Approaches to Adolescent Smoking Cessation and Education

The role of the school in the control of smoking among adolescents is explored. Incidence and trends of smoking among youth are discussed and health consequences of smoking are explored. The role of the school in smoking prevention, cessation, and regulation also is described. Innovative educational strategies to prevent smoking are reviewed and model programs are described. School-based smoking cessation programs are reviewed and suggstions are made for the development of local programs. School policies on smoking are given. Recommendations are given for a comprehensive school program to control smoking.     

The argument from almost indiscernibles

What I call the argument from almost indiscernibles is an argument, put forward by Robert Adams in 1979, for the possibility of indiscernibles based on the possibility of almost indiscernibles. The argument is that if almost indiscernibles are possible, indiscernibles are possible, but since almost indiscernible are possible, indiscernibles are possible. The argument seems to be an improvement over the mere appeal to intuitions, like that suggested by Max Black, that situations in which there are indiscernibles are possible, for the argument purports to give us a reason that indiscernibles are possible. In this paper I shall assess the argument by examining whether there is support for the conditional premise that if almost indiscernibles are possible, indiscernibles are possible. I shall argue that there are reasons to think that either the premise lacks support or almost indiscernibles are dispensable. If the premise lacks support, the argument does not establish the possibility of almost indiscernibles; if almost indiscernibles are dispensable, the argument is not needed to establish the possibility of indiscernibles.     

Computational and statistical methods for analyzing event-related potential data

Some computational and statistical techniques that can be used in the analysis of event-related potential (ERP) data are demonstrated. The techniques are fairly elementary but go one step further than do simple area measurement or peak picking, which are most often used in ERP analysis. Both amplitude and latency measurement techniques are considered. Principal components analysis (PCA) and methods for electromyographic onset determination are presented in detail, and Woody filtering is discussed briefly. The techniques are introduced in a nontechnical, tutorial review style. One and the same existing data set is presented, to which the techniques are applied, and practical guidelines for their use are given. The methods are demonstrated against a background of theoretical notions that are related to the definition of ERP components.     

Recognition of affixed words and the word frequency effect

Three experiments are reported in which the word frequency effect is used as a diagnostic for determining whether affixed words coming from the same stem are stored together or separately in the lexicon. Prefixed words are examined in the first experiment, inflected words in the second and third. In the first two experiments, two types of word are compared where the words in each condition are matched on surface or presented frequency but are varied on the frequency of their stems or base frequency. It is found that lexical decision times are influenced by base frequency, thus indicating that words related by affixation are stored together in the lexicon. The third experiment, however, demonstrates that when base frequency is held constant and surface frequency is varied, lexical decision times are influenced by surface frequency. The results are accounted for by a model of word recognition whereby frequency has its effect at two different stages of the recognition process.     

Testing Event-Based Forms of Causality

Three fundamental types of causal relations are those of necessity, sufficiency, and necessity and sufficiency. These types are defined in contexts of categorical variables or events. Using statement calculus or Boolean algebra, one can determine which patterns of events are in support of a particular form of causal relation. In this article, we approach the analysis of these forms of causality taking the perspective of the analyst of empirical data. It is proposed using Configural Frequency Analysis (CFA) to test hypotheses about type of causal relation. Models are proposed for two-variable and multi-variable cases. Two CFA approaches are proposed. In the first, individual patterns (configurations) are examined under the question whether they are in support of a particular type of causal relation. In the second, patterns that are in support are compared with corresponding patterns that are not in support. In an empirical example, hypotheses are tested on the prediction of sustainability of change in dietary fat intake habits.     

Similarity semantics and minimal changes of belief

Different similarity relations on sets are introduced, and their logical properties are investigated. Close relationships are shown to hold between similarity relations that are based on symmetrical difference and operators of belief contraction that are based on relational selection functions. Two new rationality criteria for minimal belief contraction, the maximizing property and the reducing property, are proposed.     

Visual and auditory choice reaction times

Choice reaction times are measured for three values of a priori signal probability with three well-practiced observers. Two sets of data are taken with the only difference being the modality of the reaction signal. In one set of conditions it is auditory, in the other, visual. The auditory reaction times are faster than the visual and in addition several other differences are noted. The latency of the errors and correct responses are nearly equal for the auditory data. Error latencies are nearly 30% faster for the visual data. Non-stationary effects, autocorrelation between successive latencies and non-homogeneous distribution of errors, are clearly evident in the visual data, but are small or non-existent in the auditory data. The data are compared with several models of the choice reaction time process but none of the models is completely adequate.     

Structure and development of behavior systems

Behavior systems are particular organizations of cognitive structures that are called behavior mechanisms: perceptual, central, and motor. Thus, behavior systems are defined here in structural terms and not in terms of their functional characteristics. In young animals, behavior mechanisms often develop independently of functional experience, though specific types of experience are usually necessary for integrated systems to develop. These concepts are illustrated here by the dust-bathing, feeding, aggressive, and sexual systems of the fowl, which are considered to be typical of behavior systems in other species. Aspects of neural development are examined and found to facilitate our understanding of a wide range of developmental phenomena, such as critical periods and irreversibility. Finally, various examples of classical conditioning and instrumental learning are analyzed in terms of the type of structures involved, and they are related to general developmental processes.     

Events (Like Objects) Are Things,Can Have Affordance Properties,and Can Be Perceived

Stoffregen (target article, this issue) argues that events and affordances are qualitatively distinct properties; that affordances are animal and observer referential, whereas events are not; and that only affordances are perceived and events are not. In this commentary, I argue to the contrary-that events are perceived as well as affordances and that animals do not perceive disembodied properties anymore than they could perceive propertyless things. I argue that events are not properties but are substantial, spatiotemporal things that have properties. Events can exhibit affordances that must vary in scope to support the perceptually guided temporal evolution of behaviors.     

A Primer of the Values Implicit in Counseling Research Methods

The author attempts to answer 5 related questions: What are implicit values? Why are these values often considered problematic to traditional science? Why are such values necessary to research? What are the main values of traditional methods in psychology? What are the implications of a value‐laden science?     

A Note on Formality and Logical Consequence

Logic is formal in the sense that all arguments of the same form as logically valid arguments are also logically valid and hence truth-preserving. However, it is not known whether all arguments that are valid in the usual model-theoretic sense are truth-preserving. Tarski claimed that it could be proved that all arguments that are valid (in the sense of validity he contemplated in his 1936 paper on logical consequence) are truth-preserving. But he did not offer the proof. The question arises whether the usual model-theoretic sense of validity and Tarski's 1936 sense are the same. I argue in this paper that they probably are not, and that the proof Tarski had in mind, although unusable to prove that model-theoretically valid arguments are truth-preserving, can be used to prove that arguments valid in Tarski's 1936 sense are truth-preserving.     

HOW DOES THE TEILHARDIAN VISION OF EVOLUTION COMPARE WITH CONTEMPORARY THEORIES?

Abstract. Teilhard de Chardin's ideas about the mechanisms of biological evolution are revised and their connections with contemporary theories are reported. Teilhard de Chardin's main contribution is the proposal of a new scientific discipline, geobiology—the science of the biosphere evolving as a whole. The main fields of interest of geobiology are reported, and its relationships with contemporary hypotheses, such as Lovelock's Gaia, are discussed. The consequences of this kind of approach are the parallel evolution described as orthogenesis and the presence of canalization phenomena. These Teilhardian hypotheses are discussed in relation to those of the process structuralists and to the novelties of the molecular evolution of the genome. Conclusions are that the mechanisms discussed by Teilhard are presently taken into consideration by contemporary evolutionists in order to construct a new theory of biological evolution.     

Are lies more wrong than errors? Accuracy judgments of inaccurate statements

People are often mistaken when estimating and predicting quantities, and sometimes they report values that they know are false: they lie. There exists, however, little research devoted to how such deviations are being perceived. In four vignette studies, participants were asked to rate the accuracy of inaccurate statements about quantities (prices, numbers and amounts). The results indicate that overstatements are generally judged to be more inaccurate than understatements of the same magnitude; self-favorable (optimistic) statements are considered more inaccurate than unfavorable (pessimistic) statements, and false reports (lies) are perceived to be more inaccurate than equally mistaken estimates. Lies about the future did not differ from lies about the past, but own lies were perceived as larger than the same lies attributed to another person. It is suggested that estimates are judged according to how close they come to the true values (close estimates are more correct than estimates that are less close), whereas lies are judged as deviant from truth, with less importance attached to the magnitude of the deviation.     

Feature importance in feature generation and typicality rating

Many theoretical models of cognition are based on the assumption that cognitive processes and representations are hierarchically structured. The issue of whether these hierarchies are mere constructs or conceptual tools, or whether they have psychological and neurological reality, is addressed. Theories across a range of cognitive domains are reviewed and four kinds of evidence are considered: behavioural, neuropsychological, ontogenetic, and logical. Logical constraints are identified in relation to operating principles of control, access, economy and analogy. The general characteristics of hierarchical structures and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.     

Experimental evidence for serial models of lexical access: a judgment task

The hypothesis that the lemma and lexeme levels of lexical access are in a feed-forward serial relation is supported. Subjects judge the degree of semantic relatedness of pairs of words. Stimuli are all functionally synonymous; they are pairs of words implicated in natural word blends. Half the stimuli are phonologically related and the other half are not. In one experiment the pairs are presented in a sentential context and in the other no context is provided. In both the experiments the phonologically unrelated pairs are judged closer in meaning than the phonologically related pairs. This is interpreted as support for serial models of lexical access.     

Perceptual boundedness and perceptual support in conceptual development.

A theoretical framework for describing the role of perceptual information in early conceptual development is presented. In the main section of the article, a general operationalization of perceptual boundedness is introduced, 3 causes of this limitation are identified, the conditions under which infants and children seem to be perceptually bound are formulated, and the mechanisms by which this limitation declines are described. Traditional claims that young children are perceptually bound, as well as contemporary objections to these claims, are often based on the assumption that perceptual information is generally unveridical or insufficient. Recent doubts about this assumption are evaluated in the final section of the article. It is concluded that although realist arguments are untenable, there are limited forms of perceptual support for conceptual development.     

The Counseling Service in the Administrative Setting: Problems and Possible Solutions

Friction between counseling personnel and administrators affects the work of each. Background reasons for difficulties in working together are explored. Four areas offering possible remedial measures are examined: the nature of compromise, problems in communication, emotional health, and a framework for understanding behavior. Aspects of a program model are provided. Suggestions are made for specific areas in which data are needed and proposals for method are offered.     

Kripke semantics for knowledge representation logics

This article provides an overview of development of Kripke semantics for logics determined by information systems. The proposals are made to extend the standard Kripke structures to the structures based on information systems. The underlying logics are defined and problems of their axiomatization are discussed. Several open problems connected with the logics are formulated. Logical aspects of incompleteness of information provided by information systems are considered.     

An odd effect: Lengthened reaction times for judgments about odd digits

Eight experiments are reported that first establish and then explicate a serendipitous finding that judgments about whether digits are odd or even take longer for odd than for even digits. The slowing of judgments about odd digits is more pronounced when digit pairs or triples are used, but is still weakly present when a single digit must be classified. A similar effect is seen when judgments of nouns are based on whether the nouns are the names of living or dead objects. Nouns that name dead objects are judged more slowly than ones that name living objects. The concept "alive" is linguistically marked. Past research has shown that unmarked concepts are processed more rapidly than marked ones. The similarity in the pattern of results when digits and words are judged is used to argue that the slower judgments about odd digits are due to the fact that "odd" is a linguistically marked and "even" a linguistically unmarked concept.