Contextual cueing refers to the facilitated ability to locate a particular visual element in a scene due to prior exposure to the same scene. This facilitation is thought to reflect implicit learning, as it typically occurs without the observer's knowledge that scenes repeat. Unlike most other implicit learning effects, contextual cueing can be…

We investigated infants' ability to recognize the similarity between observed and implied goals when actions differed in surface-level motion details. In two experiments, 10- to 12-month-olds were habituated to an actor manipulating an object and then shown test actions in which the actor contacted the object with a novel hand configuration that…

A face appears normal when it approximates the average of a population. Consequently, exposure to faces biases perceptions of subsequently viewed faces such that faces similar to those recently seen are perceived as more normal. Simultaneously inducing such aftereffects in opposite directions for two groups of faces indicates somewhat discrete…

Perception of intersensory temporal order is particularly difficult for (continuous) audiovisual speech, as perceivers may find it difficult to notice substantial timing differences between speech sounds and lip movements. Here we tested whether this occurs because audiovisual speech is strongly paired ("unity assumption"). Participants made…

We present the case for a role of biologically plausible neural network modeling in bridging the gap between physiology and behavior. We argue that spiking-level networks can allow "vertical" translation between physiological properties of neural systems and emergent "whole-system" performance--enabling psychological results to be simulated from…

Psychologists have been an integral part of national security agencies since World War I, when psychological science helped in personnel selection. A robust infrastructure supporting wider applications of psychology to military and intelligence problems developed further during World War II and the years following, primarily in the areas of…

Difficulties in visual attention are increasingly being linked to dyslexia. To date, the majority of studies have inferred functionality of attention from response times to stimuli presented for an indefinite duration. However, in paradigms that use reaction times to investigate the ability to orient attention, a delayed reaction time could also…

There are many possible interventions that can occur when a child performs poorly in school, but one that can be easily overlooked is a hearing check. Yet a growing body of research indicates hearing loss--even a minimal amount--can have a dramatic effect on everything from attention and behavior to academic performance. At the same time, data…

During memory encoding, increased hippocampal activity--thought to reflect the binding of different types of information into unique episodes--has been shown to correlate with subsequent recollection of those episodes. Repetition priming--thought to induce more efficient perceptual processing of stimuli--is normally associated with decreased…

Two experiments investigated 9-month-old infants' abilities to recognize the correspondence between an actual three-dimensional (3D) object and its two-dimensional (2D) representation, looking specifically at representations that did not literally depict the actual object: schematic line drawings. In Experiment 1, infants habituated to a line…

The detrimental effect of increased memory load on selective attention has been demonstrated in many situations. However, in search tasks over time using RSVP methods, it is not clear how memory load affects attentional processes; no effects as well as beneficial and detrimental effects of memory load have been found in these types of tasks. The…

There is a need for a musical ensemble study that can describe the idiosyncratic, authentic movements that choral musicians make in a performance setting. In addition, it could benefit teachers to know whether those who score highest on a measure of expressive performance also tend to be strong performers. If this is the case, then the link…

A marked increase in student enrolments in South African public universities over the last two decades have admitted substantially more 'non-traditional' students to the sector. These students typically have unsatisfactory levels of school performance, lack communication skills (especially in English) and mostly have first-generation status. The…

The objective of the study is to demonstrate how and to what extent the expansion of vision span could be a decisive factor in enhancing the reading speed of EFL major students in the English Department at King Khalid University while maintaining their previous level of comprehension. The reading speed of students in the English Department at KKU…

In the early 1800s, the U.S. President Thomas Jefferson assembled a team of explorers led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to forge a waterway connecting the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. How has this environment changed in 200 years and how do elementary students make sense of those changes? This study looks at the impact of…