Denotative and connotative meanings of paintings

In this study the relationships between judgments of paintings denotative and connotative meanings was investigated. Denotative domain was defined as motif (represented object, e.g. portrait, landscape etc.) and message (information carried by paintings, e.g. celebration of patriotism). Connotative domain was defined as subjective experience, i.e. affective or metaphoric impression produced by painting (e.g. feeling of pleasure, impression of dynamics, and so on). In preliminary study the list of 39 motifs was specified empirically. The four dimensions of pictorial message were taken from the previous study (Markovic, 2006): Subjectivism, Ideology, Decoration and Constructivism vs. Realism. The four dimensions of paintings subjective experience were taken from the previous study as well (Radonjic and Markovic, 2005): Regularity, Attraction, Arousal and Relaxation. In Experiment 1 subjects were asked to associate 39 motifs with 18 paintings. In Experiment 2 subjects were asked to judge 24 paintings on four dimensions of pictorial message. Results form Experiment 1 have shown that dimensions of paintings subjective experience were significantly correlated with only five motifs (e.g. everyday life was negatively correlated with Arousal, battle was negatively correlated with Relaxation, and so on). Results from Experiment 2 have shown that Subjectivism and Constructivism are negatively correlated with Regularity, and positively correlated with Arousal. Decoration is negatively correlated with Arousal and positively with Attraction and Relaxation.

Separate effects of background and illumination on lightness

Four experiments attempted to establish an effect of context on lightness. Lightness is one of the dimensions of color and it varies from black to white. Most of our stimuli were inspired by simultaneous lightness contrast illusion. First two experiments contrast the size of an effect produced by the change of background color vs. the change in illumination. The third experiment deals with different type of illusions, where the effect is obtained through the appearance of multiple illumination levels. The last experiment takes into account the ratio of the target and the background. The results reveal the size of effects produced separately by the background color and illumination level and suggest the prime importance of background. Also there are other factors such as reflectance range in the scene, incremental and decremental targets, and 2D vs. 3D representation.

Family as a context for development of formal operations

This paper is focused on the family as a context for development of formal thinking. Parents? mediation and cultural tools in family environment were investigated through relationship between formal thinking and the two basic dimensions of family interaction. Psychological autonomy-giving vs. psychological control and emotional exchange were examined in the context of the family's cultural status. For this purpose, the Scale of parents? mediation means was constructed, inspired by Piaget's concept of formal operations and by Vygotsky?s concept of genetic law. The scale quantifies forms of parent?s behaviors/attitudes towards the child that could serve as mediation means for specific development of formal thinking. The data show: (1) that there is no significant relationship between the two basic dimensions of family interaction and development of formal thinking; and (2) that cultural status of the family and specific parents? mediation are relevant for child's development of formal operations. .

Construction and co-construction in cognitive development

The main goal of the research was to study how children develop new competencies within social interaction with more competent peers and adults. The pretestposttest experimental design was used. In the pretest phase 100 Grade 3 students were assessed by the Raven progressive matrices, and based on the results three equal groups for treatment phase were formed (15 students each). In the treatment phase students from the three groups solved 5 items from the zone of proximal development (ZPD) under three different conditions: collaboratively with a more competent peer, collaboratively with an adult, and individually. The post test included assessment by the Raven test after two months. The qualitative analysis showed that all three groups progressed equally, although students who collaborated with an adult were somewhat more successful with items from the ZPD. The qualitative analysis suggested that new competences are developed in different ways depending on with whom student collaborated. The successful peer interaction was marked by higher degree of symmetrical collaboration including higher level of joint critical thinking, and the successful interaction with an adult was marked by higher level of adult guidance as well as more elaborated task analysis, argumentations, and justifications. Based on the results, it is concluded that: (a) children could develop new competences based on both construction and co-construction mechanisms, and (b) the development of new competences through social interaction depends on the partners and the kind of dialog they build during collaboration. .

Relation between stages of change and motivation in the treatment of psychiatric patients1

Main aim of this research was to investigate the relation between psychiatric patients? motivation for their participation in treatment and a stage of change they were in. Hypothesis on relation quality of examined variables have been defined from the perspective of transtheoretical model created by Prochaska and associates. Decision balance, specific and general self-efficacy and inclination to relapse have been examined as indicators of motivation. One hundred and twenty-nine psychiatric patients with diagnosis of neurosis or personality disorders have been examined in this research. Results have shown that stages of changes are significantly related to inspected motivational variables. Patients in higher stages of readiness express specific motivational profile characterized by the proactive optimism, which means that they rely on their own resources and expect positive outcome of the treatment. Patients in lower stages of readiness express motivational profile characterized by passive resignation receptiveness, by inclination towards demoralization and low trust in their own strength. Results of this research are in conformity with the basic hypothesis of transtheoretical model of change. .

Negative feedback, beliefs and personal goals in prediction of dysfunctional emotions

Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) demonstrates good results in evaluation therapy researches. However, some of its basic concepts, as well as theory as a whole itself, did not receive satisfactory empirical support so far, in comparison to other cognitive models (Beck, Lazarus etc.). Quasiexperimental study was designed to test the role that (1) negative feedback (A) and (2) irrational beliefs (B) both play in formation of dysfunctional negative emotions, in the context of significant personal goals (in our case value of potential award - G). ABC theoretical model received limited support: statistically significant three-times interaction A x B x G was found in predicting general negative emotional state, as well as anger. In contrast with that, ANOVA showed only main effect of irrational beliefs (as continuous variable) to be significant in predicting emotions of anxiety and depression. Findings are discussed in the context of REBT theory of emotions, as well as their possible practical applications. Limitations of the study were also mentioned. .

Valence framing of political preferences and resistance to persuasion

This study tested the "valence framing effect": an assumption that negatively conceptualized attitudes (as opposing the non-preferred alternative) are more resistant to later persuasion attempts. In the experiment we created choice between two political candidates and experimental subjects were led to conceptualize their political preferences in one of two possible ways: either as supporting the preferred candidate or as opposing the non-preferred candidate. The data indicate that negative preferences show less overall change when exposed to counterarguments. This finding can be incorporated in two theoretical frameworks: dual process theories of attitude change (Elaboration likelihood model) and descriptive decision making theories (Prospect theory). Results are discussed for their implications for the efficacy of political communication. .

The structure of the lexical personality descriptors in Serbian language

Two studies, both originating from a larger psycholexical study in Serbian language, are presented here. Two questionnaires, Lexi and PL have been constructed in the psycholexical study. The questionnaires differ by the formulation of their respective items: while the items of the Lexi contain adjectives, the items of the PL are in the form of statements. The first study presented in this paper examines the latent structure of the Lexi questionnaire, while the second one deals with the latent structure of the PL. In both studies, principal component analysis was applied, and the number of components to be retained in the analysis was determined according to the Scree criterion. Also, Promax rotation was applied in both studies. Seven components which were extracted in the first study have been interpreted as Negative Valence, Negative Emotionality, Aggressiveness, Conscientiousness, Positive Emotionality, Positive Valence and Openness to Experience. The content of these dimensions is obviously similar to the dimensions of Tellegen and Waller?s Big Seven model. In the second study, five components were extracted, and interpreted as Sociability, Anxiety, Aggressiveness, Activity and Impulsivity. The content of the dimensions extracted in the second study corresponds with the dimensions of Marvin Zuckerman?s Alternative Five - Factor Model.

Primordialistic concept of national identity in Serbia

Usually, two rivaling concepts of national identity are taken into consideration: primordialism, stemming from the principle that national identity is an unchangeable, unyielding and basic human category, given by birth and colored with irrational feelings; and instrumentalism, claiming that national identity is changeable, fluid and gain producing. This study investigated the dominant concept of national identity in Serbia and was based on two surveys conducted in August 2003 (n = 1004) and August 2006 (n = 1005) on representative samples of eligible voters. Both studies confirmed dominancy of the primordial concept of national identity in contemporary Serbia. Data from the 2006 survey point an even more homogenized primordial concept (defined by a single factor) of national identity relative to the data from the 2003 survey. Primordial concept of national identity suppresses the importance of the state, culture and politics. In times of strong social turbulences, individual is moving away from the socially dependent concept of national identity towards an individualistic, familial concept of national identity. .

Perceptual dimensions of style in paintings

The main purpose of this study is to specify the basic perceptual dimensions underlying the judgments of the physical features which define the style in paintings (e.g. salient form, colorful surface, oval contours etc.). The other aim of the study is to correlate these dimensions with the subjective (affective) dimensions of the experience of paintings. In the preliminary study a set of 25 pairs of elementary perceptual descriptors were empirically specified, and a set of 25 bipolar scales were made (e.g. uncolored-multicolored). In the experiment 30 subjects judged 24 paintings (paintings were taken from the study of Radonjic and Markovic, 2004) on 25 scales. Factor analysis revealed the four factors: form (scales: precise, neat, salient form etc.), color (color contrast, lightness contrast, vivid colors), space (voluminosity, depth and oval contours) and complexity (multicolored, ornate, detailed). Obtained factors reflected the nature of the phenomenological and neural segregation of form, color, depth processing, and partially of complexity processing (e.g. spatial frequency processing within both the form and color subsystem). The aim of the next step of analysis was to specify the correlations between two groups of judgments: (a) mean judgments of 24 paintings on perceptual factors and (b) mean judgments of the same set of 24 paintings on subjective (affective) experience factors, i.e. regularity, attraction, arousal and relaxation (judgments taken from Radonjic and Markovic, 2005). The following significant correlations were obtained: regularity-form, regularity-space, attraction-form and arousal-complexity (negative correlation). The reasons for the unexpected negative correlation between arousal and complexity should be specified in further studies.

Construct validity of multidimensional personality questionnaire (MPQ)

The paper presents two studies aimed at the examination of the factor structure of The Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) and joint factor structure of the scales of MPQ and SPSRQ (The Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire). In the first research conducted on the sample of 1127 participants of both sexes, age 18 to 67, the results of the principal component analysis of the MPQ scales point to the existence of three higher-order dimensions, named General Adaptedness, Psychopathic Tendencies and Negative Emotionality. These dimensions correspond to the dimensions of the Eysenck?s PEN model to the greater extent than they achieve the assumed similarity with the dimensions of the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory. In the second study conducted on the sample of 199 respondents of both sexes, age 18 to 59, the results of the joint principal component analysis of the MPQ and SPSRQ scales point to the existence of three higher order dimensions, which correspond to the Tellegen?s Positive Emotionality, Negative Emotionality, and Constraint. .

Parents’ mediation of formal thinking: A try of operationalization

One possible way of examining parents? mediation of formal thinking has been presented. The specific goal was to construct a scale which represents specific means of parents? mediation that appear in their everyday communication with children. Piaget?s theory i.e. main characteristics of formal operations and concepts from Vygotsky?s paradigm, especially mediation means concept, served as theoretical background for scale constructing. The similarities between final stages of cognitive development within these two approaches have been analyzed. The research was conducted in which Crombach?s alpha was examined as an indicator of scale quality as well as correlation between children?s answers on the scale and their achievement on formal operations test. The most relevant aspects of parents? mediation were extracted and analyzed.

Microgenetic analysis of hidden figures

In this study the phenomenological and processual aspects of the perception of hidden figures were compared. The question was whether the more probable percepts of hidden figures, compared to the less probable percepts, were generated in earlier stages of the perceptual process. In the pilot study the subjects were asked to say what they see in a complex linear pattern. The three most frequent and the three least frequent perceptual descriptions were selected. In the experiment the microgenesis of the perception of hidden figures was investigated. The primed matching paradigm and the same-different task were used. In each experiment two types of test figures were contrasted: the more frequent and the less frequent ones. There were two prime types: identical (equal to test figures) and complex (the pattern with hidden test figures). The prime duration was varied, 50 ms and 400 ms. The main result indicates that in the case of complex priming the more frequent test figures were processed significantly faster than the less frequent ones in both prime duration conditions. These results suggest that the faster the processing of a figure, the more probable the perceptual generation of this figure.

Social distance and stereotypes of Roma at the primary school age

The sample of the research presented in this paper consisted of 575 children age 10 and 11 from four of Novi Sad`s primary school. 58 of them were Roma and the rest were Serbs, Hungarians, Croats, etc. The paper deals with the social distance toward the six ethnic groups (Roma, Serbs, Croats Hungarians, Slovaks and Ruthenians), as well as stereotypes of Roma both in Roma and non-Roma children. Sample has also been divided in two by the criteria of Roma children attending the same classes as the children in the sample or not. The results show that social distance toward the Roma is higher than any other social distance in this sample. Also, we were not able to find any significant differences in this social distance between children who attend the school with the Roma children and those who do not. As could be expected, the auto stereotypes were more positive than the hetero stereotypes.

Structure of aesthetic experience

This study investigated the strructure of aesthetic experience and the relationship of this structure and other dimensions of the subjective judgements of paintings. Aesthetic experinece was defined by nine descriptors selected from relevant literature: fascinating, irresistible, unique, eternal, profound, exceptional, universal, unspeakable, I would like to have this painting. 24 paintings were judged of on nine unipolar seven-step scales that were made of the up-mentioned descriptors. The factor analysis extracted one principal component. Multiple regression has shown weak correlation between aesthetic expirience (averaged nine judgements) and the factors of the subjective judgements of paintings (the factors were measured by the instrument SDS 16; Radonjic & Markovic, 2005). Factor Arousal was a significant predictor of aesthetic experience, but the percent of explained variance was relatively low (circa 23%). The prediction of other factors, Regularity, Atraction and Serenity, was not significant. For the purpose of this analysis we used the data from the previous study (Radonjic and Markovic, 2005). Further regression analyses indicated the role of aesthetic experience in the similarity judgments of paintings: the distributions of the paintings within 2-D and 3-D MDS space were partially explained by the measure of aesthetic experience. The MDS data were taken from the previous study (Radonjic i Markovic, 2004). The results of this study suggest that the aesthetic experience is a unique and relatively independent phenomenon: internally, it is not dividable into components, and externally, it is weakly correlated with the other subjective dimensions.

Conceptual thinking of uneducated adults

The starting point of this paper is Vygotsky's thesis that the prerequisite of conceptual thinking and concepts in general is the systematic influence upon the child effectuated by his/her inclusion into the process of education. The aim of this work is to examine characteristics of conceptual thinking of people who have not attended school, by which they have been devoid of formative role of education. Four different methods for examination of conceptual development have been used on the sample consisting of seventeen respondents who have not attended school. The results state that the majority of respondents have not demonstrated that they master the concepts on the highest level of development in none of these four methods. However, some respondents in some tests and some individual tasks within the tests show some characteristics of the high level of the conceptual thinking development.

Some psychometric characteristics of the Beck's Hopelessness Scale

The study tested reliability and construct validity of Serbian translation of Beck's Hopelessness scale on a sample of patients diagnosed as a depressive, anxious and anxious-depressive disorder. Scale was found to have a high degree of internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.91). Principal component analysis, with Scree-test as the criterion of extraction, provided single factor as the best solution. Hopelessness Scale highly correlated with symptoms of depression, low self-concept and depressive automatic thoughts which the authors interpreted as the confirmation of Beck's theory. The hypothesis that hopelessness is construct specific to depression and not to anxiety is, also, confirmed.

Traumatic experience and the process of reconciliation

The paper present the results of the survey that was designed to examine attitudes towards reconciliation, traumatic experience, as well as some basic values, attitudes and stereotypes in two cities of the former Yugoslavia where the nationalities that were in conflict live together. The survey was conducted on 400 subjects in Vukovar (inhabited by Serbs and Croats) and 400 subjects in Prijedor (Serbs and Bosniaks). The results show that the level of traumatic experience, as a single variable, has no correlation with the readiness for reconciliation. On the other hand, in General Linear Model, best predictors of the readiness for reconciliation were attitudes and values represented by the factors ?Non-Ethnocentric? and Non-Nationalistic/ Xenophobic?. Also, having friends among the ?opposing? nationality and having positive experiences with the members of opposing national groups is highly related to a readiness for reconciliation. Finally, a belief in war crime trials, combined with a readiness to admit the war crimes among its own nationality, was a significant predictor of readiness for reconciliation.

Discriminant possibilities of the Hamilton depression scale: ROC analysis

The purpose of this study is to compare discrimination power of original and reconstructed version of Hamilton?s depression scale in separation of depressive vs. anxious patients and to suggest some possibilities which offer ROC analysis. The subjects of the study were 119 patients of Psychiatric clinic in Novi Sad. 67 of them were diagnosed with some of the forms of affective disorders and 52 with an anxious-phobic diagnosis. Results of ROC analysis suggest that both instruments can be used in distinguishing depressive from anxious patients, but reconstructed version shows greater sensitivity and specificity with optimal cut-off score. It also has more significant AUC, which refers to probability of prediction on the basis of the whole spectrum of the results. These data is commented in relation with current debates, between unitaristic and pluralistic oriented authors, about the nature of the anxious-depression relationship.

Cognitive content structure of anxious and depressive patients

There were three aims of the study: to determine psychometric properties of Serbian translation of Beck's Cognition Check List, to analyze factor structure of both subscales of Check List and to check the relationship among determined dimensions of the subscales. Patients with depressive anxiety and mixed diagnoses participated. Results suggest that subscale of depressive cognitions is of satisfactory reliability and both concurrent and divergent validity. Subscale of anxious cognitions has satisfactory internal consistency, but is weakly correlated with anxiety symptoms and is not discriminatively valid. Principal components analysis of depressive cognitions subscale yielded three factors that corresponded to the elements of Beck's "Negative Cognitive Triad". Analysis of anxious subscale did not provided dimensions hypothesized by Beck, but three dimensions, which correspond to three groups of anxious symptoms, where identified. Results indicate possibility of applying Beck?s Content Specificity Hypothesis on separation of specific anxiety or phobic disorders.

Relation between European and national identity and rigidity as a personality trait

The research presented in this paper is a part of the project ?Condition, Factors and Development of European Identity in Serbia and Montenegro?, which started in 2002 with the financial support of the Ministry for Science and Protection of Environment of the Republic of Serbia. The research studied the relation between certain kinds of social identity ( European, i.e. national identity ) on the one hand, and the degree of rigidity of the subjects on the other. The sample consisted of 2685 inhabitants of Serbia and Montenegro, of both sexes, different levels of education and 18 to 43 years old. European, i.e. national identity was measured with the questionnaire EUROID2002, which consisted of 36 items related to different aspects of social identity. Factor analysis singled out five factors of social identity: pro-European orientation, advocating the preservation of national identity, confronting traditional values and technological civilization, globalization as a threatening factor for small and poor nations, and exclusive national attachment. Rigidity of the subjects was determined with the application of the RG-2 questionnaire which consists of 30 items related to the rigidity of thought in various life situations. Factor analysis singled out two factors of rigidity: rigidity toward oneself and others, as well as rigidity in one?s life habits. The relation between social identity and rigidity was determined with the technique of canonical analysis. Two significant canonical roots were singled out: the first canonical root includes two aspects of rigidity which were positively related to the factors implying a strongly pronounced national identity ( advocating the preservation of national identity and exclusive national attachment ). The second canonical root indicates a positive relation between rigidity in life habits and traditional standpoints and fear of globalization.

Assertiveness training: Effects of treatment, maintenance of change and therapists' contribution in therapy outcome

In this research is shown part of results concerning evaluation study of group assertiveness training. Treatment, which has been organized as structured program of assertiveness training, has been applied on 18 groups of subjects during 9 group sessions. This treatment has been adjusted to non-psychiatric clients from our country. Groups were lead by two therapists. During 20 months of our research 215 voluntary participants of full age have joined training groups. Final sample consisted of 158 subjects who had finished treatment and who had fulfilled criteria for taking repeated measurement. Subjects had taken battery of questionnaires before the treatment and eight weeks after they had completed treatment. Subsample, which included 35 subjects from one therapist?s groups, took retest after twice longer time period. Results of conducted research have confirmed the hypothesis concerning the potentiality of assertiveness training to produce expected and significant improvements of treated subjects. Therapy effect is found on symptomatic level through reduction of symptoms of non-assertive behaviors, which were target of the treatment. Contrary to expectation interactive effect of treatment and therapist to reduction of symptoms of non-assertive behavior has been found, which implies need for further investigation of variables that are related to therapists. Through the medium of treatment therapeutic changes in structural level, in domain of general assertiveness, social anxiety and treated subjects' self-concept are produced. The effect of therapy we might consider stabled and maintained after 16 weeks of finishing the treatment.

Typological approach to the dimensions of evaluating others

This study examined the latent structure of interpersonal evaluation space from both dimensional and typological points of view, considering typological approach to be a complement of the dimensional. The Interpersonal Evaluation Questionnaire (containing 72 items, with 5-degree Likert scales, measuring the desirability of behaviour and personal characteristics of other people) was administered to the sample of 398 respondents of both sexes, aged 15 - 61. According to the Scree criterion, 8 principal components were extracted, which were interpreted as communicativeness, good manners, aggressiveness, self - love, leadership, kindness, reserve and intrusiveness. Second-order analysis singled out two factors, the first one representing the evaluation of the characteristics usually perceived as positive in social interaction, and the second one representing the evaluation of characteristics which make communication between equals difficult. Although the dimensions of interpersonal evaluation do not fit the circumplex structure, their content is similar to the content of Wiggins' dimensions. Using Ward's method of hierarchical cluster analysis, assuming that the evaluation of others reflects both basic personality structure and the characteristic pattern of personality processes, three prototypical personality organizations were identified: the group oriented towards power, the group oriented towards affiliation and the hostile group. The differences between the results of this study and the results obtained by self - estimation were determined by the evaluative nature of the process of estimating others.

Difference between the attitudes towards minority groups among parents and their children

The aim of this research is to establish if there are differences between discrimination attitudes of parents and their children towards various marginal groups (the Chinese, Roma, the rich, the poor, persons of different sex, disabled persons). 849 persons were examined in this research: 310 of children and 539 of parents. The questionnaire of identical form for parents and their children was used to examine these discrimination attitudes. The questionnaire contains the open-type questions and it is the part of questionnaire used in the investigation project of wider range. Independent estimators in the scale from 1 to 6 quantified these qualitative results obtained on the basis of open-type questions, by determine the intensity of these attitudes (in negative direction). So-called Canonical discrimination analysis was used, out of statistical methods. The obtained results show that parents and their children statistically differ significantly in discrimination attitudes towards the Chinese, male persons and disabled persons. Children express discrimination attitudes towards male sex and towards disabled persons, but do not have considerable discrimination attitudes towards the Chinese, but parents express discrimination attitudes towards the Chinese, but do not have considerable discrimination attitudes towards the male sex and towards disabled persons.

The effects of the personality traits and positive and negative feedback on the perceived self-efficacy

The main purpose of this study was to determine the relation between the self-efficacy, feedback and personality traits. The participants were 114 psychology students attending their first and third year from the University of Novi Sad. In the first part of the research, all subjects completed The NEO-PI-R (Costa and McCrae, 1992.). In the second phase the subjects were asked to create a short measurement scale. Before and after this task, as well as after the given feedback, the students completed The Self-efficacy Questionnaire (Terry, 1995). The feedback was the criterion to divide subjects into three groups: the first group received the positive, the second negative, and third group received no feedback. Criteria variables in the MANCOVA (repeated measures) were the estimated success, difficulty and ability to perform the task in the three stages of measurement. Predictor variables were the type of the feedback and the personality traits, as covariates. The results suggest that before feedback, the impact of traits on the self-efficacy was significant. But after received feedback, self-efficacy was related to the type of received feedback only. These results showed that self-efficacy was significantly influenced both by personality traits and feedback context.

Types of geometrical transformations and perceptual similarity of figures

In this study it was investigated which of several types of geometrical transformations emerge as dominant principle in grouping forms. It was assumed that forms which have more similar features would be grouped together more often. The stimuli consisted of basic form (O) and it?s transformation: (T1) rotation; (T2) projection onto horizontal plane; (T3) projection onto vertical plane; (T4) stretching and (T5) twisting. There were two groups of stimuli: (G1) asymmetrical planes and (G2) linear patterns. Stimuli varied in complexity (i.e. number of lines they contain): (S1) four; (S2) five and (S3) six.The sets of stimuli were created given by formula O-Tm-Tn. Subjects were asked to choose which of the stimuli from the set doesn?t go along with others. Results showed that the stimuli would be grouped together more often if they had more common features. These results were obtained for both groups of stimuli and all levels of complexity.

Contribution to assessment of effects of Rational emotive behaviour therapy

Three main problems dealt with in this study are the following: 1. what effects attain REBT in 6 sessions in treating clients with various psychopathology?; 2. Does the level of training and experience of therapists play any role in REBT intervention outcomes?; 3. Does the sex of clients play any role in REBT intervention outcome? ANOVA showed that REBT was effective with most number of clients demonstrating statistically significant improvements on a third measurement comparing with the first one; also, very small number of clients responded negatively to the treatment, showing stagnation or intensifying of symptoms. Thus we conclude that REBT can be effective in treating clients with various psychopathologies. T-test also showed that more experienced therapists were statistically significantly more effective than less experienced in one out of four measures. The treatment was equally effective to clients of both sexes. This study was conducted in naturalistic conditions with certain flaws and limitations; future controlled evaluations are more than welcome.

Stability of aesthetic preference of object position on pictures

The aim of this work is is to give answers to question is aesthetic preference of object position on pictures stabile, or is there a change of aesthetic preference with increase of number of objects and with the change of picture orientation (horizontal-vertical). In conducted experiments subjects had a task to put one, two or three circles on three different shapes of backgrounds (square, golden rectangle, rectangle), in such way that given configuration is the most beautiful one in their own opinion. In some experiments backgrounds were observed horizontaly, and in other verticaly. When the backgrounds were horizontal, aesthetic preference of golden section position did not change with increase of the number of circles. When the backgrounds were vertical golden section position was prefered one in cases with one and two circles, while in the experiment with three circles aesthetic preference of golden section position decreased. In most situations circles were ordered on backgrounds in such way to balance each other. Distance between two circles on same shapes of backgrounds, on repeated situations, is relativly constant in both orientations of backgrounds.

Microgenetic analysis of transparency perception

In this study the microgenesis of transparency perception was investigated. Two intersecting squares were used as a basic stimulus model. Three surfaces was defined: surface which had the shape of capital Greek letter gamma, surface which had the shape of mirrored L and the little square nested between gamma and L. The gray levels of these surfaces were varied, whereas the background was constantly black. The gray levels variation can produce either transparency, spotlight or mosaic perception. All three categories can be described both locally (three juxtaposed surfaces) and globally (two overlapping squares). The primed matching paradigm and the same-different task were used. The global (squares) and the local (gammas or mirrored Ls) test stimuli were given as same or different pairs. There were the two prime types: identical (equal to test stimuli) and perceptual (related to the transparency, spotlight or mosaic). Prime duration were 50 ms and 400 ms, and the ISI was 30 ms. Ten subjects were asked to respond whether the test stimuli are same or different. The main result indicate that the difference in RT between perceptually primed global and local test stimuli is highly significant in both prime duration conditions and for transparency and spotlight patterns, and is marginally significant for mosaic patterns. The difference was such that the global tests were processed faster than the local tests. These results suggest that complex perceptual descriptions (transparency and the spotlight) are generated very early in the perceptual process (50 ms).

Depth perception induced by mobile configurations

Depth perception is one of the oldest and most intriguing problems in visual perception. This paper presents four sets of experiments in which the depth effect is induced by motion. Geometrical model depicting amodal percept, created by two mobile dots, was tested in the first two sets of experiments. The dots were presented on a CRT screen and the percept was quantified. The length and the angle of inclination were measured. Four factors were varied in the experiments: 1) length of an amodal rod, 2) its angle of inclination, 3) shape of the rod?s paths and 4) angle of inclination of the plains which contained the paths. All of the factors were statistically significant confirming proposed geometrical model. A full mobile line was a stimulus in the other two sets of experiments. The end points of the line moved on the same paths as the mobile dots from the first two sets of experiments. According to geometry the line should not provide more information than the mobile dots. Nevertheless perceptually the line and the dots were not identical: there was a significant difference on all four varied factors. Consequently the geometrical model can not be applied to this type of stimuli.

Processing of inflected adjectives

Processing of inflected Serbian verbs was investigated in two lexical decision experiments. Specifically, the following issues were addressed: a. does the adjectival system contain syntactic functions and meanings, and b. are adjectival gender and case cognitively relevant properties. Each of the above issues could be expressed in terms of alternative equations that generate the amount of information carried by inflected form of an adjective. The informational values were correlated with mean reaction time to inflected adjectival forms. The outcome of the two experiments indicated that number of syntactic functions/meanings is the obligatory term in the equation that generates the amount of information carried by an adjectival inflected form. However, unlike nouns, where the amount information was specified in terms of ratio between a. sum of frequencies of inflected cases encompassed by a given inflected form and b. sum of its functions/ meanings, equation for adjectives includes sum of frequency by number of syntactic functions/meanings ratios for cases encompassed by a given inflected adjectival form. This, on the other hand, suggests that cognitive system when processing inflected adjectives is to some extent sensitive to adjectival case. It was also demonstrated that cognitive system is not sensitive to adjective gender.

Ethnic distance in primary school children and their parents

This paper aims to answer whether an ethnic distance in young children, age 11-12 (third and fourth year of primary school)s, as well as if their parents can be determined and what are the levels of that distance. Main techniques used were Bogardus` scale of social distance (somewhat modified for the children) and a questionnaire for the parents dealing with some aspects of knowledge about the culture. Results show that levels of ethnic distance are much higher in children, but also that this problem can be dealt with and in that spirit some directions on how to prevent the development of this distance were also given.