Connecting the Commodore 64 to the IBM PC

Hardware is described that permits bidirectional transfer of data between the Commodore 64 and an IBM-compatible PC. Commercial terminal programs can be used to transmit data. The hardware, which can be constructed for less than $15, opens up several opportunities for making good use of the cost-effective C64 computer.     

Experimental RunTime System: Software for developing and running reaction time experiments on IBM-compatible PCs

The Experimental RunTime System (ERTS) is a recent addition to the small collection of commercial software packages available for writing and running reaction time experiments on IBM-compatible PCs. Experiments are written using any text editor and a relatively small set of ERTS commands. Millisecond timing is provided by a software timer with no additional hardware requirements. All displays are in high-resolution VGA graphics. The Creative Labs Soundblaster card is supported in 16-bit mode, but is not required for simple tone generation. Voice-key support is available via the Soundblaster card. Keyboard, mouse, and external keys may be used as reaction keys, and the mouse or a joystick may be used as a tracking device. The stimulus-centered design and powerful display control commands of ERTS make it appropriate for developing a wide range of trial-based experiments.     

Measuring reaction time without measuring movement time: A modification of the Hormann and Allen millisecond timer for the Commodore 64 or 128

It is frequently desirable to measure reaction time independently of movement time. The Hormann and Allen (1987) millisecond timer for the Commodore 64 or 128 can be modified to allow the measurement of reaction time with minimal movement time. A BASIC loader is provided for a keyboard version and an external switch version of the modified timer. Machine language code is provided for use with MONITOR, the machine language utility built into the Commodore 128.     

CATECHOLLISION: A game to teach catecholamine synthesis for IBM PCs and compatibles

CATECHOLLISION is an arcade-style computer game that teaches catecholamine synthesis. Tyrosine and the enzymes involved in the synthesis fall from the top of the screen. The player must combine them to produce DOPA and the catecholamines. An accumulation of unused chemicals ends the game. The game includes features such as music and sound effects, several levels of difficulty, a hint option for beginning students, and saved high scores.     

Using Excel to estimate parameters from observed data: An example from source memory data

We present an application, using Excel, that can solve best-fitting parameters for multinomial models. Multinomial modeling has become increasingly popular and can be used in a variety of domains, such as memory, perception, and other domains in which processes are assumed to be dissociable. We offer an application that can be used for a variety of psychological models and can be used on both PC and Macintosh platforms. We illustrate the use of our program by analyzing data from a source memory experiment.     

From data to phenomena: a Kantian stance

This paper investigates some metaphysical and epistemological assumptions behind Bogen and Woodward’s data-to-phenomena inferences. I raise a series of points and suggest an alternative possible Kantian stance about data-to-phenomena inferences. I clarify the nature of the suggested Kantian stance by contrasting it with McAllister’s view about phenomena as patterns in data sets.     

Low-cost data transfer from a questionnaire to standard software using a barcode pen

Computer-aided transfer of questionnaire data simplifies the analysis of questionnaires. We present a solution based on an inexpensive barcode pen and its decoder, the software tool Barcode Wizard included in CorelDRAW, and a self-developed application written using Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications. The barcode may be provided on the questionnaire or on a transparency. Error correction is done by means of two different procedures. The present solution can be applied while looking over the completed questionnaire and thus allows time-saving, economic, and precise data transfer from the completed questionnaire directly into computer software.     

Resampling approach to statistical inference: Bootstrapping from event-related potentials data

We propose the use of the bootstrap resampling technique as a tool to assess the within-subject reliability of experimental modulation effects on event-related potentials (ERPs). The assessment of the within-subject reliability is relevant in all those cases when the subject score is obtained by some estimation procedure, such as averaging. In these cases, possible deviations from the assumptions on which the estimation procedure relies may lead to severely biased results and, consequently, to incorrect functional inferences. In this study, we applied bootstrap analysis to data from an experiment aimed at investigating the relationship between ERPs and memory processes. ERPs were recorded from two groups of subjects engaged in a recognition memory task. During the study phase, subjects in Group A were required to make an orthographic judgment on 160 visually presented words, whereas subjects in Group B were only required to pay attention to the words. During the test phase all subjects were presented with the 160 previously studied words along with 160 new words and were required to decide whether the current word was “old” or “new.” To assess the effect of word imagery value, half of the words had a high imagery value and half a low imagery value. Analyses of variance performed on ERPs showed that an imagery-induced modulation of the old/new effect was evident only for subjects who were not engaged in the orthographic task during the study phase. This result supports the hypothesis that this modulation is due to some aspect of the recognition memory process and not to the stimulus encoding operations that occur during the recognition memory task. However, bootstrap analysis on the same data showed that the old/new effect on ERPs was not reliable for all the subjects. This result suggests that only a cautious inference can be made from these data.     

Fundamental frequency as a cue to postvocalic consonantal voicing: Some data from speech perception and production

Several recent studies by Lehiste have reported that changes in fundamental frequency (F0) can serve as a cue to perceived vowel length and, furthermore, that the perceived lengthening of the vowel can influence perception of the voicing feature of stop consonants in syllable-final position. In Experiment 1, we replicated Lehiste’s basic results for stop consonants in final position. Experiment 2 extended these results to postvocalic fricatives. The final consonant in syllables of intermediate vowel duration was more often perceived as voiced when F0 was falling than when F0 was monotone. In Experiment 3, we examined the F0 contours produced by eight talkers before postvocalic stop consonants and fricatives in natural speech for minimal pairs of words differing in voicing. The amount of change of F0 over the vowel was no greater before voiced than voiceless consonants, suggesting that the earlier perceptual effects cannot be explained by appealing to regularities observed in the production of F0 contours in vowels preceding postvocalic consonants.     

Experiences of Families Transmitting Values in a Rapidly Changing Society: Implications for Family Therapists

Intergenerational value transmission affects parent–child relationships and necessitates constant negotiation in families. Families with adolescents from rapidly changing societies face unique challenges in balancing the traditional collectivistic family values that promote harmony with emerging values that promote autonomy. Using modern Turkey as an example of such a culture, the authors examine the transmission process in families that hold more traditional and collectivistic values than their adolescent children. Special consideration is given to generational and cultural differences in the autonomy and relatedness dimensions.     

Duss Fairy Tales: some data from a new evaluation form.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the research on the Duss Fairy Tales in an Italian sample. Attention has been paid, in particular, to the study of some variables identified in a newly devised schedule. The protocols were scored for four indexes: (1) the main hero of the stories, (2) number and types of characters, (3) number of emotions expressed, and (4) number of heroes' and characters' actions and behaviors. Subjects were 70 children aged 3.5 to 10.5 yr. enrolled in kindergartens and elementary schools in Italy. The relationships of scores with age and sex were also investigated. There was an increase across three age groups in the richness of stories in terms of emotions and characters' identification.     

Solutions to some nonlinear equations from nonmetric data

A method is presented to provide estimates of parameters of specified nonlinear equations from ordinal data generated from a crossed design. The analytic method, NOPE, is an iterative method in which monotone regression and the Gauss-Newton method of least squares are applied alternatively until a measure of stress is minimized. Examples of solutions from artificial data are presented together with examples of applications of the method to experimental results.This work was begun while the author was on sabbatical leave during 1970–71 at the Department of Mathematical Psychology, University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands, where discussions with E. E. Roskam on the problem were very helpful. Support was provided by Grant A0151 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council, Canada.     

From meta-processes to conscious access: evidence from children's metalinguistic and repair data

This paper explores possible relations obtaining between unconscious meta-processes and those available to conscious access and verbal statement. It is argued that the issue of conscious access must be conceptualized within a developmental perspective, in order to understand its function in human cognition. A theoretical framework is specified, in the form of a recurrent 3-phase model (differentiated from stage models), which stresses the distinction between implicitly defined representations and progressive representational explicitation at several levels of processing, culminating in the possibility of conscious access. The role of conscious access, as well as that of negative and positive feedback, are discussed in the light of a distinction drawn between models of developmental sequence and models of information processing flow in real time. Prominence is given to a success-based model of representational change as opposed to a failure-based model of behavioural change. The data consist of a detailed comparison of children's metalinguistic responses and spontaneous repairs. It is argued that metalinguistic awareness has little or no role to play in language acquisition macrodevelopmentally, a minor role to play in linguistic processing in real time, but that verbally encoded representations have an essential role to play in overall macrodevelopment. The implications of the model are briefly examined with respect to the representational status of the fluent language of some children with low IQ and that of fluent adult speakers of a non-native language. Consideration is given to the fact that some aspects of language, but not others, are available to conscious access. This leads to speculations with respect to the plausibility of considering modularity as a product of some aspects of development, rather than restricting modularity solely to innate givens.     

Transmitting pro‐environmental behaviours to the next generation: A comparison between Germany and Japan

The present study examined the processes by which children acquire pro‐environmental behaviours in different cultures. Our focus was on parental influence. Several studies have been conducted on adults' environmental behaviours; however, we know little about how children's environmental attitudes and behaviours are formed. We conducted a questionnaire survey with elementary school children and one of their parents in Germany and Japan. Two hundred and twenty‐one pairs participated in Germany and 365 in Japan. The results of structural equation modelling showed that parents' behaviours affected children's environmental behaviours directly and also via the subjective norm (the children's experienced expectations of their parents). A comparison of the two countries revealed that hypothesized cultural differences between the impact of personal norms and subjective norms were clearer for adults. The results also showed that the effects of subjective norms were stronger for children, indicating that children are more likely to be influenced by expectations of others. The results of the study suggest that for promoting children's environmental behaviours, showing the behaviours in daily life would be most effective.     

Remembering the news: Modeling retention data from a study with 14,000 participants

A retention study is presented in which participants answered questions about news events, with a retention interval that varied within participants between 1 day and 2 years. The study involved more than 14,000 participants and around 500,000 data points. The data were analyzed separately for participants who answered questions in Dutch or in English, providing an opportunity for replication. We fitted models of varying complexity to the data in order to test several hypotheses concerning retention. Evidence for an asymptote in retention was found in only one data set, and participants with greater media exposure displayed a higher degree of learning but no difference in forgetting. Thus, forgetting was independent of initial learning. Older adults were found to have forgetting curves similar to those of younger adults.