Theories of category-specific effects on visual object identification predict easier identification of non-living than living objects. The Sensory-Functional theory credits greater representational weighting of the visual properties of living objects independent of greater weighting of the functional properties of non-living objects. It predicts a…

Often, the sound arriving at the ears is a mixture from many different sources, but only 1 is of interest. To assist with selection, the auditory system structures the incoming input into streams, each of which ideally corresponds to a single source. Some authors have argued that this process of streaming is automatic and invariant, but recent…

The authors used visual search tasks in which components of the classic flanker task (B. A. Eriksen & C. W. Eriksen, 1974) were introduced. In several experiments the authors obtained evidence of parallel search for a target among distractor elements. Therefore, 2-stage models of visual search predict no effect of the identity of those…

P. A. van der Helm and E. L. J. Leeuwenberg (1996; see record 1996-01780-002) outlined a holographic account of figural goodness of a perceptual stimulus. The theory is mathematically precise and can be applied to a broad spectrum of empirical data. The authors argue, however, that the account is inadequate on both theoretical and empirical…

There is an increasing body of evidence that only a minuscule proportion of the sensory data processed by the unconscious mind (capable of processing approximately 11 million bits per second) is referred to the conscious mind (capable of processing approximately 50 bits per second). It is also clear that conscious awareness of stimuli from the…

Autobiographical remembering reflects an advanced state of consciousness that mediates awareness of the self as continuous across time. In naturalistic autobiographical memory, self-aware recollection of temporally and spatially specific episodes and generic factual information (both public and personal) operate in tandem. Evidence from both…

We present a computational model that learns a coupling between motor parameters and their sensory consequences in vocal production during a babbling phase. Based on the coupling, preferred motor parameters and prototypically perceived sounds develop concurrently. Exposure to an ambient language modifies perception to coincide with the sounds from…

Recent research indicates that infants first use form and then surface features as the basis for individuating objects. However, very little is known about the underlying basis for infants' differential sensitivity to form than surface features. The present research assessed infants' sensitivity to luminance differences. Like other surface…

When testing between spotlight and activity distribution models of visual attention, D. LaBerge, R. L. Carlson, J. K. Williams, and B. G. Bunney (1997) used an experimental paradigm in which targets are embedded in 3 brief displays. This paradigm, however, may be confounded by retinal eccentricity effects and saccadic eye movements. When the…

A long-standing issue in the study of how people acquire visual information centers around the scheduling and deployment of attentional resources: Is the process serial, or is it parallel? A substantial empirical effort has been dedicated to resolving this issue. However, the results remain largely inconclusive because the methodologies that have…

This study investigated the utility of central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) assessments in 70 children being evaluated for learning and attention problems, by assessing their relationship to auditory-based neuropsychological tests with varying degrees of attentional, linguistic, and cognitive complexity. Students were given several tests to…

The entries in this extensive bibliography represent books, educational journals, dissertations, popular magazines, and research studies that deal with the topic of nonverbal communication. Divided into time periods (1975 to present, 1973 to 1975, and before 1973), the titles span a variety of topics, including the following: sensory perception,…

A study was designed to test the expectation that different individuals have different cognitive styles, which, if true, may be useful in investigating characteristics and psychological impacts of media utilization. Cognitive style refers to an individual's way of acquiring and processing information. Characteristics of the visual type and haptic…

A study was made to determine whether different methods of visual presentations would affect the retention rate of individuals with two distinct types of perception--visual and haptic. The visual type, according to a study by Viktor Lowenfeld in 1957, is marked by the following characteristics: (1) ability to see wholes, break them into visual…

The study of the performance of 55 learning-disabled college students on the Raven's Progressive Matrices and other tasks found: (1) a negative correlation between visual-motor skills and written language, (2) a positive correlation between visual organization/memory and mathematics, and (3) a positive correlation between auditory memory and…