Once again, the origins of sex differences.

Responds to comments by B. X. Friedman et al (see record 2000-05933-013), D. T. Kenrick and N. Li (see record 2000-05933-014), and E. Kleyman (see record 2000-05933-015) on the article by A. H. Eagly and W. Wood (see record 1999-05337-002) which examined the origins of sex differences in human behavior. Eagly and Wood argued that social structural theory can explain the origin of psychological sex differences. In the present article, Eagly and Wood defend their original article against criticism made by the aforementioned authors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Independent retrieval of source dimensions: An extension of results by Starns and Hicks (2005) and a comment on the ACSIM measure.

Recently, J. J. Starns and J. L. Hicks (2005) have argued that source dimensions are retrieved independently from memory (see record 2005-15992-004). In their innovative experiment, manipulating the retrievability of 1 source feature did not affect memory for a 2nd feature. Following C. S. Dodson and A. P. Shimamura (2000; see record 2000-08540-012), the authors argue that the source memory measure that Starns and Hicks used (known as the average conditional source identification measure) is vulnerable to a response bias in this particular paradigm, and this may undermine Starns and Hicks's conclusion. Starns and Hicks, however, acknowledged this possibility. The authors substantiate this claim by a simulation and by replicating Starns and Hicks's experiment. In 2 further experiments, the authors use an extended multinomial model to analyze data showing that Starns and Hicks's conclusion holds even if results cannot be attributed to response biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an emancipatory psychology.

Responds to comments by W. Mieder (see record 1991-03996-001), K. L. Dion (see record 1991-03991-001), and K. J. Gergen (see record 1991-03993-001) on T. B. Rogers's (see record 1991-03999-001) examination of the role of proverbs in psychology. It is argued that theory is important for the critical social functions it serves, rather than just for the quest for truth. Also, consideration of an emancipatory psychology is recommended, in which psychology is viewed as a socially embedded discipline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rational explanation of the selection task.

M. Oaksford and N. Chater (O&C, see record 1995-08271-001) presented the first quantitative model of R C. Wason's (1966) selection task in which performance is rational. J. St. B. T. Evans and D. E. Over (see record 83:25190) reply that O&C's account is normatively incorrect and cannot model K. N. Kirby's (see record 1995-04302-001) or R Pollard and J. St. B. T. Evans's (see record 1984-30572-001) data. It is argued that an equivalent measure satisfies their normative concerns and that a modification of O&C's model accounts for their empirical concerns. D. Laming (see record 83:25220) argues that O&C made unjustifiable psychological assumptions and that a "correct" Bayesian analysis agrees with logic. It is argued that O&C's model makes normative and psychological sense and that Laming's analysis is not Bayesian. A. Almor and S. A. Sloman (see record 83:25168) argue that O&C cannot explain their data. It is argued that Almor and Sloman's data do not bear on O&C's model because they alter the nature of the task. It is concluded that O&C's model remains the most compelling and comprehensive account of the selection task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Traits, consistency, and self-schemata: What do our methods measure?

Psychologists have responded to the inadequacies that W. Mischel (1968) noted in the trait approach to personality by exploring 2 other facets of personality, cross-situational consistency and self-schemata. It is argued that these newer approaches have yet to be clearly distinguished conceptually or empirically from the traditional model that they were designed to supplement or replace. In the present 2 studies, 362 undergraduates rated the extent to which 10 traits applied to them (overall level), their consistency on these traits (cross-situational consistency), and the importance of these traits to their view of themselves (self-schema). Correlational analyses showed that the measures of consistency and self-schema lacked discriminant validity from the measures of overall level. Specifically, their correlations with level were as high as their internal consistencies. It is concluded that the measurement models for cross-situational consistency and for self-schemata do not adequately reflect their theoretical counterparts. This failure undercuts the interpretations of recent research by H. Markus (see record 1977-27585-001), Markus et al (see record 1982-23588-001), and S. Bem (see record 1981-25685-001). (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delay-reduction theory—the case for temporal context: Comment on Grace and Savastano (2000).

R. C. Grace and H. I. Savastano (see record 2000-16324-001) have devised a procedure to determine whether the effectiveness of a stimulus as a conditioned reinforcer depends on the temporal context of reinforcement. Although they interpret their results in terms of the contextual choice model, which maintains that value is independent of context, the results also support delay-reduction theory, which maintains that value depends on temporal context. It is argued that the delay-reduction view of the role of temporal context is also Intuitively more plausible and more consistent with the way choice responds to changes in conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can Attentional Theory Explain the Inverse Base Rate Effect? Comment on Kruschke (2001).

In J. K. Kruschke's (2001; see record 2001-18940-005) study, it is argued that attentional theory is the sole satisfactory explanation of the inverse base rate effect and that eliminative inference (P. Juslin, P. Wennerholm, & A. Winman, 2001; see record 2001-07828-016) plays no role in the phenomenon. In this comment, the authors demonstrate that, in contrast to the central tenets of attentional theory, (a) rapid attention shifts as implemented in ADIT decelerate learning in the inverse base-rate task and (b) the claim that the inverse base-rate effect is directly caused by an attentional asymmetry is refuted by data. It is proposed that a complete account of the inverse base-rate effect needs to integrate attention effects with inference rules that are flexibly used for both induction and elimination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compounding the errors: A reply to Pollak and Gilligan.

Responds to a rebuttal by S. Pollak and C. Gilligan (see record 1984-12283-001) of the present authors' (see record 1984-12235-001) criticisms of Pollak and Gilligan's (see record 1982-23594-001) study of males and females' violent TAT responses. In addition to not addressing the prior criticisms, it is argued that Pollak and Gilligan introduce 3 new sources of errors regarding their misunderstanding of experimental replication, fantasy classification, and statistical inference. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The trouble with assumptions: A reply to Jago and Ragan.

Comments on the work of A. G. Jago and J. W. Ragan (see record 1987-12114-001) that conducted a computer simulation to compare the 2nd author's (1964) contingency model of leadership with the Leader Match training program. It is argued that Jago and Ragan's computer simulation was guided by several theoretically and operationally incorrect assumptions that greatly reduce its meaningfulness. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological correlates of asthma: Effect of hypoxia or drugs?

The neuropsychological deficits seen in asthmatic children are thought by W. M. Suess and H. Chai (see record 1981-10731-001) to be possibly a function of certain antiasthma medication. It is argued that a study by the author and L. E. Baade (see record 1980-12219-001) on neuropsychological adaptive behavior patterns of asthmatic children does not support this hypothesis. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the belief bias effect with ROCs: Reply to Dube, Rotello, and Heit (2010).

Comments on an article by Dube, Rotello, and Heit (see record 2010-14834-005). The authors argued (a) that the so-called receiver operating characteristic is nonlinear for data on belief bias in syllogistic reasoning; (b) that their data are inconsistent with Klauer, Musch, and Naumer's (see record 2000-02818-008) model of belief bias; (c) that their data are inconsistent with any of the existing accounts of belief bias and only consistent with a theory provided by signal detection theory; and (d) that in fact, belief bias is a response bias effect. In this reply, we present reanalyses of Dube et al.'s data and of old data suggesting (a) that the receiver operating characteristic is linear for binary “valid” versus “invalid” responses, as employed by the bulk of research in this field; (b) that Klauer et al.'s model describes the old data significantly better than does Dube et al.'s model and that it describes Dube et al.'s data somewhat better than does Dube et al.'s model; (c) that Dube et al.'s data are consistent with the account of belief bias by misinterpreted necessity, whereas Dube et al.'s signal detection model does not fit their data; and (d) that belief bias is more than a response bias effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on "Memory storage and retrieval processes in category learning."

Comments on a study by W. K. Estes (see record 1986-21175-001) that examined learning processes associated with categorization in relation to new–old recognition by focusing on alternative views of recognition/classification relations and the implications of the more detailed analyses of learning for exemplar-based classification models. It is argued that strategies typically used by experimental participants and exemplar processing have some fundamental properties in common. This implies that a good fit to classification data by an exemplar model does not necessarily mean that performance is based on comparisons with remembered exemplars and suggests that abstract representations may not be different kinds of entities from the memory representation of a specific experience. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the pitfalls of "Ptolemaic" psychology: A reply to Sawusch and Mullennix.

In their reply to the present authors (see record 1986-05428-001), J. R. Sawusch and J. W. Mullennix (see record 1986-05440-001) proposed a counterinterpretation of the authors' results regarding conceptualizations of selective adaptation with speech and described some previously unpublished data that they took to be inconsistent with the present authors' unified adaptation-level account of selective adaptation and contrast effects. It is argued that this counterinterpretation requires a series of purely ad hoc assumptions that render the 2-stage theory of Sawusch and P. Jusczyk (see record 1982-00351-001) almost completely vacuous. It is also shown that the new data of Sawusch and Mullennix are definitely not incompatible with an adaptation-level account. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of convolution and matrix distributed memory systems for associative recall and recognition.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 92(4) of Psychological Review (see record 2008-10982-001). In this article, there were two erroneous sentences, one on page 284 and one on page 285. The sentences are corrected in the erratum.] Compares 2 closely related distributed memory models in terms of plausibility; arithmetic simplicity; economy of storage space; and ability to account for associative, similarity, and order data in recall and recognition. It is argued that the storage-retrieval system brought about by the convolution-correlation concept outlined by M. A. Eich (see record 1983-04922-001) and B. B. Murdock (see record 1983-04936-001) is neurally implausible, necessitates more complex analyses, and is less economical in storage space than is the matrix memory concept described by J. A. Anderson et al (see record 1978-22353-001). It is shown that the matrix model can easily account for associative symmetry–asymmetry data and for item similarity effects. Means and variances of operating strength for various recall and recognition situations, modeled by the matrix system, are presented, and it is shown how signal-to-noise ratios can be derived. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wishing away history.

Responds to the comment by M. F. Hoyt (see record 2001-18061-014) on the article by P. Gilford and P. Cushman (see record 2000-05933-002). It is argued that Hoyt did not grasp the synchronistic connection between managed care's practices and its implications for current understandings of human being. The authors believe that either Hoyt did not fully understand their concerns or he is unable to apply them to his own theory. It is maintained that Hoyt's comments demonstrate how difficult it is for psychologists to think historically and critically about their practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response expectancy and phobic anxiety: A reply to Wilkins and Bandura.

Responds to W. Wilkins's (see record 1987-09397-001) and A. Bandura's (see record 1987-09389-001) comments on the present author's (see record 1986-13702-001) study of expectancy modification, suggesting that (1) the procedures used as expectancy controls by Wilkins render implausible his hypothesis that expectancy changes are epiphenomena caused by Ss' observation of their improvement and (2) Bandura has misrepresented the present author's position and then argued against it. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Not evidence for separable controlled and automatic influences in artificial grammar learning: Comment on Higham, Vokey, and Pritchard (2000).

P. A. Higham, J. R. Vokey, and J. L. Pritchard (see record 2000-16324-006) claimed to provide evidence for separable controlled and automatic processes in artificial grammar learning. It is argued that their results are compatible with a single controlled influence: Participants might mistakenly identify more grammatical items than nongrammmatical items as belonging to the other grammar, because the grammars are very similar to each other, and the nongrammatical items are relatively highly dissimilar. Participants' knowledge may be ambiguous, rather than automatic. It is further argued that even if Higham et al's data do support automatic effects, opposition logic, in this case, cannot be said to have succeeded where dissociation logic has failed, because it is used to address the issue of whether participants have conscious control over the knowledge they acquire, rather than whether they possess conscious awareness of that knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Destination compatibility, affordances, and coding rules: A reply to Proctor, Van Zandt, Lu, and Weeks.

R. W. Proctor et al (see record 1993-20228-001) argued that the invocation of affordances to explain stimulus-response (S-R) compatibilities in reaction time (RT) is not needed because left–right direction compatibility, from the coding rules approach, explains the apparent "destination compatibility" effects of C. F. Michaels (see record 1988-25385-001). In this reply, an experiment demonstrates that destination compatibility can be shown even when contradicted by relative left-right motion. The 2nd half of the article addresses theoretical issues separating and joining these 2 approaches. It is argued that the domain of the affordance approach in S–R compatibility is the guidance of action by information, whereas the domain of coding rules is S-R incompatibility and noncompatibility, situations in which required responses are not afforded and rules must be invoked. The manipulation of rules can mimic some of the consequences of more fundamental perception-action couplings, but principles of the latter sort are needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on "Reaction to 'Increase in assertiveness and actualization as a function of didactic training.' "

Responds to W. G. Darou's (see record 1983-04001-001) suggestion that the elevated scores on the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) as a result of didactic training reported by the present author (see record 1981-28392-001) reflect a change in knowledge about self-actualization and not a change in self-actualization itself. It is argued that the research clearly indicates that knowledge alone cannot cause POI elevation, and that the instructional and modeling components that constitute didactic training are utilized in such a way that there is an increase in the actual level of self-actualization. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)