Spectral sensitivity of the Sooty mangabey

Purkinje shift and scotopic and photopic spectral sensitivity functions were determined for four Sooty mangabeys and five human controls using a flicker technique in a four-choice discrete trials task. Results-indicate a Purkinje shift similar in magnitude and frequency locus to that of human controls. Scotopic spectral sensitivity was almost identical to that of human controls, although both species showed reduced sensitivity relative to the standard CIE function, -at short wavelengths. Photopic spectral sensitivity disclosed enhanced sensitivity in the blue and reduced sensitivity (0.3–0.4 log units) in the red relative to human controls.     

Counseling with Elementary School Children: An Experimental Study

An attempt was made to assess results of counseling with fourth-grade students, using sociometric status as the criterion. A sociometric device was administered to four fourth-grade classrooms. Students of low sociometric status were randomly assigned by classrooms to one of three treatment conditions: (1) counseling, (2) teacher guidance, and (3) control. When treatment conditions were compared, the evidence seemed to indicate significant differences in the relative frequency with which subjects increased or decreased in sociometric status, that the differences favored the counseling condition, and that these differences persisted over a period of seven months. The possibility of a temporary teacher influence on the sociometric criterion was indicated.     

Finding lung nodules with and without comparative visual scanning

The effect of a pretarget (TS1) masked by a noise mask (MS) upon the recognition of a posttarget (TS2) was examined in a TS1-MS-TS2 paradigm. The results clearly showed that the presentation of TS1 masked completely by MS reduced the recognition of a subsequent TS2 to a much greater extent if TS2 was the same as TS1 than when it was not. The results suggest that a TS1 that is perceptually masked by an MS nevertheless continues to have an effect within the visual system. A possible explanation of this reductive effect is described briefly.     

Caregivers’ perspective of the child support grant in South Africa: An exploratory study

This study explored caregivers’ perceptions of the South African Child Support Grant as a poverty alleviation instrument. Informants consisted of 72 caregivers who were purposively selected through the snowball method (female = 99%; single parent = 71%, blacks = 100%). They completed a survey based on their perceptions of the Child Support Grant. Thematic analysis applying the happiness or wellbeing approach to poverty revealed that caregivers find the Child Support Grant to be a family stress reliever by providing basic essentials for living. In addition, caregivers indicated the presence of inefficiencies in the administration of the grant. Findings suggest that the Child Support Grant has a buffering effect on poverty-stricken households in South Africa.     

A META-ANALYSIS OF THE CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITY OF ASSESSMENT CENTER DIMENSIONS

We used meta-analytic procedures to investigate the criterion-related validity of assessment center dimension ratings. By focusing on dimension-level information, we were able to assess the extent to which specific constructs account for the criterion-related validity of assessment centers. From a total of 34 articles that reported dimension-level validities, we collapsed 168 assessment center dimension labels into an overriding set of 6 dimensions: (a) consideration/awareness of others, (b) communication, (c) drive, (d) influencing others, (e) organizing and planning, and (f) problem solving. Based on this set of 6 dimensions, we extracted 258 independent data points. Results showed a range of estimated true criterion-related validities from .25 to .39. A regression-based composite consisting of 4 out of the 6 dimensions accounted for the criterion-related validity of assessment center ratings and explained more variance in performance (20%) than Gaugler, Rosenthal, Thornton, and Bentson (1987) were able to explain using the overall assessment center rating (14%).     

Merit in the Midst of Grace: The Covenant with Adam Reconsidered in View of the Two Powers of God

Abstract:  The position of Barth and others, that the covenant with Adam is thoroughly legalistic, is based on the incorrect assumption that grace and works cannot coexist as covenant principles. However, the difficulty of seeing the harmony between these principles is real. This article reconsiders the covenant with Adam in light of the medieval concept of the two powers of God, or as we shall argue here, the two perspectives on God's power. These two perspectives, part of the original intellectual milieu in which covenant theology arose, demonstrate that the divine covenant with humanity may include aspects of both God's grace and human merit simultaneously. God's grace is apparent de potentia absoluta , from the perspective of God's absolute power, and God's justice and the possibility of Adam's merit are apparent de potentia ordinata , from the perspective of God's ordained power. Both perspectives, what God could do and what he has in fact chosen to do, are valid and necessary perspectives for understanding God's covenant dealings.     

Spoken word recognition by eye

Spoken word recognition is thought to be achieved via competition in the mental lexicon between perceptually similar word forms. A review of the development and initial behavioral validations of computational models of visual spoken word recognition is presented, followed by a report of new empirical evidence. Specifically, a replication and extension of Mattys, Bernstein & Auer's (2002) study was conducted with 20 deaf participants who varied widely in speechreading ability. Participants visually identified isolated spoken words. Accuracy of visual spoken word recognition was influenced by the number of visually similar words in the lexicon and by the frequency of occurrence of the stimulus words. The results are consistent with the common view held within auditory word recognition that this task is accomplished via a process of activation and competition in which frequently occurring units are favored. Finally, future directions for visual spoken word recognition are discussed.     

A discriminated rapid-acquisition laboratory procedure for human continuous choice

Previous continuous choice laboratory procedures for human participants are either prohibitively time-intensive or result in inadequate fits of the generalized matching law (GML). We developed a rapid-acquisition laboratory procedure (Procedure for Rapidly Establishing Steady-State Behavior, or PRESS-B) for studying human continuous choice that reduces participant burden and produces data that is well-described by the GML. To test the procedure, 27 human participants were exposed to 9 independent concurrent random-interval random-interval reinforcement schedules over the course of a single, 37-min session. Fits of the GML to the participants' data accounted for large proportions of variance (median R²: 0.94), with parameter estimates that were similar to those previously found in human continuous choice studies [median a: 0.67; median log(b): -0.02]. In summary, PRESS-B generates human continuous choice behavior in the laboratory that conforms to the GML with limited experimental duration.