The role of visual similarity in picture categorization.

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that the use of visual similarity as a cue to category membership may produce the advantage of pictures over words for speed of categorization. Results of Exp I, using a single-stimulus classification task with 17 undergraduates, demonstrate that pictures showed a disadvantage for the visually similar categories of fruits and vegetables but showed their usual advantage for the visually dissimilar categories of fruits and animals. Findings of Exp II, using mixed-list design with 20 undergraduates, indicate that pictures were slower only for visually similar different decisions but showed the usual advantage for all other decisions. It is concluded that because visual similarity can be shown to have large effects on picture categorization, the use of categorization to compare speed of understanding of pictures and words is questionable. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer evaluation in self-managing work groups.

A series of 3 experiments with business students examined how a rater's relative performance affects peer ratings. In Study 1, with 36 groups consisting of 178 Ss, outstanding contributors were the most discriminating evaluators. In Study 2, with 39 groups consisting of 186 Ss, individuals rated their own performance as well as that of their peers. Once again, outstanding contributors were the most discriminating evaluators, and self-evaluations were higher than the respective ratings received from peers. In Study 3, with 12 groups consisting of 61 Ss, below-average and average contributors may have discounted their individual performance outcomes by making allowances for external factors that affected their contributions. Together, these studies indicate that self–other comparisons in a work group influence peer-performance evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer review: A view from within.

Presents examples of exploitative and abusive practices by psychologists, as observed by the author during his years as consultant to Blue Shield of California. Although the practices are not unique to psychology, the profession is urged to continue its efforts in quality assurance and utilization review to ensure that the quality of services delivered to the public does not interfere with the development of the discipline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer review: A private practice model.

The Peninsula Hospital Community Mental Health Center in California, in collaboration with community private practitioners, instituted a peer review plan to meet fiscal problems while permitting quality patient care. The present paper describes the plan and the functioning of the peer review committee. There were initial objections to the plan by most of the private practicing professionals concerned. The attitudes of 76 practitioners, as well as those of 19 peer reviewers, were assessed in questionnaires 3 yrs after the start of the peer review plan. Results of the questionnaires are discussed. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic categorization precedes affective evaluation of visual scenes.

We compared the primacy of affective versus semantic categorization by using forced-choice saccadic and manual response tasks. Participants viewed paired emotional and neutral scenes involving humans or animals flashed rapidly in extrafoveal vision. Participants were instructed to categorize the targets by saccading toward the location occupied by a predefined target scene. The affective task involved saccading toward an unpleasant or pleasant scene, and the semantic task involved saccading toward a scene containing an animal. Both affective and semantic target scenes could be reliably categorized in less than 220 ms, but semantic categorization was always faster than affective categorization. This finding was replicated with singly, foveally presented scenes and manual responses. In comparison with foveal presentation, extrafoveal presentation slowed down the categorization of affective targets more than that of semantic targets. Exposure threshold for accurate categorization was lower for semantic information than for affective information. Superordinate-, basic-, and subordinate-level semantic categorizations were faster than affective evaluation. We conclude that affective analysis of scenes cannot bypass object recognition. Rather, semantic categorization precedes and is required for affective evaluation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A motion picture test of achievement in psychology.

It is concluded from the results of an investigation into "… the advantages and disadvantages of motion pictures for measuring achievement in a beginning psychology course" that "… performance on the motion picture test is not greatly improved by the beginning psychology course." Scores on multiple choice items relating to the motion picture were obtained as part of the final examination for one proup of students and during the first week of class for another. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An inaccurate picture.

Criticizes the article by G. D. Fuller (see record 1978-32171-001) concerning biofeedback as simplistic and uncritical and suggests that Fuller does not present an accurate picture of the current state of biofeedback therapy. Fuller's omission of references to key people in the field is questioned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A theory of visual attention.

A unified theory of visual recognition and attentional selection is developed by integrating the biased-choice model for single-stimulus recognition (R. D. Luce, 1963; R. N. Shepard, 1957) with a choice model for selection from multielement displays (C. Bundesen et al; see record 1985-05669-001) in a race model framework. Mathematically, the theory is tractable, and it specifies the computations necessary for selection. The theory is applied to extant findings from a broad range of experimental paradigms. The findings include effects of object integrality in selective report, number and spatial position of targets in divided-attention paradigms, selection criterion and number of distracters in focused-attention paradigms, delay of selection cue in partial report, and consistent practice in search. On the whole, the quantitative fits are encouraging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer experiences and social self-perceptions: A sequential model.

This study evaluated a social process model describing how aggression and withdrawal lead to negative social self-perceptions. The model posited both direct (i.e., cognitions associated with withdrawal) and indirect (i.e., mediations of negative peer status and peer experiences) influences. Eight- to 10-year-old children (n?=?793) completed peer assessment measures of aggression, withdrawal, peer status, victimization and affiliations, and self-reports of loneliness, perceived acceptance, and perceived behavior–conduct. As expected, the model was supported for social self-perceptions but not for perceived behavior–conduct. Withdrawn behavior uniquely predicted social self-perceptions. Both negative peer status and peer victimization successively mediated the impact of social behavior on loneliness and perceived acceptance. Classroom affiliations did not mediate social self-perceptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problems with picture perception: A reply to Rosinski.

Maintains that R. R. Rosinski's (see record 1977-20263-001) reply to the present author's (see record 1975-00215-001) review of picture perception assumes a degree of knowledge of stimulus information and variables, which influence picture perception, that far exceeds that current in the field. It is argued that Rosinski forecloses on further specification of optical information, confuses formal and perceptual equivalence, narrows the original definition of compensation, ignores the problem of information-preserving misprojections, mistakenly identifies knowledge with perception, and fails to consider the specified set of assumptions that underlies J. J. Gibson's (1950) theory of optical information. It is suggested that such problems arise from an overextension of early work, which fails to take note of the continuing development of the theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer group influence on educational outcomes: A quantitative synthesis.

To estimate the correlation of peer group variables at the elementary and high school level with a range of educational outcomes, 110 correlations taken from 10 prior studies were analyzed. Peer influence was shown to be a small but consistent correlate of educational outcomes. Across 4 types of outcomes (standardized achievement tests, course grades, educational aspirations, and occupational aspirations) the median correlation with peer influence was .24. By applying methods of research integration, the strength of the peer influence–outcome relationship was found to be significantly higher in cities and was also higher in studies in which peer influence was determined by having individuals report the aspirations or achievement levels of their best friends. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A picture integration task for measuring iconic memory in schizophrenics.

Two previous studies by the 1st author et al (1977) and G. Sperling (1960) using different techniques (partial report and backward masking) have found at least some subgroups of schizophrenics deficient in iconic memory. Both hypothesized that the icon in some schizophrenics might be either weakly formed, limited in capacity, or abnormal in duration, but neither study was able to test the qualities of the icon independent of possible transfer difficulties. The present study with 50 male 18–55 yr old psychiatric patients (35 schizophrenics and 15 nonpsychotics) developed a picture integration task that was analogous to C. W. Eriksen and J. F. Collins's (1973) random dot integration. With this task, the capacity and decay of the icon independent of transfer to short-term store was assessed. The icon itself was found intact in all schizophrenics. Other explanations are suggested for schizophrenics' inadequate partial report and backward masking performance. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on visual recognition thresholds.

60 college students are presented, tachistoscopically, a list of 7 pleasant and 7 unpleasant 5 letter words which had been matched for frequency. All of the words are presented randomly to the subjects for various lengths of time, the Ss recording the word they believe to have been flashed on the screen before them. Significantly fewer errors of recognition are made on the pleasant words than on the unpleasant words. It is concluded that perceptual behavior, here defined as visual recognition thresholds, is influenced by the pleasantness or unpleasantness of the stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer Review: An Overview.

In the context of professional psychology, peer review refers to an organized system of assessing quality of services and requires analysis and judgment of professional practice by other practitioners within the profession. This special issue on peer review and quality assurance represents a report on the status of developments in quality assurance within the mental health professions and emphasizes the major role of groups within the American Psychological Association (APA). The first set of articles discusses general issues in quality assessment. The next set of articles is specifically relevant to the progress and development of the Defense Department's Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) Project. The third section comprises a series of articles that describe the application of quality assurance methodology to a variety of service delivery settings. Other approaches to quality assessment and quality assurance are described in the final section. The editors hope that the articles in this special issue can assist the profession in achieving greater and more consistent effectiveness with the public it serves. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive components of picture naming.

A substantial research literature documents the effects of diverse item attributes, task conditions, and participant characteristics on the ease of picture naming. The authors review what the research has revealed about 3 generally accepted stages of naming a pictured object: object identification, name activation, and response generation. They also show that dual coding theory gives a coherent and plausible account of these findings without positing amodal conceptual representations, and they identify issues and methods that may further advance the understanding of picture naming and related cognitive tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Image generation in picture recognition.

Three experiments with 62 Ss examined generation of information from visual memory, using a reaction time (RT) procedure that required Ss to decide whether 3 test pictures were identical with previously presented ones or whether they were mirror-image reversals. When presentation of a test picture was preceded by presentation of its name, RTs were much shorter than in conditions without such identity cues, both for relatively small sets of pictures and for larger sets presented under incidental learning conditions. Advance presentation of identity information also produced faster "different" than "same" responses, the reverse of the outcome in noncued tests. RTs were not reduced by advanced information about only the conceptual category of the to-be-tested item, suggesting that RT facilitation produced by advance presentation of the name of the category instance reflected more than a simple reduction of uncertainty. The preparation and image generation processes described by M. I. Posner (1973) and L. A. Cooper and R. N. Shepard (1973) for visually simple items can apparently be extended to less familiar and more complex visual material. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality correlates of picture preferences.

Preference for certain structural dimensions of pictures (color, degree of abstract representation, human-non-human content) was related to personality factors (as measured by 3 inventories). Ss were VA psychiatric patients and college students. Of the 189 intercorrelations of variables for the 224 Ss, 22 were statistically significant; these are presented and discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer preferences in a desegregated school: A round robin analysis.

Analyzed children's sociometric ratings of their classmates in a desegregated school by both conventional and round robin ANOVAs. 49 Black male, 51 Black female, 36 White male, and 27 White female 6th graders indicated how much they would like to play and work with each of their classmates. Unlike conventional ANOVA, which aggregates each S's ratings of the members of a group, the round robin procedure permits the assessment of the effects of individual dyadic relationships on expressed preferences, and can therefore provide additional information on the processes involved in preference formation. The impact of both race and sex on sociometric choices was explored using these 2 techniques. Although conventional ANOVA showed strong same-race preferences, round robin ANOVA revealed that individual relationships were more important than race in forming peer preferences. A high degree of reciprocity of Ss' ratings of each other was found both within and between racial groups. Both conventional and round robin analyses found strong same-sex preferences, and much less reciprocity of ratings between the sexes than within the sexes. The complementary uses of conventional and round robin analyses of sociometric data are discussed. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer consultation groups for private practitioners.

Presents peer consultation groups as an important means for meeting the needs of private practitioners, specifically to improve therapeutic effectiveness, provide practical help, and counter isolation and burnout. Those aspects of trainee supervision that apply to peer consultation are examined, and the literature on peer consultation or supervision is reviewed. Using the authors' own group as a model, the goals, composition, content, and process of a peer consultation group are described. Stages of group development are outlined, and examples of group functioning are presented. Obstacles to participation, other alternatives, and the advantages of peer consultation groups are discussed. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Callous-Unemotional Traits and Delinquent Peer Affiliation.

Association with a deviant peer group is a robust correlate of juvenile antisocial behavior. The current study focused on whether this association differed for antisocial youth with and without callous-unemotional (CU) traits and whether potential mediators of this association differed for the 2 groups. Deviant peer group association was examined in a community sample (N = 98) of high-risk youth. The sample was assessed at 4 yearly intervals. Across all assessment points, children with conduct problems and CU traits showed the highest level of affiliation with deviant peers. At the first 2 assessment points, this effect was largely mediated by dysfunctional parenting and problems in the child's social relationships. In contrast, the mediational role of these variables was much weaker at the last 2 assessment points. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)