An on-line laboratory in sensation and perception

Three components of a teaching laboratory in perception are described that (1) compare several psychophysical methods for measuring visual illusions, (2) simulate experiments on dark adaptation, and (3) allow participation in auditory demonstrations or experiments. Features of special interest include: interactive use of graphics, software for simulating experiments (such as EXPER SIM, University of Michigan), and use of A/D, D/A, and TTL ports to interface special peripherals.     

Evaluating Microcomputer Programs

Much interest is being expressed in schools across the nation about the use of microcomputers to improve the delivery of special and regular education services. With this interest has come the need to evaluate educational programs utilizing microcomputers so that decisions about program improvement and expansion can be made. This paper discusses the evaluation of special education programs that incorporate microcomputers as a major instructional tool.     

Measuring reaction time and controlling the video display in experiments on an IBM PC

The problems of using the IBM PC XT/AT or their clones in experiments are recognized because of the slow, inadequate and awkward timing procedures of these microcomputers. Some specific solutions to these problems are described, including a compiled BASIC approach using real time procedures accurate to 1 millisecond (although resolution to 1 microsecond can be achieved) and synchronization of the video display with the program. Programs are available from the authors on receipt of a 5 1/4 inch floppy disc or $10.     

Teachers as role models: Are there gender differences in microcomputer-based mathematics and science instruction?

This study examines whether male and female teachers differ in (a) their background or training for instructional uses of microcomputers and (b) their uses of microcomputers to teach mathematics and science. Research carried out in 60 classrooms, 49 schools, and 25 districts in California provided data on district and school microcomputer policies; classroom contexts; and teachers' characteristics, instructional decisions, and practices. A secondary analysis of these data indicated that district and school characteristics and classroom organization and composition did not differ, by and large, among male and female teachers. Furthermore, gender was unrelated to teachers' subject matter and computer knowledge, patterns of microcomputer-based instruction, and instructional decisions and practices. Both female and male teachers provide leadership in the microcomputer movement, have the relevant training and experience which contributes to microcomputer use, use microcomputers for instruction in a variety of ways, and present equally viable role models.Funded by the National Institute of Education (NIE), this study was restricted to California for budgetary reasons. Nevertheless, California appears to be representative of microcomputer use in other leading states (Chambers & Bork, 1980).     

Linking indigenous knowledge systems and development: The potential uses of microcomputers

This article proposes a multidisciplinary alternative framework to the classical model of the diffusion of innovations, to analyze the potential uses of microcomputers for development. The emphasis on the indigenous knowledge systems translates a paradigm shift in the analysis of technology transfer. This shift requires the integration of the user’s knowledge as the condition of the adoption of the innovation. Expert systems based on indigenous knowledge can help make this shift possible if they are used to understand the cognitive processes of the indigenous knowledge, rather than to mimic their performance. where he has been a visiting scholar since October 1990. He has conducted research about the economics and sociology of agricultural production in China and Venezuela. Since 1990, his research focused on the uses of microcomputers for development, under contract for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. His interest for the microcomputer technology broadened in 1992 with a new research project on the social history of this technology in the U.S. This article is based on a lecture delivered at the Center for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development (CIKARD), Iowa State University, March 18, 1991.     

The advantages of 16-bit microcomputers

Microcomputers have great applicability for psychological laboratories. While it is usual to limit discussions of microcomputers to 8-bit equipment, 16-bit machines have several advantages. In many situations, these systems prove to be more efficient and cost effective.     

Bootstrapping microcomputers at Drexel University: The role of a faculty newsletter

Drexel University requires entering freshmen to have access to a personal microcomputer. Part of the faculty development effort was a faculty newsletter,boot. The newsletter published information about microcomputers and their applications and about microcomputer-related events on campus. Unlike newsletters produced by academic computing centers,boot was edited by faculty, most of its pieces were written by faculty, and it was addressed to all members of the university community, not just that subgroup with a prior interest in, or prior record of, computer use. This article describes the publication and presents data indicating that the faculty found it to be clearly worthwhile.     

Issues and Guidelines for Implementation of a Computer Curriculum in Special Education

The literature reveals limited use of the microcomputer in special education, although empirical evidence exists which supports the claims of accelerated learning via microcomputers. Limited special education use of microcomputers is approached in this article from the position that the educational domain is lagging behind business and industry regarding technological change-over. This 'lag' is questioned in regard to administrator roles. Administrators and special service professionals are encouraged to make changes that could benefit the educational system. Guidelines are provided for incorporating microcomputers into the special education curriculum.     

ANSEC: A BASIC package for lag sequential analysis of observational data

Three BASIC programs for processing observational, nonconcurrent sequential data are presented. The programs follow Sackett’s lag sequential analysis method and have the innovations of running on interactional microcomputers and of providing plots of results. The outcome of the analysis is stored on a magnetic disk, facilitating a further application of probabilistic models to the transformed data. The Allison-Liker correction for the comparison test between expected and observed lag probabilities is included in the programs.     

A microcomputer-based laboratory: Real-world experience

This paper discusses current hardware and software in use at the Center for Automated Systems in Education, a project of the department of psychology at Southwest Texas State University. The hardware ranges from inexpensive microcomputers to sophisticated color graphic display systems. The advantages and disadvantages of various systems are considered. Current projects of interest to educators and psychologists are mentioned.     

The effect of judges' attitudes on ratings of attitude statements. A theoretical analysis

Judgments of attitude statements with the method of equal-appearing intervals have been found to vary as a function of the judges' attitudes. In this paper explanations of the relationship between judges' attitudes and judgments of attitude statements in terms of models of psychophysical judgment are discussed. It is argued that psychophysical models such as adaptation-level theory, the range-frequency model, and the ‘rubber-band’ model and its derivations, cannot account satisfactorily for judges' performance of the attitude rating task in a great number of studies. The reason for this failure, it is argued, is that the stimulus series employed in the psychophysical judgment research on which these models are based typically varied only on the dimension being judged. The sets of statements judged in attitude rating studies, however, vary not only on the dimension of interest (favourability—Unfavourability) but also on a number of other dimensions. It is suggested that this incidental stimulus variation of attitude statements may account for the failure of psychophysical models to predict accurately the performance of judges in the attitude rating task. It is argued that if principles which could account for the effects of this incidental stimulus variation on attitude ratings could be incorporated into psychophysical models, the predictive qualities of these models could be improved considerably. One such model is discussed.     

Microcomputers big and little: Selecting a low-cost laboratory computer network

Characteristics of microcomputers are described affecting suitability for low-cost laboratory network use. Assuming a network of small microcomputers with interfaces for applications and a larger one for program development, 6502-based hobbyist computers appear cheapest at this time, while microcomputers imitating minicomputers have the best hardware and software support.     

Low-cost laboratory computing: Microcomputers in British psychology departments

Over 25% of the 80 British psychology departments use microcomputers. This paper summarizes the types of processor, level of system integration, applications, and problems of these users. The Motorola 6800 is by far the most popular processor, but there is a growing number of Z-80 users. Useful microcomputers have been developed from chips, single-board evaluation kits, hobby products, and manufacturers’ development systems. Applications include front-end processing, networking, and stand-alone uses for data logging, process control, and the development of intelligent laboratory tasks. Emphasis is placed on the need to match system packaging and support facilities to the application.     

Buying and maintaining microcomputer systems

The purchase and maintenance of new and used mini- and microcomputers require knowledge of the comparative advantages and disadvantages of available systems, sources of discounted and used computers, and a set of strategies and techniques for maintaining the operation of the computers throughout their useful life. This paper addresses each of these areas and suggests sources of additional information.     

Hierarchical models of behavior and prefrontal function

The recognition of hierarchical structure in human behavior was one of the founding insights of the cognitive revolution. Despite decades of research, however, the computational mechanisms underlying hierarchically organized behavior are still not fully understood. Recent findings from behavioral and neuroscientific research have fueled a resurgence of interest in the problem, inspiring a new generation of computational models. In addition to developing some classic proposals, these models also break fresh ground, teasing apart different forms of hierarchical structure, placing a new focus on the issue of learning and addressing recent findings concerning the representation of behavioral hierarchies within the prefrontal cortex. In addition to offering explanations for some key aspects of behavior and functional neuroanatomy, the latest models also pose new questions for empirical research.     

Does multitasking mediate the relationships between episodic memory,attention, executive functions and apathetic manifestations in traumatic brain injury?

Apathy is frequently described in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI); its negative consequences particularly affect functional independence. Among apathetic manifestations, lack of initiative and lack of interest have mainly been associated with cognitive impairments. However, few studies have been conducted to precisely identify the underlying cognitive processes. Our aims were (1) to determine the best predictor of apathy from among several cognitive processes, including episodic memory and attention/executive mechanisms and multitasking, and (2) to examine to what extent multitasking could mediate the relationships between specific cognitive processes and lack of initiative/interest. Seventy participants (34 patients with TBI matched with 36 control participants) were given a questionnaire to assess anxio‐depressive symptoms, four tasks to assess specific cognitive processes, and one task to assess real‐life multitasking. Participants’ relatives completed an apathy questionnaire. Multitasking, as assessed by the number of goals not achieved, was the only significant predictor of apathetic manifestations. In addition, the mediation analyses revealed that multitasking performance mediated the relationships between verbal episodic memory and lack of initiative/interest, whereas executive and attentional functions were only indirectly related to lack of initiative/interest due to their significant impacts on multitasking. These results shed new light on the aetiology of apathetic manifestations in patients with TBI, indicating how specific cognitive deficits are expressed in real‐life multitasking, and consequently, how they may lead to the development and/or maintenance of apathetic manifestations.     

Inexpensive plotters and digitizers for psychological research and instruction

The availability of low-cost microcomputers has been accompanied by the development of many inexpensive peripheral devices. The recent introduction of digitizers and plotters for use with microcomputers makes new research designs and instructional applications possible. This paper reports the characteristics and applications of one plotter and three digitizers of reasonably low cost. The application of digitizers in obtaining individual responses, quantifying data, preparing stimuli, and translating stimuli into machine-readable form is discussed. The application of plotters to hands-on instruction in data analysis and stimulus preparation is presented.     

Interpretation and method

Abstract

Interpretation started as the central tool of psychoanalytic theory, but it has undergone changes, just as the theory it was based on has evolved. Not only have these significant changes been determined by cultural trends, but different authors have also contributed to their evolution through their approaches to various other pathologies besides neurosis. Today, the cure process is divided between those who believe that therapeutic efficiency should be based on the different interpretation models, and those who maintain that it can be only sustained by the modifying capacity of the therapeutic relationship. Both positions are supposedly upheld by the results of tests that both models believe are sufficient proof but that, in the current author's opinion, lead back to the type of pathology they arose from, although they may at times attempt to cover the entire theoretical spectrum. The position upheld by Gedo—who considers that the psychoanalyst's intervention will depend on the degree of evolution that the pathology has achieved—is of great interest for specific practice. Hence, the more primitive levels require a treatment founded on holding, whereas more evolved pathologies require a more classic level of interpretation. This implies that the stages of a particular patient's evolution may require interventions at different levels, even though these may be founded on different theoretical models. This model, which we may brand as eclectic, is basically the one we find underpinning different theoretical models, which effectively appear to integrate others.     

Computers and the liberal arts: Challenge to psychology

Three years ago Drew University began a campus-wide effort to integrate microcomputers into courses across the entire liberal arts curriculum. This paper summarizes the results of 14 studies that have assessed student and faculty responses to this effort, and concludes by suggesting some implications of these studies for psychologists involved in the design and evaluation of similar programs.