The variance of d′ estimates obtained in yes—no and two-interval forced choice procedures

In studies of detection and discrimination, data are often obtained in the form of a 2 × 2 matrix and then converted to an estimate of d′, based on the assumptions that the underlying decision distributions are Gaussian and equal in variance. The statistical properties of the estimate of d′, $\hat d'$ , are well understood for data obtained using the yes—no procedure, but less effort has been devoted to the more commonly used two-interval forced choice (2IFC) procedure. The variance associated with $\hat d'$ is a function of trued′ in both procedures, but for small values of trued′, the variance of $\hat d'$ obtained using the 2IFC procedure is predicted to be less than the variance of $\hat d'$ obtained using yes—no; for large values of trued′, the variance of $\hat d'$ obtained using the 2IFC procedure is predicted to be greater than the variance of $\hat d'$ from yes—no. These results follow from standard assumptions about the relationship between the two procedures. The present paper reviews the statistical properties of $\hat d'$ obtained using the two standard procedures and compares estimates of the variance of $\hat d'$ as a function of trued′ with the variance observed in values of $\hat d'$ obtained with a 2IFC procedure.     

Tables of d’ for detection and localization

A detection and localization (DAL) procedure (Hershman and Lichtenstein, 1967) is one in which at most one of k noisy observation intervals contains a signal. The observer must detect the signal (if present) and locate it in the proper interval. Tables are given for the extraction of d’ values from the percentage of correct responses made in such experiments.     

Patients’ illness schemata of hypertension: The role of beliefs for the choice of treatment

It has long been believed that adult somatic complaints are associated with early family dysfunction. Yet, few studies have examined this hypothesis in community samples, where medically unexplained symptom complaints are estimated to be very common. Given the potential population-wide impact of subthreshold symptom complaints as well as questions about the extent to which findings with patient populations generalize to broader samples of community adults, the present study examines the influence of distal family factors on current adult somatic complaints relative to demographic and other psychosocial predictors. Results based on multiple linear regression analysis indicated that, after controlling for the other variables, family-of-origin functioning did not predict adult somatic complaints. However, self-reported symptoms of current depressed mood and low internal locus of control were significantly linked to somatic complaints (p?=0.001). These results lend support to questions about the generalizability of findings based on psychiatric groups to broader community samples, highlight the robust relationship between contemporaneous attributions of lower internal control, depressed mood, and somatic complaints, and suggest that early family environment may not be the most important focus of attention for health professionals providing care to adults in the community.     

The logic of ‘being informed’ revisited and revised

The logic of ‘being informed’ gives a formal analysis of a cognitive state that does not coincide with either belief, or knowledge. To Floridi, who first proposed the formal analysis, the latter is supported by the fact that unlike knowledge or belief, being informed is a factive, but not a reflective state. This paper takes a closer look at the formal analysis itself, provides a pure and an applied semantics for the logic of being informed, and tries to find out to what extent the formal analysis can contribute to an information-based epistemology.     

A table to aid in the computation of fisher's “t” function for comparison of two means

A table to facilitate the computation of Fisher'st function for the comparison of two means is presented. The derivations leading to the construction of the table, and the necessary instructions for its use, are given.     

Jurors’ perception of violence: A framework for inquiry

The impact that the perceived violence of a crime has on jury decision making has received much controversy lately. Violence may affect juries by how it is presented, as in the case of graphic evidence; its evidentiary purpose, as in establishing a history of violence in domestic abuse cases; and in sentencing, when the question of the heinousness of the crime is raised. Many judicial experts argue that evidence of violence may prejudice juries’ verdicts. There is also concern within the legal community that what constitutes a heinous crime cannot be objectively determined. Psychological research has only just begun to explore these issues. This paper reviews the current legal state of these issues, the arguments and questions that have been raised within the legal community, and the empirical research that has been conducted thus far. The paper concludes with directions for future research that would improve our understanding of how jurors’ perception of violence affects their decisions.     

Is choice a reliable predictor of choice? A comment on Sagarin and Skowronski

In a recent working paper, Chen (2008) argues that a methodology central to the cognitive dissonance literature (the free-choice paradigm) has suffered from an inability to separately measure how much choices affect people’s preferences, and how much they simply reflect those preferences, by failing to fully control for the fact that subjects tend to choose goods they prefer. Although Sagarin and Skowronski concede this, they discount Chen’s argument, claiming that for revealed preferences to completely account for observed choice-effects the relationship between choice and preference would have to be unrealistically high. In this comment, we argue that their critique both misses the crux of Chen’s analysis, and is incorrect. Specifically, to properly test whether choices affect preferences, it is essential that researchers experimentally control for revealed preferences rather than speculate how much of a role they may play. Moreover, Sagarin and Skowronski’s critique rests on two fundamental errors—a misunderstanding of the function of the null-hypothesis and a misunderstanding of preference-measurement psychometrics. These errors leads Sagarin and Skowronski to suggest alternative experimental designs which while a good first step, do not address the problems identified in Chen (2008).     

The Activity Preference Questionnaire: is the forced choice format necessary?

Summary: While the Activity Preference Questionnaire (APQ) appears to provide unusually pure and subtle measures of anxiety proneness, its forced choice format involves several drawbacks. Data are presented which suggest that a rating format can be used which avoids the disadvantages of the forced choice format but incorporates its advantages.     

On the role of rarity information in speakers’ choice of frame

In this article, we examine conversational behaviors when people describe the outcomes of uncertain events. We propose a new hypothesis, frame choice based on rarity information, that is built on the basis of one prominent measure of informativeness (i.e., self-information). The hypothesis predicts that when speakers can choose one of two logically equivalent frames for describing the outcome of an uncertain event (e.g., the results of the roll of a die or a medical operation), they prefer the frame denoting an event that is known or perceived to be rare. Four experiments using frame choice tasks provide evidence that speakers’ choice of frame is explained well by the rarity hypothesis.     

Factors associated with cyclists’ self-reported choice of lane position

Riders cycling on roads without bicycle lanes are generally advised to ride in the centre of their lane (primary position), and to move toward the left of the lane (in left-hand traffic; secondary position) only to let faster traffic pass and when it is safe. The present research investigated which situational and personal characteristics were associated with choice of lane position, and whether choice of lane position is associated with on-road crash involvement. A large cohort of bicycle riders from New South Wales Australia reported on their cycling patterns and crashes in 6 reporting weeks over a 1-year period using on-line surveys. During one reporting week 1525 participants identified their preferred choice of lane position in each of 6 visually-depicted scenarios that were designed to investigate the influence of number of lanes (in the cyclists’ direction of travel), parked cars, and bus lanes. A majority of respondents preferred the secondary position in scenarios with a clear kerbside lane. Respondents were significantly more likely to choose the primary position in multiple-lane situations compared to single-lane situations, if there were parked cars in the kerbside lane, and if they were female, younger, experienced riders, transport riders, or high intensity riders. Controlling for personal characteristics, choosing the primary position in a single clear traffic lane scenario was associated with a higher on-road crash rate, while choosing the primary position in a traffic lane with parked cars scenario was associated with a lower on-road crash rate. Results suggested that when riding on-road the bicycle riders in this Australian cohort prefer to keep their distance from motorised traffic, allowing traffic to pass safely when space allows. Nonetheless, results suggested that choice of lane position is highly dependent on the local road and traffic environment. Further research is needed to support advice to cyclists.     

A computerized system for recording and analysis of self-observations of couples’ interaction

This paper describes a method for recording couples’ observations of their communications during an ongoing interaction sequence. The procedure allows the recording and decoding of immediate reactions, while maintaining an ecologically valid observation environment. Responses are encoded on a stereo cassette tape player and are decoded by a PDP-11/10 computer with two Schmitt triggers that count the peaks in the tones. The computer provides analysis of the response value and time. Applications for other research problems in the areas of social and applied clinical psychology are discussed.     

A problem for Wegner and colleagues’ model of the sense of agency

The sense of agency, that is the sense that one is the agent of one’s bodily actions, is one component of our self-consciousness. Recently, Wegner and colleagues have developed a model of the causal history of this sense. Their model takes it that the sense of agency is elicited for an action when one infers that one or other of one’s mental states caused that action. In their terms, the sense of agency is elicited by the inference to apparent mental state causation. Here, I argue that this model is inconsistent with data from developmental psychology that suggests children can identify the agent behind an action without being capable of understanding the relationship between their intentions and actions. Furthermore, I argue that this model is inconsistent with the preserved sense of agency in autism. In general, the problem is that there are cases where subjects can experience themselves as the agent behind their actions despite lacking the resources to make the inference to apparent mental state causation.     

What determines choice of limb for unimanual reaching movements?

Currently, relatively little is known about what drives the choice of limb for goal-oriented reaching. Traditionally, the explanation has been tied predominately to motor dominance as manifested in handedness. This article offers data and an argument suggesting that handedness can be modified by attentional (spatial) information. Although motor dominance may be the controlling factor in the programming and execution of reaching movements at the midline and hemispace ipsilateral (same side) to the dominant limb, attentional information alters the programming of movements in what would be contralateral space. The general trend of behavior is characterized by reaching on the same side as the stimulus, in ipsilateral fashion, a phenomenon explained by kinesthetic efficiency and hemispheric bias.     

‘Our periodic table of hate’: The archive of 1984 Punjab in Jaspreet Singh’s Helium

Highly critical of the Indian government's cover up of the 1984 Sikh pogroms, Indian-Canadian author Jaspreet Singh offers a scathing expose of the anti-Sikh violence in his 2013 novel Helium. Singh experienced first-hand the ‘holocaust’ of 1984 in Delhi, and as a diasporic Indian since 1990, he is also intimately familiar with the burdens of postmemory among Sikhs in the west, many of whom sought asylum abroad in the wake of 1984. Influenced by Primo Levi and W.G. Sebald, Singh constructs a multi-generic ‘archive’ of the crimes of 1984 in Helium, which articulates the lingering trauma of the Sikhs and challenges the image of a unified, multiculturalist, secular-humanist postcolonial Indian state. Drawing on exhaustive research, Helium is a hybrid of fiction, survivor and relief worker testimonials, photographs, drawings, documentary, thriller, and inter-textual narrative—because the horror of 1984 cannot be recounted through a single medium or genre or voice. In considering its archival form and political intent, my article establishes Helium as a bold, ethical attempt to record the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 in order to bring justice to both the dead and the survivors.     

Is there any Proffitt in stair climbing? A headcount of studies testing for demographic differences in choice of stairs

The apparent slope of a hill, termed geographical slant perception, is overestimated in explicit awareness. Proffitt (2006) argued that overestimation allows individuals to manage their locomotor resources. Increasing age, fatigue, and wearing a heavy back pack will reduce the available resources and result in steeper reports for a particular hill. In contrast, Durgin and colleagues have proposed an alternative explanation for these effects based on experimental design—particularly, the potential effects of experimental demand. Proffitt’s resource-based model would predict that pedestrians with reduced resources should avoid climbing a hill that would further deplete their resources if the opportunity arose. Within the built environment, stairs are the man-made equivalent of relatively steep hills (20°–30°). In many public access settings, pedestrians can avoid climbing the stairs by opting for an adjacent escalator. Observations of pedestrian behavior in shopping malls reveal that 94.5 % do so. This article summarizes the effects of demographic grouping on avoidance of stairs in public health research. Observations in shopping malls (n = 355,069) and travel contexts (n = 711,867) provide data consistent with Proffitt’s resource model. Women, the old, and those carrying excess body weight or large bags avoid the stairs more than do their comparison groups. Discussion focuses on differences in physiology that may underlie avoidance of stair climbing in order to highlight the pedestrian behavior that psychology needs to explain.     

A common mechanism underlying choice’s influence on preference and memory

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - Individual control over learning leads to better memory outcomes, yet it is still unclear which aspects of control matter. One’s sense of agency could be a...     

Tables of d′ for variable-standard discrimination paradigms

Signal detection theory (SDT) allows a bias-free measure of sensitivity, d′, to be simply estimated from discrimination data when certain conditions are met. The computation is not straightforward, however, in several popular discrimination designs, such as two- and four-interval same-different designs and the ABX design. The present tables, derived from the SDT models of Macmillan, Kaplan, and Creelman (1977), make possible the estimation of d’ from these complex discrimination designs.