A comparative study of scales constructed by three psychophysical methods

A comparison is made between the scales constructed by the Method of Paired Comparison, Rank Order, and the Method of Successive Intervals. Application of the three psychophysical methods to handwriting specimens and to nationality preferences results in mutually linear scales. Choice of scaling methods becomes, then, a matter of practical convenience rather than of relative validity.The writer is very much indebted to Professor L. L. Thurstone for the suggestion of this problem and for supervision in carrying out the study.     

Alternative weights and invariant parameters in optimal scaling

Under conditions that are commonly satisfied in optimal scaling problems, arbitrary sets of optimal weights can be obtained by choices of generalized inverse procedures. A simple relationship holds between these and the corresponding invariant item scores. The case of optimal scaling originally treated by Guttman [1941] yields a restricted form of multicategory factor analysis. It is suggested that the invariant parameters of optimal scaling should be interpreted, according to the principles of latent trait theory, rather than the arbitrary weights.This paper benefits from a number of suggestions and comments made by Professors M. J. R. Healy, H. Goldstein, and S. Nishisato, and by Mr. C. Fraser, to whom grateful acknowledgments are due. The author is solely responsible for the final form of the paper, including of course such errors as may remain in it.This research was partly supported by Grant No. A6346 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

"Company motivates the miserable": the impact of consensus information on help seeking for psychological problems

Based on an attribution theory analysis, it was predicted that normal individuals (people who do not evidence a particular target problem) would be least motivated to seek help for a psychological problem when they believe that the problem is actuarially common (i.e., high consensus). Based on an analysis of how target problem people evaluate their psychological problem, however, it was predicted that such individuals (unlike normal individuals) should be maximally motivated to seek help when they believe that the problem is common. To test these predictions, target problem and normal individuals (high vs. average test anxious females) were given feedback that they possessed a problem (test anxiety). Individuals were then told that their problem was either common, uncommon, or given no consensus information. As predicted, the higher consensus information led to the least help-seeking behavior for the normal individuals and to the most help-seeking behavior for the target problem individuals.     

A test of the equality of standard errors of measurement

A procedure is proposed for testing the significance of group differences in the standard error of measurement of a psychological test. Wilks' criterion is used to assure that the tests used in ascertaining reliability and hence variance of errors of measurement may be assumed parallel for each group. Votaw's criterion may be used to check whether the test scores of all the groups have the same mean, variance, and covariance. It is possible, however, for the variance and reliability of the test to differ widely from group to group, so that Votaw's criterion is not satisfied even though the variance of errors of measurement stays relatively constant. For this case a modification of Neyman and Pearson's criterion is developed to test agreement among standard errors of measurement despite group differences in mean, variance, and reliability of the test.The author wishes to acknowledge the helpful criticisms of Dr. Harold Gulliksen, who suggested the problem.     

Satisfaction with social support and depressive symptoms: a panel analysis

The literature suggests that persons who are dissatisfied with the amount of social support that has been provided to them may subsequently suffer from psychological disorder. At the same time, there is evidence that individuals who initially suffer from emotional disorder may consequently be less satisfied with their social support systems than may persons who enjoy better mental health. The purpose of this study was to test these competing hypotheses with panel data from a community survey of older adults. The findings indicate that changes in satisfaction with support tend to precede changes in depressive symptoms. A number of issues in the analysis of longitudinal data are discussed.     

Multidimensional Fechnerian Scaling: Probability-Distance Hypothesis

The probability-distance hypothesis states that the probability with which one stimulus is discriminated from another is a function of some subjective distance between these stimuli. The analysis of this hypothesis within the framework of multidimensional Fechnerian scaling yields the following results. If the hypothetical subjective metric is internal (which means, roughly, that the distance between two stimuli equals the infimum of the lengths of all paths connecting them), then the underlying assumptions of Fechnerian scaling are satisfied and the metric in question coincides with the Fechnerian metric. Under the probability-distance hypothesis, the Fechnerian metric exists (i.e., the underlying assumptions of Fechnerian scaling are satisfied) if and only if the hypothetical subjective metric is internalizable, which means, roughly, that by a certain transformation it can be made to coincide in the small with an internal metric; and then this internal metric is the Fechnerian metric. The specialization of these results to unidimensional stimulus continua is closely related to the so-called Fechner problem proposed in 1960's as a substitute for Fechner's original theory.     

Empirical evaluation of the axioms of multiplicativity, commutativity, and monotonicity in ratio production of area

Although direct scaling methods have been widely used in the behavioral sciences since the 1950s, theoretical approaches which could clarify the implicit assumptions inherent in Stevens' ratio scaling approach were developed only recently. Today, it is generally accepted that the axioms of commutativity and multiplicativity are fundamental to the subjects' ratio scaling behavior. Therefore, both axioms were evaluated in ratio production of area. Participants were required to adjust the area of a variable circle to prescribed ratio production factors. The results are in accordance with previous empirical findings: commutativity was satisfied, whereas multiplicativity failed to hold. Additionally, the validity of the monotonicity property was analyzed, which postulates that the subjects' adjustments in a ratio production experiment preserve the mathematical order of the ratio production factors. Monotonicity was satisfied empirically, which is consistent with all the current theories of ratio scaling.     

The Multidimensional Scaling Of A Set Of Artistic Drawings : Perceived Structure And Scale Correlates

Product-centered research on creativity approaches the criterion problem of what is to be the referent for creativity through the analysis of tangible products such as a r t objects, writing, or scientific achievements. The present research is concerned with the evaluation and study of artist drawings contributed by sophomore students a t the Rhode Island School of Design. Multi-dimensional scaling methods were applied to similarity judgments obtained from art experts on two separate sets of 26 drawings. Three similarity dimensions accounted for the interstimulus distances for each set of drawings. Although no statistical test was available, the dimensions from the two seta appeared to correspond. Scale values of 4 drawings common to the two sets were consistent, and the dimensions appeared to define very similar stimulus characteristics. It was concluded that multidimensional scaling procedures provided a means for differentiating among a set of complex, esthetic products. Scale values of drawings on the three dimensions also correlated differentially with cognitive and achievement measures available on the students, suggesting that product dimensions identified via similarity judgments were related to characteristics of individuals producing the products. Hypotheses were developed as to the psychological meaning of the three product dimensions.     

The effect of difficulty and chance success on item-test correlation and on test reliability

An equation is derived for predicting the effect of chance success, relative to item difficulty, on item-test correlation. The values predicted by this equation and by equations derived by Guilford and Carroll for predicting the effect of chance success on item difficulty and test reliability are compared with empirical values in an experiment which used identical test items in multiple-choice and answer-only form.Condensation of a dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree to the University of Chicago. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Professor Harold Gulliksen for his guidance as thesis advisor and to Professor L. L. Thurstone and Dr. D. W. Fiske of the University of Chicago who served as members of the thesis committee. The author is also indebted to Professor S. S. Wilks for review of the derivations and development of statistical tests used in the thesis, to Dr. L. R Tucker for technical advice, and to Dr. W. G. Mollenkopf for critical comments on the derivations and interpretations. The writer expresses appreciation to the Educational Testing Service for making available its technical facilities, and to the University of Chicago for the flexible administrative arrangement which made this thesis possible.     

Perceived threat and control as moderators of peace activism: Implications for mobilizing the public in the pursuit of disarmament

The present study was designed to investigate what variables discriminate individuals who actively work to promote disarmament from individuals who share the same attitudes but remain inactive. It is argued that if a person appraises nuclear war as an unlikely event, then it is not necessary to contemplate what can be done to prevent it. In contrast, if a threat is perceived, several possible coping strategies might be available, one of which is activism. However, activism is viable only if an individual believes that collectively the public can make a difference. Results of two surveys, one conducted with 142 peace activists across Canada and another with a random sample of 33 adults from the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, who are not active in the peace movement, confirm that perceptions of threat and belief in collective control are powerful discriminating variables. The implications of these findings for educating and mobilizing the public in the pursuit of disarmament are discussed.     

Intensity resolution and subjective magnitude in psychophysical scaling

Several successful theories of psychophysical judgment imply that exponents of power functions in scaling tasks should covary with measures of intensity resolution such asd’ in the same tasks, whereas the prevailing metatheory of ideal psychophysical scaling asserts the independence of the two. In a direct test of this relationship, three prominent psychophysical scaling paradigms were studied: category judgment without an identification function, absolute magnitude estimation, and cross-modality matching with light intensity as the response continuum. Separate groups of subjects for each scaling paradigm made repeated judgments of the loudnesses of the pure tones that constituted each of two stimulus ensembles. The narrow- and wide-range ensembles shared six identical stimulus intensities in the middle of each set. Intensity resolution, as measured byd’-like distances, of these physically identical stimuli was significantly worse for the wide-range set for all three methods. Exponents of power functions fitted to geometric mean responses, and in magnitude estimation and cross-modality matching the geometric mean responses themselves, were also significantly smaller in the wide-range condition. The variation of power function exponents, and of psychophysical scale values, for stimulus intensities that were identical in the two stimulus sets with the intensities of other members of the ensembles is inconsistent with the metatheory on which modern psychophysical scaling practice is based, although it is consistent with other useful approaches to measurement of psychological magnitudes.     

Social comparisons in novel situations: finding inspiration during life transitions

The authors propose that individuals transitioning to a novel environment will prefer upward comparisons, particularly those made with individuals who have experienced a similar transition. Such comparisons help to reduce uncertainty and demonstrate that future success is possible. Study 1 found that individuals facing transitions to unfamiliar situations seek upward comparisons as a result of their uncertainty. Study 2 demonstrated that individuals who perceive themselves to be making a significant life transition are especially motivated by upward comparisons. Study 3 provided evidence that upward comparisons are especially inspiring to individuals making a transition to a novel cultural environment. Study 4 provided experimental evidence that individuals in a novel cultural environment are particularly inspired by upward comparisons with other newcomers. These studies suggest that upward comparisons with individuals who have experienced a similar transition enhance individuals' sense of control over future outcomes and play a key role during adjustment to novel environments.     

The frustrating problem for four-dimensionalism

I argue that four-dimensionalism and the desire satisfaction account of well-being are incompatible. For every person whose desires are satisfied, there will be many shorter-lived individuals (‘person-stages’ or ‘subpersons’) who share the person’s desires but who do not exist long enough to see those desires satisfied; not only this, but in many cases their desires are frustrated so that the desires of the beings in whom they are embedded as proper temporal parts may be fulfilledI call this the frustrating problem for four-dimensionalism. In the first half of the paper I lay the groundwork for understanding the frustrating problem, and then in the second half, I will examine six possible responses to the frustrating problem on behalf of the four-dimensionalist, (i) the Parfit (1984) inspired claim that identity is not what matters, (ii) the personal pronoun revisionism of Noonan (Analysis 70(1):93–98, 2010), (iii) the indirect concern account of Hudson (A materialist metaphysics of the human person, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2001), (iv) the sensible stages account of Lewis (On the plurality of worlds, Wiley Blackwell Press, Oxford, 1986), (v) a multiple-concepts account of desire satisfaction, and (vi) a No Desire View according to which subpersons have no mental states and thus no desires to frustrate. I argue that none of these solutions will help the four-dimensionalist; she does better to reject the desire satisfaction theory, while the defender of the desire satisfaction theory does better to reject four-dimensionalism.     

Consultant Problem Understanding as a Function of Training in Interviewing to Promote Accessible Reasoning

The focus of this article is on how consultants develop a “high-quality” understanding of a teacher's presenting problem situation from interviewing them. A longitudinal quasi-experimental study was conducted with 10 graduate students enrolled on an accredited training program in school psychology in which interviewing and problem-solving skills were taught and practiced. Eight individuals who had been selected for the same training program but who had not enrolled acted as a comparison group to measure possible practice effects. The results indicated that following training consultant use of statements designed to reveal their reasoning to the teacher significantly increased, and was highly correlated with the quality of their subsequent written analyses of the teacher's problem situation.     

Forgiveness in marriage: putting the benefits into context.

The current longitudinal study examined the consequences of spouses' tendencies to forgive their partners over the first 2 years of 72 new marriages. Though positive main effects between forgiveness and marital outcomes emerged cross-sectionally, spouses' tendencies to forgive their partners interacted with the frequency of those partners' negative verbal behaviors to predict changes in marital outcomes longitudinally. Specifically, whereas spouses married to partners who rarely behaved negatively tended to remain more satisfied over time to the extent that they were more forgiving, spouses married to partners who frequently behaved negatively tended to experience steeper declines in satisfaction to the extent that they were more forgiving. Similar patterns emerged for changes in the severity of husbands' problems, such that husbands married to wives who frequently behaved negatively reported sharper increases in problem severity to the extent that they were more forgiving but reported more stable problem severity to the extent that they were less forgiving. These findings question whether all spouses should benefit from forgiveness interventions and thus highlight the need for further research on the most appropriate targets for such interventions.     

The things that aren’t actually there

The standard Kripkean semantic theories for quantified modal logic allow the individuals that exist at other worlds to vary from those that exist at the actual world. This causes a problem for those who deny the existence of non-actual individuals. I focus on two prominent strategies for solving this problem, due respectively to Bernard Linsky and Edward Zalta (who identify the possible individuals with the actual individuals) and Alvin Plantinga (who identifies the possible individuals with the individual essences). I argue, contra various commentators, that both of these solutions are acceptable by the lights of those who deny the existence of mere possibilia.     

The influence of code‐oriented versus meaning‐oriented approaches to reading instruction on word recognition in the Spanish language

This study was designed to examine the possible effect of instructional method and grade on the development of the competences used in reading isolated words in a transparent orthography (i.e., Spanish). A cross‐sectional design was used with a sample of 202 children who were learning to read by different instructional methods (code‐oriented vs. meaning‐oriented approaches). The effect of instructional method was analysed on reaction times, latency responses, and misreading on lexical decision and naming tasks. Words varied in frequency, length, and positional frequency of syllables (PFS) and the nonwords varied only in length and PFS. Our prediction was that the differences in reaction times and error performance as a function of the variables that allow us to test the routes—such as lexicality, word frequency, PFS, and word length—would be greater in the individuals who learn by a meaning‐oriented approach, which means that this group would be more affected by unfamiliar and longer words, low PFS, and nonwords in comparison to individuals who learn by a code‐oriented approach. This would support the view that individuals who learn by a meaning‐oriented approach have particular difficulties in naming words under conditions that require extensive phonological computation. Reliable effects of instructional method were found both in reaction times and latency responses and also on misreading in words and nonwords. The findings demonstrate superiority in the sublexical analysis in children who were learning by code‐oriented approaches. However, individuals who were learning by meaning‐oriented approaches had particular difficulties in naming words under conditions that require extensive phonological computation.     

Dimension integration: Testing models without trade-offs

This paper tests a behavioral property called dimension integration. The test evaluates models, such as lexicographic semi-orders and the priority heuristic, which assume that a person uses only one dimension at a time. It provides a way to compare such models against those that assume a person combines information from different dimensions. The test allows one to test the hypothesis that different people use different lexicographic semi-orders with different threshold parameters. In addition, by use of a “true and error” model, it is possible to “correct” for unreliability of choice in order to estimate the proportions of participants who show different response patterns that can be classified as integrative or not integrative. An experiment with 260 participants was conducted in which people made choices between two-branch gambles. The aggregate results violate the priority heuristic and six lexicographic semi-orders. The data also refute the theory that people use a mixture of these lexicographic semi-orders. In addition, few individuals appear to show response patterns consistent with non-integrative models. Instead, they show that most individuals show patterns consistent with the hypothesis that they combine information between dimensions.     

I like you but I don't know why: Objective facial resemblance to significant others influences snap judgments

Does a new person's objective facial resemblance to a significant other influence snap judgments of liking, and if so, does this effect occur even when individuals are not consciously aware of the resemblance? Participants (romantic couples) made trait judgments about 24 novel faces, each shown for 500 ms. Objective facial resemblance was manipulated using morphing techniques such that half of the novel faces resembled participants' partner and half did not. We found that women's evaluations of novel men who resembled their partner (vs. those who did not) were more positive, but men's evaluations of novel women were not appreciably affected by facial resemblance. These results held even when individuals were not consciously aware of the resemblance. Moreover, the effect of facial resemblance on judgments of liking was more pronounced for individuals who were more satisfied in their relationship, suggesting that these results were due to activating the specific partner representation (rather than familiarity). This research shows that objective facial resemblance to a significant other influences snap judgments of liking automatically, effortlessly, and without conscious awareness.     

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.