Tracy Taylor

On the causes and effects of inhibition of return

Unpredictive visual transient cues have a biphasic effect on reaction times (RTs) to peripheral onset targets. At relatively short (e.g., 150-msec) cue-target stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs), RTs to targets at cued versus uncued locations are facilitated, whereas at relatively long SOAs (e.g., beyond 300 msec), they are inhibited. The present review explores the conditions under which this latter, inhibitory, effect-referred to as inhibition of return (IOR; Posner & Cohen, 1984)—is revealed and those conditions under which it is generated. We argue that the extant literature converges on the view that IOR reflects a motor response bias that is generated by the activation of an oculomotor program to fixate the cue. However, we reveal that current conceptualizations of IOR are based on a limited sampling of possible tests of the generation and measurement of IOR and indicate where further experimental research is critical.

Visual and motor effects in inhibition of return

Inhibition of return (IOR) refers to slowed reaction times (RTs) when a target appears in the same rather than a different location as a preceding stimulus. The present study tested the hypothesis that IOR reflects a motor bias rather than a perceptual deficit. Two signals (S1 and S2) were presented on each trial. These signals were peripheral onsets or central arrows. The responses required to S1 and S2 were, respectively, no response-manual, manual-manual, saccadic-manual, no response-saccadic, manual-saccadic, and saccadic-saccadic. Uniting perceptual and motor bias views of IOR, the results demonstrated inhibition for responding to (a) peripheral signals when the eyes remained fixed (slowed visual processing) and (b) both peripheral and central signals when the eyes moved (slowed motor production). However, the results also emphasized that the nature of IOR depends fundamentally on the response modality used to reveal its influence.

Volunteer management practices and volunteer retention : a human resource management approach.

This study used a human resource management (HRM) approach to examine the efficacy of volunteer management practices in predicting perceived problems in volunteer retention. Participants were a sample of 375 Australian Rugby Union clubs from across the country. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the properties of a hypothesised reflective measurement model with seven volunteer management constructs (planning, recruitment, screening, orientation, training and support, performance management, and recognition). The efficacy of volunteer management practices was tested using regression analysis.

Influence of history on saccade countermanding performance in humans and macaque monkeys

The stop-signal or countermanding task probes the ability to control action by requiring subjects to withhold a planned movement in response to an infrequent stop signal which they do with variable success depending on the delay of the stop signal. We investigated whether performance of humans and macaque monkeys in a saccade countermanding task was influenced by stimulus and performance history. In spite of idiosyncrasies across subjects several trends were evident in both humans and monkeys. Response time decreased after successive trials with no stop signal. Response time increased after successive trials with a stop signal. However, post-error slowing was not observed. Increased response time was observed mainly or only after cancelled (signal inhibit) trials and not after noncancelled (signal respond) trials. These global trends were based on rapid adjustments of response time in response to momentary fluctuations in the fraction of stop signal trials. The effects of trial sequence on the probability of responding were weaker and more idiosyncratic across subjects when stop signal fraction was fixed. However, both response time and probability of responding were influenced strongly by variations in the fraction of stop signal trials. These results indicate that the race model of countermanding performance requires extension to account for these sequential dependencies and provide a basis for physiological studies of executive control of countermanding saccade performance.

Forgetting is effortful: evidence from reaction time probes in an item-method directed forgetting task.

Reaction time (RT) was measured in response to visual detection probes embedded within an item-method directed forgetting paradigm. In Experiment 1, study words were presented individually followed by an instruction to remember (R) or forget (F). Probes were presented at stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) of 1,400, 1,800, or 2,600 msec in relation to the study word or memory instruction. After the study trials, a yes-no recognition task measured retention of R and F words. Experiment 2 added a no-word control condition and no-probe catch trials. In both experiments, post-F probe RTs were longer than post-R probe RTs at early SOAs. Confirming that participants attended to the memory instructions, there was a significant directed forgetting effect, with greater recognition of R than of F words. These findings contradict the view that directed forgetting in the item-method paradigm is due to the passive decay of nonrehearsed F items; instead, they are consistent with the view that intentional forgetting in an item-method paradigm occurs via the operation of an active, potentially inhibitory, cognitive process.

Using Psychological Contract Theory to Explore Issues in Effective Volunteer Management

Abstract Psychological contract theory is used here to explore the set of expectations and obligations that community sport club volunteers regard as part of their volunteering experience. In the first phase of the research, focus group interviews were conducted with 98 community sports club administrators about the methods used to manage volunteers and the organisational expectations of the volunteers. In phase two, 48 general volunteers were interviewed about their expectations and perceptions of the clubs volunteer management practices. The findings indicate that club administrators and volunteers place different emphases on the transactional, assurance of good faith and fair dealing, and intrinsic job characteristic components of the psychological contract. Notably, club administrators had substantial expectations of volunteers in relation to adherence to professional, legal and regulatory standards. Volunteers were primarily concerned with doing rewarding work in a pleasant social environment that was able to fit within their often tight time restrictions. The implications of these findings for volunteer management processes and practice in community sport clubs are discussed.

Sport and physical recreation in the settlement of immigrant youth

Abstract Post‐migration sport and physical activity experiences may assist young people with the impact of migration and settlement. To investigate the role of sport and physical recreation in the process of “fitting in” to a new country, focus group interviews were conducted with 40 ESL high school students from various ethnic backgrounds who were recent immigrants to a regional city in Canada. Findings revealed that sport and recreation are perceived to be fun, healthy, and helpful in the development of language skills and in providing orientation to the mainstream culture; factors that have been identified elsewhere as key to successful immigrant settlement (e.g., Scott & Scott, 1989; Seat, 2000). However, participation in sport may lead to feelings of social exclusion on the part of young newcomers, because of language difficulties, unfamiliarity with mainstream sports, and prejudice on the part of their peers. The findings have implications for policy and programming that includes sport and physical recreation activities that can enhance the impact of migration.

Cease remembering: control processes in directed forgetting.

On the premise that committing a word to memory is a type of covert action capable of being stopped, this study merged an item-method directed forgetting paradigm with a stop signal paradigm. The primary dependent measure was immediate recall. Indicating that participants were able to countermand the default instruction to remember, there was an overall directed forgetting effect, the magnitude of which varied as a function of forget signal delay. The results suggest that the covert act of intentionally forgetting may engage cognitive control processes at encoding that are analogous to those required to prevent the execution of prepotent overt responses.

Perceptions of Terrorism Threats at the 2004 Olympic Games: Implications for Sport Events

A legacy of September 11, 2001, and subsequent terrorist attacks such as the Bali, (2002), Madrid (2004) and London (2005) bombings, is evidenced in the increased security measures put in place at major sport events. Heightened attention to safety management and public concern about terrorism threats and perception of risk has now become a fundamental component of the planning and risk management strategies for sport events. On the basis of appraisal-tendency theory (Lerner & Keltner, 2001), we investigated effects of anger and fear on risk judgments of 277 attendees at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Attendees who reported being fearful or feeling unsafe at the Games displayed increased risk estimates and associated concerns, whilst respondents expressing defiance and anger produced opposite reactions. Male respondents had less pessimistic risk perceptions than did females, and men were more likely than women to report that the increased security measures detracted from their Olympic Games experience. Nationality had minimal effect on perceptions of risk except in the case of the host country, with Greek respondents reporting fewer concerns for safety but greater awareness of the security measures present at the Games. The discussion focuses on theoretical, methodological and practical implications.

Inhibition of return following instructions to remember and forget

Inhibition of return (IOR) refers to slowed responding to a target that appears in the same rather than in a different location as a preceding peripheral onset cue. This study examined IOR as a function of whether the peripheral onset cue was a word that participants were directed to remember or forget. Using a modified item-method directed forgetting paradigm, words appeared one at a time to the left or right, followed by a remember or forget instruction. A target dot was then presented either in the same peripheral location as the preceding word or in a different location; participants made a speeded response to localize this target. Confirming compliance with the memory instructions, recall tests that alternated with blocks of IOR trials (Experiment 1) revealed few intrusions of to-be-forgotten words, and a final recognition test (Experiments 1 and 3) revealed more hits for to-be-remembered words than for to-be-forgotten words. Reaction times to the target dot revealed greater magnitude IOR following to-be-forgotten words than following to-be-remembered words (Experiments 1 and 3). Moreover, when compared to baseline IOR values (Experiment 2), it appeared that this difference resulted from a magnification of IOR following forget instructions and a reduction in IOR following remember instructions. These results demonstrate the usefulness of IOR as an index of memorial processes and suggest that attentional orienting may play a role in the remembering and forgetting of words presented in peripheral visual locations.