Multiple explanations for multiply quantified sentences: Are multiple models necessary?

P. N. Johnson-Laird et al (see record 1990-03501-001) presented a theory of deductive reasoning for inference problems using multiply quantified premises. The theory classifies such problems into those that require Ss to construct only one mental model and those that require multiple models. Data corroborate the theory and show that the major results of Johnson-Laird et al can be explained without invoking mental models or deductive reasoning at all. Furthermore, reversing the order of the quantifiers in a multiply quantified sentence may produce a sentence that is both more difficult to comprehend and more ambiguous. Some implications for theories of how people understand multiply quantified sentences are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why models rather than rules give a better account of propositional reasoning: A reply to Bonatti and to O'Brien, Braine, and Yang.

D. P. O'Brien et al (see record 1995-08272-001) argue that the mental model theory of propositional reasoning is easy to refute, and they report 3 experiments that they believe falsify the theory. In contrast, L. Bonatti (see record 1995-08253-001) argues that the model theory is too flexible to be falsified. It is shown that the experiments by O'Brien et al do not refute the model theory and that Bonatti's claims are ill founded. Formal rule theories of propositional reasoning have 3 major weaknesses in comparison with the model theory: (1) They have no decision procedure; (2) they lack predictive power, providing no account of several robust phenomena (e.g., erroneous conclusions tend to be consistent with the premises); and (3) as a class of theories, they are difficult to refute experimentally. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of anxiety on analogical reasoning: A test of three theoretical models.

Three mediational theories of anxiety and performance, namely, J. A. Easterbrook's (see record 1961-03074-001) cue utilization theory, G. Mandler and S. B. Sarason's (see record 1953-02743-001) attentional theory, and M. W. Eysenck's (1979) working memory capacity theory, were compared for their efficacy in explaining anxiety-induced performance decrements on a task of analogical reasoning. 102 undergraduates who varied in their trait and state anxiety levels completed 100 geometric analogies under either relaxed (reassurance, non-time-limited) or stress (ego-threat, time-limited) conditions. Response time and error rate data for 9 levels of task complexity (1-, 2-, and 3-element analogies with 0, 1, or 2 transformations for each element) were analyzed by means of multivariate analysis of variance. Results in the relaxed condition support attentional theory in that more anxious Ss were both slower and less accurate than were less anxious Ss. In the stressed condition, none of the 3 anxiety-performance theories was supported. More anxious Ss were faster but made more errors than did less anxious Ss. Thus, in the stressed condition, performance differences suggested differences in speed–accuracy trade-off strategies rather than differences in processing abilities. The limitations of attentional theory and the need to study the effects of anxiety and time stress on information processing are discussed. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

If you are gender schematic, all members of the opposite sex look alike.

96 male and 96 female undergraduates classified on the basis of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory were asked to recall "who said what" after listening to a taped conversation either among 3 men and 3 women (the gender study) or among 3 Blacks and 3 Whites (the race study). Analysis of Ss' errors revealed that both sex-typed and cross-sex-typed Ss confused the members of the opposite sex with one another significantly more than androgynous or undifferentiated Ss did. In contrast, no individual differences related to sex typing emerged in the race study, which suggests that the greater gender schematicity of sex-typed individuals is specific to gender, as S. L. Bem's (see record 1981-25685-001) gender schema theory implies. The finding that cross-sex-typed Ss were significantly more gender schematic than anyone else and the apparent inconsistency of the data with the self-schema theory of H. Markus et al (see record 1982-23588-001) are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategy training has no significant effect on race differences in nonverbal reasoning.

Argues that the conclusion of B. Bridgeman and J. Buttram (see record 1975-30982-001) that race differences on a nonverbal reasoning test are smaller when Ss have been given verbal strategy training is not supported by their data. A transformation of their data from means to correlations indicates that the test used is psychometrically inadequate and that this finding may be generalizable to many nonverbal reasoning tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Scanning and form-contingent color aftereffects.

G. K. Humphrey et al (see record 1994-28172-001) and J. Broerse and P. Grimbeek (see record 1994-28160-001) suggested that the form-contingent color aftereffect reported by S. Siegel et al (see record 1992-22207-001) would not be obtained if Ss were instructed to scan the induction and assessment forms. The authors present data from 10 adult Ss who were instructed to scan the forms. These scanning Ss displayed aftereffects that were no different from those described earlier by Siegel et al. Scanning Ss do display spatiotopic contingent color aftereffects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obesity and protection from risk.

Responds to W. B. Webb's (see record 1987-26955-001) and H. E. Yuker's (see record 1987-26956-001) comments on the present authors and J. Plotkin's (see record 1986-12806-001) study of human Ss review board decisions by affirming the need for human Ss review boards and by defending the study's distinction between sensitive and nonsensitive forms of discrimination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient feedback on satisfaction with direct services received at a community mental health center: A partial replication.

At 8–29 mo after termination, 73 former patients at a community mental health center evaluated the services they had received. As in the author's previous study (see record 1982-28825-001), most Ss reported that therapy had been moderately or extremely helpful. The perceived degree of help received was related to perceived therapist interest in the S and to the number of therapy sessions. Most Ss rated the problem that brought them to the mental health center as being very serious, although the largest diagnostic category was "condition not attributable to mental disorder." Most Ss had not sought further treatment and did not feel that they needed it after termination. Ss returning to the center did not evaluate therapy any differently than new patients. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The fan effect: New results and new theories.

The fan effect (J. R. Anderson, see record 1975-06644-001) has been attributed to interference among competing associations to a concept. Recently, it has been suggested that such effects might be due to multiple mental models (G. A. Radvansky, D. H. Spieler, & R. T. Zacks, see record 1993-16287-001) or suppression of concepts (M. C. Anderson & B. A. Spellman, see record 1995-16174-001); A. R. A. Conway & R. W. Engle, see record 1994-08314-001). It was found that the Adaptive Control of Thought—Rational (ACT-R) theory, which embodies associative interference, is consistent with the results of G. A. Radvansky et-al. and that there is no evidence for concept suppression in a new fan experiment. The ACT-R model provides good quantitative fits to the results, as shown in a variety of experiments. The 3 key concepts in these fits are (a) the associative strength between 2 concepts reflects the degree to which one concept predicts the other, (b) foils are rejected by retrieving mismatching facts; and (c) participants can adjust the relative weights they give to various cues in retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On denial and defensiveness in experimental psychopathology.

Comments on the argument by J. Schedler et al (see record 1994-09623-001) that standard mental health scales appear unable to distinguish genuine mental health from the illusion of mental health created by psychological defenses. Questions are posed regarding the criteria used to classify Ss as distressed, the interpretation of past work using self-report measures, and the inclusion of clinical judgments in future work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The paradigm and the fuzzy logical model of perception are alive and well.

J. E. Cutting et al (see record 1993-00237-001) criticized the paradigm for inquiry and the fuzzy logical model of perception (FLMP) presented in D. W. Massaro (see record 1989-14292-001). In this reply to their remarks, it is shown that (1) the properties of the paradigm are ideal for inquiry; (2) models are best tested against the results of individual Ss and not average group data; (3) model fitting and ANOVA do not give contradictory results; (4) the FLMP can be proven false and does not have a superpower to predict a plethora of functions or to absorb random variability; and (5) various extraneous characteristics of a model, such as equation length, cannot account for the success of the FLMP. On the other hand, the empirical findings of Cutting et al give important new properties of pattern recognition. Finally, Cutting's theory of directed perception is compared with the FLMP. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internal and external components of emotionality in restrained and unrestrained eaters.

Compared the affective responsiveness of dieters and nondieters. 47 male college students rated the emotional impact of projected slides in a situation similar to that used by P. Pliner et al (see record 1974-27296-001) with obese and normal Ss. The present findings show that dieters, like the obese, were more extreme emotional responders. When Ss were given an internal source of arousal (i.e., caffeine), nondieters became more emotional and dieters became less emotional. These results are discussed in terms of S. Schachter's (1971) "externality" model of obesity and S. Schachter and J. E. Singer's "external–internal" theory of emotion. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associative versus contingency accounts of category learning: Reply to Melz, Cheng, Holyoak, and Waldmann (1993).

E. R. Melz et al (see record 1994-24205-001) argue that the partial blocking of cue A that was previously reported (D. R. Shanks; see record 1991-26433-001) when Ss were presented with intermixed AB?→?1, B?→?1 category learning trials is not consistent with the associative Rescorla-Wagner (R-W; 1972) theory analysis that was offered, given that the theory predicts complete blocking at asymptote. However, this claim assumes that Ss were trained to asymptote in these experiments, and there is no reason to believe this was the case. Melz et al further argue that there has been no reported evidence of complete blocking in associative learning tasks, which is incorrect. It is shown that, on the contrary, there is abundant evidence of it. The R-W theory analysis of the results is therefore sound. The results reported were inconsistent with contingency theories as they are normally formulated. Melz et al propose a revised contingency theory which, they argue, can account for data from a range of learning tasks. In particular, they claim that their theory can accommodate the results. It is shown that the theory can be refuted… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associations and organization in cognitive psychology: A reply to Neisser.

Responds to comments by U. Neisser (see record 1984-30595-001) on the present author's (see record 1984-30581-001) study of the long-term retention of school-learned Spanish, in which it was found that Ss retained a portion of the acquired knowledge for long periods. It is suggested that both constructive and simple associative processes are involved in acquisition and retention and that retention is primarily determined by the "state" of the memory trace at the end of training rather than by conditions during the retention interval. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual information and response strategies: A comment on Briand and Klein.

Comments on the interference effect found by K. A. Briand and R. M. Klein (see record 1989-21213-001), V. Di Lollo and M. Moscovitch (see record 1984-14011-001), and P. Dixon (see record 1986-21077-001). A framework for discussion is based on the target-array confusion model described by Dixon, and distinguishes between the available perceptual information Ss have to make a response and the strategies Ss use to combine this information and arrive at a decision. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive responses to stress: Effects of changes in demand and sex.

Replicated a previous study with female Ss by M. J. Horowitz and S. Becker (see record 1972-02452-001) testing the theory that increased intrusive and repetitive thought after exposure to stressful events is a cognitive response tendency occurring in general population groups. Reports by 1 female and 27 male students of mental contents before and after neutral and stress films were analyzed. Data contrasted for male and female Ss and for different instructional demands show that the stress film exerted a significant influence on increase in intrusive and stimulus-repetitive thought; male-female differences and demand effects were nonsignificant. Results support the hypotheses that intrusive and repetitive thinking are general cognitive responses to stress and that such changes in conscious experience can be quantified in the laboratory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The alcoholism controversy revisited.

Responds to G. A. Marlatt's (see record 1986-02189-001) reply to the present author's (see record 1986-02199-001) criticism of Marlatt's (see record 1984-13214-001) earlier article regarding the effectiveness of controlled drinking treatment for alcoholics by refuting Marlatt's defense of the methodology used in M. B. Sobell and L. C. Sobell's (see record 1973-23611-001) research on controlled drinking for hospitalized patients; it is suggested that arguments over the outcome for the Sobell and Sobell experiment are moot since the treatment procedures employed did not result in either sustained controlled drinking or stable abstinence in the abstinence-trained Ss. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychoanalytic theory: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

Discusses 2 independent ongoing research programs investigating the relationship between psychopathology and unconscious libidinal and aggressive wishes. In the 1st program conducted by the author (see record 1971-31262-001) laboratory experiments using a "subliminal psychodynamic activation"with 39 groups of from 26-8 clinical Ss supported the hypothesis that presentation (tachistoscopic) of wish-related stimuli (vs presentation of neutral stimuli) affected the level of manifest psychopathology. Additional support came from 16 experiments (using a similar design) with over 400 persons with primary process ego pathology, depression, homosexuality, or stuttering: subliminal exposure of stimuli led to intensification of pathology on a variety of psychological tests. Another series of studies with over 200 Ss led to decreased primary process ego pathology in schizophrenics by reducing conflict through activating a fantasy of symbiotic gratification. The 2nd major research program was developed by J. Reyher (1958 and 1967) and his associates and used hypnotic suggestion with "normal" college students to confirm that activation of aggressive and subliminal mental contents can stimulate pathology. Overall results illustrate theory validation by converging operations and pose a substantive challenge to critics of psychoanalytic theory. (2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of internal versus external information processing on symptom perception in an exercise setting.

Determined the effects of internal vs external attentional focus on symptom perception and performance in an exercise setting. 15 undergraduates ran 1 mi under each of 3 experimental conditions: "word-cue," in which Ss were required to focus externally by listening for a target word heard repeatedly over headphones; "breathing," in which Ss were directed to attend to their own breathing and heart rate; and a control. Ss reported significantly less symptomatology, particularly exercise-relevant symptoms (as measured by a symptom/emotion checklist), in the word-cue condition than in the breathing or control conditions. Findings are discussed with reference to previous theory, and methodological differences between this and earlier research by J. W. Pennebaker and J. M. Lightner (see record 1981-22664-001) are delineated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirical constraints on theories of scientific reasoning: Reply to Baron (1990).

J. Baron (see record 1990-27432-001) makes two assertions concerning our research on reflectiveness in scientific reasoning (D. Duemler and R. E. Mayer; see record 1989-14366-001): (a) His theory, particularly as stated in Baron (1988), predicts our findings, and (b) we have misnamed the independent variable in our study as reflectiveness. In this essay, we briefly respond to each assertion and call for three improvements in theories of scientific reasoning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)