Misconceptions about Freud's seduction theory: comment on Gleaves and Hernandez (1999)

D. H. Gleaves and E. Hernandez (1999) write in relation to the seduction theory that "recent writers now argue that ... Freud never made discoveries of sexual abuse" (p. 332) and that "the assertion that Freud did not make discoveries of abuse is unwarranted" (p. 324). In this article an outline of the case that Freud had no adequate grounds for his 1896 claims of having uncovered infantile "sexual scenes" is given. Some of the more important misconceptions and erroneous arguments in Gleaves and Hernandez's article are then examined.     

False memories and statistical decision theory: comment on Miller and Wolford (1999) and Roediger and McDermott (1999)

In an analysis of H. L. Roediger and K. B. McDermott's (1995) false-memory paradigm, M. B. Miller and G. L. Wolford (1999) argued that falsely recognized items occur because a bias toward calling such items "old" is created by their membership in a studied category. This interpretation was contested by Roediger and McDermott (1999). The authors of this article approach this issue as a statistical decision problem and observe that an explanation of false memory based on stored strengths and one based on decision process can have identical implications for data. Problems with equivalent formal models of this type can frequently be resolved by looking at the effects of other variables on the fitted estimates. The authors illustrate this analysis by examining the effects of presentation duration on the parameter estimates produced by models that instantiate the 2 explanations. Although the question remains open, the storage-based interpretation was found to be somewhat more plausible.     

Representing the task in Bayesian reasoning: comment on Lovett and Schunn (1999)

The RCCL model (M. C. Lovett & C. D. Schunn, 1999) produces predictions that are non-novel or that do not truly spring from its principles. However, it offers the valuable insight that learning processes may affect the selection of both representations and strategies within those representations, and points the way to possible theoretical progress on implicit and explicit control. The authors' account of base-rate neglect under direct experience is compared with RCCL, and it is concluded that learning-based models allow for tests that are not fostered by representation-based models.     

Source ROCs are (typically) curvilinear: comment on Yonelinas (1999)

On the basis of his assumption that recollection is a threshold process, A. P. Yonelinas (1999) predicted linear source-identification receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) and recently reported data that were consistent with this prediction. In this article, the authors present data showing curvilinear source-identification ROCs across various encoding and test conditions. On the basis of the source-monitoring framework (e.g., M. K. Johnson, S. Hashtroudi, & D. S. Lindsay, 1993), the authors argue that curvilinearity of source-identification ROCs is a result of differences in the qualitative characteristics of memories rather than simply the influence of undifferentiated familiarity as the dual-process model might suggest.     

Negative affect and sexual risk behavior: comment on Crepaz and Marks (2001).

In this commentary, the authors highlight the findings of the meta-analysis by N. Crepaz and G. Marks (2001). The role of affect in sexual risk behavior, although intuitively obvious, is not well understood and has been largely ignored by HIV prevention researchers in favor of social-cognitive models of behavior. Crepaz and Marks synthesized the results from studies that have examined the relation of negative affect (e.g., depression, anxiety, anger) to sexual risk behavior and concluded that in the literature to date, these variables appear unrelated. The authors suggest that the Crepaz and Marks findings are not surprising given the methods used in the reviewed studies and suggest methodological approaches that will allow more sensitive analyses of the association between affect and sexual risk behavior.     

Psychologists' and counsellors' perspectives on prolonged grief disorder and its inclusion in diagnostic manuals

Introduction: In this research, proposed criteria for what has been termed ‘Prolonged Grief Disorder’ (PGD) (more recently termed, ‘Persistent Complex Bereavement‐Related Disorder’ (PCB‐RD) in the proposed DSM‐V), were presented to psychologists and counsellors. Method: Participants were asked about their views on the ‘disorder’ and whether they considered its inclusion in diagnostic manuals was justified. A total of 185 participants, (147 psychologists, specialist and general, and 38 counsellors) responded to an online survey (part of a larger research project), concerning their attitudes, choices and activities regarding bereavement therapy. In this part of the research, therapists’ perspectives about pathological grief, the recognition of PGD and its inclusion in diagnostic manuals were explored. Fifty‐nine participants took the option of adding written remarks to the survey to expand on their opinions regarding PGD. Results/Conclusions: Tentative support for the inclusion of PGD in diagnostic manuals was given; however many therapists indicated considerable reservations about potential negative repercussions of using such a diagnosis. One‐way between‐groups analysis of variance was undertaken to determine whether participants' opinions varied according to main occupation or specialism; however, no significant difference was found. This research was conducted prior to the latest update to the proposed revision and diagnostic category concerning bereavement in the DSM‐5 of April 2012, but many observations and recommendations concerning PGD made by the therapists participating in this research can be seen to be applicable to PCB‐RD. Implications: The implications of this research for assessing and diagnosing grief, and ways of working with bereaved clients, are discussed.     

Broad and narrow epistemic standing: its relevance to the epistemology of disagreement

Synthese - Epistemologists who have studied disagreement have started to devote attention to the notion of epistemic standing (i.e., epistemic peerhood, superiority, or inferiority). One feature of...     

Questions raised by a reasoned action approach: comment on Ogden (2003).

In her critique of social cognition or reasoned action models, J. Ogden (see record 2003-05896-016) claimed that such models are not falsifiable and thus cannot be tested, that the postulated relations among model components are true by definition, and that questionnaires used to test the models may create rather than assess cognitions and thus influence later behavior. The authors of this comment challenge all 3 arguments and contend that the findings Ogden regarded as requiring rejection of the models are, in fact, consistent with them, that there is good evidence for the validity of measures used to assess the models' major constructs, and that the effect of completing a questionnaire on cognitions and subsequent behavior is an empirical question.     

Conundrums in a theory of disturbed dreaming: comment on Levin and Nielsen (2007)

Levin and Nielsen (2007) presented a review of research emphasizing dreams whose content is distressing. With some broad conclusions about factors important in the understanding of distressing dreams as a springboard, the authors offered potential explanatory mechanisms for distressing dreams that range from brain structures to personality variables, drawing heavily on findings about posttraumatic stress disorder. Though a reasonable case is made for elements of the argument, implications from one perspective are not always considered in making the argument for others, issues that follow logically from certain assertions are not discussed, and certain assumptions appear unjustified. Definitional or phenomenological presentations are not always consistent, making it difficult to determine the real nature of the variables being offered and to get a clear sense of the boundaries of the model.     

Process, not representation: reply to Radvansky (1999).

The size of fan effects is determined by processes at retrieval, not by whether or not information is represented as situations. Evidence contradicts G. A. Radvansky's (1999) claim that time to retrieve information from a situation does not depend on the number of elements in the situation. Moreover, Radvansky's principles for ascribing situational models to experiments appear to be post hoc ways of redescribing the data. On the other hand, the evidence does support the Adaptive Control of Thought--Rational (ACT-R) assumption that participants can adjust their attentional weightings and so produce differential fan effects. Moreover, the ACT-R theory of the fan effect is consistent with many other findings.     

Possible confounds and their resolution in multivariate genetic analyses: comment on Bussell et al. (1999)

Assumptions behind the twin, sibling, and stepsibling design used in the Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development study are considered. The D. A. Bussell et al. (1999) analyses of behavior in relationships indicate effects of both genetic and common-environment factors. Possible real and artifactual sources of the common environment include assortative mating, sibling interaction, failure of the equal environments assumption, and contaminated measures. Another potential source, specific to this study, is the effect of an individual in the mutual ratings of relationship with sibling, which would lead to a larger common-environment effect across variables than within variables. This alternative model did not indicate that there was a mutual rating effect. Univariate analyses confirm that the common-environment effect is present for both sibling and parent-child relationships. Most other potential sources of common environment, such as sibling interaction, do not account for the data.     

The function of self-esteem in terror management theory and sociometer theory: comment on Pyszczynski et al. (2004)

By applying different standards of evidence to sociometer theory than to terror management theory (TMT), T. Pyszczynski, J. Greenberg, S. Solomon, J. Arndt, and J. Schimel's (2004) review offers an imbalanced appraisal of the theories' merits. Many of Pyszczynski et al.'s (2004) criticisms of sociometer theory apply equally to TMT. and others are based on misconstruals of the theory or misunderstandings regarding how people respond when rejected. Furthermore, much of their review is only indirectly relevant to TMT's position on the function of self-esteem, and the review fails to acknowledge logical and empirical challenges to TMT. A more balanced review suggests that each theory trumps the other in certain respects, both have difficulty explaining all of the evidence regarding self-esteem, and the propositions of each theory can be roughly translated into the concepts of the other. For these reasons, declaring a theoretical winner at this time is premature.     

Working memory and interference: A comment on Jenkins, Myerson, Hale, and Fry (1999)

Jenkins, Myerson, Hale, and Fry (1999) showed that slopes relating complex spans to simple spans were considerably smaller than one, indicating that persons with higher simple spans suffered more interference when the span task was combined with a processing demand. They argued that this finding ruled out accounts of working memory based on interference and/or inhibition of interfering information. We demonstrate that the effect is mainly an artifact from regression to the mean, owing to the low reliability of span scores as used by Jenkins et al. Data from 133 young adults for two verbal and two spatial span tasks show that the slopes relating complex to simple performance are considerably higher for sum scores than for span scores. Furthermore, an adequate test for an interference or an inhibition account of working memory is to predict interference from complex span tasks, not from simple span tasks. Interference effects in the verbal span tasks were negatively correlated with an independent measure of working memory capacity, consistent with the interference/inhibition account.     

The psychobiological theory of temperament and character: comment on Farmer and Goldberg (2008)

The revised Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) is the third stage of development of a widely used multiscale personality inventory that began with the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and then the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). The author describes the third stage of the psychobiological theory of temperament and character; empirical tests of its predictions from genetics, neurobiology, psychosocial development, and clinical studies; and empirical findings that stimulated incremental changes in theory and test construction. Linear factor analysis is an inadequate method for evaluating the nonlinear and dynamical nature of the intrapsychic processes that influence human personality. Traits derived by factor analysis under the doubtful assumption of linearity are actually heterogeneous composites of rational and emotional processes that differ fundamentally in their underlying brain processes. The predictions of the psychobiological theory are strongly validated by extensive data from genetics, neurobiology, longitudinal studies of development, and clinical assessment. The distinction between temperament and character allows the TCI and TCI-R to outperform other popular personality inventories in distinguishing individuals with personality disorders from others and in describing the developmental path to well-being in terms of dynamical processes within the individual that are useful for both research and clinical practice.     

The double-anchoring theory of lightness perception: a comment on Bressan (2006)

Recently, a double-anchoring theory (DAT) of lightness perception was proposed (P. Bressan, 2006), which offers explanations for all the data explained by the original anchoring theory (A. Gilchrist et al., 1999), as well as a number of additional lightness phenomena. Consequently, DAT can account for an unprecedented range of empirical results, potentially explaining everything from the basic simultaneous contrast display to subtle variations of the Gelb effect. In this comment, the authors raised 4 concerns that demonstrate serious theoretical and empirical difficulties for DAT.     

The contextual change paradox is still unresolved: comment on Bouton, Nelson, and Rosas (1999)

According to the contextual change theory of memory loss, spontaneous forgetting reflects a retrieval impairment due to subtle and unprogrammed shifts in environmental cues over a retention interval. However, Riccio, Richardson, and Ebner (1984) noted an apparent paradox in this model; specifically, laboratory studies inducing explicit shifts in contextual cues found less disruption of performance as retention intervals increased. Bouton, Nelson, and Rosas (1999) critiqued several of the claims made by Riccio et al. and concluded that the contextual cue theory is still a valid account of spontaneous forgetting. In this comment, the authors address the 3 major criticisms offered by Bouton et al., point out an inconsistency in their argument, and conclude that the original paradox still poses problems for the contextual change theory of forgetting.     

Illusory conjunctions are alive and well: a reply to Donk (1999).

When presented with a red T and a green O, observers occasionally make conjunction responses and indicate that they saw a green T. These errors have been interpreted as reflecting separable processing stages of feature detection and integration with the illusory conjunctions arising from a failure at the integration stage. Recently, M. Donk (1999) asserted that the phenomenon of illusory conjunctions is an artifact. Conjunction reports are actually the result of confusing a nontarget item (O in the example above) for a target item (the letter T) and (correctly) reporting the color associated with the (incorrectly) selected target. The authors demonstrate that although target-nontarget confusion errors are a potential source of conjunction reports, there is a plethora of findings that cannot be accounted for by this confusion model. A review of the literature indicates that in many studies, illusory conjunctions do result from a failure to properly integrate features.