THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONS TO A DEPRESSANT DRUG

F rankenhaeuser , M., and B eckman , M. The susceptibility of intellectual functions to a depressant drug. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1961, 2 , 93–99.—The performance of 32 subjects in tests on four intellectual factors (verbal, numerical, inductive and spatial) during the inhalation of nitrous oxide (30 per cent N₂O and 70 per cent O₂) and a control mixture (30 per cent N₂ and 70 per cent O₂) were compared . The drug caused a highly significant deterioration in the performance of all four tests. Both speed and accuracy of performance were impaired. The problem of a possible differential susceptibility to the drug of the various intellectual functions wag attacked by a statistical analysis of the differences between the tests with regard to changes in performance during drug inhalation. No reliable differences in extent of impairment between the four tests could be demonstrated.     

Estradiol and progesterone in the control of sexual receptivity in female rats

Estradiol (E₂) and progesterone (P) are both required for induction of sexual behavior in female rats under physiological conditions. Administration of E₂ in brief pulses can induce the behavior in ovariectomized rats. P does not normally exert inhibitory or anti-estrogenic effects on the behavior. The decline of sexual receptivity in ovariectomized E₂+P-treated rats is dependent upon the amount of E₂ and P given but independent on the continued presence of either hormone. Ovariectomized animals treated with a constant amount of E₂ show a behavioral rhythm which is disrupted by hypothalamic lesions and it is suggested that peptidergic neurons in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus rhythmically inhibit the behavior of ovariectomized E₂-treated rats.     

A note on cue probability learning: what conditioning data reveal about cue contrast

In a probabilistic learning task with two complementary cues (C₁ and C₂) and two events (E₁ and E₂) the subject has a tendency to infer that E₂ will occur when C₂ occurs after he/she has observed that E₁ frequently goes with C₁. This phenomenon was termed cue contrast because it reflects the belief that C₂ contrasts with C₁ and should indicate E₂. Two kinds of predictions following from the notion of cue contrast were tested on response proportions from the first block of trials in four previously published experiments on cue probability learning. Of a total of 15 independent observations (eight within-group comparisons; seven between-group comparisons) 13 confirmed the predictions (sign test, p<0.005). It was concluded that cue utilization is both an inductive process based on association between cues and events and an inferential process based on contrast.     

The effect of simulation exercises on the control of aggressive behaviour in children

Abstract.— The subjects consisted of two. matched, extremely aggressive (experimental = ExG and control = CoG) groups of twelve 8–year-old boys. and of one criterion group (CrG) of extrovert, well-controlled boys. Video-tape recording of behaviour was used both in pretest (T₁) and post-test (T₂). Between T₁ and T₂ the ExG was submitted to simulation exercises of 8 lessons given in a period of four weeks. The exercises consisted in social problem solutions on the purely cognitive (imaginary and symbolic) level and in role-playing (behavioral level). The hypothesis was that the combination of cognitive training and observational learning with the aim of making children realise alternatives to aggression in coping with thwarting situations and their after-effects. would influence individuals with strong aggressive habits to abandon theiraggressive reactions in favour of more constructive behaviour. As to aggression, the results supported the hypothesis. For constructive behaviour, (1) the ExG maintained the samelevel of control of social behaviour in T₁ and T₂, while a significant drop occurred in the GoC, and (2) the strategies of problem solution improved significantly in the ExG. In T₂, the behaviour of the ExG resembled more closely that of the CoG than the behaviour of the CrG, as hypothesized.     

Balance of blood pressure equivalents as a new quantitative scale for identifying cardiac versus vascular reactor: Comparisons with Gregg, Matyas and James' (2002) hemodynamic profile scale

Abstract:  A quantitative scale for identifying cardiac versus vascular reactor, balance of blood pressure equivalents ( BE ), was newly advocated and compared with a very recently advocated one, hemodynamic profile ( HP ), by Gregg, Matyas and James (2002). BE was defined as " (Δ Q/Q ₀) P ₀'  − ( Δ R/R ₀ )P ₀." Here, P ₀ , Q ₀, and R ₀ were mean blood pressure ( P ), cardiac output ( Q ), and total peripheral resistance ( R ) during baseline, and Δ Q and Δ R were the difference scores of Q and R from baseline to stress, respectively. This was named as BE because the two terms in the formula indicated changes in Q and R in their blood pressure equivalents. Comparisons of the BE and HP scales were carried out, theoretically, in a newly introduced pressor space, on orthogonality with the extent of elevation of P (Δ P ); and then, practically, by using hypothetical data. In summary, it was shown that data points in the neighborhood in the pressor space can be judged as having not so different hemodynamic balance whether the BE or HP scale was used. As a merit, the BE scale seemed helpful to an intuitive understanding of the hemodynamics during stress. As a demerit, it cannot maintain the quasi-orthogonal relationship with Δ P when Q or R changes profoundly in the face of stress.     

IT STICKS IN MY THROAT

In challenging the implications of my putative counter-example to Wittgenstein's claim that "It's on the tip of my tongue" (TT) is not the expression of an experience (cf. Philosophical Investigations , p.219)¹, Professor Slater writes²
… the obvious way in which to meet the threat to the adequacy of (b₁) [which is that the speaker should believe that he may be able to produce the missing word (fairly soon)] is to claim that the utterer of "It's on the tip of my tongue" must not merely believe that he may recall the word fairly soon, he must also believe, i.e., not rule out the possibility that, he may do so without any treatment , i.e., without being prompted by an external source such as cues, pills, or shock, (p.51)     

Task predictability and performance as determinants of confidence in multiple-cue judgments

Two experiments were performed in order to study judges' confidence in their judgments. Experiment I showed that judges' confidence is a direct function of the cue intercorrelation. r_ij in a pure judgmental task. When judges recieved feedback, the effect of r_ij on confidence was, as predicted, reduced. Confidence was, however, systematically related to neither R ²_c nor performance in the feedback condition. Experiment II was a further study of the effect of feedback on confidence. In addition, the hypothesis that the lack of relation between performance and confidence is due to judges' poor knowledge of how they actually perform in probabilistic inference tasks was tested. The experiment showed that differences among judges' confidence is a direct function of task predictability and that judges' confidence is related to how they believe that they perform rather than to how they actually perform. The theoretical as well as the practical importance of studies of confidence in probabilistic inference tasks was discussed.     

Associations between Stress,Psychosomatic Complaints,and Parental Criticism among Affluent Adolescent Girls

A growing body of research has shown that adolescent girls in the context of affluence face a series of unique pressures that may increase social-emotional problems. Little research, however, has examined associations between perceived stress and psychosomatic complaints among privileged youth. In the present study, we investigated the relationships between stress, psychosomatic complaints, and parental criticism in a sample of preadolescent and adolescent girls (n?=?218) from selective, private schools. Using OLS regression analyses, cross-sectional and longitudinal associations were evident between perceived stress and psychosomatic complaints, with increases in stress associated with increases in psychosomatic problems. Parental criticism was also examined as a predictor of girls’ psychosomatic complaints and stress levels. Results indicated that parental criticism was significantly and positively associated with psychosomatic problems in cross-sectional models and that perceived stress levels mediated this association. Additional analyses demonstrated that the relationship between psychosomatic complaints and stress may be bidirectional. Taken together, results from this exploratory study suggest that girls in the context of affluence may also experience psychosomatic complaints, in addition to social-emotional problems.     

PREDICTING TRAINING SUCCESS: NOT MUCH MORE THAN g

The roles of general ability ( g ) and specific abilities ( s₁ … s_g ) were investigated in prediction of job-training-school grades. Subjects were 78,041 Air Force enlistees in 82 jobs. General ability and specific abilities were defined by scores on the first and subsequent unrotated principal components of the enlistment selection and classification test, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. Linear models analyses revealed that s₁ … s ₉ added little to the prediction afforded by g. It was also determined that a common prediction equation for all jobs was almost as predictive as an equation for each job.     

The relation of vicarious to direct instigation and conditioning of electrodermal responses

Abstract.— Three groups with 16 Ss each and run in pairs, participated in a differential, successive components, long interstimulus interval conditioning paradigm with the skin conductance response as dependent variable. For the problem solving group the task was described as guessing which of two lamps (CS₂s) would follow after two different tones (CS₁s). In the observer group they were further informed that the other subject in the pair, the model, would receive shocks at CS+ offset, which actually was the case for the model group. Skin conductance responses were scored in five intervals during and after the non-overlapping presentation of the two CSs with a duration of 8 sec each. The results indicated no differentiation in any interval for the problem-solvers, and parallel instigation to shock and threat of shock, and conditioning in the observer and model groups, with the exception of conditioning in the 1st interval for observers only. The results were interpreted as parallel instigation and conditioning between vicarious and direct learning, the reported difference being due only to different UCS-intensities causing a blocking of first-order conditioning in the model but not in the observer group.     

The EMG gradient as a reflection of metamotivational state

The significance of motivational statedominance in everyday life and actual motivational state during task performance was investigated in relation to skeletal muscle tension patterns during performance in the continuous preceptual-motor task paradigm. Subjects were recruited to form seriousminded (telic) and playful (paratelic) extreme groups according to their responses to the Telic Dominance Scale (6 subjects in each group). They all performed a continuous perceptual-motor task twice in a neutral context (N1, N2), once with threat of aversive shock at poor performance (T), and once with promise of monetary reward for good performance (R); T and R being balanced around N 2. Measures of tonic (slow) EMG activation were derived from the "passive" forearm, and structured (blind) interview assessed motivational state. It was concluded that motivational state, rather than statedominance, was associated with EMG activation. The telic state was significant to high EMG activation for the N I and T treatments in particular.     

THE EFFECT OF CORRELATED ARTIFACTS AND TRUE VALIDITY ON THE ACCURACY OF PARAMETER ESTIMATION IN VALIDITY GENERALIZATION

The effect of non-zero intercorrelations among the three artifacts (criterion reliability, predictor reliability, and range restriction on the predictor) and true validity on the accuracy of estimation in two validity generalization models (Model 1and Model 2) was investigated. Only the Thylor Series Approximation 1(TSA1) procedure from Model 1 and the procedure with complete sample-based artifact data from Model 2 were included in this study. Six intercorrelation conditions (zero, low positive, medium positive, low negative, low negative and positive, and medium negative and positive) and two distributions of artifacts were used in this investigation. The two major conclusions from this study are: (a) Both models yielded reasonably accurate estimates of the mean of true validities (M_ρ) and (b) only Model 2 produced accurate estimates of the variance of true validities (V_ρ). The need for additional research for accurately estimating V_ρ when the three artifacts and true validity are correlated is recommended.     

STABILIZING ALETHIC PLURALISM

Alethic pluralism is the view that the nature of truth is not uniform across domains. There are several ways of being true (T₁ ... T_n). A simple argument, the 'instability challenge', purports to show that this view is inherently unstable. One can simply say that something is uniformly true if and only if it is T₁ or ... or T_n. Being uniformly true is a single truth property that applies across the board, and so the nature of truth is uniform across domains, contra pluralism. I defend pluralism against the instability challenge. I show that the challenge bifurcates: one challenge is formulated in terms of predicates, and the other is formulated in terms of properties. The pluralist has the resources to defuse both of these. The sparse/abundant property distinction and considerations of explanatory asymmetry play a crucial role in my argument.     

Examination of the Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Affect at Varying Levels of Aerobic Exercise Intensity

Although proposed as an explanation for increases in positive and decreases in negative affect, little evidence supports the notion of a stronger efficacy-affect relationship as acute aerobic exercise intensity increases. Relationships between self-efficacy (SE), positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA) were examined with respect to 3 randomly assigned conditions: (a) no exercise (control), (b) cycling at 55% VO_2max, and (c) cycling at 70% VO_2max. Twenty subjects (age = 22.6 years; M VO_2max= 47.8 ml · kg⁻¹· min⁻¹) participated in each. Preexercise SE predicted in-task NA and postexercise PA in the 55% condition and postexercise PA in the 70% condition ( ps < .05). Although SE significantly increased from pre- to postexercise, in-task affect failed to predict these increases in SE. These data suggest that in a fit college-aged population, a stronger reciprocal relationship between preexercise SE, in-task affect, and postexercise SE does not exist with increasing levels of exercise intensity. Contrary to self-efficacy theory, no evidence was found for a reciprocal relationship. However, the relationship between efficacy and affect was such that when collapsed across conditions and time, subjects with higher SE scores reported lower NA ( p < .05).     

Psychometric properties of scales in the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPSNordic): Confirmatory factor analysis and prediction of certified long-term sickness absence

Psychometric properties, particularly predictive validity, of scales in the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPS_Nordic) were assessed. The analysis is confined to the scales in the QPS_Nordic, and 24 of the 26 scales are included. A large group of Swedish county council employees ( n = 3,976; response rate = 65%) participated in a study and were given the QPS_Nordic. Register data for long-term sick leave (>90 days), with diagnosis, were used for predictive analysis. The following main results were obtained: Reliability was generally satisfactory, confirmatory factor analysis indicated good fit, concurrent validity was good, some less often investigated organizational variables predicted sickness absence, and scales were differentially associated with absence due to psychiatric and musculoskeletal disorders. In conclusion, the psychometric testing of the QPS_Nordic so far suggests that it is a good instrument for assessing health-related factors at work.     

Psychosomatic complaints in adolescence: Untangling the relationship between offline and online peer victimization,psychosomatic complaints and social support

Offline peer victimization has been linked to psychosomatic complaints. As peer victimization is no longer limited to adolescents’ offline relationships, it is crucial that we investigate whether online peer victimization has similar negative consequences. To date, no study systematically investigated the unique contribution of online vs. offline peer victimization on psychosomatic complaints, and the possible protective effect of social support. The current study disentangled offline and online peer victimization by distinguishing four victim types: non-victims, offline, online, and dual victims (N = 897, 9-to-18-year-olds). In addition, we assessed perceived social support from teachers, parents, friends and classmates. A main effect was found for victim type on psychosomatic complaints. Victims (offline or dual) reported more psychosomatic complaints than non-victims. Notably, online victims reported similar levels of psychosomatic complaints compared to non-victims. Furthermore, although social support from parents and classmates was related to fewer psychosomatic complaints, only limited support was found for a buffering effect of social support.     

Ageing-related stereotypes in memory: When the beliefs come true

Age-related stereotype concerns culturally shared beliefs about the inevitable decline of memory with age. In this study, stereotype priming and stereotype threat manipulations were used to explore the impact of age-related stereotype on metamemory beliefs and episodic memory performance. Ninety-two older participants who reported the same perceived memory functioning were divided into two groups: a threatened group and a non-threatened group (control). First, the threatened group was primed with an ageing stereotype questionnaire. Then, both groups were administered memory complaints and memory self-efficacy questionnaires to measure metamemory beliefs. Finally, both groups were administered the Logical Memory task to measure episodic memory, for the threatened group the instructions were manipulated to enhance the stereotype threat. Results indicated that the threatened individuals reported more memory complaints and less memory efficacy, and had lower scores than the control group on the logical memory task. A multiple mediation analysis revealed that the stereotype threat effect on the episodic memory performance was mediated by both memory complaints and memory self-efficacy. This study revealed that stereotype threat impacts belief in one's own memory functioning, which in turn impairs episodic memory performance.     

Non-Informative Effects of Stimuli Functioning as Cues

The category of a first stimulus (S₁) serving as a cue may allow a subject to predict the category of a second stimulus (S₂). However, a cue may have effects on RT to S₂ that are independent of those derived from its intended role as a predictor. These non-informative effects of a cue may add to or subtract from the benefits associated with its predictive function. Two experiments demonstrate that when S₁ is in the same category as S₂ (as is frequently the case for valid cues in cueing experiments) but provides no information about S₂, RT is slower than when S₁ is in a different category from S₂. It is suggested that this category relation effect arises because inhibition of a response to S₁ is still present when S₂ arrives and that, in some cueing experiments, it may subtract from the RT benefits derived from the cue as a predictor of S₂. Also, RT to a visual but not to an auditory S₂ was faster after an auditory S₁ than after a visual S₁. It is argued that this modality combination effect is consistent with the view that auditory signals are more alerting than visual ones and that this is another factor to be taken into account in the design of cueing and other experiments.     

Cognitive bias,emotion, and somatic complaints in a normal sample

Cognitive bias (Stroop interference and implicit memory bias) for masked and unmasked threat words (illness words and negative emotion words) was investigated for its associations with emotion (anxiety, anger/aggression, and positive affect) and somatic complaints in a randomly selected community sample of 138 individuals. Because measures of cognitive bias are inherently bipolar, the data were tested for both linear and curvilinear trends. Cross-sectional analysis showed that the associations between somatic anxiety and Stroop interference for unmasked threat words were better described in terms of curvilinear than linear models, and that degree of somatic complaints was associated with Stroop facilitation for masked threat words. Longitudinal analysis showed that Stroop interference for masked threat words predicted lack of positive affect during an ensuing eight weeks daily recording period. Implicit memory bias was found to be negatively associated with measures of anger/aggression, both in the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. We suggest that: (a) cognitive bias should be treated as a bipolar construct in future research; (b) the phenomenon of Stroop facilitation for threat words deserves further exploration; and (c) more research should address the question about the relationship between cognitive bias and other emotions than anxiety (e.g., positive affect and anger).