This paper reviews the literature on texture segregation and texture transparency, and proposes a new account of texture transparency based on the theory of texture segregation. To date, it has been suggested that the perception of transparency might stem from perceptual grouping or spacing effects between texture elements. Based on recent data, this paper argues that texture transparency should be explained by a Filter-Rectify-Filter mechanism, which underlies texture segregation; the integration of collinear texture edges and the separation of orthogonal texture edges at texture-defined junctions are a critical factor in causing texture transparency. Moreover, outstanding problems with the theory of texture transparency were discussed in terms of the nature of second-order junctions, the time-course of overlaid texture surfaces, and synergetic effects by combining several visual attributes such as orientation and spatial frequency.

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This study was conducted to examine a mechanism of cognitive inhibition in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by using a negative priming Stroop task. The Stroop task was administered to children with ADHD and controls under two presentation times: 100 ms and 500 ms. In the interference condition, children with ADHD took more time and more errors as compared to normal children under 500 ms. More importantly, it was hypothesized that, relative to normal children, children with ADHD would show reduced negative priming. Results confirmed this hypothesis under the 500 ms presentation time condition.

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This study looks at the relationship between personality traits (Big Five personality traits), fluid (Gf) and subjectively-assessed (SAI) intelligence. British university students together (N = 100) completed the NEO-PI-R (Costa & McCrae, 1992), five intelligence tests, a measure of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and estimated their intellectual ability on a normal distribution followed by six specific abilities. The Wonderlic Personnel Test score was a significant predictor of three estimates: EQ of two; and Openness to Experience of five of these estimates. The most variance accounted for was 16 per cent when regressing intelligence the Big Five personality traits and emotional intelligence onto SAI scores. The five intelligence tests correlated significantly with each other. Males give higher overall IQ self-estimates (114.4 vs 106.4) and higher overall vocabulary scores (116.0 vs 106.5). Regressing the six specific abilities onto the overall estimate showed three to be significant (Vocabulary, Ability to learn new things, Cultural Knowledge).

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We investigated children’s understanding that visual perception is subjective and not alterable by propositional information. Thirty-six children (3.4 to 6.8 years) were tested in a screen condition (in which a puppet views a colored toy through a differently colored screen), and a colorblind condition in which a puppet (introduced as colorblind) looks directly at the toy. Asked to name the color of the object that the puppet sees, children under four fail in both conditions, revealing difficulty grasping false perception. The puppet was then told the correct color of the toy by E, and the child was again asked to name the color the puppet sees. Even the oldest children failed this question in the colorblind condition, revealing the misconception that a label can alter a color’s perception. Children as old as six do not understand that although verbal information is an originator of belief, it cannot alter perception.

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Recent behavioral data have shown that central gaze direction triggers reflexive shifts of attention to the cued location. Considering findings on the ecological adaptation of human vision, the authors expected that such a cueing effect would occur asymmetrically in horizontal and vertical planes. Participants detected a target letter appearing on a PC monitor after the brief presentation of a nonpredictive head-cue (Experiment 1), profile head-cue (Experiment 2), or arrow-cue (Experiment 3) directed up, down, left, or right of fixation. In all experiments, a cueing effect was observed only when the cue was directed horizontally, but no significant effect was observed in the vertical plane. The results also showed that RTs to a target appearing horizontally were shorter than RTs to a target appearing vertically, irrespective of the cue direction. These results might reflect humans’ adaptation for extension of the visual field in the horizontal plane as a terrestrial primate species.

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