A taxonomy of instrumental conditioning.

Proposes a classification scheme for instrumental conditioning paradigms based on 4 dichotomies: (a) whether the organism is required to "emit" or "omit" a response, (b) whether a "desirable" or "aversive" stimulus event is made contingent upon the response, (c) whether the operation performed upon this stimulus event is one which "increases" or "decreases" its magnitude or intensity, and (d) whether or not the organism is given any "signal" prior to the response as to the consequent stimulus event. The resulting classification scheme includes 16 distinct paradigms, each of which is illustrated with research examples (when they are known to exist) and with examples from "real-life" situations. The relationship between the present scheme and previous classification attempts is indicated, and a meaningful and consistent nomenclature is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A taxonomy of ethical ideologies.

Discusses 4 ethical perspectives: (a) situationism, which advocates a contextual analysis of morally questionable actions; (b) absolutism, which uses inviolate, universal moral principles to formulate moral judgments; (c) subjectivism, which argues that moral judgments should depend primarily on one's own personal values; and (d) exceptionism, which admits that exceptions must sometimes be made to moral absolutes. The Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ), which assesses degree of idealism and rejection of universal moral rules in favor of relativism, was developed to measure the extent to which individuals adopt one of the ideologies. 241 university students were Ss. The 2 scales that make up the EPQ were found to have adequate internal consistency, were reliable over time, were not correlated with social desirability, and were not related to scores on the Defining Issues Test. The Relativism scale did correlate with scores on the Survey of Ethical Attitudes. When the scales were used to classify Ss into one of the ideologies, predictions concerning differences in each ideology's moral judgment processes were supported. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A dynamic taxonomy of self-destructive behavior.

Discusses the meaning and determinants of self-mutilation (SM) in terms of 6 primary motivations: as an expression of higher developmental moral/spiritual values, as a primitive form of communication, as a means of managing the internal object relations world, as a means of managing the external interpersonal world, as affective self-regulation, and as a result of organic or biological conditions. Approaches to understanding self-destructive behaviors are described. It is concluded that insight into the dynamics of SM should always subserve the primary empathic therapeutic relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A levels-of-processing analysis of Bloom's taxonomy.

Tested the cumulative hierarchial assumption of B. S. Bloom's (1956) taxonomy by orienting 80 American and 52 Australian undergraduates at 4 taxonomic levels (Knowledge, Application, Synthesis, Evaluation) to the same study material and subsequently administering an unexpected memory test. With the exception of the Evaluation category, recall generally increased, as predicted, as taxonomic level increased. Bloom's taxonomy appears to possess some cross-national validity, at least for the 2 nationalities sampled, since the overall recall performance of the groups was quite similar. In general, moderate support was obtained for the cumulative hierarchical assumption, but it is concluded that the Evaluation category is misplaced as the apex level of the taxonomy. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A hierarchical taxonomy of top managers' goals.

To embed goal theories more deeply in the domain of top-level leadership behavior and to provide a vehicle to facilitate future research, the authors developed a taxonomy of managerial goals. Interviews with 75 company leaders--founders and presidents--from 3 countries generated 2,182 articulated goals. Content analysis supported 2 taxonomic dimensions: goal content and hierarchical level. The goal content dimension specified 10 categories of substantive goal targets, and the second dimension captured the hierarchical structure of the top leaders' goal sets, with lower-level goals being instrumental toward achieving superordinate goals. The hierarchy comprised 5 goal levels: ultimate, enterprise, strategic, project, and process. Chi-square analyses revealed relationships between goal content and hierarchical level as well as differences between the national subsamples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A taxonomy of difficulties in career decision making.

A general theoretical taxonomy of career decision-making difficulties, based on decision theory, has been developed. To examine the proposed taxonomy empirically, a questionnaire was constructed in which the various possible difficulties in the theoretical model were represented by respective statements. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 259 young Israeli adults (aged 19–23 yrs) who were at the beginning of their career decision-making process and to an American sample of 304 university students (aged 17–23 yrs). The observed relations among the 10 scales, which represent the 10 theoretical categories of difficulties, and those among the items within 2 selected categories, were similar in the 2 samples and compatible with the expected relations derived from the theoretical model. The implications for career counseling and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Representational conceptions in two- and three-dimensional media: A developmental perspective.

Some of the empirical implications of Rudolf Arnheim's concept of representation as a mental activity that goes beyond the perception and imitation of objects and events and transforms them with the means available in a chosen medium are explored in the study of two- and three-dimensional media. Systematic comparisons of children's drawings and their models in clay, and comparisons of diverse objects within the three-dimensional medium reveal significant differences in the form their representations take. The findings highlight the role of the medium in the art form children invent and do not support the notion that a single template underlies their diverse attempts at representation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Late manifestations of sickle cell trait (author''s transl)

As a result of a previous trial in which factors influencing swelling of the hand after fasciectomy were studied it was found that unacceptable oedema occurred in hands elevated in a roller towel by night and a high sling by day. An alternative system of elevation in a vacuum splint was investigated and found to reduce post-operative oedema. The advantages and disadvantages of the vacuum splint in the management of the hand after surgery or injury are discussed.     

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses and alcohol-related behaviors

Recombinant inbred (RI) strains can make an important contribution toward the merger of molecular genetics and quantitative genetics in the quest for quantitative trait loci (QTL). We present preliminary analyses of alcohol-related processes from our ongoing research using the BXD RI series. Issues concerning reliability, genetic correlations, and RI QTL analysis are discussed. Several strategies for replication and extension of QTL candidate regions are considered: F1 crosses between RI strains, F2 crosses, heterogeneous stock, interspecific backcrosses, QTL selection, and the use of murine QTL in chromosomal regions syntenic to human chromosomes as candidate chromosomal regions for human QTL.     

A conical model for the taxonomy of emotional experience.

Obtained from 34 female undergraduates ratings of the intensity of the feelings they experienced while viewing 5 emotion-laden slides. A 3-dimensional model was found to best represent emotional experience. A circular organization of emotions was replicated; however, an intensity dimension extended from this circular base to a neutral point in such a manner as to approximate the surface area of a cone. Affective adjectives were arranged on the cone at heights according to their intensities. Intense adjectives such as "disgusted" or "happy" fell near the base of the cone, whereas less intense adjectives such as "attentive" or "pleasant" fell near the neutral tip. An interpretation that integrates 2 major theories is presented; it describes emotions as a number of distinct dimensions anchored at the neutral tip of the cone and extended to form a circular ordering at the base. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A behavioral genetic study of trait emotional intelligence.

Numerous models of emotional intelligence (EI) have proposed the existence of hitherto undiscovered mental abilities, competencies, and skills. The theory of trait emotional intelligence suggests that the content domains of these models invariably contain permutations of personality traits. The two studies in this article examine the heritability of trait EI scores with a view to demonstrating empirically that the construct has a similar level of genetic influence as other personality traits. Study 1 was a family design of 133 high-school students and their parents. Regressions of offspring on midparent scores suggested median upper-limit heritability estimates of .18 at facet level, .25 at factor level, and .32 at the global trait EI level. Study 2 was a twin design (213 pairs of monozygotic [MZ] twins and 103 pairs of dizygotic [DZ] twins). It yielded median heritabilities of .42 for the facets, .44 for the factors, and .42 for global trait EI. Overall, our findings are in accordance with studies of the major personality dimensions and provide further empirical support for the conceptualization of EI as a personality trait. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perseveration and infants' search: A comparison of two- and three-location tasks.

Evaluated the prevalence of perseveration in early search by testing 18 259–303 day old Ss on both a 2- and a 3- location version of Piaget's AB task. Both tasks were modified to provide a control for random responding as well as an assessment of Ss' relative frequency of searching at Points A and B. Potential disruptive effects of including a 3rd location in the task were evaluated by comparing Ss' use of current hiding information and information from previous trials across the 2 tasks, as well as by comparing the tasks on several measures of perseveration. Findings show that Ss (1) did not show systematic perseveration on either the 2- or 3-location task, (2) showed positive search skills pertaining to the use of available location information, and (3) searched in essentially the same ways on the 2- and the 3-location tasks. It is suggested that the 9-mo-old is a more intelligent searcher than was previously thought. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evolving trait concepts.

Reviews research trends in trait concepts. Trait concepts, as well as factor-analytic methodology, arose out of inquiries into the nature of intelligence. Major trait theories can be subsumed under 2-factor, multiple-factor, facet, and hierarchical models. Mechanisms of trait formation include experiential contiguity and transfer of training. Scientific understanding of the nature and organization of traits has been advanced by research in developmental, cross-cultural, learning, and cognitive psychology. When redefined in the light of accumulated research findings, intelligence emerges as a useful construct, albeit a more comprehensive and flexible construct that recognizes the modifiability of intelligence and its varied composition as a function of age and cultural context. (103 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A taxonomy of health status instruments

Clinicians and policymakers are recognizing the importance of measuring health related quality of life (HRQL) to inform patient management and policy decisions. Self or interviewer administered questionnaires can be used to measure cross sectional differences in quality of life between patients at a point in time (discriminative instruments) or longitudinal changes in HRQL within patients over time (evaluative instruments). Both discriminative and evaluative instruments must be valid (really measuring what they are supposed to measure) and have a high ratio of signal to noise (reliability and responsiveness, respectively). Reliable discriminative instruments are able to reproducibly differentiate between persons. Responsive evaluative measures are able to detect important changes in HRQL over time, even if those changes are small. HRQL should be interpretable--that is, clinicians and policymakers must be able to identify differences in scores that correspond to trivial, small, moderate, and large differences. Two basic approaches to quality of life measurement are available: generic instruments that attempt to provide a summary of health related quality of life; and specific instruments that focus on problems associated with individual disease states, patient groups, or areas of function. Generic instruments include health profiles and instruments that generate health utilities. The approaches are not mutually exclusive. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses and may be suitable under different circumstances. Investigations in HRQL have led to instruments suitable for detecting minimally important effects in clinical trials, measuring the health of populations, and for providing information for policy decisions.     

"A taxonomy of instrumental conditioning": Comment.

P. J. Woods's (see record 1975-00351-001) article on a taxonomy of instrumental conditioning is merely a simplified duplication of J. Cohen's (1969) more sophisticated taxonomy of operant conditioning techniques. Woods's insistence on an operant conditioned response (CR) without a discriminative stimulus seems untenable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"A taxonomy of instrumental conditioning": Reply.

Responds to B. Hendricks's (1975) remarks on P. J. Woods's (see record 1975-00351-001) article on a taxonomy of instrumental conditioning. Reasons why J. Cohen's (1969) work was not cited are provided, and differences between the schemata of Woods and Cohen are noted. Also, use of the term signal, rather than discriminative stimulus, is explained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infant recognition of two- and three-dimensional stimuli.

To compare differences in the processing of 2- and 3-dimensional stimuli, 52 13- and 22-wk-old infants were familiarized with either a 3-dimensional object or a photograph of the object. Recognition was tested by pairing novel stimuli with the familiarization stimulus at different points in the session. The younger Ss showed no recognition of either the 2- or 3-dimensional stimuli. Among the older Ss, however, infants in the 3-dimension condition demonstrated recognition significantly more often than did the infants in the 2-dimension condition. The implications for the development of object perception are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)