Permission schemas and the selection task

Cheng and Holyoak's abstract permission schema version of Wason's selection task and the standard abstract version of the task were examined in two experiments, each a factorial design with type of problem (permission vs. standard), presence or absence of a checking context, explicit or implicit negatives on the not-p and not-q cards, and presence or absence of a rule clarification statement as factors. The original permission problem violation-type instruction was employed in Experiment 1, and Margolis's not-p and not-q violation instruction (Griggs & Jackson, 1990) was used in Experiment 2. Subjects were 640 university undergraduates, with each subject solving only one problem. The major findings for permission tasks were: (1) facilitation for the abstract permission version was replicated but found to be dependent upon the presence of explicit negatives on the not-p and not-q cards; and (2) this facilitation was enhanced by the Margolis not-p and not-q instruction. Per Girotto, Mazzocco, and Cherubini (1992), these findings and the observed error patterns are consistent with pragmatic schema theory. The major findings for the standard version of the task were: (1) none of the factors significantly impacted proportion correct [performance was poor, ≦10% correct in 15 of 16 conditions] and (2) the number of not-p & not-q incorrect selections was increased significantly for the not-p and not-q instruction. These results are discussed in terms of Manktelow and Over's argument that the standard abstract task and the permission schema version are actually different problems.     

Effect of marital satisfaction on self-regulation efforts in couples: Value of heart rate variability measurements

This study explored self-regulatory efforts during the viewing of couple interactions and their association with relationship satisfaction. High-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) was measured for each participant during a video recall of a recent couple interaction to quantify the self-regulatory processes governed by parasympathetic activity. Among 30 couples, HF-HRV was measured continuously during three specific periods to explore its change over time using a video-recall procedure: (1) resting state; (2) viewing of couple interactions (expressing daily life situations and conflictual interactions); and (3) recovery. Results of multilevel models revealed a u-shaped pattern of HF-HRV responses for men and women across the three periods with a nadir at the midway through the process. This pattern of physiological change (vagal suppression) reflects a flexible response to a stressful situation. Nevertheless, the pattern of physiological responses varied according to the level of relationship satisfaction. Men who were more satisfied in their couple relationship presented greater vagal suppression than dissatisfied men. In contrast, no significant HF-HRV changes were found in women over the different periods of the video-recall procedure and no moderating effect of relationship satisfaction. We discuss the different patterns of physiological responses observed both for men and women in terms of interindividual variability according to the level of their relationship satisfaction. The present study highlights the important role of relationship satisfaction in regulatory processes.     

Come with me: experimental evidence for intentional recruitment in Tonkean macaques

Animal Cognition - Recruitment is a process by which animals can initiate collective movements: the action of an individual prompts conspecifics to follow. Although it has been hypothesized that...     

Book reviews

J. Roger Saydah. The Ethical Theory of Clarence Irving Lewis. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1969. Pp. 171. Indexed. $7.50.

Nicholas Rescher. Many‐Valued Logic. New York: McGraw‐Hill Book Co., 1969. Pp. ix, 359.

EVA Schaper. Prelude to Aesthetics. New York: Humanities Press, 1968. Pp. 179. Indexed. $6.50.

N. Fotion. Moral Situations. Yellow Springs, Ohio: The Antioch Press, 1968. Pp. 124. Indexed. $4.75; paperback $1.05.

John and Shirley Lachs, eds. Physical Order and Moral Liberty. Previously Unpublished Essays by George Santavana. Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press. Pp. xiv, 322. $7.95.

D. C. Armstrong. A Materialist Theory of Mind. New York: Humanities Press, 1968. Pp. xi, 372. Indexed. $8.50.

Annali della Facolta di Lettere et Filosofia, Pubblicazioni dell’ Universita di Barni, Volume XII, Adriatica Editrice, Bari, 1967. Pp. 251.

Bernard Zylstra. From Pluralism to Collectivism: The Development of Harold Laski's Political Thought. New York: Humanities Press, 1968. Pp. 236. $8.00.

Andrew J. Reck. The New American Philosophers: An Exploration of Thought Since “World War II. Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1968. Pp. xxii, 362. $8.95.

Elizabeth Ramsden Eames. Bertrand Russell's Theory of Knowledge. New York: George Braziller, 1969. Pp. 240. Indexed. $6.00.