3-D perception tasks, and we monitored changes in their perceptual performance throughout their confinement. Contrary to our expectations, no serious effect of the confinement on the crewmembers' 3-D perception was observed in any experiment. Several interpretations of these findings are discussed, including the possibilities that (1) the crewmembers' 3-D perception really did not change significantly, (2) changes in 3-D perception were manifested in the precision rather than the accuracy of perceptual judgments, and/or (3) the experimental conditions and the group sample were problematic.

Stereo imaging with spaceborne radars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leberl, F.; Kobrick, M.

1983-01-01

Stereo viewing is a valuable tool in photointerpretation and is used for the quantitative reconstruction of the three dimensional shape of a topographical surface. Stereo viewing refers to a visual perception of space by presenting an overlapping image pair to an observer so that a three dimensional model is formed in the brain. Some of the observer's function is performed by machine correlation of the overlapping images - so called automated stereo correlation. The direct perception of space with two eyes is often called natural binocular vision; techniques of generating three dimensional models of the surface from two sets of monocular image measurements is the topic of stereology.

Heading perception in patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Li; Peli, Eli; Warren, William H.

2002-01-01

PURPOSE: We investigated whether retinis pigmentosa (RP) patients with residual visual field of < 100 degrees could perceive heading from optic flow. METHODS: Four RP patients and four age-matched normally sighted control subjects viewed displays simulating an observer walking over a ground. In experiment 1, subjects viewed either the entire display with free fixation (full-field condition) or through an aperture with a fixation point at the center (aperture condition). In experiment 2, patients viewed displays of different durations. RESULTS: RP patients' performance was comparable to that of the age-matched control subjects: heading judgment was better in the full-field condition than in the aperture condition. Increasing display duration from 0.5 s to 1 s improved patients' heading performance, but giving them more time (3 s) to gather more visual information did not consistently further improve their performance. CONCLUSIONS: RP patients use active scanning eye movements to compensate for their visual field loss in heading perception; they might be able to gather sufficient optic flow information for heading perception in about 1 s.

Heading perception in patients with advanced retinitis pigmentosa.

PubMed

Li, Li; Peli, Eli; Warren, William H

2002-09-01

We investigated whether retinis pigmentosa (RP) patients with residual visual field of < 100 degrees could perceive heading from optic flow. Four RP patients and four age-matched normally sighted control subjects viewed displays simulating an observer walking over a ground. In experiment 1, subjects viewed either the entire display with free fixation (full-field condition) or through an aperture with a fixation point at the center (aperture condition). In experiment 2, patients viewed displays of different durations. RP patients' performance was comparable to that of the age-matched control subjects: heading judgment was better in the full-field condition than in the aperture condition. Increasing display duration from 0.5 s to 1 s improved patients' heading performance, but giving them more time (3 s) to gather more visual information did not consistently further improve their performance. RP patients use active scanning eye movements to compensate for their visual field loss in heading perception; they might be able to gather sufficient optic flow information for heading perception in about 1 s.

Perception of 'Back-Channeling' Nonverbal Feedback in Musical Duo Improvisation.

PubMed

Moran, Nikki; Hadley, Lauren V; Bader, Maria; Keller, Peter E

2015-01-01

In witnessing face-to-face conversation, observers perceive authentic communication according to the social contingency of nonverbal feedback cues ('back-channeling') by non-speaking interactors. The current study investigated the generality of this function by focusing on nonverbal communication in musical improvisation. A perceptual experiment was conducted to test whether observers can reliably identify genuine versus fake (mismatched) duos from musicians' nonverbal cues, and how this judgement is affected by observers' musical background and rhythm perception skill. Twenty-four musicians were recruited to perform duo improvisations, which included solo episodes, in two styles: standard jazz (where rhythm is based on a regular pulse) or free improvisation (where rhythm is non-pulsed). The improvisations were recorded using a motion capture system to generate 16 ten-second point-light displays (with audio) of the soloist and the silent non-soloing musician ('back-channeler'). Sixteen further displays were created by splicing soloists with back-channelers from different duos. Participants (N = 60) with various musical backgrounds were asked to rate the point-light displays as either real or fake. Results indicated that participants were sensitive to the real/fake distinction in the free improvisation condition independently of musical experience. Individual differences in rhythm perception skill did not account for performance in the free condition, but were positively correlated with accuracy in the standard jazz condition. These findings suggest that the perception of back-channeling in free improvisation is not dependent on music-specific skills but is a general ability. The findings invite further study of the links between interpersonal dynamics in conversation and musical interaction.

Distorted Perceptions of Competence and Incompetence Are More than Regression Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albanese, M.; Dottl, S.; Mejicano, G.; Zakowski, L.; Seibert, C.; Van Eyck, S.; Prucha, C.

2006-01-01

Students inaccurately assess their own skills, especially high- or low-performers on exams. This study assessed whether regression effects account for this observation. After completing the Infection and Immunity course final exam (IIF), second year medical students (N = 143) estimated their performance on the IIF in terms of percent correct and…

Relative size perception at a distance is best at eye level

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bertamini, M.; Yang, T. L.; Proffitt, D. R.; Kaiser, M. K. (Principal Investigator)

1998-01-01

Relative size judgments were collected for two objects at 30.5 m and 23.8 from the observer in order to assess how performance depends on the relationship between the size of the objects and the eye level of the observer. In three experiments in an indoor hallway and in one experiment outdoors, accuracy was higher for objects in the neighborhood of eye level. We consider these results in the light of two hypotheses. One proposes that observers localize the horizon as a reference for judging relative size, and the other proposes that observers perceive the general neighborhood of the horizon and then employ a height-in-visual-field heuristic. The finding that relative size judgments are best around the horizon implies that information that is independent of distance perception is used in perceiving size.

Visual motion integration for perception and pursuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, L. S.; Beutter, B. R.; Lorenceau, J.

2000-01-01

To examine the relationship between visual motion processing for perception and pursuit, we measured the pursuit eye-movement and perceptual responses to the same complex-motion stimuli. We show that humans can both perceive and pursue the motion of line-figure objects, even when partial occlusion makes the resulting image motion vastly different from the underlying object motion. Our results show that both perception and pursuit can perform largely accurate motion integration, i.e. the selective combination of local motion signals across the visual field to derive global object motion. Furthermore, because we manipulated perceived motion while keeping image motion identical, the observed parallel changes in perception and pursuit show that the motion signals driving steady-state pursuit and perception are linked. These findings disprove current pursuit models whose control strategy is to minimize retinal image motion, and suggest a new framework for the interplay between visual cortex and cerebellum in visuomotor control.

Systematic review of coaching to enhance surgeons' operative performance.

PubMed

Min, Hyeyoun; Morales, Dianali Rivera; Orgill, Dennis; Smink, Douglas S; Yule, Steven

2015-11-01

There is increasing attention on the coaching of surgeons and trainees to improve performance but no comprehensive review on this topic. The purpose of this review is to summarize the quantity and the quality of studies involving surgical coaching methods and their effectiveness. We performed a systematic literature search through PubMed and PsychINFO by using predefined inclusion criteria. Evidence for main outcome categories was evaluated with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system and the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI). Of a total 3,063 articles, 23 met our inclusion criteria; 4 randomized controlled trials and 19 observational studies. We categorized the articles into 4 groups on the basis of the outcome studied: perception, attitude and opinion; technical skills; nontechnical skills; and performance measures. Overall strength of evidence for each outcome groups was as follows: Perception, attitude, and opinion (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation: Very Low, Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument [MERSQI]: 10); technical skills (randomized controlled trials: High, 13.1; Observation studies: Very Low, 11.5); nontechnical skills (Very Low, 12.4) and performance measures (Very Low, 13.6). Simulation was the most used setting for coaching; more than half of the studies deployed an experienced surgeon as a coach and showed that coaching was effective. Surgical coaching interventions have a positive impact on learners' perception and attitudes, their technical and nontechnical skills, and performance measures. Evidence of impact on patient outcomes was limited, and the quality of research studies was variable. Despite this, our systematic review of different coaching interventions will benefit future coaching strategies and implementation to enhance operative performance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Radiology's Achilles' heel: error and variation in the interpretation of the Röntgen image.

PubMed

Robinson, P J

1997-11-01

The performance of the human eye and brain has failed to keep pace with the enormous technical progress in the first full century of radiology. Errors and variations in interpretation now represent the weakest aspect of clinical imaging. Those interpretations which differ from the consensus view of a panel of "experts" may be regarded as errors; where experts fail to achieve consensus, differing reports are regarded as "observer variation". Errors arise from poor technique, failures of perception, lack of knowledge and misjudgments. Observer variation is substantial and should be taken into account when different diagnostic methods are compared; in many cases the difference between observers outweighs the difference between techniques. Strategies for reducing error include attention to viewing conditions, training of the observers, availability of previous films and relevant clinical data, dual or multiple reporting, standardization of terminology and report format, and assistance from computers. Digital acquisition and display will probably not affect observer variation but the performance of radiologists, as measured by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, may be improved by computer-directed search for specific image features. Other current developments show that where image features can be comprehensively described, computer analysis can replace the perception function of the observer, whilst the function of interpretation can in some cases be performed better by artificial neural networks. However, computer-assisted diagnosis is still in its infancy and complete replacement of the human observer is as yet a remote possibility.

Audiovisual Temporal Recalibration for Speech in Synchrony Perception and Speech Identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asakawa, Kaori; Tanaka, Akihiro; Imai, Hisato

We investigated whether audiovisual synchrony perception for speech could change after observation of the audiovisual temporal mismatch. Previous studies have revealed that audiovisual synchrony perception is re-calibrated after exposure to a constant timing difference between auditory and visual signals in non-speech. In the present study, we examined whether this audiovisual temporal recalibration occurs at the perceptual level even for speech (monosyllables). In Experiment 1, participants performed an audiovisual simultaneity judgment task (i.e., a direct measurement of the audiovisual synchrony perception) in terms of the speech signal after observation of the speech stimuli which had a constant audiovisual lag. The results showed that the “simultaneous” responses (i.e., proportion of responses for which participants judged the auditory and visual stimuli to be synchronous) at least partly depended on exposure lag. In Experiment 2, we adopted the McGurk identification task (i.e., an indirect measurement of the audiovisual synchrony perception) to exclude the possibility that this modulation of synchrony perception was solely attributable to the response strategy using stimuli identical to those of Experiment 1. The characteristics of the McGurk effect reported by participants depended on exposure lag. Thus, it was shown that audiovisual synchrony perception for speech could be modulated following exposure to constant lag both in direct and indirect measurement. Our results suggest that temporal recalibration occurs not only in non-speech signals but also in monosyllabic speech at the perceptual level.

Temporal Fine Structure Processing, Pitch, and Speech Perception in Adult Cochlear Implant Recipients.

PubMed

Dincer D'Alessandro, Hilal; Ballantyne, Deborah; Boyle, Patrick J; De Seta, Elio; DeVincentiis, Marco; Mancini, Patrizia

2017-11-30

The aim of the study was to investigate the link between temporal fine structure (TFS) processing, pitch, and speech perception performance in adult cochlear implant (CI) recipients, including bimodal listeners who may benefit better low-frequency (LF) temporal coding in the contralateral ear. The study participants were 43 adult CI recipients (23 unilateral, 6 bilateral, and 14 bimodal listeners). Two new LF pitch perception tests-harmonic intonation (HI) and disharmonic intonation (DI)-were used to evaluate TFS sensitivity. HI and DI were designed to estimate a difference limen for discrimination of tone changes based on harmonic or inharmonic pitch glides. Speech perception was assessed using the newly developed Italian Sentence Test with Adaptive Randomized Roving level (STARR) test where sentences relevant to everyday contexts were presented at low, medium, and high levels in a fluctuating background noise to estimate a speech reception threshold (SRT). Although TFS and STARR performances in the majority of CI recipients were much poorer than those of hearing people reported in the literature, a considerable intersubject variability was observed. For CI listeners, median just noticeable differences were 27.0 and 147.0 Hz for HI and DI, respectively. HI outcomes were significantly better than those for DI. Median STARR score was 14.8 dB. Better performers with speech reception thresholds less than 20 dB had a median score of 8.6 dB. A significant effect of age was observed for both HI/DI tests, suggesting that TFS sensitivity tended to worsen with increasing age. CI pure-tone thresholds and duration of profound deafness were significantly correlated with STARR performance. Bimodal users showed significantly better TFS and STARR performance for bimodal listening than for their CI-only condition. Median bimodal gains were 33.0 Hz for the HI test and 95.0 Hz for the DI test. DI outcomes in bimodal users revealed a significant correlation with unaided hearing thresholds for octave frequencies lower than 1000 Hz. Median STARR scores were 17.3 versus 8.1 dB for CI only and bimodal listening, respectively. STARR performance was significantly correlated with HI findings for CI listeners and with those of DI for bimodal listeners. LF pitch perception was found to be abnormal in the majority of adult CI recipients, confirming poor TFS processing of CIs. Similarly, the STARR findings reflected a common performance deterioration with the HI/DI tests, suggesting the cause probably being a lack of access to TFS information. Contralateral hearing aid users obtained a remarkable bimodal benefit for all tests. Such results highlighted the importance of TFS cues for challenging speech perception and the relevance to everyday listening conditions. HI/DI and STARR tests show promise for gaining insights into how TFS and speech perception are being limited and may guide the customization of CI program parameters and support the fine tuning of bimodal listening.

Discrepancies between parent and adolescent beliefs about daily life topics and performance on an emotion recognition task.

PubMed

De Los Reyes, Andres; Lerner, Matthew D; Thomas, Sarah A; Daruwala, Samantha; Goepel, Katherine

2013-08-01

Parents and children and adolescents commonly disagree in their perceptions of a variety of behaviors, including the family relationship and environment, and child and adolescent psychopathology. To this end, numerous studies have examined to what extent increased discrepant perceptions-particularly with regard to perceptions of the family relationship and environment-predict increased child and adolescent psychopathology. Parents' and children and adolescents' abilities to decode and identify others' emotions (i.e., emotion recognition) may play a role in the link between discrepant perceptions and child and adolescent psychopathology. We examined parents' and adolescents' emotion recognition abilities in relation to discrepancies between parent and adolescent perceptions of daily life topics. In a sample of 50 parents and adolescents ages 14-to-17 years (M = 15.4 years, 20 males, 54 % African-American), parents and adolescents were each administered a widely used performance-based measure of emotion recognition. Parents and adolescents were also administered a structured interview designed to directly assess each of their perceptions of the extent to which discrepancies existed in their beliefs about daily life topics (e.g., whether adolescents should complete their homework and carry out household chores). Interestingly, lower parent and adolescent emotion recognition performance significantly related to greater parent and adolescent perceived discrepant beliefs about daily life topics. We observed this relation whilst accounting for adolescent age and gender and levels of parent-adolescent conflict. These findings have important implications for understanding and using informant discrepancies in both basic developmental psychopathology research and applied research in clinic settings (e.g., discrepant views on therapeutic goals).

One (rating) from many (observations): Factors affecting the individual assessment of voice behavior in groups.

PubMed

Podsakoff, Nathan P; Maynes, Timothy D; Whiting, Steven W; Podsakoff, Philip M

2015-07-01

This article reports an investigation into how individuals form perceptions of overall voice behavior in group contexts. More specifically, the authors examine the effect of the proportion of group members exhibiting voice behavior in the group, the frequency of voice events in the group, and the measurement item referent (group vs. individual) on an individual's ratings of group voice behavior. In addition, the authors examine the effect that measurement item referent has on the magnitude of the relationship observed between an individual's ratings of group voice behavior and perceptions of group performance. Consistent with hypotheses, the results from 1 field study (N = 220) and 1 laboratory experiment (N = 366) indicate that: (a) When group referents were used, raters relied on the frequency of voice events (and not the proportion of group members exhibiting voice) to inform their ratings of voice behavior, whereas the opposite was true when individual-referent items were used, and (b) the magnitude of the relationship between observers' ratings of group voice behavior and their perceptions of group performance was higher when raters used group-referent, as opposed to an individual-referent, items. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for scholars interested in studying behavioral phenomena occurring in teams, groups, and work units in organizational behavior research. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality correlates (BAS-BIS), self-perception of social ranking, and cortical (alpha frequency band) modulation in peer-group comparison.

PubMed

Balconi, Michela; Pagani, Silvia

2014-06-22

The perception and interpretation of social hierarchies are a key part of our social life. In the present research we considered the activation of cortical areas, mainly the prefrontal cortex, related to social ranking perception in conjunction with some personality components (BAS - Behavioral Activation System - and BIS - Behavioral Inhibition System). In two experiments we manipulated the perceived superior/inferior status during a competitive cognitive task. Indeed, we created an explicit and strongly reinforced social hierarchy based on incidental rating in an attentional task. Specifically, a peer group comparison was undertaken and improved (Experiment 1) or decreased (Experiment 2) performance was artificially manipulated by the experimenter. For each experiment two groups were compared, based on a BAS and BIS dichotomy. Alpha band modulation in prefrontal cortex, behavioral measures (performance: error rate, ER; response times, RTs), and self-perceived ranking were considered. Repeated measures ANOVAs and regression analyses showed in Experiment 1 a significant improved cognitive performance (decreased ER and RTs) and higher self-perceived ranking in high-BAS participants. Moreover, their prefrontal activity was increased within the left side (alpha band decreasing). Conversely, in Experiment 2 a significant decreased cognitive performance (increased ER and RTs) and lower self-perceived ranking was observed in higher-BIS participants. Their prefrontal right activity was increased in comparison with higher BAS. The regression analyses confirmed the significant predictive role of alpha band modulation with respect of subjects' performance and self-perception of social ranking, differently for BAS/BIS components. The present results suggest that social status perception is directly modulated by cortical activity and personality correlates. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual speech perception in foveal and extrafoveal vision: further implications for divisions in hemispheric projections.

PubMed

Jordan, Timothy R; Sheen, Mercedes; Abedipour, Lily; Paterson, Kevin B

2014-01-01

When observing a talking face, it has often been argued that visual speech to the left and right of fixation may produce differences in performance due to divided projections to the two cerebral hemispheres. However, while it seems likely that such a division in hemispheric projections exists for areas away from fixation, the nature and existence of a functional division in visual speech perception at the foveal midline remains to be determined. We investigated this issue by presenting visual speech in matched hemiface displays to the left and right of a central fixation point, either exactly abutting the foveal midline or else located away from the midline in extrafoveal vision. The location of displays relative to the foveal midline was controlled precisely using an automated, gaze-contingent eye-tracking procedure. Visual speech perception showed a clear right hemifield advantage when presented in extrafoveal locations but no hemifield advantage (left or right) when presented abutting the foveal midline. Thus, while visual speech observed in extrafoveal vision appears to benefit from unilateral projections to left-hemisphere processes, no evidence was obtained to indicate that a functional division exists when visual speech is observed around the point of fixation. Implications of these findings for understanding visual speech perception and the nature of functional divisions in hemispheric projection are discussed.

Features of an effective operative dentistry learning environment: students' perceptions and relationship with performance.

PubMed

Suksudaj, N; Lekkas, D; Kaidonis, J; Townsend, G C; Winning, T A

2015-02-01

Students' perceptions of their learning environment influence the quality of outcomes they achieve. Learning dental operative techniques in a simulated clinic environment is characterised by reciprocal interactions between skills training, staff- and student-related factors. However, few studies have examined how students perceive their operative learning environments and whether there is a relationship between their perceptions and subsequent performance. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify which learning activities and interactions students perceived as supporting their operative skills learning and to examine relationships with their outcomes. Longitudinal data about examples of operative laboratory sessions that were perceived as effective or ineffective for learning were collected twice a semester, using written critical incidents and interviews. Emergent themes from these data were identified using thematic analysis. Associations between perceptions of learning effectiveness and performance were analysed using chi-square tests. Students indicated that an effective learning environment involved interactions with tutors and peers. This included tutors arranging group discussions to clarify processes and outcomes, providing demonstrations and constructive feedback. Feedback focused on mistakes, and not improvement, was reported as being ineffective for learning. However, there was no significant association between students' perceptions of the effectiveness of their learning experiences and subsequent performance. It was clear that learning in an operative technique setting involved various factors related not only to social interactions and observational aspects of learning but also to cognitive, motivational and affective processes. Consistent with studies that have demonstrated complex interactions between students, their learning environment and outcomes, other factors need investigation. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Temporal auditory aspects in children with poor school performance and associated factors.

PubMed

Rezende, Bárbara Antunes; Lemos, Stela Maris Aguiar; Medeiros, Adriane Mesquita de

2016-01-01

To investigate the auditory temporal aspects in children with poor school performance aged 7-12 years and their association with behavioral aspects, health perception, school and health profiles, and sociodemographic factors. This is an observational, analytical, transversal study including 89 children with poor school performance aged 7-12 years enrolled in the municipal public schools of a municipality in Minas Gerais state, participants of Specialized Educational Assistance. The first stage of the study was conducted with the subjects' parents aiming to collect information on sociodemographic aspects, health profile, and educational records. In addition, the parents responded to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The second stage was conducted with the children in order to investigate their health self-perception and analyze the auditory assessment, which consisted of meatoscopy, Transient Otoacoustic Emissions, and tests that evaluated the aspects of simple auditory temporal ordering and auditory temporal resolution. Tests assessing the temporal aspects of auditory temporal processing were considered as response variables, and the explanatory variables were grouped for univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. The level of significance was set at 5%. Significant statistical correlation was found between the auditory temporal aspects and the variables age, gender, presence of repetition, and health self-perception. Children with poor school performance presented changes in the auditory temporal aspects. The temporal abilities assessed suggest association with different factors such as maturational process, health self-perception, and school records.

Factors that Facilitated an Alabama School Assistance Team's Success in a Low-Performing School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Virginia; Kochan, Frances

2012-01-01

This study investigated the perceived factors that enabled an Alabama School Assistance Team (ASAT) to be effective in helping improve a low performing school. A case study was conducted with the ASATs and the Local Education Agency (LEA) site they served. Data were collected from interviews, documents and observations. The perceptions explored in…

Neural network models of categorical perception.

PubMed

Damper, R I; Harnad, S R

2000-05-01

Studies of the categorical perception (CP) of sensory continua have a long and rich history in psychophysics. In 1977, Macmillan, Kaplan, and Creelman introduced the use of signal detection theory to CP studies. Anderson and colleagues simultaneously proposed the first neural model for CP, yet this line of research has been less well explored. In this paper, we assess the ability of neural-network models of CP to predict the psychophysical performance of real observers with speech sounds and artificial/novel stimuli. We show that a variety of neural mechanisms are capable of generating the characteristics of CP. Hence, CP may not be a special model of perception but an emergent property of any sufficiently powerful general learning system.

Ballroom dance and body size perception.

PubMed

Fonseca, Cristiane Costa; Thurm, Bianca Elisabeth; Vecchi, Rodrigo Luiz; Gama, Eliane Florencio

2014-10-01

Ballroom dancing consists in the performance of rhythmic movements guided by music, which provide sensorimotor integration and stimulate feelings. The body schema is the unconscious sensorimotor representation that allows the individual to perceive his anatomical body in space. Comprising tactile, proprioceptive, kinesthetic, and environmental information, it is directly related to movement. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of non-competitive practice of ballroom dancing on body perception. The projection point test was applied to 30 volunteers before and after a period of 3 mo.; 15 controls attended lectures on body perception and 15 participants took dance lessons. It was observed that ballroom dancing brought perceptual benefits for those who practiced it.

Spatial Frequency Requirements and Gaze Strategy in Visual-Only and Audiovisual Speech Perception

PubMed Central

Wilson, Amanda H.; Paré, Martin; Munhall, Kevin G.

2016-01-01

Purpose The aim of this article is to examine the effects of visual image degradation on performance and gaze behavior in audiovisual and visual-only speech perception tasks. Method We presented vowel–consonant–vowel utterances visually filtered at a range of frequencies in visual-only, audiovisual congruent, and audiovisual incongruent conditions (Experiment 1; N = 66). In Experiment 2 (N = 20), participants performed a visual-only speech perception task and in Experiment 3 (N = 20) an audiovisual task while having their gaze behavior monitored using eye-tracking equipment. Results In the visual-only condition, increasing image resolution led to monotonic increases in performance, and proficient speechreaders were more affected by the removal of high spatial information than were poor speechreaders. The McGurk effect also increased with increasing visual resolution, although it was less affected by the removal of high-frequency information. Observers tended to fixate on the mouth more in visual-only perception, but gaze toward the mouth did not correlate with accuracy of silent speechreading or the magnitude of the McGurk effect. Conclusions The results suggest that individual differences in silent speechreading and the McGurk effect are not related. This conclusion is supported by differential influences of high-resolution visual information on the 2 tasks and differences in the pattern of gaze. PMID:27537379

Mirror neuron system and observational learning: behavioral and neurophysiological evidence.

PubMed

Lago-Rodriguez, Angel; Lopez-Alonso, Virginia; Fernández-del-Olmo, Miguel

2013-07-01

Three experiments were performed to study observational learning using behavioral, perceptual, and neurophysiological data. Experiment 1 investigated whether observing an execution model, during physical practice of a transitive task that only presented one execution strategy, led to performance improvements compared with physical practice alone. Experiment 2 investigated whether performing an observational learning protocol improves subjects' action perception. In experiment 3 we evaluated whether the type of practice performed determined the activation of the Mirror Neuron System during action observation. Results showed that, compared with physical practice, observing an execution model during a task that only showed one execution strategy does not provide behavioral benefits. However, an observational learning protocol allows subjects to predict more precisely the outcome of the learned task. Finally, intersperse observation of an execution model with physical practice results in changes of primary motor cortex activity during the observation of the motor pattern previously practiced, whereas modulations in the connectivity between primary and non primary motor areas (PMv-M1; PPC-M1) were not affected by the practice protocol performed by the observer. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neuroanatomical substrates of action perception and understanding: an anatomic likelihood estimation meta-analysis of lesion-symptom mapping studies in brain injured patients

PubMed Central

Urgesi, Cosimo; Candidi, Matteo; Avenanti, Alessio

2014-01-01

Several neurophysiologic and neuroimaging studies suggested that motor and perceptual systems are tightly linked along a continuum rather than providing segregated mechanisms supporting different functions. Using correlational approaches, these studies demonstrated that action observation activates not only visual but also motor brain regions. On the other hand, brain stimulation and brain lesion evidence allows tackling the critical question of whether our action representations are necessary to perceive and understand others’ actions. In particular, recent neuropsychological studies have shown that patients with temporal, parietal, and frontal lesions exhibit a number of possible deficits in the visual perception and the understanding of others’ actions. The specific anatomical substrates of such neuropsychological deficits however, are still a matter of debate. Here we review the existing literature on this issue and perform an anatomic likelihood estimation meta-analysis of studies using lesion-symptom mapping methods on the causal relation between brain lesions and non-linguistic action perception and understanding deficits. The meta-analysis encompassed data from 361 patients tested in 11 studies and identified regions in the inferior frontal cortex, the inferior parietal cortex and the middle/superior temporal cortex, whose damage is consistently associated with poor performance in action perception and understanding tasks across studies. Interestingly, these areas correspond to the three nodes of the action observation network that are strongly activated in response to visual action perception in neuroimaging research and that have been targeted in previous brain stimulation studies. Thus, brain lesion mapping research provides converging causal evidence that premotor, parietal and temporal regions play a crucial role in action recognition and understanding. PMID:24910603

Speech perception in noise in unilateral hearing loss.

PubMed

Mondelli, Maria Fernanda Capoani Garcia; Dos Santos, Marina de Marchi; José, Maria Renata

2016-01-01

Unilateral hearing loss is characterized by a decrease of hearing in one ear only. In the presence of ambient noise, individuals with unilateral hearing loss are faced with greater difficulties understanding speech than normal listeners. To evaluate the speech perception of individuals with unilateral hearing loss in speech perception with and without competitive noise, before and after the hearing aid fitting process. The study included 30 adults of both genders diagnosed with moderate or severe sensorineural unilateral hearing loss using the Hearing In Noise Test - Hearing In Noise Test-Brazil, in the following scenarios: silence, frontal noise, noise to the right, and noise to the left, before and after the hearing aid fitting process. The study participants had a mean age of 41.9 years and most of them presented right unilateral hearing loss. In all cases evaluated with Hearing In Noise Test, a better performance in speech perception was observed with the use of hearing aids. Using the Hearing In Noise Test-Brazil test evaluation, individuals with unilateral hearing loss demonstrated better performance in speech perception when using hearing aids, both in silence and in situations with a competing noise, with use of hearing aids. Copyright © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Student Perceptions of Online Lectures and WebCT in an Introductory Drug Information Course

PubMed Central

Freeman, Maisha Kelly; Schrimsher, Robert H.; Kendrach, Michael G.

2006-01-01

Objectives To determine student perceptions regarding online lectures and quizzes during an introductory drug information course for first-year professional doctor of pharmacy students. Design Formal and online lectures, online quizzes, written semester projects, a practice-based examination, a careers in pharmacy exercise, and a final examination were used to deliver the course content and assess performance. A multiple-choice survey instrument was used to evaluate student perceptions of WebCT and online lectures. Assessment More than 47% of students reported that online lectures helped them learn the material better, 77% reported that lectures would be used to study for the final examination, and 59% reported that they would use WebCT lectures for future classes. Approximately 40% of students agreed that online lectures should be used in future courses. Conclusion Students reported that WebCT was easy to use; however, the majority of students preferred in-class lectures compared to online lectures. A positive correlation was observed for those students who performed well on the online quizzes and those who performed well on the final examination. PMID:17332852

A hierarchical model combining distance sampling and time removal to estimate detection probability during avian point counts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amundson, Courtney L.; Royle, J. Andrew; Handel, Colleen M.

2014-01-01

Imperfect detection during animal surveys biases estimates of abundance and can lead to improper conclusions regarding distribution and population trends. Farnsworth et al. (2005) developed a combined distance-sampling and time-removal model for point-transect surveys that addresses both availability (the probability that an animal is available for detection; e.g., that a bird sings) and perceptibility (the probability that an observer detects an animal, given that it is available for detection). We developed a hierarchical extension of the combined model that provides an integrated analysis framework for a collection of survey points at which both distance from the observer and time of initial detection are recorded. Implemented in a Bayesian framework, this extension facilitates evaluating covariates on abundance and detection probability, incorporating excess zero counts (i.e. zero-inflation), accounting for spatial autocorrelation, and estimating population density. Species-specific characteristics, such as behavioral displays and territorial dispersion, may lead to different patterns of availability and perceptibility, which may, in turn, influence the performance of such hierarchical models. Therefore, we first test our proposed model using simulated data under different scenarios of availability and perceptibility. We then illustrate its performance with empirical point-transect data for a songbird that consistently produces loud, frequent, primarily auditory signals, the Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla); and for 2 ptarmigan species (Lagopus spp.) that produce more intermittent, subtle, and primarily visual cues. Data were collected by multiple observers along point transects across a broad landscape in southwest Alaska, so we evaluated point-level covariates on perceptibility (observer and habitat), availability (date within season and time of day), and abundance (habitat, elevation, and slope), and included a nested point-within-transect and park-level effect. Our results suggest that this model can provide insight into the detection process during avian surveys and reduce bias in estimates of relative abundance but is best applied to surveys of species with greater availability (e.g., breeding songbirds).

The perception-action dynamics of action competency are altered by both physical and observational training.

PubMed

Buchanan, John J; Ramos, Jorge; Robson, Nina

2015-04-01

Action competency is defined as the ability of an individual to self-evaluate their own performance capabilities. The current experiment demonstrated that physical and observational training with a motor skill alters action competency ratings in a similar manner. Using a pre-test and post-test protocol, the results revealed that action competency is constrained prior to training by the intrinsic dynamics of relative phase (ϕ), with in-phase (ϕ = 0°) and anti-phase (ϕ = 180°) patterns receiving higher competency ratings than other relative phase patterns. After 2 days of training, action competency ratings for two trained relative phase patterns, +60° and +120°, increased following physical practice or observational practice. A transfer test revealed that both physical performance ability and action competency ability transferred to the symmetry partners (-60° and -120°) of the two trained relative phase patterns following physical or observational training. The findings also revealed that relative motion direction acts as categorical information that helps to organize action production and facilitate action competency. The results are interpreted based on the coordination dynamics theory of perception-action coupling, and extend this theory by showing that visual perception, action production, and action competency are all constrained in a consistent manner by the dynamics of the order parameter relative phase. As a whole, the findings revealed that relative motion, relative phase, and possibly relative amplitude information are all distinct sources of information that contribute to the emergence of a kinematic understanding of action in the nervous system.

The equivalence of a human observer and an ideal observer in binary diagnostic tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Xin; Samuelson, Frank; Gallas, Brandon D.; Sahiner, Berkman; Myers, Kyle

2013-03-01

The Ideal Observer (IO) is "ideal" for given data populations. In the image perception process, as the raw images are degraded by factors such as display and eye optics, there is an equivalent IO (EIO). The EIO uses the statistical information that exits the perception/cognitive degradations as the data. We assume a human observer who received sufficient training, e.g., radiologists, and hypothesize that such a human observer can be modeled as if he is an EIO. To measure the likelihood ratio (LR) distributions of an EIO, we formalize experimental design principles that encourage rationality based on von Neumann and Morgenstern's (vNM) axioms. We present examples to show that many observer study design refinements, although motivated by empirical principles explicitly, implicitly encourage rationality. Our hypothesis is supported by a recent review paper on ROC curve convexity by Pesce, Metz, and Berbaum. We also provide additional evidence based on a collection of observer studies in medical imaging. EIO theory shows that the "sub-optimal" performance of a human observer can be mathematically formalized in the form of an IO, and measured through rationality encouragement.

Hyposmia, not emotion perception, is associated with psychosocial outcome after severe traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Osborne-Crowley, Katherine; McDonald, Skye

2016-10-01

The current study aimed to determine whether 2 variables associated with orbitofrontal damage, hyposmia and emotion perception deficits, are associated with socially disinhibited behavior and psychosocial outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The Brief Smell Identification Test (BSIT), an emotion labeling task, an emotion intensity rating task, and an observational measure of social disinhibition were completed by 23 individuals with severe TBI. The disinhibition domain of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory and the interpersonal relationships subscale of the Sydney Psychosocial Reintegration Scale (SPRS-IR) were completed by a close other. Fifteen control participants provided norms against which to assess performance on the emotion intensity rating task. BSIT scores predicted informant-reported change in interpersonal relationships on the SPRS-IR. Hyposmia, though, was not associated with informant-reported or observed social disinhibition. An impairment in accuracy scores on both emotion perceptions tasks was found for participants with TBI, yet intensity ratings did not differ between groups. This suggests that people with TBI are not actually impaired at detecting intensity of emotion but are less likely to perceive the target emotion as the dominant emotion. Emotion perception was not related to disinhibition or change in interpersonal relationships. These results support previous claims that hyposmia has prognostic significance following TBI. On the other hand, emotion perception impairment measured by standardized tasks does not appear to be an important factor in interpersonal outcomes. Finally, these results suggest that standardized emotion perception tasks may underestimate the emotion perception capabilities of people with TBI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Enlightening Advantages of Cooperative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faryadi, Qais

2007-01-01

This appraisal discusses the notion that cooperative learning enhances learners' emotional and social performance. It also observes the perception that cooperative learning dramatically improves students' academic accomplishment. This review also examines the definition of cooperative learning and attempts to define it through the lens of renowned…

Involuntary attention with uncertainty: peripheral cues improve perception of masked letters, but may impair perception of low-contrast letters.

PubMed

Kerzel, Dirk; Gauch, Angélique; Buetti, Simona

2010-10-01

Improvements of perceptual performance following the presentation of peripheral cues have been ascribed to accelerated accrual of information, enhanced contrast perception, and decision bias. We investigated effects of peripheral cues on the perception of Gabor and letter stimuli. Non-predictive, peripheral cues improved perceptual accuracy when the stimuli were masked. In contrast, peripheral cues degraded perception of low-contrast letters and did not affect the perception of low-contrast Gabors. The results suggest that involuntary attention accelerates accrual of information but are not entirely consistent with the idea that involuntary attention enhances subjective contrast. Rather, peripheral cues may cause crowding with single letter targets of low contrast. Further, we investigated the effect of the amount of uncertainty on involuntary attention. Cueing effects were (initially) larger when there were more possible target locations. In addition, cueing effects were larger when error feedback was absent and observers had no knowledge of results. Despite these strategic factors, location uncertainty was not sufficient to produce cueing effects, showing that location uncertainty paired with non-predictive cues reveals perceptual and not (only) decisional processes.

Color vision in ADHD: part 2--does attention influence color perception?

PubMed

Kim, Soyeon; Al-Haj, Mohamed; Fuller, Stuart; Chen, Samantha; Jain, Umesh; Carrasco, Marisa; Tannock, Rosemary

2014-10-24

To investigate the impact of exogenous covert attention on chromatic (blue and red) and achromatic visual perception in adults with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Exogenous covert attention, which is a transient, automatic, stimulus-driven form of attention, is a key mechanism for selecting relevant information in visual arrays. 30 adults diagnosed with ADHD and 30 healthy adults, matched on age and gender, performed a psychophysical task designed to measure the effects of exogenous covert attention on perceived color saturation (blue, red) and contrast sensitivity. The effects of exogenous covert attention on perceived blue and red saturation levels and contrast sensitivity were similar in both groups, with no differences between males and females. Specifically, exogenous covert attention enhanced the perception of blue saturation and contrast sensitivity, but it had no effect on the perception of red saturation. The findings suggest that exogenous covert attention is intact in adults with ADHD and does not account for the observed impairments in the perception of chromatic (blue and red) saturation.

Active listening in medical consultations: development of the Active Listening Observation Scale (ALOS-global).

PubMed

Fassaert, Thijs; van Dulmen, Sandra; Schellevis, François; Bensing, Jozien

2007-11-01

Active listening is a prerequisite for a successful healthcare encounter, bearing potential therapeutic value especially in clinical situations that require no specific medical intervention. Although generally acknowledged as such, active listening has not been studied in depth. This paper describes the development of the Active Listening Observation Scale (ALOS-global), an observation instrument measuring active listening and its validation in a sample of general practice consultations for minor ailments. Five hundred and twenty-four videotaped general practice consultations involving minor ailments were observed with the ALOS-global. Hypotheses were tested to determine validity, incorporating patients' perception of GPs' affective performance, GPs' verbal attention, patients' self-reported anxiety level and gender differences. The final 7-item ALOS-global had acceptable inter- and intra-observer agreement. Factor analysis revealed one homogeneous dimension. The scalescore was positively related to verbal attention measured by RIAS, to patients' perception of GPs' performance and to their pre-visit anxiety level. Female GPs received higher active listening scores. The results of this study are promising concerning the psychometric properties of the ALOS-global. More research is needed to confirm these preliminary findings. After establishing how active listening differentiates between health professionals, the ALOS-global may become a valuable tool in feedback and training aimed at increasing listening skills.

Visual tuning and metrical perception of realistic point-light dance movements.

PubMed

Su, Yi-Huang

2016-03-07

Humans move to music spontaneously, and this sensorimotor coupling underlies musical rhythm perception. The present research proposed that, based on common action representation, different metrical levels as in auditory rhythms could emerge visually when observing structured dance movements. Participants watched a point-light figure performing basic steps of Swing dance cyclically in different tempi, whereby the trunk bounced vertically at every beat and the limbs moved laterally at every second beat, yielding two possible metrical periodicities. In Experiment 1, participants freely identified a tempo of the movement and tapped along. While some observers only tuned to the bounce and some only to the limbs, the majority tuned to one level or the other depending on the movement tempo, which was also associated with individuals' preferred tempo. In Experiment 2, participants reproduced the tempo of leg movements by four regular taps, and showed a slower perceived leg tempo with than without the trunk bouncing simultaneously in the stimuli. This mirrors previous findings of an auditory 'subdivision effect', suggesting the leg movements were perceived as beat while the bounce as subdivisions. Together these results support visual metrical perception of dance movements, which may employ similar action-based mechanisms to those underpinning auditory rhythm perception.

Comparison of Two Music Training Approaches on Music and Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Users

PubMed Central

Fuller, Christina D.; Galvin, John J.; Maat, Bert; Başkent, Deniz; Free, Rolien H.

2018-01-01

In normal-hearing (NH) adults, long-term music training may benefit music and speech perception, even when listening to spectro-temporally degraded signals as experienced by cochlear implant (CI) users. In this study, we compared two different music training approaches in CI users and their effects on speech and music perception, as it remains unclear which approach to music training might be best. The approaches differed in terms of music exercises and social interaction. For the pitch/timbre group, melodic contour identification (MCI) training was performed using computer software. For the music therapy group, training involved face-to-face group exercises (rhythm perception, musical speech perception, music perception, singing, vocal emotion identification, and music improvisation). For the control group, training involved group nonmusic activities (e.g., writing, cooking, and woodworking). Training consisted of weekly 2-hr sessions over a 6-week period. Speech intelligibility in quiet and noise, vocal emotion identification, MCI, and quality of life (QoL) were measured before and after training. The different training approaches appeared to offer different benefits for music and speech perception. Training effects were observed within-domain (better MCI performance for the pitch/timbre group), with little cross-domain transfer of music training (emotion identification significantly improved for the music therapy group). While training had no significant effect on QoL, the music therapy group reported better perceptual skills across training sessions. These results suggest that more extensive and intensive training approaches that combine pitch training with the social aspects of music therapy may further benefit CI users. PMID:29621947

Comparison of Two Music Training Approaches on Music and Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Users.

PubMed

Fuller, Christina D; Galvin, John J; Maat, Bert; Başkent, Deniz; Free, Rolien H

2018-01-01

In normal-hearing (NH) adults, long-term music training may benefit music and speech perception, even when listening to spectro-temporally degraded signals as experienced by cochlear implant (CI) users. In this study, we compared two different music training approaches in CI users and their effects on speech and music perception, as it remains unclear which approach to music training might be best. The approaches differed in terms of music exercises and social interaction. For the pitch/timbre group, melodic contour identification (MCI) training was performed using computer software. For the music therapy group, training involved face-to-face group exercises (rhythm perception, musical speech perception, music perception, singing, vocal emotion identification, and music improvisation). For the control group, training involved group nonmusic activities (e.g., writing, cooking, and woodworking). Training consisted of weekly 2-hr sessions over a 6-week period. Speech intelligibility in quiet and noise, vocal emotion identification, MCI, and quality of life (QoL) were measured before and after training. The different training approaches appeared to offer different benefits for music and speech perception. Training effects were observed within-domain (better MCI performance for the pitch/timbre group), with little cross-domain transfer of music training (emotion identification significantly improved for the music therapy group). While training had no significant effect on QoL, the music therapy group reported better perceptual skills across training sessions. These results suggest that more extensive and intensive training approaches that combine pitch training with the social aspects of music therapy may further benefit CI users.

Efference Copy Failure during Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Dias, Elisa C.; Sanchez, Jamie L.; Schütz, Alexander C.; Javitt, Daniel C.

2013-01-01

Abnormal smooth pursuit eye movements in patients with schizophrenia are often considered a consequence of impaired motion perception. Here we used a novel motion prediction task to assess the effects of abnormal pursuit on perception in human patients. Schizophrenia patients (n = 15) and healthy controls (n = 16) judged whether a briefly presented moving target (“ball”) would hit/miss a stationary vertical line segment (“goal”). To relate prediction performance and pursuit directly, we manipulated eye movements: in half of the trials, observers smoothly tracked the ball; in the other half, they fixated on the goal. Strict quality criteria ensured that pursuit was initiated and that fixation was maintained. Controls were significantly better in trajectory prediction during pursuit than during fixation, their performance increased with presentation duration, and their pursuit gain and perceptual judgments were correlated. Such perceptual benefits during pursuit may be due to the use of extraretinal motion information estimated from an efference copy signal. With an overall lower performance in pursuit and perception, patients showed no such pursuit advantage and no correlation between pursuit gain and perception. Although patients' pursuit showed normal improvement with longer duration, their prediction performance failed to benefit from duration increases. This dissociation indicates relatively intact early visual motion processing, but a failure to use efference copy information. Impaired efference function in the sensory system may represent a general deficit in schizophrenia and thus contribute to symptoms and functional outcome impairments associated with the disorder. PMID:23864667

Efference copy failure during smooth pursuit eye movements in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Spering, Miriam; Dias, Elisa C; Sanchez, Jamie L; Schütz, Alexander C; Javitt, Daniel C

2013-07-17

Abnormal smooth pursuit eye movements in patients with schizophrenia are often considered a consequence of impaired motion perception. Here we used a novel motion prediction task to assess the effects of abnormal pursuit on perception in human patients. Schizophrenia patients (n = 15) and healthy controls (n = 16) judged whether a briefly presented moving target ("ball") would hit/miss a stationary vertical line segment ("goal"). To relate prediction performance and pursuit directly, we manipulated eye movements: in half of the trials, observers smoothly tracked the ball; in the other half, they fixated on the goal. Strict quality criteria ensured that pursuit was initiated and that fixation was maintained. Controls were significantly better in trajectory prediction during pursuit than during fixation, their performance increased with presentation duration, and their pursuit gain and perceptual judgments were correlated. Such perceptual benefits during pursuit may be due to the use of extraretinal motion information estimated from an efference copy signal. With an overall lower performance in pursuit and perception, patients showed no such pursuit advantage and no correlation between pursuit gain and perception. Although patients' pursuit showed normal improvement with longer duration, their prediction performance failed to benefit from duration increases. This dissociation indicates relatively intact early visual motion processing, but a failure to use efference copy information. Impaired efference function in the sensory system may represent a general deficit in schizophrenia and thus contribute to symptoms and functional outcome impairments associated with the disorder.

Perception of Sung Speech in Bimodal Cochlear Implant Users.

PubMed

Crew, Joseph D; Galvin, John J; Fu, Qian-Jie

2016-11-11

Combined use of a hearing aid (HA) and cochlear implant (CI) has been shown to improve CI users' speech and music performance. However, different hearing devices, test stimuli, and listening tasks may interact and obscure bimodal benefits. In this study, speech and music perception were measured in bimodal listeners for CI-only, HA-only, and CI + HA conditions, using the Sung Speech Corpus, a database of monosyllabic words produced at different fundamental frequencies. Sentence recognition was measured using sung speech in which pitch was held constant or varied across words, as well as for spoken speech. Melodic contour identification (MCI) was measured using sung speech in which the words were held constant or varied across notes. Results showed that sentence recognition was poorer with sung speech relative to spoken, with little difference between sung speech with a constant or variable pitch; mean performance was better with CI-only relative to HA-only, and best with CI + HA. MCI performance was better with constant words versus variable words; mean performance was better with HA-only than with CI-only and was best with CI + HA. Relative to CI-only, a strong bimodal benefit was observed for speech and music perception. Relative to the better ear, bimodal benefits remained strong for sentence recognition but were marginal for MCI. While variations in pitch and timbre may negatively affect CI users' speech and music perception, bimodal listening may partially compensate for these deficits. © The Author(s) 2016.

Academic climate, well-being and academic performance in a university degree course.

PubMed

Rania, Nadia; Siri, Anna; Bagnasco, Annamaria; Aleo, Giuseppe; Sasso, Loredana

2014-09-01

The psychological climate within organisations affects not only the behaviour and the attitude of group members, but also the performance of the group itself. According to the ecological model, this research examines how learning in different classroom contexts of the same nursing degree programme can affect academic performance, well-being, self-esteem and perceived climate. Four scales were used to assess students' perceptions by collecting primary data while academic performance was measured by obtaining students' academic records. A questionnaire completed by 391 first-year nursing students was administered. Differences were observed in the perceptions of climate and academic performance in different classroom contexts with trends, which did not always overlap; however, strong correlations were observed among self-esteem, well-being and climate, and schoolmate relationships. Universities should not merely train competent professionals but also build learning communities that support the well-being of relationships and the development of well-being contexts. The findings support the need for an educational intervention for improving the quality of life and well-being of the community and individual students. This type of intervention requires a 'compliant' organisational environment that puts studetns, teachers and professionals in the condition to practice their professional skills. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social cognition over time in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis: Findings from the NAPLS-2 cohort.

PubMed

Piskulic, Danijela; Liu, Lu; Cadenhead, Kristin S; Cannon, Tyrone D; Cornblatt, Barbara A; McGlashan, Thomas H; Perkins, Diana O; Seidman, Larry J; Tsuang, Ming T; Walker, Elaine F; Woods, Scott W; Bearden, Carrie E; Mathalon, Daniel H; Addington, Jean

2016-03-01

Deficits in social cognition are well established in schizophrenia and have been observed prior to the illness onset. Compared to healthy controls (HCs), individuals at clinical high risk of psychosis (CHR) are said to show deficits in social cognition similar to those observed in patients experiencing a first episode of psychosis. These deficits have been observed in several domains of social cognition, such as theory of mind (ToM), emotion perception and social perception. In the current study, the stability of three domains of social cognition (ToM, social perception and facial emotion perception) was assessed over time along and their association with both clinical symptoms and the later development of psychosis. Six hundred and seventy-five CHR individuals and 264 HC participants completed four tests of social cognition at baseline. Of those, 160 CHR and 155 HC participants completed assessments at all three time points (baseline, 1year and 2years) as part of their participation in the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study. The CHR group performed poorer on all tests of social cognition across all time points compared to HCs. Social cognition was not associated with attenuated positive symptoms at any time point in the study. CHR individuals who developed a psychotic disorder during the course of the study did not differ in social cognition compared to those who did not develop psychosis. This longitudinal study demonstrated mild to moderate, but persistent ToM and social perception impairments in those at CHR for psychosis compared to HCs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Observation interventions as a means to manipulate collective efficacy in groups.

PubMed

Bruton, Adam M; Mellalieu, Stephen D; Shearer, David A

2014-02-01

The purpose of this multistudy investigation was to examine observation as an intervention for the manipulation of individual collective efficacy beliefs. Study 1 compared the effects of positive, neutral, and negative video footage of practice trials from an obstacle course task on collective efficacy beliefs in assigned groups. The content of the observation intervention (i.e., positive, neutral, and negative video footage) significantly influenced the direction of change in collective efficacy (p < .05). Study 2 assessed the influence of content familiarity (own team/sport vs. unfamiliar team/sport) on individual collective efficacy perceptions when observing positive footage of competitive basketball performance. Collective efficacy significantly increased for both the familiar and unfamiliar conditions postintervention, with the largest increase for the familiar condition (p < .05). The studies support the use of observation as an intervention to enhance individual perceptions of collective efficacy in group-based activities. The findings suggest that observations of any group displaying positive group characteristics are likely to increase collective efficacy beliefs; however, observation of one's own team leads to the greatest increases.

Motion facilitates face perception across changes in viewpoint and expression in older adults.

PubMed

Maguinness, Corrina; Newell, Fiona N

2014-12-01

Faces are inherently dynamic stimuli. However, face perception in younger adults appears to be mediated by the ability to extract structural cues from static images and a benefit of motion is inconsistent. In contrast, static face processing is poorer and more image-dependent in older adults. We therefore compared the role of facial motion in younger and older adults to assess whether motion can enhance perception when static cues are insufficient. In our studies, older and younger adults learned faces presented in motion or in a sequence of static images, containing rigid (viewpoint) or nonrigid (expression) changes. Immediately following learning, participants matched a static test image to the learned face which varied by viewpoint (Experiment 1) or expression (Experiment 2) and was either learned or novel. First, we found an age effect with better face matching performance in younger than in older adults. However, we observed face matching performance improved in the older adult group, across changes in viewpoint and expression, when faces were learned in motion relative to static presentation. There was no benefit for facial (nonrigid) motion when the task involved matching inverted faces (Experiment 3), suggesting that the ability to use dynamic face information for the purpose of recognition reflects motion encoding which is specific to upright faces. Our results suggest that ageing may offer a unique insight into how dynamic cues support face processing, which may not be readily observed in younger adults' performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Neural correlates of action perception at the onset of functional grasping

PubMed Central

Daum, Moritz M.; Handl, Andrea; Gredebäck, Gustaf

2015-01-01

Event-related potentials were recorded while infants observe congruent or incongruent grasping actions at the age when organized grasping first emerges (4–6 months of age). We demonstrate that the event-related potential component P400 encodes the congruency of power grasps at the age of 6 months (Experiment 1) and in 5-month-old infants that have developed the ability to use power grasps (Experiment 2). This effect does not extend to precision grasps, which infants cannot perform (Experiment 3). Our findings suggest that infants’ encoding of the relationship between an object and a grasping hand (the action–perception link) is highly specialized to actions and manual configurations of actions that infants are able to perform. PMID:25193947

Attentional and Contextual Priors in Sound Perception.

PubMed

Wolmetz, Michael; Elhilali, Mounya

2016-01-01

Behavioral and neural studies of selective attention have consistently demonstrated that explicit attentional cues to particular perceptual features profoundly alter perception and performance. The statistics of the sensory environment can also provide cues about what perceptual features to expect, but the extent to which these more implicit contextual cues impact perception and performance, as well as their relationship to explicit attentional cues, is not well understood. In this study, the explicit cues, or attentional prior probabilities, and the implicit cues, or contextual prior probabilities, associated with different acoustic frequencies in a detection task were simultaneously manipulated. Both attentional and contextual priors had similarly large but independent impacts on sound detectability, with evidence that listeners tracked and used contextual priors for a variety of sound classes (pure tones, harmonic complexes, and vowels). Further analyses showed that listeners updated their contextual priors rapidly and optimally, given the changing acoustic frequency statistics inherent in the paradigm. A Bayesian Observer model accounted for both attentional and contextual adaptations found with listeners. These results bolster the interpretation of perception as Bayesian inference, and suggest that some effects attributed to selective attention may be a special case of contextual prior integration along a feature axis.

Attentional and Contextual Priors in Sound Perception

PubMed Central

Wolmetz, Michael; Elhilali, Mounya

2016-01-01

Behavioral and neural studies of selective attention have consistently demonstrated that explicit attentional cues to particular perceptual features profoundly alter perception and performance. The statistics of the sensory environment can also provide cues about what perceptual features to expect, but the extent to which these more implicit contextual cues impact perception and performance, as well as their relationship to explicit attentional cues, is not well understood. In this study, the explicit cues, or attentional prior probabilities, and the implicit cues, or contextual prior probabilities, associated with different acoustic frequencies in a detection task were simultaneously manipulated. Both attentional and contextual priors had similarly large but independent impacts on sound detectability, with evidence that listeners tracked and used contextual priors for a variety of sound classes (pure tones, harmonic complexes, and vowels). Further analyses showed that listeners updated their contextual priors rapidly and optimally, given the changing acoustic frequency statistics inherent in the paradigm. A Bayesian Observer model accounted for both attentional and contextual adaptations found with listeners. These results bolster the interpretation of perception as Bayesian inference, and suggest that some effects attributed to selective attention may be a special case of contextual prior integration along a feature axis. PMID:26882228

Driving Task: How Older Drivers' On-Road Driving Performance Relates to Abilities, Perceptions, and Restrictions.

PubMed

Koppel, Sjaan; Charlton, Judith L; Langford, Jim; Di Stefano, Marilyn; MacDonald, Wendy; Vlahodimitrakou, Zafiroula; Mazer, Barbara L; Gelinas, Isabelle; Vrkljan, Brenda; Eliasz, Kinga; Myers, Anita; Tuokko, Holly A; Marshall, Shawn C

2016-06-01

This study examined a cohort of 227 older drivers and investigated the relationship between performance on the electronic Driver Observation Schedule (eDOS) driving task and: (1) driver characteristics; (2) functional abilities; (3) perceptions of driving comfort and abilities; and (4) self-reported driving restrictions. Participants (male: 70%; age: M = 81.53 years, SD = 3.37 years) completed a series of functional ability measures and scales on perceived driving comfort, abilities, and driving restrictions from the Year 2 Candrive/Ozcandrive assessment protocol, along with an eDOS driving task. Observations of participants' driving behaviours during the driving task were recorded for intersection negotiation, lane-changing, merging, low-speed maneuvers, and maneuver-free driving. eDOS driving task scores were high (M = 94.74; SD = 5.70) and significantly related to participants' perceived driving abilities, reported frequency of driving in challenging situations, and number of driving restrictions. Future analyses will explore potential changes in driving task scores over time.

Moving Just Like You: Motor Interference Depends on Similar Motility of Agent and Observer

PubMed Central

Kupferberg, Aleksandra; Huber, Markus; Helfer, Bartosz; Lenz, Claus; Knoll, Alois; Glasauer, Stefan

2012-01-01

Recent findings in neuroscience suggest an overlap between brain regions involved in the execution of movement and perception of another’s movement. This so-called “action-perception coupling” is supposed to serve our ability to automatically infer the goals and intentions of others by internal simulation of their actions. A consequence of this coupling is motor interference (MI), the effect of movement observation on the trajectory of one’s own movement. Previous studies emphasized that various features of the observed agent determine the degree of MI, but could not clarify how human-like an agent has to be for its movements to elicit MI and, more importantly, what ‘human-like’ means in the context of MI. Thus, we investigated in several experiments how different aspects of appearance and motility of the observed agent influence motor interference (MI). Participants performed arm movements in horizontal and vertical directions while observing videos of a human, a humanoid robot, or an industrial robot arm with either artificial (industrial) or human-like joint configurations. Our results show that, given a human-like joint configuration, MI was elicited by observing arm movements of both humanoid and industrial robots. However, if the joint configuration of the robot did not resemble that of the human arm, MI could longer be demonstrated. Our findings present evidence for the importance of human-like joint configuration rather than other human-like features for perception-action coupling when observing inanimate agents. PMID:22761853

Effects of Parental Deafness and Early Exposure to Manual Communication on the Cognitive Skills, English Language Skill, and Field Independence of Young Deaf Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parasnis, Ila

1983-01-01

Differential effects of parental deafness and early exposure to manual communication were not observed in the cognitive and communication performance of the 38 experimental subjects. Furthermore, the Delayed sign language group performed significantly better than the early American Sign Language group on tests of speech perception and speech…

Neural Responses to Complex Auditory Rhythms: The Role of Attending

PubMed Central

Chapin, Heather L.; Zanto, Theodore; Jantzen, Kelly J.; Kelso, Scott J. A.; Steinberg, Fred; Large, Edward W.

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore the role of attention in pulse and meter perception using complex rhythms. We used a selective attention paradigm in which participants attended to either a complex auditory rhythm or a visually presented word list. Performance on a reproduction task was used to gauge whether participants were attending to the appropriate stimulus. We hypothesized that attention to complex rhythms – which contain no energy at the pulse frequency – would lead to activations in motor areas involved in pulse perception. Moreover, because multiple repetitions of a complex rhythm are needed to perceive a pulse, activations in pulse-related areas would be seen only after sufficient time had elapsed for pulse perception to develop. Selective attention was also expected to modulate activity in sensory areas specific to the modality. We found that selective attention to rhythms led to increased BOLD responses in basal ganglia, and basal ganglia activity was observed only after the rhythms had cycled enough times for a stable pulse percept to develop. These observations suggest that attention is needed to recruit motor activations associated with the perception of pulse in complex rhythms. Moreover, attention to the auditory stimulus enhanced activity in an attentional sensory network including primary auditory cortex, insula, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex, and suppressed activity in sensory areas associated with attending to the visual stimulus. PMID:21833279

Concept mapping improves academic performance in problem solving questions in biochemistry subject.

PubMed

Baig, Mukhtiar; Tariq, Saba; Rehman, Rehana; Ali, Sobia; Gazzaz, Zohair J

2016-01-01

To assess the effectiveness of concept mapping (CM) on the academic performance of medical students' in problem-solving as well as in declarative knowledge questions and their perception regarding CM. The present analytical and questionnaire-based study was carried out at Bahria University Medical and Dental College (BUMDC), Karachi, Pakistan. In this analytical study, students were assessed with problem-solving questions (A-type MCQs), and declarative knowledge questions (short essay questions), and 50% of the questions were from the topics learned by CM. Students also filled a 10-item, 3-point Likert scale questionnaire about their perception regarding the effectiveness of the CM approach, and two open-ended questions were also asked. There was a significant difference in the marks obtained in those problem-solving questions, which were learned by CM as compared to those topics which were taught by the traditional lectures (p<0.001), while no significant difference was observed in marks in declarative knowledge questions (p=0.704). Analysis of students' perception regarding CM showed that majority of the students perceive that CM is a helpful technique and it is enjoyed by the students. In open-ended questions, the majority of the students commented positively about the effectiveness of CM. Our results indicate that CM improves academic performance in problem solving but not in declarative knowledge questions. Students' perception about the effectiveness of CM was overwhelmingly positive.

Ventral and Dorsal Visual Stream Contributions to the Perception of Object Shape and Object Location

PubMed Central

Zachariou, Valentinos; Klatzky, Roberta; Behrmann, Marlene

2017-01-01

Growing evidence suggests that the functional specialization of the two cortical visual pathways may not be as distinct as originally proposed. Here, we explore possible contributions of the dorsal “where/how” visual stream to shape perception and, conversely, contributions of the ventral “what” visual stream to location perception in human adults. Participants performed a shape detection task and a location detection task while undergoing fMRI. For shape detection, comparable BOLD activation in the ventral and dorsal visual streams was observed, and the magnitude of this activation was correlated with behavioral performance. For location detection, cortical activation was significantly stronger in the dorsal than ventral visual pathway and did not correlate with the behavioral outcome. This asymmetry in cortical profile across tasks is particularly noteworthy given that the visual input was identical and that the tasks were matched for difficulty in performance. We confirmed the asymmetry in a subsequent psychophysical experiment in which participants detected changes in either object location or shape, while ignoring the other, task-irrelevant dimension. Detection of a location change was slowed by an irrelevant shape change matched for difficulty, but the reverse did not hold. We conclude that both ventral and dorsal visual streams contribute to shape perception, but that location processing appears to be essentially a function of the dorsal visual pathway. PMID:24001005

Luminance-based specular gloss characterization.

PubMed

Leloup, Frédéric B; Pointer, Michael R; Dutré, Philip; Hanselaer, Peter

2011-06-01

Gloss is a feature of visual appearance that arises from the directionally selective reflection of light incident on a surface. Especially when a distinct reflected image is perceptible, the luminance distribution of the illumination scene above the sample can strongly influence the gloss perception. For this reason, industrial glossmeters do not provide a satisfactory gloss estimation of high-gloss surfaces. In this study, the influence of the conditions of illumination on specular gloss perception was examined through a magnitude estimation experiment in which 10 observers took part. A light booth with two light sources was utilized: the mirror image of only one source being visible in reflection by the observer. The luminance of both the reflected image and the adjacent sample surface could be independently varied by separate adjustment of the intensity of the two light sources. A psychophysical scaling function was derived, relating the visual gloss estimations to the measured luminance of both the reflected image and the off-specular sample background. The generalization error of the model was estimated through a validation experiment performed by 10 other observers. In result, a metric including both surface and illumination properties is provided. Based on this metric, improved gloss evaluation methods and instruments could be developed.

Action perception as hypothesis testing.

PubMed

Donnarumma, Francesco; Costantini, Marcello; Ambrosini, Ettore; Friston, Karl; Pezzulo, Giovanni

2017-04-01

We present a novel computational model that describes action perception as an active inferential process that combines motor prediction (the reuse of our own motor system to predict perceived movements) and hypothesis testing (the use of eye movements to disambiguate amongst hypotheses). The system uses a generative model of how (arm and hand) actions are performed to generate hypothesis-specific visual predictions, and directs saccades to the most informative places of the visual scene to test these predictions - and underlying hypotheses. We test the model using eye movement data from a human action observation study. In both the human study and our model, saccades are proactive whenever context affords accurate action prediction; but uncertainty induces a more reactive gaze strategy, via tracking the observed movements. Our model offers a novel perspective on action observation that highlights its active nature based on prediction dynamics and hypothesis testing. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Perception of ‘Back-Channeling’ Nonverbal Feedback in Musical Duo Improvisation

PubMed Central

Moran, Nikki; Hadley, Lauren V.; Bader, Maria; Keller, Peter E.

2015-01-01

In witnessing face-to-face conversation, observers perceive authentic communication according to the social contingency of nonverbal feedback cues (‘back-channeling’) by non-speaking interactors. The current study investigated the generality of this function by focusing on nonverbal communication in musical improvisation. A perceptual experiment was conducted to test whether observers can reliably identify genuine versus fake (mismatched) duos from musicians’ nonverbal cues, and how this judgement is affected by observers’ musical background and rhythm perception skill. Twenty-four musicians were recruited to perform duo improvisations, which included solo episodes, in two styles: standard jazz (where rhythm is based on a regular pulse) or free improvisation (where rhythm is non-pulsed). The improvisations were recorded using a motion capture system to generate 16 ten-second point-light displays (with audio) of the soloist and the silent non-soloing musician (‘back-channeler’). Sixteen further displays were created by splicing soloists with back-channelers from different duos. Participants (N = 60) with various musical backgrounds were asked to rate the point-light displays as either real or fake. Results indicated that participants were sensitive to the real/fake distinction in the free improvisation condition independently of musical experience. Individual differences in rhythm perception skill did not account for performance in the free condition, but were positively correlated with accuracy in the standard jazz condition. These findings suggest that the perception of back-channeling in free improvisation is not dependent on music-specific skills but is a general ability. The findings invite further study of the links between interpersonal dynamics in conversation and musical interaction. PMID:26086593

A multicenter observer performance study of 3D JPEG2000 compression of thin-slice CT.

PubMed

Erickson, Bradley J; Krupinski, Elizabeth; Andriole, Katherine P

2010-10-01

The goal of this study was to determine the compression level at which 3D JPEG2000 compression of thin-slice CTs of the chest and abdomen-pelvis becomes visually perceptible. A secondary goal was to determine if residents in training and non-physicians are substantially different from experienced radiologists in their perception of compression-related changes. This study used multidetector computed tomography 3D datasets with 0.625-1-mm thickness slices of standard chest, abdomen, or pelvis, clipped to 12 bits. The Kakadu v5.2 JPEG2000 compression algorithm was used to compress and decompress the 80 examinations creating four sets of images: lossless, 1.5 bpp (8:1), 1 bpp (12:1), and 0.75 bpp (16:1). Two randomly selected slices from each examination were shown to observers using a flicker mode paradigm in which observers rapidly toggled between two images, the original and a compressed version, with the task of deciding whether differences between them could be detected. Six staff radiologists, four residents, and six PhDs experienced in medical imaging (from three institutions) served as observers. Overall, 77.46% of observers detected differences at 8:1, 94.75% at 12:1, and 98.59% at 16:1 compression levels. Across all compression levels, the staff radiologists noted differences 64.70% of the time, the resident's detected differences 71.91% of the time, and the PhDs detected differences 69.95% of the time. Even mild compression is perceptible with current technology. The ability to detect differences does not equate to diagnostic differences, although perception of compression artifacts could affect diagnostic decision making and diagnostic workflow.

Exploring students' perceptions and performance on predict-observe-explain tasks in high school chemistry laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vadapally, Praveen

This study sought to understand the impact of gender and reasoning level on students' perceptions and performances of Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) laboratory tasks in a high school chemistry laboratory. Several literature reviews have reported that students at all levels have not developed the specific knowledge and skills that were expected from their laboratory work. Studies conducted over the last several decades have found that boys tend to be more successful than girls in science and mathematics courses. However, some recent studies have suggested that girls may be reducing this gender gap. This gender difference is the focal point of this research study, which was conducted at a mid-western, rural high school. The participants were 24 boys and 25 girls enrolled in two physical science classes taught by the same teacher. In this mixed methods study, qualitative and quantitative methods were implemented simultaneously over the entire period of the study. MANOVA statistics revealed significant effects due to gender and level of reasoning on the outcome variables, which were POE performances and perceptions of the chemistry laboratory environment. There were no significant interactions between these effects. For the qualitative method, IRB-approved information was collected, coded, grouped, and analyzed. This method was used to derive themes from students' responses on questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Students with different levels of reasoning and gender were interviewed, and many of them expressed positive themes, which was a clear indication that they had enjoyed participating in the POE learning tasks and they had developed positive perceptions towards POE inquiry laboratory learning environment. When students are capable of formal reasoning, they can use an abstract scientific concept effectively and then relate it to the ideas they generate in their minds. Thus, instructors should factor the nature of students' thinking abilities into their instructional strategies and strive to create a learning environment where students are engaged in thinking, learning, and acting in meaningful and beneficial ways. POE learning tasks enhance students' laboratory experiences and can help deepen their understanding of the empirical nature of science. Key words: predict observe explain, gender, science laboratory inquiry, reasoning ability, social constructivism, mixed methods.

Correlated individual differences suggest a common mechanism underlying metacognition in visual perception and visual short-term memory.

PubMed

Samaha, Jason; Postle, Bradley R

2017-11-29

Adaptive behaviour depends on the ability to introspect accurately about one's own performance. Whether this metacognitive ability is supported by the same mechanisms across different tasks is unclear. We investigated the relationship between metacognition of visual perception and metacognition of visual short-term memory (VSTM). Experiments 1 and 2 required subjects to estimate the perceived or remembered orientation of a grating stimulus and rate their confidence. We observed strong positive correlations between individual differences in metacognitive accuracy between the two tasks. This relationship was not accounted for by individual differences in task performance or average confidence, and was present across two different metrics of metacognition and in both experiments. A model-based analysis of data from a third experiment showed that a cross-domain correlation only emerged when both tasks shared the same task-relevant stimulus feature. That is, metacognition for perception and VSTM were correlated when both tasks required orientation judgements, but not when the perceptual task was switched to require contrast judgements. In contrast with previous results comparing perception and long-term memory, which have largely provided evidence for domain-specific metacognitive processes, the current findings suggest that metacognition of visual perception and VSTM is supported by a domain-general metacognitive architecture, but only when both domains share the same task-relevant stimulus feature. © 2017 The Author(s).

Spinal Manipulative Therapy Has an Immediate Effect on Thermal Pain Sensitivity in People With Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Bishop, Mark D.; Robinson, Michael E.; Zeppieri, Giorgio; George, Steven Z.

2009-01-01

Background Current evidence suggests that spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) is effective in the treatment of people with low back pain (LBP); however, the corresponding mechanisms are unknown. Hypoalgesia is associated with SMT and is suggestive of specific mechanisms. Objective The primary purpose of this study was to assess the immediate effects of SMT on thermal pain perception in people with LBP. A secondary purpose was to determine whether the resulting hypoalgesia was a local effect and whether psychological influences were associated with changes in pain perception. Design This study was a randomized controlled trial. Setting A sample of convenience was recruited from community and outpatient clinics. Participants Thirty-six people (10 men, 26 women) currently experiencing LBP participated in the study. The average age of the participants was 32.39 (SD=12.63) years, and the average duration of LBP was 221.79 (SD=365.37) weeks. Intervention and Measurements Baseline demographic and psychological measurements were obtained, followed by quantitative sensory testing to assess temporal summation and Aδ fiber–mediated pain perception. Next, participants were randomly assigned to ride a stationary bicycle, perform low back extension exercises, or receive SMT. Finally, the same quantitative sensory testing protocol was reassessed to determine the immediate effects of each intervention on thermal pain sensitivity. Results Hypoalgesia to Aδ fiber–mediated pain perception was not observed. Group-dependent hypoalgesia of temporal summation specific to the lumbar innervated region was observed. Pair-wise comparisons indicated significant hypoalgesia in participants who received SMT, but not in those who rode a stationary bicycle or performed low back extension exercises. Psychological factors did not significantly correlate with changes in temporal summation in participants who received SMT. Limitations Only immediate effects of SMT were measured, so the authors are unable to comment on whether the inhibition of temporal summation is a lasting effect. Furthermore, the authors are unable to comment on the relationship between their findings and changes in clinical pain. Conclusions Inhibition of Aδ fiber–mediated pain perception was similar for all groups. However, inhibition of temporal summation was observed only in participants receiving SMT, suggesting a modulation of dorsal horn excitability that was observed primarily in the lumbar innervated area. PMID:19797305

Influence of signal processing strategy in auditory abilities.

PubMed

Melo, Tatiana Mendes de; Bevilacqua, Maria Cecília; Costa, Orozimbo Alves; Moret, Adriane Lima Mortari

2013-01-01

The signal processing strategy is a parameter that may influence the auditory performance of cochlear implant and is important to optimize this parameter to provide better speech perception, especially in difficult listening situations. To evaluate the individual's auditory performance using two different signal processing strategy. Prospective study with 11 prelingually deafened children with open-set speech recognition. A within-subjects design was used to compare performance with standard HiRes and HiRes 120 in three different moments. During test sessions, subject's performance was evaluated by warble-tone sound-field thresholds, speech perception evaluation, in quiet and in noise. In the silence, children S1, S4, S5, S7 showed better performance with the HiRes 120 strategy and children S2, S9, S11 showed better performance with the HiRes strategy. In the noise was also observed that some children performed better using the HiRes 120 strategy and other with HiRes. Not all children presented the same pattern of response to the different strategies used in this study, which reinforces the need to look at optimizing cochlear implant clinical programming.

Performing music can induce greater modulation of emotion-related psychophysiological responses than listening to music.

PubMed

Nakahara, Hidehiro; Furuya, Shinichi; Masuko, Tsutomu; Francis, Peter R; Kinoshita, Hiroshi

2011-09-01

The present study investigated the differential effects of music-induced emotion on heart rate (HR) and its variability (HRV) while playing music on the piano and listening to a recording of the same piece of music. Sixteen pianists were monitored during tasks involving emotional piano performance, non-emotional piano performance, emotional perception, and non-emotional perception. It was found that emotional induction during both perception and performance modulated HR and HRV, and that such modulations were significantly greater during musical performance than during perception. The results confirmed that musical performance was far more effective in modulating emotion-related autonomic nerve activity than musical perception in musicians. The findings suggest the presence of a neural network of reward-emotion-associated autonomic nerve activity for musical performance that is independent of a neural network for musical perception. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of a Dengue Outbreak Experience in the Preventive Perceptions of the Community from a Temperate Region: Madeira Island, Portugal

PubMed Central

Nazareth, Teresa; Sousa, Carla Alexandra; Porto, Graça; Gonçalves, Luzia; Seixas, Gonçalo; Antunes, Luís; Silva, Ana Clara; Teodósio, Rosa

2015-01-01

The ability to effectively modify behaviours is increasingly relevant to attain and maintain a good health status. Current behaviour-change models and theories present two main approaches for (healthier) decision-making: one analytical/logical, and one experiential/emotional/intuitive. Therefore, to achieve an integral and dynamic understanding of the public perceptions both approaches should be considered: community surveys should measure cognitive understanding of health-risk contexts, and also explore how past experiences affect this understanding. In 2011, community perceptions regarding domestic source reduction were assessed in Madeira Island. After Madeira’s first dengue outbreak (2012) a unique opportunity to compare perceptions before and after the outbreak-experience occurred. This was the aim of this study, which constituted the first report on the effect of an outbreak experience on community perceptions regarding a specific vector-borne disease. A cross-sectional survey was performed within female residents at the most aegypti-infested areas. Perceptions regarding domestic source reduction were assessed according to the Essential Perception (EP)-analysis tool. A matching process paired individuals from studies performed before and after the outbreak, ensuring homogeneity in six determinant variables. After the outbreak, there were more female residents who assimilated the concepts considered to be essential to understand the proposed behaviour. Nevertheless, no significant difference was observed in the number of female residents who achieved the defined ‘minimal understanding’’. Moreover, most of the population (95.5%) still believed at least in one of the identified myths. After the outbreak some myths disappeared and others appeared. The present study quantified and explored how the experience of an outbreak influenced the perception regarding a dengue-preventive behaviour. The outbreak experience surprisingly led to the appearance of new myths within the population, apart from the expected increase of relevant concepts’ assimilation. Monitoring public perceptions is therefore crucial to make preventing dengue campaigns updated and worthy. PMID:25767886

Impact of a dengue outbreak experience in the preventive perceptions of the community from a temperate region: Madeira Island, Portugal.

PubMed

Nazareth, Teresa; Sousa, Carla Alexandra; Porto, Graça; Gonçalves, Luzia; Seixas, Gonçalo; Antunes, Luís; Silva, Ana Clara; Teodósio, Rosa

2015-03-01

The ability to effectively modify behaviours is increasingly relevant to attain and maintain a good health status. Current behaviour-change models and theories present two main approaches for (healthier) decision-making: one analytical/logical, and one experiential/emotional/intuitive. Therefore, to achieve an integral and dynamic understanding of the public perceptions both approaches should be considered: community surveys should measure cognitive understanding of health-risk contexts, and also explore how past experiences affect this understanding. In 2011, community perceptions regarding domestic source reduction were assessed in Madeira Island͘. After Madeira's first dengue outbreak (2012) a unique opportunity to compare perceptions before and after the outbreak-experience occurred. This was the aim of this study, which constituted the first report on the effect of an outbreak experience on community perceptions regarding a specific vector-borne disease. A cross-sectional survey was performed within female residents at the most aegypti-infested areas. Perceptions regarding domestic source reduction were assessed according to the Essential Perception (EP)-analysis tool. A matching process paired individuals from studies performed before and after the outbreak, ensuring homogeneity in six determinant variables. After the outbreak, there were more female residents who assimilated the concepts considered to be essential to understand the proposed behaviour. Nevertheless, no significant difference was observed in the number of female residents who achieved the defined 'minimal understanding''. Moreover, most of the population (95.5%) still believed at least in one of the identified myths. After the outbreak some myths disappeared and others appeared. The present study quantified and explored how the experience of an outbreak influenced the perception regarding a dengue-preventive behaviour. The outbreak experience surprisingly led to the appearance of new myths within the population, apart from the expected increase of relevant concepts' assimilation. Monitoring public perceptions is therefore crucial to make preventing dengue campaigns updated and worthy.

Adaptive psychological structure in childhood hearing impairment: audiological correlations.

PubMed

Serra, A; Spinato, G; Cocuzza, S; Licciardello, L; Pavone, P; Maiolino, L

2017-06-01

The present research deals with the clinical and social problems present during linguistic and cognitive development of deaf children. Currently, the development of Theory of Mind represents an important research field in deafness studies. These international studies highlighted a significant alteration in the development of Theory of Mind in deaf children compared to normal hearing children, especially in cases of congenital or preverbal hearing loss. In particular, the research focuses on the skills of deaf children in recognising emotions and desires, through both perceptive and cognitive methods, by evaluation of psycho-cognitive skills of children with severe hearing loss using a set of questions to be administered to hearing loss patients. The experiment was performed on a group composed of 10 children (5 males and 5 females) aged 4 to 9 years and 54 to 108 months, affected by bilateral congenital hearing loss (severe to total), or hearing loss that developed in preverbal children the year before entering elementary school, or during the fourth year of elementary school. The selection criteria were based on: audiologic evaluation, neuro-psychological tests administered to assess general, cognitive as well as praxis and perceptive abilities, and clinical observations performed to assess psychopathology using tests that assess development of both visual perceptive (Coloured Progressive Matrices) and graphic representational abilities (Test of Human Figure Drawings and the Family Drawing Test). The instrument "cognitive" was the "Deaf Children Series", arranged by us, that consists of a mental status examination (MSE) that evaluates: level of cognitive (knowledge-related) ability, emotional mood, and speech and thought patterns at the time of evaluation. Deaf children show a reduced responsiveness to the expressions of sadness on the perceptive side. Through the test, we observed a psychodynamic defense mechanism considering perceptive understanding performance. On the contrary, in normal hearing children, the emotion 'fear' is the most difficult to identify. Deaf children seem to be more susceptible to recognition of visual emotions. Furthermore, deaf children present significant problem-solving skills and emotional recognition skills, possibly as a result of their hearing impairment. © Copyright by Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale, Rome, Italy.

Role of medio-dorsal frontal and posterior parietal neurons during auditory detection performance in rats.

PubMed

Bohon, Kaitlin S; Wiest, Michael C

2014-01-01

To further characterize the role of frontal and parietal cortices in rat cognition, we recorded action potentials simultaneously from multiple sites in the medio-dorsal frontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex of rats while they performed a two-choice auditory detection task. We quantified neural correlates of task performance, including response movements, perception of a target tone, and the differentiation between stimuli with distinct features (different pitches or durations). A minority of units--15% in frontal cortex, 23% in parietal cortex--significantly distinguished hit trials (successful detections, response movement to the right) from correct rejection trials (correct leftward response to the absence of the target tone). Estimating the contribution of movement-related activity to these responses suggested that more than half of these units were likely signaling correct perception of the auditory target, rather than merely movement direction. In addition, we found a smaller and mostly not overlapping population of units that differentiated stimuli based on task-irrelevant details. The detection-related spiking responses we observed suggest that correlates of perception in the rat are sparsely represented among neurons in the rat's frontal-parietal network, without being concentrated preferentially in frontal or parietal areas.

Social forces for team coordination in ball possession game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yokoyama, Keiko; Shima, Hiroyuki; Fujii, Keisuke; Tabuchi, Noriyuki; Yamamoto, Yuji

2018-02-01

Team coordination is a basic human behavioral trait observed in many real-life communities. To promote teamwork, it is important to cultivate social skills that elicit team coordination. In the present work, we consider which social skills are indispensable for individuals performing a ball possession game in soccer. We develop a simple social force model that describes the synchronized motion of offensive players. Comparing the simulation results with experimental observations, we uncovered that the cooperative social force, a measure of perception skill, has the most important role in reproducing the harmonized collective motion of experienced players in the task. We further developed an experimental tool that facilitates real players' perceptions of interpersonal distance, revealing that the tool improves novice players' motions as if the cooperative social force were imposed.

Perceptions and Practice: The Relationship between Teacher Perceptions of Technology Use and Level of Classroom Technology Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sawyer, Laura M.

2017-01-01

This correlational-predictive study investigated the relationship between teacher perceptions of technology use and observed classroom technology integration level using the "Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey" (TUPS) and the "Technology Integration Matrix-Observation" (TIM-O) instruments, developed by the Florida Center…

A Causal Inference Model Explains Perception of the McGurk Effect and Other Incongruent Audiovisual Speech.

PubMed

Magnotti, John F; Beauchamp, Michael S

2017-02-01

Audiovisual speech integration combines information from auditory speech (talker's voice) and visual speech (talker's mouth movements) to improve perceptual accuracy. However, if the auditory and visual speech emanate from different talkers, integration decreases accuracy. Therefore, a key step in audiovisual speech perception is deciding whether auditory and visual speech have the same source, a process known as causal inference. A well-known illusion, the McGurk Effect, consists of incongruent audiovisual syllables, such as auditory "ba" + visual "ga" (AbaVga), that are integrated to produce a fused percept ("da"). This illusion raises two fundamental questions: first, given the incongruence between the auditory and visual syllables in the McGurk stimulus, why are they integrated; and second, why does the McGurk effect not occur for other, very similar syllables (e.g., AgaVba). We describe a simplified model of causal inference in multisensory speech perception (CIMS) that predicts the perception of arbitrary combinations of auditory and visual speech. We applied this model to behavioral data collected from 60 subjects perceiving both McGurk and non-McGurk incongruent speech stimuli. The CIMS model successfully predicted both the audiovisual integration observed for McGurk stimuli and the lack of integration observed for non-McGurk stimuli. An identical model without causal inference failed to accurately predict perception for either form of incongruent speech. The CIMS model uses causal inference to provide a computational framework for studying how the brain performs one of its most important tasks, integrating auditory and visual speech cues to allow us to communicate with others.

The role of age in the perceptions of politics--job performance relationship: a three-study constructive replication.

PubMed

Treadway, Darren C; Ferris, Gerald R; Hochwarter, Wayne; Perrewé, Pamela; Witt, L A; Goodman, Joseph M

2005-09-01

This research examined the interaction of organizational politics perceptions and employee age on job performance in 3 studies. On the basis of conservation of resources theory, the authors predicted that perceptions of politics would demonstrate their most detrimental effects on job performance for older workers. Results across the 3 studies provided strong support for the hypothesis that increases in politics perceptions are associated with decreases in job performance for older employees and that perceptions of politics do not affect younger employees' performance. Implications of these results, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright 2005 APA, all rights reserved.

Biological Motion Task Performance Predicts Superior Temporal Sulcus Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrington, John D.; Nymberg, Charlotte; Schultz, Robert T.

2011-01-01

Numerous studies implicate superior temporal sulcus (STS) in the perception of human movement. More recent theories hold that STS is also involved in the "understanding" of human movement. However, almost no studies to date have associated STS function with observable variability in action understanding. The present study directly associated STS…

Mechanisms of Temporal Pattern Discrimination by Human Observers

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-02-15

Research Center Department of Psychology University of Florida Gainesville, Florida 32611 15 February 1994 Final Technical Report for Period 1 October 1990...Center tfpdCbE Department of Psychology ________ AFOSR/NL Gr. &OORESS (City. Stteco and ZIP Code) 7b. ADDRESS (City’. State and ZIP Code) University of...contrasting novice and experienced performance. Journal of Experimental Psychology : Human Perception and Performance, 18, 50-71. Berg, B. G. (1989). Analysis

Are health professionals' perceptions of patient safety related to figures on safety incidents?

PubMed

Martijn, Lucie; Harmsen, Mirjam; Gaal, Sander; Mettes, Dirk; van Dulmen, Simone; Wensing, Michel

2013-10-01

The study aims to explore whether health care professionals' perceptions of patient safety in their practice were associated with the number of patient safety incidents identified in patient records. Seventy primary care practices of general practice, general dental practice, midwifery practices and allied health care practices were used in the study. A retrospective audit of 50 patient records was performed to identify patient safety incidents in each of the practices and a survey among health professionals to identify their perceptions of patient safety. All health professions felt that 'communication breakdowns inside the practice' as well as 'communication breakdowns outside the practice' and 'reporting of patient safety concerns' were a threat to patient safety in their work setting. We found little association between the perceptions of health professionals and the number of safety incidents. The only item with a significant relation to a higher number of safety incidents referred to the perception of 'communication problems outside the practice' as a threat to patient safety. This study indicates that the assessment of professionals' perceptions may be complementary to observed safety incidents, but not linked to an objective measure of patient safety. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Electroacoustic verification of frequency modulation systems in cochlear implant users.

PubMed

Fidêncio, Vanessa Luisa Destro; Jacob, Regina Tangerino de Souza; Tanamati, Liége Franzini; Bucuvic, Érika Cristina; Moret, Adriane Lima Mortari

2017-12-26

The frequency modulation system is a device that helps to improve speech perception in noise and is considered the most beneficial approach to improve speech recognition in noise in cochlear implant users. According to guidelines, there is a need to perform a check before fitting the frequency modulation system. Although there are recommendations regarding the behavioral tests that should be performed at the fitting of the frequency modulation system to cochlear implant users, there are no published recommendations regarding the electroacoustic test that should be performed. Perform and determine the validity of an electroacoustic verification test for frequency modulation systems coupled to different cochlear implant speech processors. The sample included 40 participants between 5 and 18 year's users of four different models of speech processors. For the electroacoustic evaluation, we used the Audioscan Verifit device with the HA-1 coupler and the listening check devices corresponding to each speech processor model. In cases where the transparency was not achieved, a modification was made in the frequency modulation gain adjustment and we used the Brazilian version of the "Phrases in Noise Test" to evaluate the speech perception in competitive noise. It was observed that there was transparency between the frequency modulation system and the cochlear implant in 85% of the participants evaluated. After adjusting the gain of the frequency modulation receiver in the other participants, the devices showed transparency when the electroacoustic verification test was repeated. It was also observed that patients demonstrated better performance in speech perception in noise after a new adjustment, that is, in these cases; the electroacoustic transparency caused behavioral transparency. The electroacoustic evaluation protocol suggested was effective in evaluation of transparency between the frequency modulation system and the cochlear implant. Performing the adjustment of the speech processor and the frequency modulation system gain are essential when fitting this device. Copyright © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

[Design and validation of a scale to assess Latin American medical students' perception on the labour of the first level of health care].

PubMed

Mayta-Tristán, Percy; Mezones-Holguín, Edward; Pereyra-Elías, Reneé; Montenegro-Idrogo, Juan J; Mejia, Christian R; Dulanto-Pizzorni, Andrés; Muñoz, Sergio R

2013-04-01

To design and validate a scale to assess Latin American medical students' perception on first level of health care (FLHC). An observational, analytic and multicentre study was carried out in two phases: i) A self-administered questionnaire regarding perceptions on FLHClabor was designed. ii) This questionnaire was applied to to medical students from 18 universities of eight Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed through a principal components analysis with orthogonal varimax rotation. Sample adequacy was evaluated. Factor extraction was based on Kaiser's criteria, Cattell's Scree test and the explained variance (>5%). Internal consistency was measured with Cronbach's alpha. 423 students were included in the analysis; 53.4% were from Peruvian universities. After the EFA, the questionnaire conserved 11 items, which were distributed in three domains, that explaining together 55.47% of the total variance: i) Perceptions concerning the FLHC physician; ii) Perceptions concerning the FiLC labor and iii) Perceptions about the economic consequences of working in FLHC. The scale is composed by three domains and can be used to assess the perceptions of the medical work on first level of health care of Spanish-speaking Latin American medical students.

Effects of aging on perception of motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, Manpreet; Wilder, Joseph; Hung, George; Julesz, Bela

1997-09-01

Driving requires two basic visual components: 'visual sensory function' and 'higher order skills.' Among the elderly, it has been observed that when attention must be divided in the presence of multiple objects, their attentional skills and relational processes, along with impairment of basic visual sensory function, are markedly impaired. A high frame rate imaging system was developed to assess the elderly driver's ability to locate and distinguish computer generated images of vehicles and to determine their direction of motion in a simulated intersection. Preliminary experiments were performed at varying target speeds and angular displacements to study the effect of these parameters on motion perception. Results for subjects in four different age groups, ranging from mid- twenties to mid-sixties, show significantly better performance for the younger subjects as compared to the older ones.

Perception of linear acceleration in weightlessness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arrott, Anthony P.; Young, Laurence R.; Merfeld, Daniel M.

1991-01-01

Tests of the perception and use of linear acceleration sensory information were performed on the science crews of the Spacelab 1 (SL-1) and D-1 missions using linear 'sleds' in-flight (D-1) and pre-post flight. The time delay between the acceleration step stimulus and the subjective response was consistently reduced during weightlessness, but was neither statistically significant nor of functional importance. Increased variability of responses when going from one environment to the other was apparent from measurements on the first day of the mission and in the first days post-flight. Subjective reports of perceived motion during sinusoidal oscillation in weightlessness were qualitatively similar to reports on earth. In a closed-loop motion nulling task, enhanced performance was observed post-flight in all crewmembers tested in the Y or Z axes.

Perception of linear acceleration in weightlessness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arrott, A. P.; Young, L. R.; Merfeld, D. M.

1990-01-01

Tests of the perception and use of linear acceleration sensory information were performed on the science crews of the Spacelab 1 (SL-1) and D-1 missions using linear "sleds" in-flight (D-1) and pre-post flight. The time delay between the acceleration step stimulus and the subjective response was consistently reduced during weightlessness, but was neither statistically significant nor of functional importance. Increased variability of responses when going from one environment to the other was apparent from measurements on the first day of the mission and in the first days post-flight. Subjective reports of perceived motion during sinusoidal oscillation in weightlessness were qualitatively similar to reports on earth. In a closed-loop motion nulling task, enhanced performance was observed post-flight in all crewmembers tested in the Y or Z axes.

Exploring the effects of driving experience on hazard awareness and risk perception via real-time hazard identification, hazard classification, and rating tasks.

PubMed

Borowsky, Avinoam; Oron-Gilad, Tal

2013-10-01

This study investigated the effects of driving experience on hazard awareness and risk perception skills. These topics have previously been investigated separately, yet a novel approach is suggested where hazard awareness and risk perception are examined concurrently. Young, newly qualified drivers, experienced drivers, and a group of commercial drivers, namely, taxi drivers performed three consecutive tasks: (1) observed 10 short movies of real-world driving situations and were asked to press a button each time they identified a hazardous situation; (2) observed one of three possible sub-sets of 8 movies (out of the 10 they have seen earlier) for the second time, and were asked to categorize them into an arbitrary number of clusters according to the similarity in their hazardous situation; and (3) observed the same sub-set for a third time and following each movie were asked to rate its level of hazardousness. The first task is considered a real-time identification task while the other two are performed using hindsight. During it participants' eye movements were recorded. Results showed that taxi drivers were more sensitive to hidden hazards than the other driver groups and that young-novices were the least sensitive. Young-novice drivers also relied heavily on materialized hazards in their categorization structure. In addition, it emerged that risk perception was derived from two major components: the likelihood of a crash and the severity of its outcome. Yet, the outcome was rarely considered under time pressure (i.e., in real-time hazard identification tasks). Using hindsight, when drivers were provided with the opportunity to rate the movies' hazardousness more freely (rating task) they considered both components. Otherwise, in the categorization task, they usually chose the severity of the crash outcome as their dominant criterion. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Children's perceptions of smile esthetics and their influence on social judgment.

PubMed

Rossini, Gabriele; Parrini, Simone; Castroflorio, Tommaso; Fortini, Arturo; Deregibus, Andrea; Debernardi, Cesare L

2016-11-01

To define a threshold of acceptance of smile esthetics for children and adolescents. A systematic search in the medical literature (PubMed, PubMed Central, National Library of Medicine's Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Google Scholar, and LILACs) was performed to identify all peer-reviewed papers reporting data regarding the evaluation of children's and adolescents' perceptions of dental esthetic factors. The search was conducted using a research strategy based on keywords such as "children," "adolescents," "smile aesthetics perception," "smile aesthetics evaluation." Studies analyzing smile esthetics involving at least 10 observers younger than 18 years of age were selected. Among the 1667 analyzed articles, five studies were selected for the final review process. No study included in the review analyzed perception of smile anomalies in a quantitative or qualitative way, thus no threshold was identified for smile features. Among the analyzed samples, unaltered smiles were always significantly associated with better evaluation scores when compared with altered smiles. Smile esthetics influence social perception during childhood and adolescence. However, thresholds of smile esthetic acceptance in children and adolescents are still not available.

Developmental study of visual perception of handwriting movement: influence of motor competencies?

PubMed

Bidet-Ildei, Christel; Orliaguet, Jean-Pierre

2008-07-25

This paper investigates the influence of motor competencies for the visual perception of human movements in 6-10 years old children. To this end, we compared the kinematics of actual performed and perceptual preferred handwriting movements. The two children's tasks were (1) to write the letter e on a digitizer (handwriting task) and (2) to adjust the velocity of an e displayed on a screen so that it would correspond to "their preferred velocity" (perceptive task). In both tasks, the size of the letter (from 3.4 to 54.02 cm) was different on each trial. Results showed that irrespective of age and task, total movement time conforms to the isochrony principle, i.e., the tendency to maintain constant the duration of movement across changes of amplitude. However, concerning movement speed, there is no developmental correspondence between results obtained in the motor and the perceptive tasks. In handwriting task, movement time decreased with age but no effect of age was observed in the perceptive task. Therefore, perceptual preference of handwriting movement in children could not be strictly interpreted in terms of motor-perceptual coupling.

Electrophysiological study of the basal temporal language area: a convergence zone between language perception and production networks.

PubMed

Trébuchon-Da Fonseca, Agnès; Bénar, Christian-G; Bartoloméi, Fabrice; Régis, Jean; Démonet, Jean-François; Chauvel, Patrick; Liégeois-Chauvel, Catherine

2009-03-01

Regions involved in language processing have been observed in the inferior part of the left temporal lobe. Although collectively labelled 'the Basal Temporal Language Area' (BTLA), these territories are functionally heterogeneous and are involved in language perception (i.e. reading or semantic task) or language production (speech arrest after stimulation). The objective of this study was to clarify the role of BTLA in the language network in an epileptic patient who displayed jargonaphasia. Intracerebral evoked related potentials to verbal and non-verbal stimuli in auditory and visual modalities were recorded from BTLA. Time-frequency analysis was performed during ictal events. Evoked potentials and induced gamma-band activity provided direct evidence that BTLA is sensitive to language stimuli in both modalities, 350 ms after stimulation. In addition, spontaneous gamma-band discharges were recorded from this region during which we observed phonological jargon. The findings emphasize the multimodal nature of this region in speech perception. In the context of transient dysfunction, the patient's lexical semantic processing network is disrupted, reducing spoken output to meaningless phoneme combinations. This rare opportunity to study the BTLA "in vivo" demonstrates its pivotal role in lexico-semantic processing for speech production and its multimodal nature in speech perception.

Visual tuning and metrical perception of realistic point-light dance movements

PubMed Central

Su, Yi-Huang

2016-01-01

Humans move to music spontaneously, and this sensorimotor coupling underlies musical rhythm perception. The present research proposed that, based on common action representation, different metrical levels as in auditory rhythms could emerge visually when observing structured dance movements. Participants watched a point-light figure performing basic steps of Swing dance cyclically in different tempi, whereby the trunk bounced vertically at every beat and the limbs moved laterally at every second beat, yielding two possible metrical periodicities. In Experiment 1, participants freely identified a tempo of the movement and tapped along. While some observers only tuned to the bounce and some only to the limbs, the majority tuned to one level or the other depending on the movement tempo, which was also associated with individuals’ preferred tempo. In Experiment 2, participants reproduced the tempo of leg movements by four regular taps, and showed a slower perceived leg tempo with than without the trunk bouncing simultaneously in the stimuli. This mirrors previous findings of an auditory ‘subdivision effect’, suggesting the leg movements were perceived as beat while the bounce as subdivisions. Together these results support visual metrical perception of dance movements, which may employ similar action-based mechanisms to those underpinning auditory rhythm perception. PMID:26947252

A Tale of Two Features: Perception of Cantonese Lexical Tone and English Lexical Stress in Cantonese-English Bilinguals.

PubMed

Tong, Xiuli; Lee, Stephen Man Kit; Lee, Meg Mei Ling; Burnham, Denis

2015-01-01

This study investigated the similarities and differences in perception of Cantonese tones and English stress patterns by Cantonese-English bilingual children, adults, and English monolingual adults. All three groups were asked to discriminate pairs of syllables that minimally differed in either Cantonese tone or in English stress. Bilingual children's performance on tone perception was comparable to their performance on stress perception. By contrast, bilingual adults' performance on tone perception was lower than their performance on stress perception, and there was a similar pattern in English monolingual adults. Bilingual adults tended to perform better than English monolingual adults on both the tone and stress perception tests. A significant correlation between tone perception and stress perception performance was found in bilingual children but not in bilingual adults. All three groups showed lower accuracy in the high rising-low rising contrast than any of the other 14 Cantonese tone contrasts. The acoustic analyses revealed that average F0, F0 onset, and F0 major slope were the critical acoustic correlates of Cantonese tones, whereas multiple acoustic correlates were salient in English stress, including average F0, spectral balance, duration and intensity. We argue that participants' difficulty in perceiving high rising-low rising contrasts originated from the contrasts' similarities in F0 onset and average F0; indeed the difference between their major slopes was the only cue with which to distinguish them. Acoustic-perceptual correlation analyses showed that although the average F0 and F0 onset were associated with tone perception performance in all three groups, F0 major slope was only associated with tone perception in the bilingual adult group. These results support a dynamic interactive account of suprasegmental speech perception by emphasizing the positive prosodic transfer between Cantonese tone and English stress, and the role that level of bilingual language experience and age play in shaping suprasegmental speech perception.

A Tale of Two Features: Perception of Cantonese Lexical Tone and English Lexical Stress in Cantonese-English Bilinguals

PubMed Central

Tong, Xiuli; Burnham, Denis

2015-01-01

This study investigated the similarities and differences in perception of Cantonese tones and English stress patterns by Cantonese-English bilingual children, adults, and English monolingual adults. All three groups were asked to discriminate pairs of syllables that minimally differed in either Cantonese tone or in English stress. Bilingual children’s performance on tone perception was comparable to their performance on stress perception. By contrast, bilingual adults’ performance on tone perception was lower than their performance on stress perception, and there was a similar pattern in English monolingual adults. Bilingual adults tended to perform better than English monolingual adults on both the tone and stress perception tests. A significant correlation between tone perception and stress perception performance was found in bilingual children but not in bilingual adults. All three groups showed lower accuracy in the high rising-low rising contrast than any of the other 14 Cantonese tone contrasts. The acoustic analyses revealed that average F0, F0 onset, and F0 major slope were the critical acoustic correlates of Cantonese tones, whereas multiple acoustic correlates were salient in English stress, including average F0, spectral balance, duration and intensity. We argue that participants’ difficulty in perceiving high rising-low rising contrasts originated from the contrasts’ similarities in F0 onset and average F0; indeed the difference between their major slopes was the only cue with which to distinguish them. Acoustic-perceptual correlation analyses showed that although the average F0 and F0 onset were associated with tone perception performance in all three groups, F0 major slope was only associated with tone perception in the bilingual adult group. These results support a dynamic interactive account of suprasegmental speech perception by emphasizing the positive prosodic transfer between Cantonese tone and English stress, and the role that level of bilingual language experience and age play in shaping suprasegmental speech perception. PMID:26606073

A Study of Michigan State University Undergraduate Music Performance Students' Perceptions of Their Experiences and Their Place in the University Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vatne, Stacy Jennifer

2010-01-01

The purpose of my study was to understand undergraduate music performance students' perceptions of their experiences as music performance majors and to assess music student positionality. Music student positionality, music students' perceptions of their place in the university setting, involves music majors' perceptions of their relationships to…

Water-based aerobic and combined training in elderly women: Effects on functional capacity and quality of life.

PubMed

Silva, Mariana Ribeiro; Alberton, Cristine Lima; Portella, Elisa Gouvêa; Nunes, Gabriela Neves; Martin, Daniela Gomez; Pinto, Stephanie Santana

2018-06-01

This study aimed to investigate the effects of two water-based training programs (aerobic and combined) and a non-periodized physical activity program on functional capacity and quality of life (QoL) of elderly women. Forty-one elderly female volunteers (65 ± 4 years) were divided into three groups: aerobic training group (WBA, n = 13), combined training (sequence: resistance/aerobic; WBC; n = 11) and a control group of non-periodized physical activity program (CG, n = 9). The participants performed the water-based trainings twice a week for 12 weeks. The resistance training sets were performed at maximal effort and the aerobic training was performed in the percentage of the heart rate corresponding to the anaerobic threshold (85-110%) determined in an aquatic progressive test. Assessments of QoL perception (WHOQOL-BREF) and functional tests 30-Second Chair Stand, 6-Minute Walk and 8-Foot Up-and-go were performed before and after training. The data were analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE), and Bonferroni post-hoc test (α = 0.05). In CG, QoL perception in the physical domain decreased (12 ± 10%) and there was no difference in the other domains. On the other hand, QoL perception was significantly increased in the water-based training groups after the training period in the physical (WBC: 13 ± 16%), psychological (WBA: 9 ± 16%; WBC: 10 ± 11%), social relationships (WBA: 19 ± 42%; WBC: 16 ± 21%) and environmental (WBA: 10 ± 17%; WBC: 16 ± 28%) domains and overall QoL (WBA: 17 ± 22%). No significant difference was observed in the physical domain for WBA and in the overall for WBC. Significant improvements were observed for all groups in the functional tests 30-Second Chair Stand (WBA: 32 ± 11%; WBC: 24 ± 14%; CG: 20 ± 9), 6-Minute Walk (WBA: 10 ± 7%; WBC: 7 ± 6%; CG: 7 ± 5%) and 8-Foot Up-and-go (WBA: 11 ± 5%; WBC: 10 ± 9%; CG: 10 ± 6%). Based on the results observed in this study, it can be concluded that both water-based trainings (aerobic and combined) are effective in improving functional capacity and QoL perception of elderly women. Although non-periodized physical activities seem to be sufficient to positively modify the functional capacity of this population, they are not efficient in improving QoL perception. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teachers' Perception on Pay-for-Performance Programs in Georgia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mighty, Nardiann Kenisha

2013-01-01

States are implementing performance programs to help reform compensation systems for teachers; however, little is known on teachers' perception on alternative pay plans. Accordingly, this research study examined the types of pay-for-performance programs Georgia teachers prefer by exploring their perceptions of pay for individual performance, pay…

Aging and the perception of 3-D shape from dynamic patterns of binocular disparity.

PubMed

Norman, J Farley; Crabtree, Charles E; Herrmann, Molly; Thompson, Sarah R; Shular, Cassandra F; Clayton, Anna Marie

2006-01-01

In two experiments, we investigated the ability of younger and older observers to perceive and discriminate 3-D shape from static and dynamic patterns of binocular disparity. In both experiments, the younger observers' discrimination accuracies were 20% higher than those of the older observers. Despite this quantitative difference, in all other respects the older observers performed similarly to the younger observers. Both age groups were similarly affected by changes in the magnitude of binocular disparity, by reductions in binocular correspondence, and by increases in the speed of stereoscopic motion. In addition, observers in both age groups exhibited an advantage in performance for dynamic stereograms when the patterns of binocular disparity contained significant amounts of correspondence "noise." The process of aging does affect stereopsis, but the effects are quantitative rather than qualitative.

Auditory Pitch Perception in Autism Spectrum Disorder Is Associated With Nonverbal Abilities.

PubMed

Chowdhury, Rakhee; Sharda, Megha; Foster, Nicholas E V; Germain, Esther; Tryfon, Ana; Doyle-Thomas, Krissy; Anagnostou, Evdokia; Hyde, Krista L

2017-11-01

Atypical sensory perception and heterogeneous cognitive profiles are common features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, previous findings on auditory sensory processing in ASD are mixed. Accordingly, auditory perception and its relation to cognitive abilities in ASD remain poorly understood. Here, children with ASD, and age- and intelligence quotient (IQ)-matched typically developing children, were tested on a low- and a higher level pitch processing task. Verbal and nonverbal cognitive abilities were measured using the Wechsler's Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. There were no group differences in performance on either auditory task or IQ measure. However, there was significant variability in performance on the auditory tasks in both groups that was predicted by nonverbal, not verbal skills. These results suggest that auditory perception is related to nonverbal reasoning rather than verbal abilities in ASD and typically developing children. In addition, these findings provide evidence for preserved pitch processing in school-age children with ASD with average IQ, supporting the idea that there may be a subgroup of individuals with ASD that do not present perceptual or cognitive difficulties. Future directions involve examining whether similar perceptual-cognitive relationships might be observed in a broader sample of individuals with ASD, such as those with language impairment or lower IQ.

Relationships between maturity status, physical activity, and physical self-perceptions in primary school children.

PubMed

Fairclough, Stuart J; Ridgers, Nicola D

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of maturity status on primary school children's physical activity and physical self-perceptions. Altogether, 175 children (97 girls, 78 boys) aged 10.6 +/- 0.3 years completed the Children and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile and wore an ActiGraph accelerometer for five consecutive days to assess moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Anthropometric measures were completed to estimate maturity status. A two-level, multi-level analysis was used to assess the influence of maturity status on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and physical self-perceptions. Boys performed more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity than girls (P < 0.0001), but when the effect of maturity status was controlled the difference was reduced (P = 0.02). Significant differences between the sexes were also observed for physical self-perception sub-domains (boys > girls, P = 0.02 to 0.0001). When maturity status was added to the model, significant differences were no longer apparent for each sub-domain, with the exception of perceived strength. Significant interactions between gender and maturity status revealed that boys' physical self-perceptions improved with more advanced maturity status, whereas girls' self-perceptions decreased (P = 0.07 to 0.002). Significant differences between the sexes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and some domains of physical self-perceptions were reduced or no longer evident when the effect of maturity status was controlled. Maturity status may differentially influence boys' and girls' physical self-perceptions.

Rural Nevada and climate change: vulnerability, beliefs, and risk perception.

PubMed

Safi, Ahmad Saleh; Smith, William James; Liu, Zhnongwei

2012-06-01

In this article, we present the results of a study investigating the influence of vulnerability to climate change as a function of physical vulnerability, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity on climate change risk perception. In 2008/2009, we surveyed Nevada ranchers and farmers to assess their climate change-related beliefs, and risk perceptions, political orientations, and socioeconomic characteristics. Ranchers' and farmers' sensitivity to climate change was measured through estimating the proportion of their household income originating from highly scarce water-dependent agriculture to the total income. Adaptive capacity was measured as a combination of the Social Status Index and the Poverty Index. Utilizing water availability and use, and population distribution GIS databases; we assessed water resource vulnerability in Nevada by zip code as an indicator of physical vulnerability to climate change. We performed correlation tests and multiple regression analyses to examine the impact of vulnerability and its three distinct components on risk perception. We find that vulnerability is not a significant determinant of risk perception. Physical vulnerability alone also does not impact risk perception. Both sensitivity and adaptive capacity increase risk perception. While age is not a significant determinant of it, gender plays an important role in shaping risk perception. Yet, general beliefs such as political orientations and climate change-specific beliefs such as believing in the anthropogenic causes of climate change and connecting the locally observed impacts (in this case drought) to climate change are the most prominent determinants of risk perception. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

Assessing the value of diagnostic imaging: the role of perception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potchen, E. J.; Cooper, Thomas G.

2000-04-01

The value of diagnostic radiology rests in its ability to provide information. Information is defined as a reduction in randomness. Quality improvement in any system requires diminution in the variation in its performance. The major variation in performance of the system of diagnostic radiology occurs in observer performance and in the communication of information from the observer to someone who will apply that information to the benefit of the patient. The ability to provide information can be determined by observer performance studies using a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The amount of information provided by each observer can be measured in terms of the uncertainty they reduce. Using a set of standardized radiographs, some normal and some abnormal, sorting them randomly, and then asking an observer to redistribute them according to their probability of normality can measure the difference in the value added by different observers. By applying this observer performance measure, we have been able to characterize individual radiologists, groups of radiologists, and regions of the United States in their ability to add value in chest radiology. The use of these technologies in health care may improve upon the contribution of diagnostic imaging.

A comparison of haptic material perception in blind and sighted individuals.

PubMed

Baumgartner, Elisabeth; Wiebel, Christiane B; Gegenfurtner, Karl R

2015-10-01

We investigated material perception in blind participants to explore the influence of visual experience on material representations and the relationship between visual and haptic material perception. In a previous study with sighted participants, we had found participants' visual and haptic judgments of material properties to be very similar (Baumgartner, Wiebel, & Gegenfurtner, 2013). In a categorization task, however, visual exploration had led to higher categorization accuracy than haptic exploration. Here, we asked congenitally blind participants to explore different materials haptically and rate several material properties in order to assess the role of the visual sense for the emergence of haptic material perception. Principal components analyses combined with a procrustes superimposition showed that the material representations of blind and blindfolded sighted participants were highly similar. We also measured haptic categorization performance, which was equal for the two groups. We conclude that haptic material representations can emerge independently of visual experience, and that there are no advantages for either group of observers in haptic categorization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural correlates of coherent and biological motion perception in autism.

PubMed

Koldewyn, Kami; Whitney, David; Rivera, Susan M

2011-09-01

Recent evidence suggests those with autism may be generally impaired in visual motion perception. To examine this, we investigated both coherent and biological motion processing in adolescents with autism employing both psychophysical and fMRI methods. Those with autism performed as well as matched controls during coherent motion perception but had significantly higher thresholds for biological motion perception. The autism group showed reduced posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus (pSTS), parietal and frontal activity during a biological motion task while showing similar levels of activity in MT+/V5 during both coherent and biological motion trials. Activity in MT+/V5 was predictive of individual coherent motion thresholds in both groups. Activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and pSTS was predictive of biological motion thresholds in control participants but not in those with autism. Notably, however, activity in DLPFC was negatively related to autism symptom severity. These results suggest that impairments in higher-order social or attentional networks may underlie visual motion deficits observed in autism. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Neural correlates of coherent and biological motion perception in autism

PubMed Central

Koldewyn, Kami; Whitney, David; Rivera, Susan M.

2011-01-01

Recent evidence suggests those with autism may be generally impaired in visual motion perception. To examine this, we investigated both coherent and biological motion processing in adolescents with autism employing both psychophysical and fMRI methods. Those with autism performed as well as matched controls during coherent motion perception but had significantly higher thresholds for biological motion perception. The autism group showed reduced posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus (pSTS), parietal and frontal activity during a biological motion task while showing similar levels of activity in MT+/V5 during both coherent and biological motion trials. Activity in MT+/V5 was predictive of individual coherent motion thresholds in both groups. Activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and pSTS was predictive of biological motion thresholds in control participants but not in those with autism. Notably, however, activity in DLPFC was negatively related to autism symptom severity. These results suggest that impairments in higher-order social or attentional networks may underlie visual motion deficits observed in autism. PMID:21884323

Perceptions of competence, implicit theory of ability, perception of motivational climate, and achievement goals: a test of the trichotomous conceptualization of endorsement of achievement motivation in the physical education setting.

PubMed

Cury, F; Da Fonséca, D; Rufo, M; Sarrazin, P

2002-08-01

To test and extend the conceptualization of the endorsement of achievement goals in the physical education setting Mastery, Performance-approach, and Performance-approach goals, Perception of the physical education competence, Implicit theory about sport ability, and Perception of the motivational climate were assessed among 682 boys attending five French schools. Analysis indicated that (1) Performance-approach goals were positively associated with perception of physical education Competence, Entity beliefs about sport ability, the Performance dimension of the motivational climate, and negatively associated with Incremental beliefs about sport ability. (2) Mastery goals were positively associated with perception of physical education Competence, Incremental beliefs about sport ability, the Mastery dimension of the motivational climate, and negatively associated with the Performance dimension of the motivational climate. Also, (3) Performance-avoidance goals were positively associated with Entity beliefs about sport ability and the Performance dimension of the motivational climate; these goals were negatively associated with Incremental beliefs about sport ability and perception of physical education Competence. These results clearly attested to the validity of the trichotomous model in the physical education setting.

The Role of Native-Language Knowledge in the Perception of Casual Speech in a Second Language

PubMed Central

Mitterer, Holger; Tuinman, Annelie

2012-01-01

Casual speech processes, such as /t/-reduction, make word recognition harder. Additionally, word recognition is also harder in a second language (L2). Combining these challenges, we investigated whether L2 learners have recourse to knowledge from their native language (L1) when dealing with casual speech processes in their L2. In three experiments, production and perception of /t/-reduction was investigated. An initial production experiment showed that /t/-reduction occurred in both languages and patterned similarly in proper nouns but differed when /t/ was a verbal inflection. Two perception experiments compared the performance of German learners of Dutch with that of native speakers for nouns and verbs. Mirroring the production patterns, German learners’ performance strongly resembled that of native Dutch listeners when the reduced /t/ was part of a word stem, but deviated where /t/ was a verbal inflection. These results suggest that a casual speech process in a second language is problematic for learners when the process is not known from the leaner’s native language, similar to what has been observed for phoneme contrasts. PMID:22811675

Shared decision-making in older patients with colorectal or pancreatic cancer: Determinants of patients' and observers' perceptions.

PubMed

Geessink, Noralie H; Ofstad, Eirik H; Olde Rikkert, Marcel G M; van Goor, Harry; Kasper, Jürgen; Schoon, Yvonne

2018-06-13

To identify determinants of older patients' perceptions of involvement in decision-making on colorectal (CRC) or pancreatic cancer (PC) treatment, and to compare these with determinants of observers' perceptions. Patients' perceptions of involvement were constructed by the 9-item SDM questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) and a Visual Analogue Scale for Involvement (VAS-I). Observers' perceptions were constructed by the OPTION5, OPTION12, and MAPPIN'SDM. Convergent validities were calculated between the patient-sided and observer instruments using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Linear regression was used to identify determinants per criterion. 58 CRC and 22 PC patients were included (mean age: 71.8 ± 5.2 years, 45.0% female). No significant correlations were found between the patient-sided and observer instruments. Patients' impression of involvement was influenced by patient characteristics such as quality of life and satisfaction, while observers' perceptions mainly referred to encounter characteristics such as the mean duration of consultations and general communication skills. Due to evident differences in determinants, older CRC/PC patients' and observers' perceptions of involvement should both be collected in evaluating the quality of medical decision-making. General communication skills should be integrated in SDM training interventions. New SDM measurement tools for patients are needed to sufficiently discriminate between the constructs of involvement and satisfaction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Taiwan's Ban on Corporal Punishment--Teachers' Perceptions of Impact and Meanings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiang, Yi-Ching

2009-01-01

Corporal punishment was long used in Taiwanese schools as an informal disciplinary tool for improving students' academic performance as well as for disciplinary violations. Based on thirty-five interviews and three school activity observations across a nationwide sample of junior high teachers and schools, this study examines the impact of…

Sensory Sensitivities and Performance on Sensory Perceptual Tasks in High-Functioning Individuals with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minshew, Nancy J.; Hobson, Jessica A.

2008-01-01

Most reports of sensory symptoms in autism are second hand or observational, and there is little evidence of a neurological basis. Sixty individuals with high-functioning autism and 61 matched typical participants were administered a sensory questionnaire and neuropsychological tests of elementary and higher cortical sensory perception. Thirty-two…

Weight Perception, Academic Performance, and Psychological Factors in Chinese Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xie, Bin; Chou, Chih-Ping; Spruijt-Metz, Donna; Reynolds, Kim; Clark, Florence; Palmer, Paula H.; Gallaher, Peggy; Sun, Ping; Guo, Qian; Johnson, C. Anderson

2006-01-01

Objective: To investigate weight perception and related psychological factors in Chinese adolescents. Methods: A questionnaire on weight perception, academic performance, stress, hostility, and depression was completed by 6863 middle and high school students. Weight and height were measured. Results: Overweight perception was related to…

Visual acuity in young elite motorsport athletes: a preliminary report.

PubMed

Schneiders, Anthony G; Sullivan, S John; Rathbone, Emma J; Louise Thayer, A; Wallis, Laura M; Wilson, Alexandra E

2010-05-01

To determine whether elite motorsport athletes demonstrate superior levels of Visual Acuity than age and sex-matched controls. A cross-sectional observational study. A University vision and balance laboratory. Young male motorsport athletes from the New Zealand Elite Motorsport Academy and healthy age and sex-matched controls. Vision performance tests comprising; Static Visual Acuity (SVA), Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA), Gaze Stabilization Test (GST), and the Perception Time Test (PTT). Motorsport athletes demonstrated superior visual acuity compared to age and sex-matched controls for all measures, and while this was not statistically significant for SVA, GST and DVA, it reached statistical significance for the PTT (p

Home health care nurses' perceptions of empowerment.

PubMed

Williamson, Kathleen M

2007-01-01

This exploratory study involved the triangulation of qualitative (interview and observation) and quantitative methods (Psychological Empowerment Instrument). This study examined the individual home care nurses' perception of empowerment and how it influences decisions in the home clinical setting. Fifteen nurses were self-selected to participate. All completed an interview, and were observed and given Likert Instrument to complete. A framework analysis was performed to identify mutually exclusive and exhaustive emergent themes and patterns within the data. Home care nurses described that enpowerment is in the interaction between nurse and patient, and nurse and health care provider. Empowered is defined as being independent, confident, trusting, and comfortable with providing quality care. Home health care nurses believe that having the ability to practice collaboratively and build professional relationships was essential. Nurses in this study perceived empowerment as having meaning, choice, and competence in their job.

Do Visually Impaired People Develop Superior Smell Ability?

PubMed

Majchrzak, Dorota; Eberhard, Julia; Kalaus, Barbara; Wagner, Karl-Heinz

2017-10-01

It is well known that visually impaired people perform better in orientation by sound than sighted individuals, but it is not clear whether this enhanced awareness also extends to other senses. Therefore, the aim of this study was to observe whether visually impaired subjects develop superior abilities in olfactory perception to compensate for their lack of vision. We investigated the odor perception of visually impaired individuals aged 7 to 89 ( n = 99; 52 women, 47 men) and compared them with subjects of a control group aged 8 to 82 years ( n = 100; 45 women, 55 men) without any visual impairment. The participants were evaluated by Sniffin' Sticks odor identification and discrimination test. Identification ability was assessed for 16 common odors presented in felt-tip pens. In the odor discrimination task, subjects had to determine which of three pens in 16 triplets had a different odor. The median number of correctly identified odorant pens in both groups was the same, 13 of the offered 16. In the discrimination test, there was also no significant difference observed. Gender did not influence results. Age-related changes were observed in both groups with olfactory perception decreasing after the age of 51. We could not confirm that visually impaired people were better in smell identification and discrimination ability than sighted individuals.

The first impression is what matters: a neuroaesthetic study of the cerebral perception and appreciation of paintings by Titian.

PubMed

Babiloni, Francesca; Rossi, Dario; Cherubino, Patrizia; Trettel, Arianna; Picconi, Daniela; Maglione, Anton Giulio; Vecchiato, Giovanni; de Vico Fallani, Fabrizio; Chavez, Mario; Babiloni, Fabio

2015-08-01

In this paper we measured the neuroelectrical and the eye-movements activities in a group of 27 healthy subjects during their visit of a fine arts gallery in which a series of masterpieces of the Italian painter Tiziano Vecellio (also known as Titian, 1488-1576) were shown. The pictures chosen for the visit were 10 portraits and 10 of religious subjects. Each picture was observed for a minute. A mobile EEG device with an eye-tracker was used for this experiment. Evaluation of the appreciation of the pictures was performed by using the neuroelectrical approach-withdrawal index (AW). High value of AW means high appreciation of the picture. The number of eye fixations performed by the subjects during the observation of the pictures was also analyzed. Results showed that in the examined group the AW index was significant higher during the observation of portraits than during the observation of the religious subjects (as resulted from an ANOVA performed on AW index, with a p<;0,007). Interestingly, the average AW index estimated in the first 20 seconds of the observation of the pictures remains highly correlated with the AW index evaluated for the second part of the data (from 20 s to one minute) for all the 20 pictures examined (r = 0,82, p<;0,0001). In addition, the number of eye fixations performed by the subjects in the first 5 or 10 seconds of observation of the pictures that were most appreciated are significantly higher than the number of eye fixations performed on pictures that subjects did not like (p<;0,048 and p<;0,0018, respectively). Such difference vanishes if the entire period of observation of the pictures of one minute is used (p = 0,54). Taken together, such results seem to suggest that the neuroelectrical correlates of the perception of "good" or "bad" pictures are rapidly formed in our brain, within the first 10-20 seconds from the exposition to the picture.

Individual perception of recovery is related to subsequent sprint performance.

PubMed

Cook, Christian J; Beaven, Chris Martyn

2013-07-01

Training recovery is vital for adaptation and performance, and to avoid cumulative fatigue and symptoms associated with overtraining. The use of cold-water immersion (CWI) as a recovery strategy is common; however, the physiological and biochemical rationale behind its use remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the relationship between body temperature responses to water immersion and individual perception of recovery, with subsequent exercise performance. Twelve male rugby players participated in a 3-week cross-over trial where an intense 60 min conditioning session was followed immediately by 15 min of either 14°C CWI, 30°C warm-water immersion (WWI) or passive control (CON) recovery intervention. Postexercise body temperatures and subjective ratings of the recovery intervention were recorded and subsequently related to performance in a 5×40 m repeated sprint protocol undertaken 24 h later. CWI induced large reductions in core body temperature postimmersion (effect size (ES) range 1.05-3.21) and improved subsequent sprint performance compared to WWI (ES 1.04±0.84) and CON (ES 1.44±0.84). Both the degree of temperature decrease at 60 min postimmersion (r=0.6948; p=0.0121) and the subjective rating of the recovery intervention (r=0.5886; p=0.0441) were related to subsequent sprint performance. A very strong linear correlation was observed when these two factors were integrated (r=0.7743; p=0.0031). A combination of physiological and psychological indices provides an improved indication of subsequent performance and suggests an important role of individual perception in enhancing training recovery.

Identifying positively deviant elderly medical wards using routinely collected NHS Safety Thermometer data: an observational study.

PubMed

Baxter, Ruth; Taylor, Natalie; Kellar, Ian; Pye, Victoria; Mohammed, Mohammed A; Lawton, Rebecca

2018-02-16

The positive deviance approach seeks to identify and learn from exceptional performers. Although a framework exists to apply positive deviance within healthcare organisations, there is limited guidance to support its implementation. The approach has also rarely explored exceptional performance on broad outcomes, been implemented at ward level, or applied within the UK. This study develops and critically appraises a pragmatic method for identifying positively deviant wards using a routinely collected, broad measure of patient safety. A two-phased observational study was conducted. During phase 1, cross-sectional and temporal analyses of Safety Thermometer data were conducted to identify a discrete group of positively deviant wards that consistently demonstrated exceptional levels of safety. A group of matched comparison wards with above average performances were also identified. During phase 2, multidisciplinary staff and patients on the positively deviant and comparison wards completed surveys to explore whether their perceptions of safety supported the identification of positively deviant wards. 34 elderly medical wards within a northern region of England, UK. Multidisciplinary staff (n=161) and patients (n=188) clustered within nine positively deviant and comparison wards. Phase 1: A combination of analyses identified five positively deviant wards that performed best in the region, outperformed their organisation and performed consistently well over 12 months. Five above average matched comparator wards were also identified. Phase 2: Staff and patient perceptions of safety generally supported the identification of positively deviant wards using Safety Thermometer data, although patient perceptions of safety were less concordant with the routinely collected data. This study tentatively supports a pragmatic method of using routinely collected data to identify positively deviant elderly medical wards; however, it also highlights the various challenges that are faced when conducting the first stage of the positive deviance approach. UK Clinical Research Network Portfolio (reference-18050). © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Identifying positively deviant elderly medical wards using routinely collected NHS Safety Thermometer data: an observational study

PubMed Central

Taylor, Natalie; Kellar, Ian; Pye, Victoria; Mohammed, Mohammed A; Lawton, Rebecca

2018-01-01

Objective The positive deviance approach seeks to identify and learn from exceptional performers. Although a framework exists to apply positive deviance within healthcare organisations, there is limited guidance to support its implementation. The approach has also rarely explored exceptional performance on broad outcomes, been implemented at ward level, or applied within the UK. This study develops and critically appraises a pragmatic method for identifying positively deviant wards using a routinely collected, broad measure of patient safety. Design A two-phased observational study was conducted. During phase 1, cross-sectional and temporal analyses of Safety Thermometer data were conducted to identify a discrete group of positively deviant wards that consistently demonstrated exceptional levels of safety. A group of matched comparison wards with above average performances were also identified. During phase 2, multidisciplinary staff and patients on the positively deviant and comparison wards completed surveys to explore whether their perceptions of safety supported the identification of positively deviant wards. Setting 34 elderly medical wards within a northern region of England, UK. Participants Multidisciplinary staff (n=161) and patients (n=188) clustered within nine positively deviant and comparison wards. Results Phase 1: A combination of analyses identified five positively deviant wards that performed best in the region, outperformed their organisation and performed consistently well over 12 months. Five above average matched comparator wards were also identified. Phase 2: Staff and patient perceptions of safety generally supported the identification of positively deviant wards using Safety Thermometer data, although patient perceptions of safety were less concordant with the routinely collected data. Conclusions This study tentatively supports a pragmatic method of using routinely collected data to identify positively deviant elderly medical wards; however, it also highlights the various challenges that are faced when conducting the first stage of the positive deviance approach. Trial registration number UK Clinical Research Network Portfolio (reference-18050). PMID:29453303

Effect of Parkinson Disease on Emotion Perception Using the Persian Affective Voices Test.

PubMed

Saffarian, Arezoo; Shavaki, Yunes Amiri; Shahidi, Gholam Ali; Jafari, Zahra

2018-05-04

Emotion perception plays a major role in proper communication with people in different social interactions. Nonverbal affect bursts can be used to evaluate vocal emotion perception. The present study was a preliminary step to establishing the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Montreal Affective Voices (MAV) test, as well as to investigate the effect of Parkinson disease (PD) on vocal emotion perception. The short, emotional sound made by pronouncing the vowel "a" in Persian was recorded by 22 actors and actresses to develop the Persian version of the MAV, the Persian Affective Voices (PAV), for emotions of happiness, sadness, pleasure, pain, anger, disgust, fear, surprise, and neutrality. The results of the recordings of five of the actresses and five of the actors who obtained the highest score were used to generate the test. For convergent validity assessment, the correlation between the PAV and a speech prosody comprehension test was examined using a gender- and age-matched control group. To investigate the effect of the PD on emotion perception, the PAV test was performed on 28 patients with mild PD between ages 50 and 70 years. The PAV showed a high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.80). A significant positive correlation was observed between the PAV and the speech prosody comprehension test. The test-retest reliability also showed the high repeatability of the PAV (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.815, P ≤ 0.001). A significant difference was observed between the patients with PD and the controls in all subtests. The PAV test is a useful psychometric tool for examining vocal emotion perception that can be used in both behavioral and neuroimaging studies. Copyright © 2018 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modality-specific selective attention attenuates multisensory integration.

PubMed

Mozolic, Jennifer L; Hugenschmidt, Christina E; Peiffer, Ann M; Laurienti, Paul J

2008-01-01

Stimuli occurring in multiple sensory modalities that are temporally synchronous or spatially coincident can be integrated together to enhance perception. Additionally, the semantic content or meaning of a stimulus can influence cross-modal interactions, improving task performance when these stimuli convey semantically congruent or matching information, but impairing performance when they contain non-matching or distracting information. Attention is one mechanism that is known to alter processing of sensory stimuli by enhancing perception of task-relevant information and suppressing perception of task-irrelevant stimuli. It is not known, however, to what extent attention to a single sensory modality can minimize the impact of stimuli in the unattended sensory modality and reduce the integration of stimuli across multiple sensory modalities. Our hypothesis was that modality-specific selective attention would limit processing of stimuli in the unattended sensory modality, resulting in a reduction of performance enhancements produced by semantically matching multisensory stimuli, and a reduction in performance decrements produced by semantically non-matching multisensory stimuli. The results from two experiments utilizing a cued discrimination task demonstrate that selective attention to a single sensory modality prevents the integration of matching multisensory stimuli that is normally observed when attention is divided between sensory modalities. Attention did not reliably alter the amount of distraction caused by non-matching multisensory stimuli on this task; however, these findings highlight a critical role for modality-specific selective attention in modulating multisensory integration.

Spatial perception predicts laparoscopic skills on virtual reality laparoscopy simulator.

PubMed

Hassan, I; Gerdes, B; Koller, M; Dick, B; Hellwig, D; Rothmund, M; Zielke, A

2007-06-01

This study evaluates the influence of visual-spatial perception on laparoscopic performance of novices with a virtual reality simulator (LapSim(R)). Twenty-four novices completed standardized tests of visual-spatial perception (Lameris Toegepaste Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek [TNO] Test(R) and Stumpf-Fay Cube Perspectives Test(R)) and laparoscopic skills were assessed objectively, while performing 1-h practice sessions on the LapSim(R), comprising of coordination, cutting, and clip application tasks. Outcome variables included time to complete the tasks, economy of motion as well as total error scores, respectively. The degree of visual-spatial perception correlated significantly with laparoscopic performance on the LapSim(R) scores. Participants with a high degree of spatial perception (Group A) performed the tasks faster than those (Group B) who had a low degree of spatial perception (p = 0.001). Individuals with a high degree of spatial perception also scored better for economy of motion (p = 0.021), tissue damage (p = 0.009), and total error (p = 0.007). Among novices, visual-spatial perception is associated with manual skills performed on a virtual reality simulator. This result may be important for educators to develop adequate training programs that can be individually adapted.

Some Effects of Training on the Perception of Synthetic Speech

PubMed Central

Schwab, Eileen C.; Nusbaum, Howard C.; Pisoni, David B.

2012-01-01

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of training on the perception of synthetic speech. Three groups of subjects were tested with synthetic speech using the same tasks before and after training. One group was trained with synthetic speech. A second group went through the identical training procedures using natural speech. The third group received no training. Although performance of the three groups was the same prior to training, significant differences on the post-test measures of word recognition were observed: the group trained with synthetic speech performed much better than the other two groups. A six-month follow-up indicated that the group trained with synthetic speech displayed long-term retention of the knowledge and experience gained with prior exposure to synthetic speech generated by a text-to-speech system. PMID:2936671

An Investigation into Musicians' Thoughts and Perceptions during Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Terry; Lisboa, Tânia; Williamon, Aaron

2014-01-01

Given the current state of understanding surrounding musicians' experiences while performing, this study sought to investigate musicians' thoughts and perceptions during performances and the perceived impact their evaluation of those thoughts and perceptions has on their subsequent musical activities. Twenty-nine student and professional classical…

Observed Workplace Incivility toward Women, Perceptions of Interpersonal Injustice, and Observer Occupational Well-Being: Differential Effects for Gender of the Observer.

PubMed

Miner, Kathi N; Cortina, Lilia M

2016-01-01

The present study examined perceptions of interpersonal injustice as a mediator of the relationship between observed incivility toward women at work and employees' occupational well-being. We also examined gender of the observer as a moderator of these mediational relationships. Using online survey data from 1702 (51% women; 92% White) employees, results showed that perceptions of injustice partially mediated the relationship between observed incivility toward women and job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and organizational trust. Men reported greater perceptions of injustice than did women the more they observed the uncivil treatment of women at work, and the indirect effects of observed incivility toward women on well-being were stronger for men compared to women. Observed incivility toward women also had direct relationships with the occupational well-being outcomes over and above the impact mediated through injustice, particularly for women. Specifically, observing incivility toward female coworkers directly related to lowered job satisfaction and perceptions of safety for female bystanders. In addition, although both male and female bystanders reported heightened turnover intentions and lowered trust in the organization with higher levels of observed incivility toward women, these relationships were stronger for female than male observers. Our findings both replicate and extend past research on vicarious workplace incivility toward women.

Observed Workplace Incivility toward Women, Perceptions of Interpersonal Injustice, and Observer Occupational Well-Being: Differential Effects for Gender of the Observer

PubMed Central

Miner, Kathi N.; Cortina, Lilia M.

2016-01-01

The present study examined perceptions of interpersonal injustice as a mediator of the relationship between observed incivility toward women at work and employees' occupational well-being. We also examined gender of the observer as a moderator of these mediational relationships. Using online survey data from 1702 (51% women; 92% White) employees, results showed that perceptions of injustice partially mediated the relationship between observed incivility toward women and job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and organizational trust. Men reported greater perceptions of injustice than did women the more they observed the uncivil treatment of women at work, and the indirect effects of observed incivility toward women on well-being were stronger for men compared to women. Observed incivility toward women also had direct relationships with the occupational well-being outcomes over and above the impact mediated through injustice, particularly for women. Specifically, observing incivility toward female coworkers directly related to lowered job satisfaction and perceptions of safety for female bystanders. In addition, although both male and female bystanders reported heightened turnover intentions and lowered trust in the organization with higher levels of observed incivility toward women, these relationships were stronger for female than male observers. Our findings both replicate and extend past research on vicarious workplace incivility toward women. PMID:27242558

The potential of pigeons as surrogate observers in medical image perception studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krupinski, Elizabeth A.; Levenson, Richard M.; Navarro, Victor; Wasserman, Edward A.

2016-03-01

Assessment of medical image quality and how changes in image appearance impact performance are critical but assessment can be expensive and time-consuming. Could an animal (pigeon) observer with well-known visual skills and documented ability to distinguish complex visual stimuli serve as a surrogate for the human observer? Using sets of whole slide pathology (WSI) and mammographic images we trained pigeons (cohorts of 4) to detect and/or classify lesions in medical images. Standard training methods were used. A chamber equipped with a 15' display with a resistive touchscreen was used to display the images and record responses (pecks). Pigeon pellets were dispensed for correct responses. The pigeons readily learned to distinguish benign from malignant breast cancer histopathology in WSI (mean % correct responses rose 50% to 85% over 15 days) and generalized readily from 4X to 10X and 20X magnifications; to detect microcalcifications (mean % correct responses rose 50% to over 85% over 25 days); to distinguish benign from malignant breast masses (3 of 4 birds learned this task to around 80% and 60% over 10 days); and ignore compression artifacts in WSI (performance with uncompressed slides averaged 95% correct; 15:1 and 27:1 compression slides averaged 92% and 90% correct). Pigeons models may help us better understand medical image perception and may be useful in quality assessment by serving as surrogate observers for certain types of studies.

The Roles for Prior Visual Experience and Age on the Extraction of Egocentric Distance.

PubMed

Wallin, Courtney P; Gajewski, Daniel A; Teplitz, Rebeca W; Mihelic Jaidzeka, Sandra; Philbeck, John W

2017-01-01

In a well-lit room, observers can generate well-constrained estimates of the distance to an object on the floor even with just a fleeting glimpse. Performance under these conditions is typically characterized by some underestimation but improves when observers have previewed the room. Such evidence suggests that information extracted from longer durations may be stored to contribute to the perception of distance at limited time frames. Here, we examined the possibility that this stored information is used differentially across age. Specifically, we posited that older adults would rely more than younger adults on information gathered and stored at longer glimpses to judge the distance of briefly glimpsed objects. We collected distance judgments from younger and older adults after brief target glimpses. Half of the participants were provided 20-s previews of the testing room in advance; the other half received no preview. Performance benefits were observed for all individuals with prior visual experience, and these were moderately more pronounced for the older adults. The results suggest that observers store contextual information gained from longer viewing durations to aid in the perception of distance at brief glimpses, and that this memory becomes more important with age. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Visual feature integration with an attention deficit.

PubMed

Arguin, M; Cavanagh, P; Joanette, Y

1994-01-01

Treisman's feature integration theory proposes that the perception of illusory conjunctions of correctly encoded visual features is due to the failure of an attentional process. This hypothesis was examined by studying brain-damaged subjects who had previously been shown to have difficulty in attending to contralesional stimulation. These subjects exhibited a massive feature integration deficit for contralesional stimulation relative to ipsilesional displays. In contrast, both normal age-matched controls and brain-damaged subjects who did not exhibit any evidence of an attention deficit showed comparable feature integration performance with left- and right-hemifield stimulation. These observations indicate the crucial function of attention for visual feature integration in normal perception.

Examining the Effect of Age on Visual-Vestibular Self-Motion Perception Using a Driving Paradigm.

PubMed

Ramkhalawansingh, Robert; Keshavarz, Behrang; Haycock, Bruce; Shahab, Saba; Campos, Jennifer L

2017-05-01

Previous psychophysical research has examined how younger adults and non-human primates integrate visual and vestibular cues to perceive self-motion. However, there is much to be learned about how multisensory self-motion perception changes with age, and how these changes affect performance on everyday tasks involving self-motion. Evidence suggests that older adults display heightened multisensory integration compared with younger adults; however, few previous studies have examined this for visual-vestibular integration. To explore age differences in the way that visual and vestibular cues contribute to self-motion perception, we had younger and older participants complete a basic driving task containing visual and vestibular cues. We compared their performance against a previously established control group that experienced visual cues alone. Performance measures included speed, speed variability, and lateral position. Vestibular inputs resulted in more precise speed control among older adults, but not younger adults, when traversing curves. Older adults demonstrated more variability in lateral position when vestibular inputs were available versus when they were absent. These observations align with previous evidence of age-related differences in multisensory integration and demonstrate that they may extend to visual-vestibular integration. These findings may have implications for vehicle and simulator design when considering older users.

Tactile roughness perception in the presence of olfactory and trigeminal stimulants

PubMed Central

Koijck, Lara A.; Van Erp, Jan B.F.

2015-01-01

Previous research has shown that odorants consistently evoke associations with textures and their tactile properties like smoothness and roughness. Also, it has been observed that olfaction can modulate tactile perception. We therefore hypothesized that tactile roughness perception may be biased towards the somatosensory connotation of an ambient odorant. We performed two experiments to test this hypothesis. In the first experiment, we investigated the influence of ambient chemosensory stimuli with different roughness connotations on tactile roughness perception. In addition to a pleasant odor with a connotation of softness (PEA), we also included a trigeminal stimulant with a rough, sharp or prickly connotation (Ethanol). We expected that—compared to a No-odorant control condition—tactile texture perception would be biased towards smoothness in the presence of PEA and towards roughness in the presence of Ethanol. However, our results show no significant interaction between chemosensory stimulation and perceived tactile surface roughness. It could be argued that ambient odors may be less effective in stimulating crossmodal associations, since they are by definition extraneous to the tactile stimuli. In an attempt to optimize the conditions for sensory integration, we therefore performed a second experiment in which the olfactory and tactile stimuli were presented in synchrony and in close spatial proximity. In addition, we included pleasant (Lemon) and unpleasant (Indole) odorants that are known to have the ability to affect tactile perception. We expected that tactile stimuli would be perceived as less rough when simultaneously presented with Lemon or PEA (both associated with softness) than when presented with Ethanol or Indole (odors that can be associated with roughness). Again, we found no significant main effect of chemosensory condition on perceived tactile roughness. We discuss the limitations of this study and we present suggestions for future research. PMID:26020010

[Perceptions of classroom goal structures, personal achievement goal orientations, and learning strategies].

PubMed

Miki, Kaori; Yamauchi, Hirotsugu

2005-08-01

We examined the relations among students' perceptions of classroom goal structures (mastery and performance goal structures), students' achievement goal orientations (mastery, performance, and work-avoidance goals), and learning strategies (deep processing, surface processing and self-handicapping strategies). Participants were 323 5th and 6th grade students in elementary schools. The results from structural equation modeling indicated that perceptions of classroom mastery goal structures were associated with students' mastery goal orientations, which were in turn related positively to the deep processing strategies and academic achievement. Perceptions of classroom performance goal stractures proved associated with work avoidance-goal orientations, which were positively related to the surface processing and self-handicapping strategies. Two types of goal structures had a positive relation with students' performance goal orientations, which had significant positive effects on academic achievement. The results of this study suggest that elementary school students' perceptions of mastery goal structures are related to adaptive patterns of learning more than perceptions of performance goal structures are. The role of perceptions of classroom goal structure in promoting students' goal orientations and learning strategies is discussed.

Selective involvement of superior frontal cortex during working memory for shapes.

PubMed

Yee, Lydia T S; Roe, Katherine; Courtney, Susan M

2010-01-01

A spatial/nonspatial functional dissociation between the dorsal and ventral visual pathways is well established and has formed the basis of domain-specific theories of prefrontal cortex (PFC). Inconsistencies in the literature regarding prefrontal organization, however, have led to questions regarding whether the nature of the dissociations observed in PFC during working memory are equivalent to those observed in the visual pathways for perception. In particular, the dissociation between dorsal and ventral PFC during working memory for locations versus object identities has been clearly present in some studies but not in others, seemingly in part due to the type of objects used. The current study compared functional MRI activation during delayed-recognition tasks for shape or color, two object features considered to be processed by the ventral pathway for perceptual recognition. Activation for the shape-delayed recognition task was greater than that for the color task in the lateral occipital cortex, in agreement with studies of visual perception. Greater memory-delay activity was also observed, however, in the parietal and superior frontal cortices for the shape than for the color task. Activity in superior frontal cortex was associated with better performance on the shape task. Conversely, greater delay activity for color than for shape was observed in the left anterior insula and this activity was associated with better performance on the color task. These results suggest that superior frontal cortex contributes to performance on tasks requiring working memory for object identities, but it represents different information about those objects than does the ventral frontal cortex.

Mapping the Speech Code: Cortical Responses Linking the Perception and Production of Vowels

PubMed Central

Schuerman, William L.; Meyer, Antje S.; McQueen, James M.

2017-01-01

The acoustic realization of speech is constrained by the physical mechanisms by which it is produced. Yet for speech perception, the degree to which listeners utilize experience derived from speech production has long been debated. In the present study, we examined how sensorimotor adaptation during production may affect perception, and how this relationship may be reflected in early vs. late electrophysiological responses. Participants first performed a baseline speech production task, followed by a vowel categorization task during which EEG responses were recorded. In a subsequent speech production task, half the participants received shifted auditory feedback, leading most to alter their articulations. This was followed by a second, post-training vowel categorization task. We compared changes in vowel production to both behavioral and electrophysiological changes in vowel perception. No differences in phonetic categorization were observed between groups receiving altered or unaltered feedback. However, exploratory analyses revealed correlations between vocal motor behavior and phonetic categorization. EEG analyses revealed correlations between vocal motor behavior and cortical responses in both early and late time windows. These results suggest that participants' recent production behavior influenced subsequent vowel perception. We suggest that the change in perception can be best characterized as a mapping of acoustics onto articulation. PMID:28439232

[Features of the electronic eikonometer for the study of binocular function].

PubMed

Bourdy, C

2013-05-01

After presenting the components of this electronic eikonometer (device schematic and organizational chart) for the analysis and measurement of perceptive effects of binocular disparity, we review the specifics (tests with incorporated magnifications seen in polarized light) and the advantages of this device as compared to existing eikonometers (absence of any intermediary optical system). We provide a list of available tests in the test library and their parametric characteristics: Ogle Spatial Test for Aniseikonia, Fixation Disparity Test: binocular nonius, and Linear and Random stereoscopic tests. We develop a methodology adapted to each type of test and the manipulations to be performed by the operators and observers. We then provide some results of examinations performed with this eikonometer for a sample of observers equipped with glasses, contact lenses or implants. We propose an analysis of these various perceptive effects from experimental and theoretical studies: association between Depth, Disparity and Fusion; brief review of theoretical studies by automatic matrix calculus of retinal image size for various types of eyes: emmetropic and isometropic eyes based on various dioptric elements from Gullstrand's eye, axial anisometropia, anisometropia of conformation, aphakia resulting from these various eyes. We demonstrate the role of these studies in the analysis of subjective measurements of aniseikonia and for the choice of best correction: variations in amplitude and sign of the monocular components of the fixation disparity as a function of the viewing distance, Complexity of depth perception, according to the test used. Considering the evolution of the technology used for the realization of this prototype, we propose that this eikonometer be updated, in particular by using high-resolution flat screens, which would allow improvement and enrichment of the test library (definition, contrast and size of the observed images). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Computational validation of the motor contribution to speech perception.

PubMed

Badino, Leonardo; D'Ausilio, Alessandro; Fadiga, Luciano; Metta, Giorgio

2014-07-01

Action perception and recognition are core abilities fundamental for human social interaction. A parieto-frontal network (the mirror neuron system) matches visually presented biological motion information onto observers' motor representations. This process of matching the actions of others onto our own sensorimotor repertoire is thought to be important for action recognition, providing a non-mediated "motor perception" based on a bidirectional flow of information along the mirror parieto-frontal circuits. State-of-the-art machine learning strategies for hand action identification have shown better performances when sensorimotor data, as opposed to visual information only, are available during learning. As speech is a particular type of action (with acoustic targets), it is expected to activate a mirror neuron mechanism. Indeed, in speech perception, motor centers have been shown to be causally involved in the discrimination of speech sounds. In this paper, we review recent neurophysiological and machine learning-based studies showing (a) the specific contribution of the motor system to speech perception and (b) that automatic phone recognition is significantly improved when motor data are used during training of classifiers (as opposed to learning from purely auditory data). Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Probing links between action perception and action production in Parkinson's disease using Fitts' law.

PubMed

Sakurada, Takeshi; Knoblich, Guenther; Sebanz, Natalie; Muramatsu, Shin-Ichi; Hirai, Masahiro

2018-03-01

Information on how the subcortical brain encodes information required to execute actions or to evaluate others' actions remains scanty. To clarify this link, Fitts'-law tasks for perception and execution were tested in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). For the perception task, participants were shown apparent motion displays of a person moving their arm between two identical targets and reported whether they judged that the person could realistically move at the perceived speed without missing the targets. For the motor task, participants were required to touch the two targets as quickly and accurately as possible, similarly to the person observed in the perception task. In both tasks, the PD group exhibited, or imputed to others, significantly slower performances than those of the control group. However, in both groups, the relationships of perception and execution with task difficulty were exactly those predicted by Fitts' law. This suggests that despite dysfunction of the subcortical region, motor simulation abilities reflected mechanisms of compensation in the PD group. Moreover, we found that patients with PD had difficulty in switching their strategy for estimating others' actions when asked to do so. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The nature of hemispheric specialization for linguistic and emotional prosodic perception: a meta-analysis of the lesion literature.

PubMed

Witteman, Jurriaan; van Ijzendoorn, Marinus H; van de Velde, Daan; van Heuven, Vincent J J P; Schiller, Niels O

2011-11-01

It is unclear whether there is hemispheric specialization for prosodic perception and, if so, what the nature of this hemispheric asymmetry is. Using the lesion-approach, many studies have attempted to test whether there is hemispheric specialization for emotional and linguistic prosodic perception by examining the impact of left vs. right hemispheric damage on prosodic perception task performance. However, so far no consensus has been reached. In an attempt to find a consistent pattern of lateralization for prosodic perception, a meta-analysis was performed on 38 lesion studies (including 450 left hemisphere damaged patients, 534 right hemisphere damaged patients and 491 controls) of prosodic perception. It was found that both left and right hemispheric damage compromise emotional and linguistic prosodic perception task performance. Furthermore, right hemispheric damage degraded emotional prosodic perception more than left hemispheric damage (trimmed g=-0.37, 95% CI [-0.66; -0.09], N=620 patients). It is concluded that prosodic perception is under bihemispheric control with relative specialization of the right hemisphere for emotional prosodic perception. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human perception testing methodology for evaluating EO/IR imaging systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graybeal, John J.; Monfort, Samuel S.; Du Bosq, Todd W.; Familoni, Babajide O.

2018-04-01

The U.S. Army's RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) Perception Lab is tasked with supporting the development of sensor systems for the U.S. Army by evaluating human performance of emerging technologies. Typical research questions involve detection, recognition and identification as a function of range, blur, noise, spectral band, image processing techniques, image characteristics, and human factors. NVESD's Perception Lab provides an essential bridge between the physics of the imaging systems and the performance of the human operator. In addition to quantifying sensor performance, perception test results can also be used to generate models of human performance and to drive future sensor requirements. The Perception Lab seeks to develop and employ scientifically valid and efficient perception testing procedures within the practical constraints of Army research, including rapid development timelines for critical technologies, unique guidelines for ethical testing of Army personnel, and limited resources. The purpose of this paper is to describe NVESD Perception Lab capabilities, recent methodological improvements designed to align our methodology more closely with scientific best practice, and to discuss goals for future improvements and expanded capabilities. Specifically, we discuss modifying our methodology to improve training, to account for human fatigue, to improve assessments of human performance, and to increase experimental design consultation provided by research psychologists. Ultimately, this paper outlines a template for assessing human perception and overall system performance related to EO/IR imaging systems.

ERP evidence for the recognition of emotional prosody through simulated cochlear implant strategies.

PubMed

Agrawal, Deepashri; Timm, Lydia; Viola, Filipa Campos; Debener, Stefan; Büchner, Andreas; Dengler, Reinhard; Wittfoth, Matthias

2012-09-20

Emotionally salient information in spoken language can be provided by variations in speech melody (prosody) or by emotional semantics. Emotional prosody is essential to convey feelings through speech. In sensori-neural hearing loss, impaired speech perception can be improved by cochlear implants (CIs). Aim of this study was to investigate the performance of normal-hearing (NH) participants on the perception of emotional prosody with vocoded stimuli. Semantically neutral sentences with emotional (happy, angry and neutral) prosody were used. Sentences were manipulated to simulate two CI speech-coding strategies: the Advance Combination Encoder (ACE) and the newly developed Psychoacoustic Advanced Combination Encoder (PACE). Twenty NH adults were asked to recognize emotional prosody from ACE and PACE simulations. Performance was assessed using behavioral tests and event-related potentials (ERPs). Behavioral data revealed superior performance with original stimuli compared to the simulations. For simulations, better recognition for happy and angry prosody was observed compared to the neutral. Irrespective of simulated or unsimulated stimulus type, a significantly larger P200 event-related potential was observed for happy prosody after sentence onset than the other two emotions. Further, the amplitude of P200 was significantly more positive for PACE strategy use compared to the ACE strategy. Results suggested P200 peak as an indicator of active differentiation and recognition of emotional prosody. Larger P200 peak amplitude for happy prosody indicated importance of fundamental frequency (F0) cues in prosody processing. Advantage of PACE over ACE highlighted a privileged role of the psychoacoustic masking model in improving prosody perception. Taken together, the study emphasizes on the importance of vocoded simulation to better understand the prosodic cues which CI users may be utilizing.

Music Perception and Appraisal: Cochlear Implant Users and Simulated CI Listening

PubMed Central

Wright, Rose; Uchanski, Rosalie M.

2012-01-01

Background The inability to hear music well may contribute to decreased quality of life for cochlear implant (CI) users. Researchers have reported recently on the generally poor ability of CI users’ to perceive music, and a few researchers have reported on the enjoyment of music by CI users. However, the relation between music perception skills and music enjoyment is much less explored. Only one study has attempted to predict CI users’ enjoyment and perception of music from the users’ demographic variables and other perceptual skills (Gfeller et al., 2008). Gfeller’s results yielded different predictive relationships for music perception and music enjoyment, and the relationships were weak, at best. Purpose The first goal of this study is to clarify the nature and relationship between music perception skills and musical enjoyment for CI users, by employing a battery of music tests. The second goal is to determine whether normal hearing (NH) subjects, listening with a CI-simulation, can be used as a model to represent actual CI users for either music enjoyment ratings or music perception tasks. Research Design A prospective, cross-sectional observational study. Original music stimuli (unprocessed) were presented to CI users, and music stimuli processed with CI-simulation software were presented to twenty NH listeners (CIsim). As a control, original music stimuli were also presented to five other NH listeners. All listeners appraised twenty-four musical excerpts, performed music perception tests, and filled out a musical background questionnaire. Music perception tests were the Appreciation of Music in Cochlear Implantees (AMICI), Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA), Melodic Contour Identification (MCI), and University of Washington Clinical Assessment of Music Perception (UW-CAMP). Study Sample Twenty-five NH adults (22 – 56 years old), recruited from the local and research communities, participated in the study. Ten adult CI users (46 – 80 years old), recruited from the patient population of the local adult cochlear implant program, also participated in this study. Data Collection and Analysis Musical excerpts were appraised using a 7-point rating scale and music perception tests were scored as designed. Analysis of variance was performed on appraisal ratings, perception scores, and questionnaire data with listener group as a factor. Correlations were computed between musical appraisal ratings and perceptual scores on each music test. Results Music is rated as more enjoyable by CI users than by the NH listeners hearing music through a simulation (CIsim), and the difference is statistically significant. For roughly half of the music perception tests, there are no statistically significant differences between the performance of the CI users and of the CIsim listeners. Generally, correlations between appraisal ratings and music perception scores are weak or non-existent. Conclusions NH adults listening to music that has been processed through a CI-simulation program are a reasonable model for actual CI users for many music perception skills, but not for rating musical enjoyment. For CI users, the apparent independence of music perception skills and music enjoyment (as assessed by appraisals), indicates that music enjoyment should not be assumed and should be examined explicitly. PMID:22533978

Music perception and appraisal: cochlear implant users and simulated cochlear implant listening.

PubMed

Wright, Rose; Uchanski, Rosalie M

2012-05-01

The inability to hear music well may contribute to decreased quality of life for cochlear implant (CI) users. Researchers have reported recently on the generally poor ability of CI users to perceive music, and a few researchers have reported on the enjoyment of music by CI users. However, the relation between music perception skills and music enjoyment is much less explored. Only one study has attempted to predict CI users' enjoyment and perception of music from the users' demographic variables and other perceptual skills (Gfeller et al, 2008). Gfeller's results yielded different predictive relationships for music perception and music enjoyment, and the relationships were weak, at best. The first goal of this study is to clarify the nature and relationship between music perception skills and musical enjoyment for CI users, by employing a battery of music tests. The second goal is to determine whether normal hearing (NH) subjects, listening with a CI simulation, can be used as a model to represent actual CI users for either music enjoyment ratings or music perception tasks. A prospective, cross-sectional observational study. Original music stimuli (unprocessed) were presented to CI users, and music stimuli processed with CI-simulation software were presented to 20 NH listeners (CIsim). As a control, original music stimuli were also presented to five other NH listeners. All listeners appraised 24 musical excerpts, performed music perception tests, and filled out a musical background questionnaire. Music perception tests were the Appreciation of Music in Cochlear Implantees (AMICI), Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA), Melodic Contour Identification (MCI), and University of Washington Clinical Assessment of Music Perception (UW-CAMP). Twenty-five NH adults (22-56 yr old), recruited from the local and research communities, participated in the study. Ten adult CI users (46-80 yr old), recruited from the patient population of the local adult cochlear implant program, also participated in this study. Musical excerpts were appraised using a seven-point rating scale, and music perception tests were scored as designed. Analysis of variance was performed on appraisal ratings, perception scores, and questionnaire data with listener group as a factor. Correlations were computed between musical appraisal ratings and perceptual scores on each music test. Music is rated as more enjoyable by CI users than by the NH listeners hearing music through a simulation (CIsim), and the difference is statistically significant. For roughly half of the music perception tests, there are no statistically significant differences between the performance of the CI users and of the CIsim listeners. Generally, correlations between appraisal ratings and music perception scores are weak or nonexistent. NH adults listening to music that has been processed through a CI-simulation program are a reasonable model for actual CI users for many music perception skills, but not for rating musical enjoyment. For CI users, the apparent independence of music perception skills and music enjoyment (as assessed by appraisals) indicates that music enjoyment should not be assumed and should be examined explicitly. American Academy of Audiology.

Early but not late-blindness leads to enhanced auditory perception.

PubMed

Wan, Catherine Y; Wood, Amanda G; Reutens, David C; Wilson, Sarah J

2010-01-01

The notion that blindness leads to superior non-visual abilities has been postulated for centuries. Compared to sighted individuals, blind individuals show different patterns of brain activation when performing auditory tasks. To date, no study has controlled for musical experience, which is known to influence auditory skills. The present study tested 33 blind (11 congenital, 11 early-blind, 11 late-blind) participants and 33 matched sighted controls. We showed that the performance of blind participants was better than that of sighted participants on a range of auditory perception tasks, even when musical experience was controlled for. This advantage was observed only for individuals who became blind early in life, and was even more pronounced for individuals who were blind from birth. Years of blindness did not predict task performance. Here, we provide compelling evidence that superior auditory abilities in blind individuals are not explained by musical experience alone. These results have implications for the development of sensory substitution devices, particularly for late-blind individuals.

Performance evaluation of image-intensifier-TV fluoroscopy systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Putten, Wilhelm J.; Bouley, Shawn

1995-05-01

Through use of a computer model and an aluminum low contrast phantom developed in-house, a method has been developed which is able to grade the imaging performance of fluoroscopy systems through use of a variable, K. This parameter was derived from Rose's model of image perception and is here used as a figure of merit to grade fluoroscopy systems. From Rose's model for an ideal system, a typical value of K for the perception of low contrast details should be between 3 and 7, assuming threshold vision by human observers. Thus, various fluoroscopy systems are graded with different values of K, with a lower value of K indicating better imaging performance of the system. A series of fluoroscopy systems have been graded where the best system produces a value in the low teens, while the poorest systems produce a value in the low twenties. Correlation with conventional image quality measurements is good and the method has the potential for automated assessment of image quality.

Biomechanical metrics of aesthetic perception in dance.

PubMed

Bronner, Shaw; Shippen, James

2015-12-01

The brain may be tuned to evaluate aesthetic perception through perceptual chunking when we observe the grace of the dancer. We modelled biomechanical metrics to explain biological determinants of aesthetic perception in dance. Eighteen expert (EXP) and intermediate (INT) dancers performed développé arabesque in three conditions: (1) slow tempo, (2) slow tempo with relevé, and (3) fast tempo. To compare biomechanical metrics of kinematic data, we calculated intra-excursion variability, principal component analysis (PCA), and dimensionless jerk for the gesture limb. Observers, all trained dancers, viewed motion capture stick figures of the trials and ranked each for aesthetic (1) proficiency and (2) movement smoothness. Statistical analyses included group by condition repeated-measures ANOVA for metric data; Mann-Whitney U rank and Friedman's rank tests for nonparametric rank data; Spearman's rho correlations to compare aesthetic rankings and metrics; and linear regression to examine which metric best quantified observers' aesthetic rankings, p < 0.05. The goodness of fit of the proposed models was determined using Akaike information criteria. Aesthetic proficiency and smoothness rankings of the dance movements revealed differences between groups and condition, p < 0.0001. EXP dancers were rated more aesthetically proficient than INT dancers. The slow and fast conditions were judged more aesthetically proficient than slow with relevé (p < 0.0001). Of the metrics, PCA best captured the differences due to group and condition. PCA also provided the most parsimonious model to explain aesthetic proficiency and smoothness rankings. By permitting organization of large data sets into simpler groupings, PCA may mirror the phenomenon of chunking in which the brain combines sensory motor elements into integrated units of behaviour. In this representation, the chunk of information which is remembered, and to which the observer reacts, is the elemental mode shape of the motion rather than physical displacements. This suggests that reduction in redundant information to a simplistic dimensionality is related to the experienced observer's aesthetic perception.

Force illusions and drifts observed during muscle vibration.

PubMed

Reschechtko, Sasha; Cuadra, Cristian; Latash, Mark L

2018-01-01

We explored predictions of a scheme that views position and force perception as a result of measuring proprioceptive signals within a reference frame set by ongoing efferent process. In particular, this hypothesis predicts force illusions caused by muscle vibration and mediated via changes in both afferent and efferent components of kinesthesia. Healthy subjects performed accurate steady force production tasks by pressing with the four fingers of one hand (the task hand) on individual force sensors with and without visual feedback. At various times during the trials, subjects matched the perceived force using the other hand. High-frequency vibration was applied to one or both of the forearms (over the hand and finger extensors). Without visual feedback, subjects showed a drop in the task hand force, which was significantly smaller under the vibration of that forearm. Force production by the matching hand was consistently higher than that of the task hand. Vibrating one of the forearms affected the matching hand in a manner consistent with the perception of higher magnitude of force produced by the vibrated hand. The findings were consistent between the dominant and nondominant hands. The effects of vibration on both force drift and force mismatching suggest that vibration led to shifts in both signals from proprioceptors and the efferent component of perception, the referent coordinate and/or coactivation command. The observations fit the hypothesis on combined perception of kinematic-kinetic variables with little specificity of different groups of peripheral receptors that all contribute to perception of forces and coordinates. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We show that vibration of hand/finger extensors produces consistent errors in finger force perception. Without visual feedback, finger force drifted to lower values without a drift in the matching force produced by the other hand; hand extensor vibration led to smaller finger force drift. The findings fit the scheme with combined perception of kinematic-kinetic variables and suggest that vibration leads to consistent shifts of the referent coordinate and, possibly, of coactivation command to the effector.

Do gender differences in audio-visual benefit and visual influence in audio-visual speech perception emerge with age?

PubMed Central

Alm, Magnus; Behne, Dawn

2015-01-01

Gender and age have been found to affect adults’ audio-visual (AV) speech perception. However, research on adult aging focuses on adults over 60 years, who have an increasing likelihood for cognitive and sensory decline, which may confound positive effects of age-related AV-experience and its interaction with gender. Observed age and gender differences in AV speech perception may also depend on measurement sensitivity and AV task difficulty. Consequently both AV benefit and visual influence were used to measure visual contribution for gender-balanced groups of young (20–30 years) and middle-aged adults (50–60 years) with task difficulty varied using AV syllables from different talkers in alternative auditory backgrounds. Females had better speech-reading performance than males. Whereas no gender differences in AV benefit or visual influence were observed for young adults, visually influenced responses were significantly greater for middle-aged females than middle-aged males. That speech-reading performance did not influence AV benefit may be explained by visual speech extraction and AV integration constituting independent abilities. Contrastingly, the gender difference in visually influenced responses in middle adulthood may reflect an experience-related shift in females’ general AV perceptual strategy. Although young females’ speech-reading proficiency may not readily contribute to greater visual influence, between young and middle-adulthood recurrent confirmation of the contribution of visual cues induced by speech-reading proficiency may gradually shift females AV perceptual strategy toward more visually dominated responses. PMID:26236274

Perception of difficulty and glucose control: Effects on academic performance in youth with type I diabetes.

PubMed

Potts, Tiffany M; Nguyen, Jacqueline L; Ghai, Kanika; Li, Kathy; Perlmuter, Lawrence

2015-04-15

To investigate whether perceptions of task difficulty on neuropsychological tests predicted academic achievement after controlling for glucose levels and depression. Participants were type 1 diabetic adolescents, with a mean age = 12.5 years (23 females and 16 males), seen at a northwest suburban Chicago hospital. The sample population was free of co-morbid clinical health conditions. Subjects completed a three-part neuropsychological battery including the Digit Symbol Task, Trail Making Test, and Controlled Oral Word Association test. Following each task, individuals rated task difficulty and then completed a depression inventory. Performance on these three tests is reflective of neuropsychological status in relation to glucose control. Blood glucose levels were measured immediately prior to and after completing the neuropsychological battery using a glucose meter. HbA1c levels were obtained from medical records. Academic performance was based on self-reported grades in Math, Science, and English. Data was analyzed using multiple regression models to evaluate the associations between academic performance, perception of task difficulty, and glucose control. Perceptions of difficulty on a neuropsychological battery significantly predicted academic performance after accounting for glucose control and depression. Perceptions of difficulty on the neuropsychological tests were inversely correlated with academic performance (r = -0.48), while acute (blood glucose) and long-term glucose levels increased along with perceptions of task difficulty (r = 0.47). Additionally, higher depression scores were associated with poorer academic performance (r = -0.43). With the first regression analysis, perception of difficulty on the neuropsychological tasks contributed to 8% of the variance in academic performance after controlling for peripheral blood glucose and depression. In the second regression analysis, perception of difficulty accounted for 11% of the variance after accounting for academic performance and depression. The final regression analysis indicated that perception of difficulty increased with peripheral blood glucose, contributing to 22% of the variance. Most importantly, after controlling for perceptions of task difficulty, academic performance no longer predicted glucose levels. Finally, subjects who found the cognitive battery difficult were likely to have poor academic grades. Perceptions of difficulty on neurological tests exhibited a significant association with academic achievement, indicating that deficits in this skill may lead to academic disadvantage in diabetic patients.

Sensory predictions during action support perception of imitative reactions across suprasecond delays.

PubMed

Yon, Daniel; Press, Clare

2018-04-01

Perception during action is optimized by sensory predictions about the likely consequences of our movements. Influential theories in social cognition propose that we use the same predictions during interaction, supporting perception of similar reactions in our social partners. However, while our own action outcomes typically occur at short, predictable delays after movement execution, the reactions of others occur at longer, variable delays in the order of seconds. To examine whether we use sensorimotor predictions to support perception of imitative reactions, we therefore investigated the temporal profile of sensory prediction during action in two psychophysical experiments. We took advantage of an influence of prediction on apparent intensity, whereby predicted visual stimuli appear brighter (more intense). Participants performed actions (e.g., index finger lift) and rated the brightness of observed outcomes congruent (index finger lift) or incongruent (middle finger lift) with their movements. Observed action outcomes could occur immediately after execution, or at longer delays likely reflective of those in natural social interaction (1800 or 3600 ms). Consistent with the previous literature, Experiment 1 revealed that congruent action outcomes were rated as brighter than incongruent outcomes. Importantly, this facilitatory perceptual effect was found irrespective of whether outcomes occurred immediately or at delay. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and demonstrated that it was not the result of response bias. These findings therefore suggest that visual predictions generated during action are sufficiently general across time to support our perception of imitative reactions in others, likely generating a range of benefits during social interaction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Correlation of radiologists' image quality perception with quantitative assessment parameters: just-noticeable difference vs. peak signal-to-noise ratios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siddiqui, Khan M.; Siegel, Eliot L.; Reiner, Bruce I.; Johnson, Jeffrey P.

2005-04-01

The authors identify a fundamental disconnect between the ways in which industry and radiologists assess and even discuss product performance. What is needed is a quantitative methodology that can assess both subjective image quality and observer task performance. In this study, we propose and evaluate the use of a visual discrimination model (VDM) that assesses just-noticeable differences (JNDs) to serve this purpose. The study compares radiologists' subjective perceptions of image quality of computer tomography (CT) and computed radiography (CR) images with quantitative measures of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and JNDs as measured by a VDM. The study included 4 CT and 6 CR studies with compression ratios ranging from lossless to 90:1 (total of 80 sets of images were generated [n = 1,200]). Eleven radiologists reviewed the images and rated them in terms of overall quality and readability and identified images not acceptable for interpretation. Normalized reader scores were correlated with compression, objective PSNR, and mean JND values. Results indicated a significantly higher correlation between observer performance and JND values than with PSNR methods. These results support the use of the VDM as a metric not only for the threshold discriminations for which it was calibrated, but also as a general image quality metric. This VDM is a highly promising, reproducible, and reliable adjunct or even alternative to human observer studies for research or to establish clinical guidelines for image compression, dose reductions, and evaluation of various display technologies.

University Students' Perceptions of Teacher Effectiveness and Emotions in Lectures: The Role of Socio-Cognitive Factors, and Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephanou, Georgia; Kyridis, Argyris

2012-01-01

This study examined (a) students' ability self-perceptions, perceptions of domain-difficulty, value beliefs, experienced emotions in lectures and performance in the courses taught by the perceived as extremely effective and ineffective teachers, (b) the role of ability self-perceptions, perceived domain-difficulty and value beliefs in the…

Health professionals' perceptions about their clinical performance and the influence of audit and feedback on their intentions to improve practice: a theory-based study in Dutch intensive care units.

PubMed

Gude, Wouter T; Roos-Blom, Marie-José; van der Veer, Sabine N; Dongelmans, Dave A; de Jonge, Evert; Francis, Jill J; Peek, Niels; de Keizer, Nicolette F

2018-02-17

Audit and feedback aims to guide health professionals in improving aspects of their practice that need it most. Evidence suggests that feedback fails to increase accuracy of professional perceptions about clinical performance, which likely reduces audit and feedback effectiveness. This study investigates health professionals' perceptions about their clinical performance and the influence of feedback on their intentions to change practice. We conducted an online laboratory experiment guided by Control Theory with 72 intensive care professionals from 21 units. For each of four new pain management indicators, we collected professionals' perceptions about their clinical performance; peer performance; targets; and improvement intentions before and after receiving first-time feedback. An electronic audit and feedback dashboard provided ICU's own performance, median and top 10% peer performance, and improvement recommendations. The experiment took place approximately 1 month before units enrolled into a cluster-randomised trial assessing the impact of adding a toolbox with suggested actions and materials to improve intensive care pain management. During the experiment, the toolbox was inaccessible; all participants accessed the same version of the dashboard. We analysed 288 observations. In 53.8%, intensive care professionals overestimated their clinical performance; but in only 13.5%, they underestimated it. On average, performance was overestimated by 22.9% (on a 0-100% scale). Professionals similarly overestimated peer performance, and set targets 20.3% higher than the top performance benchmarks. In 68.4% of cases, intentions to improve practice were consistent with actual gaps in performance, even before professionals had received feedback; which increased to 79.9% after receiving feedback (odds ratio, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.53 to 3.78). However, in 56.3% of cases, professionals still wanted to improve care aspects at which they were already top performers. Alternatively, in 8.3% of cases, they lacked improvement intentions because they did not consider indicators important; did not trust the data; or deemed benchmarks unrealistic. Audit and feedback helps health professionals to work on aspects for which improvement is recommended. Given the abundance of professionals' prior good improvement intentions, the limited effects typically found by audit and feedback studies are likely predominantly caused by barriers to translation of intentions into actual change in clinical practice. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02922101 . Registered 26 September 2016.

Nurses' perceptions of feedback to nursing teams on quality measurements: An embedded case study design.

PubMed

Giesbers, A P M Suzanne; Schouteten, Roel L J; Poutsma, Erik; van der Heijden, Beatrice I J M; van Achterberg, Theo

2016-12-01

Providing nursing teams with feedback on quality measurements is used as a quality improvement instrument in healthcare organizations worldwide. Previous research indicated contradictory results regarding the effect of such feedback on both nurses' well-being and performance. Building on the Job Demands-Resources model this study explores: (1) whether and how nurses' perceptions of feedback on quality measurements (as a burdening job demand or rather as an intrinsically or extrinsically motivating job resource) are respectively related to nurses' well-being and performance; and (2) whether and how team reflection influences nurses' perceptions. An embedded case study. Four surgical wards within three different acute teaching-hospital settings in the Netherlands. During a period of four months, the nurses on each ward were provided with similar feedback on quality measurements. After this period, interviews with eight nurses and the ward manager for each ward were conducted. Additionally, observational data were collected from three oral feedback moments on each of the participating wards. The data revealed that individual nurses perceive the same feedback on quality measurements differently, leading to different effects on nurses' well-being and performance: 1) feedback can be perceived as a job demand that pressures nurses to improve the results on the quality measurements; 2) feedback can be perceived as an extrinsically motivating job resource, that is instrumental to improve the results on quality measurements; 3) feedback can be perceived as an intrinsically motivating job resource that stimulates nurses to improve the results on the quality measurements; and 4) feedback can be perceived neither as a job demand, nor as a job resource, and has no effect on nurses' well-being and performance. Additionally, this study indicates that team reflection after feedback seems to be very low in practice, while our data also provides evidence that nursing teams using the feedback to jointly reflect and analyse their performance and strategies will be able to better translate information about quality measurements into corrective behaviours, which may result in more positive perceptions of feedback on quality measurements among individual nurses. To better understand the impact of feedback to nursing teams on quality measurements, we should take nurses' individual perceptions of this feedback into account. Supporting nursing teams in team reflection after them having received feedback on quality measurements may help in eliciting positive perceptions among nurses, and therewith create positive effects of feedback on both their well-being and performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Infants' Grip Strength Predicts Mu Rhythm Attenuation during Observation of Lifting Actions with Weighted Blocks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Upshaw, Michaela B.; Bernier, Raphael A.; Sommerville, Jessica A.

2016-01-01

Research has established that the body is fundamentally involved in perception: bodily experience influences activation of the shared neural system underlying action perception and production during action observation, and bodily characteristics influence perception of the spatial environment. However, whether bodily characteristics influence…

Walking Perception by Walking Observers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Alissa; Shiffrar, Maggie

2005-01-01

People frequently analyze the actions of other people for the purpose of action coordination. To understand whether such self-relative action perception differs from other-relative action perception, the authors had observers either compare their own walking speed with that of a point-light walker or compare the walking speeds of 2 point-light…

The role of color and attention-to-color in mirror-symmetry perception.

PubMed

Gheorghiu, Elena; Kingdom, Frederick A A; Remkes, Aaron; Li, Hyung-Chul O; Rainville, Stéphane

2016-07-11

The role of color in the visual perception of mirror-symmetry is controversial. Some reports support the existence of color-selective mirror-symmetry channels, others that mirror-symmetry perception is merely sensitive to color-correlations across the symmetry axis. Here we test between the two ideas. Stimuli consisted of colored Gaussian-blobs arranged either mirror-symmetrically or quasi-randomly. We used four arrangements: (1) 'segregated' - symmetric blobs were of one color, random blobs of the other color(s); (2) 'random-segregated' - as above but with the symmetric color randomly selected on each trial; (3) 'non-segregated' - symmetric blobs were of all colors in equal proportions, as were the random blobs; (4) 'anti-symmetric' - symmetric blobs were of opposite-color across the symmetry axis. We found: (a) near-chance levels for the anti-symmetric condition, suggesting that symmetry perception is sensitive to color-correlations across the symmetry axis; (b) similar performance for random-segregated and non-segregated conditions, giving no support to the idea that mirror-symmetry is color selective; (c) highest performance for the color-segregated condition, but only when the observer knew beforehand the symmetry color, suggesting that symmetry detection benefits from color-based attention. We conclude that mirror-symmetry detection mechanisms, while sensitive to color-correlations across the symmetry axis and subject to the benefits of attention-to-color, are not color selective.

Cross-language Perception of Non-native Tonal Contrasts: Effects of Native Phonological and Phonetic Influences

PubMed Central

SO, CONNIE K.; BEST, CATHERINE T.

2010-01-01

This study examined the perception of the four Mandarin lexical tones by Mandarin-naïve Hong Kong Cantonese, Japanese, and Canadian English listener groups. Their performance on an identification task, following a brief familiarization task, was analyzed in terms of tonal sensitivities (A-prime scores on correct identifications) and tonal errors (confusions). The A-prime results revealed that the English listeners' sensitivity to Tone 4 identifications specifically was significantly lower than that of the other two groups. The analysis of tonal errors revealed that all listener groups showed perceptual confusion of tone pairs with similar phonetic features (T1–T2, T1–T4 and T2–T3 pairs), but not of those with completely dissimilar features (T1–T3, T2–T4, and T3–T4). Language specific errors were also observed in their performance, which may be explained within the framework of the Perceptual Assimilation Model (PAM: Best, 1995; Best & Tyler, 2007). The findings imply that linguistic experience with native tones does not necessarily facilitate non-native tone perception. Rather, the phonemic status and the phonetic features (similarities or dissimilarities) between the tonal systems of the target language and the listeners' native languages play critical roles in the perception of non-native tones. PMID:20583732

Translucency thresholds for dental materials.

PubMed

Salas, Marianne; Lucena, Cristina; Herrera, Luis Javier; Yebra, Ana; Della Bona, Alvaro; Pérez, María M

2018-05-12

To determine the translucency acceptability and perceptibility thresholds for dental resin composites using CIEDE2000 and CIELAB color difference formulas. A 30-observer panel performed perceptibility and acceptability judgments on 50 pairs of resin composites discs (diameter: 10mm; thickness: 1mm). Disc pair differences for the Translucency Parameter (ΔTP) were calculated using both color difference formulas (ΔTP 00 ranged from 0.11 to 7.98, and ΔTP ab ranged from 0.01 to 12.79). A Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) Fuzzy Approximation was used as fitting procedure. From the resultant fitting curves, the 95% confidence intervals were estimated and the 50:50% translucency perceptibility and acceptability thresholds (TPT and TAT) were calculated. Differences between thresholds were statistically analyzed using Student t tests (α=0.05). CIEDE2000 50:50% TPT was 0.62 and TAT was 2.62. Corresponding CIELAB values were 1.33 and 4.43, respectively. Translucency perceptibility and acceptability thresholds were significantly different using both color difference formulas (p=0.01 for TPT and p=0.005 for TAT). CIEDE2000 color difference formula provided a better data fit than CIELAB formula. The visual translucency difference thresholds determined with CIEDE2000 color difference formula can serve as reference values in the selection of resin composites and evaluation of its clinical performance. Copyright © 2018 The Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The role of color and attention-to-color in mirror-symmetry perception

PubMed Central

Gheorghiu, Elena; Kingdom, Frederick A. A.; Remkes, Aaron; Li, Hyung-Chul O.; Rainville, Stéphane

2016-01-01

The role of color in the visual perception of mirror-symmetry is controversial. Some reports support the existence of color-selective mirror-symmetry channels, others that mirror-symmetry perception is merely sensitive to color-correlations across the symmetry axis. Here we test between the two ideas. Stimuli consisted of colored Gaussian-blobs arranged either mirror-symmetrically or quasi-randomly. We used four arrangements: (1) ‘segregated’ – symmetric blobs were of one color, random blobs of the other color(s); (2) ‘random-segregated’ – as above but with the symmetric color randomly selected on each trial; (3) ‘non-segregated’ – symmetric blobs were of all colors in equal proportions, as were the random blobs; (4) ‘anti-symmetric’ – symmetric blobs were of opposite-color across the symmetry axis. We found: (a) near-chance levels for the anti-symmetric condition, suggesting that symmetry perception is sensitive to color-correlations across the symmetry axis; (b) similar performance for random-segregated and non-segregated conditions, giving no support to the idea that mirror-symmetry is color selective; (c) highest performance for the color-segregated condition, but only when the observer knew beforehand the symmetry color, suggesting that symmetry detection benefits from color-based attention. We conclude that mirror-symmetry detection mechanisms, while sensitive to color-correlations across the symmetry axis and subject to the benefits of attention-to-color, are not color selective. PMID:27404804

Being Moved by the Self and Others: Influence of Empathy on Self-Motion Perception

PubMed Central

Lopez, Christophe; Falconer, Caroline J.; Mast, Fred W.

2013-01-01

Background The observation of conspecifics influences our bodily perceptions and actions: Contagious yawning, contagious itching, or empathy for pain, are all examples of mechanisms based on resonance between our own body and others. While there is evidence for the involvement of the mirror neuron system in the processing of motor, auditory and tactile information, it has not yet been associated with the perception of self-motion. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated whether viewing our own body, the body of another, and an object in motion influences self-motion perception. We found a visual-vestibular congruency effect for self-motion perception when observing self and object motion, and a reduction in this effect when observing someone else's body motion. The congruency effect was correlated with empathy scores, revealing the importance of empathy in mirroring mechanisms. Conclusions/Significance The data show that vestibular perception is modulated by agent-specific mirroring mechanisms. The observation of conspecifics in motion is an essential component of social life, and self-motion perception is crucial for the distinction between the self and the other. Finally, our results hint at the presence of a “vestibular mirror neuron system”. PMID:23326302

Spared Ability to Perceive Direction of Locomotor Heading and Scene-Relative Object Movement Despite Inability to Perceive Relative Motion

PubMed Central

Vaina, Lucia M.; Buonanno, Ferdinando; Rushton, Simon K.

2014-01-01

Background All contemporary models of perception of locomotor heading from optic flow (the characteristic patterns of retinal motion that result from self-movement) begin with relative motion. Therefore it would be expected that an impairment on perception of relative motion should impact on the ability to judge heading and other 3D motion tasks. Material/Methods We report two patients with occipital lobe lesions whom we tested on a battery of motion tasks. Patients were impaired on all tests that involved relative motion in plane (motion discontinuity, form from differences in motion direction or speed). Despite this they retained the ability to judge their direction of heading relative to a target. A potential confound is that observers can derive information about heading from scale changes bypassing the need to use optic flow. Therefore we ran further experiments in which we isolated optic flow and scale change. Results Patients’ performance was in normal ranges on both tests. The finding that ability to perceive heading can be retained despite an impairment on ability to judge relative motion questions the assumption that heading perception proceeds from initial processing of relative motion. Furthermore, on a collision detection task, SS and SR’s performance was significantly better for simulated forward movement of the observer in the 3D scene, than for the static observer. This suggests that in spite of severe deficits on relative motion in the frontoparlel (xy) plane, information from self-motion helped identification objects moving along an intercept 3D relative motion trajectory. Conclusions This result suggests a potential use of a flow parsing strategy to detect in a 3D world the trajectory of moving objects when the observer is moving forward. These results have implications for developing rehabilitation strategies for deficits in visually guided navigation. PMID:25183375

Visual-vestibular cue integration for heading perception: applications of optimal cue integration theory.

PubMed

Fetsch, Christopher R; Deangelis, Gregory C; Angelaki, Dora E

2010-05-01

The perception of self-motion is crucial for navigation, spatial orientation and motor control. In particular, estimation of one's direction of translation, or heading, relies heavily on multisensory integration in most natural situations. Visual and nonvisual (e.g., vestibular) information can be used to judge heading, but each modality alone is often insufficient for accurate performance. It is not surprising, then, that visual and vestibular signals converge frequently in the nervous system, and that these signals interact in powerful ways at the level of behavior and perception. Early behavioral studies of visual-vestibular interactions consisted mainly of descriptive accounts of perceptual illusions and qualitative estimation tasks, often with conflicting results. In contrast, cue integration research in other modalities has benefited from the application of rigorous psychophysical techniques, guided by normative models that rest on the foundation of ideal-observer analysis and Bayesian decision theory. Here we review recent experiments that have attempted to harness these so-called optimal cue integration models for the study of self-motion perception. Some of these studies used nonhuman primate subjects, enabling direct comparisons between behavioral performance and simultaneously recorded neuronal activity. The results indicate that humans and monkeys can integrate visual and vestibular heading cues in a manner consistent with optimal integration theory, and that single neurons in the dorsal medial superior temporal area show striking correlates of the behavioral effects. This line of research and other applications of normative cue combination models should continue to shed light on mechanisms of self-motion perception and the neuronal basis of multisensory integration.

Asymmetric Oscillation Distorts the Perceived Heaviness of Handheld Objects.

PubMed

Amemiya, T; Maeda, T

2008-01-01

Weight perception has been of great interest for over three centuries. Most research has been concerned with the weight of static objects, and some illusions have been discovered. Here, we show a new illusion related to the perception of the heaviness of oscillating objects. We performed experiments that involved comparing the weight of two objects of identical physical appearance but with different gross weights and oscillation patterns (vibrating vertically at frequencies of 5 or 9 cycles per second with symmetric and asymmetric acceleration patterns). The results show that the perceived weight of an object vibrating with asymmetric acceleration increases compared to that with symmetric acceleration when the acceleration peaks in the gravity direction. In contrast, almost no heaviness perception change was observed in the anti-gravity direction. We speculate that the reason for the divergence between these results is caused by the differential impact of these two hypothesized perceptual mechanisms as follows: the salience of pulse stimuli appears to have a strong influence in the gravity direction, whereas filling-in could explain our observations in the anti-gravity direction. The study of this haptic illusion can provide valuable insights into not only human perceptual mechanisms but into the design of ungrounded haptic interfaces.

The nature of face representations in subcortical regions.

PubMed

Gabay, Shai; Burlingham, Charles; Behrmann, Marlene

2014-07-01

Studies examining the neural correlates of face perception in humans have focused almost exclusively on the distributed cortical network of face-selective regions. Recently, however, investigations have also identified subcortical correlates of face perception and the question addressed here concerns the nature of these subcortical face representations. To explore this issue, we presented to participants pairs of images sequentially to the same or to different eyes. Superior performance in the former over latter condition implicates monocular, prestriate portions of the visual system. Over a series of five experiments, we manipulated both lower-level (size, location) as well as higher-level (identity) similarity across the pair of faces. A monocular advantage was observed even when the faces in a pair differed in location and in size, implicating some subcortical invariance across lower-level image properties. A monocular advantage was also observed when the faces in a pair were two different images of the same individual, indicating the engagement of subcortical representations in more abstract, higher-level aspects of face processing. We conclude that subcortical structures of the visual system are involved, perhaps interactively, in multiple aspects of face perception, and not simply in deriving initial coarse representations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Cross-Cultural Study of Possible Iatrogenic Effects of Gifted Education Programs: Tenth Graders' Perceptions of Academically High Performing Classmates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oh, Hyerim; Sutherland, Margaret; Stack, Niamh; Badia Martín, Maria del Mar; Blumen, Sheyla; Nguyen, Quoc Anh-Thu; Wormald, Catherine; Maakrun, Julie; Ziegler, Albert

2015-01-01

Previous empirical studies have yielded inconclusive results about peer perceptions of academically high performing students. The purpose of this study was to investigate students' perceptions of the intellectual ability, positive social qualities, and popularity of a hypothetical new high performing classmate. Participants were 1060 Vietnamese,…

Action Video Games Improve Direction Discrimination of Parafoveal Translational Global Motion but Not Reaction Times.

PubMed

Pavan, Andrea; Boyce, Matthew; Ghin, Filippo

2016-10-01

Playing action video games enhances visual motion perception. However, there is psychophysical evidence that action video games do not improve motion sensitivity for translational global moving patterns presented in fovea. This study investigates global motion perception in action video game players and compares their performance to that of non-action video game players and non-video game players. Stimuli were random dot kinematograms presented in the parafovea. Observers discriminated the motion direction of a target random dot kinematogram presented in one of the four visual quadrants. Action video game players showed lower motion coherence thresholds than the other groups. However, when the task was performed at threshold, we did not find differences between groups in terms of distributions of reaction times. These results suggest that action video games improve visual motion sensitivity in the near periphery of the visual field, rather than speed response. © The Author(s) 2016.

Cardinal rules: Visual orientation perception reflects knowledge of environmental statistics

PubMed Central

Girshick, Ahna R.; Landy, Michael S.; Simoncelli, Eero P.

2011-01-01

Humans are remarkably good at performing visual tasks, but experimental measurements reveal substantial biases in the perception of basic visual attributes. An appealing hypothesis is that these biases arise through a process of statistical inference, in which information from noisy measurements is fused with a probabilistic model of the environment. But such inference is optimal only if the observer’s internal model matches the environment. Here, we provide evidence that this is the case. We measured performance in an orientation-estimation task, demonstrating the well-known fact that orientation judgements are more accurate at cardinal (horizontal and vertical) orientations, along with a new observation that judgements made under conditions of uncertainty are strongly biased toward cardinal orientations. We estimate observers’ internal models for orientation and find that they match the local orientation distribution measured in photographs. We also show how a neural population could embed probabilistic information responsible for such biases. PMID:21642976

A comparison of observed teaching practices with teacher perceptions of their teaching during and following major funding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kimble, Larry Lee

The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine how the teaching practices of eight exemplary Iowa teachers changed over time (1994--1999); (2) to investigate discrepancies between the perceptions of teaching compared with actual performance of these behaviors exhibited in videotapes of their teaching; and (3) to determine how STS/Constructivist teaching behaviors changed after major NSF funding. Data were collected at multiple times over a five year period. Quantitative data included use of the ESTEEM for evaluating three consecutive days of "best" teaching on the part of the eight teachers. The TPI and CLES were used for measuring perceptions of the teachers. Interviews concerning classrooms and teaching practices were conducted. Assessment and teaching methods were also reviewed. Major findings include: (1) Teaching practices indicate that all eight teachers achieved expert status in all four areas measured by the ESTEEM. These include (1) facilitating the learning process from a constructivist perspective; (2) content-specific pedagogy related to student understanding; (3) adjustments in strategies based on interactions with the students; and (4) teacher knowledge of subject matter. Constructivist practices improved significantly at each data sampling over the studied period (significant at the .05 level). (2) Teacher perceptions of their constructivist teaching practices as measured by the TPI and CLES were very high. This was especially true for the CLES where five areas of constructivist teaching were evaluated, namely: (1) personal relevance; (2) scientific uncertainty; (3) critical voice; (4) shared control, and (5) student negotiations. The perceptions continued to improve over the studied period (significant at the .05 level). (3) Similarities between teacher observed practices and their perceptions of their teaching were noted. In many cases, the actual practices were observed to be better. (4) The teachers improved regarding wait-time between teacher questions and student responses. (5) The teachers asked fewer questions, but developed classes with more student-student interaction. (6) Assessment strategies used by the eight teachers continued to improve and were often an integral part of instruction. (7) The eight teachers continued to grow and improve with respect to constructivist strategies two years after major NSF funding.

Effects of analgesics on olfactory function and the perception of intranasal trigeminal stimuli.

PubMed

Mizera, L; Gossrau, G; Hummel, T; Haehner, A

2017-01-01

There is some evidence suggesting that analgesics have an impact on human chemosensory function, especially opioids and cannabinoids are known to interfere with olfactory function. However, largely unknown is the effect of a long-term use of analgesics on the intranasal trigeminal system so far. Here, we investigated olfactory function and the perception of intranasal trigeminal stimuli in pain patients with long-term use of analgesics compared to age-matched healthy controls. For this purpose, a psychophysical approach was chosen to measure these sensory functions in 100 chronic pain patients and 95 controls. Olfactory testing was performed using the 'Sniffin' Sticks' test kit, which involves tests for odour threshold, odour discrimination and odour identification. Further, participants were asked to rate the intensity of trigeminal stimuli by using a visual analogue scale. We observed that the chronic use of pain medication was associated with significantly reduced perception of intranasal trigeminal stimuli and olfactory function compared to age-matched controls without intake of analgesics. Results indicate that non-opioid and opioid drugs, or a combination of both did not differ in their effects on chemosensory function. Further, after eliminating the effect of a co-existing depression and the use of co-analgesics, the negative influence of analgesics on olfactory function and trigeminal perception was still evident. The observed effect might be mediated due to interaction with opioid receptors in trigeminal ganglia and nuclei or due to trigeminal/olfactory interaction. As a practical consequence, patients should be made aware of a possible impairment of their olfactory and trigeminal function under long-term analgesic treatment. WHAT DOES THIS STUDY ADD?: We observed that the chronic use of pain medication was associated with significantly reduced olfactory function and perception of intranasal trigeminal stimuli compared to age-matched controls without intake of analgesics. Non-opioid and opioid drugs did not differ in their effects on chemosensory function. © 2016 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.

Student Self-Efficacy in Introductory Project-Based Learning Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pleiss, Geoffrey; Zastavker, Yevgeniya V.

2012-02-01

This study investigates first-year engineering students' self-efficacy in two introductory Project-Based Learning (PjBL) courses -- Physics (Mechanics) Laboratory and Engineering Design -- taught at a small technical institution. Twelve students participated in semi-structured open-ended interviews about their experiences in both courses. Analysis was performed using grounded theory. Results indicate that students had lower self-efficacy in Physics Lab than in Engineering Design. In Physics Lab, students reported high levels of faculty-supported scaffolding related to final project deliverables, which in turn established perceptions of an outcome-based course emphasis. Conversely, in Engineering Design, students observed high levels of scaffolding related to the intermediate project deliverables, highlighting process-centered aspects of the course. Our analyses indicate that this difference in student perceptions of course emphases -- resulting from the differences in scaffolding -- is a primary factor for the discrepancy in self-efficacy between Physics Lab and Engineering Design. Future work will examine how other variables (e.g., academic background, perception of community, gender) affect students' self-efficacy and perception of scaffolding in these PjBL courses.

The effects of stimulus-driven competition and task set on involuntary attention

PubMed Central

Han, Suk Won; Marois, René

2014-01-01

It is well established that involuntary attention—the exogenous capture of attention by salient but task-irrelevant stimuli—can strongly modulate target detection and discrimination performance. There is an ongoing debate, however, about how involuntary attention affects target performance. Some studies suggest that it results from enhanced perception of the target, whereas others indicate instead that it affects decisional stages of information processing. From a review of these studies, we hypothesized that the presence of distractors and task sets are key factors in determining the effect of involuntary attention on target perception. Consistent with this hypothesis, here we found that noninformative cues summoning involuntary attention affected perceptual identification of a target when distractors were present. This cuing effect could not be attributed to reduced target location uncertainty or decision bias. The only condition under which involuntary attention improved target perception in the absence of distractors occurred when observers did not adopt a task set to focus attention on the target location. We conclude that the perceptual effects of involuntary attention depend on distractor interference and the adoption of a task set to resolve such stimulus competition. PMID:24970921

QUALITY OF LIFE AND HEALTH SELF-PERCEPTION IN CHILDREN WITH POOR SCHOOL PERFORMANCE.

PubMed

Rezende, Bárbara Antunes; Lemos, Stela Maris Aguiar; Medeiros, Adriane Mesquita de

2017-01-01

To examine the association between quality of life and health self-perception of children with poor school performance, considering sociodemographic factors. An analytical, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted with 99 children aged 7 to 12 years receiving specialized educational assistance. Parents and legal guardians answered questions concerning the sociodemographic profile. For an assessment of the quality of life and proposed domains (autonomy, functioning, leisure, and family), the children completed the Autoquestionnarie Qualité de Vie Enfant Imagé (AUQEI) and answered a question concerning their self-perceived health. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression, considering a 5% significance level. Among the evaluated children, 69 (69.7%) male participants with mean age of 8.7±1.5, 27% self-assessed their health status as poor/very poor, and 36.4% of the children reported having impaired quality of life. As for the domains assessed by AUQEI, there was statistical significance in the associations between family with age, autonomy with economic classification, and leisure and functioning with self-perceived health. The quality of life of children with academic underachievement is associated with their health self-perception and sociodemographic characteristics.

The Coordination Dynamics of Observational Learning: Relative Motion Direction and Relative Phase as Informational Content Linking Action-Perception to Action-Production.

PubMed

Buchanan, John J

2016-01-01

The primary goal of this chapter is to merge together the visual perception perspective of observational learning and the coordination dynamics theory of pattern formation in perception and action. Emphasis is placed on identifying movement features that constrain and inform action-perception and action-production processes. Two sources of visual information are examined, relative motion direction and relative phase. The visual perception perspective states that the topological features of relative motion between limbs and joints remains invariant across an actor's motion and therefore are available for pickup by an observer. Relative phase has been put forth as an informational variable that links perception to action within the coordination dynamics theory. A primary assumption of the coordination dynamics approach is that environmental information is meaningful only in terms of the behavior it modifies. Across a series of single limb tasks and bimanual tasks it is shown that the relative motion and relative phase between limbs and joints is picked up through visual processes and supports observational learning of motor skills. Moreover, internal estimations of motor skill proficiency and competency are linked to the informational content found in relative motion and relative phase. Thus, the chapter links action to perception and vice versa and also links cognitive evaluations to the coordination dynamics that support action-perception and action-production processes.

Predicting academic performance of dental students using perception of educational environment.

PubMed

Al-Ansari, Asim A; El Tantawi, Maha M A

2015-03-01

Greater emphasis on student-centered education means that students' perception of their educational environment is important. The ultimate proof of this importance is its effect on academic performance. The aim of this study was to assess the predictability of dental students' grades as indicator of academic performance through their perceptions of the educational environment. The Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire was used to assess dental students' perceptions of their educational environment at the University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, in academic year 2012-13. Aggregate grades in courses were collected at the end of the semester and related to levels of perception of the five DREEM domains using regression analysis. The response rate was 87.1% among all students in Years 2-6. As the number of students perceiving excellence in learning increased, the number of students with A grades increased. Perception of an environment with problems in the atmosphere and social life increased the number of students with D and F grades. There was no relation between any of the DREEM domains and past academic performance as measured by GPA. This study concludes that these students' academic performance was affected by various aspects of perceiving the educational environment. Improved perception of learning increased the number of high achievers, whereas increased perception of problems in atmosphere and social life increased the number of low achievers and failing students.

The effect of performance feedback on drivers' hazard perception ability and self-ratings.

PubMed

Horswill, Mark S; Garth, Megan; Hill, Andrew; Watson, Marcus O

2017-04-01

Drivers' hazard perception ability has been found to predict crash risk, and novice drivers appear to be particularly poor at this skill. This competency appears to develop only slowly with experience, and this could partially be a result of poor quality performance feedback. We report an experiment in which we provided high-quality artificial feedback on individual drivers' performance in a validated video-based hazard perception test via either: (1) a graph-based comparison of hazard perception response times between the test-taker, the average driver, and an expert driver; (2) a video-based comparison between the same groups; or (3) both. All three types of feedback resulted in both an improvement in hazard perception performance and a reduction in self-rated hazard perception skill, compared with a no-feedback control group. Video-based and graph-based feedback combined resulted in a greater improvement in hazard perception performance than either of the individual components, which did not differ from one another. All three types of feedback eliminated participants' self-enhancement bias for hazard perception skill. Participants judged both interventions involving video feedback to be significantly more likely to improve their real-world driving than the no feedback control group. While all three forms of feedback had some value, the combined video and graph feedback intervention appeared to be the most effective across all outcome measures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tactile learning and the individual evaluation of the reward in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.).

PubMed

Scheiner, R; Erber, J; Page, R E

1999-07-01

Using the proboscis extension response we conditioned pollen and nectar foragers of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) to tactile patterns under laboratory conditions. Pollen foragers demonstrated better acquisition, extinction, and reversal learning than nectar foragers. We tested whether the known differences in response thresholds to sucrose between pollen and nectar foragers could explain the observed differences in learning and found that nectar foragers with low response thresholds performed better during acquisition and extinction than ones with higher thresholds. Conditioning pollen and nectar foragers with similar response thresholds did not yield differences in their learning performance. These results suggest that differences in the learning performance of pollen and nectar foragers are a consequence of differences in their perception of sucrose. Furthermore, we analysed the effect which the perception of sucrose reward has on associative learning. Nectar foragers with uniform low response thresholds were conditioned using varying concentrations of sucrose. We found significant positive correlations between the concentrations of the sucrose rewards and the performance during acquisition and extinction. The results are summarised in a model which describes the relationships between learning performance, response threshold to sucrose, concentration of sucrose and the number of rewards.

Verbal monitoring in Parkinson’s disease: A comparison between internal and external monitoring

PubMed Central

Mertens, Jolien; Mariën, Peter; Santens, Patrick; Pickut, Barbara A.; Hartsuiker, Robert J.

2017-01-01

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) display a variety of impairments in motor and non-motor language processes; speech is decreased on motor aspects such as amplitude, prosody and speed and on linguistic aspects including grammar and fluency. Here we investigated whether verbal monitoring is impaired and what the relative contributions of the internal and external monitoring route are on verbal monitoring in patients with PD relative to controls. Furthermore, the data were used to investigate whether internal monitoring performance could be predicted by internal speech perception tasks, as perception based monitoring theories assume. Performance of 18 patients with Parkinson’s disease was measured on two cognitive performance tasks and a battery of 11 linguistic tasks, including tasks that measured performance on internal and external monitoring. Results were compared with those of 16 age-matched healthy controls. PD patients and controls generally performed similarly on the linguistic and monitoring measures. However, we observed qualitative differences in the effects of noise masking on monitoring and disfluencies and in the extent to which the linguistic tasks predicted monitoring behavior. We suggest that the patients differ from healthy subjects in their recruitment of monitoring channels. PMID:28832595

Pharmacy workers’ perceptions and acceptance of bar coded medication technology in a pediatric hospital

PubMed Central

Holden, Richard J.; Brown, Roger L.; Scanlon, Matthew C.; Karsh, Ben-Tzion

2012-01-01

Background The safety benefits of bar-coded medication dispensing and administration technology (BCMA) depend on its intended users favorably perceiving, accepting, and ultimately using the technology. Objectives (1) To describe pharmacy workers’ perceptions and acceptance of a recently implemented BCMA system and (2) to model the relationship between perceptions and acceptance of BCMA. Methods Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians at a Midwest US pediatric hospital were surveyed following the hospital’s implementation of a BCMA system. Twenty-nine pharmacists and ten technicians’ self-reported perceptions and acceptance of the BCMA system were analyzed, supplemented by qualitative observational and free-response survey data. Perception-acceptance associations were analyzed using structural models. Results The BCMA system’s perceived ease of use was rated low by pharmacists and moderate by pharmacy technicians. Both pharmacists and technicians perceived that the BCMA system was not useful for improving either personal job performance or patient care. Pharmacy workers perceived that individuals important to them encouraged BMCA use. Pharmacy workers generally intended to use BCMA but reported low satisfaction with the system. Perceptions explained 72% of the variance in intention to use BCMA and 79% of variance in satisfaction with BCMA. Conclusions To promote their acceptance and use, BCMA and other technologies must be better designed and integrated into the clinical work system. Key steps to achieving better design and integration include measuring clinicians’ acceptance and elucidating perceptions and other factors that shape acceptance. PMID:22417887

Pharmacy workers' perceptions and acceptance of bar-coded medication technology in a pediatric hospital.

PubMed

Holden, Richard J; Brown, Roger L; Scanlon, Matthew C; Karsh, Ben-Tzion

2012-01-01

The safety benefits of bar-coded medication-dispensing and administration (BCMA) technology depend on its intended users favorably perceiving, accepting, and ultimately using the technology. (1) To describe pharmacy workers' perceptions and acceptance of a recently implemented BCMA system and (2) to model the relationship between perceptions and acceptance of BCMA. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians at a Midwest U.S. pediatric hospital were surveyed following the hospital's implementation of a BCMA system. Twenty-nine pharmacists' and 10 technicians' self-reported perceptions and acceptance of the BCMA system were analyzed, supplemented by qualitative observational and free-response survey data. Perception-acceptance associations were analyzed using structural models. The BCMA system's perceived ease of use was rated low by pharmacists and moderate by pharmacy technicians. Both pharmacists and technicians perceived that the BCMA system was not useful for improving either personal job performance or patient care. Pharmacy workers perceived that individuals important to them encouraged BMCA use. Pharmacy workers generally intended to use BCMA but reported low satisfaction with the system. Perceptions explained 72% of the variance in intention to use BCMA and 79% of variance in satisfaction with BCMA. To promote their acceptance and use, BCMA and other technologies must be better designed and integrated into the clinical work system. Key steps to achieving better design and integration include measuring clinicians' acceptance and elucidating perceptions and other factors that shape acceptance. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A sensory origin for color-word stroop effects in aging: simulating age-related changes in color-vision mimics age-related changes in Stroop.

PubMed

Ben-David, Boaz M; Schneider, Bruce A

2010-11-01

An increase in Stroop effects with age can be interpreted as reflecting age-related reductions in selective attention, cognitive slowing, or color-vision. In the present study, 88 younger adults performed a Stroop test with two color-sets, saturated and desaturated, to simulate an age-related decrease in color perception. This color manipulation with younger adults was sufficient to lead to an increase in Stroop effects that mimics age-effects. We conclude that age-related changes in color perception can contribute to the differences in Stroop effects observed in aging. Finally, we suggest that the clinical applications of Stroop take this factor into account.

A signal detection theory analysis of an unconscious perception effect.

PubMed

Haase, S J; Theios, J; Jenison, R

1999-07-01

The independent observation model (Macmillan & Creelman, 1991) is fitted to detection-identification data collected under conditions of heavy masking. The model accurately predicts a quantitative relationship between stimulus detection and stimulus identification over a wide range of detection performance. This model can also be used to offer a signal detection interpretation of the common finding of above-chance identification following a missed signal. While our finding is not a new one, the stimuli used in this experiment (redundant three-letter strings) differ slightly from those used in traditional signal detection work. Also, the stimuli were presented very briefly and heavily masked, conditions typical in the study of unconscious perception effects.

Visual search and coordination changes in response to video and point-light demonstrations without KR.

PubMed

Horn, R R; Williams, A M; Scott, M A; Hodges, N J

2005-07-01

The authors examined the observational learning of 24 participants whom they constrained to use the model by removing intrinsic visual knowledge of results (KR). Matched participants assigned to video (VID), point-light (PL), and no-model (CON) groups performed a soccer-chipping task in which vision was occluded at ball contact. Pre- and posttests were interspersed with alternating periods of demonstration and acquisition. The authors assessed delayed retention 2-3 days later. In support of the visual perception perspective, the participants who observed the models showed immediate and enduring changes to more closely imitate the model's relative motion. While observing the demonstration, the PL group participants were more selective in their visual search than were the VID group participants but did not perform more accurately or learn more.

Effects of Within-Talker Variability on Speech Intelligibility in Mandarin-Speaking Adult and Pediatric Cochlear Implant Patients

PubMed Central

Su, Qiaotong; Galvin, John J.; Zhang, Guoping; Li, Yongxin

2016-01-01

Cochlear implant (CI) speech performance is typically evaluated using well-enunciated speech produced at a normal rate by a single talker. CI users often have greater difficulty with variations in speech production encountered in everyday listening. Within a single talker, speaking rate, amplitude, duration, and voice pitch information may be quite variable, depending on the production context. The coarse spectral resolution afforded by the CI limits perception of voice pitch, which is an important cue for speech prosody and for tonal languages such as Mandarin Chinese. In this study, sentence recognition from the Mandarin speech perception database was measured in adult and pediatric Mandarin-speaking CI listeners for a variety of speaking styles: voiced speech produced at slow, normal, and fast speaking rates; whispered speech; voiced emotional speech; and voiced shouted speech. Recognition of Mandarin Hearing in Noise Test sentences was also measured. Results showed that performance was significantly poorer with whispered speech relative to the other speaking styles and that performance was significantly better with slow speech than with fast or emotional speech. Results also showed that adult and pediatric performance was significantly poorer with Mandarin Hearing in Noise Test than with Mandarin speech perception sentences at the normal rate. The results suggest that adult and pediatric Mandarin-speaking CI patients are highly susceptible to whispered speech, due to the lack of lexically important voice pitch cues and perhaps other qualities associated with whispered speech. The results also suggest that test materials may contribute to differences in performance observed between adult and pediatric CI users. PMID:27363714

Modeling human perception of orientation in altered gravity

PubMed Central

Clark, Torin K.; Newman, Michael C.; Oman, Charles M.; Merfeld, Daniel M.; Young, Laurence R.

2015-01-01

Altered gravity environments, such as those experienced by astronauts, impact spatial orientation perception, and can lead to spatial disorientation and sensorimotor impairment. To more fully understand and quantify the impact of altered gravity on orientation perception, several mathematical models have been proposed. The utricular shear, tangent, and the idiotropic vector models aim to predict static perception of tilt in hyper-gravity. Predictions from these prior models are compared to the available data, but are found to systematically err from the perceptions experimentally observed. Alternatively, we propose a modified utricular shear model for static tilt perception in hyper-gravity. Previous dynamic models of vestibular function and orientation perception are limited to 1 G. Specifically, they fail to predict the characteristic overestimation of roll tilt observed in hyper-gravity environments. To address this, we have proposed a modification to a previous observer-type canal-otolith interaction model based upon the hypothesis that the central nervous system (CNS) treats otolith stimulation in the utricular plane differently than stimulation out of the utricular plane. Here we evaluate our modified utricular shear and modified observer models in four altered gravity motion paradigms: (a) static roll tilt in hyper-gravity, (b) static pitch tilt in hyper-gravity, (c) static roll tilt in hypo-gravity, and (d) static pitch tilt in hypo-gravity. The modified models match available data in each of the conditions considered. Our static modified utricular shear model and dynamic modified observer model may be used to help quantitatively predict astronaut perception of orientation in altered gravity environments. PMID:25999822

Human Cognition and Performance.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-05-01

implications. In D. LaBerge & S. J. Samuels (Eds.), Basic processes in reading: Perception and comprehesion. Hillsdale, NJ: Eribaum. Anderson, J. A...Also pub- lished individually as follows: Some observations on mental models, in D. Gentner and A. Stevens (Eds.), Mental models, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum...A. Stevens (Eds.), Mental Models. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaunm. Norman, D.A. (1983). Theories and models in cognitive psychology. In E. Douclkin (Ed

Monitoring safety and use of old and new treatment options for type 2 diabetic patients: a two-year (2013-2016) analysis.

PubMed

Leporini, Christian; Piro, Rosanna; Ursini, Francesco; Maida, Francesca; Palleria, Caterina; Arturi, Franco; Pavia, Maria; De Sarro, Giovambattista; Russo, Emilio

2016-12-01

To compare patients' and physicians' perceptions regarding effectiveness and tolerability of non-insulin hypoglycemic drugs in a cohort of type 2 diabetic patients; to verify whether a possible tridimensional link between effectiveness, tolerability, and adherence affects long-term therapeutic outcomes. A two-year observational study was performed in 1389 Type 2 diabetic patients by involving general practitioner clinics and Diabetes Centers. A decimal scale and the Morisky questionnaire were used, respectively, to assess effectiveness and tolerability perceptions, and medication adherence. Physicians perceived therapy as more efficacious compared to their patients: perceived effectiveness was steady for physicians during the study whereas patients' perception not significantly decreased (mean score from >8 to 7.84 ± 1.69). Physicians assigned higher tolerability scores compared to patients but only at the beginning of the study; interestingly, physicians' tolerability perception was poorer than patients' perception at last follow-up (mean score = 7.57 ± 1.40 vs. 7.88 ± 1.84). Favorable (score >7) patients' perceptions about treatment effectiveness and tolerability were associated with higher adherence. Patients showed medium adherence across the study. A mutual relationship between clinical effectiveness, adverse drug reactions, and adherence has been established, significantly impacting the clinical management of diabetic patients. A careful monitoring of this link by clinicians appears therefore necessary.

The Effects of Religion and Locus of Control on Perception of Mental Illness.

PubMed

Amedome, Sedem Nunyuia; Bedi, Innocent Kwame

2018-06-23

The study investigated the influence of religion and locus of control on perception of mental illness. Specifically, the study explored the relationship between religiosity and perception of mental illness, differences in perception by internals and externals, the effect of knowledge on perception of mental illness and the interactive effect of religiosity and locus of control on perception of mental illness. Data were collected from 200 participants in the Volta Region of Ghana. Three hypotheses were tested in the study using a battery of tests. It was observed that people with internal locus of control perceive mental patients positively than those with external locus of control. A significant interactive effect between religiosity and locus of control on perception of mental illness was observed. Religiosity significantly relates to perception of mental illness. The results and implications are discussed for further studies.

Is the straddle effect in contrast perception limited to second-order spatial vision?

PubMed Central

Graham, Norma V.; Wolfson, S. Sabina

2018-01-01

Previous work on the straddle effect in contrast perception (Foley, 2011; Graham & Wolfson, 2007; Wolfson & Graham, 2007, 2009) has used visual patterns and observer tasks of the type known as spatially second-order. After adaptation of about 1 s to a grid of Gabor patches all at one contrast, a second-order test pattern composed of two different test contrasts can be easy or difficult to perceive correctly. When the two test contrasts are both a bit less (or both a bit greater) than the adapt contrast, observers perform very well. However, when the two test contrasts straddle the adapt contrast (i.e., one of the test contrasts is greater than the adapt contrast and the other is less), performance drops dramatically. To explain this drop in performance—the straddle effect—we have suggested a contrast-comparison process. We began to wonder: Are second-order patterns necessary for the straddle effect? Here we show that the answer is “no”. We demonstrate the straddle effect using spatially first-order visual patterns and several different observer tasks. We also see the effect of contrast normalization using first-order visual patterns here, analogous to our prior findings with second-order visual patterns. We did find one difference between first- and second-order tasks: Performance in the first-order tasks was slightly lower. This slightly lower performance may be due to slightly greater memory load. For many visual scenes, the important quantity in human contrast processing may not be monotonic with physical contrast but may be something more like the unsigned difference between current contrast and recent average contrast. PMID:29904790

The "False Consensus Effect": An Egocentric Bias in Social Perception and Attribution Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Lee; And Others

1977-01-01

Evidence from four studies demonstrates that social observers tend to perceive a "false consensus" with respect to the relative commonness of their own responses. Implications of these findings for our understanding of social perception phenomena and for the analysis of the divergent perceptions of actors and observers are discussed. (Editor/RK)

Longitudinal Investigation of Perceptions towards University Concept through Metaphors: A University Sample in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Argon, Türkan

2015-01-01

This study aims to fill the gap in the field of observation-based longitudinal studies about metaphors in educational literature and investigates students' perceptions about the concept of university before and after university by identifying and comparing the change and the direction of change observed in perceptions. The phenomenological study…

Familiar Tonal Context Improves Accuracy of Pitch Interval Perception.

PubMed

Graves, Jackson E; Oxenham, Andrew J

2017-01-01

A fundamental feature of everyday music perception is sensitivity to familiar tonal structures such as musical keys. Many studies have suggested that a tonal context can enhance the perception and representation of pitch. Most of these studies have measured response time, which may reflect expectancy as opposed to perceptual accuracy. We instead used a performance-based measure, comparing participants' ability to discriminate between a "small, in-tune" interval and a "large, mistuned" interval in conditions that involved familiar tonal relations (diatonic, or major, scale notes), unfamiliar tonal relations (whole-tone or mistuned-diatonic scale notes), repetition of a single pitch, or no tonal context. The context was established with a brief sequence of tones in Experiment 1 (melodic context), and a cadence-like two-chord progression in Experiment 2 (harmonic context). In both experiments, performance significantly differed across the context conditions, with a diatonic context providing a significant advantage over no context; however, no correlation with years of musical training was observed. The diatonic tonal context also provided an advantage over the whole-tone scale context condition in Experiment 1 (melodic context), and over the mistuned scale or repetition context conditions in Experiment 2 (harmonic context). However, the relatively small benefit to performance suggests that the main advantage of tonal context may be priming of expected stimuli, rather than enhanced accuracy of pitch interval representation.

Physical Therapist Students' Perceptions from Performing Strength and Conditioning Training: Academic, Professional, and Clinical Benefits.

PubMed

Meiners, Kelly M; Wisdom, Christina M

2017-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess the perceptions of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students in performing collegiate athletes' strength and conditioning training. Four DPT students with the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) credential voluntarily provided collegiate athletes strength and conditioning training. Students were interviewed to obtain their perceptions of how the experience impacted performance in DPT school and perceptions of anticipated future benefits. Seven themes emerged from interviews: improved communication skills, movement analysis experience, improved time management/organization, increased understanding of exercises, attention to psychosocial aspects, interprofessional experience, and improved performance in coursework. DPT students with the CSCS credential perceived benefits from performing strength and conditioning training outside the standard DPT curriculum.

Combining oxytocin administration and positive emotion inductions: Examining social perception and analytical performance.

PubMed

Human, Lauren J; Thorson, Katherine R; Woolley, Joshua D; Mendes, Wendy Berry

2017-04-01

Intranasal administration of the hypothalamic neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has, in some studies, been associated with positive effects on social perception and cognition. Similarly, positive emotion inductions can improve a range of perceptual and performance-based behaviors. In this exploratory study, we examined how OT administration and positive emotion inductions interact in their associations with social and analytical performance. Participants (N=124) were randomly assigned to receive an intranasal spray of OT (40IU) or placebo and then viewed one of three videos designed to engender one of the following emotion states: social warmth, pride, or an affectively neutral state. Following the emotion induction, participants completed social perception and analytical tasks. There were no significant main effects of OT condition on social perception tasks, failing to replicate prior research, or on analytical performance. Further, OT condition and positive emotion inductions did not interact with each other in their associations with social perception performance. However, OT condition and positive emotion manipulations did significantly interact in their associations with analytical performance. Specifically, combining positive emotion inductions with OT administration was associated with worse analytical performance, with the pride induction no longer benefiting performance and the warmth induction resulting in worse performance. In sum, we found little evidence for main or interactive effects of OT on social perception but preliminary evidence that OT administration may impair analytical performance when paired with positive emotion inductions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Successful Graded Mirror Therapy in a Patient with Chronic Deafferentation Pain in Whom Traditional Mirror Therapy was Ineffective: A Case Report.

PubMed

Mibu, Akira; Nishigami, Tomohiko; Tanaka, Katsuyoshi; Osumi, Michihiro; Tanabe, Akihito

2016-04-01

A 43-year-old man had deafferentation pain in his right upper extremity secondary to brachial plexus avulsion from a traffic accident 23 years previously. On our initial examination, he had severe tingling pain with numbness in the right fingers rated 10 on the numerical rating scale. The body perception of the affected third and fourth fingers was distorted in the flexed position. Although he performed traditional mirror therapy (TMT) for 4 weeks in the same methods as seen in previous studies, he could not obtain willed motor imagery and pain-alleviation effect. Therefore, we modified the task of TMT: Graded mirror therapy (GMT). GMT consisted of five stages: (1) observation of the mirror reflection of the unaffected side without imagining any movements of the affected side; (2) observation of the mirror reflection of the third and fourth fingers changing shape gradually adjusted from a flexed position to a extended position; (3) observation of the mirror reflection of passive movement; (4) motor imagery of affected fingers with observation of the mirror reflection (similar to TMT); (5) motor imagery of affected fingers without mirror. Each task was performed for 3 to 4 weeks. As a result, pain intensity during mirror therapy gradually decreased and finally disappeared. The body perception of the affected fingers also improved, and he could imagine the movement of the fingers with or without mirror. We suggested that GMT starting from the observation task without motor imagery may effectively decrease deafferentation pain compared to TMT. © 2016 World Institute of Pain.

The Benefits of Residual Hair Cell Function for Speech and Music Perception in Pediatric Bimodal Cochlear Implant Listeners.

PubMed

Cheng, Xiaoting; Liu, Yangwenyi; Wang, Bing; Yuan, Yasheng; Galvin, John J; Fu, Qian-Jie; Shu, Yilai; Chen, Bing

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the benefits of residual hair cell function for speech and music perception in bimodal pediatric Mandarin-speaking cochlear implant (CI) listeners. Speech and music performance was measured in 35 Mandarin-speaking pediatric CI users for unilateral (CI-only) and bimodal listening. Mandarin speech perception was measured for vowels, consonants, lexical tones, and sentences in quiet. Music perception was measured for melodic contour identification (MCI). Combined electric and acoustic hearing significantly improved MCI and Mandarin tone recognition performance, relative to CI-only performance. For MCI, performance was significantly better with bimodal listening for all semitone spacing conditions ( p < 0.05 in all cases). For tone recognition, bimodal performance was significantly better only for tone 2 (rising; p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between CI-only and CI + HA for vowel, consonant, or sentence recognition. The results suggest that combined electric and acoustic hearing can significantly improve perception of music and Mandarin tones in pediatric Mandarin-speaking CI patients. Music and lexical tone perception depends strongly on pitch perception, and the contralateral acoustic hearing coming from residual hair cell function provided pitch cues that are generally not well preserved in electric hearing.

Relationships Among Peripheral and Central Electrophysiological Measures of Spatial and Spectral Selectivity and Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Users

PubMed Central

Scheperle, Rachel A.; Abbas, Paul J.

2014-01-01

Objectives The ability to perceive speech is related to the listener’s ability to differentiate among frequencies (i.e., spectral resolution). Cochlear implant (CI) users exhibit variable speech-perception and spectral-resolution abilities, which can be attributed in part to the extent of electrode interactions at the periphery (i.e., spatial selectivity). However, electrophysiological measures of peripheral spatial selectivity have not been found to correlate with speech perception. The purpose of this study was to evaluate auditory processing at the periphery and cortex using both simple and spectrally complex stimuli to better understand the stages of neural processing underlying speech perception. The hypotheses were that (1) by more completely characterizing peripheral excitation patterns than in previous studies, significant correlations with measures of spectral selectivity and speech perception would be observed, (2) adding information about processing at a level central to the auditory nerve would account for additional variability in speech perception, and (3) responses elicited with spectrally complex stimuli would be more strongly correlated with speech perception than responses elicited with spectrally simple stimuli. Design Eleven adult CI users participated. Three experimental processor programs (MAPs) were created to vary the likelihood of electrode interactions within each participant. For each MAP, a subset of 7 of 22 intracochlear electrodes was activated: adjacent (MAP 1), every-other (MAP 2), or every third (MAP 3). Peripheral spatial selectivity was assessed using the electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) to obtain channel-interaction functions for all activated electrodes (13 functions total). Central processing was assessed by eliciting the auditory change complex (ACC) with both spatial (electrode pairs) and spectral (rippled noise) stimulus changes. Speech-perception measures included vowel-discrimination and the Bamford-Kowal-Bench Sentence-in-Noise (BKB-SIN) test. Spatial and spectral selectivity and speech perception were expected to be poorest with MAP 1 (closest electrode spacing) and best with MAP 3 (widest electrode spacing). Relationships among the electrophysiological and speech-perception measures were evaluated using mixed-model and simple linear regression analyses. Results All electrophysiological measures were significantly correlated with each other and with speech perception for the mixed-model analysis, which takes into account multiple measures per person (i.e. experimental MAPs). The ECAP measures were the best predictor of speech perception. In the simple linear regression analysis on MAP 3 data, only the cortical measures were significantly correlated with speech; spectral ACC amplitude was the strongest predictor. Conclusions The results suggest that both peripheral and central electrophysiological measures of spatial and spectral selectivity provide valuable information about speech perception. Clinically, it is often desirable to optimize performance for individual CI users. These results suggest that ECAP measures may be the most useful for within-subject applications, when multiple measures are performed to make decisions about processor options. They also suggest that if the goal is to compare performance across individuals based on single measure, then processing central to the auditory nerve (specifically, cortical measures of discriminability) should be considered. PMID:25658746

Trends and correlates of the public’s perception of healthcare systems in the European Union: a multilevel analysis of Eurobarometer survey data from 2009 to 2013

PubMed Central

AlSaud, AlJohara M; Taddese, Henock B; Filippidis, Filippos T

2018-01-01

Objective The aim of the study is to assess trends in public perceptions of health systems in 27 European Union (EU) member states following the financial crisis (2009–2013), in order to discuss observed changes in the context of the financial crisis. Design Repeated cross-sectional studies. Setting 27 EU countries. Participants EU citizens aged 15 years and older. Methods The study mainly uses the Eurobarometer Social Climate Survey, conducted annually between 2009 and 2013, thereby analysing 116 706 observations. A multilevel logistic regression was carried out to analyse trends over time and the factors associated with citizens’ perceptions of their healthcare systems. Results Europeans generally exhibit positive perceptions of their national healthcare systems, 64.0% (95% CI 63.6% to 64.4%). However, we observed a significant drop in positive perceptions in the years following the crisis, especially within countries most affected by the crisis. Concerning fiscal characteristics, wealthier countries and those dedicating higher proportion of their national income to health were more likely to maintain positive perceptions. At the individual level, perceptions of healthcare systems were significantly associated with respondents’ self-perceptions of their social status, financial capacity and overall satisfaction in life. Conclusions Our finding confirms previous observations that citizens’ perceptions of their healthcare systems may reflect their overall prospects within the broader socioeconomic systems they live in; which have in turn been affected by the financial crisis and the policy measures instituted in response. PMID:29317413

Evidence for a synchronization of hormonal states between humans and dogs during competition.

PubMed

Buttner, Alicia Phillips; Thompson, Breanna; Strasser, Rosemary; Santo, Jonathan

2015-08-01

Social interactions with humans have been shown to influence hormonal processes in dogs, but it is unclear how the hormonal states of humans factor into this relationship. In this study, we explored the associations between changes in the cortisol levels of dogs with humans' hormonal changes, behavior, and perceptions of their performance at an agility competition. A total of 58 dogs and their handlers (44 women, 14 men) provided saliva samples before and after competing. Dogs' saliva samples were later assayed for cortisol and humans' samples for cortisol and testosterone. Following the competition, handler-dog interactions were observed for affiliative and punitive behavior towards their dogs, and handlers completed questionnaires that included personal ratings of their performance. Structural equation modeling revealed that elevations in handlers' cortisol levels were associated with increases in their dogs' cortisol levels. Handlers' affiliative and punitive behaviors towards their dogs following competition were associated with their ratings of their performance, but these variables were unrelated to changes in their own cortisol levels and their dogs', implying their behavior did not mediate the relationship. These findings suggest that changes in the hormonal states were reflected between humans and their dogs, and this relationship was not due to handlers' perceptions of their performance or the behaviors we observed during post-competition social interactions. This study is one of the first to provide evidence for a synchronization of hormonal changes between species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Seeing mental states: An experimental strategy for measuring the observability of other minds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becchio, Cristina; Koul, Atesh; Ansuini, Caterina; Bertone, Cesare; Cavallo, Andrea

2018-03-01

Is it possible to perceive others' mental states? Are mental states visible in others' behavior? In contrast to the traditional view that mental states are hidden and not directly accessible to perception, in recent years a phenomenologically-motivated account of social cognition has emerged: direct social perception. However, despite numerous published articles that both defend and critique direct perception, researchers have made little progress in articulating the conditions under which direct perception of others' mental states is possible. This paper proposes an empirically anchored approach to the observability of others' mentality - not just in the weak sense of discussing relevant empirical evidence for and against the phenomenon of interest, but also, and more specifically, in the stronger sense of identifying an experimental strategy for measuring the observability of mental states and articulating the conditions under which mental states are observable. We conclude this article by reframing the problem of direct perception in terms of establishing a definable and measurable relationship between movement features and perceived mental states.

The influence of the perception of a familial climate on job performance: mediation of loyalty to supervisors and moderation of filial behaviour.

PubMed

Jen, Chin-Kang; Chou, Li-Fang; Lin, Chu-Yen; Tsai, Ming-Che

2012-01-01

With a collectivist cultural perspective, we examined the positive effects of employees' perceptions of a familial climate on loyalty to supervisors, the mediation of loyalty between perception of a familial climate and job performance, and the moderation of employees' filial behaviour on the relationship between perception of a familial climate and loyalty. The participants consisted of 247 supervisor-and-subordinate dyads in Taiwan. The results supported our hypotheses. Through the mechanisms of family behaviour transference, social identification and supervisor-subordinate exchange, perception of an organizational familial climate enhanced loyalty to supervisors. Furthermore, loyalty to supervisors mediated the relationship between perception of a familial climate and job performance. Filial behaviour moderated the relationship between perception of a familial climate and loyalty; thus, the relationship of perception of a familial climate and loyalty was stronger for employees with low levels of filial behaviour and weaker for employees with high levels of filial behaviour. These findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications for future research and management practices.

Relationships Among Peripheral and Central Electrophysiological Measures of Spatial and Spectral Selectivity and Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Users.

PubMed

Scheperle, Rachel A; Abbas, Paul J

2015-01-01

The ability to perceive speech is related to the listener's ability to differentiate among frequencies (i.e., spectral resolution). Cochlear implant (CI) users exhibit variable speech-perception and spectral-resolution abilities, which can be attributed in part to the extent of electrode interactions at the periphery (i.e., spatial selectivity). However, electrophysiological measures of peripheral spatial selectivity have not been found to correlate with speech perception. The purpose of this study was to evaluate auditory processing at the periphery and cortex using both simple and spectrally complex stimuli to better understand the stages of neural processing underlying speech perception. The hypotheses were that (1) by more completely characterizing peripheral excitation patterns than in previous studies, significant correlations with measures of spectral selectivity and speech perception would be observed, (2) adding information about processing at a level central to the auditory nerve would account for additional variability in speech perception, and (3) responses elicited with spectrally complex stimuli would be more strongly correlated with speech perception than responses elicited with spectrally simple stimuli. Eleven adult CI users participated. Three experimental processor programs (MAPs) were created to vary the likelihood of electrode interactions within each participant. For each MAP, a subset of 7 of 22 intracochlear electrodes was activated: adjacent (MAP 1), every other (MAP 2), or every third (MAP 3). Peripheral spatial selectivity was assessed using the electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) to obtain channel-interaction functions for all activated electrodes (13 functions total). Central processing was assessed by eliciting the auditory change complex with both spatial (electrode pairs) and spectral (rippled noise) stimulus changes. Speech-perception measures included vowel discrimination and the Bamford-Kowal-Bench Speech-in-Noise test. Spatial and spectral selectivity and speech perception were expected to be poorest with MAP 1 (closest electrode spacing) and best with MAP 3 (widest electrode spacing). Relationships among the electrophysiological and speech-perception measures were evaluated using mixed-model and simple linear regression analyses. All electrophysiological measures were significantly correlated with each other and with speech scores for the mixed-model analysis, which takes into account multiple measures per person (i.e., experimental MAPs). The ECAP measures were the best predictor. In the simple linear regression analysis on MAP 3 data, only the cortical measures were significantly correlated with speech scores; spectral auditory change complex amplitude was the strongest predictor. The results suggest that both peripheral and central electrophysiological measures of spatial and spectral selectivity provide valuable information about speech perception. Clinically, it is often desirable to optimize performance for individual CI users. These results suggest that ECAP measures may be most useful for within-subject applications when multiple measures are performed to make decisions about processor options. They also suggest that if the goal is to compare performance across individuals based on a single measure, then processing central to the auditory nerve (specifically, cortical measures of discriminability) should be considered.

Gaze behavior and the perception of egocentric distance

PubMed Central

Gajewski, Daniel A.; Wallin, Courtney P.; Philbeck, John W.

2014-01-01

The ground plane is thought to be an important reference for localizing objects, particularly when angular declination is informative, as it is for objects seen resting at floor level. A potential role for eye movements has been implicated by the idea that information about the nearby ground is required to localize objects more distant, and by the fact that the time course for the extraction of distance extends beyond the duration of a typical eye fixation. To test this potential role, eye movements were monitored when participants previewed targets. Distance estimates were provided by walking without vision to the remembered target location (blind walking) or by verbal report. We found that a strategy of holding the gaze steady on the object was as frequent as one where the region between the observer and object was fixated. There was no performance advantage associated with making eye movements in an observational study (Experiment 1) or when an eye-movement strategy was manipulated experimentally (Experiment 2). Observers were extracting useful information covertly, however. In Experiments 3 through 5, obscuring the nearby ground plane had a modest impact on performance; obscuring the walls and ceiling was more detrimental. The results suggest that these alternate surfaces provide useful information when judging the distance to objects within indoor environments. Critically, they constrain the role for the nearby ground plane in theories of egocentric distance perception. PMID:24453346

ERP Modulation during Observation of Abstract Paintings by Franz Kline

PubMed Central

Sbriscia-Fioretti, Beatrice; Berchio, Cristina; Freedberg, David; Gallese, Vittorio; Umiltà, Maria Alessandra

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to test the involvement of sensorimotor cortical circuits during the beholding of the static consequences of hand gestures devoid of any meaning.In order to verify this hypothesis we performed an EEG experiment presenting to participants images of abstract works of art with marked traces of brushstrokes. The EEG data were analyzed by using Event Related Potentials (ERPs). We aimed to demonstrate a direct involvement of sensorimotor cortical circuits during the beholding of these selected works of abstract art. The stimuli consisted of three different abstract black and white paintings by Franz Kline. Results verified our experimental hypothesis showing the activation of premotor and motor cortical areas during stimuli observation. In addition, abstract works of art observation elicited the activation of reward-related orbitofrontal areas, and cognitive categorization-related prefrontal areas. The cortical sensorimotor activation is a fundamental neurophysiological demonstration of the direct involvement of the cortical motor system in perception of static meaningless images belonging to abstract art. These results support the role of embodied simulation of artist’s gestures in the perception of works of art. PMID:24130693

The role of Broca's area in speech perception: evidence from aphasia revisited.

PubMed

Hickok, Gregory; Costanzo, Maddalena; Capasso, Rita; Miceli, Gabriele

2011-12-01

Motor theories of speech perception have been re-vitalized as a consequence of the discovery of mirror neurons. Some authors have even promoted a strong version of the motor theory, arguing that the motor speech system is critical for perception. Part of the evidence that is cited in favor of this claim is the observation from the early 1980s that individuals with Broca's aphasia, and therefore inferred damage to Broca's area, can have deficits in speech sound discrimination. Here we re-examine this issue in 24 patients with radiologically confirmed lesions to Broca's area and various degrees of associated non-fluent speech production. Patients performed two same-different discrimination tasks involving pairs of CV syllables, one in which both CVs were presented auditorily, and the other in which one syllable was auditorily presented and the other visually presented as an orthographic form; word comprehension was also assessed using word-to-picture matching tasks in both auditory and visual forms. Discrimination performance on the all-auditory task was four standard deviations above chance, as measured using d', and was unrelated to the degree of non-fluency in the patients' speech production. Performance on the auditory-visual task, however, was worse than, and not correlated with, the all-auditory task. The auditory-visual task was related to the degree of speech non-fluency. Word comprehension was at ceiling for the auditory version (97% accuracy) and near ceiling for the orthographic version (90% accuracy). We conclude that the motor speech system is not necessary for speech perception as measured both by discrimination and comprehension paradigms, but may play a role in orthographic decoding or in auditory-visual matching of phonological forms. 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cognitive processing load during listening is reduced more by decreasing voice similarity than by increasing spatial separation between target and masker speech.

PubMed

Zekveld, Adriana A; Rudner, Mary; Kramer, Sophia E; Lyzenga, Johannes; Rönnberg, Jerker

2014-01-01

We investigated changes in speech recognition and cognitive processing load due to the masking release attributable to decreasing similarity between target and masker speech. This was achieved by using masker voices with either the same (female) gender as the target speech or different gender (male) and/or by spatially separating the target and masker speech using HRTFs. We assessed the relation between the signal-to-noise ratio required for 50% sentence intelligibility, the pupil response and cognitive abilities. We hypothesized that the pupil response, a measure of cognitive processing load, would be larger for co-located maskers and for same-gender compared to different-gender maskers. We further expected that better cognitive abilities would be associated with better speech perception and larger pupil responses as the allocation of larger capacity may result in more intense mental processing. In line with previous studies, the performance benefit from different-gender compared to same-gender maskers was larger for co-located masker signals. The performance benefit of spatially-separated maskers was larger for same-gender maskers. The pupil response was larger for same-gender than for different-gender maskers, but was not reduced by spatial separation. We observed associations between better perception performance and better working memory, better information updating, and better executive abilities when applying no corrections for multiple comparisons. The pupil response was not associated with cognitive abilities. Thus, although both gender and location differences between target and masker facilitate speech perception, only gender differences lower cognitive processing load. Presenting a more dissimilar masker may facilitate target-masker separation at a later (cognitive) processing stage than increasing the spatial separation between the target and masker. The pupil response provides information about speech perception that complements intelligibility data.

Cognitive processing load during listening is reduced more by decreasing voice similarity than by increasing spatial separation between target and masker speech

PubMed Central

Zekveld, Adriana A.; Rudner, Mary; Kramer, Sophia E.; Lyzenga, Johannes; Rönnberg, Jerker

2014-01-01

We investigated changes in speech recognition and cognitive processing load due to the masking release attributable to decreasing similarity between target and masker speech. This was achieved by using masker voices with either the same (female) gender as the target speech or different gender (male) and/or by spatially separating the target and masker speech using HRTFs. We assessed the relation between the signal-to-noise ratio required for 50% sentence intelligibility, the pupil response and cognitive abilities. We hypothesized that the pupil response, a measure of cognitive processing load, would be larger for co-located maskers and for same-gender compared to different-gender maskers. We further expected that better cognitive abilities would be associated with better speech perception and larger pupil responses as the allocation of larger capacity may result in more intense mental processing. In line with previous studies, the performance benefit from different-gender compared to same-gender maskers was larger for co-located masker signals. The performance benefit of spatially-separated maskers was larger for same-gender maskers. The pupil response was larger for same-gender than for different-gender maskers, but was not reduced by spatial separation. We observed associations between better perception performance and better working memory, better information updating, and better executive abilities when applying no corrections for multiple comparisons. The pupil response was not associated with cognitive abilities. Thus, although both gender and location differences between target and masker facilitate speech perception, only gender differences lower cognitive processing load. Presenting a more dissimilar masker may facilitate target-masker separation at a later (cognitive) processing stage than increasing the spatial separation between the target and masker. The pupil response provides information about speech perception that complements intelligibility data. PMID:24808818

Classifying acoustic signals into phoneme categories: average and dyslexic readers make use of complex dynamical patterns and multifractal scaling properties of the speech signal

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Several competing aetiologies of developmental dyslexia suggest that the problems with acquiring literacy skills are causally entailed by low-level auditory and/or speech perception processes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diverging claims about the specific deficient peceptual processes under conditions of strong inference. Theoretically relevant acoustic features were extracted from a set of artificial speech stimuli that lie on a /bAk/-/dAk/ continuum. The features were tested on their ability to enable a simple classifier (Quadratic Discriminant Analysis) to reproduce the observed classification performance of average and dyslexic readers in a speech perception experiment. The ‘classical’ features examined were based on component process accounts of developmental dyslexia such as the supposed deficit in Envelope Rise Time detection and the deficit in the detection of rapid changes in the distribution of energy in the frequency spectrum (formant transitions). Studies examining these temporal processing deficit hypotheses do not employ measures that quantify the temporal dynamics of stimuli. It is shown that measures based on quantification of the dynamics of complex, interaction-dominant systems (Recurrence Quantification Analysis and the multifractal spectrum) enable QDA to classify the stimuli almost identically as observed in dyslexic and average reading participants. It seems unlikely that participants used any of the features that are traditionally associated with accounts of (impaired) speech perception. The nature of the variables quantifying the temporal dynamics of the speech stimuli imply that the classification of speech stimuli cannot be regarded as a linear aggregate of component processes that each parse the acoustic signal independent of one another, as is assumed by the ‘classical’ aetiologies of developmental dyslexia. It is suggested that the results imply that the differences in speech perception performance between average and dyslexic readers represent a scaled continuum rather than being caused by a specific deficient component. PMID:25834769

Hospital Nurses' Work Activity in a Technology-Rich Environment: A Triangulated Quality Improvement Assessment.

PubMed

Higgins, Linda W; Shovel, Judith A; Bilderback, Andrew L; Lorenz, Holly L; Martin, Susan C; Rogers, Debra J; Minnier, Tamra E

The aim of this project was to describe hospital nurses' work activity through observations, nurses' perceptions of time spent on tasks, and electronic health record time stamps. Nurses' attitudes toward technology and patients' perceptions and satisfaction with nurses' time at the bedside were also examined. Activities most frequently observed included documenting in and reviewing the electronic health record. Nurses' perceptions of time differed significantly from observations, and most patients rated their satisfaction with nursing time as excellent or good.

Do resident's leadership skills relate to ratings of technical skill?

PubMed

Gannon, Samantha J; Law, Katherine E; Ray, Rebecca D; Nathwani, Jay N; DiMarco, Shannon M; D'Angelo, Anne-Lise D; Pugh, Carla M

2016-12-01

This study sought to compare general surgery research residents' survey information regarding self-efficacy ratings to their observed performance during a simulated small bowel repair. Their observed performance ratings were based on their leadership skills in directing their assistant. Participants were given 15 min to perform a bowel repair using bovine intestines with standardized injuries. Operative assistants were assigned to help assist with the repair. Before the procedure, participants were asked to rate their expected skills decay, task difficulty, and confidence in addressing the small bowel injury. Interactions were coded to identify the number of instructions given by the participants to the assistant during the repair. Statistical analyses assessed the relationship between the number of directional instructions and participants' perceptions self-efficacy measures. Directional instructions were defined as any dialog by the participant who guided the assistant to perform an action. Thirty-six residents (58.3% female) participated in the study. Participants who rated lower levels of decay in their intraoperative decision-making and small bowel repair skills were noted to use their assistant more by giving more instructions. Similarly, a higher number of instructions correlated with lower perceived difficulty in selecting the correct suture, suture pattern, and completing the entire surgical task. General surgery research residents' intraoperative leadership skills showed significant correlations to their perceptions of skill decay and task difficulty during a bowel repair. Evaluating resident's directional instructions may provide an additional individualized intraoperative assessment metric. Further evaluation relating to operative performance outcomes is warranted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mechanisms of functional improvement through cognitive rehabilitation in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Peña, J; Ibarretxe-Bilbao, N; Sánchez, P; Uriarte, J J; Elizagarate, E; Gutierrez, M; Ojeda, N

2018-06-01

Whereas the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation in schizophrenia is widely known, studies examining mechanisms for functional improvement are still scarce. The aim of the study was to examine the mediational mechanisms through which cognitive rehabilitation improves functioning in schizophrenia. One hundred and eleven schizophrenia patients were randomly assigned to either a 4-month cognitive rehabilitation group or an active control group. Patients underwent a neurocognitive battery (including processing speed, verbal memory, working memory and executive functioning) and social cognition assessment (emotion perception, theory of mind and social perception). Functioning was assessed by the combined use of a performance-based instrument, the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment (UPSA) and an observer-rated instrument, the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). The trial was registered in clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02796417). Multiple mediational analyses revealed that the effect of cognitive rehabilitation on functional improvement was partially mediated by changes in processing speed and verbal memory, but not by the domains of social cognition and negative symptoms. More specifically, verbal memory partially mediated the treatment's effect on performance-based functioning (UPSA), whereas processing speed acted as a partial mediator for observer-rated functioning (GAF). The effect of rehabilitation on functioning did not take place through all the domains that showed significant improvement. Verbal memory and processing speed emerged as the most crucial factors. However, these complex interactions need further research. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Corrective Feedback in L2 Latvian Classrooms: Teacher Perceptions versus the Observed Actualities of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dilans, Gatis

2016-01-01

This two-part study aims to investigate teacher perceptions about providing oral corrective feedback (CF) to minority students of Latvian as a second language and compare the perceptions to the actual provision of CF in L2 Latvian classrooms. The survey sample represents sixty-six L2 Latvian teachers while the classroom observations involved 13…

Gender Differences in College Students' Perceptions of Same-Sex Sexual Harassment: The Influence of Physical Attractiveness and Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gay Men

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castillo, Yenys; Muscarella, Frank; Szuchman, Lenore T.

2011-01-01

This study examined college students' perceptions of same-sex harassment as a function of the observer's gender, the initiator's physical attractiveness, and observers' attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. Ninety-six college students read a scenario portraying a professor's sexual advances toward a student. The Perception of Harassment…

'The stigma attached isn't true of real life': Challenging public perception of dementia through a participatory approach involving people with dementia (Innovative Practice).

PubMed

Reynolds, Laura; Innes, Anthea; Poyner, Christopher; Hambidge, Sarah

2017-02-01

This paper discusses the potential impact of viewing public performances of an orchestra comprising people with dementia, family members, student volunteers and professional symphony orchestra members in contributing to challenging negative perceptions of dementia. Negative perceptions of dementia abound despite recent policy attempts to challenge the stigma associated with the condition. This paper reports on the findings from the performance element of a music project for people with dementia, known as the BUDI Orchestra, designed to replicate the traditional rehearse and perform cycle of musicians. Data were collected via self-completion questionnaires from audience members ( N = 109) at three public performances. The performances exceeded the expectations of the general public, and findings suggest a positive impact on perceptions of dementia, demonstrating the power and potential of participatory approaches showcasing the achievements of those living with dementia when attempting to raise awareness of dementia and challenge negative perceptions.

Evaluation on health-related quality of life in deaf children with cochlear implant in China.

PubMed

Liu, Hong; Liu, Hong-Xiang; Kang, Hou-Yong; Gu, Zheng; Hong, Su-Ling

2016-09-01

Previous studies have shown that deaf children benefit considerably from cochlear implants. These improvements are found in areas such as speech perception, speech production, and audiology-verbal performance. Despite the increasing prevalence of cochlear implants in China, few studies have reported on health-related quality of life in children with cochlear implants. The main objective of this study was to explore health-related quality of life on children with cochlear implants in South-west China. A retrospective observational study of 213 CI users in Southwest China between 2010 and 2013. Participants were 213 individuals with bilateral severe-to-profound hearing loss who wore unilateral cochlear implants. The Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire and Health Utility Index Mark III were used pre-implantation and 1 year post-implantation. Additionally, 1-year postoperative scores for Mandarin speech perception were compared with preoperative scores. Health-related quality of life improved post-operation with scores on the Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire improving significantly in all subdomains, and the Health Utility Index 3 showing a significant improvement in the utility score and the subdomains of ''hearing," ''speech," and "emotion". Additionally, a significant improvement in speech recognition scores was found. No significant correlation was found between increased in quality of life and speech perception scores. Health-related quality of life and speech recognition in prelingual deaf children significantly improved post-operation. The lack of correlation between quality of life and speech perception suggests that when evaluating performance post-implantation in prelingual deaf children and adolescents, measures of both speech perception and quality of life should be used. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Immediate effects of spinal manipulation on thermal pain sensitivity: an experimental study

PubMed Central

George, Steven Z; Bishop, Mark D; Bialosky, Joel E; Zeppieri, Giorgio; Robinson, Michael E

2006-01-01

Background The underlying causes of spinal manipulation hypoalgesia are largely unknown. The beneficial clinical effects were originally theorized to be due to biomechanical changes, but recent research has suggested spinal manipulation may have a direct neurophysiological effect on pain perception through dorsal horn inhibition. This study added to this literature by investigating whether spinal manipulation hypoalgesia was: a) local to anatomical areas innervated by the lumbar spine; b) correlated with psychological variables; c) greater than hypoalgesia from physical activity; and d) different for A-delta and C-fiber mediated pain perception. Methods Asymptomatic subjects (n = 60) completed baseline psychological questionnaires and underwent thermal quantitative sensory testing for A-delta and C-fiber mediated pain perception. Subjects were then randomized to ride a stationary bicycle, perform lumbar extension exercise, or receive spinal manipulation. Quantitative sensory testing was repeated 5 minutes after the intervention period. Data were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA and post-hoc testing was performed with Bonferroni correction, as appropriate. Results Subjects in the three intervention groups did not differ on baseline characteristics. Hypoalgesia from spinal manipulation was observed in lumbar innervated areas, but not control (cervical innervated) areas. Hypoalgesic response was not strongly correlated with psychological variables. Spinal manipulation hypoalgesia for A-delta fiber mediated pain perception did not differ from stationary bicycle and lumbar extension (p > 0.05). Spinal manipulation hypoalgesia for C-fiber mediated pain perception was greater than stationary bicycle riding (p = 0.040), but not for lumbar extension (p = 0.105). Conclusion Local dorsal horn mediated inhibition of C-fiber input is a potential hypoalgesic mechanism of spinal manipulation for asymptomatic subjects, but further study is required to replicate this finding in subjects with low back pain. PMID:16911795

Parental perceptions in egg allergy: does egg challenge make a difference?

PubMed

Kemp, Andrew Stewart; Allen, Clare Wendy; Campbell, Dianne Elisabeth

2009-11-01

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of an oral egg challenge in egg sensitized children on parental perceptions relating to their child's allergy. A questionnaire was completed by parents for 167 children attending a tertiary paediatric clinic with egg sensitization. The questionnaires included 10 questions concerning parental perceptions of their child's egg allergy. Parental perceptions of those children who had not had an egg challenge (n = 83) were compared with those whose children had a positive (n = 27) and those with a negative (n = 57) egg challenge. A significant difference (p = < or =0.02) was observed between challenge positive(CP) and challenge negative (CN) subjects in reported changes to lifestyle and the fact that more parents in the CN group expected little or no future inconvenience for the child. The responses of parents whose child had undergone an egg challenge differed significantly (p = < or =0.005) from those not challenged with a significant reduction in the following parameters; the effect on out-of-home care arrangements, the perception of being more severe as compared to other common childhood illnesses, whether they found egg allergy to be moderately or very stressful, whether their lifestyle was changed, the expectation of little or no future discomfort for the child and whether others treated the child differently. The performance of an egg challenge was associated with reduced adverse parental concerns. For 6/10 parameters, expectations concerning egg allergy in children who had been challenged were significantly better than those who had never been challenged irrespective of the challenge outcome. The greater certainty provided by the performance of a food challenge may be a positive outcome in both CP and CN children.

The impact of cardiac perception on emotion experience and cognitive performance under mental stress.

PubMed

Kindermann, Nicole K; Werner, Natalie S

2014-12-01

Mental stress evokes several physiological responses such as the acceleration of heart rate, increase of electrodermal activity and the release of adrenaline. Moreover, physiological stress responses interact with emotional and behavioral stress responses. In the present study we provide evidence that viscero-sensory feedback from the heart (cardiac perception) is an important factor modulating emotional and cognitive stress responses. In our study, we compared participants with high versus low cardiac perception using a computerized mental stress task, in which they had to respond to rapidly presented visual and acoustic stimuli. Additionally, we assessed physiological responses (heart rate, skin conductance). Participants high in cardiac perception reported more negative emotions and showed worse task performance under the stressor than participants low in cardiac perception. These results were not moderated by physiological responses. We conclude that cardiac perception modulates stress responses by intensifying negative emotions and by impairing cognitive performance.

Motion perception and driving: predicting performance through testing and shortening braking reaction times through training.

PubMed

Wilkins, Luke; Gray, Rob; Gaska, James; Winterbottom, Marc

2013-12-30

A driving simulator was used to examine the relationship between motion perception and driving performance. Although motion perception test scores have been shown to be related to driving safety, it is not clear which combination of tests are the best predictors and whether motion perception training can improve driving performance. In experiment 1, 60 younger drivers (22.4 ± 2.5 years) completed three motion perception tests (2-dimensional [2D] motion-defined letter [MDL] identification, 3D motion in depth sensitivity [MID], and dynamic visual acuity [DVA]) followed by two driving tests (emergency braking [EB] and hazard perception [HP]). In experiment 2, 20 drivers (21.6 ± 2.1 years) completed 6 weeks of motion perception training (using the MDL, MID, and DVA tests), while 20 control drivers (22.0 ± 2.7 years) completed an online driving safety course. The EB performance was measured before and after training. In experiment 1, MDL (r = 0.34) and MID (r = 0.46) significantly correlated with EB score. The change in DVA score as a function of target speed (i.e., "velocity susceptibility") was correlated most strongly with HP score (r = -0.61). In experiment 2, the motion perception training group had a significant decrease in brake reaction time on the EB test from pre- to posttreatment, while there was no significant change for the control group: t(38) = 2.24, P = 0.03. Tests of 3D motion perception are the best predictor of EB, while DVA velocity susceptibility is the best predictor of hazard perception. Motion perception training appears to result in faster braking responses.

Speech Perception With Combined Electric-Acoustic Stimulation: A Simulation and Model Comparison.

PubMed

Rader, Tobias; Adel, Youssef; Fastl, Hugo; Baumann, Uwe

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to simulate speech perception with combined electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS), verify the advantage of combined stimulation in normal-hearing (NH) subjects, and then compare it with cochlear implant (CI) and EAS user results from the authors' previous study. Furthermore, an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system was built to examine the impact of low-frequency information and is proposed as an applied model to study different hypotheses of the combined-stimulation advantage. Signal-detection-theory (SDT) models were applied to assess predictions of subject performance without the need to assume any synergistic effects. Speech perception was tested using a closed-set matrix test (Oldenburg sentence test), and its speech material was processed to simulate CI and EAS hearing. A total of 43 NH subjects and a customized ASR system were tested. CI hearing was simulated by an aurally adequate signal spectrum analysis and representation, the part-tone-time-pattern, which was vocoded at 12 center frequencies according to the MED-EL DUET speech processor. Residual acoustic hearing was simulated by low-pass (LP)-filtered speech with cutoff frequencies 200 and 500 Hz for NH subjects and in the range from 100 to 500 Hz for the ASR system. Speech reception thresholds were determined in amplitude-modulated noise and in pseudocontinuous noise. Previously proposed SDT models were lastly applied to predict NH subject performance with EAS simulations. NH subjects tested with EAS simulations demonstrated the combined-stimulation advantage. Increasing the LP cutoff frequency from 200 to 500 Hz significantly improved speech reception thresholds in both noise conditions. In continuous noise, CI and EAS users showed generally better performance than NH subjects tested with simulations. In modulated noise, performance was comparable except for the EAS at cutoff frequency 500 Hz where NH subject performance was superior. The ASR system showed similar behavior to NH subjects despite a positive signal-to-noise ratio shift for both noise conditions, while demonstrating the synergistic effect for cutoff frequencies ≥300 Hz. One SDT model largely predicted the combined-stimulation results in continuous noise, while falling short of predicting performance observed in modulated noise. The presented simulation was able to demonstrate the combined-stimulation advantage for NH subjects as observed in EAS users. Only NH subjects tested with EAS simulations were able to take advantage of the gap listening effect, while CI and EAS user performance was consistently degraded in modulated noise compared with performance in continuous noise. The application of ASR systems seems feasible to assess the impact of different signal processing strategies on speech perception with CI and EAS simulations. In continuous noise, SDT models were largely able to predict the performance gain without assuming any synergistic effects, but model amendments are required to explain the gap listening effect in modulated noise.

Effects of acute ingestion of a pre-workout dietary supplement with and without p-synephrine on resting energy expenditure, cognitive function and exercise performance.

PubMed

Jung, Y Peter; Earnest, Conrad P; Koozehchian, Majid; Galvan, Elfego; Dalton, Ryan; Walker, Dillon; Rasmussen, Christopher; Murano, Peter S; Greenwood, Mike; Kreider, Richard B

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of acute ingestion of a pre-workout dietary supplement (PWS) with and without p- synephrine (S) on perceptions of readiness to perform, cognitive function, exercise performance, and markers of safety. In a randomized, double-blind, and counterbalanced manner; 25 healthy and recreationally active male and female participants ingested a flavored maltodextrin placebo (PLA), a PWS containing beta-alanine (3 g), creatine nitrate as a salt (2 g), arginine alpha-ketoglutarate (2 g), N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine (300 mg), caffeine (284 mg), Mucuna pruiriens extract standardized for 15% L-Dopa (15 mg), Vitamin C as Ascorbic Acid (500 mg), niacin (60 mg), folate as folic acid (50 mg), and Vitamin B12 as Methylcobalamin (70 mg) with 2 g of maltodextrin and flavoring; or, the PWS with Citrus aurantium (PWS + S) extract standardized for 30% p -synephrine (20 mg). Participants had heart rate (HR), blood pressure, resting energy expenditure (REE), 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECG), perceptions about readiness to perform, cognitive function (Stroop Color-Word test), bench and leg press performance (2 sets of 10 repetitions at 70% of 1RM and 1 set to failure), and Wingate anaerobic capacity (WAC) sprint performance determined as well as donated blood samples prior to and/or following exercise/supplementation. Data were analyzed by MANOVA with repeated measures as well as mean changes from baseline with 95% confidence intervals (CI). No clinically significant differences were observed among treatments in HR, blood pressure, ECG, or general clinical blood panels. There was evidence that PWS and PWS + S ingestion promoted greater changes in REE responses. Participants reported higher perception of optimism about performance and vigor and energy with PWS and PWS + S ingestion and there was evidence that PWS and PWS + S improved changes in cognitive function scores from baseline to a greater degree than PLA after 1 or 2 h. However, the scores in the PWS + S treatment did not exceed PLA or PWS responses at any data point. No statistically significant differences were observed among treatments in total bench press lifting volume, leg press lifting volume or WAC sprint performance. Within the confines of this study, ingestion of PWS and/or PWS + S prior to exercise appears to be well-tolerated when consumed by young, healthy individuals. The primary effects appear to be to increase REE responses and improve perceptions about readiness to perform and cognitive function with limited to no effects on muscular endurance and WAC. The addition of 20 mg of p -synephrine to the PWS provided limited to no additive benefits. This trial (NCT02952014) was retrospectively registered on September 13th 2016.

Infant and Adult Perceptions of Possible and Impossible Body Movements: An Eye-Tracking Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morita, Tomoyo; Slaughter, Virginia; Katayama, Nobuko; Kitazaki, Michiteru; Kakigi, Ryusuke; Itakura, Shoji

2012-01-01

This study investigated how infants perceive and interpret human body movement. We recorded the eye movements and pupil sizes of 9- and 12-month-old infants and of adults (N = 14 per group) as they observed animation clips of biomechanically possible and impossible arm movements performed by a human and by a humanoid robot. Both 12-month-old…

Relationship between Speech Production and Perception in People Who Stutter.

PubMed

Lu, Chunming; Long, Yuhang; Zheng, Lifen; Shi, Guang; Liu, Li; Ding, Guosheng; Howell, Peter

2016-01-01

Speech production difficulties are apparent in people who stutter (PWS). PWS also have difficulties in speech perception compared to controls. It is unclear whether the speech perception difficulties in PWS are independent of, or related to, their speech production difficulties. To investigate this issue, functional MRI data were collected on 13 PWS and 13 controls whilst the participants performed a speech production task and a speech perception task. PWS performed poorer than controls in the perception task and the poorer performance was associated with a functional activity difference in the left anterior insula (part of the speech motor area) compared to controls. PWS also showed a functional activity difference in this and the surrounding area [left inferior frontal cortex (IFC)/anterior insula] in the production task compared to controls. Conjunction analysis showed that the functional activity differences between PWS and controls in the left IFC/anterior insula coincided across the perception and production tasks. Furthermore, Granger Causality Analysis on the resting-state fMRI data of the participants showed that the causal connection from the left IFC/anterior insula to an area in the left primary auditory cortex (Heschl's gyrus) differed significantly between PWS and controls. The strength of this connection correlated significantly with performance in the perception task. These results suggest that speech perception difficulties in PWS are associated with anomalous functional activity in the speech motor area, and the altered functional connectivity from this area to the auditory area plays a role in the speech perception difficulties of PWS.

Collaborative Brain-Computer Interface for Aiding Decision-Making

PubMed Central

Poli, Riccardo; Valeriani, Davide; Cinel, Caterina

2014-01-01

We look at the possibility of integrating the percepts from multiple non-communicating observers as a means of achieving better joint perception and better group decisions. Our approach involves the combination of a brain-computer interface with human behavioural responses. To test ideas in controlled conditions, we asked observers to perform a simple matching task involving the rapid sequential presentation of pairs of visual patterns and the subsequent decision as whether the two patterns in a pair were the same or different. We recorded the response times of observers as well as a neural feature which predicts incorrect decisions and, thus, indirectly indicates the confidence of the decisions made by the observers. We then built a composite neuro-behavioural feature which optimally combines the two measures. For group decisions, we uses a majority rule and three rules which weigh the decisions of each observer based on response times and our neural and neuro-behavioural features. Results indicate that the integration of behavioural responses and neural features can significantly improve accuracy when compared with the majority rule. An analysis of event-related potentials indicates that substantial differences are present in the proximity of the response for correct and incorrect trials, further corroborating the idea of using hybrids of brain-computer interfaces and traditional strategies for improving decision making. PMID:25072739

Depth perception not found in human observers for static or dynamic anti-correlated random dot stereograms.

PubMed

Hibbard, Paul B; Scott-Brown, Kenneth C; Haigh, Emma C; Adrain, Melanie

2014-01-01

One of the greatest challenges in visual neuroscience is that of linking neural activity with perceptual experience. In the case of binocular depth perception, important insights have been achieved through comparing neural responses and the perception of depth, for carefully selected stimuli. One of the most important types of stimulus that has been used here is the anti-correlated random dot stereogram (ACRDS). In these stimuli, the contrast polarity of one half of a stereoscopic image is reversed. While neurons in cortical area V1 respond reliably to the binocular disparities in ACRDS, they do not create a sensation of depth. This discrepancy has been used to argue that depth perception must rely on neural activity elsewhere in the brain. Currently, the psychophysical results on which this argument rests are not clear-cut. While it is generally assumed that ACRDS do not support the perception of depth, some studies have reported that some people, some of the time, perceive depth in some types of these stimuli. Given the importance of these results for understanding the neural correlates of stereopsis, we studied depth perception in ACRDS using a large number of observers, in order to provide an unambiguous conclusion about the extent to which these stimuli support the perception of depth. We presented observers with random dot stereograms in which correlated dots were presented in a surrounding annulus and correlated or anti-correlated dots were presented in a central circular region. While observers could reliably report the depth of the central region for correlated stimuli, we found no evidence for depth perception in static or dynamic anti-correlated stimuli. Confidence ratings for stereoscopic perception were uniformly low for anti-correlated stimuli, but showed normal variation with disparity for correlated stimuli. These results establish that the inability of observers to perceive depth in ACRDS is a robust phenomenon.

Depth Perception Not Found in Human Observers for Static or Dynamic Anti-Correlated Random Dot Stereograms

PubMed Central

Hibbard, Paul B.; Scott-Brown, Kenneth C.; Haigh, Emma C.; Adrain, Melanie

2014-01-01

One of the greatest challenges in visual neuroscience is that of linking neural activity with perceptual experience. In the case of binocular depth perception, important insights have been achieved through comparing neural responses and the perception of depth, for carefully selected stimuli. One of the most important types of stimulus that has been used here is the anti-correlated random dot stereogram (ACRDS). In these stimuli, the contrast polarity of one half of a stereoscopic image is reversed. While neurons in cortical area V1 respond reliably to the binocular disparities in ACRDS, they do not create a sensation of depth. This discrepancy has been used to argue that depth perception must rely on neural activity elsewhere in the brain. Currently, the psychophysical results on which this argument rests are not clear-cut. While it is generally assumed that ACRDS do not support the perception of depth, some studies have reported that some people, some of the time, perceive depth in some types of these stimuli. Given the importance of these results for understanding the neural correlates of stereopsis, we studied depth perception in ACRDS using a large number of observers, in order to provide an unambiguous conclusion about the extent to which these stimuli support the perception of depth. We presented observers with random dot stereograms in which correlated dots were presented in a surrounding annulus and correlated or anti-correlated dots were presented in a central circular region. While observers could reliably report the depth of the central region for correlated stimuli, we found no evidence for depth perception in static or dynamic anti-correlated stimuli. Confidence ratings for stereoscopic perception were uniformly low for anti-correlated stimuli, but showed normal variation with disparity for correlated stimuli. These results establish that the inability of observers to perceive depth in ACRDS is a robust phenomenon. PMID:24416195

Congruence between Spouses’ Perceptions and Observers’ Ratings of Responsiveness: The Role of Attachment Avoidance

PubMed Central

Beck, Lindsey A.; Pietromonaco, Paula R.; DeVito, Cassandra C.; Powers, Sally I.; Boyle, Alysia M.

2016-01-01

Although close relationships require partners to depend on one another for mutual responsiveness, avoidantly-attached individuals are especially averse to risking such dependency. The authors propose that both avoidant and non-avoidant individuals perceive signs of their own and their partners’ responsiveness in ways that reflect motivated perceptions of dependency. The present research examined how the interplay between spouses’ attachment avoidance and observed responsive behaviors during marital conflict shaped perceptions of their own and their partners’ responsiveness. Newlywed couples attempted to resolve a relationship conflict, then reported perceptions of their own and their partners’ responsiveness during the conflict. Observers also coded both partners’ responsive behaviors during the conflict. Avoidant husbands perceived themselves as less responsive than did observers; avoidant wives’ perceptions that their husbands were less responsive matched observers’ ratings. The discussion highlights the role of gender role norms in understanding links between attachment and responsiveness. PMID:24132245

Melodic Contour Identification and Music Perception by Cochlear Implant Users

PubMed Central

Galvin, John J.; Fu, Qian-Jie; Shannon, Robert V.

2013-01-01

Research and outcomes with cochlear implants (CIs) have revealed a dichotomy in the cues necessary for speech and music recognition. CI devices typically transmit 16–22 spectral channels, each modulated slowly in time. This coarse representation provides enough information to support speech understanding in quiet and rhythmic perception in music, but not enough to support speech understanding in noise or melody recognition. Melody recognition requires some capacity for complex pitch perception, which in turn depends strongly on access to spectral fine structure cues. Thus, temporal envelope cues are adequate for speech perception under optimal listening conditions, while spectral fine structure cues are needed for music perception. In this paper, we present recent experiments that directly measure CI users’ melodic pitch perception using a melodic contour identification (MCI) task. While normal-hearing (NH) listeners’ performance was consistently high across experiments, MCI performance was highly variable across CI users. CI users’ MCI performance was significantly affected by instrument timbre, as well as by the presence of a competing instrument. In general, CI users had great difficulty extracting melodic pitch from complex stimuli. However, musically-experienced CI users often performed as well as NH listeners, and MCI training in less experienced subjects greatly improved performance. With fixed constraints on spectral resolution, such as it occurs with hearing loss or an auditory prosthesis, training and experience can provide a considerable improvements in music perception and appreciation. PMID:19673835

Nonverbal Social Communication and Gesture Control in Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Walther, Sebastian; Stegmayer, Katharina; Sulzbacher, Jeanne; Vanbellingen, Tim; Müri, René; Strik, Werner; Bohlhalter, Stephan

2015-01-01

Schizophrenia patients are severely impaired in nonverbal communication, including social perception and gesture production. However, the impact of nonverbal social perception on gestural behavior remains unknown, as is the contribution of negative symptoms, working memory, and abnormal motor behavior. Thus, the study tested whether poor nonverbal social perception was related to impaired gesture performance, gestural knowledge, or motor abnormalities. Forty-six patients with schizophrenia (80%), schizophreniform (15%), or schizoaffective disorder (5%) and 44 healthy controls matched for age, gender, and education were included. Participants completed 4 tasks on nonverbal communication including nonverbal social perception, gesture performance, gesture recognition, and tool use. In addition, they underwent comprehensive clinical and motor assessments. Patients presented impaired nonverbal communication in all tasks compared with controls. Furthermore, in contrast to controls, performance in patients was highly correlated between tasks, not explained by supramodal cognitive deficits such as working memory. Schizophrenia patients with impaired gesture performance also demonstrated poor nonverbal social perception, gestural knowledge, and tool use. Importantly, motor/frontal abnormalities negatively mediated the strong association between nonverbal social perception and gesture performance. The factors negative symptoms and antipsychotic dosage were unrelated to the nonverbal tasks. The study confirmed a generalized nonverbal communication deficit in schizophrenia. Specifically, the findings suggested that nonverbal social perception in schizophrenia has a relevant impact on gestural impairment beyond the negative influence of motor/frontal abnormalities. PMID:25646526

Psychomotor performance during a 28 day head-down tilt with and without lower body negative pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Traon, A. Pavy-le; de Feneyrols, A. Rous; Cornac, A.; Abdeseelam, R.; N'uygen, D.; Lazerges, M.; Güell, A.; Bes, A.

Several factors may affect psychomotor performance in space: sensory-motor changes, sleep disturbances, psychological modifications induced by the social isolation and confinement. However, psychomotor performance is difficult to assess. A battery of standardized and computerized tests, so-called "Automated Portable Test System" (APTS) was devised to ascertain the cognitive, perceptive and motor abilities and their possible fluctuations according to environmental effects. Antiorthostatic bedrest, often used to simulate weightlessness, (particularly cardiovascular modifications) also constitutes a situation of social confinement and isolation. During two bedrest experiments (with head-down tilt of -6°) of 28 days each, we intended to assess psychomotor performance of 6 males so as to determine whether: —on the one hand, it could be altered by remaining in decubitus; —on the other, the Lower Body Negative Pressure sessions, designed to prevent orthostatic intolerance back on Earth, could improve the performance. To accomplish this, part of the APTS tests as well as an automated perceptive attention test were performed. No downgrading of psychomotor performance was observed. On the contrary, the tasks were more accurately performed over time. In order to assess the experimental conditions on the acquisition phase, the learning curves were modelled. A beneficial effect of the LBNP sessions on simple tests involving the visual-motor coordination and attention faculties can only be regarded as a mere trend. Methods used in this experiment are also discussed.

How Employees' Perception of Information Technology Application and Their Knowledge Management Capacity Influence Organisational Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuo, Yen-Ku; Ye, Kung-Don

2010-01-01

This study investigates how workers' gender, work experience, designated division, and appointment affect (i) their perception of information technology (IT) within the organisation, (ii) their self-perceived capacity in knowledge management (KM), and (iii) their perception of organisational performance (OP). Furthermore, the study also examines…

Psychological distress and academic self-perception among international medical students: the role of peer social support.

PubMed

Yamada, Yukari; Klugar, Miloslav; Ivanova, Katerina; Oborna, Ivana

2014-11-28

Psychological distress among medical students is commonly observed during medical education and is generally related to poor academic self-perception. We evaluated the role of peer social support at medical schools in the association between psychological distress and academic self-perception. An online survey was conducted in a medical degree program for 138 international students educated in English in the Czech Republic. The Medical Student Well-Being Index was used to define the students' psychological distress. Perceived peer social support was investigated with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Poor academic self-perception was defined as the lowest 30% of a subscale score of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure. Analyses evaluated the presence of additive interactions between psychological distress and peer social support on poor academic self-perception, adjusted for possible confounders. Both psychological distress and low peer social support were negatively associated with poor academic self-perception, adjusted for local language proficiency and social support from family. Students with psychological distress and low peer social support had an odds ratio of 11.0 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.1-56.6) for poor academic self-perception as compared with those without distress who had high peer social support. The presence of an additive interaction was confirmed in that the joint association was four times as large as what would have been expected to be on summing the individual risks of psychological distress and low peer social support (synergy index = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.3-14.9). Psychological distress and low peer social support may synergistically increase the probability of poor academic self-perception among international medical students. Promoting peer social relationships at medical school may interrupt the vicious cycle of psychological distress and poor academic performance.

Evaluating Mediated Perception of Narrative Health Messages: The Perception of Narrative Performance Scale

PubMed Central

Lee, Jeong Kyu; Hecht, Michael L.; Miller-Day, Michelle; Elek, Elvira

2011-01-01

Narrative media health messages have proven effective in preventing adolescents’ substance use but as yet few measures exist to assess perceptions of them. Without such a measure it is difficult to evaluate the role these messages play in health promotion or to differentiate them from other message forms. In response to this need, a study was conducted to evaluate the Perception of Narrative Performance Scale that assesses perceptions of narrative health messages. A sample of 1185 fifth graders in public schools at Phoenix, Arizona completed a questionnaire rating of two videos presenting narrative substance use prevention messages. Confirmatory factor analyses were computed to identify the factor structure of the scale. Consistent with prior studies, results suggest a 3 factor structure for the Perception of Narrative Performance Scale: interest, realism, and identification (with characters). In addition, a path analysis was performed to test the predictive power of the scale. The analysis shows that the scale proves useful in predicting intent to use substances. Finally, practical implications and limitations are discussed. PMID:21822459

Teacher Perceptions about Observation Conferences: What Do Teachers Think about Their Formative Supervision in One US School District?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Range, Bret G.; Young, Suzie; Hvidston, David

2013-01-01

This study measured teachers' perceptions about the important elements of the pre- and post-observation conferences within one school district in a US state. Overall, respondents valued the post-observation conference more than the pre-observation conference and identified trusting relationships, constructive feedback, reflection and areas of…

Cognitive performance and morning levels of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase in children reporting high vs. low daily stress perception.

PubMed

Maldonado, Enrique F; Fernandez, Francisco J; Trianes, M Victoria; Wesnes, Keith; Petrini, Orlando; Zangara, Andrea; Enguix, Alfredo; Ambrosetti, Lara

2008-05-01

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of daily stress perception on cognitive performance and morning basal salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels in healthy children aged 9-12. Participants were classified by whether they had low daily perceived stress (LPS, n = 27) or a high daily perceived stress (HPS, n = 26) using the Children Daily Stress Inventory (CDSI). Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were measured at awakening and 30 minutes later. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research assessment system. The HPS group exhibited significantly poorer scores on speed of memory (p < .05) and continuity of attention (p < .05) relative to the LPS group. The HPS group also showed significantly lower morning cortisol levels at awakening and at +30 minutes measures in comparison with the LPS group (p < .05), and mean morning cortisol levels were negatively correlated with speed of memory (p < .05) in the 53 participants. No significant differences were observed between both groups in alpha-amylase levels. These findings suggest that daily perceived stress in children may impoverish cognitive performance via its modulating effects on the HPA axis activity.

Investigating the Role of an Inquiry-Based Biology Lab Course on Student Attitudes and Views toward Science

PubMed Central

Jeffery, Erica; Nomme, Kathy; Deane, Thomas; Pollock, Carol; Birol, Gülnur

2016-01-01

Students’ academic experiences can influence their conceptualization of science. In contrast experts hold particular beliefs, perceptions, opinions, and attitudes about science that are often absent in first-year undergraduate students. Shifts toward more expert-like attitudes and views have been linked to improved student engagement, critical-thinking ability, conceptual understanding, and academic performance. In this study, we investigate shifts in attitudes and views toward science by students in four biology classes with differences in student enrollment, academic support, and instruction. We observe significant, positive effects of enrollment in a guided-inquiry lab course and academic performance on the percentage of expert-like student attitudes and views at the end of term. We also identify variation in two aspects of student attitudes and views: 1) confidence and interest and 2) understanding and acceptance. In particular, enrollment in the lab course boosts student confidence and interest in scientific inquiry in the short term, even for students with low academic performance or little English-language experience. Our results suggest that low-performing students in particular may require additional opportunities for experiential learning or greater academic support to develop expert-like perceptions of biology as a science. PMID:27856549

Trends and correlates of the public's perception of healthcare systems in the European Union: a multilevel analysis of Eurobarometer survey data from 2009 to 2013.

PubMed

AlSaud, AlJohara M; Taddese, Henock B; Filippidis, Filippos T

2018-01-08

The aim of the study is to assess trends in public perceptions of health systems in 27 European Union (EU) member states following the financial crisis (2009-2013), in order to discuss observed changes in the context of the financial crisis. Repeated cross-sectional studies. 27 EU countries. EU citizens aged 15 years and older. The study mainly uses the Eurobarometer Social Climate Survey, conducted annually between 2009 and 2013, thereby analysing 116 706 observations. A multilevel logistic regression was carried out to analyse trends over time and the factors associated with citizens' perceptions of their healthcare systems. Europeans generally exhibit positive perceptions of their national healthcare systems, 64.0% (95% CI 63.6% to 64.4%). However, we observed a significant drop in positive perceptions in the years following the crisis, especially within countries most affected by the crisis. Concerning fiscal characteristics, wealthier countries and those dedicating higher proportion of their national income to health were more likely to maintain positive perceptions. At the individual level, perceptions of healthcare systems were significantly associated with respondents' self-perceptions of their social status, financial capacity and overall satisfaction in life. Our finding confirms previous observations that citizens' perceptions of their healthcare systems may reflect their overall prospects within the broader socioeconomic systems they live in; which have in turn been affected by the financial crisis and the policy measures instituted in response. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Does the Timing of Transition Matter? Comparison of German Students' Self-Perceptions before and after Transition to Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arens, A. Katrin; Yeung, Alexander Seeshing; Craven, Rhonda G.; Watermann, Rainer; Hasselhorn, Marcus

2013-01-01

The often observed decline in students' self-perceptions across transition to secondary school after grade 6 is often attributed to students' entry to puberty. This study aims to examine whether lowered self-perceptions can be observed after transition in Germany which occurs after grade 4 and thus takes place before puberty. Fifth graders (N =…

The perception of prosody and associated auditory cues in early-implanted children: the role of auditory working memory and musical activities.

PubMed

Torppa, Ritva; Faulkner, Andrew; Huotilainen, Minna; Järvikivi, Juhani; Lipsanen, Jari; Laasonen, Marja; Vainio, Martti

2014-03-01

To study prosodic perception in early-implanted children in relation to auditory discrimination, auditory working memory, and exposure to music. Word and sentence stress perception, discrimination of fundamental frequency (F0), intensity and duration, and forward digit span were measured twice over approximately 16 months. Musical activities were assessed by questionnaire. Twenty-one early-implanted and age-matched normal-hearing (NH) children (4-13 years). Children with cochlear implants (CIs) exposed to music performed better than others in stress perception and F0 discrimination. Only this subgroup of implanted children improved with age in word stress perception, intensity discrimination, and improved over time in digit span. Prosodic perception, F0 discrimination and forward digit span in implanted children exposed to music was equivalent to the NH group, but other implanted children performed more poorly. For children with CIs, word stress perception was linked to digit span and intensity discrimination: sentence stress perception was additionally linked to F0 discrimination. Prosodic perception in children with CIs is linked to auditory working memory and aspects of auditory discrimination. Engagement in music was linked to better performance across a range of measures, suggesting that music is a valuable tool in the rehabilitation of implanted children.

Children's perceptions of the classroom environment and social and academic performance: a longitudinal analysis of the contribution of the Responsive Classroom approach.

PubMed

Brock, Laura L; Nishida, Tracy K; Chiong, Cynthia; Grimm, Kevin J; Rimm-Kaufman, Sara E

2008-04-01

This study examines the contribution of the Responsive Classroom (RC) Approach, a set of teaching practices that integrate social and academic learning, to children's perceptions of their classroom, and children's academic and social performance over time. Three questions emerge: (a) What is the concurrent and cumulative relation between children's perceptions of the classroom and social and academic outcomes over time? (b) What is the contribution of teacher's use of RC practices to children's perceptions and social and academic outcomes? (c) Do children's perceptions of the classroom mediate the relation between RC teacher practices and child outcomes? Cross-lagged autoregressive structural equation models were used to analyze teacher and child-report questionnaire data, along with standardized test scores collected over 3 years from a sample of 520 children in grades 3-5. Results indicate a significant positive relation between RC teacher practices and child perceptions and outcomes over time. Further, children's perceptions partially mediated the relation between RC teacher practices and social competence. However, the models did not demonstrate that child perceptions mediated the relation between RC practices and achievement outcomes. Results are explained in terms of the contribution of teacher practices to children's perceptions and student performance.

The use of observational diaries in in-training evaluation: student perceptions.

PubMed

Govaerts, Marjan J B; van der Vleuten, Cees P M; Schuwirth, Lambert W T; Muijtjens, Arno M M

2005-08-01

In health science education clinical clerkships serve the twofold purpose of guiding student learning and assessment of performance. Evidently, both formative and summative assessment procedures are needed in clerkship assessment. In-training evaluation (ITE) has the potential to serve both assessment functions. Implementation of effective ITE, however, has been shown to be problematic, partly because integration of assessment functions may have negative consequences for teaching and learning. This study investigates student perceptions of the impact of an integrated assessment approach, seeking to refine criteria for effective ITE. In the curriculum of Maastricht Midwifery School (MMS), clerkship assessment is based on ITE serving both assessment functions. The ITE model is based on principles of extensive work sampling, and frequent documentation of performance. A focus group technique was used to explore student perceptions on the impact of the ITE approach on student learning and supervisor teaching behaviour, and on the usefulness of information for decision making. Results indicate that the assessment approach is effective in guidance of student learning. Furthermore, students consider the frequent performance documentation essential in clerkship grading. Acceptance and effectivity of ITE requires a learning environment which is safe and respectful. Transparency of assessment processes is the key to success. Suggestions for improvement focus on variation in evaluation formats, improvement of feedback (narrative, complete) and student involvement in assessment. ITE can fulfill both its formative and summative purposes when some crucial conditions are taken into account. Careful training of both supervisors and students in the use of ITE for student learning and performance measurement is essential.

Cue Integration in Categorical Tasks: Insights from Audio-Visual Speech Perception

PubMed Central

Bejjanki, Vikranth Rao; Clayards, Meghan; Knill, David C.; Aslin, Richard N.

2011-01-01

Previous cue integration studies have examined continuous perceptual dimensions (e.g., size) and have shown that human cue integration is well described by a normative model in which cues are weighted in proportion to their sensory reliability, as estimated from single-cue performance. However, this normative model may not be applicable to categorical perceptual dimensions (e.g., phonemes). In tasks defined over categorical perceptual dimensions, optimal cue weights should depend not only on the sensory variance affecting the perception of each cue but also on the environmental variance inherent in each task-relevant category. Here, we present a computational and experimental investigation of cue integration in a categorical audio-visual (articulatory) speech perception task. Our results show that human performance during audio-visual phonemic labeling is qualitatively consistent with the behavior of a Bayes-optimal observer. Specifically, we show that the participants in our task are sensitive, on a trial-by-trial basis, to the sensory uncertainty associated with the auditory and visual cues, during phonemic categorization. In addition, we show that while sensory uncertainty is a significant factor in determining cue weights, it is not the only one and participants' performance is consistent with an optimal model in which environmental, within category variability also plays a role in determining cue weights. Furthermore, we show that in our task, the sensory variability affecting the visual modality during cue-combination is not well estimated from single-cue performance, but can be estimated from multi-cue performance. The findings and computational principles described here represent a principled first step towards characterizing the mechanisms underlying human cue integration in categorical tasks. PMID:21637344

The effect of post-exercise hydrotherapy on subsequent exercise performance and heart rate variability.

PubMed

Stanley, Jamie; Buchheit, Martin; Peake, Jonathan M

2012-03-01

We investigated the effect of hydrotherapy on time-trial performance and cardiac parasympathetic reactivation during recovery from intense training. On three occasions, 18 well-trained cyclists completed 60 min high-intensity cycling, followed 20 min later by one of three 10-min recovery interventions: passive rest (PAS), cold water immersion (CWI), or contrast water immersion (CWT). The cyclists then rested quietly for 160 min with R-R intervals and perceptions of recovery recorded every 30 min. Cardiac parasympathetic activity was evaluated using the natural logarithm of the square root of mean squared differences of successive R-R intervals (ln rMSSD). Finally, the cyclists completed a work-based cycling time trial. Effects were examined using magnitude-based inferences. Differences in time-trial performance between the three trials were trivial. Compared with PAS, general fatigue was very likely lower for CWI (difference [90% confidence limits; -12% (-18; -5)]) and CWT [-11% (-19; -2)]. Leg soreness was almost certainly lower following CWI [-22% (-30; -14)] and CWT [-27% (-37; -15)]. The change in mean ln rMSSD following the recovery interventions (ln rMSSD(Post-interv)) was almost certainly higher following CWI [16.0% (10.4; 23.2)] and very likely higher following CWT [12.5% (5.5; 20.0)] compared with PAS, and possibly higher following CWI [3.7% (-0.9; 8.4)] compared with CWT. The correlations between performance, ln rMSSD(Post-interv) and perceptions of recovery were unclear. A moderate correlation was observed between ln rMSSD(Post-interv) and leg soreness [r = -0.50 (-0.66; -0.29)]. Although the effects of CWI and CWT on performance were trivial, the beneficial effects on perceptions of recovery support the use of these recovery strategies.

Multivariate predictors of music perception and appraisal by adult cochlear implant users.

PubMed

Gfeller, Kate; Oleson, Jacob; Knutson, John F; Breheny, Patrick; Driscoll, Virginia; Olszewski, Carol

2008-02-01

The research examined whether performance by adult cochlear implant recipients on a variety of recognition and appraisal tests derived from real-world music could be predicted from technological, demographic, and life experience variables, as well as speech recognition scores. A representative sample of 209 adults implanted between 1985 and 2006 participated. Using multiple linear regression models and generalized linear mixed models, sets of optimal predictor variables were selected that effectively predicted performance on a test battery that assessed different aspects of music listening. These analyses established the importance of distinguishing between the accuracy of music perception and the appraisal of musical stimuli when using music listening as an index of implant success. Importantly, neither device type nor processing strategy predicted music perception or music appraisal. Speech recognition performance was not a strong predictor of music perception, and primarily predicted music perception when the test stimuli included lyrics. Additionally, limitations in the utility of speech perception in predicting musical perception and appraisal underscore the utility of music perception as an alternative outcome measure for evaluating implant outcomes. Music listening background, residual hearing (i.e., hearing aid use), cognitive factors, and some demographic factors predicted several indices of perceptual accuracy or appraisal of music.

Iranian nurses' perceptions of social responsibility: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Faseleh-Jahromi, Mohsen; Moattari, Marzieh; Peyrovi, Hamid

2014-05-01

Social responsibility is intertwined with nursing; however, perceptions of Iranian nurses about social responsibility has not been explored yet. This study, as part of a larger qualitative grounded theory approach study, aims to explore Iranian nurses' perception of social responsibility. The study participants included 10 nurses with different job levels. The study data were generated through semi-structured interviews. The participants were selected through purposeful sampling approach, which was then followed by theoretical sampling until reaching the point of data saturation. All the interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through constant comparative analysis. Positive human characteristics, professional competencies, professional values, solution-focused nursing care, and deployment of professional performance are five categories obtained from the study. The participants believed socially responsible nurses to have positive personality characteristics as well as the necessary skills to do their duties accurately. Such nurses also respect the values, observe the professional principles, and take major steps toward promotion and deployment of the nursing profession in the society.

Jordanian women: perceptions and practices of first-time pregnancy.

PubMed

Safadi, Reema

2005-12-01

A woman's child-bearing encounter is an experience that reflects the cultural beliefs and practices of the society. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions and practices of urban, low socioeconomic, Jordanian women (aged 18-30 years) in relation to their pregnancy career. An opportunistic sample consisting of 67 Muslim first-time pregnant women who followed up antenatal care at two maternity-care centres in East Amman was selected. A qualitative approach, including ethnographic semistructured interview, participant observation data from the households and clinics and oblique interviewing in random conversations initiated by the primigravidae, was conducted over 18 months. Women gave elaborative accounts of their pregnancy and childbirth expectations in narrative, phenomenological forms. Qualitative data analysis was performed concurrently with data collection, revealing the essential themes of immediacy of pregnancy; familial support and changing networks, especially for the after-birth period; fear of pain and medical interventions, all emphasizing the traditional and religious perceptions and practices in a familial context.

[Effectiveness of a home visit program for adolescent mothers and their children].

PubMed

Aracena, Marcela; Leiva, Loreto; Undurraga, Consuelo; Krause, Mariane; Pérez, Carola; Cuadra, Victoria; Campos, María Silvia; Bedregal, Paula

2011-01-01

Home visiting is effective for the promotion and prevention of mother-child health in other countries, especially in vulnerable populations such as pregnant teenagers. To evaluate the association between receiving a home visiting program during pregnancy and child development during the first year of life, maternal mental health, perception of social support and school attendance. Cross sectional assessment of 132 teenage mother-sibling pairs. Of these, 87 received home visits and 45 were randomly assigned to a control group. The assessed variables were maternal mental health, perception of social support, life satisfaction, incorporation of mothers to school after delivery, child development and frequency of child abuse and neglect. Mothers that received home visits had a better mental health and went back to school in a higher proportion. No significant differences between groups were observed on perception of social support or child development. These results suggest the effectiveness of domiciliary visits performed by non-professionals, to improve mental health and social integration of teenage mothers.

The effects of music on pain perception of stroke patients during upper extremity joint exercises.

PubMed

Kim, Soo Ji; Koh, Iljoo

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of music therapy on pain perception of stroke patients during upper extremity joint exercises. Ten stroke patients (1 male and 9 females) ranging in age from 61 to 73 participated in the study. Music conditions used in the study consisted of: (a) song, (b) karaoke accompaniment (same music to condition A except singers' voices), and (c) no music. Exercise movements in this study included hand, wrist, and shoulder joints. During the 8-week period music therapy sessions, subjects repeated 3 conditions according to the randomized orders and subjects rated their perceived pain on a scale immediately after each condition. The General Linear Model (GLM) Repeated Measures ANOVA revealed that there were no significant differences in pain rating across the three music conditions. However, positive affects and verbal responses, while performing upper extremity exercises with both music and karaoke accompaniment music, were observed using video observations.

Human observers have optimal introspective access to perceptual processes even for visually masked stimuli

PubMed Central

Peters, Megan A K; Lau, Hakwan

2015-01-01

Many believe that humans can ‘perceive unconsciously’ – that for weak stimuli, briefly presented and masked, above-chance discrimination is possible without awareness. Interestingly, an online survey reveals that most experts in the field recognize the lack of convincing evidence for this phenomenon, and yet they persist in this belief. Using a recently developed bias-free experimental procedure for measuring subjective introspection (confidence), we found no evidence for unconscious perception; participants’ behavior matched that of a Bayesian ideal observer, even though the stimuli were visually masked. This surprising finding suggests that the thresholds for subjective awareness and objective discrimination are effectively the same: if objective task performance is above chance, there is likely conscious experience. These findings shed new light on decades-old methodological issues regarding what it takes to consider a neurobiological or behavioral effect to be 'unconscious,' and provide a platform for rigorously investigating unconscious perception in future studies. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09651.001 PMID:26433023

Conditioned allophony in speech perception: an ERP study.

PubMed

Miglietta, Sandra; Grimaldi, Mirko; Calabrese, Andrea

2013-09-01

A Mismatch Negativity (MMN) study was performed to investigate whether pre-attentive vowel perception is influenced by phonological status. We compared the MMN response to the acoustic distinction between the allophonic variation [ε-e] and phonemic contrast [e-i] present in a Southern-Italian variety (Tricase dialect). Clear MMNs were elicited for both the phonemic and allophonic conditions. Interestingly, a shorter latency was observed for the phonemic pair, but no significant amplitude difference was observed between the two conditions. Together, these results suggest that for isolated vowels, the phonological status of a vowel category is reflected in the latency of the MMN peak. The earlier latency of the phonemic condition argues for an easier parsing and encoding of phonemic contrasts in memory representations. Thus, neural computations mapping auditory inputs into higher perceptual representations seem 'sensitive' to the contrastive/non-contrastive status of the sounds as determined by the listeners' knowledge of the own phonological system. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

FMEA team performance in health care: A qualitative analysis of team member perceptions.

PubMed

Wetterneck, Tosha B; Hundt, Ann Schoofs; Carayon, Pascale

2009-06-01

: Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a commonly used prospective risk assessment approach in health care. Failure mode and effects analyses are time consuming and resource intensive, and team performance is crucial for FMEA success. We evaluate FMEA team members' perceptions of FMEA team performance to provide recommendations to improve the FMEA process in health care organizations. : Structured interviews and survey questionnaires were administered to team members of 2 FMEA teams at a Midwest Hospital to evaluate team member perceptions of FMEA team performance and factors influencing team performance. Interview transcripts underwent content analysis, and descriptive statistics were performed on questionnaire results to identify and quantify FMEA team performance. Theme-based nodes were categorized using the input-process-outcome model for team performance. : Twenty-eight interviews and questionnaires were completed by 24 team members. Four persons participated on both teams. There were significant differences between the 2 teams regarding perceptions of team functioning and overall team effectiveness that are explained by difference in team inputs and process (e.g., leadership/facilitation, team objectives, attendance of process owners). : Evaluation of team members' perceptions of team functioning produced useful insights that can be used to model future team functioning. Guidelines for FMEA team success are provided.

Health workers' perceptions of private-not-for-profit health facilities' organizational culture and its influence on retention in Uganda.

PubMed

Shumba, Constance Sibongile; Kielmann, Karina; Witter, Sophie

2017-12-06

An in-depth understanding of how organizational culture is experienced by health workers (HWs), and influences their decisions to leave their jobs is a fundamental, yet under-examined, basis for forming effective retention strategies. This research examined HWs' working experiences and perceptions of organisational culture within private-not-for-profit, largely mission-based hospitals, and how this influenced retention. Thirty-two HWs, including managers, in 19 health facilities in Uganda were interviewed using a semi-structured topic guide. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic content analysis. Interviews showed that the organizational culture was predominantly hierarchical, with non-participative management styles which emphasized control and efficiency. HWs and managers held different perceptions of the organizational culture. While the managers valued results and performance, HWs valued team work, recognition and participative management. The findings of this study indicate that organizational culture influences retention of HWs in health facilities and provide a useful context to inform health care managers in the PNFP sub-sector in Uganda and similar contexts. To improve retention of HWs, a gradual shift in organizational culture will be necessary, focussing on the values, beliefs and perceptions which have the greatest influence on observable behaviour.

Accurate perception of negative emotions predicts functional capacity in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Abram, Samantha V; Karpouzian, Tatiana M; Reilly, James L; Derntl, Birgit; Habel, Ute; Smith, Matthew J

2014-04-30

Several studies suggest facial affect perception (FAP) deficits in schizophrenia are linked to poorer social functioning. However, whether reduced functioning is associated with inaccurate perception of specific emotional valence or a global FAP impairment remains unclear. The present study examined whether impairment in the perception of specific emotional valences (positive, negative) and neutrality were uniquely associated with social functioning, using a multimodal social functioning battery. A sample of 59 individuals with schizophrenia and 41 controls completed a computerized FAP task, and measures of functional capacity, social competence, and social attainment. Participants also underwent neuropsychological testing and symptom assessment. Regression analyses revealed that only accurately perceiving negative emotions explained significant variance (7.9%) in functional capacity after accounting for neurocognitive function and symptoms. Partial correlations indicated that accurately perceiving anger, in particular, was positively correlated with functional capacity. FAP for positive, negative, or neutral emotions were not related to social competence or social attainment. Our findings were consistent with prior literature suggesting negative emotions are related to functional capacity in schizophrenia. Furthermore, the observed relationship between perceiving anger and performance of everyday living skills is novel and warrants further exploration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Food and personal hygiene perceptions and practices among caregivers whose children have diarrhea: a qualitative study of urban mothers in Tangerang, Indonesia.

PubMed

Usfar, Avita A; Iswarawanti, Dwi N; Davelyna, Devy; Dillon, Drupadi

2010-01-01

To examine caregivers' perceptions and practices related to food and personal hygiene and its association with diarrhea in children 6 to 36 months of age who suffered recurrent diarrhea. This qualitative study, conducted in March and April 2006, used both in-depth interviews and direct observation data. Urban Tangerang, near Jakarta, Indonesia. Twenty-four mothers whose monthly household income was less than $160 US and had latrines in their homes. To examine the relationship between mothers' perceptions and behaviors related to diarrhea, food hygiene, and personal hygiene. Interview transcripts were analyzed based on the phenomenon of interest and coded for common themes. Mothers differentiated diarrhea episodes as either disease or nondisease. Most mothers associated the importance of food hygiene with disease prevention, contaminating agents, and health. Mothers commonly wiped cutting boards with a kitchen towel after slicing vegetables, whereas they washed the board with soap and water after cutting raw meat. Mothers perceived that the importance of personal hygiene was for maintaining health and cleanliness. The majority of mothers washed their hands without soap after performing housework and cooking. Improving mothers' knowledge while incorporating existing perceptions might lead to positive changes.

Lighting and Nurses at Medical-Surgical Units: Impact of Lighting Conditions on Nurses' Performance and Satisfaction.

PubMed

Hadi, Khatereh; DuBose, Jennifer R; Ryherd, Erica

2016-04-01

This study investigates the perception of nurses about their lighting environment at medical-surgical hospital units in order to understand areas of improvement for lighting at these units. The bulk of the research about nurses and lighting is focused on nighttime nursing, exploring the disruptions of nurses' circadian rhythm and maintaining alertness. The understanding of nurses' perception about lighting and its impact on nurses' task performance and patient examination remains imprecise. This study used an online survey to ask a set of questions about lighting in medical-surgical units at five key locations including centralized nurse stations, decentralized nurse stations (DCNS), patient bedsides, patient bathrooms, and corridors from 393 survey participants. It then explored the survey findings in more depth through conducting focus groups with eight volunteer nurses. Lighting conditions at patient besides and DCNSs were significantly less desirable for nurses compared to other locations. A significant relationship between nurses' access to lighting controls (switches and dimmers) and satisfaction about the lighting environment was found. No significant relationship was observed between the individual characteristics of nurses (such as age, years of experience, etc.) and findings of this study. Thoughtful design of the lighting environment can improve nurses' satisfaction and perception about their working environment. © The Author(s) 2015.

Rhodiola rosea in stress induced fatigue--a double blind cross-over study of a standardized extract SHR-5 with a repeated low-dose regimen on the mental performance of healthy physicians during night duty.

PubMed

Darbinyan, V; Kteyan, A; Panossian, A; Gabrielian, E; Wikman, G; Wagner, H

2000-10-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of repeated low-dose treatment with a standardized extract SHR/5 of rhizome Rhodiola rosea L, (RRE) on fatigue during night duty among a group of 56 young, healthy physicians. The effect was measured as total mental performance calculated as Fatigue Index. The tests chosen reflect an overall level of mental fatigue, involving complex perceptive and cognitive cerebral functions, such as associative thinking, short-term memory, calculation and ability of concentration, and speed of audio-visual perception. These parameters were tested before and after night duty during three periods of two weeks each: a) a test period of one RRE/placebo tablet daily, b) a washout period and c) a third period of one placebo/RRE tablet daily, in a double-blind cross-over trial. The perceptive and cognitive cerebral functions mentioned above were investigated using 5 different tests. A statistically significant improvement in these tests was observed in the treatment group (RRE) during the first two weeks period. No side-effects were reported for either treatment noted. These results suggest that RRE can reduce general fatigue under certain stressful conditions.

The Cognition of Severe Moral Failure: A Novel Approach to the Perception of Evil

PubMed Central

Govrin, Aner

2018-01-01

I describe the perception of evil as a categorization judgment, based on a prototype, with extensive feedback loops and top-down influences. Based on the attachment approach to moral judgment (Govrin, 2014, 2018), I suggest that the perception of evil consists of four salient features: Extreme asymmetry between victim and perpetrator; a specific perceived attitude of the perpetrator toward the victim's vulnerability; the observer's inability to understand the perpetrator's perspective; and insuperable differences between the observer and perpetrator's judgment following the incident which shake the observer no less than the event itself. I then show that the perception of evil involves a cognitive bias: The observer is almost always mistaken in his attributions of a certain state of mind to the perpetrator. The philosophical and evolutionary significance of this bias is discussed as well as suggestions for future testing of the prototype model of evil. PMID:29731732

Spatial frequency characteristics at image decision-point locations for observers with different radiological backgrounds in lung nodule detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pietrzyk, Mariusz W.; Manning, David J.; Dix, Alan; Donovan, Tim

2009-02-01

Aim: The goal of the study is to determine the spatial frequency characteristics at locations in the image of overt and covert observers' decisions and find out if there are any similarities in different observers' groups: the same radiological experience group or the same accuracy scored level. Background: The radiological task is described as a visual searching decision making procedure involving visual perception and cognitive processing. Humans perceive the world through a number of spatial frequency channels, each sensitive to visual information carried by different spatial frequency ranges and orientations. Recent studies have shown that particular physical properties of local and global image-based elements are correlated with the performance and the level of experience of human observers in breast cancer and lung nodule detections. Neurological findings in visual perception were an inspiration for wavelet applications in vision research because the methodology tries to mimic the brain processing algorithms. Methods: The wavelet approach to the set of postero-anterior chest radiographs analysis has been used to characterize perceptual preferences observers with different levels of experience in the radiological task. Psychophysical methodology has been applied to track eye movements over the image, where particular ROIs related to the observers' fixation clusters has been analysed in the spaces frame by Daubechies functions. Results: Significance differences have been found between the spatial frequency characteristics at the location of different decisions.

Hand gesture recognition in confined spaces with partial observability and occultation constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirkhodaie, Amir; Chan, Alex; Hu, Shuowen

2016-05-01

Human activity detection and recognition capabilities have broad applications for military and homeland security. These tasks are very complicated, however, especially when multiple persons are performing concurrent activities in confined spaces that impose significant obstruction, occultation, and observability uncertainty. In this paper, our primary contribution is to present a dedicated taxonomy and kinematic ontology that are developed for in-vehicle group human activities (IVGA). Secondly, we describe a set of hand-observable patterns that represents certain IVGA examples. Thirdly, we propose two classifiers for hand gesture recognition and compare their performance individually and jointly. Finally, we present a variant of Hidden Markov Model for Bayesian tracking, recognition, and annotation of hand motions, which enables spatiotemporal inference to human group activity perception and understanding. To validate our approach, synthetic (graphical data from virtual environment) and real physical environment video imagery are employed to verify the performance of these hand gesture classifiers, while measuring their efficiency and effectiveness based on the proposed Hidden Markov Model for tracking and interpreting dynamic spatiotemporal IVGA scenarios.

Children's Perceptions of and Feelings about Their Musical Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cose-Giallella, Carla D.

2010-01-01

This action research study investigates children's perceptions of and feelings about musical performance. The participants were 41 children from two intact third-grade classes at one private school in the southwest region of the United States. The study occurred over nine weeks, including preparation for performance, the performance, and the…

Relationship between Speech Production and Perception in People Who Stutter

PubMed Central

Lu, Chunming; Long, Yuhang; Zheng, Lifen; Shi, Guang; Liu, Li; Ding, Guosheng; Howell, Peter

2016-01-01

Speech production difficulties are apparent in people who stutter (PWS). PWS also have difficulties in speech perception compared to controls. It is unclear whether the speech perception difficulties in PWS are independent of, or related to, their speech production difficulties. To investigate this issue, functional MRI data were collected on 13 PWS and 13 controls whilst the participants performed a speech production task and a speech perception task. PWS performed poorer than controls in the perception task and the poorer performance was associated with a functional activity difference in the left anterior insula (part of the speech motor area) compared to controls. PWS also showed a functional activity difference in this and the surrounding area [left inferior frontal cortex (IFC)/anterior insula] in the production task compared to controls. Conjunction analysis showed that the functional activity differences between PWS and controls in the left IFC/anterior insula coincided across the perception and production tasks. Furthermore, Granger Causality Analysis on the resting-state fMRI data of the participants showed that the causal connection from the left IFC/anterior insula to an area in the left primary auditory cortex (Heschl’s gyrus) differed significantly between PWS and controls. The strength of this connection correlated significantly with performance in the perception task. These results suggest that speech perception difficulties in PWS are associated with anomalous functional activity in the speech motor area, and the altered functional connectivity from this area to the auditory area plays a role in the speech perception difficulties of PWS. PMID:27242487

Conscious Vision Proceeds from Global to Local Content in Goal-Directed Tasks and Spontaneous Vision.

PubMed

Campana, Florence; Rebollo, Ignacio; Urai, Anne; Wyart, Valentin; Tallon-Baudry, Catherine

2016-05-11

The reverse hierarchy theory (Hochstein and Ahissar, 2002) makes strong, but so far untested, predictions on conscious vision. In this theory, local details encoded in lower-order visual areas are unconsciously processed before being automatically and rapidly combined into global information in higher-order visual areas, where conscious percepts emerge. Contingent on current goals, local details can afterward be consciously retrieved. This model therefore predicts that (1) global information is perceived faster than local details, (2) global information is computed regardless of task demands during early visual processing, and (3) spontaneous vision is dominated by global percepts. We designed novel textured stimuli that are, as opposed to the classic Navon's letters, truly hierarchical (i.e., where global information is solely defined by local information but where local and global orientations can still be manipulated separately). In line with the predictions, observers were systematically faster reporting global than local properties of those stimuli. Second, global information could be decoded from magneto-encephalographic data during early visual processing regardless of task demands. Last, spontaneous subjective reports were dominated by global information and the frequency and speed of spontaneous global perception correlated with the accuracy and speed in the global task. No such correlation was observed for local information. We therefore show that information at different levels of the visual hierarchy is not equally likely to become conscious; rather, conscious percepts emerge preferentially at a global level. We further show that spontaneous reports can be reliable and are tightly linked to objective performance at the global level. Is information encoded at different levels of the visual system (local details in low-level areas vs global shapes in high-level areas) equally likely to become conscious? We designed new hierarchical stimuli and provide the first empirical evidence based on behavioral and MEG data that global information encoded at high levels of the visual hierarchy dominates perception. This result held both in the presence and in the absence of task demands. The preferential emergence of percepts at high levels can account for two properties of conscious vision, namely, the dominance of global percepts and the feeling of visual richness reported independently of the perception of local details. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/365200-14$15.00/0.

Retrospective Attention Gates Discrete Conscious Access to Past Sensory Stimuli.

PubMed

Thibault, Louis; van den Berg, Ronald; Cavanagh, Patrick; Sergent, Claire

2016-01-01

Cueing attention after the disappearance of visual stimuli biases which items will be remembered best. This observation has historically been attributed to the influence of attention on memory as opposed to subjective visual experience. We recently challenged this view by showing that cueing attention after the stimulus can improve the perception of a single Gabor patch at threshold levels of contrast. Here, we test whether this retro-perception actually increases the frequency of consciously perceiving the stimulus, or simply allows for a more precise recall of its features. We used retro-cues in an orientation-matching task and performed mixture-model analysis to independently estimate the proportion of guesses and the precision of non-guess responses. We find that the improvements in performance conferred by retrospective attention are overwhelmingly determined by a reduction in the proportion of guesses, providing strong evidence that attracting attention to the target's location after its disappearance increases the likelihood of perceiving it consciously.

How musical expertise shapes speech perception: evidence from auditory classification images.

PubMed

Varnet, Léo; Wang, Tianyun; Peter, Chloe; Meunier, Fanny; Hoen, Michel

2015-09-24

It is now well established that extensive musical training percolates to higher levels of cognition, such as speech processing. However, the lack of a precise technique to investigate the specific listening strategy involved in speech comprehension has made it difficult to determine how musicians' higher performance in non-speech tasks contributes to their enhanced speech comprehension. The recently developed Auditory Classification Image approach reveals the precise time-frequency regions used by participants when performing phonemic categorizations in noise. Here we used this technique on 19 non-musicians and 19 professional musicians. We found that both groups used very similar listening strategies, but the musicians relied more heavily on the two main acoustic cues, at the first formant onset and at the onsets of the second and third formants onsets. Additionally, they responded more consistently to stimuli. These observations provide a direct visualization of auditory plasticity resulting from extensive musical training and shed light on the level of functional transfer between auditory processing and speech perception.

Project-Based Learning Courses: The Relationship Between Faculty-Intended Course Implementation and Students' Perceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simonovich, Jennifer A.; Towers, Emily; Zastavker, Yevgeniya V.

2012-02-01

Project-based learning (PjBL) has been shown to improve students' performance and satisfaction with their coursework, particularly in science and engineering courses. Specific aspects of PjBL that contribute to this improvement are student autonomy, course scaffolding, and instructor support. This study investigates two PjBL courses required for engineering majors at a small technical school, Introductory Mechanics Laboratory and Introductory Engineering Design. The three data sources used in this work are classroom observations (one laboratory and four design sessions) and semi-structured in-depth interviews with twelve students and six faculty. Grounded theory approach is used in a two-step fashion by (1) analyzing each data set individually and (2) performing full triangulation of all three data sets. In this talk, we demonstrate the relationship between faculty intentions and student perceptions regarding the three PjBL aspects -- student autonomy, course scaffolding, and instructor support -- within the context of these two courses. We further discuss implications for the course design and professional development of faculty.

Self-motion perception in autism is compromised by visual noise but integrated optimally across multiple senses

PubMed Central

Zaidel, Adam; Goin-Kochel, Robin P.; Angelaki, Dora E.

2015-01-01

Perceptual processing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is marked by superior low-level task performance and inferior complex-task performance. This observation has led to theories of defective integration in ASD of local parts into a global percept. Despite mixed experimental results, this notion maintains widespread influence and has also motivated recent theories of defective multisensory integration in ASD. Impaired ASD performance in tasks involving classic random dot visual motion stimuli, corrupted by noise as a means to manipulate task difficulty, is frequently interpreted to support this notion of global integration deficits. By manipulating task difficulty independently of visual stimulus noise, here we test the hypothesis that heightened sensitivity to noise, rather than integration deficits, may characterize ASD. We found that although perception of visual motion through a cloud of dots was unimpaired without noise, the addition of stimulus noise significantly affected adolescents with ASD, more than controls. Strikingly, individuals with ASD demonstrated intact multisensory (visual–vestibular) integration, even in the presence of noise. Additionally, when vestibular motion was paired with pure visual noise, individuals with ASD demonstrated a different strategy than controls, marked by reduced flexibility. This result could be simulated by using attenuated (less reliable) and inflexible (not experience-dependent) Bayesian priors in ASD. These findings question widespread theories of impaired global and multisensory integration in ASD. Rather, they implicate increased sensitivity to sensory noise and less use of prior knowledge in ASD, suggesting increased reliance on incoming sensory information. PMID:25941373

Teamwork and patient safety in dynamic domains of healthcare: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Manser, T

2009-02-01

This review examines current research on teamwork in highly dynamic domains of healthcare such as operating rooms, intensive care, emergency medicine, or trauma and resuscitation teams with a focus on aspects relevant to the quality and safety of patient care. Evidence from three main areas of research supports the relationship between teamwork and patient safety: (1) Studies investigating the factors contributing to critical incidents and adverse events have shown that teamwork plays an important role in the causation and prevention of adverse events. (2) Research focusing on healthcare providers' perceptions of teamwork demonstrated that (a) staff's perceptions of teamwork and attitudes toward safety-relevant team behavior were related to the quality and safety of patient care and (b) perceptions of teamwork and leadership style are associated with staff well-being, which may impact clinician' ability to provide safe patient care. (3) Observational studies on teamwork behaviors related to high clinical performance have identified patterns of communication, coordination, and leadership that support effective teamwork. In recent years, research using diverse methodological approaches has led to significant progress in team research in healthcare. The challenge for future research is to further develop and validate instruments for team performance assessment and to develop sound theoretical models of team performance in dynamic medical domains integrating evidence from all three areas of team research identified in this review. This will help to improve team training efforts and aid the design of clinical work systems supporting effective teamwork and safe patient care.

Perception of Self-Motion and Regulation of Walking Speed in Young-Old Adults.

PubMed

Lalonde-Parsi, Marie-Jasmine; Lamontagne, Anouk

2015-07-01

Whether a reduced perception of self-motion contributes to poor walking speed adaptations in older adults is unknown. In this study, speed discrimination thresholds (perceptual task) and walking speed adaptations (walking task) were compared between young (19-27 years) and young-old individuals (63-74 years), and the relationship between the performance on the two tasks was examined. Participants were evaluated while viewing a virtual corridor in a helmet-mounted display. Speed discrimination thresholds were determined using a staircase procedure. Walking speed modulation was assessed on a self-paced treadmill while exposed to different self-motion speeds ranging from 0.25 to 2 times the participants' comfortable speed. For each speed, participants were instructed to match the self-motion speed described by the moving corridor. On the walking task, participants displayed smaller walking speed errors at comfortable walking speeds compared with slower of faster speeds. The young-old adults presented larger speed discrimination thresholds (perceptual experiment) and larger walking speed errors (walking experiment) compared with young adults. Larger walking speed errors were associated with higher discrimination thresholds. The enhanced performance on the walking task at comfortable speed suggests that intersensory calibration processes are influenced by experience, hence optimized for frequently encountered conditions. The altered performance of the young-old adults on the perceptual and walking tasks, as well as the relationship observed between the two tasks, suggest that a poor perception of visual motion information may contribute to the poor walking speed adaptations that arise with aging.

The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Perception of Job Performance among Nurses in North West of Iran.

PubMed

Vahidi, Maryam; Namdar Areshtanab, Hossein; Arshadi Bostanabad, Mohammad

2016-01-01

Emotional intelligence skills help nurses to cope with the emotional demands of healthcare environment. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between emotional intelligence and perception of job performance among nurses. Using a correlational descriptive design with stratified random sampling, 338 registered nurses from teaching hospitals in North West of Iran were surveyed. Emotional intelligence and perception of job performance were measured using validated self-report measures. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential methods using SPSS/13. The mean of nurses' emotional intelligence and their perception of job performance was, respectively, 235.83 ± 37.98 and 157.63 ± 33.23. There was no significant relationship between nurses' emotional intelligence and their perception of job performance. Although there was a significant relationship between intrapersonal subscale of emotional intelligence and job performance, there was none with other subscales. In order to get rid of the physical and psychological effects of stressful work in wards, it seems that nurses just do routine activities and refuse working closely with the patients. It seems that fitting the patient to nurse ratio, dividing work between nurses, and supporting each other are necessary.

The Potential of General Classroom Observation: Turkish EFL Teachers' Perceptions, Sentiments, and Readiness for Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merç, Ali

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine Turkish EFL teachers' attitudes towards classroom observation. 204 teachers from different school settings responded to an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed according to three types of attitudes towards classroom observation: perceptions, sentiments, and readiness for action. The findings revealed…

Mutual interference between statistical summary perception and statistical learning.

PubMed

Zhao, Jiaying; Ngo, Nhi; McKendrick, Ryan; Turk-Browne, Nicholas B

2011-09-01

The visual system is an efficient statistician, extracting statistical summaries over sets of objects (statistical summary perception) and statistical regularities among individual objects (statistical learning). Although these two kinds of statistical processing have been studied extensively in isolation, their relationship is not yet understood. We first examined how statistical summary perception influences statistical learning by manipulating the task that participants performed over sets of objects containing statistical regularities (Experiment 1). Participants who performed a summary task showed no statistical learning of the regularities, whereas those who performed control tasks showed robust learning. We then examined how statistical learning influences statistical summary perception by manipulating whether the sets being summarized contained regularities (Experiment 2) and whether such regularities had already been learned (Experiment 3). The accuracy of summary judgments improved when regularities were removed and when learning had occurred in advance. In sum, calculating summary statistics impeded statistical learning, and extracting statistical regularities impeded statistical summary perception. This mutual interference suggests that statistical summary perception and statistical learning are fundamentally related.

Visual and Auditory Sensitivities and Discriminations

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-03-03

Experimental Psychology : Human Perception and Performance, 26, 1721-1723. The data have also been reported to ECVP at the Trieste meeting, and to the Edinburgh...design to measure the disparity required to just detect the cyclopean test bars (Macmillan & Creelman , 1991). Each trial consisted of a single...conventionally (Macmillan & Creelman , 1991). Results Grating detection threshold (d =1.0) for observer 1 was estimated as 0.18 arc min peak-to-trough

Does tonality boost short-term memory in congenital amusia?

PubMed

Albouy, Philippe; Schulze, Katrin; Caclin, Anne; Tillmann, Barbara

2013-11-06

Congenital amusia is a neuro-developmental disorder of music perception and production. Recent findings have demonstrated that this deficit is linked to an impaired short-term memory for tone sequences. As it has been shown before that non-musicians' implicit knowledge of musical regularities can improve short-term memory for tone information, the present study investigated if this type of implicit knowledge could also influence amusics' short-term memory performance. Congenital amusics and their matched controls, who were non-musicians, had to indicate whether sequences of five tones, presented in pairs, were the same or different; half of the pairs respected musical regularities (tonal sequences) and the other half did not (atonal sequences). As previously reported for non-musician participants, the control participants showed better performance (as measured with d') for tonal sequences than for atonal ones. While this improvement was not observed in amusics, both control and amusic participants showed faster response times for tonal sequences than for atonal sequences. These findings suggest that some implicit processing of tonal structures is potentially preserved in congenital amusia. This observation is encouraging as it strengthens the perspective to exploit implicit knowledge to help reducing pitch perception and memory deficits in amusia. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Health literacy and self-rated health in adults primary care patients.

PubMed

Marques, Suzana Raquel Lopes; Escarce, Andrezza Gonzalez; Lemos, Stela Maris Aguiar

2018-01-01

Purpose To verify the association between health literacy, social determinants and self-rated health in adult's primary health care patients. Methods this is an Observational cross-sectional study in which a total of 380 patients of the Unified Health System in the context of primary health care were interviewed. The sample was probabilistic, stratified by gender, age, and Basic Health Unit. Health literacy was evaluated by an instrument of analysis of the perception of adults about the understanding of health orientations and possible difficulties in this process (Health Literacy Scale). Descriptive and association analyses were performed (Pearson's chi-square test, p≤0.05). Results It was verified that the majority of the interviewees belongs to classes C1 and C2 and attended high school (complete or incomplete). Regarding self-rated health, to be considered healthy and with good health were the predominant perceptions. In the Health Literacy Scale, it was verified that most patients reported never presenting difficulties in the situations of this instrument, except understanding written orientations. It was observed the association with a statistical significance of the better perception of health literacy with higher educational level and economic classification, as well as with self-rated of good health. Conclusion There was a statistical association between health literacy, social determinants, and self-rated health in the analyzed adults. It is noteworthy the contribution of the Health Literacy Scale for emphasizing the perception of difficulties in everyday health situations. It is necessary to develop dialogic relationships that build more robust communication processes between professionals and healthcare patients to favor health literacy skills.

The Effects of Self-Esteem and Task Perception on Goal Setting, Efficacy, and Task Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tang, Thomas Li-Ping; Reynolds, David Bryan

This study examined the effects of self-esteem and task perception on goal setting, efficacy, and task performance in 52 recreational dart throwers who were members of two dart organizations. Task perception was manipulated by asking each dart thrower to compete against self, a difficult competitor, and an easy competitor on the same dart game.…

Effectiveness of an Educational Physiotherapy and Therapeutic Exercise Program in Adult Patients With Hemophilia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Cuesta-Barriuso, Rubén; Torres-Ortuño, Ana; Nieto-Munuera, Joaquín; López-Pina, José Antonio

2017-05-01

To assess the efficacy of an educational physiotherapy home exercise intervention for physical improvement, pain perception, quality of life, and illness behavior in patients with hemophilic arthropathy. Single-blind randomized controlled trial. Home. Patients with hemophilia (N=20) were randomly allocated to an educational intervention group or to a control group. The educational intervention was performed every 2 weeks over a 15-week period, and home exercises were carried out once a day, 6 days a week, over the same period. Joint status was evaluated using the Gilbert scale; pain was assessed using the visual analog scale; illness behavior was evaluated using the Illness Behavior Questionnaire; and the perception of the quality of life was evaluated using the A36 Hemophilia-QoL questionnaire. We observed significant differences in the intervention group and the control group for both quality of life and illness behavior. There was no significant improvement in joint status; however, an improvement was noted in terms of perception of pain in the ankle. A physiotherapy program based on educational sessions and home exercises can improve the perception of pain in patients with hemophilic arthropathy of the ankle. It improves some variables in the perception of the quality of life and illness behavior. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceptions of transcatheter device closure of patent ductus arteriosus in veterinary cardiology and evaluation of a canine model to simulate device placement: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Saunders, A B; Keefe, L; Birch, S A; Wierzbicki, M A; Maitland, D J

2017-06-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a canine patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) model developed for practicing device placement and to determine practices and perceptions regarding transcatheter closure of PDA from the veterinary cardiology community. A silicone model was developed from images obtained from a dog with a PDA and device placement was performed with catheter equipment and a document camera to simulate fluoroscopy. A total of 36 individuals including 24 diplomates and 12 residents participated, and the feedback was obtained. The study included an initial questionnaire, practice with the model, observation of device placement using the model, and a follow-up questionnaire. A total of 92% of participants including 100% of residents indicated they did not have the opportunity to practice device placement before performing the procedure and obtained knowledge of the procedure from reading journal articles or observation. Participants indicated selecting the appropriate device size (30/36, 83%) and ensuring the device is appropriately positioned before release (18/36, 50%) as the most common areas of difficulty with device placement. Confidence level was higher after practicing with the model for residents when compared with diplomates and for participants that had performed 1-15 procedures when compared with those that had performed >15 procedures. These findings suggest those that have performed fewer procedures may benefit the most from practicing with a model. This preliminary study demonstrates the feasibility of a PDA model for practicing device placement and suggests that there is a potential benefit from providing additional training resources. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Behavioural evidence for distinct mechanisms related to global and biological motion perception.

PubMed

Miller, Louisa; Agnew, Hannah C; Pilz, Karin S

2018-01-01

The perception of human motion is a vital ability in our daily lives. Human movement recognition is often studied using point-light stimuli in which dots represent the joints of a moving person. Depending on task and stimulus, the local motion of the single dots, and the global form of the stimulus can be used to discriminate point-light stimuli. Previous studies often measured motion coherence for global motion perception and contrasted it with performance in biological motion perception to assess whether difficulties in biological motion processing are related to more general difficulties with motion processing. However, it is so far unknown as to how performance in global motion tasks relates to the ability to use local motion or global form to discriminate point-light stimuli. Here, we investigated this relationship in more detail. In Experiment 1, we measured participants' ability to discriminate the facing direction of point-light stimuli that contained primarily local motion, global form, or both. In Experiment 2, we embedded point-light stimuli in noise to assess whether previously found relationships in task performance are related to the ability to detect signal in noise. In both experiments, we also assessed motion coherence thresholds from random-dot kinematograms. We found relationships between performances for the different biological motion stimuli, but performance for global and biological motion perception was unrelated. These results are in accordance with previous neuroimaging studies that highlighted distinct areas for global and biological motion perception in the dorsal pathway, and indicate that results regarding the relationship between global motion perception and biological motion perception need to be interpreted with caution. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Orientation of selective effects of body tilt on visually induced perception of self-motion.

PubMed

Nakamura, S; Shimojo, S

1998-10-01

We examined the effect of body posture upon visually induced perception of self-motion (vection) with various angles of observer's tilt. The experiment indicated that the tilted body of observer could enhance perceived strength of vertical vection, while there was no effect of body tilt on horizontal vection. This result suggests that there is an interaction between the effects of visual and vestibular information on perception of self-motion.

The Mirror Reflects both Ways: Action Influences Perception of Others

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blaesi, Sabine; Wilson, Margaret

2010-01-01

Substantial evidence links perception of others' bodies and mental representation of the observer's own body; however, the overwhelming majority of this evidence is unidirectional, showing influence from perception to action. It has been proposed that the influence also runs from action to perception, but to date the evidence is scant. Here we…

Learning in shifts of transient attention improves recognition of parts of ambiguous figure-ground displays.

PubMed

Kristjánsson, Arni

2009-04-24

Previously demonstrated learning effects in shifts of transient attention have only been shown to result in beneficial effects upon secondary discrimination tasks and affect landing points of express saccades. Can such learning result in more direct effects upon perception than previously demonstrated? Observers performed a cued Vernier acuity discrimination task where the cue was one of a set of ambiguous figure-ground displays (with a black and white part). The critical measure was whether, if a target appeared consistently within a part of a cue of a certain brightness, this would result in learning effects and whether such learning would then affect recognition of the cue parts. Critically the target always appeared within the same part of each individual cue. Some cues were used in early parts of streaks of repetition of cue-part brightness, and others in latter parts of such streaks. All the observers showed learning in shifts of transient attention, with improved performance the more often the target appeared within the part of the cue of the same brightness. Subsequently the observers judged whether cue-parts had been parts of the cues used on the preceding discrimination task. Recognition of the figure parts, where the target had consistently appeared, improved strongly with increased length of streaks of repetition of cue-part brightness. Learning in shifts of transient attention leads not only to faster attention shifts but to direct effects upon perception, in this case recognition of parts of figure-ground ambiguous cues.

High Performers in Marketing and Advertising Majors: Do Their Perceptions of Business Programs Differ from Their Peers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Ann D.; Woosley, Sherry A.

2013-01-01

This study examined the perceptions of high performing undergraduate students in marketing and advertising majors. Specifically, it examined the relationships among three levels of student performance and student satisfaction with their business programs and learning outcomes. High performing students were more satisfied with their programs and…

The Influence of Women’s Neighborhood Resources on Perceptions of Social Disorder

PubMed Central

Jackson, Aubrey L.; Soller, Brian; Browning, Christopher R.

2017-01-01

Research links neighborhood social disorder with poorer health. But factors beyond observed disorder may influence perceptions that social disorder is problematic. This study investigates whether women’s aggregate socioeconomic resources relative to men’s in the broader neighborhood context attenuate the extent to which more prevalent observed social disorder within the immediate residential neighborhood contributes to perceptions of more problematic social disorder. This attenuation likely is pronounced among women, for whom sexual harassment in public spaces is a more salient concern compared to men. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, multilevel models analyze individual perceptions of problematic social disorder (N=3,107) regressed on the interactive effect of observed social disorder within the census block group (N=525) and women’s relative resources within the neighborhood cluster (N=80). The results show that women’s relative resources within the broader neighborhood context protect against women’s perceptions that typically undesirable neighborhood conditions are problematic. PMID:28757810

What "likes" have got to do with it: Exposure to peers' alcohol-related posts and perceptions of injunctive drinking norms.

PubMed

Boyle, Sarah C; Smith, Daniel J; Earle, Andrew M; LaBrie, Joseph W

2018-01-01

Examine 1) whether observed social reinforcements (i.e., "likes") received by peers' alcohol-related social media posts are related to first-year college students' perceptions of peer approval for risky drinking behaviors; and 2) whether associations are moderated by students' alcohol use status. First-year university students (N = 296) completed an online survey in September, 2014. Participants reported their own alcohol use, friends' alcohol use, perceptions of the typical student's approval for risky drinking, and ranked 10 types of social media posts in terms of the relative numbers of "likes" received when posted by peers. Observed social reinforcement (i.e., "likes") for peers' alcohol-related posts predicted perceptions of peer approval for risky drinking behaviors among non-drinking students, but not drinking students. For first-year college students who have not yet initiated drinking, observing peers' alcohol-related posts to receive abundant "likes" may increase perceptions of peer approval for risky drinking.

Multivariate Predictors of Music Perception and Appraisal by Adult Cochlear Implant Users

PubMed Central

Gfeller, Kate; Oleson, Jacob; Knutson, John F.; Breheny, Patrick; Driscoll, Virginia; Olszewski, Carol

2009-01-01

The research examined whether performance by adult cochlear implant recipients on a variety of recognition and appraisal tests derived from real-world music could be predicted from technological, demographic, and life experience variables, as well as speech recognition scores. A representative sample of 209 adults implanted between 1985 and 2006 participated. Using multiple linear regression models and generalized linear mixed models, sets of optimal predictor variables were selected that effectively predicted performance on a test battery that assessed different aspects of music listening. These analyses established the importance of distinguishing between the accuracy of music perception and the appraisal of musical stimuli when using music listening as an index of implant success. Importantly, neither device type nor processing strategy predicted music perception or music appraisal. Speech recognition performance was not a strong predictor of music perception, and primarily predicted music perception when the test stimuli included lyrics. Additionally, limitations in the utility of speech perception in predicting musical perception and appraisal underscore the utility of music perception as an alternative outcome measure for evaluating implant outcomes. Music listening background, residual hearing (i.e., hearing aid use), cognitive factors, and some demographic factors predicted several indices of perceptual accuracy or appraisal of music. PMID:18669126

A Role for Mouse Primary Visual Cortex in Motion Perception.

PubMed

Marques, Tiago; Summers, Mathew T; Fioreze, Gabriela; Fridman, Marina; Dias, Rodrigo F; Feller, Marla B; Petreanu, Leopoldo

2018-06-04

Visual motion is an ethologically important stimulus throughout the animal kingdom. In primates, motion perception relies on specific higher-order cortical regions. Although mouse primary visual cortex (V1) and higher-order visual areas show direction-selective (DS) responses, their role in motion perception remains unknown. Here, we tested whether V1 is involved in motion perception in mice. We developed a head-fixed discrimination task in which mice must report their perceived direction of motion from random dot kinematograms (RDKs). After training, mice made around 90% correct choices for stimuli with high coherence and performed significantly above chance for 16% coherent RDKs. Accuracy increased with both stimulus duration and visual field coverage of the stimulus, suggesting that mice in this task integrate motion information in time and space. Retinal recordings showed that thalamically projecting On-Off DS ganglion cells display DS responses when stimulated with RDKs. Two-photon calcium imaging revealed that neurons in layer (L) 2/3 of V1 display strong DS tuning in response to this stimulus. Thus, RDKs engage motion-sensitive retinal circuits as well as downstream visual cortical areas. Contralateral V1 activity played a key role in this motion direction discrimination task because its reversible inactivation with muscimol led to a significant reduction in performance. Neurometric-psychometric comparisons showed that an ideal observer could solve the task with the information encoded in DS L2/3 neurons. Motion discrimination of RDKs presents a powerful behavioral tool for dissecting the role of retino-forebrain circuits in motion processing. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perceptual geometry of space and form: visual perception of natural scenes and their virtual representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Assadi, Amir H.

2001-11-01

Perceptual geometry is an emerging field of interdisciplinary research whose objectives focus on study of geometry from the perspective of visual perception, and in turn, apply such geometric findings to the ecological study of vision. Perceptual geometry attempts to answer fundamental questions in perception of form and representation of space through synthesis of cognitive and biological theories of visual perception with geometric theories of the physical world. Perception of form and space are among fundamental problems in vision science. In recent cognitive and computational models of human perception, natural scenes are used systematically as preferred visual stimuli. Among key problems in perception of form and space, we have examined perception of geometry of natural surfaces and curves, e.g. as in the observer's environment. Besides a systematic mathematical foundation for a remarkably general framework, the advantages of the Gestalt theory of natural surfaces include a concrete computational approach to simulate or recreate images whose geometric invariants and quantities might be perceived and estimated by an observer. The latter is at the very foundation of understanding the nature of perception of space and form, and the (computer graphics) problem of rendering scenes to visually invoke virtual presence.

Self-perception of competencies in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Furlano, Rosaria; Kelley, Elizabeth A; Hall, Layla; Wilson, Daryl E

2015-12-01

Research has demonstrated that, despite difficulties in multiple domains, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show a lack of awareness of these difficulties. A misunderstanding of poor competencies may make it difficult for individuals to adjust their behaviour in accordance with feedback and may lead to greater impairments over time. This study examined self-perceptions of adolescents with ASD (n = 19) and typically developing (TD) mental-age-matched controls (n = 22) using actual performance on objective academic tasks as the basis for ratings. Before completing the tasks, participants were asked how well they thought they would do (pre-task prediction). After completing each task, they were asked how well they thought they did (immediate post-performance) and how well they would do in the future (hypothetical future post-performance). Adolescents with ASD had more positively biased self-perceptions of competence than TD controls. The ASD group tended to overestimate their performance on all ratings of self-perceptions (pre-task prediction, immediate, and hypothetical future post-performance). In contrast, while the TD group was quite accurate at estimating their performance immediately before and after performing the task, they showed some tendency to overestimate their future performance. Future investigation is needed to systematically examine possible mechanisms that may be contributing to these biased self-perceptions. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Exploring the Effects of Working Memory on Time Perception in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

PubMed

Lee, Hom-Yi; Yang, En-Lin

2018-01-01

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often reported to have deficits of time perception. However, there is a strong relation between performance on tasks of working memory and time perception. Thus, it is possible that the poor performance of children with ADHD on time perception results from their deficit of working memory. In this study, the working memory of participants was separately assessed; therefore, we could explore the relationship between working memory and time perception of children with ADHD. Fifty-six children with ADHD and those of healthy controls completed tasks measuring working memory and time perception. The results showed that the time discrimination ability of children with ADHD was poorer than that of controls. However, there was a strong association between time perception and working memory. After controlling working memory and intelligence, the time discrimination ability of children with ADHD was not significantly poorer than that of controls. We suggest that there is an interdependent relationship between time perception and working memory for children with ADHD.

The Effects of Phonological Short-Term Memory and Speech Perception on Spoken Sentence Comprehension in Children: Simulating Deficits in an Experimental Design.

PubMed

Higgins, Meaghan C; Penney, Sarah B; Robertson, Erin K

2017-10-01

The roles of phonological short-term memory (pSTM) and speech perception in spoken sentence comprehension were examined in an experimental design. Deficits in pSTM and speech perception were simulated through task demands while typically-developing children (N [Formula: see text] 71) completed a sentence-picture matching task. Children performed the control, simulated pSTM deficit, simulated speech perception deficit, or simulated double deficit condition. On long sentences, the double deficit group had lower scores than the control and speech perception deficit groups, and the pSTM deficit group had lower scores than the control group and marginally lower scores than the speech perception deficit group. The pSTM and speech perception groups performed similarly to groups with real deficits in these areas, who completed the control condition. Overall, scores were lowest on noncanonical long sentences. Results show pSTM has a greater effect than speech perception on sentence comprehension, at least in the tasks employed here.

The Walkthrough Observation: The Elementary Principals' and Elementary Teachers' Perceptions of the Walkthrough Observation Tool Affect on Professional Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Rick A.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of the elementary principals' and elementary teachers' experiences utilizing the Western Pennsylvania Principal's Academy Walkthrough Observation Tool as a meaningful tool for professional growth for during the years 2011 to 2013. The researcher utilized Charlotte Danielson's…

Music Training Can Improve Music and Speech Perception in Pediatric Mandarin-Speaking Cochlear Implant Users.

PubMed

Cheng, Xiaoting; Liu, Yangwenyi; Shu, Yilai; Tao, Duo-Duo; Wang, Bing; Yuan, Yasheng; Galvin, John J; Fu, Qian-Jie; Chen, Bing

2018-01-01

Due to limited spectral resolution, cochlear implants (CIs) do not convey pitch information very well. Pitch cues are important for perception of music and tonal language; it is possible that music training may improve performance in both listening tasks. In this study, we investigated music training outcomes in terms of perception of music, lexical tones, and sentences in 22 young (4.8 to 9.3 years old), prelingually deaf Mandarin-speaking CI users. Music perception was measured using a melodic contour identification (MCI) task. Speech perception was measured for lexical tones and sentences presented in quiet. Subjects received 8 weeks of MCI training using pitch ranges not used for testing. Music and speech perception were measured at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after training was begun; follow-up measures were made 4 weeks after training was stopped. Mean baseline performance was 33.2%, 76.9%, and 45.8% correct for MCI, lexical tone recognition, and sentence recognition, respectively. After 8 weeks of MCI training, mean performance significantly improved by 22.9, 14.4, and 14.5 percentage points for MCI, lexical tone recognition, and sentence recognition, respectively ( p < .05 in all cases). Four weeks after training was stopped, there was no significant change in posttraining music and speech performance. The results suggest that music training can significantly improve pediatric Mandarin-speaking CI users' music and speech perception.

Developmental Climate: A Cross-level Analysis of Voluntary Turnover and Job Performance

PubMed Central

Spell, Hannah B.; Eby, Lillian T.; Vandenberg, Robert J.

2014-01-01

This research investigates the influence of shared perceptions of developmental climate on individual-level perceptions of organizational commitment, engagement, and perceived competence, and whether these attitudes mediate the relationship between developmental climate and both individual voluntary turnover and supervisor-rated job performance. Survey data were collected from 361 intact employee-supervisory mentoring dyads and matched with employee turnover data collected one year later to test the proposed framework using multilevel modeling techniques. As expected, shared perceptions of developmental climate were significantly and positively related to all three individual work attitudes. In addition, both organizational commitment and perceived competence were significant mediators of the positive relationship between shared perceptions of developmental climate and voluntary turnover, as well as shared perceptions of developmental climate and supervisor-rated job performance. By contrast, no significant mediating effects were found for engagement. Theoretical implications, limitations, and future research are discussed. PMID:24748681

Visual Form Perception Can Be a Cognitive Correlate of Lower Level Math Categories for Teenagers.

PubMed

Cui, Jiaxin; Zhang, Yiyun; Cheng, Dazhi; Li, Dawei; Zhou, Xinlin

2017-01-01

Numerous studies have assessed the cognitive correlates of performance in mathematics, but little research has been conducted to systematically examine the relations between visual perception as the starting point of visuospatial processing and typical mathematical performance. In the current study, we recruited 223 seventh graders to perform a visual form perception task (figure matching), numerosity comparison, digit comparison, exact computation, approximate computation, and curriculum-based mathematical achievement tests. Results showed that, after controlling for gender, age, and five general cognitive processes (choice reaction time, visual tracing, mental rotation, spatial working memory, and non-verbal matrices reasoning), visual form perception had unique contributions to numerosity comparison, digit comparison, and exact computation, but had no significant relation with approximate computation or curriculum-based mathematical achievement. These results suggest that visual form perception is an important independent cognitive correlate of lower level math categories, including the approximate number system, digit comparison, and exact computation.

Stretch-sensitive paresis and effort perception in hemiparesis.

PubMed

Vinti, Maria; Bayle, Nicolas; Hutin, Emilie; Burke, David; Gracies, Jean-Michel

2015-08-01

In spastic paresis, stretch applied to the antagonist increases its inappropriate recruitment during agonist command (spastic co-contraction). It is unknown whether antagonist stretch: (1) also affects agonist recruitment; (2) alters effort perception. We quantified voluntary activation of ankle dorsiflexors, effort perception, and plantar flexor co-contraction during graded dorsiflexion efforts at two gastrocnemius lengths. Eighteen healthy (age 41 ± 13) and 18 hemiparetic (age 54 ± 12) subjects performed light, medium and maximal isometric dorsiflexion efforts with the knee flexed or extended. We determined dorsiflexor torque, Root Mean Square EMG and Agonist Recruitment/Co-contraction Indices (ARI/CCI) from the 500 ms peak voluntary agonist recruitment in a 5-s maximal isometric effort in tibialis anterior, soleus and medial gastrocnemius. Subjects retrospectively reported effort perception on a 10-point visual analog scale. During gastrocnemius stretch in hemiparetic subjects, we observed: (1) a 25 ± 7 % reduction of tibialis anterior voluntary activation (maximum reduction 98 %; knee extended vs knee flexed; p = 0.007, ANOVA); (2) an increase in dorsiflexion effort perception (p = 0.03, ANCOVA). Such changes did not occur in healthy subjects. Effort perception depended on tibialis anterior recruitment only (βARI(TA) = 0.61, p < 0.01) in healthy subjects (not on gastrocnemius medialis co-contraction) while it depended on both tibialis anterior agonist recruitment (βARI(TA) = 0.41, p < 0.001) and gastrocnemius medialis co-contraction (βCCI(MG) = 0.43, p < 0.001) in hemiparetic subjects. In hemiparesis, voluntary ability to recruit agonist motoneurones is impaired--sometimes abolished--by antagonist stretch, a phenomenon defined here as stretch-sensitive paresis. In addition, spastic co-contraction increases effort perception, an additional incentive to evaluate and treat this phenomenon.

Perception of local three-dimensional shape.

PubMed

Phillips, F; Todd, J T

1996-08-01

The authors present a series of 4 experiments designed to test the ability to perceive local shape information. Observers were presented with various smoothly varying 3-dimensional surfaces where they reported shape index and sign of Gaussian curvature at several probe locations. Results show that observers are poor at making judgments based on these local measures, especially when the region surrounding the local point is restricted or manipulated to make it noncoherent. Shape index judgments required at least 2 degrees of context surrounding the probe location, and performance on sign of Gaussian curvature judgments deteriorated as the contextual information was restricted as well.

Characterizing the Relationship Between Surgical Resident and Faculty Perceptions of Autonomy in the Operating Room.

PubMed

Young, Katelyn A; Lane, Samantha M; Widger, John E; Neuhaus, Nina M; Dove, James T; Fluck, Marcus; Hunsinger, Marie A; Blansfield, Joseph A; Shabahang, Mohsen M

Characterize the concordance among faculty and resident perceptions of surgical case complexity, resident technical performance, and autonomy in a diverse sample of general surgery procedures using case-specific evaluations. A prospective study was conducted in which a faculty surgeon and surgical resident independently completed a postoperative assessment examining case complexity, resident operative performance (Milestone assessment) and autonomy (Zwisch model). Pearson correlation coefficients (r) reaching statistical significance (p < 0.05) were further classified as moderate (r ≥ 0.40), strong (r ≥ 0.60), or very strong (r ≥ 0.80). This study was conducted in the General Surgery Residency Program at an academic tertiary care facility (Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA). Participants included 6 faculty surgeons, in addition to 5 postgraduate year (PGY) 1, 6 midlevel (PGY 2-3), and 4 chief (PGY 4-5) residents. In total, 75 surgical cases were analyzed. Midlevel residents accounted for the highest number of cases (35, 46.6%). Overall, faculty and resident perceptions of case complexity demonstrated a strong correlation (r = 0.76, p < 0.0001). Technical performance scores were also strongly correlated (r = 0.66, p < 0.0001), whereas perceptions of autonomy demonstrated a moderate correlation (r = 0.56, p < 0.0001). Subgroup analysis revealed very strong correlations among faculty perceptions of case complexity and the perceptions of PGY 1 (r = 0.80, p < 0.0001) and chief residents (r = 0.82, p < 0.0001). All other intergroup correlations were strong with 2 notable exceptions as follows: midlevel and chief residents failed to correlate with faculty perceptions of autonomy and operative performance, respectively. General surgery residents generally demonstrated high correlations with faculty perceptions of case complexity, technical performance, and operative autonomy. This generalized accord supports the use of the Milestone and Zwisch assessments in residency programs. However, discordance among perceptions of midlevel resident autonomy and chief resident operative performance suggests that these trainees may need more direct communication from the faculty. Copyright © 2017 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tennessee Extension Agents' Perceptions of Performance Appraisal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donaldson, Joseph L.; French, Russell L.

2013-01-01

Performance appraisal is necessary for summative decisions about employees, such as merit pay and promotion. The research reported here describes Extension agent perceptions of their performance appraisal system. The population studied consisted of all Tennessee Extension agents (N = 312). Surveys were completed by 218 respondents, for a completed…

Student Perceptions and Social Comparisons and Performance Expectancy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holahan, Carole K.; And Others

Student self-expectations are believed to exert a powerful influence on performance. Student perceptions and social comparisons during transfer students' (N=1362) first semester in a large state university were examined to determine variables that might be related to the formation of student performance expectations. Subjects completed…

The Posture of Putting One's Palms Together Modulates Visual Motion Event Perception.

PubMed

Saito, Godai; Gyoba, Jiro

2018-02-01

We investigated the effect of an observer's hand postures on visual motion perception using the stream/bounce display. When two identical visual objects move across collinear horizontal trajectories toward each other in a two-dimensional display, observers perceive them as either streaming or bouncing. In our previous study, we found that when observers put their palms together just below the coincidence point of the two objects, the percentage of bouncing responses increased, mainly depending on the proprioceptive information from their own hands. However, it remains unclear if the tactile or haptic (force) information produced by the postures mostly influences the stream/bounce perception. We solved this problem by changing the tactile and haptic information on the palms of the hands. Experiment 1 showed that the promotion of bouncing perception was observed only when the posture of directly putting one's palms together was used, while there was no effect when a brick was sandwiched between the participant's palms. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the strength of force used when putting the palms together had no effect on increasing bounce perception. Our findings indicate that the hands-induced bounce effect derives from the tactile information produced by the direct contact between both palms.

Shared decision-making in pediatric otolaryngology: Parent, physician and observational perspectives.

PubMed

Hong, Paul; Maguire, Erin; Gorodzinsky, Ayala Y; Curran, Janet A; Ritchie, Krista; Chorney, Jill

2016-08-01

To describe physician and parent behavior during pediatric otolaryngology surgical consultations, and to assess whether perceptions of shared decision-making and observed behavior are related. Parents of 126 children less than 6-years of age who underwent consultation for adeontonsillectomy or tympanostomy tube insertion were prospectively enrolled. Parents completed the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire-Patient version (SDM-Q-9), while surgeons completed the Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire-Physician version (SDM-Q-Doc) after the consultation. Visits were video-recorded and analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System to quantify physician and parent involvement during the consultation. Perceptions of shared decision-making between parents (SDM-Q-9) and physicians (SDM-Q-Doc) were significantly positively correlated (p = 0.03). However, there was no correlation between parents' perceptions of shared decision-making and observations of physician and parent behavior/involvement (proportion of physician socioemotional talk, task-focused talk, or proportion of parent talk). Surgeons' perceptions of shared decision-making were correlated with physician task-focused talk and proportion of parent talk. Parents and physicians had similar perceptions of the degree of shared decision-making to be taking place during pediatric otolaryngology consultations. However, there was variability in the degree to which parents participated, and parent perceptions of shared decision-making were not correlated with actual observed involvement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Motion Perception and Manual Control Performance During Passive Tilt and Translation Following Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clement, Gilles; Wood, Scott J.

2010-01-01

This joint ESA-NASA study is examining changes in motion perception following Space Shuttle flights and the operational implications of post-flight tilt-translation ambiguity for manual control performance. Vibrotactile feedback of tilt orientation is also being evaluated as a countermeasure to improve performance during a closed-loop nulling task. METHODS. Data has been collected on 5 astronaut subjects during 3 preflight sessions and during the first 8 days after Shuttle landings. Variable radius centrifugation (216 deg/s) combined with body translation (12-22 cm, peak-to-peak) is utilized to elicit roll-tilt perception (equivalent to 20 deg, peak-to-peak). A forward-backward moving sled (24-390 cm, peak-to-peak) with or without chair tilting in pitch is utilized to elicit pitch tilt perception (equivalent to 20 deg, peak-to-peak). These combinations are elicited at 0.15, 0.3, and 0.6 Hz for evaluating the effect of motion frequency on tilt-translation ambiguity. In both devices, a closed-loop nulling task is also performed during pseudorandom motion with and without vibrotactile feedback of tilt. All tests are performed in complete darkness. PRELIMINARY RESULTS. Data collection is currently ongoing. Results to date suggest there is a trend for translation motion perception to be increased at the low and medium frequencies on landing day compared to pre-flight. Manual control performance is improved with vibrotactile feedback. DISCUSSION. The results of this study indicate that post-flight recovery of motion perception and manual control performance is complete within 8 days following short-duration space missions. Vibrotactile feedback of tilt improves manual control performance both before and after flight.

Perceiving circular heading in noncanonical flow fields.

PubMed

Kim, N G; Fajen, B R; Turvey, M T

2000-02-01

Five experiments examined circular heading perception with optical flows that departed from the canonical form. Noncanonicity was achieved through nonrigidity of the environment (Experiments 1 and 2), oscillations of the point of observation (Experiment 3), and the bending of light (Experiments 4 and 5). In Experiments 1 and 2, perception was impaired more by nonrigidity of the ground plane than by nonrigidity of the medium. In Experiment 3, perception was unimpaired by noncanonical flows induced by the bounce and sway of observer locomotion. In Experiments 4 and 5, perception was not impaired when light paths were distorted by a spherical projection, but perception was impaired when they were distorted by a sine function. Results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that the information for perceiving heading is the ordinal pattern of optical flow.

The Effect of Body Movement on Listeners' Perceptions of Musicality in Trombone Quartet Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silveira, Jason M.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine what effect body movement would have on listeners' (N = 90) perceptions of a professional chamber ensemble performance. Specifically, an audio/video recording of a trombone quartet performance was used for the music stimulus. Listeners were asked to rate each performance on the basis of perceived…

Action-specific judgment, not perception: Fitts' law performance is related to estimates of target width only when participants are given a performance score.

PubMed

Zelaznik, Howard N; Forney, Laura A

2016-08-01

Proponents of the action-specific account of perception and action posit that participants perceive their environment relative to their capabilities. For example, softball players who batted well judge the ball as being larger compared to players who did not hit as well. In the present study, we examined this issue in the context of a well-known speed-accuracy movement task that can be examined in the laboratory, repetitive Fitts aiming. In the Fitts task, a performer moved as quickly and as accurately as possible between two targets, D units of distance apart (between 2.5 and 20.0 cm) and of W width (1.0 cm or less). In the Fitts task, we posited that individuals do not have access to performance quality. Thus, we asked whether individual differences in Fitts task performance was related to perception of target width. If Fitts task performance is related to perception of target width, then the action-specific effect on perception does not require explicit knowledge of performance and, furthermore, these effects reside during on-line visual control of the task. We show that only when subjects were provided with a performance score was there a relation between Fitts task performance and target width judgment error. We interpret this result to mean that action-specific effects do not occur during perceptual processing of the task, but action-specific effects are the result of postperformance evaluation processes.

The developmental dynamics of children's academic performance and mothers' homework-related affect and practices.

PubMed

Silinskas, Gintautas; Kiuru, Noona; Aunola, Kaisa; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2015-04-01

This study investigated the longitudinal associations between children's academic performance and their mothers' affect, practices, and perceptions of their children in homework situations. The children's (n = 2,261) performance in reading and math was tested in Grade 1 and Grade 4, and the mothers (n = 1,476) filled out questionnaires on their affect, practices, and perceptions while their children were in Grades 2, 3, and 4. The results showed, first, that the more help in homework the mothers reported, the slower was the development of their children's academic performance from Grade 1 to Grade 4. This negative association was true especially if mothers perceived their children not to be able to work autonomously. Second, children's good academic performance in Grade 1 predicted mothers' perception of child's ability to be autonomous and positive affect in homework situations later on, whereas poor performance predicted mothers' negative affect, help, and monitoring. Finally, mothers' negative affect mediated the association between children's poor performance, maternal practices, and perceptions of their children. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Driving difficulties in Parkinson's disease

PubMed Central

Rizzo, Matthew; Uc, Ergun Y; Dawson, Jeffrey; Anderson, Steven; Rodnitzky, Robert

2011-01-01

Safe driving requires the coordination of attention, perception, memory, motor and executive functions (including decision-making) and self-awareness. PD and other disorders may impair these abilities. Because age or medical diagnosis alone is often an unreliable criterion for licensure, decisions on fitness to drive should be based on empirical observations of performance. Linkages between cognitive abilities measured by neuropsychological tasks, and driving behavior assessed using driving simulators, and natural and naturalistic observations in instrumented vehicles, can help standardize the assessment of fitness-to-drive. By understanding the patterns of driver safety errors that cause crashes, it may be possible to design interventions to reduce these errors and injuries and increase mobility. This includes driver performance monitoring devices, collision alerting and warning systems, road design, and graded licensure strategies. PMID:20187237

Depressive Symptoms and Perceptions of Child Difficulty Are Associated with Less Responsive Feeding Behaviors in an Observational Study of Low-Income Mothers.

PubMed

Elias, Cindy V; Power, Thomas G; Beck, Ashley E; Goodell, L Suzanne; Johnson, Susan L; Papaioannou, Maria A; Hughes, Sheryl O

2016-12-01

Maternal depressive symptoms and perceptions of child difficulty are associated with negative effects on general development and cognitive functioning in children. The study examined associations between maternal depressive symptoms, perceptions of child difficulty, and maternal feeding behaviors in a population at elevated risk for childhood obesity. Participants were 138 low-income black and Hispanic mothers and their children (ages 3-5) participating in an observational study of mealtimes among Head Start families. Three dinnertime observations were conducted over 2 weeks on each family and audio/videotaped for coding. Coding included eating influence attempts and other food- and nonfood-related interactions exhibited by the mother during dinner. Mothers completed questionnaires on depressive symptoms and perceptions of child difficulty. Linear regressions were conducted, examining associations between maternal depressive symptoms, perceptions of child difficulty, and coded parent feeding behaviors. Mothers reporting higher levels of depressive symptoms used more verbal pressure to get their child to eat during meals, were more likely to discourage child independence, and less likely to enforce table manners. Mothers reporting higher perceptions of child difficulty were less likely to have nonfood-related discussions during meals and to try to get the child to eat a different food. This study is one of the first to investigate associations between maternal depression, perceptions of child difficulty, and mother's feeding behaviors during meals using observational methodology. These results may help researchers identify specific parental characteristics and feeding practices on which to intervene when developing tailored intervention programs for reducing childhood obesity.

The role of one-shot learning in #TheDress.

PubMed

Drissi Daoudi, Leila; Doerig, Adrien; Parkosadze, Khatuna; Kunchulia, Marina; Herzog, Michael H

2017-03-01

#TheDress is remarkable in two aspects. First, there is a bimodal split of the population in the perception of the dress's colors (white/gold vs. black/blue). Second, whereas interobserver variance is high, intra-observer variance is low, i.e., the percept rarely switches in a given individual. There are two plausible routes of explanations: either one-shot learning during the first presentation of the image splits observers into two different, stable populations, or the differences are caused by stable traits of observers, such as different visual systems. Here, we hid large parts of the image by white occluders. The majority of naïve participants perceived the dress as black and blue. With black occluders, the majority of observers perceived the dress as white and gold. The percept did not change when we subsequently presented the full image, arguing for a crucial role of one-shot learning. Next, we investigated whether the first fixation determines the perceived color in naïve observers. We found no such effect. It remains thus a puzzling question where the source of variability in the different percepts comes from.

Efficacy of empathy training in nursing students: A quasi-experimental study.

PubMed

Bas-Sarmiento, Pilar; Fernández-Gutiérrez, Martina; Baena-Baños, María; Romero-Sánchez, Jose Manuel

2017-12-01

Empathy is a competency to be learned by nurses and a therapeutic tool in the helping relationship that has repercussions on the health of both patients and professionals. To determine the efficacy of an experiential training for improving the empathy of nursing students in terms of capacity building, empathic performance and increased learning perception and retention of the material. A quasi-experimental study of a single group with pretest-posttest measurements of the educational intervention and follow-up at one month after the training. Faculty of Nursing, University of Cádiz, Spain. Forty-eight second-year undergraduate university nursing students. The educational intervention was conducted during a single semester, with 20h of training. The methodology of role-playing, behavior assay, and a flipped classroom was followed. Measurements of student performance were collected before and after the intervention. The Reynolds Empathy Scale was used to evaluate the student's perception of his/her performance; The Consultation and Relational Empathy Measure was used to evaluate the patient's perception of the student's behavior during the simulation; and three independent external observers assessed the student's behavior, guided by The Carkhuff Scale. Descriptive analysis and non-parametric contrast tests were performed to compare the scores before and after the training (Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon rank-sum). Spearman's correlation coefficient was used for the correlation between the measurements. The mean scores improved for all of the variables, with the differences being statistically significant. The students assessed their learning positively. The training was shown to be effective for improving the empathy of the university students in the study. The results are promising in terms of the students retaining the competencies adquired. Therefore, this type of experiential training is recommended for empathy training of future health professionals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Small-Scale 3D Imaging Platform for Algorithm Performance Evaluation

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

between their acquisitions will form the basis for stereo analysis , and thus a 3D perception of the observed scene. Several low cost and economic...incident light versus 2% on a photographic type film [6]. The CCD camera then transforms these patterns of light into electrical signals. First...sources of lux or illumination. Table 1: Lux (Illumination) Quantitative Comparisons. Luminance Example 0.00005 lux Starlight 1 lux Moonlight 10

Perceptions of the Leadership Practices of Principals in a High Performing School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinning, Molly

2014-01-01

The dissertation, "Perceptions Of The Leadership Practices Of Principals In A High Performing School District," explores the understandings of leadership practices from the perspective of parents, teachers, and principals in one high performing school district. The study addressed the leadership practices deemed important by the…

Changes in College Student Health:Implications for Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruthig, Joelle C.; Marrone, Sonia; Hladkyj, Steve; Robinson-Epp, Nancy

2011-01-01

This study investigated the longitudinal associations of health perceptions and behaviors with subsequent academic performance among college students. Multiple health perceptions and behaviors were assessed for 203 college students both at the beginning and end of an academic year. Students' academic performance was also measured at the end of the…

Evaluation of nursing faculty through observation.

PubMed

Crawford, L H

1998-10-01

The purpose of this study was to assess current use and faculty perceptions of classroom observation as a method of faculty evaluation in schools of nursing. Baccalaureate schools of nursing were surveyed to determine current use of classroom observation and its worth from the perception of administrators and faculty. Although most schools used classroom observation as a method of faculty evaluation, further clarification and research is needed in the following areas: purpose of classroom observation; number of observations necessary; weight given to classroom observation in relation to other evaluation methods; and tools used.

Multidimensional Evaluation of Endogenous and Health Factors Affecting Food Preferences, Taste and Smell Perception.

PubMed

Guido, D; Perna, S; Carrai, M; Barale, R; Grassi, M; Rondanelli, M

2016-01-01

This study, by taking a holistic approach, investigates the relationships between taste, smell sensitivity and food preference with prognostic (endogenous and health) factors including age, gender, genetic taste markers, body mass, cigarette smoking, and number of drugs used. Cross sectional study. Northern Italy. 203 healthy subjects (160 women/43 men; mean age: 58.2±19.8 years) were examined. Individual taste sensitivity was determined by saccharose, sodium chloride, acetic acid and caffeine solutions and by 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) responsiveness test. Olfactory sensitivity has been assessed by «Sniffin' Sticks». Four tag Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in regions of interest were genotyped. Factor analysis and multivariate regression were performed for scaling food preferences and screening prognostic factors, respectively. Increasing age is associated with decreased responsiveness to NaCl (P=0.001), sweet solutions (P=0.044), and smell perception (P<0.001). Concerning the food preferences, elderly like the "vegetables" and "fruits" but dislike "spicy" more than younger. Regarding number of drugs taken, there is a significant negative effect on smell perception (P<0.001). In addition, drugs reduce both the "vegetables foods" score (P=0.002) and the "milk-product foods" score (P=0.027). With respect to Body Mass Index (BMI), only a significant effect was shown, on sweet perception (P=0.006). Variation in taste receptor genes can give rise to differential perception of sweet, acid and bitter tastes. No effect of gender and smoking was observed. Our study suggested that age, genetic markers, BMI and drugs use are the factors which affect taste and smell perception and food preferences.

Victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in daily routines in Mexico

PubMed Central

Ávila, María Elena; Martínez-Ferrer, Belén; Vera, Alejandro; Bahena, Alejandro; Musitu, Gonzalo

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze the relationships between victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in routines. METHODS The 8,170 subjects of both sexes (49.9% women and 50.1% men) aged between 12 and 60 years, selected from a proportional stratified sampling, participated in this study. The measuring instrument was an adaptation of the National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Public Security. Chi-square tests were performed. RESULTS The results show significant differences on victimization and sex regarding perception of insecurity, restrictions on everyday activities, and protection measures. 13.1% of those interviewed claimed to have been victims of a crime in the past 12 months. 52.7% of women considered their municipality as unsafe or very unsafe. In the case of men, this percentage was 58.2%. Female victims reported significant restrictions in everyday activities when compared to non-victims. In relation to men, the percentage of victims with a high restriction of activities was higher in male victims than non-victims. In the group of victimized women, the segment of women who opted for increased measures of protection against crime was larger than expected, while those of non-victims who took less protective measures was lower than expected. These same results were observed in the group of men. CONCLUSIONS The experience of victimization implies a greater perception of insecurity. However, the climate of insecurity is widespread in a large number of citizens. Gender differences in a high-crime environment show the importance of investigating in depth the roles of both genders in the perception of insecurity and changes in routines. PMID:27706373

One Big Happy Family? Unraveling the Relationship between Shared Perceptions of Team Psychological Contracts, Person-Team Fit and Team Performance.

PubMed

Gibbard, Katherine; Griep, Yannick; De Cooman, Rein; Hoffart, Genevieve; Onen, Denis; Zareipour, Hamidreza

2017-01-01

With the knowledge that team work is not always associated with high(er) performance, we draw from the Multi-Level Theory of Psychological Contracts, Person-Environment Fit Theory, and Optimal Distinctiveness Theory to study shared perceptions of psychological contract (PC) breach in relation to shared perceptions of complementary and supplementary fit to explain why some teams perform better than other teams. We collected three repeated survey measures in a sample of 128 respondents across 46 teams. After having made sure that we met all statistical criteria, we aggregated our focal variables to the team-level and analyzed our data by means of a longitudinal three-wave autoregressive moderated-mediation model in which each relationship was one-time lag apart. We found that shared perceptions of PC breach were directly negatively related to team output and negatively related to perceived team member effectiveness through a decrease in shared perceptions of supplementary fit. However, we also demonstrated a beneficial process in that shared perceptions of PC breach were positively related to shared perceptions of complementary fit, which in turn were positively related to team output. Moreover, best team output appeared in teams that could combine high shared perceptions of complementary fit with modest to high shared perceptions of supplementary fit. Overall, our findings seem to indicate that in terms of team output there may be a bright side to perceptions of PC breach and that perceived person-team fit may play an important role in this process.

One Big Happy Family? Unraveling the Relationship between Shared Perceptions of Team Psychological Contracts, Person-Team Fit and Team Performance

PubMed Central

Gibbard, Katherine; Griep, Yannick; De Cooman, Rein; Hoffart, Genevieve; Onen, Denis; Zareipour, Hamidreza

2017-01-01

With the knowledge that team work is not always associated with high(er) performance, we draw from the Multi-Level Theory of Psychological Contracts, Person-Environment Fit Theory, and Optimal Distinctiveness Theory to study shared perceptions of psychological contract (PC) breach in relation to shared perceptions of complementary and supplementary fit to explain why some teams perform better than other teams. We collected three repeated survey measures in a sample of 128 respondents across 46 teams. After having made sure that we met all statistical criteria, we aggregated our focal variables to the team-level and analyzed our data by means of a longitudinal three-wave autoregressive moderated-mediation model in which each relationship was one-time lag apart. We found that shared perceptions of PC breach were directly negatively related to team output and negatively related to perceived team member effectiveness through a decrease in shared perceptions of supplementary fit. However, we also demonstrated a beneficial process in that shared perceptions of PC breach were positively related to shared perceptions of complementary fit, which in turn were positively related to team output. Moreover, best team output appeared in teams that could combine high shared perceptions of complementary fit with modest to high shared perceptions of supplementary fit. Overall, our findings seem to indicate that in terms of team output there may be a bright side to perceptions of PC breach and that perceived person-team fit may play an important role in this process. PMID:29170648

The development and discussion of computerized visual perception assessment tool for Chinese characters structures - Concurrent estimation of the overall ability and the domain ability in item response theory approach.

PubMed

Wu, Huey-Min; Lin, Chin-Kai; Yang, Yu-Mao; Kuo, Bor-Chen

2014-11-12

Visual perception is the fundamental skill required for a child to recognize words, and to read and write. There was no visual perception assessment tool developed for preschool children based on Chinese characters in Taiwan. The purposes were to develop the computerized visual perception assessment tool for Chinese Characters Structures and to explore the psychometrical characteristic of assessment tool. This study adopted purposive sampling. The study evaluated 551 kindergarten-age children (293 boys, 258 girls) ranging from 46 to 81 months of age. The test instrument used in this study consisted of three subtests and 58 items, including tests of basic strokes, single-component characters, and compound characters. Based on the results of model fit analysis, the higher-order item response theory was used to estimate the performance in visual perception, basic strokes, single-component characters, and compound characters simultaneously. Analyses of variance were used to detect significant difference in age groups and gender groups. The difficulty of identifying items in a visual perception test ranged from -2 to 1. The visual perception ability of 4- to 6-year-old children ranged from -1.66 to 2.19. Gender did not have significant effects on performance. However, there were significant differences among the different age groups. The performance of 6-year-olds was better than that of 5-year-olds, which was better than that of 4-year-olds. This study obtained detailed diagnostic scores by using a higher-order item response theory model to understand the visual perception of basic strokes, single-component characters, and compound characters. Further statistical analysis showed that, for basic strokes and compound characters, girls performed better than did boys; there also were differences within each age group. For single-component characters, there was no difference in performance between boys and girls. However, again the performance of 6-year-olds was better than that of 4-year-olds, but there were no statistical differences between the performance of 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds. Results of tests with basic strokes, single-component characters and compound characters tests had good reliability and validity. Therefore, it can be apply to diagnose the problem of visual perception at preschool. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bilateral and unilateral cochlear implant users compared on speech perception in noise.

PubMed

Dunn, Camille C; Noble, William; Tyler, Richard S; Kordus, Monika; Gantz, Bruce J; Ji, Haihong

2010-04-01

Compare speech performance in noise with matched bilateral cochlear implant (CICI) and unilateral cochlear implant (CI only) users. Thirty CICI and 30 CI-only subjects were tested on a battery of speech perception tests in noise that use an eight-loudspeaker array. On average, CICI subject's performance with speech in noise was significantly better than the CI-only subjects. The CICI group showed significantly better performance on speech perception in noise compared with the CI-only subjects, supporting the hypothesis that CICI is more beneficial than CI only.

How to Conduct Multimethod Field Studies in the Operating Room: The iPad Combined With a Survey App as a Valid and Reliable Data Collection Tool

PubMed Central

Tscholl, David W; Weiss, Mona; Spahn, Donat R

2016-01-01

Background Tablet computers such as the Apple iPad are progressively replacing traditional paper-and-pencil-based data collection. We combined the iPad with the ready-to-use survey software, iSurvey (from Harvestyourdata), to create a straightforward tool for data collection during the Anesthesia Pre-Induction Checklist (APIC) study, a hospital-wide multimethod intervention study involving observation of team performance and team member surveys in the operating room (OR). Objective We aimed to provide an analysis of the factors that led to the use of the iPad- and iSurvey-based tool for data collection, illustrate our experiences with the use of this data collection tool, and report the results of an expert survey about user experience with this tool. Methods We used an iPad- and iSurvey-based tool to observe anesthesia inductions conducted by 205 teams (N=557 team members) in the OR. In Phase 1, expert raters used the iPad- and iSurvey-based tool to rate team performance during anesthesia inductions, and anesthesia team members were asked to indicate their perceptions after the inductions. In Phase 2, we surveyed the expert raters about their perceptions regarding the use of the iPad- and iSurvey-based tool to observe, rate, and survey teams in the ORs. Results The results of Phase 1 showed that training data collectors on the iPad- and iSurvey-based data collection tool was effortless and there were no serious problems during data collection, upload, download, and export. Interrater agreement of the combined data collection tool was found to be very high for the team observations (median Fleiss’ kappa=0.88, 95% CI 0.78-1.00). The results of the follow-up expert rater survey (Phase 2) showed that the raters did not prefer a paper-and-pencil-based data collection method they had used during other earlier studies over the iPad- and iSurvey-based tool (median response 1, IQR 1-1; 1=do not agree, 2=somewhat disagree, 3=neutral, 4=somewhat agree, 5=fully agree). They found the iPad (median 5, IQR 4.5-5) and iSurvey (median 4, IQR 4-5) to be working flawlessly and easy to use (median 5, IQR 4-5). Expert ratings also showed that the anesthesia team members (ie, the surveyed doctors and nurses) who used the iPad- and iSurvey-based tool in the OR liked it (median 4, IQR 3-4.5). Conclusions The combination of the iPad and iSurvey provides an efficient and unobtrusive method to observe teams in their natural environment in the OR and to survey team members immediately after completing their task (ie, anesthesia induction). The expert raters positively evaluated the use of the device and user perceptions. Considering these comprehensive results, we can recommend the use of the iPad- and iSurvey-based tool for studying team performance and team member perceptions in the OR. PMID:26732090

Positive Perception of Aging and Performance in a Memory Task: Compensating for Stereotype Threat?

PubMed

Fernández-Ballesteros, Rocío; Bustillos, Antonio; Huici, Carmen

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: The aim of this research is to explore whether segments of seniors might be immune to aging stereotypes of the older adult group. Stereotype threat research indicates that older adults show low memory recall under conditions of stereotype threat. Stereotype internalization theory (Levy, 2009) predicts that a positive perception of aging has favorable effects on the behavior and health of older people. A total of 112 older adult participants (62% women, aged 55 to 78) attending the University Programme for Older Adults were assigned to one of two conditions: stereotype threat condition and positive information condition. A control group was included from participants in the same program (n = 34; 61% women, aged 55 to 78). Individual differences in self-perception of aging were considered as continuous variable. Participants with better self-perception of aging showed better memory performance than those with poorer self-perception of aging in the stereotype threat condition and control condition. However, no differences were found in the positive information condition between participants with high and low self-perception of aging. These results indicate that positive self-perception of aging moderates the effects of stereotype threat, and that positive information promotes better memory performance for those older adults with a poorer self-perception of aging. As expected, individuals with a positive perception of their own aging were less vulnerable to the activation of a negative older adult stereotype in the stereotype threat condition.

Hearing in Noise Test Brazil: standardization for young adults with normal hearing.

PubMed

Sbompato, Andressa Forlevise; Corteletti, Lilian Cassia Bornia Jacob; Moret, Adriane de Lima Mortari; Jacob, Regina Tangerino de Souza

2015-01-01

Individuals with the same ability of speech recognition in quiet can have extremely different results in noisy environments. To standardize speech perception in adults with normal hearing in the free field using the Brazilian Hearing in Noise Test. Contemporary, cross-sectional cohort study. 79 adults with normal hearing and without cognitive impairment participated in the study. Lists of Hearing in Noise Test sentences were randomly in quiet, noise front, noise right, and noise left. There were no significant differences between right and left ears at all frequencies tested (paired t-1 test). Nor were significant differences observed when comparing gender and interaction between these conditions. A difference was observed among the free field positions tested, except in the situations of noise right and noise left. Results of speech perception in adults with normal hearing in the free field during different listening situations in noise indicated poorer performance during the condition with noise and speech in front, i.e., 0°/0°. The values found in the standardization of the Hearing in Noise Test free field can be used as a reference in the development of protocols for tests of speech perception in noise, and for monitoring individuals with hearing impairment. Copyright © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Placebo-suggestion modulates conflict resolution in the Stroop Task.

PubMed

Magalhães De Saldanha da Gama, Pedro A; Slama, Hichem; Caspar, Emilie A; Gevers, Wim; Cleeremans, Axel

2013-01-01

Here, we ask whether placebo-suggestion (without any form of hypnotic induction) can modulate the resolution of cognitive conflict. Naïve participants performed a Stroop Task while wearing an EEG cap described as a "brain wave" machine. In Experiment 1, participants were made to believe that the EEG cap would either enhance or decrease their color perception and performance on the Stroop task. In Experiment 2, participants were explicitly asked to imagine that their color perception and performance would be enhanced or decreased (non-hypnotic imaginative suggestion). We observed effects of placebo-suggestion on Stroop interference on accuracy: interference was decreased with positive suggestion and increased with negative suggestion compared to baseline. Intra-individual variability was also increased under negative suggestion compared to baseline. Compliance with the instruction to imagine a modulation of performance, on the other hand, did not influence accuracy and only had a negative impact on response latencies and on intra-individual variability, especially in the congruent condition of the Stroop Task. Taken together, these results demonstrate that expectations induced by a placebo-suggestion can modulate our ability to resolve cognitive conflict, either facilitating or impairing response accuracy depending on the suggestion's contents. Our results also demonstrate a dissociation between placebo-suggestion and non-hypnotic imaginative suggestion.

Benefit from the Chin-Down Maneuver in the Swallowing Performance and Self-Perception of Parkinson's Disease Patients

PubMed Central

Jotz, Geraldo Pereira

2017-01-01

Aims. To verify the effectiveness of the maneuver application in swallowing therapy with PD. Materials and Method. We performed an open-label trial, with three groups compounds by PD individuals: the experimental group, control group, and orientation group. The study included PD patients with dysphagia. A cognitive screening, through a questionnaire about depression and quality of life, was conducted. Swallowing assessment was performed through (1) fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES); (2) clinical evaluation and Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS); and (3) assessment of the quality life related to swallowing (SWALQOL). A therapeutic program, which consisted of chin-down postural maneuver and orientations on feeding, was applied. Both groups (EG and OG) received on-month therapeutic program. Results. A significant improvement in swallowing, evaluated by clinical assessment, was observed in solid (p < 0.001) and liquid (p = 0.022) consistencies in EG when compared to OG and CG. Patients in EG presented improvement in QoL, with the significant difference in comparison with the other groups, about domain frequency of symptoms (p = 0.029) in SWALQOL questionnaire. Conclusion. The postural maneuver chin-down improved swallowing performance and self-perception, but not the laryngeal signs. This trial is registered with registration number NCT02973698. PMID:28203475

Placebo-Suggestion Modulates Conflict Resolution in the Stroop Task

PubMed Central

Caspar, Emilie A.; Gevers, Wim; Cleeremans, Axel

2013-01-01

Here, we ask whether placebo-suggestion (without any form of hypnotic induction) can modulate the resolution of cognitive conflict. Naïve participants performed a Stroop Task while wearing an EEG cap described as a “brain wave” machine. In Experiment 1, participants were made to believe that the EEG cap would either enhance or decrease their color perception and performance on the Stroop task. In Experiment 2, participants were explicitly asked to imagine that their color perception and performance would be enhanced or decreased (non-hypnotic imaginative suggestion). We observed effects of placebo-suggestion on Stroop interference on accuracy: interference was decreased with positive suggestion and increased with negative suggestion compared to baseline. Intra-individual variability was also increased under negative suggestion compared to baseline. Compliance with the instruction to imagine a modulation of performance, on the other hand, did not influence accuracy and only had a negative impact on response latencies and on intra-individual variability, especially in the congruent condition of the Stroop Task. Taken together, these results demonstrate that expectations induced by a placebo-suggestion can modulate our ability to resolve cognitive conflict, either facilitating or impairing response accuracy depending on the suggestion’s contents. Our results also demonstrate a dissociation between placebo-suggestion and non-hypnotic imaginative suggestion. PMID:24130735

The Grass Isn’t Always Greener: Perceptions of and Performance on Open-Note Exams

PubMed Central

Sato, Brian K.; He, Wenliang; Warschauer, Mark; Kadandale, Pavan

2015-01-01

Undergraduate biology education is often viewed as being focused on memorization rather than development of students’ critical-thinking abilities. We speculated that open-note testing would be an easily implemented change that would emphasize higher-order thinking. As open-note testing is not commonly used in the biological sciences and the literature on its effects in biology education is sparse, we performed a comprehensive analysis of this intervention on a primary literature–based exam across three large-enrollment laboratory courses. Although students believed open-note testing would impact exam scores, we found no effect on performance, either overall or on questions of nearly all Bloom’s levels. Open-note testing also produced no advantage when examined under a variety of parameters, including research experience, grade point average, course grade, prior exposure to primary literature–focused laboratory courses, or gender. Interestingly, we did observe small differences in open- and closed-note exam performance and perception for students who experienced open-note exams for an entire quarter. This implies that student preparation or in-test behavior can be altered by exposure to open-note testing conditions in a single course and that ­increased experience may be necessary to truly understand the impact of this intervention. PMID:25828402

A computational model that predicts behavioral sensitivity to intracortical microstimulation

PubMed Central

Kim, Sungshin; Callier, Thierri; Bensmaia, Sliman J.

2016-01-01

Objective Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) is a powerful tool to investigate the neural mechanisms of perception and can be used to restore sensation for patients who have lost it. While sensitivity to ICMS has previously been characterized, no systematic framework has been developed to summarize the detectability of individual ICMS pulse trains or the discriminability of pairs of pulse trains. Approach We develop a simple simulation that describes the responses of a population of neurons to a train of electrical pulses delivered through a microelectrode. We then perform an ideal observer analysis on the simulated population responses to predict the behavioral performance of non-human primates in ICMS detection and discrimination tasks. Main results Our computational model can predict behavioral performance across a wide range of stimulation conditions with high accuracy (R2 = 0.97) and generalizes to novel ICMS pulse trains that were not used to fit its parameters. Furthermore, the model provides a theoretical basis for the finding that amplitude discrimination based on ICMS violates Weber's law. Significance The model can be used to characterize the sensitivity to ICMS across the range of perceptible and safe stimulation regimes. As such, it will be a useful tool for both neuroscience and neuroprosthetics. PMID:27977419

A computational model that predicts behavioral sensitivity to intracortical microstimulation.

PubMed

Kim, Sungshin; Callier, Thierri; Bensmaia, Sliman J

2017-02-01

Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) is a powerful tool to investigate the neural mechanisms of perception and can be used to restore sensation for patients who have lost it. While sensitivity to ICMS has previously been characterized, no systematic framework has been developed to summarize the detectability of individual ICMS pulse trains or the discriminability of pairs of pulse trains. We develop a simple simulation that describes the responses of a population of neurons to a train of electrical pulses delivered through a microelectrode. We then perform an ideal observer analysis on the simulated population responses to predict the behavioral performance of non-human primates in ICMS detection and discrimination tasks. Our computational model can predict behavioral performance across a wide range of stimulation conditions with high accuracy (R 2  = 0.97) and generalizes to novel ICMS pulse trains that were not used to fit its parameters. Furthermore, the model provides a theoretical basis for the finding that amplitude discrimination based on ICMS violates Weber's law. The model can be used to characterize the sensitivity to ICMS across the range of perceptible and safe stimulation regimes. As such, it will be a useful tool for both neuroscience and neuroprosthetics.

Taking the reins: the effects of new leader status and leadership style on team performance.

PubMed

Sauer, Stephen J

2011-05-01

New leaders face a challenging task when they take charge of their teams. They have to determine how best to guide the work process, and they must understand how their behaviors will affect the members of their team. This research examines how a newly assigned team leader's status moderates subordinates' reactions to different leadership styles to affect assessments of the leader's self-confidence and effectiveness, and how this impacts team performance. Across 2 experimental studies, results demonstrate that low-status leaders are rated as more effective when they use a directive style, whereas high-status leaders are viewed as more effective when they use a participative style, and this relationship is mediated by perceptions of self-confidence. In addition, teams whose leaders are viewed more favorably perform better on a complex group task. These findings imply that low-status individuals are able to enhance their level of personal power by drawing on whatever positional power they hold, whereas high-status individuals are better off relying solely on their personal power to influence others. This research also provides a clear demonstration that assessments of new leaders' behaviors are subject to an appraisal that is clouded by observers' status perceptions and attributions.

A computational model that predicts behavioral sensitivity to intracortical microstimulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Sungshin; Callier, Thierri; Bensmaia, Sliman J.

2017-02-01

Objective. Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) is a powerful tool to investigate the neural mechanisms of perception and can be used to restore sensation for patients who have lost it. While sensitivity to ICMS has previously been characterized, no systematic framework has been developed to summarize the detectability of individual ICMS pulse trains or the discriminability of pairs of pulse trains. Approach. We develop a simple simulation that describes the responses of a population of neurons to a train of electrical pulses delivered through a microelectrode. We then perform an ideal observer analysis on the simulated population responses to predict the behavioral performance of non-human primates in ICMS detection and discrimination tasks. Main results. Our computational model can predict behavioral performance across a wide range of stimulation conditions with high accuracy (R 2 = 0.97) and generalizes to novel ICMS pulse trains that were not used to fit its parameters. Furthermore, the model provides a theoretical basis for the finding that amplitude discrimination based on ICMS violates Weber’s law. Significance. The model can be used to characterize the sensitivity to ICMS across the range of perceptible and safe stimulation regimes. As such, it will be a useful tool for both neuroscience and neuroprosthetics.

The Relationship between Students' Perceptions of the Teaching and Learning Process and Academic Performance in Science of Seventh and Eighth Graders Enrolled in Seventh-Day Adventist Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burton, Larry D.; Kijai, Jimmy; Sargeant, Marcel A.

2005-01-01

This study investigated student perceptions of the 7th and 8th grade Adventist science education program and their relationship to achievement in science as defined by performance on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Findings revealed that students held generally poor perceptions of science education. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed 8…

Moving Stimuli Facilitate Synchronization But Not Temporal Perception

PubMed Central

Silva, Susana; Castro, São Luís

2016-01-01

Recent studies have shown that a moving visual stimulus (e.g., a bouncing ball) facilitates synchronization compared to a static stimulus (e.g., a flashing light), and that it can even be as effective as an auditory beep. We asked a group of participants to perform different tasks with four stimulus types: beeps, siren-like sounds, visual flashes (static) and bouncing balls. First, participants performed synchronization with isochronous sequences (stimulus-guided synchronization), followed by a continuation phase in which the stimulus was internally generated (imagery-guided synchronization). Then they performed a perception task, in which they judged whether the final part of a temporal sequence was compatible with the previous beat structure (stimulus-guided perception). Similar to synchronization, an imagery-guided variant was added, in which sequences contained a gap in between (imagery-guided perception). Balls outperformed flashes and matched beeps (powerful ball effect) in stimulus-guided synchronization but not in perception (stimulus- or imagery-guided). In imagery-guided synchronization, performance accuracy decreased for beeps and balls, but not for flashes and sirens. Our findings suggest that the advantages of moving visual stimuli over static ones are grounded in action rather than perception, and they support the hypothesis that the sensorimotor coupling mechanisms for auditory (beeps) and moving visual stimuli (bouncing balls) overlap. PMID:27909419

Moving Stimuli Facilitate Synchronization But Not Temporal Perception.

PubMed

Silva, Susana; Castro, São Luís

2016-01-01

Recent studies have shown that a moving visual stimulus (e.g., a bouncing ball) facilitates synchronization compared to a static stimulus (e.g., a flashing light), and that it can even be as effective as an auditory beep. We asked a group of participants to perform different tasks with four stimulus types: beeps, siren-like sounds, visual flashes (static) and bouncing balls. First, participants performed synchronization with isochronous sequences (stimulus-guided synchronization), followed by a continuation phase in which the stimulus was internally generated (imagery-guided synchronization). Then they performed a perception task, in which they judged whether the final part of a temporal sequence was compatible with the previous beat structure (stimulus-guided perception). Similar to synchronization, an imagery-guided variant was added, in which sequences contained a gap in between (imagery-guided perception). Balls outperformed flashes and matched beeps (powerful ball effect) in stimulus-guided synchronization but not in perception (stimulus- or imagery-guided). In imagery-guided synchronization, performance accuracy decreased for beeps and balls, but not for flashes and sirens. Our findings suggest that the advantages of moving visual stimuli over static ones are grounded in action rather than perception, and they support the hypothesis that the sensorimotor coupling mechanisms for auditory (beeps) and moving visual stimuli (bouncing balls) overlap.

Pharmacological and Expectancy Effects of a Low Amount of Alcohol Drinking on Outcome Valuation and Risk Perception in Males and Females

PubMed Central

Tsurugizawa, Tomokazu; Tokuda, Shinsuke; Harada, Tokiko; Takahashi, Taiki; Sadato, Norihiro

2016-01-01

The high-dose, alcohol-induced influences on risk perception and loss aversion depend on sex. On the other hand, low-dose alcohol has less effect on risky behavior. However, the effect of low-dose alcohol on subjective valuation of gain or loss and also the effect of placebo (expectancy of alcohol) on risk perception have not been fully investigated. We investigated the effects of low-dose alcohol (0.02 g/100 ml blood alcohol concentration) and placebo effects on subjective risk perception and subjective valuation of uncertain gain and loss in females and males. Participants in the control group and the placebo group were served alcohol-free, wine-flavored beverage and participants of alcohol group were served wine (14% alcohol). The placebo group was not informed that the drink was not alcohol but the control group was informed. Then paper–pencil tasks for subjective risk perception and valuation of gain or loss were performed 45 min after drinking the beverage. The participants were asked to draw the line on a 180 mm scale for each question. The placebo effects as well as the low-dose alcohol effects were observed in subjective valuations of gain or loss. Except for effect of beverages, a gender difference was also observed for subjective likelihood. The females estimated a low-probability loss as more likely and estimated a high-probability gain as less likely than did the males. From the Stevens’ law fitting analysis, the placebo, not alcohol, significantly induced the psychophysical effect of the subjective valuation of gain or loss. These results indicate that the psychological effects of expectancy of alcohol (placebo) could be a major factor in changing the subjective valuation of gain or loss over the pharmacological effects of a small amount of alcohol (like a glass of wine). Furthermore, these results also indicate that gender differences should be taken into account when investigating pharmacological or psychological effect on decision-making. PMID:27100898

Stronger cortisol response to acute psychosocial stress is correlated with larger decrease in temporal sensitivity

PubMed Central

Yao, Zhuxi; Jiang, Caihong; Zhang, Kan; Wu, Jianhui

2016-01-01

As a fundamental dimension of cognition and behavior, time perception has been found to be sensitive to stress. However, how one’s time perception changes with responses to stress is still unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between stress-induced cortisol response and time perception. A group of 40 healthy young male adults performed a temporal bisection task before and after the Trier Social Stress Test for a stress condition. A control group of 27 male participants completed the same time perception task without stress induction. In the temporal bisection task, participants were first presented with short (400 ms) and long (1,600 ms) visual signals serving as anchor durations and then required to judge whether the intermediate probe durations were more similar to the short or the long anchor. The bisection point and Weber ratio were calculated and indicated the subjective duration and the temporal sensitivity, respectively. Data showed that participants in the stress group had significantly increased salivary cortisol levels, heart rates, and negative affects compared with those in the control group. The results did not show significant group differences for the subjective duration or the temporal sensitivity. However, the results showed a significant positive correlation between stress-induced cortisol responses and decreases in temporal sensitivity indexed by increases in the Weber ratio. This correlation was not observed for the control group. Changes in subjective duration indexed by temporal bisection points were not correlated with cortisol reactivity in both the groups. In conclusion, the present study found that although no significant change was observed in time perception after an acute stressor on the group-level comparison (i.e., stress vs. nonstress group), individuals with stronger cortisol responses to stress showed a larger decrease in temporal sensitivity. This finding may provide insight into the understanding of the relationship between stress and temporal sensitivity. PMID:27257544

Research on dynamic performance design of mobile phone application based on context awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bo, Zhang

2018-05-01

It aims to explore the dynamic performance of different mobile phone applications and the user's cognitive differences, reduce the cognitive burden, and enhance the sense of experience. By analyzing the dynamic design performance in four different interactive contexts, and constructing the framework of information service process in the interactive context perception and the two perception principles of the cognitive consensus between designer and user, and the two kinds of knowledge in accordance with the perception principles. The analysis of the context will help users sense the dynamic performance more intuitively, so that the details of interaction will be performed more vividly and smoothly, thus enhance user's experience in the interactive process. The common perception experience enables designers and users to produce emotional resonance in different interactive contexts, and help them achieve rapid understanding of interactive content and perceive the logic and hierarchy of the content and the structure, therefore the effectiveness of mobile applications will be improved.

The Impact of Age Stereotypes on Older Adults' Hazard Perception Performance and Driving Confidence.

PubMed

Chapman, Lyn; Sargent-Cox, Kerry; Horswill, Mark S; Anstey, Kaarin J

2016-06-01

This study examined the effect of age-stereotype threat on older adults' performance on a task measuring hazard perception performance in driving. The impact of age-stereotype threat in relation to the value participants placed on driving and pre- and post-task confidence in driving ability was also investigated. Eighty-six adults aged from 65 years of age completed a questionnaire measuring demographic information, driving experience, self-rated health, driving importance, and driving confidence. Prior to undertaking a timed hazard perception task, participants were exposed to either negative or positive age stereotypes. Results showed that age-stereotype threats, while not influencing hazard perception performance, significantly reduced post-driving confidence compared with pre-driving confidence for those in the negative prime condition. This finding builds on the literature that has found that stereotype-based influences cannot simply be understood in terms of performance outcomes alone and may be relevant to factors affected by confidence such as driving cessation decisions. © The Author(s) 2014.

Experiencing Technology Integration in Education: Children's Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baytak, Ahmet; Tarman, Bülent; Ayas, Cemalettin

2011-01-01

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of six children using technologies in their education. Data were collected via in-depth interviews, classroom observations, and home observations. The results showed that students have common perceptions toward their experience with technology integration. Furthermore, the…

Exploring practical knowledge: a case study of an experienced senior tennis performer.

PubMed

Langley, D J; Knight, S M

1996-12-01

The purpose of the study was to explore sport-related practical knowledge through the perceptions and experiences of a senior adult competitive tennis performer. Practical knowledge was defined as goal oriented, experiential knowledge developed within particular physical activity settings. Data were collected through formal interviews and participant observation and analyzed through narrative inquiry and conventional coding techniques. The data suggest that the tennis environment was perceived in terms of the opportunities afforded by that environment. Specifically, the participant's practical knowledge centered on performance capabilities and strategic planning that revealed opponent limitations. This knowledge appeared to be developed and expressed within the relationships among individual capabilities, the task, and the situated context of game play.

Speech perception and quality of life of open-fit hearing aid users

PubMed Central

GARCIA, Tatiana Manfrini; JACOB, Regina Tangerino de Souza; MONDELLI, Maria Fernanda Capoani Garcia

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective To relate the performance of individuals with hearing loss at high frequencies in speech perception with the quality of life before and after the fitting of an open-fit hearing aid (HA). Methods The WHOQOL-BREF had been used before the fitting and 90 days after the use of HA. The Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) had been conducted in two phases: (1) at the time of fitting without an HA (situation A) and with an HA (situation B); (2) with an HA 90 days after fitting (situation C). Study Sample Thirty subjects with sensorineural hearing loss at high frequencies. Results By using an analysis of variance and the Tukey’s test comparing the three HINT situations in quiet and noisy environments, an improvement has been observed after the HA fitting. The results of the WHOQOL-BREF have showed an improvement in the quality of life after the HA fitting (paired t-test). The relationship between speech perception and quality of life before the HA fitting indicated a significant relationship between speech recognition in noisy environments and in the domain of social relations after the HA fitting (Pearson’s correlation coefficient). Conclusions The auditory stimulation has improved speech perception and the quality of life of individuals. PMID:27383708

Family scents: developmental changes in the perception of kin body odor?

PubMed

Ferdenzi, Camille; Schaal, Benoist; Roberts, S Craig

2010-08-01

There is increasing evidence that human body odors are involved in adaptive behaviors, such as parental attachment in infants or partner choice in adults. The aim of the present study was to investigate changes in body-odor perception around puberty, a period largely ignored for odor-mediated behavioral changes, despite major changes in social needs and in odor emission and perception. Nine families with two children (8 pre-pubertal, aged 7-10, and 10 pubertal, aged 11-18) evaluated body odors of family members and unfamiliar individuals for pleasantness, intensity, and masculinity, and performed a recognition task. The hypothesized emergence of a parent-child mutual aversion for the odor of opposite-sex family members at puberty was not found, contradicting one of the few studies on the topic (Weisfeld et al., J. Exp. Child Psychol. 85:279-295, 2003). However, some developmental changes were observed, including reduced aversion for odor of the same-sex parent, and increased ability of adults, compared to children, to recognize odor of family members. Sex and personality (depressive and aggressive traits) also significantly influenced odor judgments. Further research with larger samples is needed to investigate the poorly explored issue of how olfactory perception of self and family members develops, and how it could correlate with normal reorganizations in social interactions at adolescence.

Perception of silent and motionless prey on vegetation by echolocation in the gleaning bat Micronycteris microtis.

PubMed

Geipel, Inga; Jung, Kirsten; Kalko, Elisabeth K V

2013-03-07

Gleaning insectivorous bats that forage by using echolocation within dense forest vegetation face the sensorial challenge of acoustic masking effects. Active perception of silent and motionless prey in acoustically cluttered environments by echolocation alone has thus been regarded impossible. The gleaning insectivorous bat Micronycteris microtis however, forages in dense understory vegetation and preys on insects, including dragonflies, which rest silent and motionless on vegetation. From behavioural experiments, we show that M. microtis uses echolocation as the sole sensorial modality for successful prey perception within a complex acoustic environment. All individuals performed a stereotypical three-dimensional hovering flight in front of prey items, while continuously emitting short, multi-harmonic, broadband echolocation calls. We observed a high precision in target localization which suggests that M. microtis perceives a detailed acoustic image of the prey based on shape, surface structure and material. Our experiments provide, to our knowledge, the first evidence that a gleaning bat uses echolocation alone for successful detection, classification and precise localization of silent and motionless prey in acoustic clutter. Overall, we conclude that the three-dimensional hovering flight of M. microtis in combination with a frequent emission of short, high-frequency echolocation calls is the key for active prey perception in acoustically highly cluttered environments.

Perception of silent and motionless prey on vegetation by echolocation in the gleaning bat Micronycteris microtis

PubMed Central

Geipel, Inga; Jung, Kirsten; Kalko, Elisabeth K. V.

2013-01-01

Gleaning insectivorous bats that forage by using echolocation within dense forest vegetation face the sensorial challenge of acoustic masking effects. Active perception of silent and motionless prey in acoustically cluttered environments by echolocation alone has thus been regarded impossible. The gleaning insectivorous bat Micronycteris microtis however, forages in dense understory vegetation and preys on insects, including dragonflies, which rest silent and motionless on vegetation. From behavioural experiments, we show that M. microtis uses echolocation as the sole sensorial modality for successful prey perception within a complex acoustic environment. All individuals performed a stereotypical three-dimensional hovering flight in front of prey items, while continuously emitting short, multi-harmonic, broadband echolocation calls. We observed a high precision in target localization which suggests that M. microtis perceives a detailed acoustic image of the prey based on shape, surface structure and material. Our experiments provide, to our knowledge, the first evidence that a gleaning bat uses echolocation alone for successful detection, classification and precise localization of silent and motionless prey in acoustic clutter. Overall, we conclude that the three-dimensional hovering flight of M. microtis in combination with a frequent emission of short, high-frequency echolocation calls is the key for active prey perception in acoustically highly cluttered environments. PMID:23325775

Another look at category effects on colour perception and their left hemispheric lateralisation: no evidence from a colour identification task.

PubMed

Suegami, Takashi; Aminihajibashi, Samira; Laeng, Bruno

2014-05-01

The present study aimed to replicate category effects on colour perception and their lateralisation to the left cerebral hemisphere (LH). Previous evidence for lateralisation of colour category effects has been obtained with tasks where a differently coloured target was searched within a display and participants reported the lateral location of the target. However, a left/right spatial judgment may yield LH-laterality effects per se. Thus, we employed an identification task that does not require a spatial judgment and used the same colour set that previously revealed LH-lateralised category effects. The identification task was better performed with between-category colours than with within-category task both in terms of accuracy and latency, but such category effects were bilateral or RH-lateralised, and no evidence was found for LH-laterality effects. The accuracy scores, moreover, indicated that the category effects derived from low sensitivities for within-blue colours and did not reflect the effects of categorical structures on colour perception. Furthermore, the classic "category effects" were observed in participants' response biases, instead of sensitivities. The present results argue against both the LH-lateralised category effects on colour perception and the existence of colour category effects per se.

Intracranial mapping of auditory perception: event-related responses and electrocortical stimulation.

PubMed

Sinai, A; Crone, N E; Wied, H M; Franaszczuk, P J; Miglioretti, D; Boatman-Reich, D

2009-01-01

We compared intracranial recordings of auditory event-related responses with electrocortical stimulation mapping (ESM) to determine their functional relationship. Intracranial recordings and ESM were performed, using speech and tones, in adult epilepsy patients with subdural electrodes implanted over lateral left cortex. Evoked N1 responses and induced spectral power changes were obtained by trial averaging and time-frequency analysis. ESM impaired perception and comprehension of speech, not tones, at electrode sites in the posterior temporal lobe. There was high spatial concordance between ESM sites critical for speech perception and the largest spectral power (100% concordance) and N1 (83%) responses to speech. N1 responses showed good sensitivity (0.75) and specificity (0.82), but poor positive predictive value (0.32). Conversely, increased high-frequency power (>60Hz) showed high specificity (0.98), but poorer sensitivity (0.67) and positive predictive value (0.67). Stimulus-related differences were observed in the spatial-temporal patterns of event-related responses. Intracranial auditory event-related responses to speech were associated with cortical sites critical for auditory perception and comprehension of speech. These results suggest that the distribution and magnitude of intracranial auditory event-related responses to speech reflect the functional significance of the underlying cortical regions and may be useful for pre-surgical functional mapping.

Intracranial mapping of auditory perception: Event-related responses and electrocortical stimulation

PubMed Central

Sinai, A.; Crone, N.E.; Wied, H.M.; Franaszczuk, P.J.; Miglioretti, D.; Boatman-Reich, D.

2010-01-01

Objective We compared intracranial recordings of auditory event-related responses with electrocortical stimulation mapping (ESM) to determine their functional relationship. Methods Intracranial recordings and ESM were performed, using speech and tones, in adult epilepsy patients with subdural electrodes implanted over lateral left cortex. Evoked N1 responses and induced spectral power changes were obtained by trial averaging and time-frequency analysis. Results ESM impaired perception and comprehension of speech, not tones, at electrode sites in the posterior temporal lobe. There was high spatial concordance between ESM sites critical for speech perception and the largest spectral power (100% concordance) and N1 (83%) responses to speech. N1 responses showed good sensitivity (0.75) and specificity (0.82), but poor positive predictive value (0.32). Conversely, increased high-frequency power (>60 Hz) showed high specificity (0.98), but poorer sensitivity (0.67) and positive predictive value (0.67). Stimulus-related differences were observed in the spatial-temporal patterns of event-related responses. Conclusions Intracranial auditory event-related responses to speech were associated with cortical sites critical for auditory perception and comprehension of speech. Significance These results suggest that the distribution and magnitude of intracranial auditory event-related responses to speech reflect the functional significance of the underlying cortical regions and may be useful for pre-surgical functional mapping. PMID:19070540

Novel and successful free comments method for sensory characterization of chocolate ice cream: A comparative study between pivot profile and comment analysis.

PubMed

Fonseca, Fernando G A; Esmerino, Erick A; Filho, Elson R Tavares; Ferraz, Juliana P; da Cruz, Adriano G; Bolini, Helena M A

2016-05-01

Rapid sensory profiling methods have gained space in the sensory evaluation field. Techniques using direct analysis of the terms generated by consumers are considered easy to perform, without specific training requirements, thus improving knowledge about consumer perceptions on various products. This study aimed to determine the sensory profile of different commercial samples of chocolate ice cream, labeled as conventional and light or diet, using the "comment analysis" and "pivot profile" methods, based on consumers' perceptions. In the comment analysis task, consumers responded to 2 separate open questions describing the sensory attributes they liked or disliked in each sample. In the pivot profile method, samples were served in pairs (consisting of a coded sample and pivot), and consumers indicated the higher and lower intensity attributes in the target sample compared with the pivot. We observed that both methods were able to characterize the different chocolate ice cream samples using consumer perception, with high correlation results and configurational similarity (regression vector coefficient=0.917) between them. However, it is worth emphasizing that comment analysis is performed intuitively by consumers, whereas the pivot profile method showed high analytical and discriminative power even using consumers, proving to be a promising technique for routine application when classical descriptive methods cannot be used. Copyright © 2016 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A temporal basis for Weber's law in value perception.

PubMed

Namboodiri, Vijay Mohan K; Mihalas, Stefan; Hussain Shuler, Marshall G

2014-01-01

Weber's law-the observation that the ability to perceive changes in magnitudes of stimuli is proportional to the magnitude-is a widely observed psychophysical phenomenon. It is also believed to underlie the perception of reward magnitudes and the passage of time. Since many ecological theories state that animals attempt to maximize reward rates, errors in the perception of reward magnitudes and delays must affect decision-making. Using an ecological theory of decision-making (TIMERR), we analyze the effect of multiple sources of noise (sensory noise, time estimation noise, and integration noise) on reward magnitude and subjective value perception. We show that the precision of reward magnitude perception is correlated with the precision of time perception and that Weber's law in time estimation can lead to Weber's law in value perception. The strength of this correlation is predicted to depend on the reward history of the animal. Subsequently, we show that sensory integration noise (either alone or in combination with time estimation noise) also leads to Weber's law in reward magnitude perception in an accumulator model, if it has balanced Poisson feedback. We then demonstrate that the noise in subjective value of a delayed reward, due to the combined effect of noise in both the perception of reward magnitude and delay, also abides by Weber's law. Thus, in our theory we prove analytically that the perception of reward magnitude, time, and subjective value change all approximately obey Weber's law.

Evaluation of Self-Perceptions of Creativity: Is It a Useful Criterion?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reiter-Palmon, Roni; Robinson-Morral, Erika J.; Kaufman, James C.; Santo, Jonathan B.

2012-01-01

Self-evaluations or self-perceptions of creativity have been used in the past both as predictors of creative performance and as criteria. Four measures utilizing self-perceptions of creativity were assessed for their usefulness as criterion measures of creativity. Analyses provided evidence of domain specificity of self-perceptions. The scales…

Visual, motor and attentional influences on proprioceptive contributions to perception of hand path rectilinearity during reaching

PubMed Central

Scheidt, Robert A.; Lillis, Kyle P.; Emerson, Scott J.

2010-01-01

We examined how proprioceptive contributions to perception of hand path straightness are influenced by visual, motor and attentional sources of performance variability during horizontal planar reaching. Subjects held the handle of a robot that constrained goal-directed movements of the hand to paths of controlled curvature. Subjects attempted to detect the presence of hand path curvature during both active (subject-driven) and passive (robot-driven) movements that either required active muscle force production or not. Subjects were less able to discriminate curved from straight paths when actively reaching for a target vs. when the robot moved their hand through the same curved paths. This effect was especially evident during robot-driven movements requiring concurrent activation of lengthening but not shortening muscles. Subjects were less likely to report curvature and were more variable in reporting when movements appeared straight in a novel “visual channel” condition previously shown to block adaptive updating of motor commands in response to deviations from a straight-line hand path. Similarly compromised performance was obtained when subjects simultaneously performed a distracting secondary task (key pressing with the contralateral hand). The effects compounded when these last two treatments were combined. It is concluded that environmental, intrinsic and attentional factors all impact the ability to detect deviations from a rectilinear hand path during goal-directed movement by decreasing proprioceptive contributions to limb state estimation. In contrast, response variability increased only in experimental conditions thought to impose additional attentional demands on the observer. Implications of these results for perception and other sensorimotor behaviors are discussed. PMID:20532489

3-D Interpolation in Object Perception: Evidence from an Objective Performance Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kellman, Philip J.; Garrigan, Patrick; Shipley, Thomas F.; Yin, Carol; Machado, Liana

2005-01-01

Object perception requires interpolation processes that connect visible regions despite spatial gaps. Some research has suggested that interpolation may be a 3-D process, but objective performance data and evidence about the conditions leading to interpolation are needed. The authors developed an objective performance paradigm for testing 3-D…

Listener Perception of Expressivity in Collaborative Performances Containing Expressive and Unexpressive Playing by the Pianist

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geringer, John M.; Sasanfar, Justine K.

2013-01-01

Listener perception of musical expression in collaborative performance was explored in this study. Performances of two duos (a violinist and pianist, and a vocalist and pianist) were recorded. The level of expressivity of the violinist and vocalist remained stylistically appropriate during pieces; however, the pianist alternated between very…

Perceptions of Value: A Study of Worker Characteristics and Performance Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welch, Corey M.

2013-01-01

This study addressed the need of human performance technology (HPT) practitioners to make the most cost-effective performance intervention decisions, introducing a new instrument, the Intervention Value Survey, as a possible tool to provide a clearer profile of an audience's perceptions of what provides them value. Using a mixed methods…

Curvilinear approach to an intersection and visual detection of a collision.

PubMed

Berthelon, C; Mestre, D

1993-09-01

Visual motion perception plays a fundamental role in vehicle control. Recent studies have shown that the pattern of optical flow resulting from the observer's self-motion through a stable environment is used by the observer to accurately control his or her movements. However, little is known about the perception of another vehicle during self-motion--for instance, when a car driver approaches an intersection with traffic. In a series of experiments using visual simulations of car driving, we show that observers are able to detect the presence of a moving object during self-motion. However, the perception of the other car's trajectory appears to be strongly dependent on environmental factors, such as the presence of a road sign near the intersection or the shape of the road. These results suggest that local and global visual factors determine the perception of a car's trajectory during self-motion.

Conceptualizing Interprofessional Teams as Multi-Team Systems-Implications for Assessment and Training.

PubMed

West, Courtney; Landry, Karen; Graham, Anna; Graham, Lori; Cianciolo, Anna T; Kalet, Adina; Rosen, Michael; Sherman, Deborah Witt

2015-01-01

SGEA 2015 CONFERENCE ABSTRACT (EDITED). Evaluating Interprofessional Teamwork During a Large-Scale Simulation. Courtney West, Karen Landry, Anna Graham, and Lori Graham. CONSTRUCT: This study investigated the multidimensional measurement of interprofessional (IPE) teamwork as part of large-scale simulation training. Healthcare team function has a direct impact on patient safety and quality of care. However, IPE team training has not been the norm. Recognizing the importance of developing team-based collaborative care, our College of Nursing implemented an IPE simulation activity called Disaster Day and invited other professions to participate. The exercise consists of two sessions: one in the morning and another in the afternoon. The disaster scenario is announced just prior to each session, which consists of team building, a 90-minute simulation, and debriefing. Approximately 300 Nursing, Medicine, Pharmacy, Emergency Medical Technicians, and Radiology students and over 500 standardized and volunteer patients participated in the Disaster Day event. To improve student learning outcomes, we created 3 competency-based instruments to evaluate collaborative practice in multidimensional fashion during this exercise. A 20-item IPE Team Observation Instrument designed to assess interprofessional team's attainment of Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies was completed by 20 faculty and staff observing the Disaster Day simulation. One hundred sixty-six standardized patients completed a 10-item Standardized Patient IPE Team Evaluation Instrument developed from the IPEC competencies and adapted items from the 2014 Henry et al. PIVOT Questionnaire. This instrument assessed the standardized or volunteer patient's perception of the team's collaborative performance. A 29-item IPE Team's Perception of Collaborative Care Questionnaire, also created from the IPEC competencies and divided into 5 categories of Values/Ethics, Roles and Responsibilities, Communication, Teamwork, and Self-Evaluation, was completed by 188 students including 99 from Nursing, 43 from Medicine, 6 from Pharmacy, and 40 participants who belonged to more than one component, were students at another institution, or did not indicate their institution. The team instrument was designed to assess each team member's perception of how well the team and him- or herself met the competencies. Five of the items on the team perceptions questionnaire mirrored items on the standardized patient evaluation: demonstrated leadership practices that led to effective teamwork, discussed care and decisions about that care with patient, described roles and responsibilities clearly, worked well together to coordinate care, and good/effective communication. Internal consistency reliability of the IPE Team Observation Instrument was 0.80. In 18 of the 20 items, more than 50% of observers indicated the item was demonstrated. Of those, 6 of the items were observed by 50% to 75% of the observers, and the remaining 12 were observed by more than 80% of the observers. Internal consistency reliability of the IPE Team's Perception of Collaborative Care Instrument was 0.95. The mean response score-1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree)-was calculated for each section of the instrument. The overall mean score was 3.57 (SD = .11). Internal consistency reliability of the Standardized Patient IPE Team Evaluation Instrument was 0.87. The overall mean score was 3.28 (SD = .17). The ratings for the 5 items shared by the standardized patient and team perception instruments were compared using independent sample t tests. Statistically significant differences (p < .05) were present in each case, with the students rating themselves higher on average than the standardized patients did (mean differences between 0.2 and 0.6 on a scale of 1-4). Multidimensional, competency-based instruments appear to provide a robust view of IPE teamwork; however, challenges remain. Due to the large scale of the simulation exercise, observation-based assessment did not function as well as self- and standardized patient-based assessment. To promote greater variation in observer assessments during future Disaster Day simulations, we plan to adjust the rating scale from "not observed," "observed," and "not applicable" to a 4-point scale and reexamine interrater reliability.

The perception of distances and spatial relationships in natural outdoor environments.

PubMed

Norman, J Farley; Crabtree, Charles E; Clayton, Anna Marie; Norman, Hideko F

2005-01-01

The ability of observers to perceive distances and spatial relationships in outdoor environments was investigated in two experiments. In experiment 1, the observers adjusted triangular configurations to appear equilateral, while in experiment 2, they adjusted the depth of triangles to match their base width. The results of both experiments revealed that there are large individual differences in how observers perceive distances in outdoor settings. The observers' judgments were greatly affected by the particular task they were asked to perform. The observers who had shown no evidence of perceptual distortions in experiment 1 (with binocular vision) demonstrated large perceptual distortions in experiment 2 when the task was changed to match distances in depth to frontal distances perpendicular to the observers' line of sight. Considered as a whole, the results indicate that there is no single relationship between physical and perceived space that is consistent with observers' judgments of distances in ordinary outdoor contexts.

Auditory perception of temporal order in centenarians in comparison with young and elderly subjects.

PubMed

Kołodziejczyk, Iwona; Szelsg, Elzbieta

2008-01-01

Temporal information processing controls many aspects of human mental activity and may be assessed by examining perception of temporal order in the tens of milliseconds time range. Although existing studies suggest an age-related decline in mental abilities, the data on the deterioration of temporal order perception seems inconsistent. Moreover, any evidence on subjects aged over 70 years is lacking. The present experiment aimed to extend the existing data to extremely old people. Temporal order judgment (TOJ) for auditory stimuli was tested across the life span of approx. 80 years, i.e. in young (mean age 22 years) elderly (66 years) and very old (101 years) subjects. Age-related deterioration of performance was observed, with slight changes in elderly subjects and significant deterioration in centenarians which was more distinct in women than in men. The results confirm age-related decrease in temporal resolution which may be explained by slowing of information processing or of a hypothetical internal-timing mechanism. These effects may be influenced by different strategies used in particular age groups.

Action embellishment: an intention bias in the perception of success.

PubMed

Preston, Jesse Lee; Ritter, Ryan S; Wegner, Daniel M

2011-08-01

Naïve theories of behavior hold that actions are caused by an agent's intentions, and the subsequent success of an action is measured by the satisfaction of those intentions. However, when an action is not as successful as intended, the expected causal link between intention and action may distort perception of the action itself. Four studies found evidence of an intention bias in perceptions of action. Actors perceived actions to be more successful when given a prior choice (e.g., choose between 2 words to type) and also when they felt greater motivation for the action (e.g., hitting pictures of disliked people). When the intent was to fail (e.g., singing poorly), choice led to worse estimates of performance. A final experiment suggested that intention bias works independent from self-enhancement motives. In observing another actor hit pictures of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, shots were distorted to match the actor's intentions, even when it opposed personal wishes. Together these studies indicate that judgments of action may be automatically distorted and that these inferences arise from the expected consistency between intention and action in agency.

Influence of full mouth rehabilitation on oral health-related quality of life among disabled children.

PubMed

Al-Nowaiser, Abeer M; Al Suwyed, Abdulaziz S; Al Zoman, Khalid H; Robert, Asirvatham A; Al Brahim, Tarfa; Ciancio, Sebastian G; Al Mubarak, Sultan A; El Meligy, Omar A

2017-10-01

The efficacy of full mouth rehabilitation (FMR) on oral health-related quality of life of physically disabled children was assessed. This prospective study was performed at Dental Department of Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City, Riyadh, and King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during May 2012 to September 2014. A total of 186 physically disabled children aged 11-14 years were assigned to a test group (n = 97) or a control group (n = 89). FMR was applied for test group children at baseline and 3 months' visits, whereas those in the control group did not receive FMR. Both group children received dental kits and oral hygiene instructions. Children were asked to complete the Child Perceptions Questionnaire, whereas Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire and Family Distress Domain questionnaire were completed by the parents/caregivers at baseline and 6 months' visits. Children in both groups showed positive trends in oral symptoms at 6 months compared with those at baseline. However, when they were compared to control, significant improvement in oral symptoms was observed in the test group at 6 months' visit (p < .05). Also when they were compared to control, significant improvements were observed in the functional limitation, emotional, and social well-being subscales of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire and on the Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire scales at the end of the study (p < .05). Compared to the parents/caregivers of the control children, the parents/caregivers of the test-group children reported insignificant but positive trends in Family Distress Domain at the end of the study (p < .05). FMR in children reduced oral-related problems subsequently to a better oral health-related quality of life.

Auditory Training Effects on the Listening Skills of Children With Auditory Processing Disorder.

PubMed

Loo, Jenny Hooi Yin; Rosen, Stuart; Bamiou, Doris-Eva

2016-01-01

Children with auditory processing disorder (APD) typically present with "listening difficulties,"' including problems understanding speech in noisy environments. The authors examined, in a group of such children, whether a 12-week computer-based auditory training program with speech material improved the perception of speech-in-noise test performance, and functional listening skills as assessed by parental and teacher listening and communication questionnaires. The authors hypothesized that after the intervention, (1) trained children would show greater improvements in speech-in-noise perception than untrained controls; (2) this improvement would correlate with improvements in observer-rated behaviors; and (3) the improvement would be maintained for at least 3 months after the end of training. This was a prospective randomized controlled trial of 39 children with normal nonverbal intelligence, ages 7 to 11 years, all diagnosed with APD. This diagnosis required a normal pure-tone audiogram and deficits in at least two clinical auditory processing tests. The APD children were randomly assigned to (1) a control group that received only the current standard treatment for children diagnosed with APD, employing various listening/educational strategies at school (N = 19); or (2) an intervention group that undertook a 3-month 5-day/week computer-based auditory training program at home, consisting of a wide variety of speech-based listening tasks with competing sounds, in addition to the current standard treatment. All 39 children were assessed for language and cognitive skills at baseline and on three outcome measures at baseline and immediate postintervention. Outcome measures were repeated 3 months postintervention in the intervention group only, to assess the sustainability of treatment effects. The outcome measures were (1) the mean speech reception threshold obtained from the four subtests of the listening in specialized noise test that assesses sentence perception in various configurations of masking speech, and in which the target speakers and test materials were unrelated to the training materials; (2) the Children's Auditory Performance Scale that assesses listening skills, completed by the children's teachers; and (3) the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamental-4 pragmatic profile that assesses pragmatic language use, completed by parents. All outcome measures significantly improved at immediate postintervention in the intervention group only, with effect sizes ranging from 0.76 to 1.7. Improvements in speech-in-noise performance correlated with improved scores in the Children's Auditory Performance Scale questionnaire in the trained group only. Baseline language and cognitive assessments did not predict better training outcome. Improvements in speech-in-noise performance were sustained 3 months postintervention. Broad speech-based auditory training led to improved auditory processing skills as reflected in speech-in-noise test performance and in better functional listening in real life. The observed correlation between improved functional listening with improved speech-in-noise perception in the trained group suggests that improved listening was a direct generalization of the auditory training.

The visual discrimination of bending.

PubMed

Norman, J Farley; Wiesemann, Elizabeth Y; Norman, Hideko F; Taylor, M Jett; Craft, Warren D

2007-01-01

The sensitivity of observers to nonrigid bending was evaluated in two experiments. In both experiments, observers were required to discriminate on any given trial which of two bending rods was more elastic. In experiment 1, both rods bent within the same oriented plane, and bent either in a frontoparallel plane or bent in depth. In experiment 2, the two rods within any given trial bent in different, randomly chosen orientations in depth. The results of both experiments revealed that human observers are sensitive to, and can reliably detect, relatively small differences in bending (the average Weber fraction across experiments 1 and 2 was 9.0%). The performance of the human observers was compared to that of models that based their elasticity judgments upon either static projected curvature or mean and maximal projected speed. Despite the fact that all of the observers reported compelling 3-D perceptions of bending in depth, their judgments were both qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with the performance of the models. This similarity suggests that relatively straightforward information about the elasticity of simple bending objects is available in projected retinal images.

[The perception of the risk related to nursing activities in Bachelor student of Modena and Reggio Emilia university: An observational study].

PubMed

Mecugni, Daniela; Serpe, Alessandra; Bravo, Giulia; Iemmi, Marina; Gobba, Fabrizio Maria

2009-01-01

Professional risk and security in the health sector is becoming ever more important : the number of accidents in hospital environments during 2005 was 19,000 and nurses were the most frequently involved category. This study deals with clinical risk perception . A questionnaire was issued to 259 student and 100 professional nurses at the Modena and Reggio Emilia University Hospital., comprising 70 questions regarding 5 dimensions: general risk perception, personal risk perception, nursing skills, observed experience and direct experience. Results were evaluated using the ANOVA and t-tests and showed significant differences among the various groups (first, second and third-year students and professional nurses) in relation to each dimension. On the whole , the perception of risk was relatively low in comparison to its real level in the working environment. Therefore, specific training for a correct perception of health risks is required, not only for students but also for trained nurses, so that the culture of risk management becomes a routine issue.

Teaching social perception skills to adolescents with autism and intellectual disabilities using video-based group instruction.

PubMed

Stauch, Tiffany A; Plavnick, Joshua B; Sankar, Sudha; Gallagher, Annie C

2018-05-17

Few interventions focus on teaching social skills to adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID) that are consistently used during interactions with peers ( Carter et al., 2014). The present study evaluated the effects of video-based group instruction (VGI) on the acquisition of social perception skills of five adolescents with ASD or ID in a public school setting. Social perception involves observing affective behaviors of others, discriminating relevant environmental stimuli, and differentially reinforcing the affective behavior of another person. Typically developing peers supported VGI implementation as social partners for participants. A multiple probe design across behaviors demonstrated the effectiveness of VGI for teaching social perception skills. Four of five participants acquired and maintained the targeted social perception skills, and we observed some transfer to a nontreatment setting. Results of this study suggest VGI may support the acquisition of social perception among adolescents with ASD or ID. © 2018 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Use of quality indicators in physical therapist practice: an observational study.

PubMed

Jette, Diane U; Jewell, Dianne V

2012-04-01

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 contain provisions specific to health care quality that apply to physical therapists. Published evidence examining gaps in the quality of physical therapy services is limited. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the use of quality indicators in physical therapist practice. This was an observational study. All members of the Orthopaedic and Private Practice sections of the American Physical Therapy Association were invited to participate by completing an electronic survey. The survey included 22 brief patient descriptions, each followed by questions regarding the use of examinations and interventions based on the 2009 list of Medicare-approved quality measures. Separate multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the odds ratios related to the performance of each examination and intervention on more than 90% of patients, given perceptions of its importance to care, the burden of performing it, and the level of evidence supporting its use. Participants (n=2,544) reported a relatively low frequency of performing examinations and interventions supporting primary and secondary prevention (3.6%-51.3%) and use of standardized measures (5.5%-35.8%). Perceptions of high importance and low burden were associated with greater odds of performing an examination or intervention. Importance and burden were more influential factors than the perceived availability of evidence to support use of identified techniques. The survey was not assessed for test-retest reliability. A low response rate was a source of potential bias. The study findings suggest that physical therapists may not see themselves as providers of primary or secondary prevention services. Patient management strategies associated with these types of services also may be perceived as relatively unimportant or burdensome.

Training Japanese listeners to identify English /r/ and /l/. III. Long-term retention of new phonetic categories

PubMed Central

Lively, Scott E.; Pisoni, David B.; Yamada, Reiko A.; Tohkura, Yoh’ichi; Yamada, Tsuneo

2012-01-01

Monolingual speakers of Japanese were trained to identify English /r/ and /l/ using Logan et al.’s [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 89, 874–886 (1991)] high-variability training procedure. Subjects’ performance improved from the pretest to the post-test and during the 3 weeks of training. Performance during training varied as a function of talker and phonetic environment. Generalization accuracy to new words depended on the voice of the talker producing the /r/–/l/ contrast: Subjects were significantly more accurate when new words were produced by a familiar talker than when new words were produced by an unfamiliar talker. This difference could not be attributed to differences in intelligibility of the stimuli. Three and six months after the conclusion of training, subjects returned to the laboratory and were given the post-test and tests of generalization again. Performance was surprisingly good on each test after 3 months without any further training: Accuracy decreased only 2% from the post-test given at the end of training to the post-test given 3 months later. Similarly, no significant decrease in accuracy was observed for the tests of generalization. After 6 months without training, subjects’ accuracy was still 4.5% above pretest levels. Performance on the tests of generalization did not decrease and significant differences were still observed between talkers. The present results suggest that the high-variability training paradigm encourages a long-term modification of listeners’ phonetic perception. Changes in perception are brought about by shifts in selective attention to the acoustic cues that signal phonetic contrasts. These modifications in attention appear to be retrained over time, despite the fact that listeners are not exposed to the /r/–/l/ contrast in their native language environment. PMID:7963022

Ensemble perception in autism spectrum disorder: Member-identification versus mean-discrimination.

PubMed

Van der Hallen, Ruth; Lemmens, Lisa; Steyaert, Jean; Noens, Ilse; Wagemans, Johan

2017-07-01

To efficiently represent the outside world our brain compresses sets of similar items into a summarized representation, a phenomenon known as ensemble perception. While most studies on ensemble perception investigate this perceptual mechanism in typically developing (TD) adults, more recently, researchers studying perceptual organization in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have turned their attention toward ensemble perception. The current study is the first to investigate the use of ensemble perception for size in children with and without ASD (N = 42, 8-16 years). We administered a pair of tasks pioneered by Ariely [2001] evaluating both member-identification and mean-discrimination. In addition, we varied the distribution types of our sets to allow a more detailed evaluation of task performance. Results show that, overall, both groups performed similarly in the member-identification task, a test of "local perception," and similarly in the mean identification task, a test of "gist perception." However, in both tasks performance of the TD group was affected more strongly by the degree of stimulus variability in the set, than performance of the ASD group. These findings indicate that both TD children and children with ASD use ensemble statistics to represent a set of similar items, illustrating the fundamental nature of ensemble coding in visual perception. Differences in sensitivity to stimulus variability between both groups are discussed in relation to recent theories of information processing in ASD (e.g., increased sampling, decreased priors, increased precision). Autism Res 2017. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1291-1299. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Temporal relation between top-down and bottom-up processing in lexical tone perception

PubMed Central

Shuai, Lan; Gong, Tao

2013-01-01

Speech perception entails both top-down processing that relies primarily on language experience and bottom-up processing that depends mainly on instant auditory input. Previous models of speech perception often claim that bottom-up processing occurs in an early time window, whereas top-down processing takes place in a late time window after stimulus onset. In this paper, we evaluated the temporal relation of both types of processing in lexical tone perception. We conducted a series of event-related potential (ERP) experiments that recruited Mandarin participants and adopted three experimental paradigms, namely dichotic listening, lexical decision with phonological priming, and semantic violation. By systematically analyzing the lateralization patterns of the early and late ERP components that are observed in these experiments, we discovered that: auditory processing of pitch variations in tones, as a bottom-up effect, elicited greater right hemisphere activation; in contrast, linguistic processing of lexical tones, as a top-down effect, elicited greater left hemisphere activation. We also found that both types of processing co-occurred in both the early (around 200 ms) and late (around 300–500 ms) time windows, which supported a parallel model of lexical tone perception. Unlike the previous view that language processing is special and performed by dedicated neural circuitry, our study have elucidated that language processing can be decomposed into general cognitive functions (e.g., sensory and memory) and share neural resources with these functions. PMID:24723863

Physicians' degree of motivation regarding their perception of hypertension, and blood pressure control.

PubMed

Consoli, Silla M; Lemogne, Cédric; Levy, Alain; Pouchain, Denis; Laurent, Stephane

2010-06-01

Despite clear international guidelines, the achievement of blood pressure (BP) control is still disappointing. To determine whether physicians' perception of hypertension, in general, is related to their patients' BP measures. DUO-HTA is a French cross-sectional survey, which included a representative sample of 346 general practitioners, 209 cardiologists and 2014 hypertensive patients. Data were collected using two self-administered questionnaires filled out by the hypertensive patients and their physicians. A cluster analysis was performed on the responses given by the physicians, prior to the inclusion of their patients into the study, to 13 questions concerning their perception of hypertension. Physicians were divided into five groups, ranging from 'poorly motivated' to 'highly motivated' physicians, with regard to their perception of hypertension. More motivated physicians had a more confident and optimistic approach of hypertension, looked more empathetic and supportive towards patients and were characterized by higher rates of patients with controlled BP included into the study (range 32-42%, P=0.01 for trend). After adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical and psychological patient-related variables, separate analyses for the patients included into the survey by general practitioners or cardiologists found a significant decreasing gradient for SBP according to physicians' level of motivation (respectively, P=0.029 and P=0.021). Close results were observed in multivariate logistic regression analyses of uncontrolled hypertension. These results underline the importance of physicians' perception of hypertension, in addition or concurrently to their compliance with international guidelines, for a successful management of hypertensive patients

Interoceptive Awareness, Positive Affect, and Decision Making in Major Depressive Disorder

PubMed Central

Furman, Daniella J.; Waugh, Christian E.; Bhattacharjee, Kalpa; Thompson, Renee J.; Gotlib, Ian H.

2013-01-01

Background Little work has examined the relation between interoceptive awareness and symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Existing research suggests that depressed individuals exhibit impaired heartbeat perception, though the results of this research have been equivocal. Importantly, depressed participants in these studies have had comorbid anxiety disorders, making it difficult to draw inferences about interoceptive awareness in MDD. The current study addresses this issue by assessing heartbeat perception in depressed women without current anxiety disorders and exploring the relation between interoception and perturbations in both affective intensity and decision making, components of MDD postulated to be related to bodily awareness. Methods Depressed women without concurrent anxiety disorders (n=25) and never-disordered controls (n=36) performed a heartbeat perception task. Participants completed the self-report Affect Intensity Measure (AIM), and decision-making difficulty was assessed in MDD participants using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Results Depressed women exhibited poorer heartbeat perception accuracy than did control participants. Impaired accuracy in MDD participants was associated with reduced positive affectivity and difficulty in decision making. Limitations Our sample was composed exclusively of females and was heterogeneous with respect to treatment status, thereby limiting our ability to generalize results to depressed males and to exclude the contribution of exogenous factors to the observed group differences. Conclusions Results of this study suggest that for depressed individuals without anxiety comorbidities, disrupted perception of bodily responses reduces both the experience of positive arousal and the ability to use interoceptive feedback to inform decision making. PMID:23972662

Visual Form Perception Can Be a Cognitive Correlate of Lower Level Math Categories for Teenagers

PubMed Central

Cui, Jiaxin; Zhang, Yiyun; Cheng, Dazhi; Li, Dawei; Zhou, Xinlin

2017-01-01

Numerous studies have assessed the cognitive correlates of performance in mathematics, but little research has been conducted to systematically examine the relations between visual perception as the starting point of visuospatial processing and typical mathematical performance. In the current study, we recruited 223 seventh graders to perform a visual form perception task (figure matching), numerosity comparison, digit comparison, exact computation, approximate computation, and curriculum-based mathematical achievement tests. Results showed that, after controlling for gender, age, and five general cognitive processes (choice reaction time, visual tracing, mental rotation, spatial working memory, and non-verbal matrices reasoning), visual form perception had unique contributions to numerosity comparison, digit comparison, and exact computation, but had no significant relation with approximate computation or curriculum-based mathematical achievement. These results suggest that visual form perception is an important independent cognitive correlate of lower level math categories, including the approximate number system, digit comparison, and exact computation. PMID:28824513

Eina! Ouch! Eish! Professionals’ Perceptions of How Children with Cerebral Palsy Communicate About Pain in South African School Settings: Implications for the use of AAC

PubMed Central

Johnson, Ensa; Nilsson, Stefan; Adolfsson, Margareta

2015-01-01

Abstract Most children with severe cerebral palsy experience daily pain that affects their school performance. School professionals need to assess pain in these children, who may also have communication difficulties, in order to pay attention to the pain and support the children’s continued participation in school. In this study, South African school professionals’ perceptions of how they observed pain in children with cerebral palsy, how they questioned them about it and how the children communicated their pain back to them were investigated. Thirty-eight school professionals participated in five focus groups. Their statements were categorized using qualitative content analysis. From the results it became clear that professionals observed children’s pain communication through their bodily expressions, behavioral changes, and verbal and non-verbal messages. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods were rarely used. The necessity of considering pain-related vocabulary in a multilingual South African context, and of advocating for the use of AAC strategies to enable children with cerebral palsy to communicate their pain was highlighted in this study. PMID:26372118

Social perceptions versus meteorological observations of snow and winter along the Front Range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milligan, William James, IV

This research aims to increase understanding of Front Range residents' perceptions of snow, winter and hydrologic events. This study also investigates how an individual's characteristics may shape perceptions of winter weather and climate. A survey was administered to determine if perceptions of previous winters align with observed meteorological data. The survey also investigated how individual characteristics influence perceptions of snow and winter weather. The survey was conducted primarily along the Front Range area of the state of Colorado in the United States of America. This is a highly populated semi-arid region that acts as an interface between the agricultural plains to the east that extend to the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains to the west. The climate is continental, and while many people recreate in the snowy areas of the mountains, most live where annual snowfall amounts are low. Precipitation, temperature, and wind speed datasets from selected weather stations were analyzed to determine correct survey responses. Survey analysis revealed that perceptions of previous winters do not necessarily align with observed meteorological data. The mean percentage of correct responses to all survey questions was 36.8%. Further analysis revealed that some individual characteristics (e.g. winter recreation, source of winter weather information) did influence correct responses to survey questions.

Bilateral and Unilateral Cochlear Implant Users Compared on Speech Perception in Noise

PubMed Central

Dunn, Camille C.; Noble, William; Tyler, Richard S.; Kordus, Monika; Gantz, Bruce J.; Ji, Haihong

2009-01-01

Objective Compare speech performance in noise with matched bilateral (CICI) and unilateral (CI-Only) cochlear implant users. Design Thirty CICI and 30 CI-Only subjects were tested on a battery of speech perception tests in noise that utilize an 8-loudspeaker array. Results On average, CICI subject's performance with speech in noise was significantly better than the CI-Only subjects. Conclusion The CICI group showed significantly better performance on speech perception in noise compared to the CI-Only subjects, supporting the hypothesis that bilateral cochlear implantation is more beneficial than unilateral implantation. PMID:19858720

Large-Eddy Simulation. Guidelines for Its Application to Planetary Boundary Layer Research

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-08-01

34 engineering application of L98 was Deardorff’s simulation of turbulent channel flow, which was carried out at the National Center for Atmospheric...over the past 20 years, and yet in the perception of some observers * the applications of the resulting basic science to practical problem remain...COVERED -- Large Eddy Simulation: Guidelines for its .0 application to planetary boundary layer research Final Report Oct 83-Aug 84 S. PERFORMING ORG

Implications of Minimizing Trauma During Conventional Cochlear Implantation

PubMed Central

Carlson, Matthew L.; Driscoll, Colin L. W.; Gifford, René H.; Service, Geoffrey J.; Tombers, Nicole M.; Hughes-Borst, Becky J.; Neff, Brian A.; Beatty, Charles W.

2014-01-01

Objective To describe the relationship between implantation-associated trauma and postoperative speech perception scores among adult and pediatric patients undergoing cochlear implantation using conventional length electrodes and minimally traumatic surgical techniques. Study Design Retrospective chart review (2002–2010). Setting Tertiary academic referral center. Patients All subjects with significant preoperative low-frequency hearing (≤70 dB HL at 250 Hz) who underwent cochlear implantation with a newer generation implant electrode (Nucleus Contour Advance, Advanced Bionics HR90K [1J and Helix], and Med El Sonata standard H array) were reviewed. Intervention(s) Preimplant and postimplant audiometric thresholds and speech recognition scores were recorded using the electronic medical record. Main Outcome Measure(s) Postimplantation pure tone threshold shifts were used as a surrogate measure for extent of intracochlear injury and correlated with postoperative speech perception scores. Results Between 2002 and 2010, 703 cochlear implant (CI) operations were performed. Data from 126 implants were included in the analysis. The mean preoperative low-frequency pure-tone average was 55.4 dB HL. Hearing preservation was observed in 55% of patients. Patients with hearing preservation were found to have significantly higher postoperative speech perception performance in the cochlear implantation-only condition than those who lost all residual hearing. Conclusion Conservation of acoustic hearing after conventional length cochlear implantation is unpredictable but remains a realistic goal. The combination of improved technology and refined surgical technique may allow for conservation of some residual hearing in more than 50% of patients. Germane to the conventional length CI recipient with substantial hearing loss, minimizing trauma allows for improved speech perception in the electric condition. These findings support the use of minimally traumatic techniques in all CI recipients, even those destined for electric-only stimulation. PMID:21659922

Sadness might isolate you in a non-smelling world: olfactory perception and depression

PubMed Central

Schablitzky, Sylvia; Pause, Bettina M.

2014-01-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD) occurs with a high prevalence among mental illnesses. MDD patients experience sadness and hopelessness, with blunted affective reactivity. However, such depressive episodes are also key symptoms in other depressive disorders, like Bipolar Disorder (BPD) or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Moreover, depressive symptoms can also be found in healthy individuals, but are experienced as less severe or for a shorter duration than in patients. Here, it is aimed to summarize studies investigating odor perception in depression, including depressive states in healthy individuals and patient populations. Odor perception in depression has been assessed with psychophysical methods (olfactory sensitivity, odor identification, and discrimination), and odor ratings (intensity, emotional valence, familiarity). In addition, some studies investigated affective reactions to odors, and physiological and anatomical correlates of odor perception in depression. The summary reveals that MDD is associated with reduced olfactory sensitivity. However, odor identification and discrimination scores seem to be unaffected by depression. The reduced olfactory sensitivity might be associated with a reduced ability to encode olfactory information and a reduced volume of the olfactory bulb. While similar processes seem to occur in healthy individuals experiencing depressive states, they have not been observed in BPD or SAD patients. However, in order to conclude that the reduced olfactory sensitivity is directly linked to depression, it is suggested that studies should implement control measures of cognitive performances or perceptual abilities in other stimulus modalities. It is concluded that the reduced olfactory performance in MDD patients seems to be disorder-, modality-, and test-specific, and that the application of an appropriate olfactory and cognitive test-battery might be highly useful in the differential diagnosis of MDD. PMID:24570666

The music perception abilities of prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants.

PubMed

Stabej, Katja Kladnik; Smid, Lojze; Gros, Anton; Zargi, Miha; Kosir, Andrej; Vatovec, Jagoda

2012-10-01

To investigate the music perception abilities of prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants, in comparison to a group of normal-hearing children, and to consider the factors that contribute to music perception. The music perception abilities of 39 prelingually deaf children with unilateral cochlear implants were compared to the abilities of 39 normal hearing children. To assess the music listening abilities, the MuSIC perception test was adopted. The influence of the child's age, age at implantation, device experience and type of sound-processing strategy on the music perception were evaluated. The effects of auditory performance, nonverbal intellectual abilities, as well as the child's additional musical education on music perception were also considered. Children with cochlear implants and normal hearing children performed significantly differently with respect to rhythm discrimination (55% vs. 82%, p<0.001), instrument identification (57% vs. 88%, p<0.001) and emotion rating (p=0.022). However we found no significant difference in terms of melody discrimination and dissonance rating between the two groups. There was a positive correlation between auditory performance and melody discrimination (r=0.27; p=0.031), between auditory performance and instrument identification (r=0.20; p=0.059) and between the child's grade (mark) in school music classes and melody discrimination (r=0.34; p=0.030). In children with cochlear implant only, the music perception ability assessed by the emotion rating test was negatively correlated to the child's age (r(S)=-0.38; p=0.001), age at implantation (r(S)=-0.34; p=0.032), and device experience (r(S)=-0.38; p=0.019). The child's grade in school music classes showed a positive correlation to music perception abilities assessed by rhythm discrimination test (r(S)=0.46; p<0.001), melody discrimination test (r(S)=0.28; p=0.018), and instrument identification test (r(S)=0.23; p=0.05). As expected, there was a marked difference in the music perception abilities of prelingually deaf children with cochlear implants in comparison to the group of normal hearing children, but not for all the tests of music perception. Additional multi-centre studies, including a larger number of participants and a broader spectrum of music subtests, considering as many as possible of the factors that may contribute to music perception, seem reasonable. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

How to minimize perceptual error and maximize expertise in medical imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kundel, Harold L.

2007-03-01

Visual perception is such an intimate part of human experience that we assume that it is entirely accurate. Yet, perception accounts for about half of the errors made by radiologists using adequate imaging technology. The true incidence of errors that directly affect patient well being is not known but it is probably at the lower end of the reported values of 3 to 25%. Errors in screening for lung and breast cancer are somewhat better characterized than errors in routine diagnosis. About 25% of cancers actually recorded on the images are missed and cancer is falsely reported in about 5% of normal people. Radiologists must strive to decrease error not only because of the potential impact on patient care but also because substantial variation among observers undermines confidence in the reliability of imaging diagnosis. Observer variation also has a major impact on technology evaluation because the variation between observers is frequently greater than the difference in the technologies being evaluated. This has become particularly important in the evaluation of computer aided diagnosis (CAD). Understanding the basic principles that govern the perception of medical images can provide a rational basis for making recommendations for minimizing perceptual error. It is convenient to organize thinking about perceptual error into five steps. 1) The initial acquisition of the image by the eye-brain (contrast and detail perception). 2) The organization of the retinal image into logical components to produce a literal perception (bottom-up, global, holistic). 3) Conversion of the literal perception into a preferred perception by resolving ambiguities in the literal perception (top-down, simulation, synthesis). 4) Selective visual scanning to acquire details that update the preferred perception. 5) Apply decision criteria to the preferred perception. The five steps are illustrated with examples from radiology with suggestions for minimizing error. The role of perceptual learning in the development of expertise is also considered.

Perceptions of the Principal Evaluation Process and Performance Criteria: A Qualitative Study of the Challenge of Principal Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faginski-Stark, Erica; Casavant, Christopher; Collins, William; McCandless, Jason; Tencza, Marilyn

2012-01-01

Recent federal and state mandates have tasked school systems to move beyond principal evaluation as a bureaucratic function and to re-imagine it as a critical component to improve principal performance and compel school renewal. This qualitative study investigated the district leaders' and principals' perceptions of the performance evaluation…

Politics Perceptions as Moderator of the Political Skill-Job Performance Relationship: A Two-Study, Cross-National, Constructive Replication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kapoutsis, Ilias; Papalexandris, Alexandros; Nikolopoulos, Andreas; Hochwarter, Wayne A.; Ferris, Gerald R.

2011-01-01

We developed a two-study, cross-national, constructive replication to examine the role of organizational politics perceptions as a contextual moderator of the political skill-job performance relationship. Specifically, we hypothesized that high levels of political skill would demonstrate its strongest positive effects on job performance when…

Students' Achievement Goals, Emotion Perception Ability and Affect and Performance in the Classroom: A Multilevel Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vassiou, Aikaterini; Mouratidis, Athanasios; Andreou, Eleni; Kafetsios, Konstantinos

2016-01-01

Performance at school is affected not only by students' achievement goals but also by emotional exchanges among classmates and their teacher. In this study, we investigated relationships between students' achievement goals and emotion perception ability and class affect and performance. Participants were 949 Greek adolescent students in 49 classes…

A Qualitative Study of Indian and Indian Immigrant Adolescents' Perceptions of the Factors Affecting Their Engagement and Performance in School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Areepattamannil, Shaljan; Freeman, John G.; Klinger, Don A.

2018-01-01

Although a growing body of quantitative research has examined the non-cognitive factors affecting the school engagement and performance of adolescents across cultures, there is relatively sparse qualitative research investigating the perceptions of adolescents regarding the factors influencing their engagement and performance in school. This focus…

The Influence of Music Style and Conductor Race on Perceptions of Ensemble and Conductor Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanweelden, Kimberly; McGee, Isaiah R.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine music style and conductor race on perceptions of ensemble and conductor performance. Results found that conductor race and music style significantly affected ratings of ensemble and conductor performance. Evaluators rated a white conductor group higher than a black conductor group conducting the same…

Florida Public Middle School Principals' Perceptions of Teachers' Performance Pay and Its Relationship to Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burchfield, Michael G.

2017-01-01

This study will examine principals' attitudes concerning the impact of the new performance pay plans on principals' relationships with their teachers and how these plans impact their schools. This study will explore principals' perceptions of performance pay, thus providing information to school policy stakeholders, policymakers, teachers, and…

ADRA2B Deletion Variant and Enhanced Cognitive Processing of Emotional Information: A Meta-Analytical Review.

PubMed

Xie, Weizhen; Cappiello, Marcus; Meng, Ming; Rosenthal, Robert; Zhang, Weiwei

2018-05-08

This meta-analytical review examines whether a deletion variant in ADRA2B, a gene that encodes α 2B adrenoceptor in the regulation of norepinephrine availability, influences cognitive processing of emotional information in human observers. Using a multilevel modeling approach, this meta-analysis of 16 published studies with a total of 2,752 participants showed that ADRA2B deletion variant was significantly associated with enhanced perceptual and cognitive task performance for emotional stimuli. In contrast, this genetic effect did not manifest in overall task performance when non-emotional content was used. Furthermore, various study-level factors, such as targeted cognitive processes (memory vs. attention/perception) and task procedures (recall vs. recognition), could moderate the size of this genetic effect. Overall, with increased statistical power and standardized analytical procedures, this meta-analysis has established the contributions of ADRA2B to the interactions between emotion and cognition, adding to the growing literature on individual differences in attention, perception, and memory for emotional information in the general population. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A common neural substrate for perceiving and knowing about color

PubMed Central

Simmons, W. Kyle; Ramjee, Vimal; Beauchamp, Michael S.; McRae, Ken; Martin, Alex; Barsalou, Lawrence W.

2013-01-01

Functional neuroimaging research has demonstrated that retrieving information about object-associated colors activates the left fusiform gyrus in posterior temporal cortex. Although regions near the fusiform have previously been implicated in color perception, it remains unclear whether color knowledge retrieval actually activates the color perception system. Evidence to this effect would be particularly strong if color perception cortex was activated by color knowledge retrieval triggered strictly with linguistic stimuli. To address this question, subjects performed two tasks while undergoing fMRI. First, subjects performed a property verification task using only words to assess conceptual knowledge. On each trial, subjects verified whether a named color or motor property was true of a named object (e.g., TAXI-yellow, HAIR-combed). Next, subjects performed a color perception task. A region of the left fusiform gyrus that was highly responsive during color perception also showed greater activity for retrieving color than motor property knowledge. These data provide the first evidence for a direct overlap in the neural bases of color perception and stored information about object-associated color, and they significantly add to accumulating evidence that conceptual knowledge is grounded in the brain’s modality-specific systems. PMID:17575989

A common neural substrate for perceiving and knowing about color.

PubMed

Simmons, W Kyle; Ramjee, Vimal; Beauchamp, Michael S; McRae, Ken; Martin, Alex; Barsalou, Lawrence W

2007-09-20

Functional neuroimaging research has demonstrated that retrieving information about object-associated colors activates the left fusiform gyrus in posterior temporal cortex. Although regions near the fusiform have previously been implicated in color perception, it remains unclear whether color knowledge retrieval actually activates the color perception system. Evidence to this effect would be particularly strong if color perception cortex was activated by color knowledge retrieval triggered strictly with linguistic stimuli. To address this question, subjects performed two tasks while undergoing fMRI. First, subjects performed a property verification task using only words to assess conceptual knowledge. On each trial, subjects verified whether a named color or motor property was true of a named object (e.g., TAXI-yellow, HAIR-combed). Next, subjects performed a color perception task. A region of the left fusiform gyrus that was highly responsive during color perception also showed greater activity for retrieving color than motor property knowledge. These data provide the first evidence for a direct overlap in the neural bases of color perception and stored information about object-associated color, and they significantly add to accumulating evidence that conceptual knowledge is grounded in the brain's modality-specific systems.

Challenges and Emerging Concepts in the Development of Adaptive, Computer-based Tutoring Systems for Team Training

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-11-01

based perception of each team member‟s behavior and physiology with the goal of predicting unobserved variables (e.g., cognitive state). Along with...sensing technologies are showing promise as enablers of computer-based perception of each team member‟s behavior and physiology with the goal...an essential element of team performance. The perception that other team members may be unable to perform their tasks is detrimental to trust and

The Effects of Self-Disclosure on Male and Female Perceptions of Individuals Who Stutter.

PubMed

Byrd, Courtney T; McGill, Megann; Gkalitsiou, Zoi; Cappellini, Colleen

2017-02-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of self-disclosure on observers' perceptions of persons who stutter. Participants (N = 173) were randomly assigned to view 2 of 4 possible videos (i.e., male self-disclosure, male no self-disclosure, female self-disclosure, and female no self-disclosure). After viewing both videos, participants completed a survey assessing their perceptions of the speakers. Controlling for observer and speaker gender, listeners were more likely to select speakers who self-disclosed their stuttering as more friendly, outgoing, and confident compared with speakers who did not self-disclose. Observers were more likely to select speakers who did not self-disclose as unfriendly and shy compared with speakers who used a self-disclosure statement. Controlling for self-disclosure and observer gender, observers were less likely to choose the female speaker as friendlier, outgoing, and confident compared with the male speaker. Observers also were more likely to select the female speaker as unfriendly, shy, unintelligent, and insecure compared with the male speaker and were more likely to report that they were more distracted when viewing the videos. Results lend support to the effectiveness of self-disclosure as a technique that persons who stutter can use to positively influence the perceptions of listeners.

Muscle spindle thixotropy affects force perception through afferent-induced facilitation of the motor pathways as revealed by the Kohnstamm effect.

PubMed

Monjo, Florian; Forestier, Nicolas

2018-04-01

This study was designed to explore the effects of intrafusal thixotropy, a property affecting muscle spindle sensitivity, on the sense of force. For this purpose, psychophysical measurements of force perception were performed using an isometric force matching paradigm of elbow flexors consisting of matching different force magnitudes (5, 10 and 20% of subjects' maximal voluntary force). We investigated participants' capacity to match these forces after their indicator arm had undergone voluntary isometric conditioning contractions known to alter spindle thixotropy, i.e., contractions performed at long ('hold long') or short muscle lengths ('hold short'). In parallel, their reference arm was conditioned at the intermediate muscle length ('hold-test') at which the matchings were performed. The thixotropy hypothesis predicts that estimation errors should only be observed at low force levels (up to 10% of the maximal voluntary force) with overestimation of the forces produced following 'hold short' conditioning and underestimation following 'hold long' conditioning. We found the complete opposite, especially following 'hold-short' conditioning where subjects underestimated the force they generated with similar relative error magnitudes across force levels. In a second experiment, we tested the hypothesis that estimation errors depended on the degree of afferent-induced facilitation using the Kohnstamm phenomenon as a probe of motor pathway excitability. Because the stronger post-effects were observed following 'hold-short' conditioning, it appears that the conditioning-induced excitation of spindle afferents leads to force misjudgments by introducing a decoupling between the central effort and the cortical motor outputs.

Pharmacologic Modulation of Hand Pain in Osteoarthritis: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Using Naproxen

PubMed Central

Sanders, Duncan; Krause, Kristina; O'Muircheartaigh, Jonathan; Thacker, Michael A; Huggins, John P; Vennart, William; Massat, Nathalie J; Choy, Ernest; Williams, Steven C R; Howard, Matthew A

2015-01-01

Objective In an attempt to shed light on management of chronic pain conditions, there has long been a desire to complement behavioral measures of pain perception with measures of underlying brain mechanisms. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we undertook this study to investigate changes in brain activity following the administration of naproxen or placebo in patients with pain related to osteoarthritis (OA) of the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint. Methods A placebo-controlled, double-blind, 2-period crossover study was performed in 19 individuals with painful OA of the CMC joint of the right hand. Following placebo or naproxen treatment periods, a functionally relevant task was performed, and behavioral measures of the pain experience were collected in identical fMRI examinations. Voxelwise and a priori region of interest analyses were performed to detect between-period differences in brain activity. Results Significant reductions in brain activity following treatment with naproxen, compared to placebo, were observed in brain regions commonly associated with pain perception, including the bilateral primary somatosensory cortex, thalamus, and amygdala. Significant relationships between changes in perceived pain intensity and changes in brain activity were also observed in brain regions previously associated with pain intensity. Conclusion This study demonstrates the sensitivity of fMRI to detect the mechanisms underlying treatments of known efficacy. The data illustrate the enticing potential of fMRI as an adjunct to self-report for detecting early signals of efficacy of novel therapies, both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic, in small numbers of individuals with persistent pain. PMID:25533872

Observations and Student Perceptions of the Quality of Preservice Teachers' Teaching Behaviour: Construct Representation and Predictive Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maulana, Ridwan; Helms-Lorenz, Michelle

2016-01-01

Observations and student perceptions are recognised as important tools for examining teaching behaviour, but little is known about whether both perspectives share similar construct representations and how both perspectives link with student academic outcomes. The present study compared the construct representation of preservice teachers' teaching…

Exploring Teachers' Knowledge of Second Language Pronunciation Techniques: Teacher Cognitions, Observed Classroom Practices, and Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Amanda

2014-01-01

This study explored some of the intricate connections between the cognitions (beliefs, knowledge, perceptions, attitudes) and pedagogical practices of five English language teachers, specifically in relation to pronunciation-oriented techniques. Integral to the study was the use of semistructured interviews, classroom observations, and stimulated…

An Empirical Look at Professional Selling from a Student Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bristow, Dennis N.; Amyx, Douglas; Slack, Jennifer; Gulati, Rajesh

2006-01-01

In this article, the authors examined students' perceptions of professional selling. They found significant differences between the perceptions of students who had completed personal selling courses and students who had not. The authors observed differences in students' perceptions of personal selling as a career, the contribution of personal…

Reducing the Observed Curriculum Perception Gaps between Stakeholders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Amy; Churyk, Natalie Tatiana; Yu, Shaokun

2015-01-01

Developing a vibrant and relevant accounting curriculum requires involvement of many stakeholders such as interns, alumni, and firms. Each has a distinct perspective regarding the strengths and weaknesses of accounting education. Discussion of perception gaps between the three groups and the importance of aligning these perceptions are presented.…

Assessing Domestic vs. International Student Perceptions and Attitudes of Plagiarism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doss, Daniel Adrian; Henley, Russ; Gokaraju, Balakrishna; McElreath, David; Lackey, Hilliard; Hong, Qiuqi; Miller, Lauren

2016-01-01

The authors examined students' perceptions of plagiarism from a higher education teaching institution within the U.S. southeast. This study employed a five-point Likert-scale to examine differences of perceptions between domestic versus international students. Statistically significant outcomes were observed regarding the notions that plagiarism…

Southern Foresters' Perceptions of Climate Change: Implications for Educational Program Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boby, Leslie; Hubbard, William; Megalos, Mark; Morris, Hilary L. C.

2016-01-01

An understanding of foresters' perceptions of climate change is important for developing effective educational programs on adaptive forest management. We surveyed 1,398 foresters in the southern United States regarding their perceptions of climate change, observations and concerns about climatic and forest conditions, and knowledge of and interest…

Preservice Music Teacher Perceptions of Mentoring Young Composers: An Exploratory Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menard, Elizabeth A.; Rosen, Robert

2016-01-01

Case study techniques were used to investigate perceptions of undergraduate music majors participating as teacher/mentors for elementary students in a university sponsored music composition program. Data included teacher interviews and observation of teacher training and composition mentoring sessions. Teacher perceptions were categorized as…

Teachers' Perceptions of Teacher-Child Relationships: Links with Children's Observed Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartz, Karyn; Williford, Amanda P.; Koomen, Helma M. Y.

2017-01-01

Research Findings: The present study examined associations between children's classroom interactions and teachers' perceptions of teacher-child relationships during 1 year of preschool. Teachers (n = 223) reported their perceptions of closeness and conflict in their teacher-child relationships in the fall and spring. Children's (n = 895) positive…

Gap detection measured with electrically evoked auditory event-related potentials and speech-perception abilities in children with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder.

PubMed

He, Shuman; Grose, John H; Teagle, Holly F B; Woodard, Jennifer; Park, Lisa R; Hatch, Debora R; Buchman, Craig A

2013-01-01

This study aimed (1) to investigate the feasibility of recording the electrically evoked auditory event-related potential (eERP), including the onset P1-N1-P2 complex and the electrically evoked auditory change complex (EACC) in response to temporal gaps, in children with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD); and (2) to evaluate the relationship between these measures and speech-perception abilities in these subjects. Fifteen ANSD children who are Cochlear Nucleus device users participated in this study. For each subject, the speech-processor microphone was bypassed and the eERPs were elicited by direct stimulation of one mid-array electrode (electrode 12). The stimulus was a train of biphasic current pulses 800 msec in duration. Two basic stimulation conditions were used to elicit the eERP. In the no-gap condition, the entire pulse train was delivered uninterrupted to electrode 12, and the onset P1-N1-P2 complex was measured relative to the stimulus onset. In the gapped condition, the stimulus consisted of two pulse train bursts, each being 400 msec in duration, presented sequentially on the same electrode and separated by one of five gaps (i.e., 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 msec). Open-set speech-perception ability of these subjects with ANSD was assessed using the phonetically balanced kindergarten (PBK) word lists presented at 60 dB SPL, using monitored live voice in a sound booth. The eERPs were recorded from all subjects with ANSD who participated in this study. There were no significant differences in test-retest reliability, root mean square amplitude or P1 latency for the onset P1-N1-P2 complex between subjects with good (>70% correct on PBK words) and poorer speech-perception performance. In general, the EACC showed less mature morphological characteristics than the onset P1-N1-P2 response recorded from the same subject. There was a robust correlation between the PBK word scores and the EACC thresholds for gap detection. Subjects with poorer speech-perception performance showed larger EACC thresholds in this study. These results demonstrate the feasibility of recording eERPs from implanted children with ANSD, using direct electrical stimulation. Temporal-processing deficits, as demonstrated by large EACC thresholds for gap detection, might account in part for the poor speech-perception performances observed in a subgroup of implanted subjects with ANSD. This finding suggests that the EACC elicited by changes in temporal continuity (i.e., gap) holds promise as a predictor of speech-perception ability among implanted children with ANSD.

Singers' and Nonsingers' Perception of Vocal Vibrato.

PubMed

Reddy, A Anita; Subramanian, Uma

2015-09-01

Vibrato, a small, nevertheless an important component in the singing voice is known to enrich the overall singing voice quality. However, in the perception of overall performance, it is often neglected. Singing performance is often appreciated by a mixed audience of those who love music, but not necessarily sing and other singers who may or may not be teachers of singing. The objectives of the present study were aimed at investigating singers' and nonsingers' perception of vocal vibrato and its effect on the ratings of singer's overall performance. Prerecorded audio samples of the chorus of a hymn (How Great Thou Art) as sung by 10 singers (both men and women) were played via a speaker to two groups of judges which consisted of three experienced singers and three experienced nonsingers. The singer judges (SJs) were vocal instructors in Western classical, music theater, pop, and contemporary styles. Seven parameters (presence of vibrato, rate, extent, conspicuousness, quality, periodicity, and type) related to vibrato were evaluated through auditory perception by these two groups of judges on a rating scale developed specifically for the study, and one parameter evaluated singer's overall performance. Cohen's Kappa statistical analysis was used for inter-rater reliability within groups. Nonsinger judges (NSJs) within the group showed varied ratings as did SJs, yet SJs did have higher agreement than NSJs. Chi-square analysis was used across groups. Both groups were distinct from each other in their perception of vibrato. Ratings of singer's overall performance were not affected for NSJs, but certainly affected for SJ. It could not be concluded that ratings on singer's overall performance was affected as a result of vibrato. Since vibrato is often over-ridden by the singer's voice. But a rare occasion can arise where a vibrato may not sound pleasant and can affect the listener's perception of the singer's performance. Often a feedback from listeners would help monitor singers' performance. Copyright © 2015 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stereoscopic distance perception

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foley, John M.

1989-01-01

Limited cue, open-loop tasks in which a human observer indicates distances or relations among distances are discussed. By open-loop tasks, it is meant tasks in which the observer gets no feedback as to the accuracy of the responses. What happens when cues are added and when the loop is closed are considered. The implications of this research for the effectiveness of visual displays is discussed. Errors in visual distance tasks do not necessarily mean that the percept is in error. The error could arise in transformations that intervene between the percept and the response. It is argued that the percept is in error. It is also argued that there exist post-perceptual transformations that may contribute to the error or be modified by feedback to correct for the error.

The ecology of the patient visit: physical attractiveness, waiting times, and perceived quality of care.

PubMed

Becker, Franklin; Douglass, Stephanie

2008-01-01

This study examined the relationship between the attractiveness of the physical environment of healthcare facilities and patient perceptions of quality, service, and waiting time through systematic observations and patient satisfaction surveys at 7 outpatient practices at Weill Cornell Medical Center. Findings indicate positive correlations between more attractive environments and higher levels of perceived quality, satisfaction, staff interaction, and reduction of patient anxiety. The comparison of actual observed time and patients' perception of time showed that patients tend to overestimate shorter waiting times and underestimate longer waiting times in both the waiting area and the examination room. Further examinations of the way outpatient-practice environments impact patient and staff perceptions and how those perceptions impact behavior and medical outcomes are suggested.

Why do people appear not to extrapolate trajectories during multiple object tracking? A computational investigation

PubMed Central

Zhong, Sheng-hua; Ma, Zheng; Wilson, Colin; Liu, Yan; Flombaum, Jonathan I

2014-01-01

Intuitively, extrapolating object trajectories should make visual tracking more accurate. This has proven to be true in many contexts that involve tracking a single item. But surprisingly, when tracking multiple identical items in what is known as “multiple object tracking,” observers often appear to ignore direction of motion, relying instead on basic spatial memory. We investigated potential reasons for this behavior through probabilistic models that were endowed with perceptual limitations in the range of typical human observers, including noisy spatial perception. When we compared a model that weights its extrapolations relative to other sources of information about object position, and one that does not extrapolate at all, we found no reliable difference in performance, belying the intuition that extrapolation always benefits tracking. In follow-up experiments we found this to be true for a variety of models that weight observations and predictions in different ways; in some cases we even observed worse performance for models that use extrapolations compared to a model that does not at all. Ultimately, the best performing models either did not extrapolate, or extrapolated very conservatively, relying heavily on observations. These results illustrate the difficulty and attendant hazards of using noisy inputs to extrapolate the trajectories of multiple objects simultaneously in situations with targets and featurally confusable nontargets. PMID:25311300

Learning Environment and Type of Goals: How It Affects Preschool Children's Performance and Their Perceptions of Their Performance?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsiakara, Angeliki; Digelidis, Nikolaos

2015-01-01

The aim of this research was to study the effect of learning environment and type of goals on: (a) preschool children's performance during a play, (b) preschool children's perception of their performance and (c) preschool children's satisfaction. Fifty-six preschool children (24 boys and 32 girls; M[subscript age]?=?5.5 years) took…

Knowledge, Perceptions, and Self-reported Performance of Hand Hygiene Among Registered Nurses at Community-based Hospitals in the Republic of Korea: A Cross-sectional Multi-center Study.

PubMed

Oh, Hyang Soon

2018-05-01

To assess the nurses' hand hygiene (HH) knowledge, perception, attitude, and self-reported performance in small- and medium-sized hospitals after Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak. The structured questionnaire was adapted from the World Health Organization's survey. Data were collected between June 26 and July 14, 2017. Nurses showed scores on knowledge (17.6±2.5), perception (69.3±0.8), self-reported HH performance of non-self (86.0±11.0), self-reported performance of self (88.2±11.0), and attitude (50.5±5.5). HH performance rate of non-self was Y 1 =36.678+ 0.555X1 (HH performance rate of self) (adjusted R 2 =0.280, p <0.001). The regression model for performance was Y 4 =18.302+0.247 X 41 (peception)+0.232 X 42 (attitude)+0.875 X 42 (role model); coefficients were significant statistically except attitude, and this model significant statistically (adjusted R 2 =0.191, p <0.001). Advanced HH education program would be developed and operated continuously. Perception, attitude, role model was found to be a significant predictors of HH performance of self. So these findings could be used in future HH promotion strategies for nurses.

Brain potentials indicate the effect of other observers' emotions on perceptions of facial attractiveness.

PubMed

Huang, Yujing; Pan, Xuwei; Mo, Yan; Ma, Qingguo

2016-03-23

Perceptions of facial attractiveness are sensitive to emotional expression of the perceived face. However, little is known about whether the emotional expression on the face of another observer of the perceived face may have an effect on perceptions of facial attractiveness. The present study used event-related potential technique to examine social influence of the emotional expression on the face of another observer of the perceived face on perceptions of facial attractiveness. The experiment consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a neutral target face was paired with two images of individuals gazing at the target face with smiling, fearful or neutral expressions. In the second phase, participants were asked to judge the attractiveness of the target face. We found that a target face was more attractive when other observers positively gazing at the target face in contrast to the condition when other observers were negative. Additionally, the results of brain potentials showed that the visual positive component P3 with peak latency from 270 to 330 ms was larger after participants observed the target face paired with smiling individuals than the target face paired with neutral individuals. These findings suggested that facial attractiveness of an individual may be influenced by the emotional expression on the face of another observer of the perceived face. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Assessment of physical fatigability and fatigue perception in myasthenia gravis.

PubMed

Jordan, Berit; Mehl, Theresa; Schweden, Tabea L K; Menge, Uwe; Zierz, Stephan

2017-05-01

Fatigue includes both performance fatigability and fatigue perception. In 32 stable patients with generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) and 17 controls, time-dependent physical performance was assessed by the arm movement test (AMT) and 6-minute walk test (6MWT). MG patients presented with low quantitative MG scores (mean 0.5, SD 0.5) and without pathologic decrement. Fatigability was based on calculation of linear trend (LT) reflecting dynamic performance within subsequent constant time intervals. Perception of physical fatigue was analyzed using fatigue questionnaires. MG patients showed a negative LT in both AMT and 6MWT, significantly differing from stable performance in controls. LT inversely correlated with elevation of acetylcholine receptor antibodies (r = -0.59, P < 0.005) but not with quantitative MG score and fatigue perception. LT allows quantification of fatigability as an objective measurement of decline in individual performance, even in patients without obvious neuromuscular deficits in routine testing. The missing correlation of experienced fatigue supports the multidimensional fatigue model. Muscle Nerve 55: 657-663, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Job stress, depression, work performance, and perceptions of supervisors in military personnel.

PubMed

Pflanz, Steven E; Ogle, Alan D

2006-09-01

Recent studies have identified high levels of job stress in military personnel. This study examined the relationship among job stress, depression, work performance, types of stressors, and perceptions about supervisors in military personnel. Eight hundred nine military personnel answered a 43-item survey on work stress, physical and emotional health, work performance, perceptions about leadership, job stressors, and demographics. More than one- quarter (27.4%) of this military population reported suffering from significant job stress. Both the report of work stress and depression were significantly related to impaired work performance, more days of missed work, poorer physical health, and negative perceptions about the abilities of supervisors and commanders. Depression and job stress were significantly and positively related to each other. These results support accumulating data indicating that work stress is a significant occupational health hazard in the routine military work environment. Targeting and eliminating sources of job stress should be a priority for the U.S. military to preserve and protect the mental health of military personnel.

Patient perceptions about illness self-management in ANCA-associated small vessel vasculitis.

PubMed

Thorpe, C T; DeVellis, R F; Blalock, S J; Hogan, S L; Lewis, M A; DeVellis, B M

2008-06-01

To characterize patient perceptions, related to eight self-management behaviours relevant for adults with ANCA-associated small vessel vasculitis (ANCA-SVV), and to determine if these perceptions were associated with performance of each behaviour. Adults with ANCA-SVV (n = 202) completed a self-administered questionnaire that assessed eight self-management behaviours (adherence to recommendations for medication, health service use, diet, exercise, infection avoidance and symptom monitoring; prompt reporting of symptoms and side effects; and adjusting activities in response to symptoms), perceptions about these behaviours, socio-demographics, clinical factors and social desirability bias. Descriptive statistics were generated to characterize patients' perceptions about difficulty of, importance of, and specific barriers to performing each behaviour. Regression analyses explored whether these variables were associated with performing each behaviour, controlling for potential confounders. With few exceptions, higher perceived importance and lower perceived difficulty of each behaviour were associated with more frequent performance of the behaviour. For each behaviour, several specific barriers were frequently endorsed by patients and a number of these were associated with lower levels of self-management. This study reveals that patient perceptions about the illness and its treatment influence ANCA-SVV self-management. Perceived barriers to medication, health services, diet and exercise adherence were similar to those in other illnesses. This study also provides insight into barriers experienced by patients in performing behaviours (infection avoidance, symptom monitoring, reporting symptoms and side-effects and adjusting activities) not often previously studied. How the identification of these barriers can help inform future interventions for ANCA-SVV patients is to be discussed.

Exploring Associations among Writing Self-Perceptions, Writing Abilities, and Native Language of English-Spanish Two-Way Immersion Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neugebauer, Sabina R.; Howard, Elizabeth R.

2015-01-01

The current study, with 409 fourth graders in two-way immersion programs, explored the writing self-perceptions of native English and native Spanish speakers and the relationship between self-perceptions and writing performance. An adapted version of the Writer Self-Perception Scale (WSPS) was administered along with a writing task. Native English…

The perception of emotion and focus prosody with varying acoustic cues in cochlear implant simulations with varying filter slopes

PubMed Central

van de Velde, Daan J.; Schiller, Niels O.; van Heuven, Vincent J.; Levelt, Claartje C.; van Ginkel, Joost; Beers, Mieke; Briaire, Jeroen J.; Frijns, Johan H. M.

2017-01-01

This study aimed to find the optimal filter slope for cochlear implant simulations (vocoding) by testing the effect of a wide range of slopes on the discrimination of emotional and linguistic (focus) prosody, with varying availability of F0 and duration cues. Forty normally hearing participants judged if (non-)vocoded sentences were pronounced with happy or sad emotion, or with adjectival or nominal focus. Sentences were recorded as natural stimuli and manipulated to contain only emotion- or focus-relevant segmental duration or F0 information or both, and then noise-vocoded with 5, 20, 80, 120, and 160 dB/octave filter slopes. Performance increased with steeper slopes, but only up to 120 dB/octave, with bigger effects for emotion than for focus perception. For emotion, results with both cues most closely resembled results with F0, while for focus results with both cues most closely resembled those with duration, showing emotion perception relies primarily on F0, and focus perception on duration. This suggests that filter slopes affect focus perception less than emotion perception because for emotion, F0 is both more informative and more affected. The performance increase until extreme filter slope values suggests that much performance improvement in prosody perception is still to be gained for CI users. PMID:28599540

Associations between skill perceptions and young children's actual fundamental movement skills.

PubMed

Liong, Grace H E; Ridgers, Nicola D; Barnett, Lisa M

2015-04-01

Given that children with low movement skill competence engage in less physical activity, it is important to understand how children's perceptions relate to actual movement competence. This study examined relationships between (i) children's self-perception and objective assessments of their movement skills (object control and locomotor) and (ii) parents' perceptions of the children's movement skills and objective assessment. Children's skill perceptions were assessed using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children. Parent perceptions of their child's skills were assessed using a modified version of this instrument. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd edition assessed children's skills objectively. Participants were 136 Australian children (51% boys; M=6.5 yr., SD=1.1) and 133 parents. Regression analyses (by sex) examined the relationship between perceptions and children's scores for actual skilled performance. Boys' perceptions were associated with their actual object control ability. Parents accurately perceived boys' object control ability and girls' locomotor ability, but not the reverse. This suggests interventions aiming to improve children's movement skills could target parents and be designed to teach parents how to recognize good and poor skill performance in their children.

Person perception and the bounded rationality of social judgment.

PubMed

Wright, J C; Dawson, V L

1988-11-01

In this article, we develop a bounded rationality view of the relation between person perception and social behavior. Two theses of this approach are that behaviors vary in their significance to observers, and that observers pursue bounded rather than global utility in forming personality impressions. Observers are expected to be sensitive to targets' overall behavioral tendencies and to the variability of their behavior across situations, but both sensitivities are bounded, being greater for behaviors that directly affect observers' outcomes. In two investigations involving extensive hourly and 6-s observations, we examined the bounded utility of people's impressions of personality, demonstrating how impression accuracy is linked to the significance of behaviors. Observers were sensitive to the organization of aggressive behaviors, but less sensitive to the organization of withdrawn behaviors, even when the consistency of those behaviors was comparable. The results clarify the relation between people's inferential shortcomings in laboratory paradigms and the bounded utility of person perception in the natural environment.

Seeing and Being Seen: Predictors of Accurate Perceptions about Classmates’ Relationships

PubMed Central

Neal, Jennifer Watling; Neal, Zachary P.; Cappella, Elise

2015-01-01

This study examines predictors of observer accuracy (i.e. seeing) and target accuracy (i.e. being seen) in perceptions of classmates’ relationships in a predominantly African American sample of 420 second through fourth graders (ages 7 – 11). Girls, children in higher grades, and children in smaller classrooms were more accurate observers. Targets (i.e. pairs of children) were more accurately observed when they occurred in smaller classrooms of higher grades and involved same-sex, high-popularity, and similar-popularity children. Moreover, relationships between pairs of girls were more accurately observed than relationships between pairs of boys. As a set, these findings suggest the importance of both observer and target characteristics for children’s accurate perceptions of classroom relationships. Moreover, the substantial variation in observer accuracy and target accuracy has methodological implications for both peer-reported assessments of classroom relationships and the use of stochastic actor-based models to understand peer selection and socialization processes. PMID:26347582

Assessment of hypoglycaemia awareness using continuous glucose monitoring.

PubMed

Kubiak, T; Hermanns, N; Schreckling, H J; Kulzer, B; Haak, T

2004-05-01

To investigate the possibility of assessing hypoglycaemia awareness in patients with Type 1 diabetes using continuous glucose monitoring. Twenty patients with Type 1 diabetes were investigated. Ten patients with Type 1 diabetes and strongly impaired hypoglycaemia awareness were compared with 10 patients with intact hypoglycaemia awareness regarding quality of hypoglycaemia perception (number of undetected hypoglycaemic episodes per 24 h, glucose level < 3.3 mmol/l). Hypoglycaemia detection was assessed using the event function of the Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (CGMS; Medtronic MiniMed, Northridge, CA, USA). Patients were instructed to enter an event upon suspecting being hypoglycaemic. Satisfactory CGMS performance could be achieved [mean r = 0.893 between calibration measurements and CGMS data, mean absolute difference (MAD) = 20.6%], although artefacts were observable and had to be controlled. Hypoglycaemia unaware patients showed a significantly higher total number of hypoglycaemic episodes (P < 0.05), number of undetected hypoglycaemic episodes (P < 0.01), and mean glucose levels (P < 0.05). Even in aware patients, undetected hypoglycaemia was observable. No significant differences regarding occurrence of nocturnal hypoglycaemia were observable. The possibility of direct assessment of hypoglycaemia awareness using continuous glucose monitoring was demonstrated. Its application in clinical practice could be of use for assessing hypoglycaemia perception and evaluating the impact of treatment changes on hypoglycaemia awareness.

Civility norms, safety climate, and safety outcomes: a preliminary investigation.

PubMed

McGonagle, Alyssa K; Walsh, Benjamin M; Kath, Lisa M; Morrow, Stephanie L

2014-10-01

Working environments that are both civil and safe are good for business and employee well-being. Civility has been empirically linked to such important outcomes as organizational performance and individuals' positive work-related attitudes, yet research relating civility to safety is lacking. In this study, we link perceptions of civility norms to perceptions of safety climate and safety outcomes. Drawing on social exchange theory, we proposed and tested a model in 2 samples wherein civility norms indirectly relate to safety outcomes through associations with various safety climate facets. Our results supported direct relationships between civility and management safety climate and coworker safety climate. Additionally, indirect effects of civility norms on unsafe behaviors and injuries were observed. Indirect effects of civility norms on unsafe behaviors were observed through coworker safety climate and work-safety tension. Indirect effects of civility norms on injuries were observed through management safety climate and work-safety tension for full-time employees, although these effects did not hold for part-time employees. This study provides initial evidence that researchers and practitioners may want to look beyond safety climate to civility norms to more comprehensively understand the origins of unsafe behaviors and injuries and to develop appropriate preventive interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is not associated with a lower health perception

PubMed Central

Mlynarsky, Liat; Schlesinger, Dalit; Lotan, Roni; Webb, Muriel; Halpern, Zamir; Santo, Erwin; Shibolet, Oren; Zelber-Sagi, Shira

2016-01-01

AIM: To examine the association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and general health perception. METHODS: This cross sectional and prospective follow-up study was performed on a cohort of a sub-sample of the first Israeli national health and nutrition examination survey, with no secondary liver disease or history of alcohol abuse. On the first survey, in 2003-2004, 349 participants were included. In 2009-2010 participants from the baseline survey were invited to participate in a follow-up survey. On both baseline and follow-up surveys the data collected included: self-reported general health perception, physical activity habits, frequency of physician's visits, fatigue impact scale and abdominal ultrasound. Fatty liver was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography using standardized criteria and the ratio between the median brightness level of the liver and the right kidney was calculated to determine the Hepato-Renal Index. RESULTS: Out of 349 eligible participants in the first survey, 213 volunteers participated in the follow-up cohort and were included in the current analysis, NAFLD was diagnosed in 70/213 (32.9%). The prevalence of "very good" self-reported health perception was lower among participants diagnosed with NAFLD compared to those without NAFLD. However, adjustment for BMI attenuated the association (OR = 0.73, 95%CI: 0.36-1.50, P = 0.392). Similar results were observed for the hepato-renal index; it was inversely associated with "very good" health perception but adjustment for BMI attenuated the association. In a full model of multivariate analysis, that included all potential predictors for health perception, NAFLD was not associated with the self-reported general health perception (OR = 0.86, 95%CI: 0.40-1.86, P = 0.704). The odds for "very good" self-reported general health perception (compared to "else") increased among men (OR = 2.42, 95%CI: 1.26-4.66, P = 0.008) and those with higher performance of leisure time physical activity (OR = 1.01, 95%CI: 1.00-1.01, P < 0.001, per every minute/week) and decreased with increasing level of BMI (OR = 0.91, 95%CI: 0.84-0.99, P = 0.028, per every kg/m2) and older age (OR = 0.96, 95%CI: 0.93-0.99, P = 0.033, per one year). Current smoking was not associated with health perception (OR = 1.31, 95%CI: 0.54-3.16, P = 0.552). Newly diagnosed (naive) and previously diagnosed (at the first survey, not naive) NAFLD patients did not differ in their self-health perception. The presence of NAFLD at the first survey as compared to normal liver did not predict health perception deterioration at the 7 years follow-up. In terms of health-services utilization, subjects diagnosed with NAFLD had a similar number of physician’s visits (general physicians and specialty consultants) as in the normal liver group. Parameters in the fatigue impact scale were equivalent between the NAFLD and the normal liver groups. CONCLUSION: Fatty liver without clinically significant liver disease does not have independent impact on self-health perception. PMID:27158205

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is not associated with a lower health perception.

PubMed

Mlynarsky, Liat; Schlesinger, Dalit; Lotan, Roni; Webb, Muriel; Halpern, Zamir; Santo, Erwin; Shibolet, Oren; Zelber-Sagi, Shira

2016-05-07

To examine the association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and general health perception. This cross sectional and prospective follow-up study was performed on a cohort of a sub-sample of the first Israeli national health and nutrition examination survey, with no secondary liver disease or history of alcohol abuse. On the first survey, in 2003-2004, 349 participants were included. In 2009-2010 participants from the baseline survey were invited to participate in a follow-up survey. On both baseline and follow-up surveys the data collected included: self-reported general health perception, physical activity habits, frequency of physician's visits, fatigue impact scale and abdominal ultrasound. Fatty liver was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography using standardized criteria and the ratio between the median brightness level of the liver and the right kidney was calculated to determine the Hepato-Renal Index. Out of 349 eligible participants in the first survey, 213 volunteers participated in the follow-up cohort and were included in the current analysis, NAFLD was diagnosed in 70/213 (32.9%). The prevalence of "very good" self-reported health perception was lower among participants diagnosed with NAFLD compared to those without NAFLD. However, adjustment for BMI attenuated the association (OR = 0.73, 95%CI: 0.36-1.50, P = 0.392). Similar results were observed for the hepato-renal index; it was inversely associated with "very good" health perception but adjustment for BMI attenuated the association. In a full model of multivariate analysis, that included all potential predictors for health perception, NAFLD was not associated with the self-reported general health perception (OR = 0.86, 95%CI: 0.40-1.86, P = 0.704). The odds for "very good" self-reported general health perception (compared to "else") increased among men (OR = 2.42, 95%CI: 1.26-4.66, P = 0.008) and those with higher performance of leisure time physical activity (OR = 1.01, 95%CI: 1.00-1.01, P < 0.001, per every minute/week) and decreased with increasing level of BMI (OR = 0.91, 95%CI: 0.84-0.99, P = 0.028, per every kg/m(2)) and older age (OR = 0.96, 95%CI: 0.93-0.99, P = 0.033, per one year). Current smoking was not associated with health perception (OR = 1.31, 95%CI: 0.54-3.16, P = 0.552). Newly diagnosed (naive) and previously diagnosed (at the first survey, not naive) NAFLD patients did not differ in their self-health perception. The presence of NAFLD at the first survey as compared to normal liver did not predict health perception deterioration at the 7 years follow-up. In terms of health-services utilization, subjects diagnosed with NAFLD had a similar number of physician's visits (general physicians and specialty consultants) as in the normal liver group. Parameters in the fatigue impact scale were equivalent between the NAFLD and the normal liver groups. Fatty liver without clinically significant liver disease does not have independent impact on self-health perception.

Understanding driver performance variability and perception of risk : driver hazard perception research plan

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-01-01

The objectives of this research project were to develop a comprehensive and clearly defined research program to define, : measure, and quantify driver perception of hazards as it relates to highway design, operations, and safety, standards This was :...

Using HLM to Explore the Effects of Perceptions of Learning Environments and Assessments on Students' Test Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chu, Man-Wai; Babenko, Oksana; Cui, Ying; Leighton, Jacqueline P.

2014-01-01

The study examines the role that perceptions or impressions of learning environments and assessments play in students' performance on a large-scale standardized test. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to test aspects of the Learning Errors and Formative Feedback model to determine how much variation in students' performance was explained…

A Study of the Perceptions of Performance Skills of Middle School Principals by Selected Teachers and Principals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Calvin F.; Van Hoose, John J.

This study investigates hypotheses about differences in the perceptions of middle school principals and teachers concerning those principal performance skills that are practiced and those that should be practiced. A survey instrument consisting of 37 principal performance skills on a five-point Likert-like scale was sent to the principals and…

Academic Performance, Course Completion Rates, and Student Perception of the Quality and Frequency of Interaction in a Virtual High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Abigail; Graham, Charles R.; Sudweeks, Richard R.; Barbour, Michael K.

2013-01-01

This study examined the relationship between students' perceptions of teacher-student interaction and academic performance at an asynchronous, self-paced, statewide virtual high school. Academic performance was measured by grade awarded and course completion. There were 2269 students who responded to an 18-item survey designed to measure student…

University Students' Attainment and Perceptions of Computer Delivered Assessment; A Comparison between Computer-Based and Traditional Tests in a "High-Stakes" Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Escudier, M. P.; Newton, T. J.; Cox, M. J.; Reynolds, P. A.; Odell, E. W.

2011-01-01

This study compared higher education dental undergraduate student performance in online assessments with performance in traditional paper-based tests and investigated students' perceptions of the fairness and acceptability of online tests, and showed performance to be comparable. The project design involved two parallel cross-over trials, one in…

A Comparison of Facial Emotion Processing in Neurological and Psychiatric Conditions

PubMed Central

Bediou, Benoit; Brunelin, Jérôme; d’Amato, Thierry; Fecteau, Shirley; Saoud, Mohamed; Hénaff, Marie-Anne; Krolak-Salmon, Pierre

2012-01-01

Patients suffering from various neurological and psychiatric disorders show different levels of facial emotion recognition (FER) impairment, sometimes from the early phases of the disease. Investigating the relative severity of deficits in FER across different clinical and high-risk populations has potential implications for the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases, and could also allow us to understand the neurobiological mechanisms of emotion perception itself. To investigate the role of the dopaminergic system and of the frontotemporal network in FER, we reanalyzed and compared data from four of our previous studies investigating FER performance in patients with frontotemporal dysfunctions and/or dopaminergic system abnormalities at different stages. The performance of patients was compared to the performance obtained by a specific group of matched healthy controls using Cohen’s d effect size. We thus compared emotion and gender recognition in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at the mild dementia stage, major depressive disorder, Parkinson’s disease treated by l-DOPA (PD-ON) or not (PD-OFF), remitted schizophrenia (SCZ-rem), first-episode schizophrenia treated by antipsychotic medication (SCZ-ON), and drug-naïve first-episode schizophrenia (SCZ-OFF), as well as in unaffected siblings of patients with schizophrenia (SIB). The analyses revealed a pattern of differential impairment of emotion (but not gender) recognition across pathological conditions. On the one hand, dopaminergic medication seems not to modify the moderate deficits observed in SCZ and PD groups (ON vs. OFF), suggesting that the deficit is independent from the dopaminergic system. On the other hand, the observed increase in effect size of the deficit among the aMCI, AD, and FTD groups (and also among the SIB and SCZ-rem groups) suggests that the deficit is dependent on neurodegeneration of the frontotemporal neural networks. Our transnosographic approach combining clinical and high-risk populations with the impact of medication provides new information on the trajectory of impaired emotion perception in neuropsychiatric conditions, and on the role of the dopaminergic system and the frontotemporal network in emotion perception. PMID:22493587

The Occipital Face Area Is Causally Involved in Facial Viewpoint Perception

PubMed Central

Poltoratski, Sonia; König, Peter; Blake, Randolph; Tong, Frank; Ling, Sam

2015-01-01

Humans reliably recognize faces across a range of viewpoints, but the neural substrates supporting this ability remain unclear. Recent work suggests that neural selectivity to mirror-symmetric viewpoints of faces, found across a large network of visual areas, may constitute a key computational step in achieving full viewpoint invariance. In this study, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to test the hypothesis that the occipital face area (OFA), putatively a key node in the face network, plays a causal role in face viewpoint symmetry perception. Each participant underwent both offline rTMS to the right OFA and sham stimulation, preceding blocks of behavioral trials. After each stimulation period, the participant performed one of two behavioral tasks involving presentation of faces in the peripheral visual field: (1) judging the viewpoint symmetry; or (2) judging the angular rotation. rTMS applied to the right OFA significantly impaired performance in both tasks when stimuli were presented in the contralateral, left visual field. Interestingly, however, rTMS had a differential effect on the two tasks performed ipsilaterally. Although viewpoint symmetry judgments were significantly disrupted, we observed no effect on the angle judgment task. This interaction, caused by ipsilateral rTMS, provides support for models emphasizing the role of interhemispheric crosstalk in the formation of viewpoint-invariant face perception. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Faces are among the most salient objects we encounter during our everyday activities. Moreover, we are remarkably adept at identifying people at a glance, despite the diversity of viewpoints during our social encounters. Here, we investigate the cortical mechanisms underlying this ability by focusing on effects of viewpoint symmetry, i.e., the invariance of neural responses to mirror-symmetric facial viewpoints. We did this by temporarily disrupting neural processing in the occipital face area (OFA) using transcranial magnetic stimulation. Our results demonstrate that the OFA causally contributes to judgments facial viewpoints and suggest that effects of viewpoint symmetry, previously observed using fMRI, arise from an interhemispheric integration of visual information even when only one hemisphere receives direct visual stimulation. PMID:26674865

The Occipital Face Area Is Causally Involved in Facial Viewpoint Perception.

PubMed

Kietzmann, Tim C; Poltoratski, Sonia; König, Peter; Blake, Randolph; Tong, Frank; Ling, Sam

2015-12-16

Humans reliably recognize faces across a range of viewpoints, but the neural substrates supporting this ability remain unclear. Recent work suggests that neural selectivity to mirror-symmetric viewpoints of faces, found across a large network of visual areas, may constitute a key computational step in achieving full viewpoint invariance. In this study, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to test the hypothesis that the occipital face area (OFA), putatively a key node in the face network, plays a causal role in face viewpoint symmetry perception. Each participant underwent both offline rTMS to the right OFA and sham stimulation, preceding blocks of behavioral trials. After each stimulation period, the participant performed one of two behavioral tasks involving presentation of faces in the peripheral visual field: (1) judging the viewpoint symmetry; or (2) judging the angular rotation. rTMS applied to the right OFA significantly impaired performance in both tasks when stimuli were presented in the contralateral, left visual field. Interestingly, however, rTMS had a differential effect on the two tasks performed ipsilaterally. Although viewpoint symmetry judgments were significantly disrupted, we observed no effect on the angle judgment task. This interaction, caused by ipsilateral rTMS, provides support for models emphasizing the role of interhemispheric crosstalk in the formation of viewpoint-invariant face perception. Faces are among the most salient objects we encounter during our everyday activities. Moreover, we are remarkably adept at identifying people at a glance, despite the diversity of viewpoints during our social encounters. Here, we investigate the cortical mechanisms underlying this ability by focusing on effects of viewpoint symmetry, i.e., the invariance of neural responses to mirror-symmetric facial viewpoints. We did this by temporarily disrupting neural processing in the occipital face area (OFA) using transcranial magnetic stimulation. Our results demonstrate that the OFA causally contributes to judgments facial viewpoints and suggest that effects of viewpoint symmetry, previously observed using fMRI, arise from an interhemispheric integration of visual information even when only one hemisphere receives direct visual stimulation. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/3516398-06$15.00/0.

A Simulation-based Approach to Measuring Team Situational Awareness in Emergency Medicine: A Multicenter, Observational Study.

PubMed

Rosenman, Elizabeth D; Dixon, Aurora J; Webb, Jessica M; Brolliar, Sarah; Golden, Simon J; Jones, Kerin A; Shah, Sachita; Grand, James A; Kozlowski, Steve W J; Chao, Georgia T; Fernandez, Rosemarie

2018-02-01

Team situational awareness (TSA) is critical for effective teamwork and supports dynamic decision making in unpredictable, time-pressured situations. Simulation provides a platform for developing and assessing TSA, but these efforts are limited by suboptimal measurement approaches. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a novel approach to TSA measurement in interprofessional emergency medicine (EM) teams. We performed a multicenter, prospective, simulation-based observational study to evaluate an approach to TSA measurement. Interprofessional emergency medical teams, consisting of EM resident physicians, nurses, and medical students, were recruited from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA) and Wayne State University (Detroit, MI). Each team completed a simulated emergency resuscitation scenario. Immediately following the simulation, team members completed a TSA measure, a team perception of shared understanding measure, and a team leader effectiveness measure. Subject matter expert reviews and pilot testing of the TSA measure provided evidence of content and response process validity. Simulations were recorded and independently coded for team performance using a previously validated measure. The relationships between the TSA measure and other variables (team clinical performance, team perception of shared understanding, team leader effectiveness, and team experience) were explored. The TSA agreement metric was indexed by averaging the pairwise agreement for each dyad on a team and then averaging across dyads to yield agreement at the team level. For the team perception of shared understanding and team leadership effectiveness measures, individual team member scores were aggregated within a team to create a single team score. We computed descriptive statistics for all outcomes. We calculated Pearson's product-moment correlations to determine bivariate correlations between outcome variables with two-tailed significance testing (p < 0.05). A total of 123 participants were recruited and formed three-person teams (n = 41 teams). All teams completed the assessment scenario and postsimulation measures. TSA agreement ranged from 0.19 to 0.9 and had a mean (±SD) of 0.61 (±0.17). TSA correlated with team clinical performance (p < 0.05) but did not correlate with team perception of shared understanding, team leader effectiveness, or team experience. Team situational awareness supports adaptive teams and is critical for high reliability organizations such as healthcare systems. Simulation can provide a platform for research aimed at understanding and measuring TSA. This study provides a feasible method for simulation-based assessment of TSA in interdisciplinary teams that addresses prior measure limitations and is appropriate for use in highly dynamic, uncertain situations commonly encountered in emergency department systems. Future research is needed to understand the development of and interactions between individual-, team-, and system (distributed)-level cognitive processes. © 2017 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Considering context and variability when observing other minds. Comment on "Seeing mental states: An experimental strategy for measuring the observability of other minds" by Cristina Becchio et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Emma L.; Catmur, Caroline

2018-03-01

We commend Becchio and colleagues [1] for laying out clearly the conditions under which mental states might be observable. We particularly appreciate the way in which the authors have constrained the definition of 'direct perception' such that their strategy "does not require perception to be that smart for it to be direct" [1, section 6].

Perception and performance in flight simulators: The contribution of vestibular, visual, and auditory information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

The pilot's perception and performance in flight simulators is examined. The areas investigated include: vestibular stimulation, flight management and man cockpit information interfacing, and visual perception in flight simulation. The effects of higher levels of rotary acceleration on response time to constant acceleration, tracking performance, and thresholds for angular acceleration are examined. Areas of flight management examined are cockpit display of traffic information, work load, synthetic speech call outs during the landing phase of flight, perceptual factors in the use of a microwave landing system, automatic speech recognition, automation of aircraft operation, and total simulation of flight training.

Motion coherence affects human perception and pursuit similarly.

PubMed

Beutter, B R; Stone, L S

2000-01-01

Pursuit and perception both require accurate information about the motion of objects. Recovering the motion of objects by integrating the motion of their components is a difficult visual task. Successful integration produces coherent global object motion, while a failure to integrate leaves the incoherent local motions of the components unlinked. We compared the ability of perception and pursuit to perform motion integration by measuring direction judgments and the concomitant eye-movement responses to line-figure parallelograms moving behind stationary rectangular apertures. The apertures were constructed such that only the line segments corresponding to the parallelogram's sides were visible; thus, recovering global motion required the integration of the local segment motion. We investigated several potential motion-integration rules by using stimuli with different object, vector-average, and line-segment terminator-motion directions. We used an oculometric decision rule to directly compare direction discrimination for pursuit and perception. For visible apertures, the percept was a coherent object, and both the pursuit and perceptual performance were close to the object-motion prediction. For invisible apertures, the percept was incoherently moving segments, and both the pursuit and perceptual performance were close to the terminator-motion prediction. Furthermore, both psychometric and oculometric direction thresholds were much higher for invisible apertures than for visible apertures. We constructed a model in which both perception and pursuit are driven by a shared motion-processing stage, with perception having an additional input from an independent static-processing stage. Model simulations were consistent with our perceptual and oculomotor data. Based on these results, we propose the use of pursuit as an objective and continuous measure of perceptual coherence. Our results support the view that pursuit and perception share a common motion-integration stage, perhaps within areas MT or MST.

The Motivational Climate and Intrinsic Motivation in the Rehabilitation Setting.

PubMed

Brinkman-Majewski, Rachel E; Weiss, Windee M

2018-02-06

The motivational climate created by the athletic trainer in rehabilitation may be critical in influencing athletes' intrinsic motivation and other psychosocial outcomes in the rehabilitation and the recovery process. The purpose of this study was to examine intercollegiate athletes' perceptions of the motivational climate in the rehabilitation setting. Specifically, examining if perceptions of the motivational climate can predict athletes' levels of intrinsic motivation with rehabilitation as well as the relationship between perceptions of the motivational climate and athlete demographics (gender, starter status, athletic trainer gender, etc). Cross-sectional, descriptive research. College sport team and athletic training center. NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletes from one institution (n = 187; 125 male, 62 female). Paper-based survey measuring: mastery and performance perceptions of the motivational climate in rehabilitation, athletes' goal orientation in sport, athletes' levels of motivation in rehabilitation. Perceptions of a performance climate was positively related to intrinsic motivation effort-improvement (effect size=25.34%). Perceptions of a mastery climate were positively related to interest-enjoyment and perceived competence and negatively related to tension-pressure (effect size=39.03%). In general, female athletes, as well as athletes with a female athletic trainer, had significantly higher perceptions of mastery motivational climate effort-improvement compared to male athletes and athletes with male athletic trainers. While male athletes and athletes with male athletic trainers had higher perceptions of intra-team member rivalry in rehabilitation. The athlete's gender and goal orientation, as well as the gender of the athletic trainer creating the motivational climate, can influence whether the environment is perceived as more mastery or performance. The recovering athletes' perceptions of the climate in rehabilitation can, in turn, affect their intrinsic motivation toward the therapeutic interventions.

Motion coherence affects human perception and pursuit similarly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beutter, B. R.; Stone, L. S.

2000-01-01

Pursuit and perception both require accurate information about the motion of objects. Recovering the motion of objects by integrating the motion of their components is a difficult visual task. Successful integration produces coherent global object motion, while a failure to integrate leaves the incoherent local motions of the components unlinked. We compared the ability of perception and pursuit to perform motion integration by measuring direction judgments and the concomitant eye-movement responses to line-figure parallelograms moving behind stationary rectangular apertures. The apertures were constructed such that only the line segments corresponding to the parallelogram's sides were visible; thus, recovering global motion required the integration of the local segment motion. We investigated several potential motion-integration rules by using stimuli with different object, vector-average, and line-segment terminator-motion directions. We used an oculometric decision rule to directly compare direction discrimination for pursuit and perception. For visible apertures, the percept was a coherent object, and both the pursuit and perceptual performance were close to the object-motion prediction. For invisible apertures, the percept was incoherently moving segments, and both the pursuit and perceptual performance were close to the terminator-motion prediction. Furthermore, both psychometric and oculometric direction thresholds were much higher for invisible apertures than for visible apertures. We constructed a model in which both perception and pursuit are driven by a shared motion-processing stage, with perception having an additional input from an independent static-processing stage. Model simulations were consistent with our perceptual and oculomotor data. Based on these results, we propose the use of pursuit as an objective and continuous measure of perceptual coherence. Our results support the view that pursuit and perception share a common motion-integration stage, perhaps within areas MT or MST.

Illness perception, risk perception and health promotion self-care behaviors among Chinese patient with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

Nie, Rong; Han, Yanhong; Xu, Jiaqi; Huang, Qiao; Mao, Jing

2018-02-01

To explore illness perception and perceived risk of developing diabetes complications in relation to health-promoting self-care behaviors among Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Illness and risk perceptions are important determinants of various health behaviors. However, few studies have simultaneously examined the impacts of these two constructs on self-care among diabetic patients. Data were collected on participants' characteristics, illness perception, risk perception, and health-promoting self-care behaviors over 6months among 304 subjects from three general hospitals. Significant associations between illness perception and risk perception were observed. Illness perception and/or risk perception explained an independent, small but significant proportion of the variance in each health-promoting self-care behavior. One's perceptions of illness and future risk might be influential in understanding health-promoting self-care among diabetic patients. It may be useful to improve self-management by tailoring intervention content to individuals' illness-related perceptions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Moderated Effects of Video Feedback for Social Anxiety Disorder

PubMed Central

Rodebaugh, Thomas L.; Heimberg, Richard G.; Schultz, Luke T.; Blackmore, Michelle

2010-01-01

Despite initially positive results, video feedback for social anxiety has never been shown to reduce social anxiety in a controlled experiment with diagnosed participants, and only once with undiagnosed participants. Previous studies arguably did not detect such an effect because of limited assessment of anxiety and potential moderators. We tested video feedback with cognitive preparation among treatment-seeking participants with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder. In Session 1, participants gave an extemporaneous speech and either received the intervention or not. In Session 2, 6 to 14 days later, participants gave a second extemporaneous speech. The intervention improved self-perception of performance, particularly for those participants with the most unrealistically negative impressions of their performance (i.e., high self-observer discrepancy). In addition, the intervention reduced anticipatory anxiety for the second speech for participants with high self-observer discrepancy. These findings extend previous results regarding video feedback and suggest that the intervention may be useful for people with social anxiety disorder and higher self-observer discrepancies for a specific task. PMID:20471783

Visuospatial perception in children born preterm with no major neurological disorders.

PubMed

Butcher, Phillipa R; Bouma, Anke; Stremmelaar, Elisabeth F; Bos, Arend F; Smithson, Michael; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N J A

2012-11-01

Many investigations have found deficits in visuospatial perception in children born preterm, however, it is not clear whether the deficits are specific to visuospatial perception or the consequences of deficits in other functional areas, which often accompany preterm birth. This study investigated whether children born preterm show a specific deficit in visuospatial perception. Fifty-six 7- to 11-year-old preterm born children (gestational age <34 weeks) without cerebral palsy and 51 age-matched, full-term children completed four computerized tasks tapping different levels and types of visuospatial perception. Accuracy and speed of responses were recorded. Task formats were designed to reduce demands on attentional deployment. Measures of intelligence and parental education were included in the analysis. Children born preterm performed less accurately and/or less rapidly on all tasks. Their poorer performance did not reflect differences in speed-accuracy trade-off. Parental education and IQ, both significantly lower in the preterm children, contributed positively to performance on all tasks. IQ mediated the association between preterm birth and visuospatial performance on the most cognitively demanding task. Children born preterm performed more poorly than full-term controls on four visuospatial perceptual tasks. Although intelligence and parental education were also associated with performance, preterm birth contributed independently of these factors on three of four tasks. Many children born preterm are thus multiply disadvantaged on visuospatial tasks: the lower IQ scores and parental educational levels frequently found in this group increase the deficit associated with preterm birth. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Work Adjustment Theory: An Empirical Test Using a Fuzzy Rating Scale.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hesketh, Beryl; And Others

1992-01-01

A fuzzy graphic rating scale elicited work preferences and job perceptions of 166 (of 170) Australian bank employees. Correspondence between preferences and perceptions correlated significantly with job satisfaction. Satisfaction and performance related to tenure intentions; this relation was higher for poorer performers. (SK)

Students' Perceptions of Teaching Technologies, Application of Technologies, and Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tang, Thomas Li-Ping; Austin, M. Jill

2009-01-01

This study examined business students' perceptions of four objectives (i.e., Enjoyment, Learning, Motivation, and Career Application) across five teaching technologies (i.e., Projector, PowerPoint, Video, the Internet, and Lecture), business professors' effective application of technologies, and students' academic performance. We collected data…

Comparison of bimodal and bilateral cochlear implant users on speech recognition with competing talker, music perception, affective prosody discrimination, and talker identification.

PubMed

Cullington, Helen E; Zeng, Fan-Gang

2011-02-01

Despite excellent performance in speech recognition in quiet, most cochlear implant users have great difficulty with speech recognition in noise, music perception, identifying tone of voice, and discriminating different talkers. This may be partly due to the pitch coding in cochlear implant speech processing. Most current speech processing strategies use only the envelope information; the temporal fine structure is discarded. One way to improve electric pitch perception is to use residual acoustic hearing via a hearing aid on the nonimplanted ear (bimodal hearing). This study aimed to test the hypothesis that bimodal users would perform better than bilateral cochlear implant users on tasks requiring good pitch perception. Four pitch-related tasks were used. 1. Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) sentences spoken by a male talker with a competing female, male, or child talker. 2. Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia. This is a music test with six subtests examining pitch, rhythm and timing perception, and musical memory. 3. Aprosodia Battery. This has five subtests evaluating aspects of affective prosody and recognition of sarcasm. 4. Talker identification using vowels spoken by 10 different talkers (three men, three women, two boys, and two girls). Bilateral cochlear implant users were chosen as the comparison group. Thirteen bimodal and 13 bilateral adult cochlear implant users were recruited; all had good speech perception in quiet. There were no significant differences between the mean scores of the bimodal and bilateral groups on any of the tests, although the bimodal group did perform better than the bilateral group on almost all tests. Performance on the different pitch-related tasks was not correlated, meaning that if a subject performed one task well they would not necessarily perform well on another. The correlation between the bimodal users' hearing threshold levels in the aided ear and their performance on these tasks was weak. Although the bimodal cochlear implant group performed better than the bilateral group on most parts of the four pitch-related tests, the differences were not statistically significant. The lack of correlation between test results shows that the tasks used are not simply providing a measure of pitch ability. Even if the bimodal users have better pitch perception, the real-world tasks used are reflecting more diverse skills than pitch. This research adds to the existing speech perception, language, and localization studies that show no significant difference between bimodal and bilateral cochlear implant users.

Peer Observation of Teaching: Perceptions and Experiences of Teachers in a Primary School in Cyprus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karagiorgi, Yiasemina

2012-01-01

This article examines teachers' perceptions of, and experiences with, professional development opportunities involving a school-based project on peer observation of teaching. The study aims to reveal the ways in which seven teachers in one primary school in Cyprus see themselves as agents improving their own and peers' teaching through informal…

A Window into Mathematical Support: How Parents' Perceptions Change Following Observations of Mathematics Tutoring

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westenskow, Arla; Boyer-Thurgood, Jennifer; Moyer-Packenham, Patricia S.

2015-01-01

This research study examined the perceptions of 24 parents of rising 5th-grade students with mathematics learning difficulties as part of a 10-week summer mathematics tutoring experience. During the summer tutoring program, parents observed their children participating in mathematics learning experiences during one-to-one tutoring sessions. At the…

Selective Effects of Motor Expertise in Mental Body Rotation Tasks: Comparing Object-Based and Perspective Transformations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steggemann, Yvonne; Engbert, Kai; Weigelt, Matthias

2011-01-01

Brain imaging studies provide strong evidence for the involvement of the human mirror system during the observation of complex movements, depending on the individual's motor expertise. Here, we ask the question whether motor expertise not only affects perception while observing movements, but also benefits perception while solving mental rotation…

Efficiencies for parts and wholes in biological-motion perception.

PubMed

Bromfield, W Drew; Gold, Jason M

2017-10-01

People can reliably infer the actions, intentions, and mental states of fellow humans from body movements (Blake & Shiffrar, 2007). Previous research on such biological-motion perception has suggested that the movements of the feet may play a particularly important role in making certain judgments about locomotion (Chang & Troje, 2009; Troje & Westhoff, 2006). One account of this effect is that the human visual system may have evolved specialized processes that are efficient for extracting information carried by the feet (Troje & Westhoff, 2006). Alternatively, the motion of the feet may simply be more discriminable than that of other parts of the body. To dissociate these two possibilities, we measured people's ability to discriminate the walking direction of stimuli in which individual body parts (feet, hands) were removed or shown in isolation. We then compared human performance to that of a statistically optimal observer (Gold, Tadin, Cook, & Blake, 2008), giving us a measure of humans' discriminative ability independent of the information available (a quantity known as efficiency). We found that efficiency was highest when the hands and the feet were shown in isolation. A series of follow-up experiments suggested that observers were relying on a form-based cue with the isolated hands (specifically, the orientation of their path through space) and a motion-based cue with the isolated feet to achieve such high efficiencies. We relate our findings to previous proposals of a distinction between form-based and motion-based mechanisms in biological-motion perception.