Performance evaluation: On choosing to know the related attributes of others when we know their performance

It was hypothesized that people will choose to find out about the performance attributes of others who perform similarly to themselves if they believe the attributes are related to performance. Subjects within a group of nine were supposedly given different amounts of practice prior to taking a test on which performance was said to be either related or unrelated to practice. After taking the test, each subject was given his score, his rank order in the group, and the score obtained by each of the other group members. The subject was then allowed to find out about the number of items practiced by one other person in the group. A second choice was also given. On both first and second choices, subjects in the related condition chose to learn about others who were adjacent to them in the rank order. Subjects in the unrelated condition chose to learn about others with extreme scores. First choices in both conditions were strongly biased upward, supporting the unidirectional drive hypothesis.     

The effects of information and aspiration level on bargaining behavior

This paper examines a crucial problem facing a bargainer in interpersonal negotiation; should he seek additional information about an opponent's reward structure. The “information is weakness” hypothesis and the “reality of aspiration” hypothesis give conflicting recommendations concerning this question. An “information-aspiration” model is presented as an explanation of why the findings which give support to both positions are not necessarily contradictory. This model is tested in a 2 × 2 factorial design where 80 buyers bargained having either complete or incomplete information and low or high aspiration levels, against 80 sellers with incomplete information. In general the model was supported in that bargainers with low aspirations tended to gain strength with additional information, while those with high aspirations tended to lose strength with additional information.     

The Family Rorschach with families of schizophrenics: replication and extension

Using a modified version of procedures outlined by Shapiro and Wild (9), this study evaluates the use of a Family Rorschach technique as a means of distinguishing families of schizophrenic patients from those of psychiatrically hospitalized, nonschizophrenic individuals. The patients were diagnosed using Research Diagnostic Criteria, and families were matched for age, intelligence, and socioeconomic characteristics. Results showed that the families with schizophrenic offspring scored significantly lower (that is, they had more communication and attentional difficulties) than those with nonschizophrenic offspring; offspring gender and family constellation had little effect on scores. Subsequent analyses indicated that lower scores were not simply a reflection of the psychoticism of the patient. These findings suggest that families of schizophrenics have interpersonal communication difficulties that compromise their ability to maintain a shared focus of attention. The findings are consistent with the suggestion that deviant patterns of family communication in interaction with genetic vulnerability in an offspring may result in the development of a schizophrenic disorder.     

THE POLYNESIAN LANGUAGE SKILLS OF MAORI AND SAMOAN SCHOOL ENTRANTS1

A leur entrée à L'école primaire, on a testé la compréhension de leur langue ethnique et les connaissances en anglais (langue de L'école) d'enfants maoris et samoans (5 ans). Les résultats montrent que les maoris citadins sont monolingues (anglais), et que les enfants samoans sont dans L'ensemble bilingues, ce que n'avaient pas prévu les recherches antérieures. Une méthode pour tester la langue ethnique est ici décrite. Si L'on veut adapter les programmes d'éducation compensatrice aux déficits linguistiques des enfants qui entrent à L'école, il est nécessaire de décrire avec précision (1) la langue ou les dialectes que parle L'enfant et (2) les contextes, les motivations et les formes linguistiques qui caractérisent les conversations entre parents et enfants à la maison. Ceci vaut aussi bien dans une perspective pédagogique étroite (améliorer les performances dans la langue de L'école), que pour L'enseignement d'un dialecte standard, ou le développement de la compétence linguistique de L'enfant dans deux (ou plusieurs) langues. L'auteur met en question la validité de la notion de “bilinguisme passif” chez les enfants de moins de 6 ans. Elle soulève également la question de savoir si les effets sur les progrès scolaires peuvent être différents selon que L'enfant parle deux langues ou seulement une forme dialectale non standardisée de la langue de L'école. Pour le jeune enfant, il est peut-être plus facile de maîtriser deux langues que de maintenir L'indépendance mutuelle de deux dialectes.     

What do two-year-olds understand about hidden-object events?

Preferential-looking studies suggest that by 2 months of age, infants may have knowledge about some object properties, such as solidity. Manual search studies of toddlers examining these same concepts, however, have failed to provide evidence for the same understanding. Investigators have recently attempted to reconcile this disparity but failed to control for the visual novelty of test outcomes. The current design corrected this problem and also tested toddlers' predictions of the object's location. The task involved the same events and apparatus that have been used in manual search tasks but used looking as the dependent measure. Children looked longer when an agent opened the correct door and found no ball than when an incorrect door was opened to reveal no ball. A 2nd experiment indicated that children's preferential-looking performance did not differ from that in manual search tasks simply because additional response time had been allowed to respond. Previous comparisons of looking versus reaching tested children's postdiction response to an object in an unexpected location, but these findings indicate that toddlers can predict where the object should be.     

Multidimensional shape similarity in the development of visual object classification

The current work examined age differences in the classification of novel object images that vary in continuous dimensions of structural shape. The structural dimensions employed are two that share a privileged status in the visual analysis and representation of objects: the shape of discrete prominent parts and the attachment positions of those parts. Experiment 1 involved a triad classification task in which participants at each of three different ages (5 years, 8 years, and adult) classified object images from two distinct stimulus sets. Across both sets, the youngest children demonstrated a systematic bias toward the shape of discrete parts during their judgments. With increasing age, participants increasingly came to select both the shape and the position of parts when classifying the images. The findings from Experiment 2 indicate that the local shape bias observed in young children's classifications is not merely a consequence of a discrimination advantage for that dimension. Results are discussed in relation to corresponding age-related changes in other functional contexts of visual processing.     

Illuminating the dark side of creative expression: assimilation needs and the consequences of creative action following mortality salience

Previous research indicates that mortality salience and creative behavior combine to increase feelings of guilt, presumably over the disruption to social connection elicited by the call for innovative expression. The present studies examined whether satiating assimilation motives by highlighting conformity to others reduces this effect (Study 1) and facilitates positive psychological engagement (Study 2). Study 1 used a 2 (conformity vs. neutral feedback)x2 (mortality salience vs. control)x2 (creative task vs. noncreative task) design and had participants complete a self-report measure of guilt. Study 2 used a 2 (mortality salience vs. control)x2 (other goal task vs. self-goal task) design, and after a creativity exercise, had participants complete measures of positive mood, vitality, and creative problem solving. Results indicated attending to assimilation needs reduced the elevated guilt that follows the juxtaposition of mortality salience and creative behavior and also increased a sense of positive engagement. Implications are briefly discussed.     

Changes in social support as mediators of the impact of a psychosocial intervention for spouse caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease

The spouse caregivers of 406 patients with Alzheimer's disease were randomly assigned to an enhanced counseling and support intervention or to a usual care control condition. Structured interviews were conducted to assess changes in social support and psychosocial outcomes for the 312 caregivers who provided care in the home for at least 1 year. The number of support persons, satisfaction with the support network, and support persons' assistance with caregiving all increased significantly as a function of the intervention. Structural equation models indicated increased satisfaction with the social support network mediated a significant proportion of the intervention's impact on caregiver depression. A portion of this mediated effect was further mediated by changes in caregiver stress appraisals. Implications for strengthening intervention programs for spouse caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease are discussed.     

Philosophers ought to develop,theorize about,and use philosophically relevant AI

The transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) is coming to philosophy—the only question is the degree to which philosophers will harness it. This paper argues that the application of AI tools to philosophy could have an impact on the field comparable to the advent of writing, and that it is likely that philosophical progress will significantly increase as a consequence of AI. The role of philosophers in this story is not merely to use AI but also to help develop it and theorize about it. In fact, the paper argues that philosophers have a prima facie obligation to spend significant effort in doing so, at least insofar as they should spend effort philosophizing.