Evidence against “absolute” scaling

Zwislocki and Goodman (1980) argue that there exists an “absolute coupling” of numbers to sensation magnitudes and conclude that, when subjects are left unconstrained by a designated stimulus-number pair, they may use this “absolute” scale. The purpose of the studies reported here was to test whether Zwislocki and Goodman’s (1980) absolute scaling procedure reduces contextual effects due to variations in the stimulus spacing. It was found that magnitude estimations vary as a function of the stimulus spacing, regardless of whether subjects are instructed to use a standard and modulus, and, furthermore, that category ratings yield effects of the stimulus spacing comparable to those obtained with magnitude estimations. It is argued that removing the so-called constraints of a standard and modulus does not yield an “absolute” scale of sensation. The absolute scaling procedure increases response variability and thereby lowers the power of a test for contextual effects.     

Progress and innovation: personality disorders and the vanguard of psychopathology research

Important progress in our understanding of the natural course of personality disorders (PDs) is documented in the articles for this special section. This progress could set the stage for ideas developed in the study of PDs to play a central role in research on psychopathology more broadly conceived. The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (Skodol et al., this issue), the Children in the Community Study (Cohen, Crawford, Johnson, & Kasen, this issue), and the McLean Study of Adult Development (Zanarini, Frankenburg, Hennen, Reich, & Silk, this issue) reveal the importance of personality in understanding psychopathology, and point toward a dimensional approach to conceptualizing psychopathology that could also frame categorical clinical decision making processes.     

Multidimensional scaling: I. Theory and method

Multidimensional scaling can be considered as involving three basic steps. In the first step, a scale of comparative distances between all pairs of stimuli is obtained. This scale is analogous to the scale of stimuli obtained in the traditional paired comparisons methods. In this scale, however, instead of locating each stimulus-object on a given continuum, the distances between each pair of stimuli are located on a distance continuum. As in paired comparisons, the procedures for obtaining a scale of comparative distances leave the true zero point undetermined. Hence, a comparative distance is not a distance in the usual sense of the term, but is a distance minus an unknown constant. The second step involves estimating this unknown constant. When the unknown constant is obtained, the comparative distances can be converted into absolute distances. In the third step, the dimensionality of the psychological space necessary to account for these absolute distances is determined, and the projections of stimuli on axes of this space are obtained. A set of analytical procedures was developed for each of the three steps given above, including a least-squares solution for obtaining comparative distances by the complete method of triads, two practical methods for estimating the additive constant, and an extension of Young and Householder's Euclidean model to include procedures for obtaining the projections of stimuli on axes from fallible absolute distances.This study was carried out while the author was an Educational Testing Service Psychometric Fellow at Princeton University. The author expresses his appreciation to his thesis adviser, Dr. H. Gulliksen, for his guidance throughout the study and to Dr. B. F. Green, Jr., for valuable assistance on several of the derivations.     

How to avoid aging effects in free recall

This brief review was prompted by an article appearing in an earlier issue of this journal (Cohen & Stewart, 1982). It identifies several conditions under which aging effects in free recall of complex materials may be avoided. Under these conditions the diminution of aging effects may occur even when strategic requirements are evident. Results are interpreted in terms of the contextual approach to life-span cognitive developmental psychology.     

On the "absoluteness" of category and magnitude scales of pain

The concept of "absolute scaling" (Zwislocki & Goodman, 1980) implies that direct judgments of sensory magnitude not only reflect the relative positions of the stimuli being judged, but also permit us to assess level differences in sensation. In order to explore this notion for different scaling methods, in the present investigation we compared magnitude estimation with category partitioning, a verbally anchored categorization procedure, in scaling painful pressure stimuli covering different intensity ranges. The results indicate that when the same stimulus range was presented after 1 week, both methods appeared to be highly reliable, with category partitioning faring somewhat better than magnitude estimation. When the stimulus range was unobtrusively changed between sessions, both methods reflected the within-subjects shift in absolute level. When two different sets of subjects judged the slightly different stimulus ranges, both methods resulted in scale values consistent with absolute scaling, though only category partitioning was sensitive enough to differentiate the two stimulus ranges. The results are discussed in the context of different possibilities of anchoring direct scaling methods in order to obtain "absolute" level information.     

On the “absoluteness” of category and magnitude scales of pain

The concept of “absolute scaling” (Zwislocki & Goodman, 1980) implies that direct judgments of sensory magnitude not only reflect the relative positions of the stimuli being judged, but also permit us to assess level differences in sensation. In order to explore this notion for different scaling methods, in the present investigation we compared magnitude estimation with category partitioning, a verbally anchored categorization procedure, in scaling painful pressure stimuli covering different intensity ranges. The results indicate that when the same stimulus range was presented after 1 week, both methods appeared to be highly reliable, with category partitioning faring somewhat better than magnitude estimation. When the stimulus range was unobtrusively changed between sessions, both methods reflected the within-subjects shift in absolute level. When two different sets of subjects judged the slightly different stimulus ranges, both methods resulted in scale values consistent with absolute scaling, though only category partitioning was sensitive enough to differentiate the two stimulus ranges. The results are discussed in the context of different possibilities of anchoring direct scaling methods in order to obtain “absolute” level information.     

A minimum-cost network-flow solution to the case V thurstone scaling problem

This paper presents an approach for determining unidimensional scale estimates that are relatively insensitive to limited inconsistencies in paired comparisons data. The solution procedure, shown to be a minimum-cost network-flow problem, is presented in conjunction with a sensitivity diagnostic that assesses the influence of a single pairwise comparison on traditional Thurstone (ordinary least squares) scale estimates. When the diagnostic indicates some source of distortion in the data, the network technique appears to be more successful than Thurstone scaling in preserving the interval scale properties of the estimates.My special thanks go to Alvin Silk, Thomas Magnanti, and Roy Welsch for their support and advice throughout the formative stages of this paper, and to V. Srinivasan for his helpful comments on a later draft of this paper. I also wish to thank the Editor, Associate Editor, and two reviewers for their constructive suggestions.James M. Lattin is Associate Professor of Marketing and Management Science and the James and Doris McNamara Faculty Fellow for 1988-1989.     

Extensions of Narens' theory of ratio magnitude estimation

Stevens postulated that the responses of a participant in a ratio scaling experiment can be used directly to construct a psychophysical function. Today, it is generally accepted that the axioms of commutativity and multiplicativity are crucial for the interpretation of the subjects' ratio scaling behaviour. Empirical findings provide evidence that commutativity holds, whereas multiplicativity fails to hold across different sensory modalities. This shows that, in principle, Stevens' direct scaling methods yield measurements on a ratio scale level, but that the numerals occurring in a ratio scaling experiment cannot be taken at face value. Thus, Narens and others introduced a transformation function f, which converts the numerals used in an experiment into the latent mathematical numbers. The aim of the present paper is to specify the (unknown) shape of the transformation function f, by analysing different extensions of the multiplicative property. The results provide evidence that f is either a power function or a logarithmic function.     

The psychophysics of mental test difficulty

By the use of the Seashore tests of Pitch Discrimination, Intensity Discrimination, Time Discrimination, and the test of Tonal Memory, it is shown that the easiness of an item, as determined by absolute scaling methods, is proportional to the logarithm of the magnitude of the stimulus. It is proposed that this is a case of Fechner's psychophysical law and that the unit of absolute scaling as applied to test items may become a satisfactory unit of allS-scales in the more traditional psychophysical problem.     

The dynamic lexicon in a truth-conditional framework; or how to have Your cake and eat it

A fundamental principle of all truth-conditional approaches to semantics is that the meanings of sentences of natural language can be compositionally specified in terms of truth conditions, where the meanings of the sentences’ parts (words/lexical items) are specified in terms of the contribution they make to such conditions their host sentences possess. Thus, meanings of words fit the meanings of sentences at least to the extent that the stability of what a sentence might mean as specified in a theory is in accord with the stability of what a word might mean as similarly specified. In this paper, I shall be concerned with Ludlow’s (2014) idea that, in fact, there need be no such sympathy between words and sentences. He proposes that we can square what he calls a dynamic lexicon, where word meaning is not stable at all, with a traditional truth-conditional approach of the kind indicated, where sentence meaning is delivered via ‘absolute truth conditions’. I share Ludlow’s aspiration to accommodate dynamic features of word meaning with a truth conditional approach, but not his belief that the marriage is an easy deal. Thus, I shall present a problem for Ludlow’s position and show how resolving this problem leads to an alternative picture of how the meaning of a sentence may be truth-conditionally specified with all relevant dynamic features of the lexicon retained.     

Quantifying private events: A functional measurement analysis of equisection

Functional measurement theory was applied to bisection, trisection, and quadrisection of grayness. Theoretically, these judgments should obey an averaging model. But the overt responses are not a valid measure of subjective magnitude (since they are made on the physical stimulus continuum), and so they cannot be used directly to test the model. However, scaling and model testing can both be accomplished simultaneously using functional measurement theory. If the subject is indeed averaging, then there exists a monotone transformation that makes the data additive; and this transformation can be computed with FUNPOT, Weiss’s (1973a) computer program which finds polynomial transformations that reduce selected effects. Further, determination of this transformation also reveals the psychophysical function, because it gives the relation between subjective magnitude and overt response. For bisection, the averaging model was successful; it was possible to find a monotone transformation that made the data additive. This psychophysical function differed somewhat in form from the Munsell scale. It gained cross-task validity from its agreement with a grayness scale obtained from rating data (Weiss, 1972). For trisection and quadrisection, the averaging model was not accepted; it was not possible consistently to find transformations which induced additivity.     

Commitment

Recently there has been a re-emphasis by both educators and counselors of the concept of commitment. Can this concept bear scrutiny or is it only a popular slogan? It is argued that this concept can find meaning only in a moral absolute. The author points out that relativism is itself a moral absolute. If then we take this concept seriously we are faced with certain difficulties. If this concept is valid for education and counseling then we must either re-examine the issue of religion in the schools or be content with engendering a moral vacuum. It is maintained that the former is the only valid alternative and the author argues for the moral absolute of loving one's neighbor as himself rather than the more prevalent moral absolute of relativism.     

Commentary on “Considering Gestational Life” by Thomas Cohen

Cohen’s paper (this issue) is discussed from a temporal persepective in order to query the place of psychic movement in nonsymbolic, “gestational” states and in treatment, and the relationship of these to personality development. The question of unconscious psychotic hostility to change is raised. The discussant queries the relevance of “merger” in “objectless intersubjectivity” in the context of the “systemic interchange” emphasized by the author, where it seems that the process of “interchange” is prior. Finally, the discussant raises the question of the role of primordial, “live” silence in gestation and in treatment.     

Religious cultures and gender cultures: tracing gender differences across religious cultures

This special issue of the Journal of Contemporary Religion focuses on varying empirical connections and theoretical relations between ‘religion’ and ‘gender’. The introduction to this special issue suggests a theoretical approach which is sensitive to culture by drawing on a phenomenological understanding of culture that is based on knowledge and meaning production and sense making. At first sight, this may not sound convincing because ‘culture’ is a category that is most notably used in combination with religion and gender in culturalist ways. In the migration societies of contemporary Europe, religion has become a metaphor for cultural difference and symbolic boundary-making. The core element of this approach is the conceptualisation of culture as a social web consisting of symbolic forms based on signs of meaning that shape social action, orientation, and experience in the world, including the religious sphere. This entails an understanding of religion as a distinct province of meaning that is structured by processes of social symbolisation just like any other sphere of life. This approach reveals that culturalist conceptions of both religion and gender have specific social meanings as meaningful signs in the symbolic order of secular modernity.     

Not worth the extra cost? Diluting the differentiation ability of highly rated products by altering the meaning of rating scale levels

Over the last decade, the use of rating scales has grown in popularity in various fields, including customer online reviews and energy labels. Rating scales convey important information on attributes of products or services that consumers evaluate in their purchase decisions. By applying multidimensional scaling, this paper reveals that the meaning of the levels of a rating scale can be altered by manipulating the labeling of the rating scale levels. The study reveals that consumers perceive product attributes as being more similar if the labels share similar or identical linguistic or visual characteristics. In addition, two choice‐based conjoint studies examine whether the way consumers make their choices among products can be influenced by changing the labeling of rating scale levels. The results show that a manipulation of the meaning of rating scale levels diminishes both the importance of the rating scale information and consumers' willingness to pay a premium for a rating upgrade. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The deconstruction of the Hy Scale of MMPI-2: failure of RC3 in measuring somatic symptom expression

The MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) Clinical Scales have a long history in psychological assessment. Recently, Tellegen et al. (2003) conducted a series of analyses to restructure the scales to reduce what they considered to be problems that limit scale functioning. In a critique of the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales published in this issue, Nichols (2006/this issue) questions a number of aspects of the approach Tellegen et al. took including their theoretical assumptions, methods of analysis, and failures to report important information needed for scale evaluation such as relationships with existing scales. We concur with many points raised by Nichols. In our analysis of the performance of the RC3 scale, we found that it has "drifted" so far from the original Hy scale as to be a completely different measure- a scale of cynical attitudes that is already well represented in existing MMPI-2 measures. In this article, we take these concerns a step further and examine the history and construct validity of the Hy scale in evaluating the somatic expression of problems that the original authors (McKinley & Hathaway, 1944) intended. We also include new information from a medical setting, an application not represented in Tellegen et al.'s RC Scale monograph. In agreement with Rogers et al. (2006/this issue), it is our conclusion that some RC Scales do not represent the measurement domain of the original scales and should not be relied on for or used to refine traditional interpretation, particularly in medical or forensic situations (such as personal injury cases) because of their confusing and conflicting results.     

The meaning of work and employment: Psychological research and psychologists' values

Structural change and its implications for unemployment raise questions about the meaning of work to individuals in our society. This paper examines the status of psychological research on this topic by reviewing four areas of research job satisfaction, effects of unemployment, adult development and the cultural significance of work and employment. The conclusions which can be drawn are limited by conceptual and methodological problems, but it seems that finding substitutes for opportunities for mastery in the work role is a central issue to be addressed in a transition to a low-employment society. Some cautions about the values brought to bear on research in this area are sounded.     

The externalist challenge to conceptual engineering

Unlike conceptual analysis, conceptual engineering does not aim to identify the content that our current concepts do have, but the content which these concepts should have. For this method to show the results that its practitioners typically aim for, being able to change meanings seems to be a crucial presupposition. However, certain branches of semantic externalism raise doubts about whether this presupposition can be met. To the extent that meanings are determined by external factors such as causal histories or microphysical structures, it seems that they cannot be changed intentionally. This paper gives an extended discussion of this ‘externalist challenge’. Pace Herman Cappelen’s recent take on this issue, it argues that the viability of conceptual engineering crucially depends on our ability to bring about meaning change. Furthermore, it argues that, contrary to first appearance, causal theories of reference do allow for a sufficient degree of meaning control. To this purpose, it argues that there is a sense of what is called ‘collective long-range control’, and that popular versions of the causal theory of reference imply that people have this kind of control over meanings.

     

What Differentiates Declarative and Procedural Memories: Reply to Cohen,Poldrack, and Eichenbaum (1997)

Cohen, Poldrack, and Eichenbaum (1997; hereafter CPE) offer an account of the nature of individual items in memory and how they relate to one another. They argue that there are two separate memory systems, procedural and declarative (Cohen & Eichenbaum, 1993; Cohen & Squire, 1980). These systems differ in their neuroanatomic substrates, in their operating characteristics, and in the nature of the representations they use. CPE argue that representations in the declarative memory system are compositional, meaning that declarative representations may be composed of other declarative representations. Declarative memories are also flexible, meaning they can be accessed in contexts that differ from those in which they were encoded. Procedural memories, on the other hand, are neither compositional nor flexible. I will argue that there is not sufficient reason to argue that procedural and declarative memories have these distinct characteristics. Both procedural and declarative memories are arguably compositional, and both can appear flexible or inflexible, depending on testing conditions.     

Modelling the history of early modern natural philosophy: the fate of the art-nature distinction in the Dutch universities

The ‘model approach’ facilitates a quantitative-oriented study of conceptual changes in large corpora. This paper implements the ‘model approach’ to investigate the erosion of the traditional art-nature distinction in early modern natural philosophy. I argue that a condition for this transformation has to be located in the late scholastic conception of final causation. I design a conceptual model to capture the art-nature distinction and formulate a working hypothesis about its early modern fate. I test my hypothesis on a selected corpus of 25 works published in the Dutch academic milieu between 1607 and 1748. I analyse the corpus through a procedure based on concordancing of keywords associated with the model. I argue that the results obtained constitute a successful pilot study for the implementation of the model approach on larger scale research.