Effects of direction of motion, length of spatial distance, and differences in velocity on temporal interval estimates of visual stimuli

Scope and Method of Study: The vast majority of psychophysical research involving velocity, distance, and duration fails to take into account the effects of each of these dimensions on the perception of the others. In this paper, this issue will be discussed and a study examining this problem presented. Aspects considered in this study included the examination of the combined effects of changes in velocity, length of spatial distance, and direction of motion on estimates of brief temporal intervals paired with visual stimuli. Previous research suggests that the direction of presentation of visual stimuli (i.e. top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top) should alter the perception of intervals so that intervals presented from top-to-bottom are perceived as taking less time than equal temporal intervals presented from bottom-to-top (Cohen, Hansel, & Sylvester, 1955; Hubbard, 1990; 1997; Hubbard & Bharucha, 1988; Hubbard & Motes, 2002). In addition, velocity of visual stimuli has also been shown to affect temporal intervals, such that faster velocities are associated with a subjective shortening of duration (Algom & Cohen-Raz, 1987). Finally, differences in length of spatial distances have also been shown to affect perceived duration, and when equal durations are paired with different distances, longer distances are judged as longer in duration as well (Abe, 1935; Adkins, 1972; Cohen & Cooper, 1962; Cohen et al., 1955; Huang & Jones, 1982; Ono, 1966-67; 1976; Ono & Maruyama, 1969-70; Parks, 1967; Price-Williams, 1954; Yoblick & Salvendy, 1970). To date, there is no research examining the influence of these factors in combination on estimates of temporal intervals. Therefore, in this study, each of these variables was systematically manipulated to more closely examine their combined effects on temporal estimates.Findings and Conclusions: Results indicated that in the current study, temporal intervals were perceived as shorter when presented from top-to-bottom, but were not perceived as longer when presented from bottom-to-top. Furthermore, distance and velocity interacted in such a manner as to lead to a perceived shortening of temporal interval presented from top-to-bottom when distance was long and velocity was fast. Future research in the area is suggested

Effect of an organic pesticide on mortality and learning in Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in Brasil

Seven experiments were conducted. First, the influence of the consumption of different concentrations of the organic pesticide Bioganic® on mortality was assessed at 11 different time intervals in Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) as was direct application of the pesticide to the abdomen. Results indicated that the pesticide was not lethal to bees regardless of concentration at any intervals tested whether consumed directly or applied to the abdomen. Second, the effects of different concentrations of the pesticide on Pavlovian conditioning and complex learning were examined in harnessed foragers. Results suggest that the pesticide affected learning; however, this conclusion may be erroneous because the bees would not feed on the pesticide, thus making it impossible to properly assess Pavlovian conditioning and complex learning. Consequently, the effect of the agrochemical on complex learning was examined in free flying bees trained to land on targets. The results of free flying experiments indicated that bees did not avoid a target associated with the smell of the pesticide but did avoid the target if they had to drink the pesticide.Peer reviewedPsychologyZoolog

Knowledge-GAP Survey Instrument

This is the main research instrument for the NSF funded BCSER-IID: Undergraduate Knowledge of the Mathematics Graduate School Application Process (Knowledge-GAP) project. Award Abstract # 2126018 https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2126018&HistoricalAwards=fals

Exploring the Gender Gap in the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism

The “gender gap” on various physics conceptual evaluations has been extensively studied. Men’s average pretest scores on the Force Concept Inventory and Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation are 13% higher than women’s, and post-test scores are on average 12% higher than women’s. This study analyzed the gender differences within the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) in which the gender gap has been less well studied and is less consistent. In the current study, data collected from 1407 students (77% men, 23% women) in a calculus-based physics course over ten semesters showed that male students outperformed female students on the CSEM pretest (5%) and post-test (6%). Separate analyses were conducted for qualitative and quantitative problems on lab quizzes and course exams and showed that male students outperformed female students by 3% on qualitative quiz and exam problems. Male and female students performed equally on the quantitative course exam problems. The gender gaps within CSEM post-test scores, qualitative lab quiz scores, and qualitative exam scores were insignificant for students with a CSEM pretest score of 25% or less but grew as pretest scores increased. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that a latent variable, called Conceptual Physics Performance/Non-Quantitative (CPP/NonQnt), orthogonal to quantitative test performance was useful in explaining the differences observed in qualitative performance; this variable was most strongly related to CSEM post-test scores. The CPP/NonQnt of male students was 0.44 standard deviations higher than female students. The CSEM pretest measured CPP/NonQnt much less accurately for women (R2=4%) than for men (R2=17%). The failure to detect a gender gap for students scoring 25% or less on the pretest suggests that the CSEM instrument itself is not gender biased. The failure to find a performance difference in quantitative test performance while detecting a gap in qualitative performance suggests the qualitative differences do not result from psychological factors such as science anxiety or stereotype threat

Behavioral self-regulation in a physics class

This study examined the regulation of out-of-class time invested in the academic activities associated with a physics class for 20 consecutive semesters. The academic activities of 1676 students were included in the study. Students reported investing a semester average of 6.5±2.9  h out of class per week. During weeks not containing an examination, a total of 4.3±2.1  h was reported which was divided between 2.5±1.2  h working homework and 1.8±1.4  h reading. Students reported spending 7.6±4.8  h preparing for each in-semester examination. Students showed a significant correlation between the change in time invested in examination preparation (r=-0.12, p<0.0001) and their score on the previous examination. The correlation increased as the data were averaged over semester (r=-0.70, p=0.0006) and academic year (r=-0.82, p=0.0039). While significant, the overall correlation indicates a small effect size and implies that an increase of 1 standard deviation of test score (18%) was related to a decrease of 0.12 standard deviations or 0.9 h of study time. Students also modified their time invested in reading as the length of the textbook changed; however, this modification was not proportional to the size of the change in textbook length. Very little regulation of the time invested in homework was detected either in response to test grades or in response to changes in the length of homework assignments. Patterns of regulation were different for higher performing students than for lower performing students with students receiving a course grade of “C” or “D” demonstrating little change in examination preparation time in response to lower examination grades. This study suggests that homework preparation time is a fixed variable while examination preparation time and reading time are weakly mutable variables

Exploring the Gender Gap in the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism

The “gender gap” on various physics conceptual evaluations has been extensively studied. Men’s average pretest scores on the Force Concept Inventory and Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation are 13% higher than women’s, and post-test scores are on average 12% higher than women’s. This study analyzed the gender differences within the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) in which the gender gap has been less well studied and is less consistent. In the current study, data collected from 1407 students (77% men, 23% women) in a calculus-based physics course over ten semesters showed that male students outperformed female students on the CSEM pretest (5%) and post-test (6%). Separate analyses were conducted for qualitative and quantitative problems on lab quizzes and course exams and showed that male students outperformed female students by 3% on qualitative quiz and exam problems. Male and female students performed equally on the quantitative course exam problems. The gender gaps within CSEM post-test scores, qualitative lab quiz scores, and qualitative exam scores were insignificant for students with a CSEM pretest score of 25% or less but grew as pretest scores increased. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that a latent variable, called Conceptual Physics Performance/Non-Quantitative (CPP/NonQnt), orthogonal to quantitative test performance was useful in explaining the differences observed in qualitative performance; this variable was most strongly related to CSEM post-test scores. The CPP/NonQnt of male students was 0.44 standard deviations higher than female students. The CSEM pretest measured CPP/NonQnt much less accurately for women (R2=4%) than for men (R2=17%). The failure to detect a gender gap for students scoring 25% or less on the pretest suggests that the CSEM instrument itself is not gender biased. The failure to find a performance difference in quantitative test performance while detecting a gap in qualitative performance suggests the qualitative differences do not result from psychological factors such as science anxiety or stereotype threat

Supporting Student Success and Persistence in STEM With Active Learning Approaches in Emerging Scholars Classrooms

Over the last several decades, Emerging Scholars Programs (ESPs) have incorporated active learning strategies and challenging problems into collegiate mathematics, resulting in students, underrepresented minority (URM) students in particular, earning at least half of a letter grade higher than other students in Calculus. In 2009, West Virginia University (WVU) adapted ESP models for use in Calculus I in an effort to support the success and retention of URM STEM students by embedding group and inquiry-based learning into a designated section of Calculus I. Seats in the class were reserved for URM and first- generation students. We anticipated that supporting students in courses in the calculus sequence, including Calculus I, would support URM Calculus I students in building learning communities and serve as a mechanism to provide a strong foundation for long-term retention. In this study we analyze the success of students that have progressed through our ESP Calculus courses and compare them to their non-ESP counterparts. Results show that ESP URM students succeed in the Calculus sequence at substantially higher rates than URM students in non-ESP sections of Calculus courses in the sequence (81% of URM students pass ESP Calculus I while only 50% of URM students pass non-ESP Calculus I). In addition, ESP URM and ESP non-URM (first-generation but not URM) students succeed at similar levels in the ESP Calculus sequence of courses (81% of URM students and 82% of non-URM students pass ESP Calculus I). Finally, ESP URM students’ one-year retention rates are similar to those of ESP non-URM students and significantly higher than those of URM students in non-ESP sections of Calculus (92% of ESP URM Calculus I students were retained after one year, while only 83% of URM non-ESP Calculus I students were retained). These results suggest that ESP is ideally suited for retaining and graduating URM STEM majors, helping them overcome obstacles and barriers in STEM, and increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in Calculus