Biomedical subjects

Trevor I Case

Publications and source records attributed to Trevor I Case.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Olfactory imagery: a review.

Olfaction's unique cognitive architecture, the apparently inconsistent evidence favoring imagery, and its difficulty of evocation have led some to conclude that there is no capacity for olfactory imagery. Using three streams of evidence, we examine the validity of this claim. First, self-reports of olfactory imagery can resemble those obtained for actual perception. Second, imagining an odor can produce effects similar to actual perception. Third, olfactory perception and memory-based images can interact. A model of olfactory imagery is then presented that utilizes the same systems employed in actual perception, with similar constraints. This model is consistent with olfaction's unique information-processing capacities and can account for previous experimental inconsistencies on the basis of difficulty of evocation, a consequence of unstable access to semantic information. In sum, the evidence presented here is favorable to the existence of an olfactory imagery capacity.

Brain↗

PubMed2004

Reduced discriminability following perceptual learning with odours.

In this experiment, the effects of prior experience on odour perception and discrimination were explored. Participants repeatedly sniffed a mixture composed of two odours, AX, as well as smelling two further odours alone, B and Y. After this training phase, participants were asked to rate the similarity of the odours A and X, B and Y, and a non-exposed pair C and Z. A and X were judged as significantly more alike than the other pairs. Exactly the same pattern emerged on a second test, in which participants were asked to select the odd odour out of sets of three. It was consistently harder for participants to pick the odd odour when the stimuli were drawn from the AX pair (eg A versus AX versus AX). Not only do these findings demonstrate that prior experience can affect odour perception, a finding not predicted by theories of odour perception based solely upon the physiochemical properties of odours, they also suggest that experience can act to selectively decrease discriminability.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Stealing thunder as a courtroom tactic revisited: processes and boundaries.

Stealing thunder refers to a dissuasion tactic in which an individual reveals potentially incriminating evidence first, for the purpose of reducing its negative impact on an evaluative audience. We examined whether it was necessary to frame the negative revelation in a manner that downplayed its importance, and found that stealing thunder successfully dissuaded mock jurors even without framing. We also sought to determine the mechanism by which stealing thunder operated, and found that stealing thunder led mock jurors to change the meaning of incriminating evidence to be less damaging to the individual. We also found that stealing thunder's effectiveness did not hinge on whether or not opposing counsel also mentioned the thunder evidence, and that the stealing thunder tactic was no longer effective when opposing counsel revealed to the mock jurors that the stealing thunder tactic had been used on them.

Adolescent↗