Proven and not proven: A potential alternative to the current Scottish verdict system.

The current Scottish verdict system includes three verdicts: 'guilty', 'not guilty' and 'not proven'. The Scottish Government are currently reviewing the utility of the not proven verdict. Proponents of the not proven verdict suggest that it directs jurors to their true role of determining whether the prosecution's case has, or has not, been 'proven'. Reformists suggest a move to a system similar to England and Wales, with only guilty and not guilty verdicts. However, legal professionals have indicated a preference for an alternative system of proven and not proven. The aim of the current study was to test the effects of a proven and not proven system on verdicts given, when compared to alternative verdict systems (specifically, the current Scottish and Anglo-American verdict systems). 227 mock jurors watched a staged murder trial, filmed in a real-life courtroom, with legal professionals questioning witnesses and a judge giving legal direction. Jurors were significantly more likely to convict in a guilty and not guilty verdict system than either a proven and not proven or a guilty, not guilty and not proven verdict system. Future research should replicate this study with a focus on the impact of the not proven verdict in sexual offences.

Verdict spotting: investigating the effects of juror bias, evidence anchors and verdict system in jurors.

The Scottish verdict of not proven represents a second acquittal verdict which is not legally defined. Existing research into the influence of the not proven verdict on jury decision making is modest. The main aim of the current study was therefore to investigate the influence of verdict systems (two vs three) on juror decision making. The effect of pre-trial bias and evidence anchors on juror judgements were also examined. One-hundred and twenty-eight mock jurors listened to two homicide vignettes and were asked to rate their belief of guilt of the accused and to give a verdict in both trials. The results suggest that pre-trial bias was a significant predictor of both verdict choice and belief of guilt, whereas evidence anchors were not a significant predictor of either. Finally, both guilty and not guilty verdicts were given with increased frequency in the two-verdict system when compared to the three-verdict system.

Illusory Increases in Font Size Improve Letter Recognition.

Visual performance of human observers depends not only on the optics of the eye and early sensory encoding but also on subsequent cortical processing and representations. In two experiments, we demonstrated that motion adaptation can enhance as well as impair visual acuity. Observers who experienced an expanding motion aftereffect exhibited improved letter recognition, whereas observers who experienced a contracting motion aftereffect showed impaired letter recognition. We conclude that illusory enlargement and shrinkage of a visual stimulus can modulate visual acuity.

Fluctuations of visual awareness: combining motion-induced blindness with binocular rivalry.

Binocular rivalry (BR) and motion-induced blindness (MIB) are two phenomena of visual awareness where perception alternates between multiple states despite constant retinal input. Both phenomena have been extensively studied, but the underlying processing remains unclear. It has been suggested that BR and MIB involve the same neural mechanism, but how the two phenomena compete for visual awareness in the same stimulus has not been systematically investigated. Here we introduce BR in a dichoptic stimulus display that can also elicit MIB and examine fluctuations of visual awareness over the course of each trial. Exploiting this paradigm we manipulated stimulus characteristics that are known to influence MIB and BR. In two experiments we found that effects on multistable percepts were incompatible with the idea of a common oscillator. The results suggest instead that local and global stimulus attributes can affect the dynamics of each percept differently. We conclude that the two phenomena of visual awareness share basic temporal characteristics but are most likely influenced by processing at different stages within the visual system.

A hierarchical signal detection model with unequal variance for binary responses.

Gaussian signal detection models with equal variance are commonly used in simple yes-no detection and discrimination tasks whereas more flexible models with unequal variance require additional information. Here, a hierarchical Bayesian model with equal variance is extended to an unequal-variance model by exploiting variability of hit and false-alarm rates in a random sample of participants. This hierarchical model is investigated analytically, in simulations and in applications to existing data sets. The results suggest that signal variance and other parameters can be accurately estimated if plausible assumptions are met. It is concluded that the model provides a promising alternative to the ubiquitous equal-variance model for binary data.

Processing Speed Predicts Mean Performance in Task-Switching but Not Task-Switching Cost.

In several studies, it has been suggested that task-switching performance is linked to processing speed. Here we argue that the relation between processing speed and high-level cognitive ability found in previous studies may be due to confounded measurements of processing speed and task-switching ability. In the present study, we required participants to complete an inspection time (IT) task to probe their processing speed. We employed conventional task-switching paradigms but applied a linear integrated speed-accuracy score (LISAS) which combines latency and accuracy scores to express task-switching ability. The results of regression analyses show that IT predicted average performance in task-switching paradigms. However, IT did not relate to any specific effects common in the task-switching task, which contradicts previous results. Our results suggest independent mechanisms of processing speed and tasks that require a high level of cognitive flexibility and control.

On the inverse problem of binocular 3D motion perception.

It is shown that existing processing schemes of 3D motion perception such as interocular velocity difference, changing disparity over time, as well as joint encoding of motion and disparity, do not offer a general solution to the inverse optics problem of local binocular 3D motion. Instead we suggest that local velocity constraints in combination with binocular disparity and other depth cues provide a more flexible framework for the solution of the inverse problem. In the context of the aperture problem we derive predictions from two plausible default strategies: (1) the vector normal prefers slow motion in 3D whereas (2) the cyclopean average is based on slow motion in 2D. Predicting perceived motion directions for ambiguous line motion provides an opportunity to distinguish between these strategies of 3D motion processing. Our theoretical results suggest that velocity constraints and disparity from feature tracking are needed to solve the inverse problem of 3D motion perception. It seems plausible that motion and disparity input is processed in parallel and integrated late in the visual processing hierarchy.

Corrigendum to "An inconvenient truth: More rigorous and ecologically valid research is needed to properly understand cognitive bias in forensic decisions" [Forensic Sci. Int. Synergy 2 (2020) 107-109].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2020.01.004.].

Assessing Cognitive Bias in Forensic Decisions: A Review and Outlook.

In recent years, a number of studies have demonstrated that forensic examiners can be biased by task-irrelevant contextual information. However, concerns relating to methodological flaws and ecological validity attenuate how much the current body of knowledge can be applied to real-life operational settings. The current review takes a narrative approach to synthesizing the literature across forensic science. Further, the review considers three main issues: (i) primary research on contextual bias within forensic science; (ii) methodological criticisms of this research; (iii) an alternative perspective that task-irrelevant contextual information does not always lead to error. One suggestion for future research is outlined, which is that studies on contextual bias in forensic decisions should be conducted in collaboration between forensic scientists and cognitive psychologists. Only then can rigorous and ecological valid experiments be created that will be able to assess how task-irrelevant contextual information influences forensic analysis and judgments in operationally valid settings.

Motion-aftereffect-induced blindness.

Motion-induced blindness (MIB) describes the occasional disappearance of salient visual objects in the presence of moving features (Y. S. Bonneh, A. Cooperman, & D. Sagi, 2001). Here we test whether motion adaptation and the ensuing motion aftereffect (MAE) are sufficient to trigger disappearance of salient targets. In three experiments, observers adapted to either rotating or static stimuli. Immediately afterwards, a static test pattern was presented consisting of a mask with texture elements and three superimposed target dots in a triangular arrangement. Observers reported dot disappearance and reappearance. The results clearly show that illusory motion in a static test pattern, following motion adaptation, promotes the disappearance of target dots. Furthermore, disappearance is modulated by the depth relationship between test pattern and targets, increasing for targets placed stereoscopically behind the test pattern. We conclude that MIB is influenced by perceived relative motion between depth-segregated features.

On the Aperture Problem of Binocular 3D Motion Perception.

Like many predators, humans have forward-facing eyes that are set a short distance apart so that an extensive region of the visual field is seen from two different points of view. The human visual system can establish a three-dimensional (3D) percept from the projection of images into the left and right eye. How the visual system integrates local motion and binocular depth in order to accomplish 3D motion perception is still under investigation. Here, we propose a geometric-statistical model that combines noisy velocity constraints with a spherical motion prior to solve the aperture problem in 3D. In two psychophysical experiments, it is shown that instantiations of this model can explain how human observers disambiguate 3D line motion direction behind a circular aperture. We discuss the implications of our results for the processing of motion and dynamic depth in the visual system.

Target-Response Associations Can Produce Response-Congruency Effects Without Task-Switching Costs.

In task-switching experiments with bivalent target stimuli, conflicts during response selection give rise to response-congruency effects. Typically, participants respond more slowly and make more errors in trials with incongruent targets that require different responses in the two tasks, compared to trials with congruent targets that are associated with the same response in both tasks. Here we investigate whether participants show response-congruency effects when task rules are not made explicit. In two experiments, we assigned task-irrelevant features to each bivalent target. When participants were instructed to apply the task rules, they showed significant task-switching costs as well as response-congruency effects. Importantly, when the same participants did not know the task rules and responded without applying the task rules, they showed response-congruency effects but no switch costs. The significant congruency effects suggest that associations between bivalent target features and responses can be formed passively, even when participants do not follow the task rules and use task-irrelevant target features to make a response.

Task-switching costs disappear if non-Chinese participants respond to Chinese characters.

In experiments with univalent target stimuli, task-switching costs can be eliminated if participants are unaware of the task rules and apply cue-target-response associations. However, in experiments with bivalent target stimuli, participants show task-switching costs. Participants may exhibit switch costs even when no task rules are provided in the instructions because they can infer the task rules. We tested this prediction by controlling the meaningfulness of cues and targets and therefore the ability to apply the task rules in 2 groups of participants. We compared the performance of Chinese and non-Chinese participants, who responded to Chinese numerals in an odd/even and high/low number task. In Experiment 1, Chinese participants, who knew Chinese characters and understood the task rules, showed task-switching costs. Non-Chinese participants on the other hand, who did not know Chinese characters, exhibited no switch costs. They applied a "target-first" strategy which means that they processed the target stimulus before the cue. In Experiment 2, we confirmed the absence of task-switching costs in Chinese participants using traditional Chinese numerals as target stimuli. Further, to determine how the target-first strategy affects switch costs, we manipulated the sequence of cue and target presentations. We conclude that task-switching costs can be eliminated more easily than previously thought, even for bivalent stimuli. The occurrence of task-switching costs depends on the approach used by participants and this may answer the puzzling question why humans typically do show task-switching costs whereas pigeons and monkeys do not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring individual differences in task switching.

Previous research has shown that there are significant task-switching costs even when participants have time to prepare for task switching after cueing. We investigated individual differences in task switching by monitoring errors and response times of individual participants. In Experiment 1A, 58 participants were encouraged to finish the session early by completing 200 consecutive trials without making an error. In case of a mistake, they had to repeat their effort until the experimental session expired. Using this demanding procedure, 16 participants managed to complete early. Among these 16 we identified 9 best performers who showed no significant switch costs. We conducted follow-up Experiment 1B on these best performers by systematically varying cue-stimulus intervals and inter-trial intervals. The results confirmed that these participants had no significant RT and ER switch costs when they had time to prepare the task between cue and target onset. However, significant switch costs emerged when cue and target stimulus were presented simultaneously. In Experiment 1C, using three classical task-switching paradigms, we compared the best performers with 9 controls who had made frequent errors in Experiment 1A. Although the best performers responded faster and made fewer errors, they only showed reduced switch costs in a pre-cued paradigm that had been extensively practiced. In two other paradigms with simultaneous presentation of cue and target stimulus, best performers had switch costs and showed considerable individual differences similar to the controls. We conclude that there are considerable individual differences in task switching and that smaller individual switch costs are mainly related to efficient task preparation. We speculate that efficient task preparation may be linked to better executive control and general intelligence.

Dichoptic motion perception limited to depth of fixation?

When counterphase spatio-temporal flicker is presented to the left and right eye continuous directional motion can be perceived. Here, we investigate whether this type of dichoptic motion can be observed at different depth planes. Four observers indicated direction of motion for dichoptic motion stimuli, presented in a context containing crossed and uncrossed disparity information in different conditions. Our results show that despite the presence of disparity cues in the stimulus, discrimination of motion direction remained maximal at interocular phase offsets that correspond to binocular motion perception at zero disparity. This constraint brings into question perception of dichoptic motion as the result of an early binocular motion system. We compared our results with predictions of a computational stereo-motion model [Qian, N. (1994). Computing stereo disparity and motion with known binocular cell properties. Neural Computations, 6, 390-404; Qian, N., & Andersen, R. A. (1997). A physiological model for motion-stereo integration and a unified explanation of Pulfrich-like phenomena. Vision Research, 37, 1683-1698]. In contrast to our empirical results, simulations of cell activation in this hybrid energy model predict maximal activation at non-zero disparities. It is concluded that perception of dichoptic motion is a by-product of early interocular combination at low contrasts rather than the result of a dedicated stereo-motion system.

Visual long-term memory for spatial frequency?

It has been suggested that a visual long-term memory based on a sensory representation of the stimulus accounts for discrimination performance when the reference and the test stimuli are separated in time. Decision processes involved in setting response criteria, however, may also contribute to discrimination performance. In the present study, it is shown that under proper control, spatial frequency discrimination thresholds from a group of observers, each performing on a single trial, are significantly higher for a 2-h than for a 5-sec retention interval, whereas thresholds from individual observers performing in repeated trials with a 2-h retention interval are considerably lower. The results suggest that discrimination performance may depend on the retention of task-relevant information, such as a response criterion, rather than on visual memory of the stimulus. It is concluded that it is risky to postulate a high-fidelity long-term visual memory for spatial frequency on the basis of psychophysical group discrimination thresholds.

Bayesian models of binocular 3-D motion perception.

Psychophysical studies on three-dimensional (3-D) motion perception have shown that perceived trajectory angles of a small target traveling in depth are systematically biased. Here, predictions from Bayesian models, which extend existing models of motion-first and stereo-first processing, are investigated. These statistical models are based on stochastic representations of monocular velocity and binocular disparity input in a binocular viewing geometry. The assumption of noise in these inputs together with a plausible prior for 3-D motion leads to testable predictions of perceived trajectory angle and velocity. Results from two experiments are reported, suggesting that disparity rather than motion processing introduces perceptual bias.

Logistic Mixed Models to Investigate Implicit and Explicit Belief Tracking.

We investigated the proposition of a two-systems Theory of Mind in adults' belief tracking. A sample of N = 45 participants predicted the choice of one of two opponent players after observing several rounds in an animated card game. Three matches of this card game were played and initial gaze direction on target and subsequent choice predictions were recorded for each belief task and participant. We conducted logistic regressions with mixed effects on the binary data and developed Bayesian logistic mixed models to infer implicit and explicit mentalizing in true belief and false belief tasks. Although logistic regressions with mixed effects predicted the data well a Bayesian logistic mixed model with latent task- and subject-specific parameters gave a better account of the data. As expected explicit choice predictions suggested a clear understanding of true and false beliefs (TB/FB). Surprisingly, however, model parameters for initial gaze direction also indicated belief tracking. We discuss why task-specific parameters for initial gaze directions are different from choice predictions yet reflect second-order perspective taking.