Factors affecting balance,agreement and positivity biases in POQ and POX triads

This review considers experiments which have tested triadic balance in POX and POQ structures. It is pointed out that balance is only one bias which affects subjects' responses to these structures. Of the others the most important are agreement and P/O positivity; these three biases act independently of each other and therefore should be considered as separate influences on subjects' responses. In addition, because they act independently, Newcomb's (1968) theory of interpersonal balance cannot be an adequate explanation of their operation. In an attempt to discover the different influences on balance, agreement, and positivity biases, experiments concerned with balance theory are reviewed in three sections: (1) a classification based on experimental task, (2) a classification based on characteristics of the triad, and (3) personality variables. It is concluded that there are different influences on the different biases, and that any attempt to assess their relative strength must consider the influences upon them. Finally, it is suggested that the view of biases as methods of encoding information about social structures should consider that such methods can be varied by subjects' knowledge or assumptions about that social structure.     

Balance,agreement, and attraction in hypothetical social situations

Sixty subjects rated hypothetical P-O-X situations involving two persons and an unspecified but important “thing” for pleasantness, tension, and consistency. The situations varied in terms of whether P and O liked or disliked each other and whether P and O agreed or disagreed regarding X. Half of the subjects rated eight situations used by Gutman and Knox (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1972, 24, 351–357) in which a unit relation was induced between P and O by describing them as necessarily having to continue interacting with one another in the future. The other half of the subjects rated situations that were identical to those of the unit condition, except that stipulation of continued interaction was omitted, so that no unit relation was specifically induced. Results showed that preferences for agreement and attraction were stronger for pleasantness and tension ratings than for consistency ratings, while the preference for balance was stronger for consistency ratings than for pleasantness and tension ratings. When no unit relation was specified, the balance preference increased, whereas the attraction preference decreased. Moreover, the effect of attraction decreased more from the unit to the no unit condition for pleasantness than for tension ratings and more for tension than for consistency ratings. The results underscore the need to consider the influence of both the described characteristics of hypothetical social situations and the type of dependent measure employed on the weighting of preferences for balance, agreement, and attraction.     

Aspects of psychoanalytic theory: drives, defense, and the pleasure-unpleasure principle

Freud explained certain fundamentally important aspects of mental motivation by assuming the existence of two drives, one libidinal and the other aggressive/destructive. Elements of this theory that seem invalid are identified and discussed, and revisions are proposed that appear to have more validity and greater clinical usefulness.     

A heterodox defense of the actualist higher-order thought theory

I defend the actualist higher-order thought theory against four objections. The first objection contends that the theory is circular. The second one contends that the theory is unable to account for the alleged epistemic position we are in with respect to our own conscious mental states. The third one contends that the theory is unable to account for the evidence we have for the proposition that all conscious mental states are represented. The fourth one contends that the theory does not accommodate the intimacy we have with our own conscious mental states. To some extent, my defense will be heterodox, in the sense that I will show that some objections are satisfactorily answerable even if we concede to the objectors a point that higher-order theorists do not seem to be willing to concede, that is, that the theory is the result of conceptual analysis.

     

Perceived probability and evaluation of balance,agreement, and attraction: Toward a solution of conflicting results

Fifty-four subjects rated sixteen hypothetical situations on four evaluative and four probability scales. The situations were of the P-O-X type, consisting of two persons and an issue. A2×2×2×2 factorial design was used to test the relative importance of attitude (P to × relation), issue (marijuana or premarital sex), agreement (P to × and O to × relations), attraction (P to O relation), and balance (agreement × attraction interaction) on the evaluation and probability variables. As predicted from a critical review of past research on balance theory, balance was the main determinant of perceived probability. Attraction was the main determinant of evalution. In light of a review of past balance research and of the present data, we propose to restrict the balance hypothesis to cognitive variables, i.e., expectancy and perceived probability. In addition, support was obtained for the hypothesis that the more dogmatic a person is, the more frequently he will perceive balanced relationships as occurring and the more positively he will evaluate balanced situations.     

A defense of the use of metaphor in analytic theory formation.

This study of psychoanalytic theory formation is based on the epistemology of Cassirer and Langer. It postulates the need of all sciences to operate with symbols of various levels of abstractions, including, in a very prominent way, metaphors. There is not just one scientific method. The current wave of criticism against psychoanalytic theory from within and without, and especially of its use of metaphor in theory formation, is based on a philosophy of radical empiricism which cannot do justice to the science of psychoanalysis.     

Father-daughter incest families: A theoretical perspective from balance theory and GST

This paper focuses on a theoretical explanation of how marriages adjust and remain intact in father/daughter incest families. It uses concepts of Balance Theory and General Systems Theory to outline a vascillating balance that occurs between fathers-mother-daughters in incest families. Three groups of Incest, Oppositional, and Nonclinical family units were studied using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) circumplex model. The study found support for the use of Balance Theory and the systems principle of homeostasis as a way to understand the interactional dynamics in incest families. Therapeutic interventions are suggested.Curtis A. Levang has spent more than 10 years working with adult offenders at Hennepin County Adult Corrections in Plymouth, Minnesota. He also is in private practice, working with individuals, couples, groups, and families at Passages Counseling Center.     

Observer agreement, credibility, and judgment: some considerations in presenting observer agreement data

Graphical and statistical indices employed to represent observer agreement in interval recording are described as "judgmental aids", stimuli to which the researcher and scientific community must respond when viewing observer agreement data. The advantages and limitations of plotting calibrating observer agreement data and reporting conventional statistical aids are discussed in the context of their utility for researchers and research consumers of applied behavior analysis. It is argued that plotting calibrating observer data is a useful supplement to statistical aids for researchers but is of only limited utility for research consumers. Alternatives to conventional per cent agreement statistics for research consumers include reporting special agreement estimates (e.g., per cent occurrence agreement and nonoccurrence agreement) and correlational statistics (e.g., Kappa and Phi).     

Ego analysis and the relativity of defense: technical implications of the structural theory

We suggest that it is recognition of the relativity of defense, of the fact that the same content can be either defense or wish, rather than recognition of unconscious defense, that distinguishes the structural from the topographic theory. The structural theory did not simply add to the topographic theory the recognition that defense can be unconscious; it represents a radical shift in the concept of defense and of the relation between defense and wish. Accordingly, ego analysis, as the technical approach generated by the structural theory, is not complementary or preliminary to id analysis, the technical approach generated by the topographic theory. We attempt to demonstrate that the two theories represent antagonistic paradigms, both theoretically and technically. We suggest that "defense before drive," the structural formula for interpretation, made ego syntonicity a crucial determinant in formulating interpretations, and assumed the relativity of defense. Accordingly, the structural revision made possible an equidistant position between defense and wish, reducing reliance on suggestion and establishing interpretive neutrality, which we distinguish from behavioral neutrality.     

A balance theory explanation of challenges confronting cross-sex friendships

This study was part of an ongoing investigation into four of the potential challenges confronting women and men in cross-sex fiendships (O’Meara, 1989). Unlike previous research, which explored the perspective of only one member of each cross-sex fnendship, this study examined the perspectives of both individuals in cross-sex fienhhips. The levels of actual and perceived agreement and understanding were investigated through utilization of a variation of Heiderian Balance Theory and Laing’s Interpersonal Perception Method. Seventy three pairs of cross-sex fiends completed a survey examining direct perspectives, metaperspectives, and meta-metaperspectives, on the four challenges. Over 92% of the participants were heterosexual, 68% were Caucasian, 10% were Afican American, 10% were Hispanic, 3% were Asian, 4% were Native American, and 5% indicated “other.” Results indicate that cross-sex fiends generally agree that O’Meara’s four challenges present only minimal problems in their individual relationships, and that balance theory provides a viable explanation of how perceived agreement and understanding concerning challenges are arrived at within cross-sex fnendships. Additionally, results illustrating disagreements and misunderstandings within cross-sex friendships highlight the importance of looking at the perspectives of both individuals within a dyad.     

Recent contributions to the theory of defense mechanisms: a comparative view

Some of the most recent contributions to the theory of defense mechanisms are critically reviewed including theories of complex motivational properties of the ego (Schafer, 1968; Kris, 1984), a functional theory of defense (Brenner, 1982), an object-representational theory of defense (Kernberg, 1976), a "two-person" theory of defense (Modell, 1984) and a self-psychologically based theory of defense (Kohut, 1984). These recently proposed theories of defense mechanisms utilize differing levels of analytic observation and theoretical discourse. One of the major differences among theorists involves the variety of referents of defense mechanisms (i.e., what is being defended against) including impulse, drive derivative, object loss, or environmental failure. Another fundamental difference involves the variety of ways theorists regard the relation between internal homeostasis and the external world. Questions are raised about the recent tendency in psychoanalytic theory to develop or invoke different theories of defense to explain a broad range of clinical phenomena.     

Empiricism,probability, and knowledge of arithmetic: A preliminary defense

The topic of this paper is our knowledge of the natural numbers, and in particular, our knowledge of the basic axioms for the natural numbers, namely the Peano axioms. The thesis defended in this paper is that knowledge of these axioms may be gained by recourse to judgments of probability. While considerations of probability have come to the forefront in recent epistemology, it seems safe to say that the thesis defended here is heterodox from the vantage point of traditional philosophy of mathematics. So this paper focuses on providing a preliminary defense of this thesis, in that it focuses on responding to several objections. Some of these objections are from the classical literature, such as Frege's concern about indiscernibility and circularity (Section 2.1), while other are more recent, such as Baker's concern about the unreliability of small samplings in the setting of arithmetic (Section 2.2). Another family of objections suggests that we simply do not have access to probability assignments in the setting of arithmetic, either due to issues related to the ω-rule (Section 3.1) or to the non-computability and non-continuity of probability assignments (Section 3.2). Articulating these objections and the responses to them involves developing some non-trivial results on probability assignments (Appendix A–Appendix C), such as a forcing argument to establish the existence of continuous probability assignments that may be computably approximated (Theorem 4 Appendix B). In the concluding section, two problems for future work are discussed: developing the source of arithmetical confirmation and responding to the probabilistic liar.     

A set of 254 Snodgrass-Vanderwart pictures standardized for Spanish: Norms for name agreement,image agreement,familiarity, and visual complexity

The Snodgrass and Vanderwart (1980) picture set was standardized for a Spanish sample (N = 261). The present article shows the main results, but more explicitly, it shows the differences between English and Spanish data. This evidence justifies the statement that normative data of cognitive stimuli cannot be taken into another language directly, because object names that are very common in one language may not be so in another, or objects that have a specific name in one language may have a generic name in another, and so on. Finally, because of the potential usefulness of the data for bilingualism studies, the Spanish data are presented jointly with the English data.     

In defense of the assimilation theory of visual illusions

It is argued that, contrary to Schiano's view (1986), assimilation theory does explain the nonmonotonic relationship between degree of distortion and size of context.