We investigate the relationship between illusory figure detection and discrimination of its shape, asking whether these depend on a single, two separate, or two sequential processes. In a simultaneous detection-discrimination experiment, we presented subjects with brief, backward-masked Kanizsa-type patterns consisting of four "pacmen," arranged as if at the corners of a 60-degree parallelogram...

Previous research has shown that processing words with an up/down association (e.g., bird, foot) can influence the subsequent identification of visual targets in congruent location (at the top/bottom of the screen). However, as facilitation and interference were found under similar conditions, the nature of the underlying mechanisms remained unclear. We propose that word comprehension relies on...

The Davey-Stewartson equations are used to describe the long time evolution of a threedimensional packets of surface waves. Assuming that the argument functions are quadratic in spacial variables, we find in this paper various exact solutions modulo the most known symmetry transformations for the Davey-Stewartson equations.

In two experiments, we examined whether word age-of-acquisition (AoA) is a reliable predictor of processing times in semantic tasks. In the first task, participants were asked to say the first associate that came to mind when they saw a stimulus word; the second task involved a semantic categorisation between words with a definable meaning and first names. In both tasks, there were significantl...

We examined the effect of mimicry on how 16-month-old infants learn by observation a novel tool use action, which consisted of using a rake to retrieve a toy. Across four conditions, we manipulated whether during an initial play phase, an adult mimicked the infant's play or not (testing the effect of mimicry), the infant played with the adult or played alone (controlling the effect of interacti...

The principal objective of our project is to measure wave-induced fluctuations in underwater light field under various sea-surface boundary conditions. The specific objectives include the characterization of wave-induced fluctuations in downwelling irradiance and radiance as a function of various environmental parameters such as wind/wave conditions, sky radiance distribution, direction of radi...

The perception of social information is crucial for the survival of most animal species. Two recent studies demonstrate the joint contribution of innate mechanisms and perceptual experience to two aspects of social perception--faces and biological motion. Together, they highlight how important it is to consider faces and biological motion as different visual properties used by a broader social ...

After relatively rapid population growth in the later sixteenth century and slower growth in the first four decades of the seventeenth century, the midseventeenth century nationally saw growth change to stagnation and even loss. Falling fertility, changes in nuptiality or worsening mortality, or a combination of all these, could have caused this phenomenon. The aim of this article is to examine...

Recent evidence suggests that 3-year-olds can take other people's visual perspectives not only when they perceive different things (Level 1) but even when they see the same thing differently (Level 2). One hypothesis is that 3-year-olds are good perspective takers but cannot confront different perspectives on the same object (Perner, Stummer, Sprung, & Doherty, 2002). In 2 studies using color f...

This paper draws on evidence from a local Sure Start evaluation of low participation rates among ethnic minority families. It reflects national concerns regarding the low use of children's services among ethnic minority families. The evaluation aimed to improve understanding of the factors that affect families' participation in Sure Start services. A sample of 34 ethnic minority parents, six Su...