On the preliminary psychophysics of fingerprint identification

For a century, the matching of images of fingerprints has been used for forensic identification. Despite that history, there have been no published, peer-reviewed studies directly examining the extent to which people can correctly match fingerprints to one another. The results of three experiments using naïve undergraduates to match images of fingerprints are reported. The results demonstrate that people can identify fingerprints quite well, and that matching accuracy can vary as a function of both source finger type and image similarity.     

Some applications of attribute prediction theory to psychophysics

The following development is a coordination of certain aspects of mental test methods and psychophysics. The biserial and triserial prediction equations of the Katzell-Cureton theory are utilized to reformulate the determination of absolute and differential limens from data produced by the constant method.     

On theoretical and realizable ideal conditions in psychophysics: Magnitude and category scales and their relation

By spacing 10 stimuli (white noise) between 40 and 110 dB according to two criteria [equal response ambiguity (ERA) and equal discriminability (ED)], an attempt was made to construct an “ideal” case for magnitude estimation and category rating. The “ideal” case is defined by linear and constant Weber functions (SDs as a function of scale values) for the two scales, respectively. Altogether, three group and two individual magnitude and category rating experiments were run with these two spacings. It was found that the ERA spacing approximated the ideal case well for both Weber functions and the ED spacing only for the Weber function of the category scale. The general psychophysical differential equation that relates scale values and Weber functions for the two scales allowed good prediction of the category scales from the magnitude scales and the Weber functions. The data suggested a distinction between phenotypic (empirical) and genotypic Weber functions, analogous to “real” and “ideal” cases in physics.     

Eudoxos and Dedekind: On the ancient Greek theory of ratios and its relation to modern mathematics

This material is based upon work supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DIR-8808575.     

Psychoanalytic theory and its relation to clinical work.

Freud's shift to the fantasy theory of neurosogenesis defined the investigation of intrapsychic life as our fundamental theoretical purview. In assigning to inner experience a data base for scientific exploration, there is reflected a central epistemological innovation which must profoundly alter the way we view what is real. This paper considers some of the continuing clinical challenges and far-reaching implications posed by this shift to "psychic reality" as our core psychoanalytic theory.     

Freud's "Project" and its relationship to psychoanalytic theory

Sigmund Freud wrote the "Project for a Scientific Psychology" in 1895. Although the "Project" is essential a neurological model of mind, it will be shown that major concepts in psychoanalytic theory can be traced to this work. These include libido, primary process and the pleasure principle, secondary process and the reality principle, wish fulfillment, the ego, consciousness, and repression. The "Project" signifies a transition in Freud's thinking from a neurological to a psychological realm of discourse.     

Contributions to the history of psychology: LIII. Maimonides' "Freudian" theory of prophecy

Maimonides, in The Guide of the Perplexed developed an an approach to interpreting prophecy using "Freudian" dream-interpretation methods on the assumption that prophets report dreams and visions, based on Numbers 12:6-8.     

A direct measure of facial similarity and its relation to human similarity perceptions

Research is reported on a measure of facial similarity in which the similarity of 2 faces is defined as the Euclidean distance between them in a principal-component space. Five studies were conducted in which participants rated sets of facial images, and in which the measure was applied to 2 problems in the eyewitness literature. Comparisons of ratings with distances derived from the principal-component analysis suggest that the measure corresponds reasonably well to perceptions of facial similarity. In addition, the measure correlates strongly with empirical measures of lineup fairness and is related to eyewitness identification performance. Further potential applications include a software tool for constructing arrays of faces of varying similarity, and a software tool for reconstructing facial images from memory.     

An approach to combine the logistic threshold model of psychophysics with the Bradley-Terry-Luce models of choice theory

The paper presents a straightforward extension of the Bradley-Terry-Luce model (BTL model) that can be derived from the logistic threshold model of psychophysics which assumes that psychometric functions are logistic probability functions. It is shown that (under weak side conditions) the logistic threshold model is a submodel of the extended BTL model. Moreover, representation and uniqueness theorems are proven that provide some evidence that the extended BTL model is a useful and widely applicable generalization of the ordinary BTL model. Finally, the logistic shape of the psychometric function is derived from axioms about binary choice probabilities. This characterization of the logistic threshold model can replace goodness of fit tests for the logistic probability distribution.