Letter-naming time as a function of set familiarity and symbol distinctiveness

Two symbol-naming experiments were conducted assessing the dependence of Fitts and Switzer's set-familiarity effect upon symbol distinctiveness. Sixty college males named printed letters presented in a strobotron tachistoscope, the letter always being selected from a preannounced set of three. A voice key detected the response. Experiment I found the Fitts and Switzer finding to be a joint effect: response latency for naming the symbol B in the unfamiliar but distinctive set, VBO, was intermediate to that for the familiar distinctive set, ABC, and the unfamiliar, homolographic set, PBE, the two sets used by Fitts and Switzer. Experiment II, a factorial combination of set familiarity and symbol distinctiveness yielded a significant interaction such that with homolographic symbols, set familiarity was associated with an increase in reaction time. The results were interpreted as consistent with an hypothesis that the set-familiarity effect relates to symbol-identification time as opposed to response-identification time.     

Understanding a corporate symbol

After discussing the nature of corporate symbols and the factors involved in understanding them, this paper reports two studies. We test various conjectures about the process of comprehension using a single, complex corporate symbol. Three sources of information are shown to contribute to an individual's understanding of the symbol: (1) the purpose ofthe communication; (2) the properties of the symbol–graphical and referential; and (3) the context in which the symbol is seen. We also show that the process is constrained in predictable ways. We consider these studies to be a step in the development of a psychological theory to inform the process of designing symbols.     

The communion of saints as a paradigm for pastoral counseling: a revised look at an ancient symbol

The Christian symbol of the Communion of Saints has stood for centuries as a call to celebrate relationships. From the ancient doctrine of calling out those honored among the faithful for their holiness, the symbol evolved into a more formal ecclesial process involving procedures and miraculous proof. Reaching back to the early roots, the author draws on theologian Elizabeth Johnson's revisioning of saints as "friends and prophets" to explore a paradigm for the pastoral counselor. Such pastoral characteristics as presence, transforming vision, and creative hope are explored for the richness of growth within the counseling relationship for all who enter into it.     

Going home: migration as enactment and symbol

Abstract :  The concepts of home and migration are briefly explored. Reference is made to the reflections of several writers on migration suggesting that migrants may experience alienation, even permanent melancholia. There is discussion of the need to mourn what has been lost and left behind, and of the challenge in analytic work with a migrant to relate to the pain of the individual's core self amid environmental and cultural losses. The paper outlines the history of an individual before her migration from Latin America to London, and tendency to idealize as a new arrival. The symbolization process is discussed and it is suggested that repetitive enactment in the analytic transference may have been needed for her internal reality of estrangement to be confirmed and differentiated from her culturally and socially isolated external life as a migrant. Only then could she mourn losses and symbolize her inner reality. It is suggested that through mourning and symbolization the significance of migration for the patient was worked with and transformed so that, following a second migration, an ordinary, good enough home could be made in a new place.     

菩提心亦是爱国心——以佛教的“中国之义”响应“中国之治”

<正>天下大治,是古往今来无数治国者孜孜以求的理想。国基永固,也是数千年来中国化佛教永恒不变的祝祷。十九届四中全会向世界人民展示,我们党领导人民不断探索、不断实践,形成了具有强大生命力和巨大优越性的国家制度与治理体系,创造了世所罕见的经济快速发展奇迹和社会长期稳定奇迹。[1]中国佛教协会发布《坚持佛教中国化方向五年工作规划纲要(2019-2023)》,号召全体佛教界在新时代更好地坚持佛教中国化方向,建设具有新时代中国特色的佛教思想体系、制度体系、教育体系和佛教文化,不断提高佛教与社会主义社会相适应的广度与深度。[2]而佛教教义从各个维度上自觉趋向于新时代进中国化的努力,必将以其"中国之义"奋力书写出"中国之治"的佛教答卷。