Perceptual Terms Research Articles

Short-term retention of temporal information.

The main purpose was to determine the short-term retention characteristics of temporal information when subjects experienced time under a conscious cognitive strategy for time estimation, i.e., subjects were instructed to refrain from employing the time-aiding techniques. Visual time lengths of 4, 8, 16, and 32 sec. were estimated by 12 subjects under the method of reproduction. Three levels of retention interval were used, viz., immediate reproduction, 20 sec. of rest, and 20 sec. of interpolated activity, i.e., counting backwards by threes. The variable error was used to evaluate effects of forgetting. When subjects hold time lengths of 4, 8, 16, and 32 sec. in memory for a period of 20 sec. of rest or 20 sec. of interpolated activity, they become more variable than if they recall the item immediately. The variability between the 20 sec. of rest and the 20 sec. of interpolated activity retention intervals was similar. Two explanations for the lack of an interaction between time lengths and retention interval under the variable error were suggested. The constant error was used as an index of bias. Immediate reproduction of the retention interval had less mean constant error than 20 sec. of rest retention under the 32-sec. time length. The particular result was explained in perceptual terms.

Beyond Visual and Aural Criteria: The Importance of Flavor in Chinese Literary Criticism

In Western literary criticism, our vocabulary of description frequently refers to the senses and their hierarchical arrangement--from sight to sound to touch to taste to smell. We speak of form and allude initially to the visual; we talk of and refer primarily to the aural; we identify substance and point to the haptic. In critical discourse, such perceptual terms can be synaesthetically transferred, and thus we may naturally speak of harmony of colors, substantial work of art, harmonious design. Descriptors of the lower senses, however, are much less adaptable and versatile. A fragrant picture is more likely to be a trivial comment than aesthetic judgment of quality; flavorful symphony is at best awkward evaluation. Furthermore, while visual and aural terms often describe the lower senses-a vivid taste, quiet scent--the reverse does not always make sense: tasty sonata? an odorous sculpture? No doubt this is partially due to our greater reliance on our senses of sight and sound and our neglect of our senses of taste and smell; this bias is reflected in the greater number of visual, aural, and haptic descriptors in our vocabulary. Chinese literary criticism contrasts markedly with this Western tradition in its valorization of both

Colour terminology

AbstractSome of the revisions to the CIE International Lighting Vocabulary suggested by the CIE Colorimetry Committee are discussed, with particular reference to the introduction of a set of psychometric terms and formulae, and their relationships to psychophysical and perceptual terms.

The Specification of Colour Appearance. I. Concepts and Terms

AbstractConcepts necessary for the specification of the appearance of colours are described, and the corresponding colour terms collected. Psychometric and psychoquantitative terms are listed that correlate with the perceptual and psychophysical terms used. The perceptual term colourfulness is proposed to denote the attribute of a visual sensation according to which an area appears to exhibit more or less chromatic colour; for a given chromaticity, as the luminance increases, colourfulness generally increases. For related colours, the CIE 1976 Colour Spaces are used to systematize some psychometric variables that are independent of absolute luminance level, including metric saturation, metric purity, and metric chroma, and formulae are given for calculating their amounts. (In Part II, to appear in the next issue, the effects of changes in viewing conditions will be discussed).

An Oral Communication Model

Students of language have in general placed primary emphasis upon the generating mechanisms of speech. For example, it is common to classify the sounds of speech in physiological terms; phonetic tables and charts usually show organic position or mechanism in one dimension and method of production in the other. There has also been considerable interest in the acoustical effects or results of speech production. Von Kempelen was among the first to promote a serious interest in this subject, with a volume published in 1791. The literature on the subject is far more distinguished and extensive than most linguists realize; but it cannot compare with the much more voluminous literature on physiological phonetics and voice production. Within the past ten years, great impetus has been given to the study of acoustic phonetics by developments in electroacoustical instrumentation and by the new, important, and challenging problems which have come upon the field of communication engineering. As a result of these circumstances, there has been an increasing concern with the fundamental nature of spoken language. On what basis can a consistent foundation for language theory be constructed? We seek theoretical constructs or models which define the processes of oral communication. Should these models be developed in physiological, acoustical, or perceptual terms? The importance and convenience of certain acoustical information about speech has become widely recognized. Also, within recent times there has arisen a markedly increased interest in the structural analysis of language. It is the purpose of this article to consider the basic processes involved in oral communication, and to make a critical evaluation of the relationships among them. An attempt will be made to observe some of the resulting implications for theory in structural linguistics. Today it is possible to obtain many of the physiological and acoustical facts of language. It is of considerable significance, however, that experimentalists are gradually finding out the importance of theory in this field of research. To be of value, experimentation usually requires a broad framework of theoretical structure. Laboratory experimentation without theory is often mere dabbling without purpose, and the results are seldom more than casual observation. One can only conclude that the theory, the ideas, the data, and the instrumentation are not separate and independent matters. To create such dichotomies is like trying to distinguish the means from the end. The means determine the end, and without an end the means are senseless. By the same token the instrumentation determines the quality of the data, and the nature of the data required determines the nature of the instrumentation; both are trifling without a theory; and a theory is mere speculation until supported by evidence. In general, the work of the acoustical phonetician and the engineer have seemed slightly irrelevant to the student of physiological phonetics and to the linguist.