School of Social Sciences

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A century of Gestalt psychology in visual perception: II. Conceptual and theoretical foundations
(American Psychological Association, 2012) Wagemans, Johan; Feldman, Jacob; Gepshtein, Sergei; Kimchi, Ruth; Pomerantz, James R.; van der Helm, Peter A.; van Leeuwen, Cees
Our first review article (Wagemans et al., 2012) on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of Gestalt psychology focused on perceptual grouping and figure-ground organization. It concluded that further progress requires a reconsideration of the conceptual and theoretical foundations of the Gestalt approach, which is provided here. In particular, we review contemporary formulations of holism within an information-processing framework, allowing for operational definitions (e.g., integral dimensions, emergent features, configural superiority, global precedence, primacy of holistic/configural properties) and a refined understanding of its psychological implications (e.g., at the level of attention, perception, and decision). We also review 4 lines of theoretical progress regarding the law of Prägnanz-the brain's tendency of being attracted towards states corresponding to the simplest possible organization, given the available stimulation. The first considers the brain as a complex adaptive system and explains how self-organization solves the conundrum of trading between robustness and flexibility of perceptual states. The second specifies the economy principle in terms of optimization of neural resources, showing that elementary sensors working independently to minimize uncertainty can respond optimally at the system level. The third considers how Gestalt percepts (e.g., groups, objects) are optimal given the available stimulation, with optimality specified in Bayesian terms. Fourth, structural information theory explains how a Gestaltist visual system that focuses on internal coding efficiency yields external veridicality as a side effect. To answer the fundamental question of why things look as they do, a further synthesis of these complementary perspectives is required.
A comment on McCaleb's “The size principle and collective-consumption payoffs to political coalitions”
(Springer, 1975) Stoll, Richard J.
A Context-Independent Situational Judgment Test to Measure Prosocial Implicit Trait Policy
(Taylor & Francis, 2016) Motowidlo, Stephan J.; Ghosh, Kamalika; Mendoza, Anjelica M.; Buchanan, Ashley E.; Lerma, Mikal N.
Two studies developed and validated a context-independent situational judgment test (SJT) of prosocial implicit trait policy (ITP). The first study developed an SJT based on critical incidents about the prosocial behavior of physicians, lawyers, community service volunteers, and human factors engineers. In a sample of 396 undergraduates, this SJT was internally consistent and correlated significantly with other trait constructs related to prosocial ITP. In the second study with 134 undergraduates, the SJT was significantly correlated with relevant trait constructs and prosocial performance in role-plays simulating scenarios in which others needed help. These results show that a generic SJT developed from items that describe situations and actions specific to several occupations can predict behavior in situations unlike any that appear in its items.
A cross-lagged path analysis of five intrapersonal determinants of smoking cessation
(Elsevier, 2014) Castro, Yessenia; Cano, Miguel Ángel; Businelle, Michael S.; Correa-Fernández, Virmarie; Heppner, Whitney L.; Mazas, Carlos A.; Wetter, David W.
Background: Prominent theories of drug use underscore the importance of considering the inter-relationships (e.g., reciprocal relations, indirect effects) of determinants of drug use behavior. In the area of smoking, few studies have examined multiple determinants of cessation in this way, and in prospective analyses. The current study is an examination of the prospective cross-lagged relationships among five intrapersonal determinants of cessation. Methods: Data from a longitudinal cohort study on racial differences in the process of smoking cessation were used to examine reciprocal relations among abstinence motivation, abstinence self-efficacy, positive affect, negative affect, and craving. Each of these five measures assessed on the quit day were regressed onto the same measures assessed 1–2 weeks pre-quit. The relationships of these variables at quit day with 1-week post-quit abstinence from smoking were also examined. Results: When the five variables were examined simultaneously in a cross-lagged path analysis, motivation and self-efficacy, and self-efficacy and positive affect showed cross-lagged relations. Only self-efficacy on the quit day uniquely predicted 1-week post quit abstinence. There were significant indirect effects of motivation and positive affect on cessation via self-efficacy. Conclusions: The current study reaffirms the importance of motivation and self-efficacy in smoking cessation, and suggests that positive affect may play a role in smoking cessation.
A deposit of Kilwa-type coins from Songo Mnara, Tanzania
(Routledge, 2014) Perkins, John; Fleisher, Jeffrey; Wynne-Jones, Stephanie
A deposit of coins was recovered during excavations at Songo Mnara, Tanzania, containing over 300 copper Kilwa-type coins. This is the first deposit or hoard of these coins found in a well defined archaeological context and it therefore offers a unique glimpse into both the typology of these coins and their contemporary uses. The ramifications of the Songo Mnara deposit are discussed. In particular, the deposit is firmly attributable to the end of the fourteenth or very early fifteenth centuries, allowing for some chronological resolution. Coins of the late eleventh- to early twelfth-century sultan Ali ibn al-Hasan show that these types remained in circulation for several hundred years. In addition, the common coin type of Nasir ad-Dunya can now be attributed firmly to the fifteenth and possibly fourteenth centuries by this find. Finally, the paper discusses the burial of the coins in the foundations of a stonehouse and the fact that this likely represented the building of value into the house and an investment in place. Other finds, such as a carnelian necklace found with the coins, testify to the importance of this practice.
A double-slit experiment with human subjects
(Public Library of Science, 2021) Duffy, John; Loch-Temzelides, Ted
We study a sequence of “double-slit” experiments designed to perform repeated measurements of an attribute in a large pool of subjects using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Our findings contrast the prescriptions of decision theory in novel and interesting ways. The response to an identical sequel measurement of the same attribute can be at significant variance with the initial measurement. Furthermore, the response to the sequel measurement depends on whether the initial measurement has taken place. In the absence of the initial measurement, the sequel measurement reveals additional variability, leading to a multimodal frequency distribution which is largely absent if the first measurement has taken place.
A Future History of Water
(Duke University Press, 2019) Ballestero, Andrea
A lifespan development perspective and meta-analysis on the relationship between age and organizational training
(Wiley, 2022) Davenport, Meghan K.; Young, Carmen K.; Kim, Michelle H.; Gilberto, Jacqueline M.; Beier, Margaret E.
The confluence of the aging population and economic conditions that require working longer necessitate a focus on how to best train and develop older workers. We report a meta-analysis of the age and training relationship that examines training outcomes and moderators with 60 independent samples (total N = 10,003). Framed within the lifespan development perspective, we expected and found that older trainees perform worse (ρ = −.14, k = 34, N = 5642; δ = 1.08, k = 21, N = 1242) and take more time (ρ = .19, k = 15, N = 2780; δ = 1.25, k = 12, N = 664) in training relative to younger trainees. Further, age was negatively related to post-training self-efficacy (ρ = −.08, k = 10, N = 4631), but not related to trainee reactions. Moderator analyses provided mixed support that training alone is related to increased mastery of skills and knowledge. No support was found for the moderating effects of pacing or instructional approach. We call for future research examining the interactive effects of training design on older worker outcomes in ways that capitalize on age-related growth, compensate for decline, and consider the strategies workers use to mitigate the effect of age-related losses.
A Meta-analysis of University STEM Summer Bridge Program Effectiveness
(The American Society for Cell Biology, 2021) Bradford, Brittany C.; Beier, Margaret E.; Oswald, Frederick L.
University science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) summer bridge programs provide incoming STEM university students additional course work and preparation before they begin their studies. These programs are designed to reduce attrition and increase the diversity of students pursuing STEM majors and STEM career paths. A meta-analysis of 16 STEM summer bridge programs was conducted. Results showed that program participation had a medium-sized effect on first-year overall grade point average (d = 0.34) and first-year university retention (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.747). Although this meta-analytic research reflects a limited amount of available quantitative academic data on summer STEM bridge programs, this study nonetheless provides important quantitative inroads into much-needed research on programs’ objective effectiveness. These results articulate the importance of thoughtful experimental design and how further research might guide STEM bridge program development to increase the success and retention of matriculating STEM students.
A Nationally Representative Survey of Faith and Work: Demographic Subgroup Differences around Calling and Conflict
(MDPI, 2020) Ecklund, Elaine Howard; Daniels, Denise; Bolger, Daniel; Johnson, Laura
Research has increasingly highlighted the importance of business leaders allowing people to bring their whole selves to work. And religion is an important part of the whole self for many. However, we lack the large-scale national data needed to explore how Americans see the connections between religion and work. Here, from “Faith at Work: An Empirical Study”—a novel, nationally representative dataset—we explore the extent to which working Americans (N = 8767) see their work as a spiritual calling and/or experience work conflict because of their religious faith. We find that one fifth of workers identify their work as a spiritual calling. Our findings also suggest that experiences of religious conflict and discrimination are shaped not only by religious beliefs, but also social location. The initial results highlight future avenues for research and demonstrate the potential of the “Faith at Work” data to shed further light on how religion enters the workplace.
A note on identification of discrete choice models for bundles and binary games
(Wiley, 2017) Fox, Jeremy T.; Lazzati, Natalia
We study nonparametric identification of single-agent discrete choice models for bundles (without requiring bundle-specific prices) and of binary games of complete information. We show that these two models are quite similar from an identification standpoint. Moreover, they are mathematically equivalent when we restrict attention to the class of potential games and impose a specific equilibrium selection mechanism in the data generating process. We provide new identification results for the two related models.
A novel face-name mnemonic discrimination task with naturalistic stimuli
(Elsevier, 2023) Mannion, Renae; Harikumar, Amritha; Morales-Calva, Fernanda; Leal, Stephanie L.
Difficulty remembering faces and names is a common struggle for many people and gets more difficult as we age. Subtle changes in appearance from day to day, common facial characteristics across individuals, and overlap of names may contribute to the difficulty of learning face-name associations. Computational models suggest the hippocampus plays a key role in reducing interference across experiences with overlapping information by performing pattern separation, which enables us to encode similar experiences as distinct from one another. Thus, given the nature of overlapping features within face-name associative memory, hippocampal pattern separation may be an important underlying mechanism supporting this type of memory. Furthermore, cross-species approaches find that aging is associated with deficits in hippocampal pattern separation. Mnemonic discrimination tasks have been designed to tax hippocampal pattern separation and provide a more sensitive measure of age-related cognitive decline compared to traditional memory tasks. However, traditional face-name associative memory tasks do not parametrically vary overlapping features of faces and names to tax hippocampal pattern separation and often lack naturalistic facial features (e.g., hair, accessories, similarity of features, emotional expressions). Here, we developed a face-name mnemonic discrimination task where we varied face stimuli by similarity, race, sex, and emotional expression as well as the similarity of name stimuli. We tested a sample of healthy young and older adults on this task and found that both age groups showed worsening performance as face-name interference increased. Overall, older adults struggled to remember faces and face-name pairs more than young adults. However, while young adults remembered emotional faces better than neutral faces, older adults selectively remembered positive faces. Thus, the use of a face-name association memory task designed with varying levels of face-name interference as well as the inclusion of naturalistic face stimuli across race, sex, and emotional expressions provides a more nuanced approach relative to traditional face-name association tasks toward understanding age-related changes in memory.
A position paper on researching braille in the cognitive sciences: decentering the sighted norm
(Cambridge University Press, 2023) Englebretson, Robert; Holbrook, M. Cay; Fischer-Baum, Simon
This article positions braille as a writing system worthy of study in its own right and on its own terms. We begin with a discussion of the role of braille in the lives of those who read and write it and a call for more attention to braille in the reading sciences. We then give an overview of the history and development of braille, focusing on its formal characteristics as a writing system, in order to acquaint sighted print readers with the basics of braille and to spark further interest among reading researchers. We then explore how print-centric assumptions and sight-centric motivations have potentially negative consequences, not only for braille users but also for the types of questions researchers think to pursue. We conclude with recommendations for conducting responsible and informed research about braille. We affirm that blindness is most equitably understood as but one of the many diverse ways humans experience the world. Researching braille literacy from an equity and diversity perspective provides positive, fruitful insights into perception and cognition, contributes to the typologically oriented work on the world’s writing systems, and contributes to equity by centering the perspectives and literacy of the people who read and write braille.
A Pseudo-Market Approach to Allocation with Priorities
(American Economic Association, 2018) He, Yinghua; Miralles, Antonio; Pycia, Marek; Yan, Jianye
We propose a pseudo-market mechanism for no-monetary-transfer allocation of indivisible objects based on priorities such as those in school choice. Agents are given token money, face priority-specific prices, and buy utility-maximizing random assignments. The mechanism is asymptotically incentive compatible, and the resulting assignments are fair and constrained Pareto efficient. Aanund Hylland & Richard Zeckhauser (1979)'s position-allocation problem is a special case of our framework, and our results on incentives and fairness are also new in their classical setting.
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Takeover Performance During Conditionally Automated Driving
(Sage, 2022) Weaver, Bradley W.; DeLucia, Patricia R.
Objective: The aim of this paper was to synthesize the experimental research on factors that affect takeover performance during conditionally automated driving. Background: For conditionally automated driving, the automated driving system (ADS) can handle the entire dynamic driving task but only for limited domains. When the system reaches a limit, the driver is responsible for taking over vehicle control, which may be affected by how much time they are provided to take over, what they were doing prior to the takeover, or the type of information provided to them during the takeover. Method: Out of 8446 articles identified by a systematic literature search, 48 articles containing 51 experiments were included in the meta-analysis. Coded independent variables were time budget, non-driving related task engagement and resource demands, and information support during the takeover. Coded dependent variables were takeover timing and quality measures. Results: Engaging in non-driving related tasks results in degraded takeover performance, particularly if it has overlapping resource demands with the driving task. Weak evidence suggests takeover performance is impaired with shorter time budgets. Current implementations of information support did not affect takeover performance. Conclusion: Future research and implementation should focus on providing the driver more time to take over while automation is active and should further explore information support. Application: The results of the current paper indicate the need for the development and deployment of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) services and driver monitoring.
A taphonomic analysis of PTK (Bed I, Olduvai Gorge) and its bearing on the interpretation of the dietary and eco-spatial behaviors of early humans
(Elsevier, 2023) Organista, Elia; Moclán, Abel; Aramendi, Julia; Cobo-Sánchez, Lucía; Egeland, Charles P.; Uribelarrea, David; Martín-Perea, David; Vegara-Riquelme, Marina; Hernández-Vivanco, Lucía; Gidna, Agness; Mabula, Audax; Baquedano, Enrique; Domínguez-Rodrigo, Manuel
Here, we present a thorough taphonomic analysis of the 1.84 million-year-old site of Phillip Tobias Korongo (PTK), Bed I, Olduvai Gorge. PTK is one of the new archaeological sites documented on the FLK Zinj paleolandscape, in which FLK 22 level was deposited and covered by Tuff IC. Therefore, PTK is pene-contemporary with these sites: FLK Zinj, DS, AMK and AGS. The occurrence of these sites within a thin clay unit of ∼20 cm, occupying not only the same vertically discrete stratigraphic unit, but also the same paleosurface, with an exceptional preservation of the archaeological record in its primary depositional locus, constitutes a unique opportunity to explore early hominin behavioral diversity at the most limited geochronological scale possible. The Olduvai Bed I sites have been the core of behavioral modelling for the past half a century, and the newly discovered sites, excavated with 21st century technology, will increase significantly our understanding of early human adaptive patterns. Here, we present PTK as another assemblage where faunal resources were acquired by hominins prior to any carnivore, and where stone-tool assisted bulk defleshing was carried out. The abundance of juvenile individuals extends our understanding, as in Kanjera (Kenya), about the hunting skills of early Homo sensu lato. The increasing number of sites, where bulk defleshing of small and medium-sized carcasses took place is underscoring the importance of meat in the diets of some of the early hominins, and their patterned use of the space for food processing and consumption. The patterning emerging has a profound importance for the evolution of some of the features that have traditionally been used to identify the behavior of the genus Homo.
A wavelet method for panel models with jump discontinuities in the parameters
(Elsevier, 2022) Bada, O.; Kneip, A.; Liebl, D.; Mensinger, T.; Gualtieri, J.; Sickles R.C.
While a substantial literature on structural break change point analysis exists for univariate time series, research on large panel data models has not been as extensive. In this paper, a novel method for estimating panel models with multiple structural changes is proposed. The breaks are allowed to occur at unknown points in time and may affect the multivariate slope parameters individually. Our method adapts Haar wavelets to the structure of the observed variables in order to detect the change points of the parameters consistently. We also develop methods to address endogenous regressors within our modeling framework. The asymptotic property of our estimator is established. In our application, we examine the impact of algorithmic trading on standard measures of market quality such as liquidity and volatility over a time period that covers the financial meltdown that began in 2007. We are able to detect jumps in regression slope parameters automatically without using ad-hoc subsample selection criteria.
Accounting for Mathematics Performance of High School Students in Mexico: Estimating a Coordination Game in the Classroom
(The University of Chicago Press, 2018) Todd, Petra; Wolpin, Kenneth I.
This paper estimates a model of the effort decisions of students and teachers in a classroom setting to understand the performance of Mexican high school students on curriculum-based examinations. The model allows for student heterogeneity in initial mathematics preparation and knowledge preference and for teacher heterogeneity in instructional ability and preferences for student knowledge. Survey data include multiple measurements of student and teacher effort, student and teacher preferences, student initial knowledge, and teacher ability. The most important factor accounting for poor performance, the lack of sufficient prior preparation, suggests a mismatch between the curriculum content and entering grade-level mathematics knowledge.
Acculturation and Self-Rated Health among Latino and Asian Immigrants to the United States
(University of California Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, 2012-08) Kimbro, Rachel Tolbert; Gorman, Bridget K.; Schachter, Ariela
The ways in which immigrant health profiles change with shifts in acculturation is of increasing interest to scholars and policy makers in the United States, but little is known about the mechanisms that may link acculturation and self-rated health, particularly for Asians. Utilizing the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) and its data on foreign-born Latinos (N = 1,199) and Asians( N = 1,323) (Pennelletal.2004), we investigate and compare the associations between acculturation and self-rated health for immigrants to the United States from six major ethnic subgroups (Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican). Using comprehensive measures of acculturation, we demonstrate that across ethnic groups, and despite the widely varying contexts of the sending countries and receiving communities, native-language dominance is associated with worse self-rated health relative to bilingualism, and measures of lower acculturation--coethnic ties and remittances—are associated with better self-rated health; and moreover, these associations are only partially mediated by socioeconomic status, and not mediated by acculturative stress, discrimination, social support, or health behaviors. We speculate that immigrants who maintain a native language while also acquiring English, as has been shown for other immigrant outcomes, attain a bicultural fluency, which also enables good health. Surprisingly, we do not find strong associations between duration of time in the United States or age at migrationﾗ measures frequently used to proxy acculturationﾗwith self-rated health. Our findings illustrate the complexity of measuring acculturation and its influence on health for immigrants.
Activities Matter: Personality and Resource Determinants of Activities and their Effect on Mental and Physical Well-being and Retirement Expectations
(Oxford University Press, 2018) Beier, Margaret E.; Torres, W. Jackeline; Gilberto, Jacqueline M.
Remaining active throughout the lifespan is central to healthy aging. The current study tests a model derived from investment and resource theories that examines the extent to which activities mediate the relationship between individual differences in personality and resources on mental and physical well-being and retirement expectations. A subsample (N = 400; 58% women) of participants from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS) was used. Self-reported activities were grouped into 4 broad categories: productive, physical, social, and leisure. Activity variety, operationalized as the number of different activity categories in which a person reported participating over a specified period of time, was also examined. Correlations and path analysis results suggest small but significant effects between personality traits and activity participation, and more consistent effects of personality for predicting activity variety. Personality was also significantly correlated with well-being and retirement expectations as was activity variety. There was limited evidence, however, that activity variety mediated the relationship between personality and resources and mental and physical well-being and retirement expectations as would be predicted by investment theory.

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