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)     

Fluid-inclusion evidence for past temperature fluctuations in the Kilauea East Rift Zone geothermal area, Hawaii

Heating and freezing data were obtained for fluid inclusions in hydrothermal quartz, calcite, and anhydrite from several depths in three scientific observation holes drilled along the lower East Rift Zone of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii. Compositions of the inclusion fluids range from dilute meteoric water to highly modified sea water concentrated by boiling. Comparison of measured drill-hole temperatures with fluid-inclusion homogenization-temperature (T_h) data indicates that only about 15% of the fluid inclusions could have formed under the present thermal conditions. The majority of fluid inclusions studied must have formed during one or more times in the past when temperatures fluctuated in response to the emplacement of nearby dikes and their subsequent cooling. The fluid-inclusion data indicate that past temperatures in SOH-4 well were as much as 64°C hotter than present temperatures between 1000 and 1500 m depth and they were a maximum of 68°C cooler than present temperatures below 1500 m depth. Similarly, the data show that past temperatures near the bottoms of SOH-1 and SOH-2 wells were up to 45 and 59°C, respectively, cooler than the present thermal conditions; however, the remainder of fluid-inclusion T_h values for these two drill holes suggest that the temperatures of the trapped waters were nearly the same as the present temperatures at these slightly shallower depths. Several hydrothermal minerals (erionite, mordenite, truscottite, smectite, chlorite-smectite, chalcedony, anhydrite, and hematite), occurring in the drill holes at higher temperatures than they are found in geothermal drill holes of Iceland or other geothermal areas, provide additional evidence for a recent heating trend.     

Intravenous self-injection of psychomotor stimulant--anorectics in the baboon.

The present study evaluated the intravenous (IV) self-injection of 3 psychomotor stimulantanorectics in 5 baboons (Papio cynocephalus) A cocaine substitution procedure was used. IV self-injections were available 24 hr/day according to a fixed-ratio (FR) schedule with a 3-hr time-out following each injection. Doses of aminorex (0.01–0.32 mg/kg/injection), propylhexedrine (0.1–3.2 mg/kg/injection), mazindol (0.001–0.1 mg/kg/injection), and their vehicles were substituted for cocaine for 15 or more days. A concurrent FR schedule of food pellet delivery allowed evaluation of changes in food intake. The highest dose of each drug maintained self-injection at rates higher than vehicle control, suppressed food intake, and produced gross behavioral changes similar to those produced by classic psychomotor stimulants such as d-amphetamine. The present data indicate that each of the drugs functions as a positive reinforcer in baboons and suggest that each may have abuse potential. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Scholastic Aptitude Test "explains" why college men major in science more often than college women.

Used the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to predict the major field choices of 20,809 undergraduates at 4 large universities. Major field was coded on a science-nonscience continuum, and it could be predicted almost as accurately as GPA. The SAT Mathematics subtest (SAT-M) received virtually all of the weight in the prediction equation. Semi-partial correlation was performed to determine if the aforementioned prediction was a mere artifact of sex differences. Results suggest that (a) mathematical ability is an important determinant of major field choice, and (b) the male-female difference in major field choice is largely mediated by the sex difference in mathematical ability. A remedy is suggested for female underrepresentation in science fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental expressed emotion and psychophysiological reactivity in an adolescent sample at risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

The correspondence between interview-assessed parental emotional attitudes toward a particular offspring (expressed emotion [EE]) and the psychophysiological reactivity of both parents and their children during a series of direct family interactions was investigated for a sample of 52 disturbed but nonpsychotic adolescents (aged 14–29 yrs). Parents who expressed an excessive number of critical comments during the interview were designated as high EE, and the remainder were designated as low EE. Both high-EE parents and their adolescent offspring became significantly more psychophysiologically reactive as the 1st of 2 family confrontations in which they participated progressed. Adolescents also showed greater arousal when anticipating interactions with a high-EE parent when that parent was first in the experimental sequence. These results are combined with those of a previous study by the authors and J. A. Doane (see record 1984-06985-001) to support the notion that the EE measure is marking clearly defined family emotional climates that appear to be related to the subsequent onset of schizophrenia spectrum disorders in this adolescent sample. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Comparison of Inspector Performance Measures

Using experimental data from their signal-detection study, the authors examine traditional measures of inspector performance along with measures based on Bayes'rule. Results indicate that the inspector's decision process is affected by the a priori probability of nonconforming product in the inspection lot and that inspector decision error may result in a tighter OC curve for a sampling plan. The conclusions are that performance measures should be selected relative to performance evaluation objectives and that graphs describing acceptance sampling plans for ideal inspectors should be modified to reflect performance of real inspectors under actual conditions.     

Review of Canadian Children's Law: Cases, Notes and Materials.

Reviews the book, Canadian Children's Law: Cases, Notes and Materials by Nicholas Bala, Heino Lilies, and George Thomson (1982). This book contains a collection of articles, legal decisions, and comments on significant issues in relation to children. The authors divide the table of contents into two major groupings: Part I deals with child welfare and Part II deals with juvenile offenders. This book does not attempt to be exhaustive. For example, it does not cover legislation in other provinces, and the excerpts of articles are often too short to give an in-depth discussion of the issues. However, its greatest value is in raising questions that all mental health professionals should discuss within their own profession and with the legal profession and the judiciary so that a better working relationship can be achieved. I would recommend this book to all psychologists who arc involved in child welfare or delinquency matters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Language delay and associated mother-child interactions.

Assessed the home environments and mother-child interactions of a language-delayed group and a matched control group of normal preschool children using the Caldwell Inventory of Home Stimulation (CIHS). 20 language-delayed children were defined by a discrepancy between their Stanford-Binet, language-based, IQ score and their Leiter, non-language-based, IQ score, and by a language evaluation. Children in both groups were distributed across all socioeconomic strata. The language-delayed group had significantly lower scores in 5 of the 6 subcategories of the CIHS. Greatest differences were found in the involvement and responsiveness of the mother and in her avoidance of restriction and punishment. Low CIHS scores were found through the socioeconomic strata, indicating that language delay had a stronger influence on mother-child relationships than did socioeconomic factors. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

NEURAL NETWORK PATTERN RECOGNITION OF BLAST FRAGMENT SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS

Neural networks have considerable potential for applications in particulate image analysis. An area of great current interest is to use image analysis techniques to characterize particle size distributions in video images of blasted rock. A simulated neural network was trained to recognize fragmented rock size classes taken from images of blasted ore in a large open pit mining operation. Size distributions were assigned to categories such as 40% and 60% minus six inches. Pattern recognition features were extracted from digitized images using two-dimensional Fourier transforms. These features were then used as a training set to enable the neural network to recognize the size category of subsequent images of blasted rock taken from the mining operation. Training sets were developed for a back propagation algorithm by hand sorting and sizing the blast fragments from photographed piles. Within the limits of this experiment, the trained network consistently recognized the size distribution categories. A trained neural network can be readily calibrated to adjust for changes in light and shadow, a problem which plagues algorithm-based blast fragmentation analysis routines. Neural network techniques may provide a solution to the problem of rapid and reliable on-line and on-site size distribution recognition and assessment.