Can potentially antisocial or criminal behaviour be predicted? Our study aimed to ascertain (a) whether observers can successfully predict the onset of such behaviour when viewing real recordings from CCTV; (b) where, in the sequence of events, it is possible to make this prediction; and (c) whether there may be a difference between naïve and professional observers. We used 100 sample scenes from UK urban locations. Of these, 18 led to criminal behaviour (fights or vandalism). A further 18 scenes were matched as closely as possible to the crime examples, but did not lead to any crime, and 64 were neutral scenes chosen from a wide variety of noncriminal situations. A signal-detection paradigm was used in conjunction with a 6-point rating scale. Data from fifty naïve and fifty professional observers suggest that (a) observers can distinguish crime sequences from neutral sequences and from matches; (b) there are key types of behaviour (particularly gestures and body position) that allow predictions to be made; (c) the performance of naïve observers is comparable to that of experts. However, because the experts were predominantly male, the absence of an effect of experience may have been due to gender differences, which were investigated in a subsidiary experiment. The results of experiment 2 leave open the possibility that females perform better than males at such tasks.

The development of auditory temporal acuity was studied in 56 children aged 6-12 years and compared with that of 8 adults. Acuity was measured by determining the minimum detectable duration of a brief cessation in a noise band with the 2-alternative forced-choice method. For detection of gaps in a broadband noise, acuity improved significantly with age and reached adult values by 11 years. The minimum detectable duration was significantly shorter at higher levels of the noise. For narrow-band noises, acuity also improved significantly with age and depended on the center frequency of the band. The improvement in temporal acuity with age was attributed to the development of sensory processes and not to age-related changes in nonsensory factors.

The influence of color on flavor was investigated using 310 untrained volunteers who each judged the flavor of 1 of 8 beverages. Artificially flavored raspberry and orange beverages were either left uncolored, or colored red, orange, or green. Color had a significant influence on the identification of both flavors, although every combination of color and flavor was identified correctly beyond the level expected by chance. Performance was degraded equally when beverages were uncolored, and facilitated equally when beverages were appropriately colored. Unusual color-flavor combinations reduced the identification of raspberry flavor more than that of orange flavor. The influence of color was particularly salient because tasters were aware that the color of the beverage might be inappropriate to its flavor.

Electrogustometry is well established as a clinical tool for the estimation of taste detection thresholds. Nevertheless, the user is sometimes unaware of the impact of superficially minor procedural and psychophysical factors upon the reliability and comparability of threshold estimates. The inherent strengths and limitations of the procedure are outlined, and aspects of the control and specification of the stimulus that moderate threshold measures are discussed. In addition, threshold estimates from two individuals with severe unilateral taste loss are used to illustrate the level at which anodal dc current may elicit common, rather than taste, sensation. Where chorda tympani section is complete and historical (older than 7-14 days), very high stimulus levels, conservatively over 5 micro A/mm2 (100 micro A linear current with a 5-mm diameter electrode), are required to activate trigeminal responses.