Abstract This study explores how infants encode an object's spatial extent. We habituated 6.5-mon... more Abstract This study explores how infants encode an object's spatial extent. We habituated 6.5-month-old infants to a dowel inside a container and then tested whether they dishabituate to a change in absolute size when the relation between dowel and container is held constant (by altering the size of both container and dowel) and when the relation changes (by altering only the size of the container but not the dowel).
Abstract This article examines whether specialized lids on waste receptacles affect recycling com... more Abstract This article examines whether specialized lids on waste receptacles affect recycling compliance in public settings. Thirty waste receptacles were assigned to a lids-present and lids-absent condition, and the number of recyclable items found in recycling and waste bins served as the dependent measure. Results indicated the presence of specialized recycling container lids increased the beverage-recycling rate by 34%, which suggests that perceptual affordances of specialized container lids improve recycling compliance.
Abstract In two experiments we demonstrate a substantial cross-cultural difference in a mnemonic ... more Abstract In two experiments we demonstrate a substantial cross-cultural difference in a mnemonic context effect, whereby a magnitude estimate of a simple stimulus such as a line or circle is biased toward the center of the distribution of previously seen instances of the same class. In support of the hypothesis that Asians are more likely than Americans to disperse their attention to both the target stimulus and its mnemonic context, this effect was consistently larger for Japanese than for Americans.
Abstract Five experiments provide evidence for a primacy effect in the formation of inductive cat... more Abstract Five experiments provide evidence for a primacy effect in the formation of inductive categories. Participants completed a category induction task in which they observed and reproduced a set of lines that varied in length but were serially ordered so that they increased or decreased in length.
Perceiving an object and its context in different cultures A cultural look at new look
Abstract In two studies, a newly devised test (framed-line test) was used to examine the hypothes... more Abstract In two studies, a newly devised test (framed-line test) was used to examine the hypothesis that individuals engaging in Asian cultures are more capable of incorporating contextual information and those engaging in North American cultures are more capable of ignoring contextual information. On each trial, participants were presented with a square frame, within which was printed a vertical line.
Abstract: We find that differences in the ability to devote cognitive resources to a strategic in... more Abstract: We find that differences in the ability to devote cognitive resources to a strategic interaction imply differences in strategic behavior. In our experiment, we manipulate the availability of cognitive resources by applying a differential cognitive load. In cognitive load experiments, subjects are directed to perform a task which occupies cognitive resources, in addition to making a choice in another domain.
Abstract The present study tests a model of category effects upon stimulus estimation in children... more Abstract The present study tests a model of category effects upon stimulus estimation in children. Prior work with adults suggests that people inductively generalize distributional information about a category of stimuli and use this information to adjust their estimates of individual stimuli in a way that maximizes average accuracy in estimation (see Huttenlocher, Hedges & Vevea, 2000). However, little is known about the developmental origin of this cognitive process.
Abstract: Language is an imperfect and coarse means of communicating information about a complex ... more Abstract: Language is an imperfect and coarse means of communicating information about a complex and nuanced world. We run an experimental investigation of a setting in which the messages available to the sender imperfectly describe the state of the world, however the sender can improve communication, at a cost, by increasing the complexity or elaborateness of the message. As is standard in the communication literature, the sender learns the state of the world then sends a message to the receiver.
Recent studies suggest that North American adults exhibit a focused strategy of attention that em... more Recent studies suggest that North American adults exhibit a focused strategy of attention that emphasizes focal information about objects, whereas Japanese adults exhibit a divided strategy of attention that emphasizes contextual information about objects. The current study investigated whether 4-and 5-, 6-to 8-, and 9-to 13-year-old North American and Japanese children exhibit these divergent attention strategies.
In the present paper we investigated the development of the ability to reproduce extent in elemen... more In the present paper we investigated the development of the ability to reproduce extent in elementary school students. Children were shown a target line in a frame and were asked to reconstruct the line in a frame of a different size. One experimental condition involved reproducing absolute extent, ie, drawing a line that would be equal in length to the target line. The other condition involved reproducing relative extent; drawing a line that would preserve the relation between the target line and the frame.
The present research examines the ability of children as young as 4years to use models in tasks t... more The present research examines the ability of children as young as 4years to use models in tasks that require scaling of distance along a single dimension. In Experiment 1, we found that tasks involving models are similar in difficulty to those involving maps that we studied earlier (Huttenlocher, J., Newcombe, N., & Vasilyeva, M.(1999). Spatial scaling in young children. Psychological Science, 10, 393���398).
Abstract Four experiments that show an early ability to encode and retain information about exten... more Abstract Four experiments that show an early ability to encode and retain information about extent are presented. We found that infants discriminate between the heights of dowels in a habituation task. We also found that toddlers discriminate between heights on a choice task in which a target dowel is presented and removed and they then choose between the target and a foil. Until 4 years of age, however, discrimination occurs only in the presence of a perceptually salient standard.
Abstract The article discusses three experiments that replicated and extended prior research on i... more Abstract The article discusses three experiments that replicated and extended prior research on implicit connections with built and natural environments. In Experiment 1, participants classify ���nature���(eg, trees) and ���self���(eg, me) items faster than ���built���(eg, factory) and ���other���(eg, them) items. This effect may attribute to words that elicit stronger positive associations to nature and stronger negative associations to built categories. In Experiment 2, participants rated nature and self items more positively than built and other items.
Two experiments tested the ability of 4-and 8-year-old children to encode the extent of a target ... more Two experiments tested the ability of 4-and 8-year-old children to encode the extent of a target dowel and later discriminate between the target and a foil having a novel extent. By manipulating the heights of containers in which we presented the stimuli we tested whether children used the relation between the dowels and containers for encoding extent.
Abstract: Prior studies have found that subjects prefer an improving sequence of income over a co... more Abstract: Prior studies have found that subjects prefer an improving sequence of income over a constant sequence, even if the constant sequence offers a larger present discounted value. However, little is known about how these preferences vary with the size of the wage payments. In each of our three studies, we find a relationship between the preference for increasing payments and the size of the payments. Further, our measure of the shape of the utility curve is not significantly related to this behavior.
Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine whether seasonal and meteorological changes in ... more Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine whether seasonal and meteorological changes in nature correspond to environmental attitudes and concerns. An implicit connection to nature task, environmental concern scale, and conservation behavior survey were administered to 220 participants across spring, autumn, and winter seasons in a temperate region of the United States. These behavioral data were correlated with temperature and precipitation data from the US National Weather Service.
Abstract This paper describes three spreadsheet exercises demonstrating the nature and frequency ... more Abstract This paper describes three spreadsheet exercises demonstrating the nature and frequency of type I errors using random number generation. The exercises are designed specifically to address issues related to testing multiple relations using correlation (Demonstration I), t tests varying in sample size (Demonstration II) and multiple comparisons using analysis of variance (Demonstration III).
There are many cultural competences. Some are very explicit and obvious: For example, using chops... more There are many cultural competences. Some are very explicit and obvious: For example, using chopsticks is a special skill quite well suited for some cuisines but not for others. Less obviously, there also exist myriad other competences, both social and nonsocial, that are highly tacit (Polyani, 1957).
Uploads
Papers by Sean Duffy