Objective probability theory theory

I argue that to the extent to which philosophical theories of objective probability have offered theoretically adequateconceptions of objective probability (in connection with such desiderata as causal and explanatory significance, applicability to single cases, etc.), they have failed to satisfy amethodological standard — roughly, a requirement to the effect that the conception offered be specified with the precision appropriate for a physical interpretation of an abstract formal calculus and be fully explicated in terms of concepts, objects or phenomena understood independently of the idea of physical probability. The significance of this, and of the suggested methodological standard, is then briefly discussed.     

Conflict theory/trauma theory

There has been a tendency in psychoanalysis to view the effects of trauma, and our ways of working with it, as something separate from our understanding and techniques of working with intrapsychic conflict. While appreciating certain differences, the author explores, primarily via clinical examples, how an integrated perspective may be most helpful to our patients, especially in the area of the patient's capacity to reclaim feelings.     

Separation-individuation theory and attachment theory

Separation-individuation and attachment theories are compared and assessed in the context of psychoanalytic developmental theory and their application to clinical work. As introduced by Margaret Mahler and John Bowlby, respectively, both theories were initially regarded as diverging from traditional views. Separation-individuation theory, though it has had to be corrected in important respects, and attachment theory, despite certain limitations, have nonetheless enriched psychoanalytic thought. Without attachment an infant would die, and with severely insecure attachment is at greater risk for serious disorders. Development depends on continued attachment to a responsive and responsible caregiver. Continued attachment to the primary object was regarded by Mahler as as intrinsic to the process of separation-individuation. Attachment theory does not account for the essential development of separateness, and separation-individuation is important for the promotion of autonomy, independence, and identity. Salient historical and theoretical issues are addressed, including the renewed interest in attachment theory and the related decline of interest in separation-individuation theory.     

Descriptive axioms for common factor theory,image theory and component theory

Through an extension of work by Guttman, common factor theory, image theory, and component theory are derived from distinct minimum subsets of assumptions chosen out of a set of five possible assumptions. It is thence shown that the problem of indeterminacy of factor scores in the common factor model is precisely reflected in the problem of the non-orthogonality of anti-images. Indeed, image scores are determinate for the same reason that the usual estimates of factor scores are determinate, and image scores cannot be used as though they were factor scores for the same reason that factor score estimates cannot be used as though they were factor scores.     

Dual-process theory and signal-detection theory of recognition memory

Two influential models of recognition memory, the unequal-variance signal-detection model and a dual-process threshold/detection model, accurately describe the receiver operating characteristic, but only the latter model can provide estimates of recollection and familiarity. Such estimates often accord with those provided by the remember-know procedure, and both methods are now widely used in the neuroscience literature to identify the brain correlates of recollection and familiarity. However, in recent years, a substantial literature has accumulated directly contrasting the signal-detection model against the threshold/detection model, and that literature is almost unanimous in its endorsement of signal-detection theory. A dual-process version of signal-detection theory implies that individual recognition decisions are not process pure, and it suggests new ways to investigate the brain correlates of recognition memory.     

Identity theory and personality theory: mutual relevance

Some personality psychologists have found a structural symbolic interactionist frame and identity theory relevant to their work. This frame and theory, developed in sociology, are first reviewed. Emphasized in the review are a multiple identity conception of self, identities as internalized expectations derived from roles embedded in organized networks of social interaction, and a view of social structures as facilitators in bringing people into networks or constraints in keeping them out, subsequently, attention turns to a discussion of the mutual relevance of structural symbolic interactionism/identity theory and personality theory, looking to extensions of the current literature on these topics.     

Stray theory

In the last several years anthropology has developed a mathematical theory¹ which now has foundations almost as broad as the field of anthropology itself.² This breadth includes works ranging from population genetics and demographic modeling to theories of social organization or even of mythological structures.³ In the present article we present elaborations of aspects of the theory as so far developed⁴ and discuss the significance of this new work for the possible solution of additional problems of interest. In particular we refer both to the possibility of breaking barriers between fields of anthropology⁵ and also to the generality of the mathematics as such.     

A comparison of game theory and learning theory

It is shown that Estes' formula for the asymptotic behavior of a subject under conditions of partial reinforcement can be derived from the assumption that the subject is behaving rationally in a certain game-theoretic sense and attempting to minimax his regret. This result illustrates the need for specifying the frame of reference or set of the subject when using the assumption of rationality to predict his behavior.     

Constructor theory

Constructor theory seeks to express all fundamental scientific theories in terms of a dichotomy between possible and impossible physical transformations–those that can be caused to happen and those that cannot. This is a departure from the prevailing conception of fundamental physics which is to predict what will happen from initial conditions and laws of motion. Several converging motivations for expecting constructor theory to be a fundamental branch of physics are discussed. Some principles of the theory are suggested and its potential for solving various problems and achieving various unifications is explored. These include providing a theory of information underlying classical and quantum information; generalising the theory of computation to include all physical transformations; unifying formal statements of conservation laws with the stronger operational ones (such as the ruling-out of perpetual motion machines); expressing the principles of testability and of the computability of nature (currently deemed methodological and metaphysical respectively) as laws of physics; allowing exact statements of emergent laws (such as the second law of thermodynamics); and expressing certain apparently anthropocentric attributes such as knowledge in physical terms.     

Risk-adaptation theory

An introduction is given to our psychophysical response and valence theory of choice behaviour, since the risk-adaptation theory derives from that theory as an application. Risk-adaptation theory assumes that road users implicitly evaluate their risks by oppositely oriented, single-peaked valence functions of arousal and fear sensations as dependent aspects of risks in road traffic. Due to this dependence and the adaptation to changing risk levels, these single-peaked valence functions combine additively to a dynamic shifting interval of ambivalent risk indifference, where above and below the risk evaluation is increasingly negative. Risk-adaptation theory contains the zero-risk, threat-avoidance, and risk-homeostasis theories as special cases and predicts that: (1) fatality risks decay exponentially, (2) the slope parameter for the exponential fatality risk decay is 1½ larger than for the traffic growth function, (3) a safety measure with a very large effect will be initially compensated to a lesser low risk level than otherwise expected, and (4) the contributions of a road safety measure to danger perception and arousal level determines whether its expected safety effect will be reinforced or adversely compensated. Each prediction is tentatively verified by some research.