Delineating paternalism in pediatric care

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics - Paternalism in the medical care of children is appropriate and ethically justifiable. However, dilemmatic disagreement by paternalistic agents as to which...     

Family resemblances: Studies in the internal structure of categories

Six experiments explored the hypothesis that the members of categories which are considered most prototypical are those with most attributes in common with other members of the category and least attributes in common with other categories. In probabilistic terms, the hypothesis is that prototypicality is a function of the total cue validity of the attributes of items. In Experiments 1 and 3, subjects listed attributes for members of semantic categories which had been previously rated for degree of prototypicality. High positive correlations were obtained between those ratings and the extent of distribution of an item's attributes among the other items of the category. In Experiments 2 and 4, subjects listed superordinates of category members and listed attributes of members of contrasting categories. Negative correlations were obtained between prototypicality and superordinates other than the category in question and between prototypicality and an item's possession of attributes possessed by members of contrasting categories. Experiments 5 and 6 used artificial categories and showed that family resemblance within categories and lack of overlap of elements with contrasting categories were correlated with ease of learning, reaction time in identifying an item after learning, and rating of prototypicality of an item. It is argued that family resemblance offers an alternative to criterial features in defining categories.     

Partial integration of single electrocutaneous pulses

Psychometric functions generated by single eleetroeutaneous stimuli yielded a median coefficient of variation ( σ/μ ) of 0.23. These data are consistent with other psychometric data recently reported by us which yielded σ/μ ratios of this size. The data are discussed and related to conflicting data reported in the recent literature indicating coefficients of variation for this mode of stimulation which are only 1/3 as large. Evidence is presented for partial temporal summation (time-intensity reciprocity) for electrocutaneous stimuli ranging from 175 to 610 microseconds. The data are best fitted by the equation I x t^a = k, where a is approximately 0.57. This equation and exponent also fit summation data reported by the same authors who report finding steep psychometric functions. Clearly, then, the mechanism responsible for the very limited temporal summation found for eleetrocutaneous stimulation and the mechanism responsible for very steep psychometric functions are not identical. The discussion also includes speculation regarding possible mechanisms and suggestions for research.     

Effects of a brief novel stimulus during temporally spaced responding: Evidence for external inhibition?

Following training on schedules which differentially reinforce low rates of responding (DRL), three rats were exposed to a procedure to test for external inhibition. During test trials, a tone was presented midway in the DRL interval and the latency to the next response recorded. The incidence of external inhibition (defined in terms of the latency and its relative probability) appeared to be positively related to the size of the DRL schedule and not to measures of the subject’s “efficiency” on the schedule. An alternative view to the “pure” disinhibition hypothesis is presented which stresses the disruption of collateral behavior sequences which maintain responding under the DRL schedule.     

Basic objects in natural categories

Categorizations which humans make of the concrete world are not arbitrary but highly determined. In taxonomies of concrete objects, there is one level of abstraction at which the most basic category cuts are made. Basic categories are those which carry the most information, possess the highest category cue validity, and are, thus, the most differentiated from one another. The four experiments of Part I define basic objects by demonstrating that in taxonomies of common concrete nouns in English based on class inclusion, basic objects are the most inclusive categories whose members: (a) possess significant numbers of attributes in common, (b) have motor programs which are similar to one another, (c) have similar shapes, and (d) can be identified from averaged shapes of members of the class. The eight experiments of Part II explore implications of the structure of categories. Basic objects are shown to be the most inclusive categories for which a concrete image of the category as a whole can be formed, to be the first categorizations made during perception of the environment, to be the earliest categories sorted and earliest named by children, and to be the categories most codable, most coded, and most necessary in language.     

The role of the clergy in serving the mentally retarded

Conclusion The clergyman, by at times being reflective, supportive, sometimes confrontational, and educative, is uniquely equipped to bring solace and hope to the retarded and their families (to quote Mostrom), recognizing that by providing a ray of hope, a way out, a meaningful answer, he can realistically show both the darkness and light—the truth that this child is also a child of God. In an age in which there is a crisis in moral, ethical, and spiritual values, are not the retarded a magnificent example of ways in which compassion, understanding, and helpfulness can enrich all of our lives? In a letter to me, Mr. Mostrom writes that others can give technical answers, but the clergy can give support essential to the family by walking along side of the retarded and their families, listening, understanding, showing that they care, and so giving strength and encouragement.Charlos C. Borgman, who had been a member of the Board of Trustees, Executive Vice-President, and Treasurer of the Academy of Religion and Mental Health before 1972, became a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Vice-President of the Institutes of Religion and Health after the merging of the Academy into the newly-formed Institutes. His many administrative and advisory services to national and international organizations serving people now include the folowing: American Field Service Scholarships, Inc., Chairman of its International Council; Public Corporation for Mental Health, Special Advisor; Silver Hill Foundation, member of the Board of Managers; the President's Committee on Mental Retardation, Special Advisor.This article is an expansion of an address Mr. Bergman delivered at the Second Pan-American Congress on Mental Retardation held in Panama City, Aust 2 24–29, 1975.     

Traditional attitudes and teacher consistency in producing student learning gains in the early elementary grades

Questionnaire responses of second- and third-grade teachers specially selected because of their relatively high consistency in producing student learning gains on standardized achievement tests (N =30) were compared with responses of other teachers working in the same school system at the same grade levels (N = 38). Due to sample selection procedures, the highly consistent teachers were older and averaged more years of teaching experience than the teachers in the comparison group. In order to see whether the consistent teachers differed in any other ways from the teachers in the comparison group, the teachers in each group were administered a 495-item questionnaire. Group difference analyses revealed 57 items showing differences beyond the .05 level of significance, when only about 25 would have been expected by chance. For the most part, the items showing group differences did not form interpretable patterns. However, a subset of 10 items emerged from a factor analysis to form a traditionalism factor. Further analyses revealed that the highly consistent teachers were more traditional in their attitudes and beliefs than the teachers in the comparison group, and that this difference was not related to teacher age or years of experience. Thus, traditionalism in beliefs and attitudes was related to consistency in relative success in producing student learning gains. Possible reasons for this puzzling finding are discussed.     

Retention of phonemic and semantic features of words

Subjects were asked to detect either repetitions, rhymes, or words from the same category during an auditory or visual list presentation. It was discovered in both cases that the number of intervening words had a differential effect on probability of detection, with phonemic feature detection deteriorating more rapidly than semantic. However, "rate" of presentation did not have a differential effect on the probability of feature detection, since phonemic and semantic feature detection improved equally with increased interword interval time. It was suggested that phonemic feature retention might be more vulnerable than semantic feature retention to interference.     

On Usnadze's volume illusion

Summary Contrary to what was expected, subjects overestimated the volume in heavier objects, when making estimations with no visual cues available (a positive volume illusion). This finding contradicts the result of Usnadze. He found, that the heavier of two spheres, equal in volume, was perceived as the smaller by most subjects, with their eyes closed.The stimuli used were spheres and cylinders of different weights and volumes. In four experiments, the subjects reported their volume ratings with the help of two direct scaling methods, magnitude estimation or ratio estimation. Lifting stimuli with one sphere in each hand gave, as a result, a difference between hands. This difference was interpreted to imply, that the subjects did not just follow a strategy to give higher volume estimates to heavier objects.The positive volume illusion phenomenon, that appeared in all four experiments, was affected by such sources of variation as time (trial number), and size-weight interaction, defined as a stimulus context variable. Neither a strategy which assumes that the subjects judge density instead of volume, nor any other sizeweight interaction model is effective in explaining the volume illusion. The search for such a model was suggested as a line for future research, though.

---

Zusammenfassung Gegensatz zur Erwartung scheinen schwerere Versuchskörper größeres Volumen zu haben als die leichteren, wenn Vpn die Volumina vergleichen, ohne sie anzusehen (eine positive Volumtäuschung). Dieses Resultat stimmt nicht mit den Ergebnissen von Usnadze. Er fand, daß wenn man zwei verschieden schwere, im übrigen aber ganz gleichartige Körper mit geschlossenen Augen, bloß tastend, auf ihre Größe vergleicht, so erscheint der Schwere kleiner, der Leichtere größer.Die Versuchskörper waren Kugeln und Zylinder verschiedenen Gewichtes und Volumens. In vier Versuchen schätzen die Vpn das Volumen mit Hilfe von zwei direkten Schätzmethoden, Magnitudenschätzung (magnitude estimation) und Verhältnisschätzung (ratio estimation), jedoch ohne die Versuchskörper sehen zu dürfen. Das Heben der Versuchskörper mit einer Kugel in jeder Hand gab als Resultat einen Unterschied zwischen den Händen. Dieser Unterschied schien zu bedeuten, daß die Vpn nicht automatisch schweren Körpern ein größeres Volumen gaben.Die positive Volumtäuschung, die in allen vier Versuchen erschien, war durch solche Faktoren wie Zeit (Nummer der Vergleichsfälle), und Größe-Gewichtwechselwirkung, definiert in der Verschiedenheit der vorhandenen Versuchskörper, beeinflußt. Die Versuchsdaten stützen nicht die Hypothese, daß die Vpn versuchten die Dichte der Versuchskörper zu schätzen. Auch wurde kein brauchbares Modell für die Wechselwirkung gefunden um die Volumtäuschung zu illustrieren. Ein solches Modell wurde doch für zukünftige Forschung vorgeschlagen.