Multivariate analysis of the interaction of person,situation and response variables in situation-specific interpersonal behavior

This study attempted to use multivariate statistical methodology to empirically derive and define person, situation and response variables which interact in determining situation-specific behavior of college students, and to clarify the nature of the interaction of those variables. A variant of principal components analysis was used to derive reliable dimensions of persons and situations underlying situation-specific self-reported response. These dimensions appeared to correspond to clusters of grossly similar situations. An attempt to define the derived dimensions using measures based on Murray needs did not provide clear-cut, quantitative definitions. The solution derived using the principal components procedure was found to have validity in terms of predicting overt behavior in a contrived situation. Results were interpreted as being supportive of the principal components technique as a method for deriving determinants of situation-specific behavior, but the need for new technology for defining those dimensions was commented upon.     

GENERALIZATION OF VERBAL CONDITIONING TO VERBAL AND NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR: GROUP THERAPY WITH CHRONIC PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS1

Twelve chronic hospitalized female patients received token reinforcement contingent on two separate classes of verbalizations: (a) positive statements about optional activities available in the hospital setting, and (b) positive statements about people. Cross-class generalization of reinforced verbal responses about activities to overt behavior was tested by actual participation in activities; within-class generalization of verbal responses about people to verbalizations in another stimulus setting was assessed in a structured interview situation. A multiple baseline design with contingency reversals was employed to demonstrate experimental control of both classes of verbalizations in the group sessions. Positive statements about activities generalized to actual participation in activities, while generalization of positive statements about people to verbalization in the extra-group setting did not occur.     

Factor analysis of the wisc-r and the wrat with a referral population

Scores on the WISC-R and the WRAT from a referral sample of 250 children, ages 6 through 11, were factor analyzed using a principal factor method with varimax rotation. Results offered support for interpretation of WISC-R scores in terms of Verbal and Performance scales, and for interpretation of WRAT scores as a separate achievement factor. The contention that achievement and intelligence tests measure identical constructs is challenged.     

Warm and cool thresholds as a function of rate of stimulus temperature change

Ss lifted three weights in sequence with instructions to judge the average heaviness of the weights. In agreement with previous work, a recency effect was obtained, with the later weights having more influence on the judgment. In contrast to previous work, a discrepancy was found from predictions based on the hypothesis that the judgment was an average of the felt heavinesses of the weights. The discrepancy had the appearance of a response end-effect, and was eliminable by a scaling procedure based on functional measurement.     

Truth or consequences: the role of philosophers in policy-making

Reflecting on his experiences as a staff philosopher on the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research and with other advisory bodies, Brock contends that there is a deep conflict between the goals and constraints of the public policy process and those of scholarly activity in general and philosophical activity in particular. Whereas unconstrained search for the truth is the central virtue of scholarly work, the first concern of policy makers is the impact of their actions on policies and people. The need to persuade policy makers and to maintain their own credibility leads philosophers to cut and trim their views. While the philosophers should be open to radical change if persuasive argument supports it, policy makers deal in incremental change. Philosophers can help widen the policy agenda, but their contribution should be limited and temporary and their primary base should remain an academic one.     

人际交往能力与生命意义的关系:孤独感和年级的作用

基于存在主义心理学理论,本研究采用人际交往能力问卷、孤独感量表和生命意义量表对福建省三所大学的1476名大一和大二学生进行调查,考察人际交往能力与生命意义的关系,以及孤独感的中介作用和年级的调节作用。结果表明：（1）交往能力和孤独感存在显著的性别差异。男生的交往能力显著高于女生,孤独感显著低于女生;（2）交往能力与孤独感呈显著负相关,与拥有意义和追寻意义均呈显著正相关,而孤独感与它们均呈显著负相关;（3）孤独感在交往能力与拥有生命意义之间的中介作用受到年级的调节。与大二学生相比,大一新生孤独感的中介效应更大。研究结果在一定程度上揭示了交往能力对生命意义的作用过程,为针对性提升大学新生生命意义提供方向指导和实证依据。     

Mechanisms of developmental change in infant categorization

Computational models are tools for testing mechanistic theories of learning and development. Formal models allow us to instantiate theories of cognitive development in computer simulations. Model behavior can then be compared to real performance. Connectionist models, loosely based on neural information processing, have been successful in capturing a range of developmental phenomena, in particular on-line within-task category learning by young infants. Here we describe two new models. One demonstrates how age dependent changes in neural receptive field sizes can explain observed changes in on-line category learning between 3 and 10 months of age. The other aims to reconcile two conflicting views of infant categorization by focusing on the different task requirements of preferential looking and manual exploration studies. A dual-memory hypothesis posits that within-task category learning that drives looking time behaviors is based on a fast-learning memory system, whereas categorization based on background experience and assessed by paradigms requiring complex motor behavior relies on a second, slow-learning system. The models demonstrate how emphasizing the mechanistic causes of behaviors leads to discovery of deeper, more explanatory accounts of learning and development.