F Bedford

Volunteer

Contact

(520) 404-2669
PSYCHOLOGY, Rm. 312
TUCSON, AZ 85721-0068
bedford@arizona.edu

Awards

Continued Listing in 2008

What type of organization made the award?: Whos Who in America (Marquis);, Fall 2008

Continued listing in 2008

What type of organization made the award?: Who's Who in American Women ;, Fall 2008

Expert Witness Panel

What type of organization made the award?: City of New York (Assigned Counsel Plan);Description: Invited in January 2008 to join the Expert Eyewitness Identification Panel for the City of New York. ;, Fall 2008

Invitation to write encyclopedia entry

What type of organization made the award?: (not an award, but an honor);Description: Invited in Fall 2008 to write the entry for the McCollough Effect for Encyclopedia of the Mind,Hal Paschler, editor. (Declined because it occurred at the same time the virtual course had to be written.) Also more generic invite to write for Salem Press, in Psychoolgy and Mental Health. ;, Fall 2008

Leicester and Kathryn Sherrill Creative Teaching Award

University of Arizona;Description: I was nominated again in 2008 for this award. I was announced as the winner of the award in March 2009. Below is the statement of Teaching Philosophy that I wrote as part of the nomination process in 2008. --------------------------------------------------November 2008I have taught over 7000 students at the University of Arizona! I believe there are few events more powerful than one person causing another to understand an idea. If I had to summarize my philosophy of teaching in one sentence, it would be as follows. My goal is to get students to lead a life of the mind. This is true regardless of whether they pursue psychology or not and regardless of the kind of future they choose or chooses them. I want to teach them to value ideas. I want them to discover the sheer joy and the aesthetic value of beautiful ideas and the intense satisfaction that comes from solving a problem- and knowing without anyone telling you that you got it right. I want them to have the benefit of the permanent self-transformation that occurs when one acquires a thirst for knowledge. I want them to understand the seemingly confusing points (especially for freshman) that I am not there to give them "facts" about a field, that there are no unchangeable facts and that even a false idea can be as important as one more in line with (what we think to be) the truth. I want them to see that the ability to acquire knowledge, teach oneself, and above else think deeply, is a comfort and freedom they will have through financial problems, divorces, losses, and other unexpected life events. It's as certain as death and taxes. There's room in the tower for everyone, if I can just get them to buy a ticket (if you'll excuse all the mixed metaphors).I describe a lot of my sneaky methods I use in my Perceptual Learning class for junors and seniors in the other statement, so I'll focus here on how I can convey my philosophy to introductory students who enter with little knowledge of what study of the mind is really about. I try to teach students to question, criticize and challenge from the beginning, before they have a chance to accept established frameworks as fact. Introducing students to a discipline for the first time is an underrated task, and one I take very seriously. I first learned to value the intro course at Penn (University of Pennsylvania), where it was held in high esteem. Only a few individuals were able to teach all the different topics ranging from obedience to olfaction, including my mentor Henry Gleitman, and it was considered an honor to be allowed to do so. I committed myself to investing in this course and working on it as often as possible. I will stop at almost nothing to get students to think. One approach I've taken is to encourage students to see connections between the classroom and the â€śreal worldâ€ť, even in their very first course. For example, I simply have the students bring infants and children into the classroom when we discuss child development in Indv 101/Psych 101. It's fine to lecture to students about theories of â€śobject permanence,â€ť but it makes this knowledge real and immediate when you show them that an actual live baby will not search for an object that is hidden from her view. Another example concerns a famous experiment known as the â€śvisual cliff.â€ť Freshman hearing about this experiment, which demonstrates that even young mammals without experience can detect sudden changes in depth, tend to fixate on the complexities of the equipment used in the experiment. They realize its simplicity and importance only when we bring in actual kittens and puppies and see that they do not walk off the elevated stage. Both the students and myself bring in therapy dogs and other trained animals to illustrate principles of Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning, rather than just lecture at them. One final example I'll mention from Intro is that I have staged a robbery that would have made Oprah Winfrey proud. I later showed everyone how the witness statements I collected contradicted each other (see the teaching documentation and methods section for more information.) Such real-life activities prompt students to really think about what they are learning.Part of my teaching philosophy is that students rise to challenges. Consequently, I struggle not to sacrifice the rigor of my courses in exchange for fewer complaints or to save time. This appears to be especially difficult in general education, where students have a preconceived notion that such courses should be exceptionally easy.Despite this, the feedback has been very positive and indeed very rewarding, which makes me want to continue. If I had to pick only one story as my favorite, I'd say it was the one most out of context and unexpected. I received a letter about a city parking ticket (parking, not speeding), which I had evidently overpaid. The letter was clearly a form letter several paragraphs in length. As I was reading, about two thirds of the way down, one of the sentences said he had taken Intro Psych with me several years back. It was anomalous, as if the television set suddenly started taking to you. I did a double take and kept reading. He went on to thank me and say he had always wanted to tell me how much he had liked the class. The letter then reverted back in the very same paragraph to government speak with instructions about how to get a refund - we now return you to regularly scheduled programming. "I had intro Psych with you. That class was so cool". Out of nowhere comments pop up from lawyers, department store clerks (once when I asked someone for directions to the bathroom after a particularly long hike...), waiters, drug company reps, and all sorts of other things my students have become. I really like discovering my former students out in the community and running into them unexpectedly. They are now the public, in all manners of life - and I got to teach them Psychology. Another approach I use is to make sure that students take an active role in their own learning. For instance, in my upper division classes I devised an exercise where some students had to pretend they had something wrong with their vision, audition, or touch, and others had to figure out the nature of the perceptual problem. Not only did students learn to use terms such as blindsight as if they were second nature, but they learned deep, complex points including how easy it would be to jump to conclusions about the nature of brain damage and how the mind breaks into its component parts. In the section on teaching documentation and methods, I provide more information on this project as well as quite a few other unusual techniques I have established in my upper division courses. I believe that active learning is successful because it often requires that students impose their own intellectual structure on the information we give them, so that they feel like they've thought of it themselves. That is, I have gradually come to realize as an instructor that students need to feel like they've â€śdone it on their ownâ€ť before they truly incorporate new knowledge and effect a change in their understanding. That may be one reason why it's only years later that we can recognize the influence of professors and other significant individuals on our lives. I know in my own life, this has proven to be true. I grew up in a 1-bedroom 4th floor walkup apartment in Brooklyn shared with my mother and brother, with our income well below the poverty line. In addition to stressing education and self confidence, my mother - who did not graduate high school - gave me math problems to do in my head when I was 3 or 4 years old, which I loved. Even now, with the benefits of my education, I have to correct myself when I think: â€śHow amazing that she knew how much I would love math!â€ť and instead wonder just how much of my love of math is owed to my mother. Unraveling the effects of education takes time and wisdom on both ends. It is no different with our students.I pride myself on teaching at all levels of the curriculum, from freshman through graduate student, with class sizes ranging from 8 students to 500+ students, both in and outside the classroom. I am a generalist and believe research, service and teaching can all be intertwined at every level. I also recently proposed two new courses that were approved on perceptual learning and adaptation, one for undergraduate students and one for graduate students. In addition, in the last 3 years I developed a lab class, which I first taught as an honors seminar, but then allowed in non-honors students and now exclusively offer it to "ordinary" psychology majors. As I discuss further in the section on teaching documentation and methods, in that class, I get undergraduates to design, conduct, and present their own novel, carefully designed studies which would actually be a contribution to the field of psychology if published. Feedback from students has been quite positive and many have told me this is the only opportunity they have been given to do their own research or often any research at all. (More feedback shown in the Evaluation section). Challenges I have faced and have tried to solve have ranged from very simple to quite complex. On the simple end for instance, years ago, a student wrote on the â€śimprovement' side of the evaluation comment form that there was no point in writing on the board if they couldn't read it. I realized that he/she had a point; I have atrocious handwriting. My efforts to improve met with only partial success. Increased use of handouts and PowerPoint has helped, but there is often no substitute for the kind of immediate interaction that occurs with whiteboard writing. I recently hit upon a creative solution: I asked a student in the class to come up and write on the board. I picked someone from the back of the room who usually does not participate. When I commented to him in front of the class that he had nice large handwriting, he responded equally amiably that it was hard to read from the back of the room unless the writing was very large. But what pleased me most is that not only did the rest of the class actually get to read the board, but this particular student then actually participated in the intellectual discussion, which he had never done before. While I consider myself an accomplished and talented educator, my teaching style has not been able to reach everyone. One of my more complex classroom challenges has been to overcome a tendency to focus on the â€śAâ€ť students. There are so many students that it is easy to automatically dismiss the ones that don't seem to me to be trying, or those who skip classes, don't participate, and as a result are getting C's or worse. I have always figured that I just can't help those students until they decide they really want to be there. Recently, however, I have been exploring this challenge. Consider one student from a recent class. In the course of talking to this young woman, who barely got a C on the exam, and letting her know she needed to make up a missing assignment, I suggested that she do a short presentation on a research article. I was not surprised when she was reluctant; many students are loath to speak to crowds. But rather than dismiss it, I pursued why; in the course of the conversation, I learned she was a theatre arts minor! How can anyone who is a theater arts minor, I asked her, be reluctant to talk to the class for 5 minutes? She said that that's different, because in theatre â€śit's made upâ€ť. I'm not sure if she or I or a student who was watching was more stunned when I came up with an odd assignment: I told her to write a haiku on perceptual learning and present it to the class. A week later, I let this student present, not knowing what to expect. I held my breath, and she ended up presenting 2 original haikus. I haven't a clue if they were good. But she got applause from the class, and she was smiling. After that, she participated in discussions and smiled at me as if we share a secret. I am always conceiving and trying new approaches, as well as developing new content material. It is in this way that teaching for me continues to be exciting and rewarding. I keep up the excitement in myself, and somehow I find that students also detect this. In fact, after having taught the 550-person intro Psych class at least 15 times, I felt the course had gone stale. So I took a break from it. I won't teach something if I am myself not enthusiastic about it, even if it's easy to teach the same thing over again. I'm pleased to say I asked to teach it again for Spring 2008 and Spring 2009, and am excited that I have new material and perspective to share. I used to think that the way to teach a course was to invest a lot in developing the perfect course -well organized, perfectly presented, every question answered - and then repeat it many times with just occasional tweaks for currency. Then I realized that, if anything, the opposite approach was better. The course has to change constantly with the instructor with lots of turnover - it's alive, just like the instructor.So why do I work so hard to get students to get students to lead a life of the mind? I want co-conspirators. I want a world with like-minded individuals. I want to enjoy a great conversation both with the waiter that brings me coffee and the lawyer that fights my parking tickets. I mentioned that it's powerful to get another person to understand an idea. It's more powerful than people realize, more powerful than telling armies of people what to do. If understanding ideas is satisfying, watching someone else understand an idea the instant they go from not knowing to knowing is satisfying on a whole other level: meta-satisfying, or perhaps mega satisfying. It's an immense rush. So my reasons are selfish. (OK, I do also want to give back to a community that has helped me). But it's a good selfish because it benefits everyone. Finally, I want to return to the point out that while I am not above theatrics, my classes are quite difficult and I have not compromised my standards. This is challenging in my upper division classes as well because the material I tend to teach - such as the inner workings of vision - is fairly esoteric and not the sort of subject matter that the majority of Psychology students are drawn to. Our courses are divided into two halves of the curriculum, Cognitive and Neural Systems (CNS) and Individual and Social Processes (ISP) Students mostly choose ISP courses which include social Psych, divorce, death and loss, sexuality, and abnormal Psych. Courses from the CNS area get lower ratings and many students in these courses are "just" filling distribution requirements. You can't mess up too badly to make Human Sexuality interesting, but getting Perception (CNS) to be sexy is a creative accomplishment indeed. I think that is exactly what I have done. My numerical ratings are decent (top compared to other CNS courses) and they are higher in small classes than in my big 500-person class. I once sought out the highest rated 500+ section and eagerly attended two of the lectures. I was hoping to snatch away their methods and use them in my own class. I was very disappointed; I just would not want to give that kind of class. So I focus now on other types of feedback besides numbers. Feedback comes from letters from parking ticket officials, email messages, gossip in the hallways, students volunteering, inspiring changes in career plans, watching students transform - and sometimes not even hearing until years later that they realized you were great! I knew a great teacher once, towards the end of his academic career. He had an astonishingly large number of students that became successful over the years, both undergraduate and graduate, within psychology and outside of the field. Everyone wanted to know his secret. I talked to a number of his former students and asked them what they remembered about working with Dick S. An unexpected response that I got, on more than one occasion, was that the funny thing is, they remember working all by themselves, with little input from Dick. I think ultimately, no one knows what makes a great teacher. Sometimes, years later, a teacher discovers that he has made a difference. But perhaps the greatest accomplishment is really when the student never becomes aware that great teaching has taken place. ;Total Dollar Amount of Award: 2500;, Spring 2008

Continued Listing

What type of organization made the award?: Whos Who in America (Marquis);, Fall 2007

Continued listing

What type of organization made the award?: Who's Who in American Women ;, Fall 2007

Reaserch discussed at conference

What type of organization made the award?: Philosohper/Philosophy conference;Description: I was contacted by Charles Wallis to let me know tht my research would be discussed at a Philosophy conference and to get further clarifictaion. Paper by Willis: "Comments on Jacobson's 'Properly Functioning Vision: On Block and Noe', american Philosophical Society, 2007. It suggests the far reaching impact of my research. My work discussed included the contraint "one object can only be in one place at one time", how prism adaptation really occurs, and the role of conscious awareness in adaptation.;, Fall 2007

Visiting Scholar

What type of organization made the award?: University;Description: Invited to officially be a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania if desired while I was on medical leave.;, Fall 2007

nominated for Leicester and Kathryn Sherrill Creative Teaching Award

University of Arizona;Description: Please note this is a nomintion only. I hve not heard yet whether or not I received the award. Nomination packet went forawrd in November 2007. What follows is the nomintaion letter from the packet. Putting the packet forward required my sking for 9 letters of reference and writing assorted statements.--------------------------------------------------November 3, 2007Dear Committee, I nominate Dr. Felice Bedford for the Leicester and Kathryn Sherrill Creative Teaching Award because of her innovative teaching techniques and care for teaching. I was an undergraduate student in Dr. Bedford's Perceptual Learning class in the Spring semester of 2005. It is by far the most creative and engaging psychology class I have taken. Dr. Bedford approached abstract topics with clear illustrative examples and always answered questions well. The perception of time is far from intuitive, but Dr. Bedford showed us how changeable time perception can be using illustrative research experiments. Her enthusiasm for the subject of perceptual learning was contagious as she engaged us with her intimate understanding of the topics. Her use of current, original research papers to illustrate concepts gave the class a contemporary and cutting-edge feel. Dr. Bedford taught us how to distill the most important information from research articles and how to critically evaluate experimental design. I have not had a class that better incorporates the use of current research or better illustrates experimental design. Dr. Bedford's creative approaches to the topics she taught inspired creativity in the students. Often, she would have us work in groups to brainstorm alternative hypotheses to test. The most memorable was when Dr. Bedford asked students to come up with experiments to test different concepts in body schema and tool use. Every group came up with interesting ideas; some could realistically be tested in the laboratory and advance the scientific understanding of body schema. These brainstorming sessions made concepts come alive and imbibed the students with confidence in our ability to conduct real science. Throughout the class, Dr. Bedford's innovative techniques taught us that science could be approached creatively. Dr. Bedford has been an encouraging mentor to me for the past two years. In class, she showed a genuine interest in all of her students. It was natural for me to form a mentor relationship with Dr. Bedford. I have often had conversations with her about my research interests and my desire to go to medical school. Although my interests lie outside of psychology, Dr. Bedford has always been eager to speak with me about my career path. She has gone out her way to support and encourage my studies. She even remembered the date of my MCAT exam and emailed me to wish me luck that day. Dr. Bedford's support has been instrumental in my development throughout school. I know that she will continue to be supportive throughout my professional development as well. Dr. Bedford also supported me in an independent research project for a year. She was an excellent mentor in my project as well. I learned how to design an experiment, run it, and analyze the data. Dr. Bedford allowed me to have creative freedom throughout the entire process and treated me with the respect of a colleague. Any questions I had were immediately answered no matter how busy she was. My research experience with Dr. Bedford equipped me with confidence in my ability to conduct independent research. I presented a poster of the project at the Association for Psychological Science convention in New York City. Dr. Bedford continues to be an excellent mentor to me as I write the procedures section of a paper to submit for publication. I have taken many courses at the University of Arizona through my double degrees in Psychology and Molecular and Cellular Biology. No other class has engaged me as creatively or illustrated science better than Dr. Felice Bedford's Perceptual Learning class. Dr. Bedford is also the most supportive mentor I have had. No other research advisor I have had at the University of Arizona has invested so much time or care in my project as Dr. Bedford. I strongly feel that Dr. Bedford deserves an award for creative teaching.Sincerely,Melissa Panagos;, Spring 2007

Interests

No activities entered.

Courses

No activities entered.

Scholarly Contributions

Journals/Publications

Bedford, F. L. (2012). A perception theory in mind-body medicine: Guided imagery and mindful meditation as cross-modal adaptation. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 19(1), 24-45.
More info
PMID: 22065424;Abstract: A new theory of mind-body interaction in healing is proposed based on considerations from the field of perception. It is suggested that the combined effect of visual imagery and mindful meditation on physical healing is simply another example of cross-modal adaptation in perception, much like adaptation to prism-displaced vision. It is argued that psychological interventions produce a conflict between the perceptual modalities of the immune system and vision (or touch), which leads to change in the immune system in order to realign the modalities. It is argued that mind-body interactions do not exist because of higher-order cognitive thoughts or beliefs influencing the body, but instead result from ordinary interactions between lower-level perceptual modalities that function to detect when sensory systems have made an error. The theory helps explain why certain illnesses may be more amenable to mind-body interaction, such as autoimmune conditions in which a sensory system (the immune system) has made an error. It also renders sensible erroneous changes, such as those brought about by "faith healers," as conflicts between modalities that are resolved in favor of the wrong modality. The present view provides one of very few psychological theories of how guided imagery and mindfulness meditation bring about positive physical change. Also discussed are issues of self versus non-self, pain, cancer, body schema, attention, consciousness, and, importantly, developing the concept that the immune system is a rightful perceptual modality. Recognizing mind-body healing as perceptual cross-modal adaptation implies that a century of cross-modal perception research is applicable to the immune system. © 2011 Psychonomic Society, Inc.
Bedford, F. L. (2012). Sephardic signature in haplogroup T mitochondrial DNA. European Journal of Human Genetics, 20(4), 441-448.
More info
PMID: 22108605;PMCID: PMC3306851;Abstract: A rare combination of mutations within mitochondrial DNA subhaplogroup T2e is identified as affiliated with Sephardic Jews, a group that has received relatively little attention. Four investigations were pursued: Search of the motif in 250 000 control region records across 8 databases, comparison of frequencies of T subhaplogroups (T1, T2b, T2c, T2e, T4, T*) across 11 diverse populations, creation of a phylogenic median-joining network from public T2e control region entries, and analysis of one Sephardic mitochondrial full genomic sequence with the motif. It was found that the rare motif belonged only to Sephardic descendents (Turkey, Bulgaria), to inhabitants of North American regions known for secret Spanish-Jewish colonization, or were consistent with Sephardic ancestry. The incidence of subhaplogroup T2e decreased from the Western Arabian Peninsula to Italy to Spain and into Western Europe. The ratio of sister subhaplogroups T2e to T2b was found to vary 40-fold across populations from a low in the British Isles to a high in Saudi Arabia with the ratio in Sephardim more similar to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Italy than to hosts Spain and Portugal. Coding region mutations of 2308G and 14499T may locate the Sephardic signature within T2e, but additional samples and reworking of current T2e phylogenetic branch structure is needed. The Sephardic Turkish community has a less pronounced founder effect than some Ashkenazi groups considered singly (eg, Polish), but other comparisons of interest await comparable averaging. Registries of signatures will benefit the study of populations with a large number of smaller-size founders. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved.
Bedford, F., & Bedford, F. L. (2012). A perception theory in mind-body medicine: guided imagery and mindful meditation as cross-modal adaptation. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 19(1).
More info
A new theory of mind-body interaction in healing is proposed based on considerations from the field of perception. It is suggested that the combined effect of visual imagery and mindful meditation on physical healing is simply another example of cross-modal adaptation in perception, much like adaptation to prism-displaced vision. It is argued that psychological interventions produce a conflict between the perceptual modalities of the immune system and vision (or touch), which leads to change in the immune system in order to realign the modalities. It is argued that mind-body interactions do not exist because of higher-order cognitive thoughts or beliefs influencing the body, but instead result from ordinary interactions between lower-level perceptual modalities that function to detect when sensory systems have made an error. The theory helps explain why certain illnesses may be more amenable to mind-body interaction, such as autoimmune conditions in which a sensory system (the immune system) has made an error. It also renders sensible erroneous changes, such as those brought about by "faith healers," as conflicts between modalities that are resolved in favor of the wrong modality. The present view provides one of very few psychological theories of how guided imagery and mindfulness meditation bring about positive physical change. Also discussed are issues of self versus non-self, pain, cancer, body schema, attention, consciousness, and, importantly, developing the concept that the immune system is a rightful perceptual modality. Recognizing mind-body healing as perceptual cross-modal adaptation implies that a century of cross-modal perception research is applicable to the immune system.
Bedford, F., & Bedford, F. L. (2012). Sephardic signature in haplogroup T mitochondrial DNA. European journal of human genetics : EJHG, 20(4).
More info
A rare combination of mutations within mitochondrial DNA subhaplogroup T2e is identified as affiliated with Sephardic Jews, a group that has received relatively little attention. Four investigations were pursued: Search of the motif in 250 000 control region records across 8 databases, comparison of frequencies of T subhaplogroups (T1, T2b, T2c, T2e, T4, T(*)) across 11 diverse populations, creation of a phylogenic median-joining network from public T2e control region entries, and analysis of one Sephardic mitochondrial full genomic sequence with the motif. It was found that the rare motif belonged only to Sephardic descendents (Turkey, Bulgaria), to inhabitants of North American regions known for secret Spanish-Jewish colonization, or were consistent with Sephardic ancestry. The incidence of subhaplogroup T2e decreased from the Western Arabian Peninsula to Italy to Spain and into Western Europe. The ratio of sister subhaplogroups T2e to T2b was found to vary 40-fold across populations from a low in the British Isles to a high in Saudi Arabia with the ratio in Sephardim more similar to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Italy than to hosts Spain and Portugal. Coding region mutations of 2308G and 14499T may locate the Sephardic signature within T2e, but additional samples and reworking of current T2e phylogenetic branch structure is needed. The Sephardic Turkish community has a less pronounced founder effect than some Ashkenazi groups considered singly (eg, Polish), but other comparisons of interest await comparable averaging. Registries of signatures will benefit the study of populations with a large number of smaller-size founders.
Bedford, F. L. (2011). Mystery of the anti-McCollough effect. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 73(7), 2197-2202.
More info
PMID: 21691903;Abstract: The McCollough Effect (ME) is a complex perceptual aftereffect that remains of interest half a century after its discovery. It is argued that a recently reported variant, dubbed the anti-McCollough effect, is not the reverse of the ME, with aftereffect colors in the same direction as the inducing stimuli. A red-horizontal stimulus leads to a reddish aftereffect not because of red-horizontal parings, but despite them. The anti-ME is a weak standard-direction ME produced by complementary afterimage colors (afterimage green with horizontal), rather than by environmental colors, first shown decades ago. It is not a new type of contingent aftereffect. The red-horizontal pair does not interfere with the afterimage green-horizontal pair it produces because a single color-orientation pairing provides more ambiguous input than does the standard two orientation-color pairings (red-horizontal, green-vertical) of the ME. It is also argued that not even one orientation-contingent color aftereffect is convincingly shown in the "anti"-ME, let alone, as has previously been suggested, two simultaneous orientation-contingent color aftereffects in opposite directions at different levels of the visual system, in which the higher-level effect suppresses the downstream effect from reaching consciousness. The "anti"-ME can be explained by existing theories of contingent aftereffects, including perceptual-learning theory. © 2011 Psychonomic Society, Inc.
Bedford, F. L. (2011). The missing sense modality: The immune system. Perception, 40(10), 1265-1267.
More info
PMID: 22308900;Abstract: The five senses were handed down by Aristotle. I argue that it has only taken two millennia to recognize that the immune system has been the hidden sensory modality. The immune system completes the range of operation allowing detection of meaningful entities at all distances, from very near to very far. It also withstands the often implicit criteria for being a sense modality. Finally, cross-modal interactions between the immune system and vision and other sense modalities should be possible, opening up new research directions.
Bedford, F., & Bedford, F. L. (2011). Mystery of the anti-McCollough effect. Attention, perception & psychophysics, 73(7).
More info
The McCollough Effect (ME) is a complex perceptual aftereffect that remains of interest half a century after its discovery. It is argued that a recently reported variant, dubbed the anti-McCollough effect, is not the reverse of the ME, with aftereffect colors in the same direction as the inducing stimuli. A red-horizontal stimulus leads to a reddish aftereffect not because of red-horizontal parings, but despite them. The anti-ME is a weak standard-direction ME produced by complementary afterimage colors (afterimage green with horizontal), rather than by environmental colors, first shown decades ago. It is not a new type of contingent aftereffect. The red-horizontal pair does not interfere with the afterimage green-horizontal pair it produces because a single color-orientation pairing provides more ambiguous input than does the standard two orientation-color pairings (red-horizontal, green-vertical) of the ME. It is also argued that not even one orientation-contingent color aftereffect is convincingly shown in the "anti"-ME, let alone, as has previously been suggested, two simultaneous orientation-contingent color aftereffects in opposite directions at different levels of the visual system, in which the higher-level effect suppresses the downstream effect from reaching consciousness. The "anti"-ME can be explained by existing theories of contingent aftereffects, including perceptual-learning theory.
Bedford, F., & Bedford, F. L. (2011). The missing sense modality: the immune system. Perception, 40(10).
More info
The five senses were handed down by Aristotle. I argue that it has only taken two millennia to recognize that the immune system has been the hidden sensory modality. The immune system completes the range of operation allowing detection of meaningful entities at all distances, from very near to very far. It also withstands the often implicit criteria for being a sense modality. Finally, cross-modal interactions between the immune system and vision and other sense modalities should be possible, opening up new research directions.
Bedford, F. L. (2007). Can a space perception conflict be solved using three sense modalities?. Perception/Pion: United Kingdom.
More info
Empirical studies using adult human subjects.;Full Citation: Bedford, F. L. (2007). Can a space-perception conflict be solved using three sense modalities? Perception, 36, 508-515.;
Bedford, F. L. (2007). Can a space-perception conflict be solved with three sense modalities?. Perception, 36(4), 508-515.
More info
PMID: 17564197;Abstract: A cross-modal conflict over location was resolved in an unexpected way. When vision and proprioception provide conflicting information, which modality should dominate is ambiguous. A visual - proprioceptive conflict was created with a prism and, to logically disambiguate the problem, auditory information was added that either agreed with vision (group 1), agreed with proprioception (group 2), or was absent (group 3). While a scarcity of research addresses the interaction of three modalities, I predicted error should be attributed to the modality in the minority. Instead, the opposite was found: adaptation consisted of a large change in arm proprioception and a small change affecting vision in group 2, and the reverse in group 1. Group 1 was not different than group 3. Findings suggested adaptation to separate two-way conflicts, possibly influenced by direction of attention, rather than a direct solution to a three-way modality problem. © 2007 a Pion publication.
Bedford, F. L. (2007). Is Prism Adaptation for Growth?. Perceptual and Motor Skills/Amnons Scientific LTD.
More info
Article uses mathematical modeling and simulations. The journal also has the longer version of the article on file which it distributes to readers on request. ;Full Citation: Bedford, F. L. (2007). Is prism adaptation "for" growth? Perceptual and Motor Skills, 105, 351-354.;
Bedford, F. L. (2007). Is prism adaptation "for" growth?. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 105(1), 351-354.
More info
PMID: 17918583;Abstract: The assumption that prism adaptation mechanisms evolved for developmental plasticity was questioned by analyzing natural transformations (magnification, rotation, displacement) of the arm and shoulder. Accommodating ordinary movement was found to be a closer match to prisms than transformations caused by growth. In addition, overlap between equations of movement and growth may point to a distal function of adaptation that is very general. © Perceptual and Motor Skills 2007.
Bedford, F., & Bedford, F. L. (2007). Can a space-perception conflict be solved with three sense modalities?. Perception, 36(4).
More info
A cross-modal conflict over location was resolved in an unexpected way. When vision and proprioception provide conflicting information, which modality should dominate is ambiguous. A visual-proprioceptive conflict was created with a prism and, to logically disambiguate the problem, auditory information was added that either agreed with vision (group 1), agreed with proprioception (group 2), or was absent (group 3). While a scarcity of research addresses the interaction of three modalities, I predicted error should be attributed to the modality in the minority. Instead, the opposite was found: adaptation consisted of a large change in arm proprioception and a small change affecting vision in group 2, and the reverse in group 1. Group 1 was not different than group 3. Findings suggested adaptation to separate two-way conflicts, possibly influenced by direction of attention, rather than a direct solution to a three-way modality problem.
Bedford, F., & Bedford, F. L. (2007). Is prism adaptation "for" growth?. Perceptual and motor skills, 105(1).
More info
The assumption that prism adaptation mechanisms evolved for developmental plasticity was questioned by analyzing natural transformations (magnification, rotation, displacement) of the arm and shoulder. Accommodating ordinary movement was found to be a closer match to prisms than transformations caused by growth. In addition, overlap between equations of movement and growth may point to a distal function of adaptation that is very general.
Bedford, F. L. (2004). Analysis of a constraint on perception, cognition, and development: One object, one place, one time. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 30(5), 907-912.
More info
PMID: 15462628;Abstract: It has become increasingly common for theories to rely on a constraint that 1 object cannot be in more than 1 place at the same time. Analysis suggests that a 1 object-1 place-1 time constraint as literally stated is false, that a modified constraint is biased toward the visual modality, that it may not be a correct description of the physical world, is not true of how objects must appear on sensory surfaces, and does not mean that 2 simultaneous spatially separated samples must be interpreted as 2 different objects, even for vision. However, once such object numerosity or identity is determined in some other way, then a modified constraint can be used to trigger learning, such as prism adaptation. A far-removed implication is that "Where is an object?" may be a misleading question.
Bedford, F., & Bedford, F. L. (2004). Analysis of a constraint on perception, cognition, and development: one object, one place, one time. Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance, 30(5).
More info
It has become increasingly common for theories to rely on a constraint that 1 object cannot be in more than 1 place at the same time. Analysis suggests that a 1 object-1 place-1 time constraint as literally stated is false, that a modified constraint is biased toward the visual modality, that it may not be a correct description of the physical world, is not true of how objects must appear on sensory surfaces, and does not mean that 2 simultaneous spatially separated samples must be interpreted as 2 different objects, even for vision. However, once such object numerosity or identity is determined in some other way, then a modified constraint can be used to trigger learning, such as prism adaptation. A far-removed implication is that "Where is an object?" may be a misleading question.
Bedford, F. L. (2003). More on the not-the-liver fallacy: Medical, neuropsychological, and perceptual dissociations. Cortex, 39(1), 170-173.
More info
PMID: 12627772;
Bedford, F., & Bedford, F. L. (2003). More on the not-the-liver fallacy: medical, neuropsychological, and perceptual dissociations. Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior, 39(1).
Bedford, F. L. (2001). Generality, mathematical elegance, and evolution of numerical/object identity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(4), 654-655.
More info
Abstract: Object identity, the apprehension that two glimpses refer to the same object, is offered as an example of combining generality, mathematics, and evolution. We argue that it applies to glimpses in time (apparent motion), modality (ventriloquism), and space (Gestalt grouping); that it has a mathematically elegant solution of nested geometries (Euclidean Similarity, Affine, Projective, Topology); and that it is evolutionarily sound despite our Euclidean world.
Bedford, F. L. (2001). Towards a general law of numerical/object identity. Cahiers de Psychologie Cognitive, 20(3-4), 113-175.
More info
Abstract: A theory of object identity, knowing whether or not two glimpses refer to the exact same object, is presented in two parts. Part I argues that apparent motion, prism adaptation, ventriloquism, priming, stereopsis, and Gestalt grouping all require the identity decision. It is argued that object identity is general and required when samples come from different times, places, modalities, and eyes. Part II argues there is a common solution at a sufficient level of abstraction. Sample 1 and sample 2 are regarded as two forms which differ by a transformation corresponding to one of five geometries, Euclidean, Similarity, Affine, Projective, and Topology (Klein, 1893), that nest within each other like a set of Russian nesting dolls. Identity is resolved from the lowest level of the hierarchy available in the situation, producing a flexible solution whereby the same two samples will sometimes refer to the same object and sometimes not.
Bedford, F. L. (1999). Keeping perception accurate. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(1), 4-11.
More info
Abstract: Perception should change if an error in perception is detected. Yet how can information that comes through the senses ever indicate that those very senses aren't accurate? Knowledge of objects that arises independently of sensory experience can be used to check the sensory information for errors. For instance, an a priori constraint that one object cannot be in two places at the same time would lead to error detection in the sensory systems suggest that one object is in two places. Variants on the classic prism-adaptation phenomenon have revealed new rules about changes in space perception. These variants involve specifying new unusual mappings between visual space and motor (proprioceptive) space, and testing for generalization to novel untrained locations. The research has suggested that there is a preference for changes in space perception that shift space rigidly everywhere, that shrink or expand space uniformly, and that preserve the one-to-one relationship between modalities. Finally, this review discusses the issue that perception must change to remain accurate in the face of childhood growth and adult drift.
Bedford, F. L. (1997). Are long-term changes to perception explained by Pavlovian associations or perceptual learning theory?. Cognition, 64(2), 223-230.
More info
PMID: 9385872;
Bedford, F. L. (1997). False categories in cognition: The Not-The-Liver fallacy. Cognition, 64(3), 231-248.
More info
PMID: 9426502;Abstract: This paper reports on an increasingly frequent error committed in cognition research that at best slows progress, and at worse leads to self-perpetuating false claims and misguided research. The error involves how we identify meaningful processes and categories on the basis of data. Examples are given from three areas of cognition: (1) memory, where the misconception has fueled the popular implicit/explicit categories, (2) perception, where the misconception is used to re-evaluate the classic what/where division, and (3) motor skills, where it is used to draw conclusions from patients with Huntington's disease. Reasons for the prevalence of this error, how it relates to double dissociations, and what it suggests about scientific reasoning are offered. © 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.
Bedford, F. L. (1995). Constraints on perceptual learning: objects and dimensions. Cognition, 54(3), 253-297.
More info
PMID: 7720360;Abstract: The article addresses two questions about perceptual learning: What are the circumstances which produce learning? What is the content of learning? For each question, a critical principle is suggested: (1) Objects are constrained to behave in certain ways. If a violation is detected, an internal malfunction is assumed and subsequently corrected. (2) Learning involves mappings between entire perceptual dimensions rather than associations between individual stimuli. The principles are applied to two phenomena: the classic adaptation to prism distorted vision and the more recent, but equally elusive, McCollough effect. The view suggests a new interpretation of the McCollough effect and accounts for findings difficult to account for in other interpretations including which stimuli can successfully lead to contingent after-effects, the outcome of correlation manipulations, and why the effect exists at all. In addition, the phenomenon is linked to prism adaptation, usually regarded as a distinct type of plasticity. In general, the view advanced is that the two principles help distinguish perceptual learning from other types of learning processes. © 1995.
Bedford, F. (1993). Perceptual Learning. Psychology of Learning and Motivation - Advances in Research and Theory, 30(C), 1-60.
Bedford, F. L. (1993). Perceptual and Cognitive Spatial Learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 19(3), 517-530.
More info
PMID: 8331313;Abstract: Ss were taught novel mappings between visual space and motor space with either a variant on a prism adaptation paradigm (Experiments 1 and 2) or a nonperceptual cognitive task (Experiments 3 and 4). First, discrimination training specified that 1 visual location required a new pointing response but another location did not. This led to unusual generalization unlike typical generalization decrement. Second, training at 9 locations specified that 1 location required a new response but that the remaining 8 did not. This simple isolation mapping was unlearnable and instead a flat function fit through all of space. In contrast, for the cognitive paradigm, not only was isolation of one region of space easily learned, it was the preferred pattern of generalization. Implications for perceptual learning, as well as the qualitative distinctions between perceptual and cognitive learning, are discussed.
Bedford, F. L., & Reinke, K. S. (1993). The McCollough effect: Dissociating retinal from spatial coordinates. Perception & Psychophysics, 54(4), 515-526.
More info
PMID: 8255714;Abstract: Three experiments were conducted to dissociate the perceived orientation of a stimulus from its orientation on the retina while inducing the McCollough effect. In the first experiment, the typical contingency between color and retinal orientation was eliminated by having subjects tilt their head 90° for half of the induction trials while the stimuli remained the same. The only relation remaining was that between color and the perceived or spatial orientation, which led to only a small contingent aftereffect. In contrast, when the spatial contingency was eliminated in the second experiment, the aftereffect was as large as when both contingencies were present. Finally, a third experiment determined that part of the small spatial effect obtained in the first experiment could be traced to hidden higher order retinal contingencies. The study suggested that even under optimal conditions the McCollough effect is not concerned with real-world properties of objects or events. Implications for several classes of theories are discussed. © 1993 Psychonomic Society, Inc.
Bedford, F. L. (1989). Constraints on Learning New Mappings Between Perceptual Dimensions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 15(2), 232-248.
More info
Abstract: The constraints on learning new mappings between visual and proprioceptive spatial dimensions were assessed. Incomplete information was provided about a mapping by specifying only a few isolated visual-proprioceptive pairs of locations. The nature of the generalization occurring to untrained locations was then inspected to reveal the internal constraints. A new technique was developed to allow individual visual-proprioceptive pairs to be manipulated separately. In Experiment 1, training with only a single pair produced a rigid shift of one entire dimension with respect to the other. Training with two pairs caused linear interpolation to all untrained positions between the trained positions (Experiments 2 and 3). Finally, training with three new pairs also produced a linear change in behavior (Experiment 4), even though more adaptive solutions existed. The implications of these results for the learning process involved in acquiring new mappings are discussed.

Presentations

Bedford, F. L. (2008, 2009-05-01). Space Adaptation: Are we done?. Visual Sciences. Naples, Florida.
More info
Invited to present at symposium on Space and Time Adaptation at VSS. ;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;
Bedford, F. L. (2007, 2007-10-01). Perception of Space and Time. Phoenix.
More info
Invited to give this presentation.;Invited: Yes;Interdisciplinary: Yes;Type of Presentation: Community Outreach;
Bedford, F. L. (2007, 2007-10-01). Spatial Learning and Development: Have we learned anything in the last 50 years?. MIT.
More info
Inivited to give talk at an event honoring Richard Held's 85th birthday. (Was unable to travel back to the East Coast). Scheduled for October 10, 2007 (not Oct 1st, which PETS filled in incorrectly.);Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference/Workshop;

Edit my profile

Profiles search form

F Bedford

Awards

Related Links

Interests

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Journals/Publications

Presentations