Effective use of the blank comparison procedure in simple discrimination by infant capuchin monkeys: A methodological note

In studies of simple and conditional discrimination, procedures are needed to measure those aspects of stimuli that control behavior. The blank comparison procedure is one such procedure. It was designed explicitly for assessing S+ and S- functions when discriminative stimuli are presented simultaneously. In this procedure, a neutral stimulus serves sometimes as S+ and sometimes as S-. Its discriminative function is defined in relation to other stimuli in the display. The present study aimed to prepare 2 infant female capuchin monkeys for the effective use of the blank comparison procedure in a simple discrimination task. First, simple discrimination training was applied up to a stable accuracy criterion of ≥90%. This training was followed by the replacement of S+ and then of S- stimuli with new stimuli. Ultimately, trials with the blank comparison were introduced. Following this sequence, both monkeys immediately displayed highly accurate blank-comparison performances without the need for stimulus control shaping or other preparatory discrimination training. Thus, this procedure sequence may be an efficient, effective method for establishing blank-comparison baselines for experimental analyses of S+/S- discriminative functions and perhaps for other applications in teaching simple and conditional discrimination performances to this species and others.     

‘Allah has spoken to us: we must keep silent.’ In the folds of secrecy,the Holy Book of the Druze

This article explores the cultural dynamics of bond and separateness created around the Book of Wisdom (kitâb ?l-?ikma), the Druze Holy Book. The Text, unrevealable to Druze non-believers or foreigners, is shrouded in a collective pact to ‘keep quiet’. I assert that this alliance aims to protect Druze intimacy rather than highlight their separateness from others. It is rooted in the Druze premise that meaning is both corporeal and feminine, that it pertains to an ineffable interiority. I thereby distance myself from anthropological analyses that consider the so-called Druze secret around the Book as static content solely related to language.     

Nikolai Lossky’s Reception and Criticism of Husserl

Nikolai Lossky is key to the history of the Husserl-Rezeption in Russia. He was the first to publish a review of the Russian translation of Husserl’s first volume of the Logische Untersuchungen that appeared in 1909. He also published a presentation and criticism of Husserl’s transcendental idealism in 1939. An English translation of both of Lossky’s publications is offered in this volume for the first time. The present paper, which is intended as an introduction to these documents, situates Lossky within the Rezeptionsgeschichte of Husserl in Russia and explains why he is central to it. It also explains what Lossky principally found in Husserl: he saw in the latter’s critique of psychologism support for his own ontology, epistemology, and axiology. Lossky characterizes his ontology as an ideal-realism. According to ideal-realism, both the realm of ideal beings (in Plato’s sense) and the realm of real beings (i.e., the world of becoming) are mind-independent. Per his epistemology, which he calls “intuitivism,” real beings are intuited by sensual intuition and ideal beings by intellectual intuition. The realm of ideal beings includes the subrealm of values, which is intuited by axiological intuition. This thoroughly realist conception contrasted sharply with the subjectivist tendencies of the time. So, when Lossky took cognizance of Husserl’s critique of psychologism, he thereupon found an ally in his battle against the various subjectivisms. But, when Husserl took the transcendental idealist turn, Lossky was at the forefront of the backlash against the new direction Husserl wanted to give to phenomenology.     

Exploring how consumer cooperatives might strategically incorporate social media to distribute wine

This research advances our understanding of disruptions to marketing channels in the digital world by investigating the viability of consumer cooperative systems which are envisioned as multi-actor constructed networks using social media (SM) platforms. It introduces the concepts of “social media consumer wine cooperator” as a new distribution channel for wine and investigates the consumer's intention to participate in an SM and become a wine cooperator. Relying on the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), we adopted a quantitative research inquiry with data gathered using an online survey involving a sample of 486 French consumers. We empirically tested the relationships among four factors: attitude toward buying wine based on SM recommendations, perceived risks, intention to buy wine on SM, and consumer intention to become an SM wine cooperator. Findings indicate that the intention to be an SM wine cooperator is positively correlated with attitude toward buying wine based on SM recommendations and the intention to purchase wine on SM. To finish with, we link the concept of the consumer wine co-op to the current debate in the literature on centralized versus decentralized (built on top of blockchain networks) social media platforms, opening the door for future research avenues.     

On the role of passion in performance

The present paper reports two studies designed to test the Dualistic Model of Passion with regard to performance attainment in two fields of expertise. Results from both studies supported the Passion Model. Harmonious passion was shown to be a positive source of activity investment in that it directly predicted deliberate practice (Study 1) and positively predicted mastery goals which in turn positively predicted deliberate practice (Study 2). In turn, deliberate practice had a direct positive impact on performance attainment. Obsessive passion was shown to be a mixed source of activity investment. While it directly predicted deliberate practice (Study 1) and directly predicted mastery goals (which predicted deliberate practice), it also predicted performance-avoidance and performance-approach goals, with the former having a tendency to facilitate performance directly, and the latter to directly negatively impact on performance attainment (Study 2). Finally, harmonious passion was also positively related to subjective well-being (SWB) in both studies, while obsessive passion was either unrelated (Study 1) or negatively related to SWB (Study 2). The conceptual and applied implications of the differential influences of harmonious and obsessive passion in performance are discussed.     

Analyzing head roll and eye torsion by means of offline image processing

Ocular torsion is a key problem in the understanding of many visual perceptual effects. However, since it is difficult to record, its integration with other sensorimotor signals is still poorly understood. Unfortunately, eyetracker systems are generally not dedicated to the monitoring of eye torsion. In addition, the classical methods used with video-based systems present some limits in the accuracy of torsion calculation. These limits are especially related to the detection of pupil center and the effects of pupil size changes. This article aims at (1) proposing a solution to analyze ocular torsion together with head roll using EyeLink II or similar equipment, (2) reviewing and adapting classical polar cross-correlation methods in order to improve the accuracy of torsion measurement, (3) providing a lower-cost method compared with the existing ones. Video sequences issued from the EyeLink II host computer monitor were recorded by means of a second computer equipped with a video acquisition card and converted into image sequences. Images were analyzed with algorithms of pupil center detection (median-based algorithm), torsion analysis (adapted polar cross-correlation method which takes into account pupil size variations) and marker tracking (head roll analysis). This method was tested on virtual eye images. Results are discussed with respect to other algorithms found in the literature.     

Verbal,mathematics, and physical education self-concepts and achievements: An extension and test of the Internal/External Frame of Reference Model

ObjectivesThe Internal/External Frame of Reference Model (I/E model; e.g., Marsh, 1986) posits that verbal achievement (Ach) produces a lower mathematics self-concept (SC) and that, conversely, mathematics Ach fosters a lower verbal SC after controlling for prior Ach in each domain. The present study extended this model by adding another school subject that has not been previously investigated, namely physical education (PE). The central goal was to verify whether Ach in PE positively or negatively predicts academic SC in the mathematics and verbal domains.DesignProspective study over one school year.MethodsParticipants were 451 French high school students (mean age = 13.5). Ach scores in mathematics, French and PE were gathered at the beginning of the school year. At the end of this one, students completed a questionnaire to assess their SC in the three school subjects. Results: Structural Equation Modelling results revealed, according to the I/E model, negative paths between mathematics Ach and verbal SC, and between verbal Ach and mathematics SC. Results also revealed singular relationship patterns between the two traditional school subjects and PE. A positive path between PE Ach and mathematics SC was observed whereas the path with the verbal SC was non-significant.ConclusionPE could have benefits to increase SC in other school subject such as mathematics. Broader implications of results for the I/E model are discussed.     

The Anderson-Winawer illusion: It’s not occlusion

In their recent article, Anderson and Winawer (2005) presented a dramatic lightness illusion in which identical texture patches appear to be either black or white. Albert (2007) argued that the Anderson and Winawer (2005) illusion can be explained by a simple theory in which occlusion cues determine the depth relationships of the different surfaces, and determine which stimulus areas are perceived as seen in plain view. Using both modeling and psychophysical methods, however, I show that alterations such as those that Albert used actually reverse the illusion within the range of figure contrasts that Anderson and Winawer (2005) tested. Albert’s theory (and any occlusion-based theory), therefore, cannot account for Anderson and Winawer’s (2005) data, at least in the lower figure-contrast range. I propose a novel scene-interpretation strategy to account for the effects.     

On‐again/off‐again dating relationships: How are they different from other dating relationships?

This article explores the understudied yet prevalent phenomenon of on‐again/off‐again (on‐off) dating relationships. Study 1 (N= 445 U.S. college students) showed that almost two thirds of participants had experienced an on‐off relationship. Analyses of open‐ended responses about relationship experiences showed on‐off partners were less likely to report positives (e.g., love and understanding from partners) and more likely to report negatives (e.g., communication problems, uncertainty) than partners who had not broken up and renewed. Study 2 (N= 236), employing quantitative measures, substantiated these findings and further showed a greater number of renewals was associated with greater negatives and fewer positives. Results highlight the need for further investigation regarding on‐off relationships, and theories potentially useful in explaining these relationships are discussed.     

The virtues of collective gatherings: A study on the positive effects of a major scouting event

The present study addresses, in a highly ecological setting, the short- and long-term psychosocial consequences of participation in a major scouting event. Using a quasi-longitudinal design comprising three measures taken over two-and-a-half months (i.e., baseline level; within the 24 hr following the event; 10 weeks after the gathering), we show that participation in this collective gathering was followed by a series of positive effects at the psychosocial level. More precisely, we noticed an increase in the scout's levels of social integration, and individual and social well-being after their participation in the gathering. Further, in line with a central tenet of the neo-Durkheimian model of collective processes, the results stress the key role of perceived emotional synchrony in the prediction of the outcomes. Higher perceived emotional synchrony during the gathering was associated with stronger in-group identification, identity fusion, pride, openness to experience, self-esteem, positive affects, and adhesion to specific scouting values. Finally, we found that the effects of participation lasted more than a few days and were predicted by the level of perceived emotional synchrony. These findings are the first to show that positive effects of participation in a collective event last for at least ten weeks.