Reasoning as we read: Establishing the probability of causal conditionals

Indicative conditionals of the form if p then q (e.g., if student tuition fees rise, then applications for university places will fall) invite consideration of a hypothetical event (e.g., tuition fees rising) and of one of its possible consequences (e.g., applications falling). Since a rise in tuition fees is an uncertain event with equally uncertain consequences, a reader may believe the statement to a greater or lesser extent. As a conditional is read, the earliest point at which this probabilistic evaluation can take place is as the consequent clause is wrapped up (e.g., as the critical word fall is read in the example above). Wrap-up processing occurs at the end of the clause, as it is evaluated and integrated into the evolving discourse representation. Five sources of probability may plausibly influence the evaluation of a conditional as it is wrapped up; these are P(p), P(q), P(pq), P(q|p), and P(not-p or q). A total of 128 conditionals were constructed, with these probabilities calculated for each item in a pretest. The conditionals were then embedded in vignettes and read by 36 participants on a word-by-word basis. Using linear mixed-effects modeling, we found that wrap-up reading times were predicted by pretest ratings of P(p) and P(q|p). There was no influence of P(q), P(pq), or P(not-p or q) on wrap-up reading times. Our findings are consistent with the suppositional theory of conditionals proposed by Evans and Over (2004) but do not support the mental-models theory advanced by Johnson-Laird and Byrne (2002).     

Rural Embedded Assistants for Community Health (REACH) Network: First-Person Accounts in a Community–University Partnership

Community research and action projects undertaken by community–university partnerships can lead to contextually appropriate and sustainable community improvements in rural and urban localities. However, effective implementation is challenging and prone to failure when poorly executed. The current paper seeks to inform rural community–university partnership practice through consideration of first-person accounts from five stakeholders in the Rural Embedded Assistants for Community Health (REACH) Network. The REACH Network is a unique community–university partnership aimed at improving rural health services by identifying, implementing, and evaluating innovative health interventions delivered by local caregivers. The first-person accounts provide an insider’s perspective on the nature of collaboration. The unique perspectives identify three critical challenges facing the REACH Network: trust, coordination, and sustainability. Through consideration of the challenges, we identified several strategies for success. We hope readers can learn their own lessons when considering the details of our partnership’s efforts to improve the delivery infrastructure for rural healthcare.     

The Organization of Multisegmental Pulls Made by Standing Humans: II. Submaximal Pulls

Previously, an autonomous oscillator model with three parameters was derived that describes the relationship between anterior-posterior center of mass motions and pulling force for near-maximal, bimanual pulls made by standing subjects (Michaels, Lee, & Pai, 1993). The present study evaluated the extent to which a full range of pulling forces could be fit by the model and how the model's three parameters changed with intended pulling force. How much variation in force each parameter could contribute was determined by simulating the model. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of pulls made by 6 well-practiced subjects at 5%, 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 95% of their maximum pulling force revealed that the model holds well, except for the least forceful pulls of some subjects. Two parameters appeared to be controlled; one, related to the position of the center of pressure, varied most among less forceful pulls; the second, related to the position of the center of mass at the time of handle-force onset, varied most among more forceful pulls. How these parameters might be set is discussed.     

The Ghost (GH) Response: A Pathognomic Indicator in Children's Rorschachs

A previously unreported pathognomic indicator in children's Rorschachs was identified and operationally defined. The phenomenon, named the Ghost (Gh) Response, is characterized by the child's ignoring the autochthonous properties of the card, circumscribing a portion of the white border external to and surrounding the figure, and ascribing form and content to the circumscribed portion of the border. It was suggested that the hallucinatory Ghost (Gh) Response may be viewed as evidence of an abberation in the reality perceptive function of the ego. The authors are interested in receiving other protocols which contain this phenomenon.     

Society for Personality Assessment,Incorporated Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Trustees and Open Business Meeting

Summary: This study compared the MMPI profiles of two groups of child molesters, those with no prior arrests versus those with one or more prior arrests, in order to assess certain clinically derived inferences about these offenders. The sample consisted of 33 persons convicted of child molestation. The group with prior arrests showed more psychopathology than the group with no previous arrests.     

Detecting Faking on the Rorschach: Computer Versus Expert Clinical Judgment: A Reply to Cohen

Cohen's contributions (this issue) to the dialogue through his critique of our study (Kahn, Fox, & Rhode, 1988) is confusing and Tends to cloud, rather than clarify the issues, The main problem with his analysis is that it is based on several inaccurate representations of what is stated in our study, resulting in spurious conclusions.     

Significance of Rorschach Response Modified by Responses to Other Projective Tests

Suggestions are offered for distinguishing those instances in which a disturbed Rorschach may indicate a need for psychotherapy from those in which psychotherapy is not indicated. Two contrasting cases are presented. The difference lies not so much in the quality of the Rorschach per se as in the quality of supporting and supplementary test results. The Kinetic Family Drawing, the Lowenfeld Mosaic, the level and balance of verbal and performance IQ scores, and the nature of visual and perceptual problems are used.     

Emotions in sport: Perceived effects on attention,concentration, and performance

This study explored attentional patterns associated with positive and negative emotions during sport competition, and athletes' perceptions of the consequences of these attentional changes for concentration and performance. Sixty‐nine athletes completed the Sport Emotion Questionnaire following a national softball competition. They also retrospectively reported their perceptions of how emotions influenced their attention, concentration, and sport performance. Excitement and happiness were more closely associated with concentration than anxiety, dejection, and anger. Although excitement demanded more attention than the negative emotions, the positive emotions were perceived as more likely to lead to a performance‐relevant focus and automatic physical movements, both of which were beneficial for concentration and performance. Emotional intensity increased these effects.     

Impaired artificial grammar learning in agrammatism

It is often assumed that language is supported by domain-specific neural mechanisms, in part based on neuropsychological data from aphasia. If, however, language relies on domain-general mechanisms, it would be expected that deficits in non-linguistic cognitive processing should co-occur with aphasia. In this paper, we report a study of sequential learning by agrammatic aphasic patients and control participants matched for age, socio-economic status and non-verbal intelligence. Participants were first exposed to strings derived from an artificial grammar after which they were asked to classify a set of new strings, some of which were generated by the same grammar whereas others were not. Although both groups of participants performed well in the training phase of the experiment, only the control participants were able to classify novel test items better than chance. The results show that breakdown of language in agrammatic aphasia is associated with an impairment in artificial grammar learning, indicating damage to domain-general neural mechanisms subserving both language and sequential learning.