The gaze direction effect is the finding that observers are typically faster at detecting or identifying a target when it appears in the direction indicated by the gaze of a centrally presented face as compared to other locations. The present research investigated whether the gaze direction effect would occur in accuracy when the target was visually degraded and accuracy was emphasized. In two experiments, the targets were easy to correctly identify, and reaction time (RT) was the dependent variable. In similar experiments, the targets were made difficult to identify and accuracy was the dependent variable. Gaze direction affected RT, but not accuracy. Several theoretical mechanisms for the gaze directions effect that account for these findings are presented. Investigators have uncovered several stimuli that “automatically ” capture attention. For example, the sudden appearance of an object can capture attention (e.g. Jonides, 1976, 1981; Jonides & Yantis, 1988), as can the sudden disappearance of an object (e.g., Miller, 1989; Theeuwes, 1991). The onset of motion can capture attention (Abrams, & Christ, 2003), as can a sudden change in color or luminance (Franconeri, Simons, & Junge, 2004; von Mühlenen, Rempel, & Enns, 2005). One of the more interesting kinds of stimulus-driven capture of attention is the gaze direction effect. A shift in gaze direction can automatically

Abstract: In a series of studies, we examined how mothers naturally stress words across multiple mentions in speech to their infants and how this marking influences infants ' recognition of words in fluent speech. We first collected samples of mothers ' infant-directed speech using a technique that induced multiple repetitions of target words. Acoustic analyses revealed that mothers systematically alternated between emphatic and nonemphatic stress when talking to their infants. Using the headturn preference procedure, we then tested 7.5-month-old infants on their ability to detect familiarized bisyllabic words in fluent speech. Stress of target words (emphatic and nonemphatic) was systematically varied across familiarization and recognition phases of four experiments. Results indicated that, although infants generally prefer listening to words produced with emphatic stress, recognition was enhanced when the degree of emphatic stress at familiarization matched the degree of emphatic stress at recognition.

The computer managed learning (CML) system in use at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia is a mainframe-based computer testing system run through a central testing laboratory. Each year approximately 30,000 student tests are generated and marked by the system. Multiple choice questions are used almost exclusively although the system is capable of supporting a selection of question types. Most lecturers use the CML tests as one component of the unit assessment. Although the CML system is used mainly for summative assessment it has features that enable its use for formative assessment. One approach is to allow students to perform practice tests which do not contribute marks to their final assessment. Students can receive immediate feedback about their performance and so can test their knowledge about the topic and be shown where they need to improve. Of those lecturers who use the practice test facility, most allow a single practice test before the first assessed test. This paper summaries several studies demonstrating that those students who perform a practice test score higher marks on the subsequent assessed test. This effect is seen for students from a number of different subject disciplines. Further, the data do not suggest that this effect is due only to students becoming more familiar with the CML system, nor to the possibility that it is the more able students who choose a practice test. The findings seem to suggest that using the CML system as a formative assessment tool improves student performance on summative assessments. How CML Works Computer managed learning (CML) systems are software packages with several common functions, including generating tests from banks of questions, marking the tests generated, analyzing the results and keeping recor...

Research article Involvement in teaching improves learning in medical students: a randomized cross-over study

Does the language processing system make use of abstract grammatical categories and representations that are not directly visible from the surface form of a linguistic expression? This study examines stem-formation processes and conjugation classes, a case of ‘pure ’ morphology that provides insight into the role of grammatical structure in language processing. We report results from a cross-modal priming experiment examining 1 st and 3 rd conjugation verb forms in Portuguese. Although items were closely matched with respect to a range of non-morphological factors, distinct priming patterns were found for 1 st and 3 rd conjugation stems. We attribute the observed priming patterns to different representations of conjugational stems, combinatorial morphologically-structured ones for 1 st conjugation and unanalyzed morphologicallyunstructured ones for 3 rd conjugation stems. Our findings underline the importance of morphology for language comprehension indicating that morphological analysis goes beyond the identification of grammatical morphemes.

1. When conducting a research synthesis, is it ever appropriate for a C2 reviewer to do a review without statistically integrating the results of studies? If yes, what are the characteristics of the literature that make this permissible?.................................................................................................................................. 5

Does task significance increase job performance? Correlational designs and confounded manipulations have prevented researchers from assessing the causal impact of task significance on job performance. To address this gap, 3 field experiments examined the performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions of task significance. In Experiment 1, fundraising callers who received a task significance intervention increased their levels of job performance relative to callers in 2 other conditions and to their own prior performance. In Experiment 2, task significance increased the job dedication and helping behavior of lifeguards, and these effects were mediated by increases in perceptions of social impact and social worth. In Experiment 3, conscientiousness and prosocial values moderated the effects of task significance on the performance of new fundraising callers. The results provide fresh insights into the effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions of task significance, offering noteworthy implications for theory, research, and practice on job design, social information processing, and work motivation and performance.

Abstract not found

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

Three eye movement studies with novel lexicons investigated the role of semantic context in spoken word recognition, contrasting 3 models: restrictive access, access–selection, and continuous integration. Actions directed at novel shapes caused changes in motion (e.g., looming, spinning) or state (e.g., color, texture). Across the experiments, novel names for the actions and the shapes varied in frequency, cohort density, and whether the cohorts referred to actions (Experiment 1) or shapes with action-congruent or action-incongruent affordances (Experiments 2 and 3). Experiment 1 demonstrated effects of frequency and cohort competition from both displayed and non-displayed competitors. In Experiment 2, a biasing context induced an increase in anticipatory eye movements to congruent referents and reduced the probability of looks to incongruent cohorts, without the delay predicted by access–selection models. In Experiment 3, context did not reduce competition from non-displayed incompatible neighbors as predicted by restrictive access models. The authors conclude that the results are most consistent with continuous integration models.