Component and pattern information in adaptive networks.

M. A. Gluck and G. H. Bower (see record 1989-00340-001) presented an adaptive network model of human classification in which associative weights are modified according to R. A. Rescorla and A. R. Wagner (1972) conditioning theory, a special case of the Widrow-Hoff/LMS learning rule. Presenting empirical data from a series of artificial medical classification tasks, we argued that the network model predicts results that were unanticipated, given prevailing alternative theories of category learning. We consider here some alternative interpretations of this data suggested by D. R. Shanks (see record 1990-27514-001) and argue that they are not sufficiently compelling when compared to the network model's treatment of the data from all the experiments presented in our earlier study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Judging category frequency: Automaticity or availability?

Investigated 2 explanations of sensitivity to categorical frequency—that of automatic processing proposed by L. Hasher and R. T. Zacks (see record 1981-00461-001) and that of the availability heuristic put forward by A. Tversky and D. Kahneman (see record 1974-10410-001). In Exp I, with 128 undergraduates, sensitivity to category frequency was affected by instructions. Although varying retrieval time did not affect frequency sensitivity in Exp I, it was found in Exp II (with 96 undergraduates) that manipulating encoding time did. Differences in item recallability tended to support the availability heuristic hypothesis over the hypothesis of automatic processing. Results support the hypothesis that Ss use the availability heuristic to make judgments about the number of times a superordinate concept has been activated. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development in moral judgment research.

Two recent articles challenge cognitive developmental interpretations given to moral judgment research using preference data. One article, by J. J. Moran et al (see record 1979-28407-001), suggests that preference data may reflect preference for language sophistication rather than for levels of moral reasoning. The other article, by R. M. Martin (see record 1978-11439-001), suggests that preference for statements of moral reasoning may reflect a prior commitment to an action choice rather than an evaluation of moral reasoning. The evidence in both articles is critiqued, subsequent research dealing with the problems raised is cited, and a reconceptualization of the issues is recommended. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention, similarity, and the identification–categorization relationship.

A unified quantitative approach to modeling Ss' identification and categorization of multidimensional perceptual stimuli is proposed and tested. Two Ss identified and categorized the same set of perceptually confusable stimuli varying on separable dimensions. The identification data were modeled using R. N. Shepard's (see record 1959-05134-001) multidimensional scaling-choice framework, which was then extended to model the Ss' categorization performance. The categorization model, which generalizes the context theory of classification developed by D. L. Medin and M. M. Schaffer (see record 1979-12633-001), assumes that Ss store category exemplars in memory. Classification decisions are based on the similarity of stimuli to the stored exemplars. It is assumed that the same multidimensional perceptual representation underlies performance in both the identification and categorization paradigms. However, because of the influence of selective attention, similarity relationships change systematically across the 2 paradigms. Findings provide some support for the hypothesis that Ss distribute attention among component dimensions so as to optimize categorization performance and that Ss may have augmented their category representations with inferred exemplars. Results demonstrate that excellent predictions of categorization performance can be made given knowledge of performance in an identification paradigm. (51 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The logical consequences of the common-factor definition of the term placebo..

Responds to J. W. Critelli and K. F. Neumann's (see record 1984-26517-001) criticism of the present author's (see record 1980-32909-001) conclusion that "existing definitions [of the term placebo] either lead to the inclusion of procedures that are not generally regarded as placebos… or result in an empty set." Two problems with Critelli and Neumann's proposal that placebo factors be defined as factors that are common to most types of therapy are identified. The present author proposes a restrictive definition of placebos as substances given in the guise of active medication that have no pharmacological effect on the condition being treated. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reflections on surfaces: A cross-disciplinary reply to Stevens.

Replies to K. A. Stevens's (see record 1985-08519-001) comments on the present author and R. T. Millard's (see record 1985-08483-001) article on the contributions of gradient to the viewer's perception of surface. The present author suggests that new interest in surface perception can be found in both psychological and in artificial intelligence communities. Certain working principles common to the different methodologies are discussed. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Plasticity, person-context relations, and cognitive training in the aged years: A developmental contextual perspective.

Developmental contextualism focuses on changes in fused relations between developing people and their changing contexts. The presence of these relations means that human development is characterized by the potential for systematic change—for plasticity—across life. Research on training cognitive functioning in the aged years provides evidence about plasticity because such investigations attempt to alter developmental trajectories by introducing a revised regimen of person–context relations into people's lives. Moreover, when research is conducted with people in their advanced adult years, it is often interpreted as constituting a conservative test of plasticity. J. I. Campbell and N. Charness (see record 1991-06940-001), P. Gratzinger et al (see record 1991-07064-001), R. Kliegl et al (see record 1991-06962-001), and S. L. Willis and C. S. Nesselroade (see record 1991-07074-001), in the 4 studies reported in this special section, provide evidence that supports developmental contextual ideas about plasticity and about procedures and policies that might create conditions promoting enhancement of cognitive functioning among the aged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dialectical thinking: Neither Eastern nor Western.

Comments on the article by K. Peng and R. E. Nisbett (see record 1999-11125-001) that made a number of assertions that reveal problems in logic and argumentation. In their studies, Peng and Nisbett found that Chinese tended to like dialectical proverbs and social resolution better than did Americans, and Chinese tended to prefer dialectical arguments over classic Western logical arguments. In this article, D. Y. F. Ho asserts that Peng and Nisbett's article is marked by logical and empirical flaws. He reasons that the logical flaws stem from misunderstandings of 3 key terms: dialectical thinking, formal logic, and contradiction. The empirical flaws follow the logical ones: the result is a lack of evidence to support the contention that there are cultural differences in reasoning underlying ways of dealing with contradictions. Ho attempts to clarify the key terms in question and the relations among them. He asserts the Peng and Nisbett's research pertains to dialectical thinking tangentially at best and has provided no data that speak directly on dialectical reasoning in different cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social learning theory and the dynamics of interaction.

The recent controversy between A. Bandura (see record 1983-22326-001) and D. C. Phillips and R. Orton (see record 1983-22341-001) about the causal relations involved in social interactions prompted a discussion of the proper role for formal models in the analysis of social interactions. The present author argues that (a) Bandura's attempt at formal modeling of patterns of causation is vague and misleading; (b) internal variables, such as expectation and self-monitoring, can easily be handled by formal models; (c) simple deterministic models can behave in unexpectedly complex ways and cannot be ruled out in principle as explanations for social interaction; and (d) unaided verbal reasoning cannot hope to come to grips with the dynamics of even simple interacting systems. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A reply to McNemar.

Corrections made by the present author (see record 1970-05886-001) for suggested spuriousness in Q. McNemar's (see record 1951-05872-001) formula for determining the validity of a short form of the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale were rejected by McNemar (see record 1974-24264-001) as being based on fallacious reasoning. The present author replies that correlated errors responsible for the spurious correlation given by McNemar's formula affect only the covariance, not the variances, of the full scale and the short form. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How to hit scylla without avoiding charybdis: Comment on Perruchet, Tyler, Galland, and Peereman (2004).

M. Pe?a, L. L. Bonatti, M. Nespor, and J. Mehler (see record 2002-06215-001) argued that humans compute nonadjacent statistical relations among syllables in a continuous artificial speech stream to extract words, but they use other computations to determine the structural properties of words. Instead, when participants are familiarized with a segmented stream, structural generalizations about words are quickly established. P. Perruchet, M. D. Tyler, N. Galland, and R. Peereman (see record 2004-21166-008) criticized M. Pe?a et al.'s work and dismissed their results. In this article, the authors show that P. Perruchet et al.'s criticisms are groundless. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simultaneous and successive processing: An attempt at replication.

J. P. Das et al (see record 1975-08765-001) claim that A. R. Luria's (1966) distinction between simultaneous and successive modes of information processing provides a more fruitful way of classifying cognitive processes than (a) the hierarchical models of C. Burt (see record 1973-10531-001) and P. E. Vernon (see record 1963-03855-001), A. R. Jensen's (see record 1969-09740-001) Levels 1 and 2, or A. Paivio's (see record 1976-01839-001) dual coding system of imagery and verbal mediation. Their published factor analyses are surveyed, and shown to yield only partial support for their views. A broader battery of 14 tests was given to 91 university students, and responses were factor analyzed. Two of the obtained factors involved various kinds of rote memorizing, and thus could be regarded as successive processing. Four other factors did not yield a general simultaneous factor, but classified the tests under Number-Spatial, Verbal-Spatial, Perceptual Reasoning, and a specific Digit Memory factor. Overall, the 6 factors tend to follow a multiple-factor, or a hierarchical model, rather than a dichotomous classification. (French summary) (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Addressing criticism of sex bias research on borderline personality disorder.

Replies to H. N. Garb's (see record 1996-08172-001) criticism that D. Becker and S. Lamb (see record 1994-29756-001) overlooked previous studies of sex bias in the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and overinterpreted their findings. The authors address specific methodological criticisms and discuss their study's strengths (e.g., the inclusion of psychologists and social workers as well as psychiatrists) in the context of studies by M. R. Ford and T. A. Widiger (see record 1989-26071-001), K. A. Henry and C. I. Cohen (see record 1984-06917-001), and D. A. Adler et al (see record 1991-15353-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Steele's reply to Bedrosian and Beck.

The 2 basic points made by R. C. Bedrosian and A. T. Beck (see record 1979-26242-001) in their criticism of the author's (see record 1978-27665-001) article on Black and White suicide attempters are addressed: the appropriateness of the variables chosen and the interpretation of the results with regard to Black psychology. A rationale is given for the inclusion of clinical variables that were not particularly relevant to suicide attempt behavior. Two additional variables, history of alcohol and illicit drug abuse, are reported to support the similarity position between Black and White suicide attempters. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude organization and the attitude-behavior relation: A reply to Dillon and Kumar.

Analyzed W. R. Dillon and A. Kumar's (see record 1985-29911-001) reanalysis of data previously reported by M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen (see record 1974-24385-001) and subsequently reanalyzed by the present authors (see record 1980-30231-001). Data involved attitude–behavior relations. The present authors show that the unidimensional attitude model fails to achieve convergent validity and that the 2-component model achieves convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of atypical exemplars of social and nonsocial superordinate categories within the class inclusion paradigm.

Investigated hierarchical categorization using typical and atypical exemplars from social and nonsocial superordinate categories within the class inclusion paradigm. Ss were 96 male and female children in kindergarten and Grades 2, 4, and 6. Of the 33 stimulus pictures, 9 depicted nonsocial categories (e.g., birds), 18 depicted social occupations more typical of males than females (e.g., doctors), and 6 depicted social roles equally typical of males and females (e.g., parents). Results confirm the findings of M. T. Carson and A. Abrahamson (see record 1977-20805-001) that atypical instances of nonsocial categories significantly reduced inclusion performance. A parallel adverse effect was found for atypical exemplars of the social categories with Ss in the midstage of acquisition. Consistent with E. Rosch's (1973) theoretical framework and the findings of Rosch and C. B. Mervis (see record 1976-06117-001), these results are interpreted to reflect differences in the conceptual breadth of children's hierarchical knowledge structures. (23 ref) (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)     

Theoretical psychology, artificial intelligence, and empirical research.

Replies to M. R. Dawson's (see record 1990-24151-001) argument that A. Kukla (see record 1989-24526-001) misrepresents the empirical element in discussing artificial intelligence. The main objection to Dawson's comment is that it perpetuates the idea that theoretical work is coextensive with the task of constructing new theories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Afterthoughts on counselor theoretical orientation: Reply to Arnkoff (1995) and Gelso (1995).

C. J. Gelso's (see record 1996-07032-001) and D. B. Arnkoff's (see record 1996-07029-001) responses to our review of past research into conceptualizing and measuring counselors' theoretical orientation (J. J. Poznanski & J. McLennan, see record 1996-07039-001) suggest that further conceptual analysis and empirical exploration is required. Counselor theoretical orientation should be seen as multifaceted and incorporating four elements: Theoretical School Affiliation, Espoused Theory, Inferred Theory in Action, and the superordinate component Personal Therapeutic Belief System. Implications for measuring theoretical orientation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The questionable value of a master's degree for a PhD-pursuing student": Comment.

Responds to R. J. Howell and M. L. Murdock's (see record 1973-05428-001) negative evaluation of the master's degree from non-PhD-granting institutions. The success is described of a master's program designed to prepare students for doctoral work elsewhere. Data from one year show that all of the master's program graduates who applied for further study were accepted and that 80% were accepted into schools classified in the top-rated category used by Howell and Murdock. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)