Two papers by Michael Fordham (d.1995)

The Journal has decided to publish a selection of previously unpublished papers from the Michael Fordham archives, which are being prepared for publication by James Astor and Elizabeth Urban, and of which the two papers published here are the first, both dating from the 1950s. 'Analyst and Priest' seems to be addressed to an audience of mainly religious people who are interested in the relation between psychology and religion and to whom Fordham is introducing some basic Jungian concepts and ways of thinking. The analyst in this lecture is the advocate of a new science, the priest an established figure with a role in society and rituals to perform. As the paper progresses he refines the differences between priest and analyst in terms of individual development versus a philosophy of life. The paper ends with a plea for co-operation between priest and analyst. 'Analyst and Scientist' was a radio talk given in 1956. In this paper Fordham makes the case for paying attention to the irrational. He draws support from Pauli and Polanyi. His theme is to show the scientific value of the subjective. From this he describes the scientific basis for Jung's comparative method and consequently of archetypal psychology.     

Field response of acromyrmex crassispinus (forel) to aggression by atta sexdens (linn.) and predation by labidus praedator (fr. smith) (hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Aggression between colonies of the leaf-cutting ants, Acromyrmex crassispinus and Atta sexdens, was followed in the field. A. sexdens dominated the A. crassispinus nest, but did not overcome it. The A. crassispinus nest was subsequently raided by Labidus praedator, which took larvae and pupae without killing the colony. Aggression between the leaf-cutting ant colonies lasted 17 days. Microgyne production and nest displacement in the attacked A. crassispinus colony may be atrributed to stress.     

Spontaneous class grouping behavior by bonobos (Pan paniscus) and common chimpanzees (P. troglodytes)

Two experiments investigated spontaneous class grouping behavior by human-enculturated and language-reared bonobos (Pan paniscus) and common chimpanzees (P. troglodytes). In experiment 1, three chimpanzees ranging in age from 6 to 18 years were presented with six objects. The objects embodied three conditions: additive, multiplicative and disjoint classes. All chimpanzees spontaneously produced single- and two-category classifying. In experiment 2, six chimpanzees ranging in age from 6 to 21 years were presented with 12 objects in the same class conditions. Chimpanzees mainly produced single-category classifying. Their two-category classifying was more rudimentary than that found in experiment 1. Chimpanzees did not produce any three-category classifying which would be necessary to construct the hierarchies that humans begin to construct during early childhood. Received: 1 February 1999 / Accepted after revision: 9 August 1999     

Visual search by chimpanzees (Pan): assessment of controlling relations.

Three experimentally sophisticated chimpanzees (Pan), Akira, Chloe, and Ai, were trained on visual search performance using a modified multiple-alternative matching-to-sample task in which a sample stimulus was followed by the search display containing one target identical to the sample and several uniform distractors (i.e., negative comparison stimuli were identical to each other). After they acquired this task, they were tested for transfer of visual search performance to trials in which the sample was not followed by the uniform search display (odd-item search). Akira showed positive transfer of visual search performance to odd-item search even when the display size (the number of stimulus items in the search display) was small, whereas Chloe and Ai showed a transfer only when the display size was large. Chloe and Ai used some nonrelational cues such as perceptual isolation of the target among uniform distractors (so-called pop-out). In addition to the odd-item search test, various types of probe trials were presented to clarify the controlling relations in multiple-alternative matching to sample. Akira showed a decrement of accuracy as a function of the display size when the search display was nonuniform (i.e., each "distractor" stimulus was not the same), whereas Chloe and Ai showed perfect performance. Furthermore, when the sample was identical to the uniform distractors in the search display, Chloe and Ai never selected an odd-item target, but Akira selected it when the display size was large. These results indicated that Akira's behavior was controlled mainly by relational cues of target-distractor oddity, whereas an identity relation between the sample and the target strongly controlled the performance of Chloe and Ai.     

Perception of conspecific faces by budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus): I. Natural faces.

Perception of faces by 4 budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus), a species of small parrot, was studied with a same-different discrimination task. Reaction times were taken as a measure of the similarity between pairs of faces and analyzed with multidimensional scaling to reveal patterns of similarity among the faces. The perception of natural faces was tested to determine which characteristics were perceptually salient. Color, patterns of markings, darkness of the iris, and size of the pupil corresponded to the observed patterns of similarity among the faces. Differences among budgerigar faces were more salient than differences among zebra finch faces, and budgerigar faces were perceptually distinct from the faces of other avian species. The results from these experiments provide a basis for understanding the ways in which these signals function in the coordination of social behaviors.     

Visual discrimination of shape by Humans. II: (I) matrix figures and (II) minimal area changes

Two experiments are described in which an attempt was made systematically to vary two dimensional shapes according to a pre-arranged design. In the first, subjects were presented tachistoscopically with pairs of “reflexive matrix figures” whose members were either horizontally or vertically orientated; and it was found that reaction times to horizontal pairs were faster than to vertical ones, a result that is in keeping with previous findings. In the second experiment two ensembles were devised that were alike in every respect save that one group was extended or reduced vertically while the other varied horizontally. Performance was better on the vertically orientated ensemble. These findings are briefly related to former studies and the pre-eminence of vertical symmetry is underlined.