Reasoning From Uncertain Premises

Previous studies have shown that 1 participants are reluctant to accept a conclusion as certainly true when it is derived from a valid conditional argument that includes a doubtful premise, and 2 participants typically link the degree of uncertainty found in a given premise set to its conclusion. Two experiments were designed to further investigate these phenomena. Ninety adult participants in Experiment 1 were first asked to judge the validity of three conditional arguments Modus Ponens, Denial of the Antecedent, and Affirmation of the Consequent. They were then required to evaluate conclusion uncertainty as a function of two degrees of asserted uncertainty in the major conditional premise (If p then it is very probable that q and if p then it is not very probable that q) of the arguments from the first task that were otherwise unchanged. Results revealed an effect for asserted-uncertainty in two of the three argument forms. Marginal support was found for the hypothesis that perceived argument validity would be a predictor of performance. Experiment 2 investigated the way 40 adult participants combined two sources of asserted uncertainty, one in the major premise and another in the minor premise, when they had to score the uncertainty of the conclusion. The two most prominent kinds of responses were to choose the same likelihood as the weaker of the two expressed in the premises, or a lower one. However, the within-subject consistency was poor. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

Mental illness and suicide in British South Asian adults

South Asians make up about 5% of the UK population. Their rates for mental illness and suicide have been shown by some researchers to be rather lower than that of the total UK population, using a variety of measures, and considering many psychiatric conditions. This paper reviews the literature on the extent of mental illness among British South Asian adults, and explores aspects of their service use, and their attitudes to mental illness. Some distinguishing features of British South Asian mental health are identified, including areas justifying further research. Variations in the South Asian population including generation, country of origin, religion, class, wealth and geography, emphasise the growing need to disaggregate this population when presenting data about them.     

Images of God as They Relate to Life Satisfaction and Hopelessness

The purpose of the present study was to (a) re-evaluate a model of God images based on masculine and feminine characteristics and (b) examine how God images relate to hopelessness and life satisfaction, while controlling for additional religious variables. Participants were 254 college students. A factor analysis indicated that God images did not fall into primarily masculine or feminine factors, rather into Loving, Controlling, and Permissive God factors. Individually, these factors were not found to be significant predictors of hopelessness in a regression analysis, when religious service, participant gender, and religious orientation were controlled. However, an interaction between participant gender and the Controlling God factor indicated that women with more controlling images of God experienced more hopelessness, whereas men with more controlling images of God experienced less hopelessness. Results are discussed in relation to parental styles and gender differences as contributing factors in determining one's image of God.     

Rorschach Empathy-Object Relationship Scale

In this study a Rorschach scale was constructed to assess “empathy” and the capacity for “object relationships.” It was hypothesized that this instrument would differentiate between two comparable groups of vocationally handicappedemotionally disturbed persons, one of which received vocational group therapy, while the other group served as a control. It was also hypothesized that this scale would demonstrate an adequate degree of reliability (internal consistency), and clinical validity.

The results of the RE-OR Scale, on the basis of the initial and final testings, were compared for the two groups. For the first testing there were no significant differences between groups. Final test differences were statistically significant and favored the therapy group. Hypothesis one was thus supported.

The reliability of the scale was found to be acceptable for both the initial and final testing. The hypotheses concerning validity were only partially supported. On the basis of the employment criterion, there were no significant differences between the two groups. Independent measures of work adjustment were however significantly correlated with the RE-OR Scale. Likewise, the group therapy measure and the RE-OR Scale were significantly correlated. Additional support was furnished when the two research groups were compared to a normal group.     

Bender Gestalt Evaluation of Brain Dysfunction Following Open-Heart Surgery

The heart-lung machine makes open-heart surgery possible by providing extracorporeal blood circulation; however, it creates microemboli in the blood that cause neurological damage. A new filter, designed to remove these emboli, was assessed by preoperative and postoperative Bender Gestalt testing. A lesser degree of the kinds of visual-motor difficulties associated with neurological deficit was produced by patients who received filtered blood. Postoperative impairment was assessed with some precision by using the Pascal-Suttell method of scoring distortions of Bender designs. The Bender scores were consistent with ultrasonic (sonar) counts of microemboli.     

An Improved Device for the Continuous Pneumatic Recording of Respiration and Changes in Blood Pressure

Boys and girls in grades 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 11 (N = 2212) rated the desirability of 179 male and 246 female first names. The popularity of specific first names was found to vary systematically across the grades. The first name preferences of adolescent girls were somewhat different from those of adolescent boys and younger children of both sexes.     

The Impact of Regulatory Fit on Performance in an Inattentional Blindness Paradigm

The influence of timing and frequency of instructions on the reasoning of jurors in a simulated grand larceny trial was investigated. Mock jurors were given definitions of grand larceny before and after the testimony, only before, only after, or not at all. Although timing of instructions was not significantly related to reasoning or to verdicts, frequency of instructions influenced the aspects of testimony deemed relevant and increased juror use of legal rules in making verdicts. Selective encoding of testimony could not account for the instruction effect.     

Suggestions for Improved forms of Steadiness Testers

(Snygg, D., &; Combs, A. W. Individual Behavior: A New Frame of Reference for Psychology. New York: Harper, 1949. Pp. 386.) Reviewed by E. Lakin Phillips     

The Principal Postulates of Psychology

May, R. The Meaning of Anxiety. New York: Ronald Press, 1950. Reviewed by E. Lakin Phillips