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<p dir="ltr">The Black Hole Illusion (BHI) is a nighttime aviation landing illusion where pilots overestimate their descent angle. The BHI occurs when only the outline of the runway is visible to pilots, usually at night with little illumination of the environment. This illusion is dangerous, as it causes pilots to perceive themselves at a high descent angle; and they compensate by flying lower, resulting in a possible crash into the ground or obstacles before the runway. A common interpretation of the BHI is that it represents a perceptual illusion, where the descent angle is misperceived. We quantitatively analyzed two different perceptual theories that predict pilots perceived descent angle during the BHI experience; and we also quantitatively analyzed another perceptual theory to apply during nighttime approaches to alleviate the disorientation experienced from the BHI. Of the first two theories, Perrone's algorithm (Perrone, 1983) predicts that the magnitude of the illusion should vary with runway width/length in nighttime conditions, compared to no illusion and no effect of runway width/length in daylight conditions. On the other hand, the eye-level algorithm (adapted from the work in Galanis, Jennings, and Beckett (1998) and Robinson, Williams, and Biggs (2020)) predicts that there should be no effect of runway width/length in either nighttime or daylight conditions. The last algorithm, the focus of expansion algorithm (adapted from the theory of Gibson (1950) and Gibson (1966)), details a way that pilots can obtain the landing position of their aircraft without estimating their angle of descent, thereby alleviating possible disorientation experienced during nighttime approaches. Additionally, we conducted three empirical studies: The first two aimed at testing Perrone's algorithm and the eye-level algorithm; and the third aimed at testing the focus of expansion algorithm. Across the first two empirical studies, we did demonstrate a BHI for the nighttime evaluations of descent angle; but the data did not support either algorithm. In the third empirical study, the data did not support the focus of expansion algorithm; however, we found that participants were more accurate with estimating the aircraft's landing position when the landing position was closer to the beginning of the runway. Overall, we conclude that the BHI may reflect general disorientation in conditions with limited information.</p>

<p dir="ltr">The implementation of vibrotactile stimuli has grown in necessity where visual and auditory modalities are overloaded. However, how attention is oriented using vibrotactile information has been minimally investigated compared to other modalities, such as visual and auditory stimuli. The ability to elicit an appropriate mapping between a response from a specific vibrotactile stimulus can be explained in three different frames of reference accounts: internal, external, or remapping. Previous research has answered questions relating to the ability to use different reference frames but have yet to agree which frame orients attention for creating an automatic response. Using various stimulus-response mapping effects, the current study investigated how competing frames of reference are used to orient attention to select a response based on specific characteristics of vibrotactile stimuli. Experiment 1 validated the novel apparatus developed for this study by obtaining a stimulus-response compatibility effect. Experiment 2 investigated if an external or internal reference frame is used to orient attention automatically. The uncrossed-hands condition provided a replication of Experiment 1 and confirmed that a stimulus-response compatibility effect was present. For the crossed-hands condition, a diminished, reverse stimulus-response compatibility effect was present. Experiment 3 found no meaningful difference between a magnitude aligned (i.e., left associated with low frequency) versus misaligned (i.e., left associated with high frequency) conditions for frequency of vibrotactile stimuli, suggesting vibrotactile stimuli do not hold a mental magnitude line. Overall, the results from Experiments 1 and 2 provide evidence that processing of vibrotactile information is not reliant on only an internal reference frame but instead the external frame has some influence on selecting a motor response. Experiment 3 also suggests that task context influenced the stimulus and response mapping provided in the instructions, rather than the intrinsic, anatomical representation of vibrotactile stimuli.</p>

This thesis has three key aims, firstly to explore the effects that perceived age and ability have on person perception. Secondly to discover how these two constructs add to the theory on person perception and thirdly, to test a new methodological approach to the study of person perception.

This thesis has three key aims, firstly to explore the effects that perceived age and ability have on person perception. Secondly to discover how these two constructs add to the theory on person perception and thirdly, to test a new methodological approach to the study of person perception.

The monitoring-blunting theory of coping in threatening situations (Miller, 1981, 1987) suggests that when faced with a threatening situation, individuals can respond either by attending to threatening information (―monitoring‖) or by avoiding threatening information (―blunting‖). A valid and reliable measure of children’s preferred coping styles in dental situations may assist dental staff in providing efficacious anxiety-reducing interventions to diverse groups of children. The current study sought to validate a scale of children’s preference for monitoring or blunting in dental situations (the Monitoring Blunting Dental Scale or MBDS). The psychometric characteristics of the scale were assessed in a group of 240 eleven to thirteen year old New Zealand children. Internal consistency reliability was adequate for both the monitoring ( = .743) and blunting ( = .762) subscales. Convergent validity was indicated by strong correlations (> .6) between the MBDS monitoring and blunting subscales and those of an adapted version of the Child Behavioural Style Scale (CBSS-M). Discriminant validity with respect to dental anxiety was strong for the monitoring subscale, r = .079, p = .221, but not the blunting subscale, r = .478, p <.001. Confirmatory factor analysis of the MBDS indicated adequate fit for a two factor monitoring-blunting model (RMSEA = .079), but unacceptable fit for a one factor model (RMSEA = .095). A similar finding was observed when confirmatory factor analysis of the CBSS-M was conducted. These confirmatory factor analyses suggested that the monitoring and blunting theoretical constructs cannot be justifiably regarded as representing poles of a single underlying dimension, but are better regarded as distinct, related constructs. A content analysis of children’s comments about the coping strategies they might adopt in several dental scenarios indicated that these strategies were largely classifiable within monitoring-blunting theory, with blunting-type strategies much more commonly mentioned. Given further validity evidence, the MBDS could be a useful measure when attempting to tailor anxiety-reducing interventions in dental settings to children with diverse coping preferences.

Grounded in Green and Kreuter's (1991) flexible research framework (the PRECEDE model), the prime purpose of this doctoral research agenda has been to enhance our understanding of the frequently obscure psychosocial implications of ageing with hearing handicap (HH) in the audible world, by focusing on the dyadic perspectives of older New Zealand (NZ) ex-service personnel and their spouses. Glass and Balfour's (2003) Ecological Model of Ageing guided the multidisciplinary literature review, in order to accommodate the functional implications of age-related losses which could potentially exacerbate the social and emotional sequelae of ageing with HH and tinnitus. In addition, Cohen's (1992) Transactional Model of Stress (which integrates three social support constructs with Lazarus and Folkman's [1984] model describing adaptations to stressful events), illustrates how on-going social and emotional adjustments to hearing losses could potentially affect older adults' health-related quality of life (H-QoL). Infused by these transdisciplinary ecological perspectives, a composite model of Ageing with Hearing Handicap was proposed to explore older dyadic partner perspectives of NZ veterans' adjustment to ageing with hearing handicap; and to identify which factors exerted the most influence over the veterans' self-reported perceptions of HH and H-QoL. Methods: A purposive pilot study sample (N=51 veterans) initially guided the appropriate selection of ecologically relevant biopsychosocial variables and data collection methods (self-report mail out booklets) for two subsequent studies: (i) The main 'parent' study (referred to as the Hearing Aid Research Project [HARP]), which examined the predictors of hearing aid use in veterans aged 50 year and older; and (ii) The doctoral study, which explored dyadic perspectives of ageing with HH. The doctoral study's dyadic partner sample (N=671 dyads) comprised a subset of the 1249 HARP veterans. This subset met the doctoral study's inclusion criteria of male veterans aged 65 years plus, who had responded with a female partner/spouse residing in the same household. Only dyads with reasonably complete mail out survey response sets were selected. The dyadic partner response sets included social demographic details and responses to a number of constructs relevant to the doctoral research context including: aural rehabilitation, HH, H-QoL, emotional wellbeing, social support and memory in everyday life. Results: The results describe significantly different aural rehabilitation coping trajectories between the self-identified 'first time' and more experienced hearing aid users; and dyadic partner comparisons which highlight that the female partners were more acutely aware of the stigmatising impact of hearing losses on the veterans' social and emotional agency. Analyses of the intersecting structural and functional features of social support illustrated that increasing levels of the veterans' hearing handicap (HH) exacerbated both partners' social isolation. Wenger's (1994) support network typology illustrated how both partners' depressive symptoms and the veterans' frequency of forgetting increased significantly across a socially integrated to isolated support network continuum. The composite model of Ageing with Hearing Handicap accounted for 71.5% of the variation in the veterans' self-reported HH; 62.6% of their physical and 37.3% of their mental H-QoL. The multivariate analyses also demonstrated that HH produced a direct and negative impact on the veterans' mental H-QoL, by constraining their social and emotional agency; but only indirectly on their physical H-QoL, through reducing their energy levels and constraining their social participation. Conclusions: These transdisciplinary perspectives provide cross-sectional insights about the social and emotional wellbeing of veterans ageing with HH and their spouses, and suggest downstream links that affect their H-QoL. These findings highlight the importance of hearing health policy agendas and the communication contexts of health service delivery across all age groups. Moreover, by resolving the complex methodological and conceptual challenges inherent in focussing on older dyadic partners' everyday experiences, targets have become apparent for further investigation, to enhance and refine our understandings of engaging ecological perspectives when conducting health research.

Traffic signs are ubiquitous in the road environment, and are a crucial and cost-effective means of ensuring traffic safety. In Queensland, Australia, a class of temporary traffic signs is used for roadwork applications, and has recently been expanded to include Multiple-Message Signs: a novel, and as yet empirically untested system, which presents numerous advantages in terms of flexibility and economy. However, potential Human Factors problems surround aspects of the design of multiple message signs. In particular, the efficiency with which information is communication may be compromised relative to single message signs. The project involved a series of laboratory studies focussing on the behavioural requirements of temporary roadworks signs, beginning with the improvement of response characteristics of a sign used to communicate lane-closure. In the first empirical study, a proposed redesign of the Lane-Status sign based on principles of warning communication was found to be more effective than the original sign. The same sign was then examined in the context of multiple-message presentation, and significant cost s with respect to the speed and accuracy of responses relative to single-message presentation were found. A subsequent study investigated multiple-message presentation of speed limit information, which is more familiar and widely encountered than lane-closure information. Similar costs for multiple-message presentation were found. However, there were data to suggest that the additional information in multiple-message signs, if used correctly, may offer drivers and additional incentive to reduce speed. The next two studies were concerned with the effects of presentation, content type (e.g., speed-limit, symbolic and text-based) and visual clutter on recognition and visual search for traffic signs. The presentation of information via multiple message signs was compared with spatially distributed single message signs, with information matched with respect to message length and sign content. Overall advantages for multiple message presentation were found for recognition, which were particularly robust for speed limit information. The results for visual search indicated some benefits to multiple message presentation, but were less decisive than those for recognition. The final two studies investigated the possibility of improving response characteristics of single-message signs with sequential, rather then individual presentation. The role of the temporal interval between successive sign presentations was explored, which has implications for the feasibility of sequential presentation in practice. In addition, the nature of sign pairs presented in sequence – identical, or of the same meaning – was found to be important. Generally, benefits to sequential presentation diminished with increases in the temporal separation interval. In terms of practical implications, the viability of introducing the proposed design changes to the Lane Status sign is discussed. The results pertaining to multiple-message sign are evaluated in the context of published design guidelines, and theoretical and practical issues surrounding sequential sign presentation are reviewed. Finally, possibilities for future research, in part based on the limitations of the current work, are expounded.

Traffic signs are ubiquitous in the road environment, and are a crucial and cost-effective means of ensuring traffic safety. In Queensland, Australia, a class of temporary traffic signs is used for roadwork applications, and has recently been expanded to include Multiple-Message Signs: a novel, and as yet empirically untested system, which presents numerous advantages in terms of flexibility and economy. However, potential Human Factors problems surround aspects of the design of multiple message signs. In particular, the efficiency with which information is communication may be compromised relative to single message signs. The project involved a series of laboratory studies focussing on the behavioural requirements of temporary roadworks signs, beginning with the improvement of response characteristics of a sign used to communicate lane-closure. In the first empirical study, a proposed redesign of the Lane-Status sign based on principles of warning communication was found to be more effective than the original sign. The same sign was then examined in the context of multiple-message presentation, and significant cost s with respect to the speed and accuracy of responses relative to single-message presentation were found. A subsequent study investigated multiple-message presentation of speed limit information, which is more familiar and widely encountered than lane-closure information. Similar costs for multiple-message presentation were found. However, there were data to suggest that the additional information in multiple-message signs, if used correctly, may offer drivers and additional incentive to reduce speed. The next two studies were concerned with the effects of presentation, content type (e.g., speed-limit, symbolic and text-based) and visual clutter on recognition and visual search for traffic signs. The presentation of information via multiple message signs was compared with spatially distributed single message signs, with information matched with respect to message length and sign content. Overall advantages for multiple message presentation were found for recognition, which were particularly robust for speed limit information. The results for visual search indicated some benefits to multiple message presentation, but were less decisive than those for recognition. The final two studies investigated the possibility of improving response characteristics of single-message signs with sequential, rather then individual presentation. The role of the temporal interval between successive sign presentations was explored, which has implications for the feasibility of sequential presentation in practice. In addition, the nature of sign pairs presented in sequence – identical, or of the same meaning – was found to be important. Generally, benefits to sequential presentation diminished with increases in the temporal separation interval. In terms of practical implications, the viability of introducing the proposed design changes to the Lane Status sign is discussed. The results pertaining to multiple-message sign are evaluated in the context of published design guidelines, and theoretical and practical issues surrounding sequential sign presentation are reviewed. Finally, possibilities for future research, in part based on the limitations of the current work, are expounded.

Applying the lens of experience, a good life is deemed to be characterized by full absorption in what one does (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2002). In addition, experiencing flow is linked with personal growth (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Therefore, it is not surprising that understanding the optimal experience of flow is considered important. Nonetheless, it is never easy to clearly explain this complex but positive subjective experience. Thus, the present investigation was conducted to provide a clearer conceptualization of flow based on theoretical and empirical grounds to foster understanding of this optimal experience. In order to pursue this primary purpose, the following 3 studies were conducted. The purpose of Study 1 was to develop multidimensional measurement instruments for use with Japanese adults to assess flow experience in physical activity. To this end, the Flow State Scale-2 and Dispositional Flow Scale-2 (FSS-2 and DFS-2) were adapted (translated) from English to Japanese, following the guidelines for test adaptation proposed by Duda and Hayashi (1998) and Tanzer and Sim (1999). Employing a 9-factor 1st-order model, the factorial validity of the Japanese versions of the FSS-2 and DFS-2 (JFSS-2 and JDFS-2) was tested and cross-validated with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Through a multi-staged approach, a series of CFAs were conducted on data from large Japanese samples (preliminary samples: n = 578; calibration samples: n = 975; validation samples: n = 970). In addition to internal consistency reliability for both scales, stability was assessed over a 4- week time period for the JDFS-2. Furthermore, measurement equivalence was examined across Japanese independent samples as well as 2 cultural samples. The findings from this study provided strong support for the validity and reliability of the JFSS-2 and JDFS-2 in assessing flow experiences in physical activity for Japanese adults, and indicated that the Japanese versions of the flow scales are useful instruments for cross-cultural research. The purpose of Study 2 was to examine the internal structure of flow as part of an ongoing process of construct validation of flow responses. A total of 4,175 respondents (Japanese: n = 2,041; English-speaking: n = 2,134) completed one of the Japanese and English versions of the FSS-2 or DFS-2. For the Japanese respondents, data from calibration and validation samples in Study 1 were used. Alternative representations of flow responses were cross-culturally examined by testing 11 alternative 1st- and higher-order CFA models. The CFA findings cross-culturally supported and extended Marsh and Jackson’s (1999) argument that the situational and dispositional flow responses were best represented by the multidimensional 1st-order representation rather than the higher-order representation. Confirming clear support for the 1st-order representation of flow, structural equation models (i.e., a priori and post hoc models) were tested to examine the hypothesis that flow experience is an attentional process of absorption in the task at hand, which generates intrinsically rewarding feelings. Results of both models clearly supported the hypothesis across the 2 large cultural samples. The purposes of Study 3 were to examine the utility of multi-group comparisons with the JFSS-2 and JDFS-2 and to further examine the construct validity of the Japanese flow responses. Data used in Study 3 were identical to the Japanese samples in Study 2 (N = 2,041). Factorial invariance in a 9-factor measurement model was tested for both flow scales for 5 key variables: the quality of physical activity experience, participation level, types of physical activity, gender, and age. Given an adequate level of measurement invariance, factor means were compared across groups for each variable. Furthermore, correlations between a continuous measure of the complexity of flow and the JFSS-2 factors were examined. Invariance of factor loadings and intercepts was achieved for all the key variables. Through factor mean comparisons for the quality of physical activity experience and participation level, the flow group consistently showed higher scores on most situational factors compared with the other groups (i.e., non-flow conditions), and the competitive groups had higher scores on most factors than the recreational groups for both the JFSS-2 and JDFS-2. Moreover, the continuous flow measure was most highly correlated with the situational Challenge-Skill Balance factor, and the pattern of the size of correlations between this continuous flow measure and other situational factors were similar to those between the Challenge-Skill Balance and other JFSS-2 factors. The findings from this study provided evidence that meaningful multi-group comparisons can be made for the key variables examined with the Japanese flow scales, and also further support for the construct validity of the Japanese flow responses. In conclusion, the general conceptualization of flow as an attentional process of absorption in the task at hand, which generates intrinsically rewarding feelings, fosters further understanding of flow experience in physical activity. Furthermore, systematic cross-cultural studies with different adapted versions of the flow scales aid understanding of cultural similarities and differences in flow experience and contribute to further development of flow theory and its application.