Bizarreness and Typicality Effects of Color on Object Recognition Memory

The bizarreness effect on object recognition is a strong phenomenon, but its influence has been inconsistent for bizarre object color. In this study, we manipulated three factors in separate experiments to determine whether a color bizarreness effect on object recognition memory would occur and, if not, why. Participants first saw (i.e., learned) object pictures that were either bizarrely or typically colored; they then completed a recognition memory test. In three experiments, we then manipulated (a) degree of color bizarreness (Experiment 1), (b) the orientation task (Experiment 2), and (c) additional demands for object identification (Experiment 3). In Experiment 1, we provided 49 undergraduate participants with object pictures whose colors were typical, moderately atypical, or bizarre and found no color bizarreness effect on recognition memory even for extremely bizarre colors. In Experiment 2, we manipulated the orientation task in that 28 young adult participants expressed their preferences for the pictures on a three-point scale while another 28 participants judged how natural the pictures were. Each orientation task group better recognized typically-colored rather than bizarrely-colored objects (typicality effect). In Experiment 3, we asked 27 young adults to identify the objects during the learning phase to ensure that they paid attention to the objects’ bizarre colors; recognition memory was then unaffected by either color bizarreness or typicality. Thus, despite a general bizarreness effect in recognition memory, bizarre colors are less likely to influence object recognition memory.

Early Visual Attention Abilities and Audiovisual Speech Processing in 5–7 Month-Old Down Syndrome and Typically Developing Infants

Communicative abilities in infants with Down syndrome (DS) are delayed in comparison to typically developing (TD) infants, possibly affecting language development in DS. Little is known about what abilities might underlie poor communication and language skills in DS, such as visual attention and audiovisual speech processing. This study compares DS and TD infants between 5–7 months of age in a visual orientation task, and an audiovisual speech processing task, which assessed infants’ looking pattern to communicative cues (i.e., face, eyes, mouth, and waving arm). Concurrent communicative abilities were also assessed via the CSBS-DP checklist. We observed that DS infants orient their visual attention slower than TD infants. Both groups attended more to the eyes than the mouth, and more to the face than the waving arm. However, DS infants attended less to the eyes than the background, and equally to the face and the background, suggesting their difficulty to assess linguistically relevant cues. Finally, communicative skills were related to attention to the eyes in TD, but not in DS infants. Our study showed that early attentional and audiovisual abilities are impaired in DS infants, and might underlie their communication skills, suggesting that early interventions in this population should emphasize those skills.

Motivasi Belajar dan Regulasi Diri Mahasiswa Selama Pandemi Covid-19

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, learning motivation and self-regulation were identified as factors that influenced college student to involving in learn process. The research focus is to explain the objective conditions of learning motivation and self-regulation of college student during the pandemic. The reserach is a quantitative study with an interpretive approach involving 88 college student in 3rd semester in Department of Economic Education at Siliwangi University, as participants. The data was collected by means of a survey in the form of a questionnaire that adopted the measuring instrument of learning motivation and self-regulation developed by Velayutham et al. The survey was carried out by distributing questionnaires in the form of googleform so that it was easily accessed by students. Data analysis uses the calculation of the percentage of each indicator and analyzes it in depth. The finding indicate that the condition of student learning motivation during the Covid-19 pandemic as measured by 3 indicators learning in goal orientation, task value and self-efficacy are in the excellent category with a score of 83%. Self-regulation of college student in learning during the Covid-19 pandemic is in the excellent category or with a score of 81%. The excellent categories of learning motivation and self-regulation describe that college students are able to adapt in pandemic emergency online learning. Abstrak: Pada masa Pandemi Covid-19, motivasi belajar dan regulasi diri diidentifikasi sebagai faktor yang mempengaruhi keterlibatan mahasiswa dalam pembelajaran. Fokus penelitian ini menjelaskan kondisi objektif motivasi belajar dan regulasi diri mahasiswa selama masa pandemi. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kuantitatif dengan pendekatan interpretative yang melibatkan 88 orang mahasiswa semester 3 pada Jurusan Pendidikan Ekonomi di Universitas Siliwangi, sebagai partisipan. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan cara survey berupa kuesioner yang mengadopsi instrumen pengukuran motivasi belajar dan regulasi diri yang dikembangkan oleh Velayutham dkk. Survey dilakukan dengan menyebarkan kuesioner berupa googleform agar mudah diakses oleh mahasiswa. Analisis data menggunakan perhitungan presentase dari setiap indikator dan menganalisisnya secara mendalam. Temuan ini menunjukan bahwa kondisi motivasi belajar mahasiswa selama pandemi Covid-19 yang diukur dengan tiga indikator yaitu, orientasi pada tujuan, nilai tugas dan efikasi diri termasuk kategori sangat tinggi dengan skor 83%. Regulasi diri mahasiswa dalam pembelajaran selama masa pandemi Covid-19 tergolong pada kategori sangat tinggi atau dengan skor 81%. Kategori motivasi belajar dan regulasi diri yang sangat tinggi tersebut menggambarkan bahwa mahasiswa mampu berdaptasi pada pembelajaran online darurat selama masa pandemi ini.

Does a New Version of the Direction Orientation Task Measure Spatial Ability?

The US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps use the direction orientation task (DOT) to assess spatial ability of potential pilots. However, recent research has shown limitations with the current implementation of the DOT, as well as an earlier candidate replacement the DOT 2. Specifically, there is evidence to suggest that the use of a math strategy and math ability may be related to performance on both tasks. The focus of the current paper is on the evaluation of a revised version of the DOT task (DOT 2.5) designed to encourage the use of spatial solutions by removing the numerical values from the task. We compared the performance of DOT 2.5 with previously validated measures of spatial ability, namely the paper folding and block rotation tasks. We also asked participants how often they employed different strategies on the task (e.g., a spatial strategy or mathematical one). Our results show the DOT 2.5 is significantly related to spatial ability as measured with block rotation. However, while participants were three times more likely to use a spatial strategy on the task, only the use of a math strategy was related to improved performance.

The use of non-spatial strategies in the Direction Orientation Task

Spatial ability has been identified as one of the skills needed to be a pilot. However, the test used by the military to measure this ability, the Direction Orientation Task (DOT), has a number of problems. The DOT2, was developed to address issues such as a ceiling effect and the limited number of possible trials. The initial DOT2 validation was done with a group of Naval Aviators, however the current study sought to collect further evidence, within a more variable population. A group of students completed the new DOT2 task, along with a survey on strategy use. We found that the percentage of time participants reported using a math strategy on the task was highly correlated with accuracy whereas the use of a spatial strategy was negatively correlated with accuracy. A similar mathematical solution can be applied to the original DOT, suggesting neither tests may be measuring spatial ability.

Effects of tDCS on Tactile Perception Depend on Tactile Expertise in Both Musicians and Non-Musicians

Brain plasticity in the somatosensory cortex and tactile performance can be facilitated by brain stimulation. Here, we investigated the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on tactile perception in musicians and non-musicians to elucidate how tDCS-effects might depend on tactile expertise. On three separate days, 17 semi-professional musicians (e.g., piano or violin players) and 16 non-musicians aged 18–27 years received 15 min of 1 mA anodal (a-tDCS), cathodal (c-tDCS) or sham tDCS in a pseudorandomized design. Pre and post tDCS, tactile sensitivity (Touch Detection Task; TDT) and discrimination performance (Grating Orientation Task; GOT) were assessed. For further analysis, the weekly hours of instrument-playing and computer-typing were combined into a “tactile experience” variable. For GOT, but not TDT, a significant group effect at baseline was revealed with musicians performing better than non-musicians. TDT thresholds were significantly reduced after a-tDCS but not c-tDCS or sham stimulation. While both musicians’ and non-musicians’ performance improved after anodal stimulation, neither musical nor tactile expertise was directly associated with the magnitude of this improvement. Low performers in TDT with high tactile experience profited most from a-tDCS. We conclude that tactile expertise may facilitate somatosensory cortical plasticity and tactile learning in low performers.

Stimulus blanking reveals contrast-dependent transsaccadic feature transfer

Across saccadic eye movements, the visual system receives two successive static images corresponding to the pre- and the postsaccadic projections of the visual field on the retina. The existence of a mechanism integrating the content of these images is today still a matter of debate. Here, we studied the transfer of a visual feature across saccades using a blanking paradigm. Participants moved their eyes to a peripheral grating and discriminated a change in its orientation occurring during the eye movement. The grating was either constantly on the screen or briefly blanked during and after the saccade. Moreover, it either was of the same luminance as the background (i.e., isoluminant) or anisoluminant with respect to it. We found that for anisoluminant gratings, the orientation discrimination across saccades was improved when a blank followed the onset of the eye movement. Such effect was however abolished with isoluminant gratings. Additionally, performance was also improved when an anisoluminant grating presented before the saccade was followed by an isoluminant one. These results demonstrate that a detailed representation of the presaccadic image was transferred across saccades allowing participants to perform better on the transsaccadic orientation task. While such a transfer of visual orientation across saccade is masked in real-life anisoluminant conditions, the use of a blank and of an isoluminant postsaccadic grating allowed to reveal its existence.