TOWARD VERIFYING THE ASSUMPTIONS OF LABORATORY-INDUCED SLIPS OF THE TONGUE: THE OUTPUT-ERROR AND EDITING ISSUES

During the second half of the past decade, psycholinguistic models of speech production have been modified to include a “prearticulatory editing” component, the supposed function of which is to verify the linguistic integrity of impending phoneme strings destined for articulation. Empirical support for psycholinguistic editing comes primarily from studies by the present authors on laboratory-induced verbal slips. All of these studies have depended upon two crucial claims: that laboratory slips are errors of output, and that error-rate differentials are evidence of editing. Recently, however, it has been recognized that neither of these assumptions has been convincingly demonstrated, and consequently the editing models instigated by the earlier studies are being reassessed. The present study tested these two assumptions directly. The output-error assumption was supported by finding larger Galvanic Skin Resistance (GSR) responses for verbal slips than for correct vocalizations. The editing assumption was supported by finding that presumably edited vocal responses (identified by GSR) require more processing time (i.e., vocal response latency) than unedited responses. The reasoning from the empirical observations to conclusions about these assumptions is discussed in detail. Secondarily, a hypothesized social acceptability editing criterion was supported by the observation that neutral verbal slips outnumber taboo counterparts.     

Moral Responsibility, Psychiatric Disorders and Duress

ABSTRACT  The paper is a discussion of moral responsibility and excuses in regard to psychiatric disorders involving abnormal desires (e.g. impulse control disorders such as kleptomania and pyromania, psychosexual disorders such as exhibitionism, obsessive-compulsive disorder and others). It points out problems with previous approaches to the question of whether or not to excuse persons with these disorders, and offers a new approach based on the concept of duress. There is a discussion of duress in regard to non-psychiatric cases based on the core notion of duress involving a choice between undesirables, and the paper concludes with an argument that moral blame for individuals with these sorts of disorders should often be lessened and in some cases removed entirely.     

Reaction to Gunnison's Article on the Similarities Between Erickson and Rogers

Rogers and Erickson had no direct contact with each other's work. Whatever similarities exist developed independently. Rogers stresses his reliance on an intuitive relationship to the client's inner core and discusses the basis for this intuition. He also relies on a fundamental directional tendency which exists in every person. He trusts the client to choose his or her own goals. In these respects he sees some similarities between himself and Erickson, confirming Gunnison's points and going beyond them.     

On the relation between justification of solution method and correctness of solution in statistical problem solving

The relation between the justification of a choice of solution method and the correctness of that choice in statistical problem solving was investigated. In the first of two studies 16 subjects were asked to think aloud while solving two statistical problems. The results showed that an incorrect choice of solution method was more common when subjects did not justify their choice of solution as compared to when they justified their choice with domain-specific knowledge. Study 2 employed an experimental design. A group of 20 subjects were instructed to provide a justification for each choice of solution method, while another group of 20 subjects received no such instructions. The results showed no difference between the groups with respect to number of correct choices of solution method. A qualitative analysis of the justifications in the instructed group showed that the justifications for incorrect solution methods were more often incorrect than subjects' justifications for correct solution methods. The results in Study 2 suggested that the association found between incorrect choice of solution method and lack of justification in Study 1 was not in the first place due to a strategical deficiency on the part of the subjects but due to a lack of domain-specific knowledge.     

The Impact of Virginia's Career Information Delivery System

The Virginia VIEW Career Information Delivey System has served as an impetus for generating excitement and new activities in local guidance programs.     

The Conjoint Family Diagnostic Interview and the Family Index of Tension

The present paper is written in response to the, as yet, unmet need for a broadly applicable, clinical rubric for assessing the psychiatric patient's situation in his family. It describes a conjoint family diagnostic interview procedure (CFDI) which enables a clinical interviewer, within a single ninety-minute, problem-focused, conjoint interview, to describe or rate the verbal and nonverbal behavior of a Ten family unit along dimensions relevant to clinical decision-making for the psychiatric patient. A rating instrument, the Family Index of Tension (FIT) will also be described. It provides a convenient format for quantifying the information obtained at the CFDI, facilitating comparisons within and across family systems. Though initially developed and protested on 350 families of hospitalized psychiatric patients, the procedure described appears applicable to all clinical situations in which families, regardless of their composition and background, are seen together with an “identified patient” for purposes of evaluation and treatment planning.     

Confidence in own and others' knowledge

A person's confidence judgement of a statement reflects his/her degree of belief in the correctness of that statement. Deficient ability to assess the correctness of statements (or beliefs) can have serious consequences in many situations. This study compares the realism (calibration) of subjects' confidence ratings in two situations ( n = 64). The first situation was when the subjects confidence rated their own answers to general knowledge questions. The second was when the subjects gave confidence ratings of another person's answers to general knowledge questions. The results show that subjects were more poorly calibrated and were more overconfident in the second situation, i.e. when they gave confidence ratings of answers given by another person, compared with when they rated their own answers. The data further indicates that the results can not be explained in terms of the amount of cognitive processes invested when making the confidence judgements. For example, the subjects rated the other person's answers to questions they had answered themselves, and to questions they had not seen before. No differences in confidence or in calibration and other measures of judgmental realism were found between these two categories of questions. Nor did instructions to imagine the thought process of the other person improve any of these measures. The subjects disagreed with the other person's answer on 23% of all occasions. Significantly poorer calibration was shown where subjects disagreed with the other person than where they agreed. Contents of a social nature attended to by the subjects may have affected the results. The results, when related to previous research in the area, give rise to the question of how the social situation can be arranged to achieve the best calibration.     

The Tables Turned: Factors MBA Students Use in Deciding Among Prospective Employers

Past research has revealed a number of determinants of selection decisions for college students. Given the large number of students graduating with MBA degrees and firms recruiting and hiring applicants with such degrees, the purpose of this study was to examine how MBA students would rate certain job factors. This study reports students' ratings of 23 factors potentially present in workplaces. The most and least important factors are discussed. In addition, implications for organizational recruiting practices and for on-campus career counselors are presented.