THE EFFECT OF REPERTORY GRID SCALE SIZE AND RATING DIRECTION ON STRUCTURAL MEASURES OF DIFFERENTIATION

Previous work by Soldz and Soldz (1989) indicated that variations in repertory grid features can have a significant impact on the interpretation of the Landfield Functionally Independent Construction Score (FIC), which is a measure of cognitive differentiation. In this study, we showed that four different grid measures (FIC, Total number of zeroes, and the number of midpoint ratings used to indicate either equality or nonapplicability) can be effected by the use of a certain scale size (3-point, 7-point, 13-point), and by the direction of administration (completing the grid in a downwards direction vs. an across-wise direction). In addition, correlations between the number of zero ratings and the total FIC scores for each of the different scale sizes and directions showed evidence to support and to qualify previous work conducted by Soldz and Soldz (1989). In general, high positive correlations were found, suggesting the impact of zero ratings on FIC scores. But the magnitude of the correlations between the zero ratings and the total FIC scores varied as a function of the scale size, the direction of administration, and the meaning of the zero rating (neutrality vs. nonapplicability), raising theoretical, as well as procedural, considerations for future repertory grid research.     

Symbolic- and response-related contributions to blindness to compatible stimuli

Blindness to compatible stimuli refers to poorer target identification (e.g., right-pointing arrowhead) following compatible stimuli (e.g., right arrows; Stevanovski, Oriet, & Jolic?ur, 2003) and compatible responses (e.g., right key press; Müsseler & Hommel, 1997a and 1997b). To clarify the role of the response in this effect, we examined the impact of adding or removing an overt response. In three experiments, subjects saw an arrow cue (that sometimes required a response) followed by a brief, masked arrowhead, which was reported on all trials. In all experiments, making a response increased the magnitude of the blindness effect. Furthermore, “no response” performance was unaffected by whether subjects had previously responded to the cue. Results favour a two-factor symbolic- plus response-related activation model over a purely symbolic activation model.     

Understanding the multiframe caricature advantage for recognizing facial composites

Eyewitnesses often construct a “composite” face of a person they saw commit a crime, a picture that police use to identify suspects. We described a technique (Frowd, Bruce, Ross, McIntyre, & Hancock, 2007) based on facial caricature to facilitate recognition of these images: Correct naming substantially improves when composites are seen with progressive positive caricature, where distinctive information is enhanced, and then with progressive negative caricature, the opposite. Over the course of four experiments, the underpinnings of this mechanism were explored. Positive-caricature levels were found to be largely responsible for improving naming of composites, with some benefit from negative-caricature levels. Also, different frame-presentation orders (forward, reverse, random, repeated) facilitated equivalent naming benefit relative to static composites. Overall, the data indicate that composites are usually constructed as negative caricatures.     

The effects of transformational leadership behaviours on follower outcomes: An identity-based analysis

The aim of this study was to explore two of the mechanisms by which transformational leaders have a positive influence on followers. It examined the mediating role of follower's leader and group identification on the associations among different transformational leader behaviours and follower job satisfaction and supervisor-rated job performance. One hundred and seventy-nine healthcare employees and 44 supervisors participated in the study. The results from multilevel structural equation modelling provided results that partially supported the predicted model. Identification with the leader significantly mediated the positive associations between supportive leadership, intellectual stimulation, personal recognition, in the prediction of job satisfaction and job performance. Leader identification also mediated the relationship between supportive leadership, intellectual stimulation, personal recognition, and group identification. However, group identification did not mediate the associations between vision leadership and inspirational communication, in the prediction of job satisfaction and job performance. The results highlight the role of individualized forms of leadership and leader identification in enhancing follower outcomes.     

A review of: “Quality of life and mental health services”

Joseph Oliver, Peter Huxley, Keith Bridges and Hadi Mohamad (1996) Quality of Life and Mental Health Services, London: Routledge, $16.99 (pb)     

Subjective memory loss in age-associated memory impairment: Family history and neuropsychological correlates

Abstract

Empiricist and rationalist approaches to data-quality control in meta-analyses are discussed, and a compromise approach advocated by Strube and Hartmann (1983) for theoretically driven meta-analyses is applied to Laver and Burke's (1993) data sets. When older adults' response times (RTs) and semantic priming effects (SPEs) are regressed on young adults' RTs and SPEs, the slopes of the regression lines are approximately 1.5 as long as the age difference is held constant and performance is reasonably accurate. Both increases and decreases in RTs following unrelated and related primes, relative to RTs following baseline primes, were analyzed. The results, like those regarding RTs and SPEs, support the hypothesis that, compared with young adults who are 50 years younger, older adults take approximately 50% longer to process lexical information     

Modifying driver behaviour with passenger feedback

A feedback programme was employed to help drivers improve their safety behaviour based on the idea that particular types of driver error result from contingency traps as defined by Fuller [Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis, 24 (1991) 73]. Two drivers and their single respective passengers participated. For each driver, repeated in-car observations were made of four unsafe driving behaviours. Two of these were sequentially targeted in the behavioural intervention that involved the passengers providing informational feedback to their driver. Both drivers showed a marked improvement across the targeted behaviours. The study demonstrated the applicability of behaviour analysis to the traffic domain and the efficacy of individual feedback as a behavioural tool for positive behaviour modification.     

Three Dual Ontologies

In this paper we give an example of intertranslatability between an ontology of individuals (nominalism), an ontology of properties (realism), and an ontology of facts (factualism). We demonstrate that these three ontologies are dual to each other, meaning that each ontology can be translated into, and recaptured from, each of the others. The aim of the enterprise is to raise the possibility that, at least in some settings, there may be no need for considerations of ontological primacy. Whether the world is made up of things, or properties, or facts, may be no more than a matter of how we look at it.