Eight experiments examined the effects of placing a sequential organization cue (the frequency proximity between successive tones) into competition with various binaural cues. The sequential organization of an alternating pair of monaural pure tones (A and B) was found to oppose the effect of a contralateral noise burst (synchronous with B) to delateralize B's perceived position and to distort its perceived purity. Similarly, the sequential organization of a monaural tone with the same-ear component of a dichotic tone was found to often oppose the perceptual integration of the components of the dichotic tone. These findings were interpreted as suggesting that sequential cues compete with certain binaural cues during lateralization and dichotic integration decisions. However, sequential cues were found not to influence the fusion of identical sinusoids presented at opposite ears. Thus, binaural fusion appeared to occur independently of sequential organization processes. These findings were discussed in terms of levels and mechanisms of processing, and of ecological demands.

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What is meant by configural and holistic processing? The present project attempts to answer this question by formalizing configural and holistic processing as interactive processing of face parts. Four face images were created from one main face by varying the eye distance and nose length of the face to yield a 2x2 feature-complete factorial combination set of stimuli. Participants viewed each version of the face for 100 msecs, and then identified the face they saw. Their responses were subjected to multidimensional signal detection analysis to obtain estimates of different types of perceptual interactions defined by General Recognition Theory (Ashby & Townsend, 1986). It is shown here that perception of upright faces exhibits a number of interactions that are not present for inverted faces. The nature of these interactions are linked to concepts of holistic and configural face processing. A computational justification is forwarded for this interactivity account of face processing.

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This study explored the self-perception of psychological empowerment in a classroom setting. Specifically, the purpose of this research was to determine if the self-perception of psychological empowerment was related to perceived control and academic achievement in a population of university students. Subjects consisted of 24 students between the ages of 22 and 37. The majority of the subjects were enrolled in a diploma program in the Faculty of Education at McGill University. These students had all completed a previous university degree and were working towards teacher certification. / The primary methods of data collection consisted of an empowerment survey, a locus of control measure specific to achievement goals, and an interview with two key informants from the sample. / Results indicated that those students who perceived themselves to be empowered (Y Emp) reported a significantly more external locus of control than those students who did not perceive themselves to be empowered (N Emp). Descriptive data from the empowerment survey and the interview suggested that there were mitigating circumstances which were of direct concern to the sample and which might account for the results. The findings offer tentative support for the context specific nature of empowerment as predicted by empowerment theory. / Consideration is given to the diverse ways that empowerment can be conceptualized and the implications of this for a student population. Some suggestions for further research are offered.

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