Storage and retrieval of low-frequency words*

Retneval of words as a function of their language frequency was studied by having Ss attempt to recogruze the words, recall the words after one presentation, or produce (think of) the words from their initial bigrams. It was found that one reason many low-frequency words could not be thought of (often necessary in anagram and other problem-solving tasks) was because they were not stored by S. as measured by failure to recognize them as words. Those low-frequency words that were stored were more difficult to retrieve than high-frequency words, both in production and in recall. High-frequency words did not exhibit failure of storage. but showed considerable difficulty in retrieval. both in recall and in production.     

Effects of gaze, touch, and use of name on evaluation of “Engaged” couples

Videotapes were made of actors playing the role of engaged couples in an ostensible interview with a research psychologist. Couples either gazed at each other or did not gaze, used each other's name five times or not at all, and touched each other or did not touch. The videotaped interviews were shown to groups of introductory psychology students for ratings on ten polar adjective scales. Gaze proved to be the most important variable, with gazing couples rated significantly more positively than non-gazing couples on all dimensions. Touching couples were rated more favorably than non-touching couples and name using couples received less favorable ratings than non-name using couples. Results of the study were related to equilibrium theory and discussed within the framework of other research relating nonverbal variables to interpersonal attraction.     

Period analytic algorithms for the estimation of selected spectral properties of short segments of EEG data

The accuracy and computational speed of three algorithms (spectral analysis, period analysis, and period amplitude analysis) for the extraction of spectral estimates from time-series data are empirically evaluated in the context of a neuropsychological experiment that requires estimates of power in the standard electroencephalographic frequency bands.     

A comparative study of association measures

This paper discusses the general problem of measuring the association between an independent nominal-scaled variableX and a dependent variableY whose scale of measurement may be interval, ordinal or nominal. The theoretical foundations of a wide range of asymmetric association measures are discussed. Some new measures are also suggested. Fifteen of these association measures, some previously suggested, some new, are singled out for a computer-assisted numerical study in which we compute the value actually taken by each measure under a wide variety of conditions. This comparative study provides important insights into the behavior of the measures.     

The nonverbal mediation of self-fulfilling prophecies in interracial interaction

Two experiments were designed to demonstrate the existence of a self-fulfilling prophecy mediated by nonverbal behavior in an interracial interaction. The results of Experiment 1, which employed naive, white job interviewers and trained white and black job applicants, demonstrated that black applicants received (a) less immediacy, (b) higher rates of speech errors, and (c) shorter amounts of interview time. Experiment 2 employed naive, white applicants and trained white interviewers. In this experiment subject-applicants received behaviors that approximated those given either the black or white applicants in Experiment 1. The main results indicated that subjects treated like the blacks of Experiment 1 were judged to perform less adequately and to be more nervous in the interview situation than subjects treated like the whites. The former subjects also reciprocated with less proximate positions and rated the interviewers as being less adequate and friendly. The implications of these findings for black unemployment were discussed.     

THE TRAINING-EMPLOYMENT VACUUM CYCLE

The training-employment vacuum cycle program suggests: (1) Take the underemployed, non-skilled worker, who has a feel for upward job mobility, and offer him the opportunities of our current job training programs. (2) Fill the job vacuum he creates by filling his job with a hard core unemployed individual. This will allow the unemployed individual immediate job gratification, fulfill his economic need and allow him to view work at an entry level position so he can judge from this vantage point the merits of further training. (3) After the unemployed individual has worked for a period of time the cycle would start over. He would then be offered training and another unemployed individual would be drawn into the vacated position.     

The role of skin coupling in the determination of vibrotactile spatial summation

The method of magnitude estimation was used to determine the psychophysical functions for three forms of subjective automobile speed. Observers experienced linear motion across the visual field, the approach motion of an oncoming car, and “en route” motion as a passenger. All three conditions resulted in power function relations between subjective speed and physical velocity. The respective exponents were 1.0, 1.35, and 1.40. Direct category estimates of en route speed were related linearly to physical velocity, but nonlinearly to subjective speed.     

Sociological Explanations for Student Problems

This research describes the conceptual orientation of a sample of practicing school counselors and counselors in training. It looks specifically and comparatively at a set of competing approaches drawn from neo-Freudian and sociological thinking. The data suggest that counselors are influenced by both sets of ideas, but certain notions appear to predominate in specific hypothetical situations.     

Agency triangles: problems in agency-family relationships

This article focuses on ways in which helping agents, including family therapists, become part of the problem they are treating. Particular emphasis is placed on triangular patterns that frequently develop when one agency involves another in carrying out its functions and in diffusing conflict with a client and his or her family. We refer to this process as an agency triangle. Case examples of such triangles involving various service systems (e.g., schools, courts, mental health centers) are presented, followed by discussion of how agency triangles can be prevented.     

Developmental aspects of the generation effect

Children from Grades 2, 3, 5, and 7 (7.6, 9, 11, and 13 years of age, respectively) were required to generate or study exemplars of semantic categories (semantic orientation) or rhymes to stimulus words (phonetic orientation). Each child then participated in one of three retention tests: free recall, standard recognition, and rhyme recognition. The results indicated that the developmental emergence of the “generation effect” (C. E. McFarland, Jr., T. J. Frey, & D. D. Rhodes, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1980, 19, 210–225; N. J. Slamecka & P. Graf, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 1978, 4, 592–604) was dependent on both encoding orientation and the type of retention task employed. A substantial generation effect first emerged (7-year-olds) for standard recognition in the semantic condition. A similar effect for recall was evident for 9-year olds, but not for younger children. Internal stimulus generation became a strong memory facilitator for phonetically encoded items at age 11 for standard recognition, but not until age 13 for recall. The results of the rhyme recognition test indicated that internal generation facilitated “transfer-appropriate processing” (C. D. Morris, J. D. Bransford, & J. J. Franks, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1977, 16, 519–533) only for seventh graders (age 13). The processes underlying this developmental pattern were discussed.