A critical evaluation of the semantic-episodic distinction

Tulving (1983, 1984) has recently claimed that a wide range of evidence supports the distinction between episodic and semantic memory systems. He has provided a list of features to describe the differences between the two systems and a set of experimental results to demonstrate the distinction. In this article, we present opposing evidence that invalidates many of the distinguishing features and contradicts interpretations of the supporting experiments. In addition, we argue that the question of whether there are two separate memory systems cannot be answered without a specific theory about the differences between the systems.     

Grandparental role-meaning types: A critical evaluation

Robertson (1977), in a study of the meaning of grandparenthood, identified four distinct grandparental role-meaning types that were determined through factor analytic techniques. The purpose of the current study was to determine the usefulness of Robertson's scale and typology in assessing the meaning of grandparenthood to women and men about to assume the role. The responses of 146 subjects were analyzed, and the two factors defined by Robertson were confirmed. Subjects were categorized into Apportioned, Symbolic, Individualized, and Remote role-meaning types. Contrary to Robertson's findings, these types were not related to life style variables, such as education or age, and they did not differ in expectations for role behaviors with the grandchild. This may be due in part to the fact that before the birth of their grandchild, all four types of “expectant” grandparents must relate to the grandchild in a symbolic manner and, therefore, they may rely on normative information to predict future behavioral interactions.     

Recent defenders of Eliade: A critical evaluation

Several defenders of Mircea Eliade have written books maintaining that Eliade's personal life and literary and scholarly contributions are all of one piece; that one cannot understand his scholarship without understanding his personal life, fears, ambitions, religious and other commitments. Reviewed and critically evaluated are Mac Linscott Ricketts's interpretation that the essence of Eliade's scholarship can be seen in his early Romanian experiences and writings; Carl Olson's interpretation that EEade's scholarship is essentially theological and philosophical; and David Cave's interpretation that Eliade's scholarship is essentially based on his spiritual vision of a new humanism. Interpretations of Eliade's historical consciousness and his Christianity are criticized. Next, using these three defenders and several critics, the recent controversy about Eliade's politics and the political nature of his scholarship is considered. Finally, questions are raised as to whether Eliade's defenders have blurred or collapsed certain legitimate scholarly distinctions, thus rendering his scholarship even more vulnerable to attack.     

Aggression during sexual encounters between hormone-treated gonadectomized pigs in the presence or absence of boar pheromones

Aggressive and sexual behaviour was studied in 5-min paired encounters between castrated prepubertal boars (N = 14) and normal (N = 2) or bulbectomized (N = 2) oestrogen-treated ovariectomized gilts. The boars were made sexually active by treatment with 17β-oestradiol + 5α-dihydrotestosterone. Half of the boars were sprayed on the snout with a solution containing a mixture of the boar pheromones 3α-androstenol and 5α-androstenone immediately before testing, and the remainder were treated with the vehicle solution. Aggression was almost always initiated by the gilts, and neither bulbectomy nor pheromone treatment of the boars reduced its occurrence. The results suggest that the display of aggression by gilts towards boars of similar body size is unlikely to be suppressed by the steroidal pheromones present in boar saliva.     

A critical review of field studies on the link of alcohol and adult sexual assault in women

This article reviews field studies examining two central questions regarding the link between alcohol and sexual assault. First, evidence is reviewed to evaluate whether there is a distal relationship between alcohol and risk of sexual assault victimization. Specifically, studies are examined to determine whether drinking may affect the risk of being victimized and how victimization may contribute to subsequent drinking. Second, evidence for a proximal role of drinking prior to a sexual assault victimization incident (by either victim and/or offender) is examined to determine alcohol's role in rape and injury outcomes to victims. Critical theoretical and methodological issues in these two types of studies are discussed with regard to the extant literature. Paralleling the two areas of research reviewed, two theoretical models are proposed to guide future research on (1) the global associations of drinking and sexual assault risk across the life span (macrolevel model) and (2) the role of drinking in the outcomes of actual sexual assault incidents (microlevel model). Suggestions are made for future research and intervention in this area.     

A critical evaluation of visually moderated phonetic context effects

Fowler, Brown, and Mann (2000) have reported a visually moderated phonetic context effect in which a video disambiguates an acoustically ambiguous precursor syllable, which, in turn, influences perception of a subsequent syllable. In the present experiments, we explored this finding and the claims that stem from it. Experiment 1 failed to replicate Fowler et al. with novel materials modeled after the original study, but Experiment 2 successfully replicated the effect, using Fowler et al.'s stimulus materials. This discrepancy was investigated in Experiments 3 and 4, which demonstrate that variation in visual information concurrent with the test syllable is sufficient to account for the original results. Fowler et al.'s visually moderated phonetic context effect appears to have been a demonstration of audiovisual interaction between concurrent stimuli, and not an effect whereby preceding visual information elicits changes in the perception of subsequent speech sounds.     

Oxford cognitive screen: A critical review and independent psychometric evaluation

The Oxford cognitive screen (OCS) is a stroke-specific cognitive screening assessment. Although the test developers have provided psychometric information for the assessment, the OCS has received minimal external scrutiny, with which to triangulate the underpinning psychometrics. The purpose of this study is to provide a critical review and independent validation of the OCS. This study analysed data from an anonymised clinical database, which consisted of 316 patients who were assessed using the OCS on an Acute Stroke Unit. The rates of impairment on tests of memory and receptive communication were lower than expectation, suggesting that these subtests may be relatively insensitive. Patients with aphasia were more likely to be unable to categorised as impaired on non-language tests, suggesting that they remain sensitive to language processing or non-dominant hand usage. Some of the subtests of the OCS achieve high retest reliability, which makes them good candidates for measuring cognitive change over time. Although the OCS has many advantages, it is also important to adequately consider its limitations, that is insensitivity to memory problems, the potential confounding impact of non-dominant hand usage, and the potential that some tests may sample overall cognitive ability instead of domain-specific functioning.     

A critical evaluation of software for experiment development in research and teaching

This paper compares several software packages that allow users to create new computer-run experiments, but do not require that users be able to program. Three dimensions are considered: package requirements, ease of learning, and power and flexibility.     

A critical evaluation of coercive persuasion as used in the assessment of cults

An intense controversy regarding new and unpopular religious movements, or cults, continues to involve professionals at the juncture of psychiatry, religion, and the law. As the cults come under increasingly critical scrutiny, the concept most often used for assessing them is that of coercive persuasion. Briefly, such persuasion is seen as a means of psychological manipulation that leaves individuals without the normal control of their own minds. Considering recent pertinent cases and literature, the authors find major weaknesses in this theory. When applied it proves elastic, and it is regularly identified in cults for conduct that, on close examination, is similar to that of established religious groups. The concept of coercive persuasion as a means of thought control fails to pass scientific muster, and it serves poorly as a means of evaluating the connection between alleged harm and the cults. Instead, the authors suggest that a search for an alternative theory might well begin with one based on the individual as competent or not to make a choice regarding religion.     

Altered states of consciousness are related to higher sexual responsiveness

Altered states of consciousness lead to profound changes in the sense of self, time and space. We assessed how these changes were related to sexual responsiveness during sex. 116 subjects reported (a) intensity of awareness concerning body, space and time, and (b) satisfaction, desire, arousal, and orgasm occurrence. We differentiated vaginal intercourse orgasm from noncoital orgasm. Female vaginal intercourse orgasm was further differentiated as with or without concurrent clitoral masturbation. Overall, sexual responsiveness was related to greater body awareness and lesser time and space awareness. Satisfaction, desire, and arousal were especially associated with less time awareness in women. Female orgasms during vaginal intercourse were related to greater body awareness and lesser time awareness, but noncoital orgasms were unrelated. Our findings provide empirical support for the hypotheses that altered states of consciousness with attentional absorption are strongly related to sexual responsiveness in women, and to a lesser extent in men.     

Learned helplessness, attribution theory, and the nature of cognitions: A critical evaluation

Seligman’s learned helplessness model of depression has received a great deal of attention in the literature during recent years. The model claims that depressives typically invoke internal, stable, and global causal explanations for negative life events. An examination of the experimental evidence suggests that the model does not enjoy unequivocal empirical support. Differences between depressed and nondepressed individuals in terms of their cognitions are found to be both smaller and less consistent than hypothesized, and the causal role ascribed to depressive attributional style is questioned. It is suggested that these inconsistencies arise because of the nature of the experimental work carried out and the failure to examine attributions in ecologically sound environments. Having already turned to attribution theory in order to resolve earlier inconsistencies, it is argued that the model could further benefit from an examination of that part of attribution theory concerned with the circular nature of causal explanation. This review arose from the empirical work of the Leeds Family Research Centre. Department of Psychology, University of Leeds, and in particular has benefited considerably from discussions with Peter Stratton, Dorothy Heard, Helga Hanks, and Chris Brewin.     

A critical evaluation of c as a measure of mnemonic resolution

It is known that visual working memory capacity is limited, but the nature of this limit remains a subject of controversy. Increasingly, two factors are thought to limit visual memory: an object-based limit associated with so-called "slots" models, and an information-based limit associated with resource models. Recently, Barton, Ester, and Awh (2009) introduced a measure of mnemonic resolution, which they dubbed c. We show here that c is critically flawed, and cannot be interpreted as a measure of resolution. We recommend strongly against its use and interpretation, and suggest alternatives approaches for researchers who want to explore mnemonic resolution.     

Mistaking the instance for the rule: A critical analysis of the truth-table evaluation paradigm

Many studies probe for interpretations of < if A then C> by having people evaluate truth-table cases (<A and C>, < A and not-C>, < not-A and C>, < not-A and not-C>) as making the rule true or false, or being irrelevant. We argue that a single case can never prove a general rule to be true, as philosophy of science has taught any researcher. Giving participants the impossible “true” option would therefore bias results away from this response. In Experiment 1 people judged instead whether cases make a rule false, do not make the rule false, or are irrelevant to the rule. The experimental group (N = 44) showed a significant increase in not-false responses compared with true responses of the control group (N = 39). In Experiments 2 and 3 the experimental groups judged whether cases make a rule true, corroborate it (i.e., make the rule more plausible, but neither true nor false), make it false, or are irrelevant. There was a significant reduction of irrelevant responses as compared to the default true/false/irrelevant task for the control groups. Even < A and C> cases were often no longer considered to make an < if A then C> rule true and were correctly judged to corroborate (vs. verify) rules. Results corroborate our conceptual analyses of the unsuitable “true” response option and put into question arguments that hinge on the presumed likelihood by which people consider truth contingencies to make a rule “true”.     

Historical,environmental, and behavioral correlates of sexual offending by male adolescents: A critical review

This article is a critical review of research on the historical, environmental, and behavioral correlates of sexual offending by male adolescents. Variables considered include: demographics, victimization history, delinquency history, sexual history, family situation, social/relationships, intellectual functioning, and psychopathology. The review concludes with suggestions for future research and implications for treatment, assessment, and prevention of sexual offending behavior by adolescents.     

DSM-IV criteria for borderline personality disorder: A critical evaluation

The present article critically examines the diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) recently proposed by the DSM-IV Axis II work group (Gunderson, J. G., et al., Journal of Personality Disorders, 5, 340–352, 1991). It is concluded that some of the revisions are trivial and there is insufficient justification for others. The revisions are likely to increase the overlap between BPD and other disorders and represent an attempt to retain a categorical classification in the face of evidence that a dimensional model is more appropriate. Evidence suggests that many borderline traits are manifestations of extreme neuroticism.     

The clinical evaluation of common sexual concerns

Whose job is it to discover and manage patients' sexual concerns? If you believe that you have a role to play, just what is that role and how will you perform it? Sexual disorders are common, yet infrequently diagnosed. A willingness to inquire about sexual function is the most critical diagnostic step for clinicians. Once a problem is discovered, a systematic diagnostic process can uncover etiologic organic and psychogenic factors using customary diagnostic tools, including taking a psychosexual and medical history, comprehensive and focused physical examinations, psychological assessment instruments, laboratory tests, and special procedures.     

A comparative review of the primate motor system

Primates have evolved separately from other mammals since the late Cretaceous, and during this time the two major extant primate groups, prosimians (lorises, lemurs, and tarsiers) and anthropoids (monkeys, apes, and humans) arose. Concurrently, structures within the central nervous system acquired primate characteristics. Not all of the uniquely primate features have been identified in the brain, but several are well known. The pyramidal system, the best studied motor system, shows a distinct primate pattern in its terminal connections in the spinal cord. Other descending systems are less well known, but primate specializations in the vestibular system and red nucleus have been observed. The primary and secondary motor cortices are topographically separated in primates, suggesting one basis for increased complexity. Given the size of the brain, structures in the basal ganglia are relatively enlarged in primates as compared with other mammals, whereas the cerebellum has the same relative size.