Item-specific adaptation and the conflict-monitoring hypothesis: a computational model

M. M. Botvinick, T. S. Braver, D. M. Barch, C. S. Carter, and J. D. Cohen (2001) implemented their conflict-monitoring hypothesis of cognitive control in a series of computational models. The authors of the current article first demonstrate that M. M. Botvinick et al.'s (2001) conflict-monitoring Stroop model fails to simulate L. L. Jacoby, D. S. Lindsay, and S. Hessels's (2003) report of an item-specific proportion-congruent (ISPC) effect in the Stroop task. The authors then implement a variant of M. M. Botvinick et al.'s model based on the assumption that control must be able to operate at the item level. This model successfully simulates the ISPC effect. In addition, the model provides an alternative to M. M. Botvinick et al.'s explanation of the list-level proportion-congruent effect in terms of an ISPC effect. Implications of the present modeling effort are discussed.     

The precise time course of lexical activation: MEG measurements of the effects of frequency, probability, and density in lexical decision

Visually presented letter strings consistently yield three MEG response components: the M170, associated with letter-string processing (Tarkiainen, Helenius, Hansen, Cornelissen, & Salmelin, 1999); the M250, affected by phonotactic probability, (Pylkk?nen, Stringfellow, & Marantz, 2002); and the M350, responsive to lexical frequency (Embick, Hackl, Schaeffer, Kelepir, & Marantz, 2001). Pylkk?nen et al. found evidence that the M350 reflects lexical activation prior to competition among phonologically similar words. We investigate the effects of lexical and sublexical frequency and neighborhood density on the M250 and M350 through orthogonal manipulation of phonotactic probability, density, and frequency. The results confirm that probability but not density affects the latency of the M250 and M350; however, an interaction between probability and density on M350 latencies suggests an earlier influence of neighborhoods than previously reported.     

Addressing the needs of new mothers in a multi-cultural setting: an evaluation of home visiting support for new mothers – Mom to Mom (Negev)

This study evaluated the Mom to Mom (M2M) program operating in the Negev region of Israel, an area with a high proportion of immigrants. M2M helps women cope with the first year of parenting through home visits of volunteer mothers. Specific objectives were to evaluate (1) Participants’ motivations for joining M2M; (2) Gains from participation; and (3) The effect of participation on post-partum depression (PPD). Three stages included (1) Analysis of demographics of all 440 mothers in M2M; (2) A telephone survey of 51 mothers to assess gains from participation; and (3) 137 mothers filled out the Edinburgh Post-Natal Depression Scale (EPDS) and were followed for one year. Most mothers in M2M were first time mothers, with a high rate of perinatal complications (54.4%) and positive EPDS scores (38.7%). Two major reasons for participation were being an immigrant and having low income. The greatest gains from home visits were increased self-confidence, improved parenting skills and communication with the partner. Seventy-nine percent of mothers with PPD symptoms were functioning at work and at home after a year from joining the program. Our findings suggest that M2M has the capacity to address challenges in the post-natal period among women from diverse cultures.     

Mental Causation is Not Just Downward Causation

According to a popular model of mental causation, an irreducible mental cause M1 brings about an irreducible mental effect M2 by bringing about M2's supervenience base (ground, realizer, etc.), P2. Call this ‘the Downward Causation View’. This paper raises doubts about the Downward Causation View on grounds that M1 does not cause M2 immediately and there is no causal chain from M1 to M2. Prima facie, then, M1 does not cause M2 on this view. But a theory of mental causation ought to account for how some mental phenomena cause other mental phenomena; so rival theories are to be preferred. After setting out the problem, I consider replies; all fail. 1     

Texture-Based Methods for Analyzing Elementary Visual Substances

Human vision is generally assumed to embody a limited number of low-level, spatially parallel image transformations. These transformations define the basic properties vision can sense. Because texture discrimination tasks require rapid, spatially parallel processing, they are ideally suited to investigate these basic transformations. Here it is shown how to use paired comparison texture tasks to functionally analyze such transformations. Tasks are considered in which the observer is presented with two patches of texture, A and B, tiled with micropatterns drawn from a set Omega, and is asked to judge which is greater, M(A) or M(B), for some specific texture property M (e.g., M(A) might be the intensity variance of patch A). Performance is modeled by supposing that the observer approximates M(A) and M(B) by noisy, subjective quantities,;M(A) and;M(B), synthesized from the basic transformations resident in human vision. Psychophysical methods are provided for determining the differential impact on;M of the various micropatterns in Omega. Specifically, an occurrence in patch A (similarly for patch B) of a given micropattern omegainOmega is assumed to contribute an independent, additive random variable X(omega) to;M(A). The mean m(omega) of X(omega) gives the average impact on;M(A) of an occurrence of omega. It is assumed that the observer judges M(A)>M(B) on a given trial if;M(A)-;M(B)+Y>0, for Y a normal random variable with mean zero and unspecified variance. Simple, efficient techniques are provided for accurately estimating the shape of the function m: Omega-->ℝ, which defines the impacts of different micropatterns on M-judgments. These methods yield results that are invariant with respect to all unmeasured model parameters. MATLAB code is supplied for data analysis. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Equivalence of human odometry by walk and run is indifferent to self-selected speed

Humans and other animals can measure distances nonvisually by legged locomotion. Experiments typically employ an outbound measure (M) and an inbound report (R) phase. Previous research has found distance reproduction to be maximally accurate, when gait symmetry and speed of M and R are of like kind: Successful human odometry manifests at the level of the M-R system. In the present work, M was an experimenter-set distance produced by a blindfolded participant using a primary gait (walk, run). R was always by walk. Fast and slow versions of walk and run were adopted by participants, such that when M was fast R was slow, and vice versa. Distance was underestimated when M was slower than R and overestimated when M was faster than R. However, the pattern of participant-adopted velocities indicated that it was the instructions, not the speed as such, that yielded the pattern of results. The results are interpretable through a dynamical perspective and indicate speed is an imperfection parameter acting on the attractors of the M-R system.     

A Test of Bipolar and Androgyny Perspectives of Masculinity and Femininity: The Effect of Participation in an Outward Bound Program

ABSTRACT The purposes of the present investigation are to examine theoretical issues in androgyny theory by testing the effect of participation in the Outward Bound program on measures of masculinity (M) and femininity (F) Bipolar conceptualizations of MF posit that an increase in either M or F must lead to a decrease in the other, whereas androgyny theory posits M and F to be independent constructs Consistent with a priori predictions based on the nature of the Outward Bound program, participation substantially enhanced M and had a small positive effect on F The results were reasonably consistent for male and female participants, for single-sex and mixed-sex groups, and across responses to three different MF measures Results support the androgyny interpretation of MF and demonstrate the effectiveness of the Outward Bound program in changing MF The results contradict the bipolar perspective that an increase in M must be accompanied by a decrease in F     

Intense Exchange: Sadomasochism,Theology and the Politics of Late Capitalism

Abstract

Recognizing the need to move beyond the sensationalism surrounding S&M and Christian theology, this article positions S&M within an understanding of the material economics of sex in late capitalistic society. It makes a distinction between discourses of pain and the religious body and the modern S&M discourses of psychopathology, subcultural politics and commercial markets The article then explores the tensions between S&M as an oppressive theological and social structure (a capitalistic model of sexuality-desire) and S&M as a liberating activity in its non-productive exchange (Foucault's pleasure-intensity). While revealing the problems of idolatry and the need for ‘critical consensuality’, the article concludes by showing how intensity and intimacy in S&M can change Christian attitudes to sex and the market.     

Occlusion, symmetry, and object-based attention: comment on Behrmann, Zemel, and Mozer (1998)

The validity of M. Behrmann, R. Zemel, and M. Mozer's (1998) finding that object-based attention can be directed toward occluded objects is examined in 3 experiments. In M. Behrmann et al.'s (1998) original study, participants made speeded judgments of whether the numbers of bumps attached to 2 arms of an X shape were the same or different. The 2 sets of bumps belonged either to a single object, 2 different objects, or 2 separated parts of an occluded object. Unfortunately, this objecthood manipulation was confounded by the symmetry of the stimuli. Experiment 1 replicated M. Behrmann et al.'s main results using identical stimuli. Experiments 2a and 2b dissociated objecthood from symmetry. The results suggest that the effects of object-based attention found by M. Behrmann et al. are largely due to symmetry. The stimuli used in M. Behrmann et al. are not appropriate for examining the relation between object-based attention and occlusion.     

一个关于专名指称存在预设的形式刻画

目前关于预设的真值语义学研究主要是各种三值语义。这看起来有自然的一面,但其实有一个严重的误区,将"无定义"也看成一个与预设原句真值处于同一层面的真值,混淆了对象语言与元语言的区分。预设句与原句是不同层次的句子。本文试以专名指称存在预设为例,通过部分模型以及在此之上的同底扩张模型方法构造了复合模型,给出了一个既保证不同语言层次的区分又可以跨层次统一谈论原句和预设句关系的形式语义。通过这个语义,揭示了预设句与原句的2//[2]+[0]式的真值结构,使得通常情况下关于预设的默认得到形式上的刻画和呈现。     

Reviews

F ordham , M ichael . Explorations into the Self
R edpearn , J oseph . My Self, My Many Selves
H obson , R obert F. Forms of Feeling: the Heart of Psychotherapy
C asement , P atricia . On Learning from the Patient
S hepherd , M ichael . Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Dr Freud
A bend , S. M., P order , M. S., W illick , M. S. Borderline Patients: Psychoanalytic Perspectives
V an H erik , J udith . Freud on Femininity and Faith     

Cholinergic receptor antagonists impair formation of intermediate-term memory in the chick

Several experiments examined the effects of cholinergic receptor antagonists on formation of memory in the chick. Scopolamine produced amnesia in chicks trained on a one-trial peck avoidance task in a dose-dependent manner. Pretraining injection of scopolamine produced amnesia that developed between 15 and 30 min after training, suggesting that scopolamine interferes with intermediate-term memory (ITM), previously described to be active during this time (Patterson, Alvarado, Warner, Bennett, & Rosenzweig, 1986). Pretraining injection of scopolamine or ouabain, an inhibitor of ATPase activity shown previously to inhibit formation of ITM, produced identical time courses of amnesia development, supporting the hypothesis that scopolamine interferes with ITM. Pirenzepine, an inhibitor of M1 muscarinic receptors, was effective in producing amnesia, whereas gallamine, an M2 receptor inhibitor, did not produce amnesia. These results suggest that M1, but not M2, receptors are involved in memory formation in the chick.     

Parfit on Direct Self-Defeat

In the first part of Reasons and Persons , Derek Parfit argues that common-sense morality, or M , is self-defeating, so that it must be rejected or revised. I defend M . We can rebut Parfit's argument if we make an assumption about the moral importance of doing what is morally right. We need to assume that this end has sufficient weight in M .     

Reviews

Books reviewed in this article.
The Spectrum of Ritual: A Biogenetic Structural Analysis. By E ugene G. D'A quili , C harles D. L aughlin , J r ., and J ohn M c M anus , with Tom Burns, Barbara Lex, G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., and W. John Smith.
Beginnings in Ritual Studies. By R onald L. G rimes .
Pluralism and Personality: William James and Some Contemporary Cultures & Psychology. By D on S. B rowning .
Primordiality, Science and Value. By R. M. M artin .
After Virtue, a Study an Moral Theory. By A lasdair M acintyre .     

Visual pathway deficit in female fragile X premutation carriers: a potential endophenotype

Previous studies indicated impaired magnocellular (M) and relatively spared parvocellular (P) visual pathway functioning in patients with fragile X syndrome. In this study, we assessed M and P pathways in 22 female fragile X premutation carriers with normal intelligence and in 20 healthy non-carrier controls. Testing procedure included visual contrast sensitivity and vernier threshold measurements. Results revealed that carriers were selectively impaired on tests of M pathways (low spatial/high temporal frequency contrast sensitivity and frequency-doubling vernier), whereas they showed intact performance on P pathway tests. These results suggest that the deficit of the M pathway is an endophenotype of fragile X syndrome.     

Neural processing of acoustic duration and phonological German vowel length: Time courses of evoked fields in response to speech and nonspeech signals

Recent experiments showed that the perception of vowel length by German listeners exhibits the characteristics of categorical perception. The present study sought to find the neural activity reflecting categorical vowel length and the short-long boundary by examining the processing of non-contrastive durations and categorical length using MEG. Using disyllabic words with varying /a/-durations and temporally-matched nonspeech stimuli, we found that each syllable elicited an M50/M100-complex. The M50-amplitude to the second syllable varied along the durational continuum, possibly reflecting the mapping of duration onto a rhythm representation. Categorical length was reflected by an additional response elicited when vowel duration exceeded the short-long boundary. This was interpreted to reflect the integration of an additional timing unit for long in contrast to short vowels. Unlike to speech, responses to short nonspeech durations lacked a M100 to the first and M50 to the second syllable, indicating different integration windows for speech and nonspeech signals.     

Abstracts edited by Neil Frude

S elvini -P alazzoli , M. and V iaro , M. (1988) The anorectic process in the family: a six-stage model as a guide for individual therapy. Family Process , 27 (2): 129–148.
Z acks , E., G reen , R.-J. and M arrow , J. (1988) Comparing lesbian and heterosexual couples on the circumplex model: an initial investigation. Family Process , 27 (4): 471–484.
K urdek , L. A. (1989) Relationship quality in gay and lesbian cohabiting couples: a one-year follow-up study. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 6 : 39–59.
L ewis , J. M. (1988) The transition to parenthood. I: The rating of marital competence. Family Process , 27 (2): 129–148.
R adochonski , M. (1988) Family therapy following loss of sight in an adult member. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 19 (2): 167–171.
S kovholt , T. M. and M c C arthy , P. R. (1988) (Eds) Special Issue: Critical incidents in counselor development. Journal of Counseling and Development , (no. 2), 69–134.     

Residual ability to use grapheme-phoneme conversion rules in phonological dyslexia

A case of acquired phonological dyslexia is described (P.M.). The patient was encouraged to read nonwords by analogy with real words, i.e., by changing phonemes in real words to produce pronounceable nonwords. P.M. was able to perform this task suggesting that he retained some ability to use grapheme-phoneme conversion rules. On the basis of P.M.'s performance an additional connection in Morton's logogen model is postulated.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviews in this article
T he E go and T he M echanisms of D efence . By Anna Freud.
T he N eurotic P ersonality of O ur T ime . By Karen Horney.
S cience A nd P sychical P henomena . By G. N. M. Tyrrell.
N ationalism A nd T he C ommunal M ind . By E. Hanbury Hankin.
T he R ediscovery O f M an . By Henry C. Link.
A S ocial P sychology of S ex and H unger . By A. E. Ayau.     

Clinical approaches to the near-death experiencer

The literature on near-death experiences (NDEs) and their aftereffects has focused on the positive personality transformations and spiritual development that often follow an NDE, while it has neglected the emotional and interpersonal problems sometimes precipitated by the experience. We report general guidelines and specific interventions, developed at an interdisciplinary conference, to assist NDErs in coping with psychological difficulties following their experiences.This report was based on a conference on Clinical Approaches to the Near-Death Experience, sponsored by the International Association for Near-Death Studies, February 5–9, 1984, in Pembroke Pines, FL, and funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Noetic Sciences. The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the other participants in that conference: Patricia Bahr, Boyce Batey, Sharon Batey, Nancy Bush, Kimberly Clark, M.S.W., Diane Corcoran, R.N., Ph.D., Elaine Durham, Linda Fleishman, Charles Flynn, Ph.D., Margaret Huddleston, Joan Kaye, Esther Knecht, Carolyn Lewis-Stone, M.S.W., Jean Marr, Ph.D., John McDonagh, Ph.D., Anne-Marie Meagher, M.D., John Migliaccio, M.Ed., Judith Miller, Ph.D., Raymond Moody, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Leslee Morabito, Annalee Oaks, R.N., M.A., Ruth Orner, Ph.D., Carol Parrish-Harra, Madelaine Podurgiel, R.N., Ph.D., Laurie Schwartz, Joyce Strom-Paikin, R.N., M.S., Robert Sullivan, Nina Thornburg, M.S.N., Israel Topel, M.D., and Kate Wyatt, Ph.D.