Cognitive Load Affects Numerical and Temporal Judgments in Distinct Ways

Prominent theories suggest that time and number are processed by a single neural locus or a common magnitude system (e.g., Meck and Church, 1983; Walsh, 2003). However, a growing body of literature has identified numerous inconsistencies between temporal and numerical processing, casting doubt on the presence of such a singular system. Findings of distinct temporal and numerical biases in the presence of emotional content (Baker et al., 2013; Young and Cordes, 2013) are particularly relevant to this debate. Specifically, emotional stimuli lead to temporal overestimation, yet identical stimuli result in numerical underestimation. In the current study, we tested adults’ temporal and numerical processing under cognitive load, a task that compromises attention. Under the premise of a common magnitude system, one would predict cognitive load to have an identical impact on temporal and numerical judgments. Inconsistent with the common magnitude account, results revealed baseline performance on the temporal and numerical task was not correlated and importantly, cognitive load resulted in distinct and opposing quantity biases: numerical underestimation and marginal temporal overestimation. Together, our data call into question the common magnitude account, while also providing support for the role of attentional processes involved in numerical underestimation

Gender Warriors or Dying Swans?: A Historiography of and by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

In European-American concert dance world of the last century or so, female impersonation, or dancing en travesti, has been done mostly for laughs. In the larger sense of theatrical history, female impersonation extends back to ancient Greece where women were excluded from the stage. During the era of Shakespeare, boys studied and seriously trained in the craft of female impersonation. As women gradually gained access to the stage, the need for such artful impersonation diminished. Female impersonation in concert dance shifted toward the burlesque, with exaggerated characterizations. (Female impersonation stands in here for a whole range of diverse and contested terminology regarding the performance of gender.) Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, founded in 1974, knows and loves the ballet world and it knows and loves humor. The company of men performs abbreviated versions of classic ballets – both the male and female roles – to great comic effect and popular acclaim. Over the 35-year history of the Trocks, as they are affectionately known, they have shifted from novelty act to serious art, all on their own terms. More than simply a historical analysis, this paper argues that the company has reinscribed concert dance history while at the same time dismantling the historical canon and rewriting it to include a history of embodied gender identities. In the 21st century, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo demonstrates multiple performances of gender, a thorough understanding of camp and parody, seriously researched dance history, all danced with wicked attention to dance technique and virtuosic performance

Cognitive Load Affects Temporal and Numerical Judgments in Distinct Ways

A prominent theory posits that time and number are processed by a common magnitude system (CMS). Yet, recent studieshave revealed inconsistencies in quantity processing. For example, identical emotional stimuli evoke temporal overestima-tion, but numerical underestimation. These data discount the CMS and have led researchers to speculate about the distinctmechanisms that underlie these unique biases. In particular, differences in arousal have been posited to evoke temporaloverestimation, whereas altered attention results in numerical underestimation. In the current study, we explored adulttemporal and numerical processing under cognitive load, a task that compromises attention. Inconsistent with a CMS,baseline performance on the temporal and numerical tasks was not correlated. Similar to the work with emotional stimuli,cognitive load resulted in numerical underestimation, yet marginal temporal overestimation. Together, our data challengethe CMS, while also providing support for the role of attentional processes involved in numerical underestimation