Contingency diagrams as teaching tools

Contingency diagrams are particularly effective teaching tools, because they provide a means for students to view the complexities of contingency networks present in natural and laboratory settings while displaying the elementary processes that constitute those networks. This paper sketches recent developments in this visualization technology and illustrates approaches for using contingency diagrams in teaching.     

The shape of thought

When children learn the name of a novel object, they tend to extend that name to other objects similar in shape – a phenomenon referred to as the shape bias. Does the shape bias stem from learned associations between names and categories of objects, or does it derive from more general properties of children's understanding of language and the world? We argue here for the second alternative, presenting evidence that the shape bias emerges early in development, is not limited to names, and is intimately related to how children make sense of categories.     

Cognitive phenomenology and conscious thought

How does mental content feature in conscious thought? I first argue that for a thought to be conscious the content of that thought must conscious, and that one has to appeal to cognitive phenomenology to give an adequate account of what it is for the content of a thought to be conscious. Sensory phenomenology cannot do the job. If one claims that the content of a conscious thought is unconscious, one is really claiming that there is no such thing as conscious thought. So one must either accept that there is such a thing as cognitive phenomenology, or deny the existence of conscious thought. Once it is clear that conscious thought requires cognitive phenomenology, there is a pressing question about the exact relationship between a thought’s cognitive phenomenological properties and its content. I conclude with a discussion of the nature of this relationship.     

Cognitive schemas and thought as determinants of attitude change

It was hypothesized that thought would result in greater attitude polarization than distraction and that this effect would be more pronounced with better developed schemas (naive theories) for thinking about the attitude object. In Study 1, it was reasoned that persons have better developed schemas (e.g., implicit personality theories) for thinking about individuals than for thinking about groups. In Study 2, it was reasoned that men have better developed schemas for thinking about football and women have better developed schemas for thinking about women's fashions. In both studies, the hypothesis was significantly confirmed.     

Cognitive impairments associated with formal thought disorder in people with schizophrenia

Formal thought disorder (FTD), or disorganized speech, is one of the central signs of schizophrenia. Despite extensive research, the cognitive processes associated with FTD are still unclear. However, the authors' review of FTD theories and research indicates that considerable progress has been made in identifying possible cognitive impairments associated with FTD. Specifically, FTD is strongly associated with impaired executive functioning and with impaired processing of semantic information. Their review indicates that previous research has not yet supported an association between FTD and either an increase in spreading activation or an impairment within the language production system.     

Cognitive vulnerability to depression: The role of thought suppression and attitude certainty

Previous research indicates that dysfunctional attitudes wax and wane with shifts in mood, suggesting that they are more likely the result than the cause of depression. The present research examined the possibility that attitudinal precursors to depression exist but are difficult to detect because at-risk individuals are trying to suppress dysfunctional thinking. However, the lingering maladaptive beliefs should be reflected in attitude uncertainty. To test this idea, participants completed a measure of chronic thought suppression and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale that was amended to include certainty ratings. Participants also reported current and past experiences with depression. The results indicated that although formerly depressed individuals—who are at high risk for relapse—reported relatively adaptive attitudes, they were more uncertain about those beliefs than were their never-depressed counterparts. Moreover, this greater uncertainty was associated with high levels of thought suppression that, in turn, were related to previous depression.     

Cognitive assessment of social anxiety: a comparison of self-report and thought listing methods

The goal of the present study was to compare 2 cognitive assessment methods for social anxiety: a thought listing and a self-report method. The focus of this study was on the convergent and divergent validity of these methods using a multi-trait multi-method approach. Furthermore, treatment sensitivity was explored. Fifty-eight patients with social phobia completed thought listings followed by 2 different social stress tasks before and after an exposure group treatment (n = 33), or following a waiting period (n = 25). One task consisted of speaking in front of 2 confederates while the other task involved initiating a conversation with an opposite-sex confederate. Two questionnaires measuring positive and negative self-statements regarding public speaking and social interactions were also completed. To compare the balance of positive and negative thoughts, the State of Mind ratio [positive thoughts/(positive+negative thoughts)] was calculated for both cognitive assessment methods. Results demonstrate that methods related to social interaction anxiety showed better convergent validity than methods related to public speaking anxiety; however, public speaking methods captured treatment effects better than methods related to social interaction anxiety. This study questions the common assumption that different cognitive assessment methods measure the same construct.     

Cognitive impairments and disordered speech in schizophrenia: thought disorder, disorganization, and communication failure perspectives

This article posits that basic cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are more highly related to speech disorder measured as communication failures than speech disorder measured as thought disorder or disorganization. The author tested 47 schizophrenia patients and 36 control participants for sustained attention, sequencing, and conceptual sequencing ability. Their speech was also rated for communication failures, thought disorder, and conceptual disorganization. Attention and sequencing impairments, examined hierarchically, explained a substantial 38% of the variance in the communication measure of speech disorder but little of the variance in formal thought disorder or conceptual disorganization. The author concludes that (a) impairments in attention and sequencing abilities contribute substantially to schizophrenic communication failures, and (b) it is important to consider lower level cognitive "3rd variables" when examining higher level cognitive associates of speech disorder.     

Body-image thought processes: The development and initial validation of the Assessment of Body-Image Cognitive Distortions

No measures exist that specifically assess cognitive distortions related to body image per se, despite their theoretical and clinical significance. Most cognitive-distortion scales pertain to depression, anxiety, or eating disorders. Accordingly, the 37-item Assessment of Body-Image Cognitive Distortions (ABCD) was developed and validated in this study with a sample of 263 college women. The ABCD samples eight types of distorted thinking related to how persons process information about their physical appearance. Two 18-item parallel forms of the unidimensional measure were also constructed. All forms were highly internally consistent and relatively free from socially desirable responding. Convergent validity for all ABCD forms was established using several standardized measures of body image and eating attitudes. Multiple regression analysis showed that the ABCD was predictable from body-image evaluation, investment, and overweight preoccupation. The ABCD uniquely predicted body-image quality of life and disturbed eating attitudes above and beyond other body-image predictors. Heavier women and White women were more prone to body-image cognitive distortions than were thinner women and Black women. Finally, limitations of this preliminary study, directions for future research, and clinical implications are discussed.     

Hinton diagrams: Viewing connection strengths in neural networks

A graphical analysis similar to that used by Hinton and Shallice (1991) was applied to the hair cells of a simulated auditory transducer. The graphical analysis made it apparent that there were hair cells that responded to a narrow range of frequencies, as would be predicted by the tonotopic organization of the real physiology. In short, this study demonstrates the efficacy of using graphic techniques to examine the nature of the autopoetic organization of the hidden layer of back-propagation networks.     

Local axioms in disguise: Hilbert on Minkowski diagrams

While claiming that diagrams can only be admitted as a method of strict proof if the underlying axioms are precisely known and explicitly spelled out, Hilbert praised Minkowski??s Geometry of Numbers and his diagram-based reasoning as a specimen of an arithmetical theory operating ??rigorously?? with geometrical concepts and signs. In this connection, in the first phase of his foundational views on the axiomatic method, Hilbert also held that diagrams are to be thought of as ??drawn formulas??, and formulas as ??written diagrams??, thus suggesting that the former encapsulate propositional information which can be extracted and translated into formulas. In the case of Minkowski diagrams, local geometrical axioms were actually being produced, starting with the diagrams, by a process that was both constrained and fostered by the requirement, brought about by the axiomatic method itself, that geometry ought to be made independent of analysis. This paper aims at making a twofold point. On the one hand, it shows that Minkowski??s diagrammatic methods in number theory prompted Hilbert??s axiomatic investigations into the notion of a straight line as the shortest distance between two points, which start from his earlier work focused on the role of the triangle inequality property in the foundations of geometry, and lead up to his formulation of the 1900 Fourth Problem. On the other hand, it purports to make clear how Hilbert??s assessment of Minkowski??s diagram-based reasoning in number theory both raises and illuminates conceptual compatibility concerns that were crucial to his philosophy of mathematics.     

Animated diagrams in teaching statistics

In this study, we investigated whether computer-animated graphics are more effective than static graphics in teaching statistics. Four statistical concepts were presented and explained to students in class. The presentations included graphics either in static or in animated form. The concepts explained were the multiplication of two matrices, the covariance of two random variables, the method of least squares in linear regression, α error, β error, and strength of effect. A comprehension test was immediately administered following the presentation. Test results showed a significant advantage for the animated graphics on retention and understanding of the concepts presented.     

Manic thinking: independent effects of thought speed and thought content on mood

This experiment found that the speed of thought affects mood. Thought speed was manipulated via participants' paced reading of statements designed to induce either an elated or a depressed mood. Participants not only experienced more positive mood in response to elation than in response to depression statements, but also experienced an independent increase in positive mood when they had been thinking fast rather than slow--for both elation and depression statements. This effect of thought speed extended beyond mood to other experiences often associated with mania (i.e., feelings of power, feelings of creativity, a heightened sense of energy, and inflated self-esteem or grandiosity).     

Reverie: between thought and prayer

Abstract:  Taking inspiration from a quotation by Lao Tzu, this paper considers 'reverie' as a dynamic process of containment as well as a state of mind. Reverie as a quality of thought akin to prayer is explored in the relationship between self and other. In infant observation, the paper contemplates the development of a baby's capacity to reach beyond the personal world to an archetypal experience of being held, where the creation of an internal space in mind could indicate the beginnings of spiritual awareness. 'Maternal/analytic reverie' views the passage of unconscious communication between patient and analyst as the result of a 'window' opening in the meniscus of the analyst's self. 'Paternal/supervisory reverie' reflects on the impact on a patient of an extra containing mind of a supervisor. 'Archetypal reverie' considers the transforming impact of numinous dreams on the psyche, and reflects on the power of prayer. Drawing on clinical examples from these four areas, the aim is to demonstrate the usefulness of the 'void within' and the perceptive function of emptiness in the 'doors and windows' of our mind.