Falsifiability of political opinions

The concept of "falsifiability," taken from philosophy of science, was applied to the individual's political reasoning. 131 undergraduates, taking a position on the nuclear power issue, estimated: (a) importance attached to factual arguments supporting held opinion, and (b) degree of opinion change evoked by hypothetical disconfirmation of the arguments. The relation between these estimates was analyzed in two respects: (1) the difference served as an indicator of opinion falsifiability, and (2) the correlation served as an indicator of rationality, inasmuch as rationality dictates that disconfirmation of important arguments will evoke a more considerable opinion change than disconfirmation of unimportant arguments. Results showed that nuclear power opponents and subjects holding radically formulated opinions were more reluctant to opinion falsification, whereas degree of involvement in the issue was of no importance. No significant differences in rationality were observed, although additional analyses showed subjects to be more sensitive to disconfirmation of accepted, but opinion contradicting, arguments than to disconfirmation of opinion supporting arguments.     

The effects of intelligence test preparation

The first goal of this study was to investigate the effects of reading a book concerning intelligence tests and the effects of a specific test-training programme on numerical and verbal intelligence tests. The second goal was to investigate to what extent the acquisition of test-specific problem-solving strategies affects the ability to solve items on different, but comparable tests (transfer). In the experimental design two factors were included: practice (pretest or no pretest) and (level of) preparation (none, book, or training), so there were six conditions. Each condition consisted of about 26 subjects, who had been randomly assigned to one of the conditions. The results showed a strong effect of preparation, especially for the numerical intelligence test and to a lesser degree for the verbal intelligence test. No practice or pretest effects were found. Positive transfer was demonstrated for the numerical test. The results for the verbal test were less clear. The implications for the predictive and construct validity are discussed.     

The effects of feedback about self and others on the recall and judgments of feedback-relevant information

After people have received feedback about the outcome of their behavior, their responses to information bearing on the validity of this feedback may be influenced by their desire to maintain a favorable self-image. This experiment investigated the cognitive mediators of these responses. Subjects who received negative feedback about their performance on an intelligence test disparaged intelligence tests in general and judged a report they had read to be unfavorable to intelligence tests. Nevertheless, they recalled more arguments in the report that were favorable to intelligence tests than did positive feedback recipients. These results contradicted the hypothesis that subjects selectively attend to information that helps them to maintain a positive self-concept in light of negative information about themselves. Rather, they may attempt to refute arguments that support the validity of the negative feedback they receive, and this relatively greater processing may facilitate the recall of these arguments later on. In contrast, there was no evidence that subjects try to refute information that calls the validity of positive feedback into question. Results had implications for two additional issues: first, whether the effect of performance feedback depends on whether it is received before or after information bearing on its validity; second, whether feedback has similar effects on recall and judgments by persons to whom it does not directly pertain.     

Verbal comprehension: The lexical decomposition strategy to define unfamiliar words

Two experiments were conducted to study one facet of verbal intelligence—the ability of adolescents and adults to use a lexical decomposition strategy to define prefixed words and pseudowords. In the first experiment, subjects in grades 8, 10, 11, and college were given a multiple-choice vocabulary test. The test measured subjects' abilities to use wordpart meanings when defining words. Subjects' metacognitive knowledge of both the words and their prefixes and stems was assessed through a pair of rating tasks. Adults performed better than the adolescents on the vocabulary test. Evidence for a lexical decomposition strategy was found for both the adolescents and adults on subsets of the most familiar items. Measures of metacognitive knowledge were related significantly to measures of vocabulary performance for the adolescents and adults.In the second experiment, college subjects were given one of four multiple-choice vocabulary tests that included decomposable (prefixed) and nondecomposable known (words) and unknown (pseudowords) stimuli. Evidence for use of the lexical decomposition strategy was strong even though there were small effects of two performance factors predicted to affect the use of the strategy. Results are discussed in relation to a theory on the use of internal context in verbal comprehension     

The effects-of repeatedly retesting the same group on the same intelligence test: II high grade mental defectives

Twelve mentally-defective schoolboys between 14 and 16 years of age took an intelligence test (AH 4) once a week, ten times. They took also Progressive Matrices once, after they had finished the AH 4 testing. Subjects of low intelligence were chosen in order to throw some light on the findings of a previous experiment on repeated retesting, in which the subjects were intelligent adults. The main aims of the schoolboy enquiry were to ascertain how far the flattening of the progress curves observed in the earlier enquiry was due to the artificial “ceiling” imposed and how far the part played by variation within the individuals varies with the level of intelligence of the group.

The mentally-defective subjects showed a gradual improvement in test performance with little sign of flattening towards the end; their individual progress curves were far less smooth than had been those of the more intelligent subjects. Other findings included relatively high proficiency on the diagrammatic part of the test, as opposed to the verbal and numerical, and some transfer of training from AH 4 to Progressive Matrices.     

Knox's cube imitation test: a historical review and an experimental analysis

The cube imitation test was developed by as a nonverbal test of intelligence. Many variants show satisfactory reliability, but performance is correlated both with Verbal IQ and with Performance IQ. Performance is impaired by cerebral lesions but unrelated to the side of lesion. Examinees describe both verbal and visuospatial strategies. In a new experiment, performance was disrupted by concurrent random generation, manual tapping, and articulatory suppression. The cube imitation test is not simply a measure of the ability to retain visuospatial information but also depends on verbal representations as well as attentional capacity. Even so, the test was central to the modern appreciation that any adequate measure of intelligence must incorporate both verbal tests and performance tests.     

Verbal Short-term Memory and Vocabulary Learning in Polyglots

Polyglot and non-polyglot Italian subjects were given tests assessing verbal (phonological) and visuo-spatial short-term and long-term memory, general intelligence, and vocabulary knowledge in their native language. Polyglots had a superior level of performance in verbal short-term memory tasks (auditory digit span and nonword repetition) and in a paired-associate learning test, which assessed the subjects' ability to acquire new (Russian) words. By contrast, the two groups had comparable performance levels in tasks assessing general intelligence, visuo-spatial short-term memory and learning, and paired-associate learning of Italian words. These findings, which are in line with neuropsychological and developmental evidence, as well as with data from normal subjects, suggest a close relationship between the capacity of phonological memory and the acquisition of foreign languages.     

Access to attitude-relevant information in memory as a determinant of persuasion: The role of message attributes

Recipients with access to attitude-relevant information in memory were thought to draw on these beliefs and prior experiences to evaluate the validity of message arguments. Consistent with this idea, persuasion for these recipients was largely a function of the perceived validity of message content: Messages containing high-quality arguments were more persuasive than messages containing lowquality arguments, whereas variations in a structural attribute of the message (its length) proved to have little impact on opinion change. In contrast, people who tend to retrieve little attitude-relevant information were believed to be less able to evaluate the validity of message arguments in terms of information accessed from memory. Instead, it was anticipated that they would base their opinion judgments on a more superficial analysis of persuasion cues, focusing on attributes like message length. Consistent with this reasoning, these recipients were more persuaded by long than short messages. Recipients with moderate levels of retrieval functioned much like the high-retrieval subjects.     

Argumentation Without Arguments

A well-known ambiguity in the term ‘argument’ is that of argument as an inferential structure and argument as a kind of dialogue. In the first sense, an argument is a structure with a conclusion supported by one or more grounds, which may or may not be supported by further grounds. Rules for the construction and criteria for the quality of arguments in this sense are a matter of logic. In the second sense, arguments have been studied as a form of dialogical interaction, in which human or artificial agents aim to resolve a conflict of opinion by verbal means. Rules for conducting such dialogues and criteria for their quality are part of dialogue theory. Usually, formal accounts of argumentation dialogues in logic and artificial intelligence presuppose an argument-based logic. That is, the ways in which dialogue participants support and attack claims are modelled as the construction of explicit arguments and counterarguments (in the inferential sense). However, in this paper formal models of argumentation dialogues are discussed that do not presuppose arguments as inferential structures. The motivation for such models is that there are forms of inference that are not most naturally cast in the form of arguments (such as abduction, statistical reasoning and coherence-based reasoning) but that can still be the subject of argumentative dialogue. Some recent work in artificial intelligence is discussed which embeds non-argumentative inference in an argumentative dialogue system, and some general observations are drawn from this discussion.     

类别不确定下的特征推理是基于类别还是基于特征联结

共有3个实验探讨归类不确定情况下的特征推理是基于类别进行还是基于特征联结进行。实验1在中文条件下重复了Verde等人2005的实验,得出了与之相符的结果,这个结果用基于类别的理性模型的设想或者是用基于特征联结的设想都可以解释。实验2考察被试在靶类别的类别特征频次并且特征结合出现频次高低不同的条件下特征推理的情况,实验2的结果表明,高集中与低集中两种条件下特征推理没有显著差异,不符合特征推理是基于类别进行的设想,而与特征推理是基于特征联结进行的设想吻合。实验3进一步考察被试在特征结合出现的总频次并且靶类别中特征结合出现的总频次高低不同的条件下特征推理的情况,结果表明,在高结合条件下进行特征推理要优于在低结合条件,支持了在归类不确定情况下的特征推理是基于特征联结进行的设想。据此可以认为,人们的特征推理是基于特征之间联结的频次进行,而不是基于类别进行     

Putting together prior knowledge, verbal arguments, and observations in category learning

Two experiments addressed the novel issue of how people incorporate verbal arguments into category learning. In Experiment 1, at the start of learning, subjects were given verbal arguments, which had an influence equivalent to a fixed number of category members. In Experiment 2, subjects learned under slower paced conditions, and it was found that both prior knowledge and arguments had multiple effects on categorization: a fixed initial influence plus selective weighting of new observations. The results supported the idea that verbally presented arguments can be treated in a similar manner as other forms of prior knowledge, from the perspective of applying models of categorization.     

The House-Tree-Person Test as a measure of intelligence and creativity.

The House-Tree-Person test and a verbal test of mental ability, the Basic Word Vocabulary Test, were administered to 23 male and 27 female, university undergraduates and to 27 boys and 38 girls in Grades 3 to 8. The drawings were given three separate and independent scorings by judges who computed intelligence scores according to the House-Person manual; rated them impressionistically on intelligence, using a forced-distribution method; or rated them impressionistically on creativity, using the same forced-distribution method. The three House-Tree-Person measures were highly intercorrelated for all groups of subjects. All three House-Tree-Person scores also correlated positively and significantly with vocabulary test scores for female university students, as did both Impressionistically derived House-Tree-Person scores for grade-school girls. Male students' and boys' vocabulary scores were unrelated to any of the House-Tree-Person scores. Results suggest that competence in graphic expression operates independently of verbal intelligence in males but validity as a nonverbal test of mental ability and that it can be scored efficiently and reliably by using a global, impressionistic method.     

Individual differences in verbal conditioning, extinction, and awareness

The present study examined the relationship of three individual difference variables—need for approval, a belief in internal versus external control of reinforcement, and verbal intelligence— to acquisition, extinction, and awareness in a verbal conditioning task Based on a postexperiment interview and recognition task, subjects were grouped according to their awareness of the response-reinforcement contingencies and the degree to which they admitted influence by the experimenter Approval motivated subjects were more likely to acquire the reinforced response regardless of awareness levels than were low need for approval subjects. Subjects assessed as internal were more likely to deny influence by the experimenter and in some instances were more resistant to extinction than subjects called external Subjects higher in verbal intelligence evidenced more awareness than subjects with lower intelligence scores Results suggest that the inclusion of individual difference variable is of crucial importance to a clear understanding of the experimenter-subject interaction in the verbal conditioning situation Implications for the other dyadic interactions, particularly psychotherapy, were discussed     

Effects of Role Assignment and Verbal Interaction on Accuracy and Overconfidence in Interpersonal Judgment1

In an experiment designed to test the effects of role assignment and verbal interaction on accuracy and overconfidence in interpersonal judgment, subjects estimated the questionnaire responses of a randomly assigned partner and assessed their confidence in each estimate. Ninety-five subjects were assigned to one of four conditions in a 2 (role vs. no-role) by 2 (verbal interaction vs. no-interaction) design. Results indicated that accuracy was positively related to the weight subjects gave to their own responses in estimating the other person's responses, and both role assignment and verbal interaction caused subjects to give less weight to their own responses. Because they gave less weight to their own responses, subjects in the role conditions were less accurate than those in the no-role conditions, and this reduction in accuracy resulted in greater overconfidence and worse calibration. Practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Why is working memory related to intelligence? Different contributions from storage and processing

Domain-specific contributions of working memory (WM), short-term memory (STM), and executive functioning (EF) to individual differences in intelligence were analysed using a latent variable approach. A sample of 345 participants completed a battery of 24 tests tapping the constructs of interests as comprehensively as possible. Visuospatial and verbal STM and WM tasks were administered along with three subcomponents of EF, namely inhibition, planning, and shifting. Intelligence was assessed by non-verbal/abstract/fluid intelligence (Gf) and verbal/crystallised intelligence (Gc) standardised tests. Structural equation modelling results show that EF is the main predictor of Gf, whereas verbal STM is the main predictor of Gc. Storage and processing providing different contributions to the prediction of Gf and Gc supports the view that both short-term storage and executive functioning account for the relationship between WM and intelligence. This main conclusion stresses the importance of acknowledging core cognitive constructs as being hierarchical systems with general and domain-specific mechanisms.     

Gaining and losing social support: Momentum in decision-making groups

This paper addressed the question, is there a momentum effect in decision-making groups? That is, does movement toward a decision alternative encourage further similar movement? In the first two of three experiments, the movement of group members toward or away from a subject's preference was manipulated while holding constant the content of group discussion. The only significant effect of such shifts in position was an antimomentum effect; e.g., subjects were less likely to move toward an alternative which had gained a supporter than if no such shift in position had occurred. These experiments also demonstrated that the inverse relationship between overall level of support and likelihood of changing one's position (the “strength-in-numbers” effect) was not solely attributable to larger factions' ability to generate more arguments than smaller factions. In a final experiment, subjects were given an opportunity to defend their preference; under these conditions, the loss of a supporter might result in momentum-producing attributions (e.g., my arguments are unconvincing). However, these experimental conditions did not produce a momentum effect. Analyses of the content of subjects' speech paralleled the data on opinion change in these and previous studies—subjects were much more sensitive to current levels of support than to changes in the level of support. The antimomentum effect observed in Experiment 2 was attributed to a sensitivity to both one's current and past levels of support in the group.     

The Prediction of Students’ Academic Performance With Fluid Intelligence in Giving Special Consideration to the Contribution of Learning

The present study provides a new account of how fluid intelligence influences academic performance. In this account a complex learning component of fluid intelligence tests is proposed to play a major role in predicting academic performance. A sample of 2, 277 secondary school students completed two reasoning tests that were assumed to represent fluid intelligence and standardized math and verbal tests assessing academic performance. The fluid intelligence data were decomposed into a learning component that was associated with the position effect of intelligence items and a constant component that was independent of the position effect. Results showed that the learning component contributed significantly more to the prediction of math and verbal performance than the constant component. The link from the learning component to math performance was especially strong. These results indicated that fluid intelligence, which has so far been considered as homogeneous, could be decomposed in such a way that the resulting components showed different properties and contributed differently to the prediction of academic performance. Furthermore, the results were in line with the expectation that learning was a predictor of performance in school.     

Fluid and crystallized intelligence: effects of diffuse brain damage on the WAIS

In the 1940's two forms of intelligence, fluid and crystallized, were postulated. Active mental processing (WAIS performance subtests) were fluid while well learned abilities (WAIS verbal subtests) were crystallized. Brain damage was considered to affect fluid abilities more than crystallized. WAIS scores comparing normal and diffusely organically damaged subjects indicated that, as hypothesized, the verbal subtests were more affected than the performance subtests.     

Verbal, perceptual and intellectual factors associated with reading achievement in adolescents with cerebral palsy

31 adolescents with cerebral palsy were administered measures of verbal production, speech perception, nonverbal auditory perception, visuospatial perception and verbal intelligence as well as measures of reading recognition and reading comprehension. Nonverbal auditory perception and verbal intelligence were most highly correlated with both reading measures despite the fact that most subjects were most severely impaired in visuospatial perception.     

Intelligence and teachers' ratings as predictors of abstract and concrete learning

This study concerned the prediction of children's learning with an individual measure of intelligence and teachers' evaluations. Eight abstract and eight concrete nouns were paired with nonsense geometric figures and presented to 60 elementary school children in a three-trial paired-associate (PA) learning task. Subjects' IQ scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and teachers' ratings of learning proficiency were used to predict children's performance on the PA task. Multiple correlations favored abstract learning with verbal scale intelligence, accounting for the majority of the variability. Teachers' ratings provided a surprising degree of predictive efficiency for abstract recall which was redundant with verbal intelligence.