EFFECTS OF FORGETTING ON PERFORMANCE ON VARIOUS INTENSITY SCALING PROTOCOLS: MAGNITUDE ESTIMATION AND LABELED MAGNITUDE SCALE (GREEN SCALE)

Judges rated the intensity of NaCl solutions using magnitude estimation and the labeled magnitude scale. They performed under four response conditions that varied in reliance on memory: (1) verbal response, (2) written response with no retasting and the response sheet removed, (3) written response with a single response sheet which allowed past scores to be reviewed and amended but with no retasting, (4) the same as '3' but with retasting. Discrimination errors tended to decrease from conditions '1' through '4' yet the major and significant effect was allowing judges to retaste stimuli. The effects of how forgetting lowered discrimination were discussed in the context of experimental design and the absolute versus relative cognitive models of scaling.     

Contrast and range effects for category, magnitude and labeled magnitude scales in judgements of sweetness intensity

The labeled magnitude scale (LMS) is a verbally anchored quasi-logarithmically spaced response scale with properties similar to magnitude estimation. Three experiments examined whether the LMS showed context effects similar to those found with magnitude estimation and category scales. Two versions of the LMS were used, one anchored at the high end to the strongest imaginable sweetness and the other to the strongest imaginable oral sensation. In a simple contrast experiment, subjects judged the sweetness of a 10% sucrose fruit beverage in the context of a less sweet (5%) beverage or a more sweet (20%) beverage. Consistent with previous literature, the sweetness was judged more intense in the low context and less intense in the high context, for all scaling methods. In a second experiment, this effect persisted (although was smaller) when the contextual item preceded the to-be-rated item, a so-called 'reversed-pair' design. Once again, the effect was highly significant for all scaling methods. In a third experiment, a range effect was examined using wide and narrow ranges of concentration. Psychophysical functions were flatter in a wide context and steeper in a narrow context, consistent with previous observations on range-mapping bias. This result was obtained for all scales. In three common contextual effects, the labeled magnitude scale behaved similarly to other scaling procedures. Its application to comparisons across individuals may be limited if those individuals have different experiential contexts within which they make their judgements.     

LOGARITHMIC TRANSFORMATION OF MAGNITUDE ESTIMATION DATA AND COMPARISONS OF SCALING METHODS

Recent studies comparing magnitude estimation to other scaling methods have been criticized for failure to submit the data to logarithmic transformation before statistical analysis, a procedure which can improve the ability of magnitude estimation scaling to differentiate among products. Data from one of these studies was available for re-analysis, which was conducted both with and without logarithmic transformation of magnitude estimation, category scales and line scales. The ability of magnitude estimation to differentiate among products was improved by log transformation, while the other methods were not. Improvements were associated in pan with reductions in positive skew and improved approximation of the normal distribution. In spite of this improvement, magnitude estimation remained slightly inferior to the other methods especially in the hands of an untrained consumer sample.     

MAGNITUDE ESTIMATION WITH AND WITHOUT RE-SCALING

Analysis of variance was applied to 3,107 magnitude estimations (ME) obtained upon 173 panelists (16 panels) evaluating the areas of 18 geometric figures. As Butler et al. (1987) pointed out, if a full ANOVA is applied to the values transformed to logarithms, there is no need to re-scale, i.e., normalize the values as is usually done. In fact, even with re-scaling, total variability is not accounted for adequately unless all the sources of variation are partitioned out in the analysis. Under some circumstances, re-scaling is needed: some laboratories re-scale to the arithmetic mean, others to the geometric one. The error was somewhat greater when the data were re-scaled to the arithmetic mean. The residuals of the ME values transformed to logarithms conformed essentially to a normal distribution. Kurtosis was greater, 5.30; otherwise the distribution was close to a log normal one. The average coefficient of variation was <10%.     

错觉图形组成成分间的亮度对比和颜色对比对错觉程度的影响

用定量的心理物理测量方法,研究了错觉图形组成成分间的亮度对比和颜色对比方位错觉、长度觉及面积错觉幅度的影响。测试结果表明：与通常的错觉效应相比,当错觉图形组成成分间存在亮度对比或颜色对比（等亮度）时,受试者的错觉程度明显降低;其中,当存在颜色对比时,方位错觉的下降幅度更为显著,达到６９．３％。此外还观察到,在单纯亮度对比条件下,只需１．８％和５．３％的低对比度即可分别产生轮廓和边缘错觉;但在等亮度     

CORRELATED INBREEDING AMONG RELATIVES: OCCURRENCE,MAGNITUDE, AND IMPLICATIONS

Understanding the magnitude and causes of genetic and phenotypic resemblance among relatives is key to understanding evolutionary processes. Contrary to basic expectation, individual coefficients of inbreeding ( f) were recently hypothesized to be intrinsically correlated across parents and offspring in structured populations, potentially creating an additional source of phenotypic resemblance in traits that show inbreeding depression. To test this hypothesis, we used individual‐based simulations to quantify the parent–offspring correlations in f arising under random mating in populations of different size, immigration rate, and mating system. Parent–offspring correlations in f were typically positive (median r≈ 0.2–0.4) in relatively small and isolated populations. Relatively inbred parents therefore produced relatively inbred offspring on average, although the magnitude of this effect varied considerably among replicate populations. Correlations were higher given more generations of random mating, greater variance in reproductive success, polygynous rather than monogamous mating, and for midparent–offspring rather than parent–offspring relationships. Furthermore, f was also positively correlated across half‐siblings, and closer relatives had more similar inbreeding coefficients across entire generations. Such intrinsic resemblance in f among relatives could provide an additional genetic benefit of mate choice and bias quantitative genetic analyses that do not account for correlated inbreeding depression.     

EVOLUTION OF THE MAGNITUDE AND TIMING OF INBREEDING DEPRESSION IN PLANTS

Estimates of inbreeding depression obtained from the literature were used to evaluate the association between inbreeding depression and the degree of self-fertilization in natural plant populations. Theoretical models predict that the magnitude of inbreeding depression will decrease with inbreeding as deleterious recessive alleles are expressed and purged through selection. If selection acts differentially among life history stages and deleterious effects are uncorrelated among stages, then the timing of inbreeding depression may also evolve with inbreeding. Estimates of cumulative inbreeding depression and stage-specific inbreeding depression (four stages: seed production of parent, germination, juvenile survival, and growth/reproduction) were compiled for 79 populations (using means of replicates, N = 62) comprising 54 species from 23 families of vascular plants. Where available, data on the mating system also were collected and used as a measure of inbreeding history. A significant negative correlation was found between cumulative inbreeding depression and the primary selfing rate for the combined sample of angiosperms (N = 35) and gymnosperms (N = 9); the correlation was significant for angiosperms but not gymnosperms examined separately. The average inbreeding depression in predominantly selfing species (δ = 0.23) was significantly less (43%) than that in predominantly outcrossing species (δ = 0.53). These results support the theoretical prediction that selfing reduces the magnitude of inbreeding depression. Most self-fertilizing species expressed the majority of their inbreeding depression late in the life cycle, at the stage of growth/reproduction (14 of 18 species), whereas outcrossing species expressed much of their inbreeding depression either early, at seed production (17 of 40 species), or late (19 species). For species with four life stages examined, selfing and outcrossing species differed in the magnitude of inbreeding depression at the stage of seed production (selfing δ = 0.05, N = 11; outcrossing δ = 0.32, N = 31), germination (selfing δ = 0.02, outcrossing δ = 0.12), and survival to reproduction (selfing δ = 0.04, outcrossing δ = 0.15), but not at growth and reproduction (selfing δ = 0.21, outcrossing δ = 0.27); inbreeding depression in selfers relative to outcrossers increased from early to late life stages. These results support the hypothesis that most early acting inbreeding depression is due to recessive lethals and can be purged through inbreeding, whereas much of the late-acting inbreeding depression is due to weakly deleterious mutations and is very difficult to purge, even under extreme inbreeding.     

A LABELED AFFECTIVE MAGNITUDE (LAM) SCALE FOR ASSESSING FOOD LIKING/DISLIKING1

The most widely used scale for assessing food liking or disliking is the 9‐pt hedonic scale. Unfortunately, this affective scale suffers from problems related to unequal scale intervals and the underuse of end categories, which results in a reduced ability to differentiate among extremely well liked or extremely disliked foods. Magnitude estimation avoids these problems while enabling ratio statements to be made about the data. However, it does not provide absolute ratings of liking/disliking and can be difficult for some consumers to use. We report here on the development of a labeled affective magnitude scale (LAM) scale that has advantages over both the 9‐pt hedonic scale and magnitude estimation. Forty‐four semantic labels were scaled for their affective meaning by subjects using modulus‐free magnitude estimation. The geometric mean magnitude estimates obtained for each semantic label were used to construct a series of labeled affective magnitude scales by spacing the labels along a visual analogue scale according to their obtained semantic values. Reliability and sensitivity studies were conducted to assess the effects of alternative semantic and numeric labels. The results of these studies led to the choice of a scale format that uses verbal labels that are consistent with the 9‐pt hedonic scale. The labeled affective magnitude (LAM) scale was compared to the hedonic scale and magnitude estimation in several food preference and acceptability tests. The LAM was shown to have equal reliability and sensitivity to the hedonic scale, provided somewhat greater discrimination among highly liked foods, and resulted in data that were similar to magnitude estimation in terms of the obtained ratios among rated stimuli. The LAM scale was also judged by consumers to be as easy to use as the 9‐pt hedonic scale and significantly less difficult than magnitude estimation.     

ALTERNATIVE ANALYSES OF MAGNITUDE ESTIMATION DATA

Three methods of standardizing magnitude estimation data, external calibration, modulus normalization, and equalization were examined using a sensory evaluation data set arising from an incomplete block experiment testing five gels of varying firmness. Both the original data and a logarithmic transformation of the data were analyzed. Instrumental data were also collected. When untransformed data were analyzed the method of standardization profoundly affected tests of significance, coefficients of variation (%CV), and estimation of the power function relating the sensory data to the concentration of the underlying gel. The logarithmically transformed data lead to results independent of the standardizing technique and with higher F-ratios, lower %CV's and normally distributed errors.     

LINEAR TRANSFER SPECTRA FOR OLFACTORY MAGNITUDE ESTIMATION SEQUENCES

The use of linear time series, as a psychophysical method ofassessing self-adaptation and carryover effects in olfactoryintensity judgments, is illustrated for eugenol and acetophenone.Data from series of 60 successive magnitude estimation judgmentsby 11 subjects show consistent within-subject and between-subjectdifferences. The two substances used do not show the same self-adaptationpatterns.     

MAGNITUDE AND TIMING OF INBREEDING DEPRESSION IN SCOTS PINE (PINUS SYLVESTRIS L.)

Inbreeding depression is a major selective force favoring outcrossing in flowering plants. However, some self-fertilization should weaken the harmful effects of inbreeding by exposing deleterious alleles to selection. This study examines the maintenance of inbreeding depression in the predominantly outcrossing species Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine). Open-pollinated and self-fertilized progeny of 23 maternal trees, originating from a natural stand in southern Finland, were grown at two sites. We observed significant inbreeding depression in two of the four life stages measured. Inbreeding depression was largest for seed maturation (δ = 0.74), where seedset in open-pollinated strobili (70.9%) was about four times higher than in selfed strobili (18.3%). Inbreeding depression in postgermination survival (upto an age of 23 years) was also high (δ = 0.62–0.75). No significant differences in height (δ = 0.05) or flowering (δ = 0.14) of the trees after 23 years were observed. Cumulative inbreeding depression was high (δ = 0.90–0.94) and differed significantly among maternal families (range 0.45–1.00). The magnitude of inbreeding depression among the 23 maternal parents was not significantly correlated between early (seed maturation) and later (postgermination survival) life stages, suggesting that its genetic basis varies across the life cycle. Size differences among the progeny types diminished in time due to nonrandom size-specific mortality, causing a decrease in the inbreeding depression estimates for height over time. Our results indicate that Scots pine exhibits high levels of inbreeding depression during both early and later stages of the life cycle. It is argued that self-fertilization in Scots pine is inefficient in purging the genetic load caused by highly deleterious mutations because of the nearly complete loss of selfed individuals over time. This results in an effectively random mating outcrossing population.     

Retrieval Intention Modulates the Effects of Directed Forgetting Instructions on Recollection

The neurocognitive basis of memory retrieval is often examined by investigating brain potential old/new effects, which are differences in brain activity between successfully remembered repeated stimuli and correctly rejected new stimuli in a recognition test. In this study, we combined analyses of old/new effects for words with an item-method directed-forgetting manipulation in order to isolate differences between the retrieval processes elicited by words that participants were initially instructed to commit to memory and those that participants were initially instructed to forget. We compared old/new effects elicited by to-be-forgotten (TBF) words with those elicited by to-be-remembered (TBR) words in both an explicit-memory test (a recognition test) and an implicit-memory test (a lexical-decision test). Behavioral results showed clear directed forgetting effects in the recognition test, but not in the lexical decision test. Mirroring the behavioral findings, analyses of brain potentials showed evidence of directed forgetting only in the recognition test. In this test, potentials from 450–650 ms (P600 old/new effects) were more positive for TBR relative to TBF words. By contrast, P600 effects evident during the lexical-decision test did not differ in magnitude between TBR and TBF items. When taken in the context of prior studies that have linked similar parietal old/new effects to the recollection of episodic information, these data suggest that directed-forgetting effects manifest primarily in greater episodic retrieval by TBR than TBF items, and that retrieval intention may be important for these directed-forgetting effects to occur.     

ULTRASTRUCTURE AND IMMUNOLOCALIZATION OF PHYCOBILIPROTEINS AND RIBULOSE 1,5-BISPHOSPHATE CARBOXYLASE/OXYGENASE IN THE MARINE CYANOBACTERIUM TRICHODESMIUM THIEBAUTII1

Trichodesmium thiebautii Gomont, a marine planktonic diazotrophic cyanobacterium, has an unusual subcellular arrangement. To identify subcellular structures related to photosynthesis, antibodies against phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) were used together with an immuno-gold labeling technique and electron microscopy. Thylakoid membranes, identified by transmission electron microscopy and phycobiliprotein labeling, were arranged as a loose network throughout all cells. Rubisco showed a particularly intense localization in medium electron-dense polyhedral bodies, therefore identified as carboxysomes. The average density of the carboxysomal Rubisco label was about five times higher than that in the cytoplasm. The carboxysomes (4–11 per cell section) were scattered throughout the cytoplasm. These data, together with those obtained from double immunolabeling experiments using nitrogenase (Fe-protein) and Rubisco antibodies, revealed that Trichodesmium contains both N₂- and CO₂-fixing proteins within the same cell. This is in contrast to the previous concept of a spatial segregation of the two processes in Trichodesmium and demonstrate that nitrogenase-containing cells are not comparable to heterocysts in this context.     

EXPLORATION OF THE SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF CRAVED AND AVERSIVE FOODS

This research examined the sensory characteristics of craved and aversive foods, as determined by 70 healthy adults. Cravings and aversions were identified by 66% and 53% of subjects. Typically, cravings were intermittent, and the items were sweet tasting and pleasant smelling. In contrast, aversions were chronic, and the items were described as either bitter or bad (e.g., soapy, mealy, dusty) tasting, and exhibiting an unpleasant smell. Chemesthetic attributes were frequently associated with cravings and aversions, particularly texture and thermal sensations with the former whereas texture and irritating sensations were associated with the latter. The findings suggest that sensory characteristics of foods may provide salient cues for the formation of cravings and aversions.     

Do alignment thresholds define a critical boundary in long-range detection facilitation with co-linear lines?

Thresholds for line contrast detection (experiment 2) were measured with a two-alternative temporal forced-choice procedure as a function of the spatial position of a vertical target line with regard to two co-linear context lines. The different spatial positions of the target line corresponded to values near the position discrimination threshold (experiment 1) reflecting the just detectable lateral offset, or non-co-linearity, between the context lines which were vertically separated by about 100 minutes of visual arc. Target and context lines were vertically separated by about 30 minutes of arc, had equal contrast polarity in one case, and opposite contrast polarity in the other. Strong line contrast detection facilitation is found at perceptually co-linear target locations. This facilitation decreases noticeably at a horizontal target offset that corresponds to the alignment threshold measured with the context lines. The effects are independent of the relative contrast polarity of target and context and, as shown in a third experiment, also independent of both the relative length or number of lines, and the magnitude of their absolute co-axial separation. This independence seems to hold, provided individual line length and co-axial distance between lines are larger than what appears to be the lower limit of the long-range spatial domain for orientation or contour integration (i.e. 20 minutes of arc), as determined by previous studies. The findings reported here suggest that alignment thresholds are likely to define a critical lateral boundary in long-range detection facilitation with co-linear lines. They support models of contour integration based on interactions between neural mechanisms that integrate local signals of contrast, orientation, and relative position or end-to-end alignment. Such mechanisms may help to explain the formation of representations of virtual contours and object contours in human perception.     

口唇部活体测量及生长发育研究

报告４３０８例幼儿至青少年期口唇部１１项指标活体测量的均数及性别差异。发现少年以前口部无显著性的性差,唇高等８项指标自１３岁开始,红唇高等３项开始,红唇高等３项指标在１８岁后开始出现明显性差。唇高等６项指标生长发育曲线随年龄增长上升平缓,无生长发育高峰。口裂宽等５项指标的曲线则随年龄增长上升较陡,有明显的发育高峰。     

RESEARCH NOTE NUMERICAL SCALE-POINT LOCATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING THE LAM (LABELED AFFECTIVE MAGNITUDE) SCALE

In a recent paper, we described the development and application of a labeled affective magnitude (LAM) scale for assessing liking/disliking (Schutz and Cardello 2001). Here we present the exact numerical scale-point locations corresponding to the verbal labels of the scale, so that investigators can easily construct the LAM scale for use with either paper or computer-based ballots.     

Sex,drugs and moral goals: reproductive strategies and views about recreational drugs

Humans, unlike most other species, show intense interest in the activities of conspecifics, even when the activities in question pose no obvious fitness threat or opportunity. Here, we investigate one content domain in which people show substantial interest, the use of drugs for non-medical purposes. Drawing from two subject populations—one undergraduate and one Internet-based—we look at the relationships among (i) abstract political commitments; (ii) attitudes about sexuality; and (iii) views surrounding recreational drugs. Whereas some theories suggest that drug views are best understood as the result of abstract political ideology, we suggest that these views can be better understood in the context of reproductive strategy. We show that, as predicted by a strategic construal, drug attitudes are best predicted by sexual items rather than abstract political commitments and, further, that the relationship between factors such as political ideology and drugs, while positive, are reduced to zero or nearly zero when items assessing sexuality are controlled for. We conclude that considering morality from the standpoint of strategic interests is a potentially useful way to understand why humans care about third party behaviour.     

Blocks and bodies: sex differences in a novel version of the Mental Rotations Test

A novel version of the Mental Rotations Test (MRT) that alternated the standard block figures with three-dimensional human figures was administered to 99 men and 129 women. Women and men differed predictably in their retrospective reports of childhood play and digit ratios, a putative measure of prenatal androgen action. Compared to the block figure items, human figure items on the modified MRT were associated with an improvement in performance in both sexes. However, consistent with the study hypothesis, the enhancing effect of the human figure condition on performance as measured by conventional scores was smaller in men compared to women and not at all evident in men when performance was measured by ratio scores. A closer inspection of the human figures effects on test scores showed performance in women improved for both male and female figure items. In contrast, relative to scores on block figure items, performance in men improved when stimuli were male figures but did not improve when stimuli were female figures. These results add to the evidence that the magnitude of sex differences in scores on the MRT may vary according to the test content and item properties. The findings suggest that online measures of cognitive processing in response to different classes of test stimuli (e.g., animate vs. inanimate objects, self-relevant vs. neutral stimuli) may prove useful in research aimed at understanding the hormonal and social factors contributing to the sex difference in performance on the MRT.     

Positional effects of the hydroxy substituent on the photochemical and photophysical behavior of 3- and 4-hydroxystilbene.

The photophysical and photochemical behavior of meta- and para-hydroxy- and methoxystilbene are reported and compared to the aminostilbenes. Absorption spectra of all four studied compounds in organic solution display a featureless, intense long-wavelength absorption band around 300 nm. In basic aqueous solution, meta-hydroxystilbene displays a less intense band with a long-wavelength shoulder, a consequence of configuration interaction from the O(-) substituent. Emission from the meta-substituted stilbenes is much stronger than from the para isomers, with an especially large effect for the hydroxystilbenes in solvents that are good hydrogen bond acceptors. Emission from the hydroxystilbenes is weak in aqueous solution, and even weaker in basic solution, a consequence of facile nonradiative decay. The excited state lifetimes of the meta isomers are longer than those with para substituents. Ground and excited state acidity constants are reported for the hydroxystilbenes. In the ground state, the para derivative is an order of magnitude more acidic than the meta isomer, however, its short excited state lifetime precludes excited state deprotonation. In contrast, 3-hydroxystilbene does exhibit deprotonation in its excited state.