Size in the visual processing of faces and words.

We studied the influence of variations of stimulus size upon recognition of words and faces. Size played an important role in the recognition of faces but was irrelevant to the recognition of words, over a range of sizes. More detailed analysis revealed that although irrelevant to recognition, size of words was nevertheless encoded, with some consequences similar to those for recognition of faces.

Discontinuity in cognitive skill.

Skill at reading geometrically transformed text improves as a function of practice across pages. A belief in continuity of learning must suppose a proportionate improvement in skill within pages. We tested for continuity of learning by comparing performance within pages with performance between pages, varying timing of text presentation and quantity of text presented for the purpose.

Rhythms and responses.

Rhythms are fundamental to behavior, but the control mechanism for timed responses is not known. Many theorists have assumed that there is a central clock coordinating behavior in all sensory modalities and response modes. We tested this hypothesis using a rhythmic tapping task in which university undergraduates first attempted to synchronize responses with brief auditory, tactile, or visual stimuli and then continued to tap at the same rate on their own.

Size and case of type as stimuli in reading.

The role of size and case of print have provoked a number of experiments in the recent past. One strongly argued position is that the reader abstracts a canonical representation from a string of letters that renders its variations irrelevant and then carries out recognition procedures on that abstraction. An alternate view argues that the reader proceeds by analyzing the print, taking account of its manifold physical attributes such as length of words, their orientation, shape, and the like.

Color logic of apparent motion.

Two shapes of either the same or different color will seem to be in smooth apparent motion with like-colored mates, at proper conditions of flash timing and spacing. An experiment is reported in which the condition was tested for unlike-colored pairs, for example red-green alternated with green-red. The question of interest was how the visual system would resolve the disparity of color.