Lehrer's Case Against Foundationalism

In this essay, I assess Keith Lehrer's case against Foundationalism, which consists of variations on three objections: The Independent Information or Belief Objection, The Risk of Error Objection, and the Hidden Argument Objection. I conclude that each objection fails for reasons that can be endorsed – indeed, I would say for reasons that should be endorsed – byantifoundationalists and foundationalists alike.     

Discrimination between hopes and expectancies for nonvolitional outcomes: psychological phenomenon or artifact?

Despite the large literature concerning the impact of hope and expectancy on various outcomes (e.g., nonvolitional), less is known about the constructs of hope and expectancy themselves. In a recent study, Montgomery et al. (2003) demonstrated that hopes and expectancies are separate but related constructs; however, because both hopes and expectancies were measured within the same context, it is possible that these findings were simply a methodological artifact. Furthermore, it is unknown whether these data would generalize to other populations. Taking into account the importance of this distinction for both the expectancy and hope literatures, the present study sought to: (1) Determine if the distinction between hope and expectancy is a general and reliable phenomenon by using a culturally different sample (i.e., Romanian sample); and (2) Examine the robustness of this distinction by controlling for the context effect. One hundred-twenty five volunteers completed items in regard to 10 nonvolitional outcome scenarios in one of five measurement contexts. The results revealed that hope and expectancy were distinct constructs (p<0.0001), and that this distinction is both general and robust across contexts. Implications for theory and research are discussed.     

The Association Between Current Intergenerational Family Relationships and Sibling Structure

The authors examined the relationship between sibling structure variables (i.e., gender, number of sisters, number of brothers, sibling spacing, number of siblings, and birth order, all men, and all women siblings) and current relationships with parents and spouse/partners. Participants included 519 adults between the ages of 19 and 59 years. Two separate canonical correlations were conducted. The results for men indicated that being a younger man with an all‐male sibling group was related to more intimacy with parents and more intimidation by parents. For women, being an older woman with more brothers and more siblings was related to less intimidation by parents and less intimacy with parents and spouses/partners.     

Motivated Strategies for Judgment: How Preferences for Particular Judgment Processes can Affect Judgment Outcomes

Beyond motivations to achieve particular outcomes, people also have motivations to use particular strategies while pursuing these outcomes. This article integrates research on the latter strategic preferences and discusses the place of such research in the broader investigation of motivated thinking. A review of studies examining the strategic preferences stemming from both motivations for promotion versus prevention ( Higgins, 1997 ) and motivations for locomotion versus assessment ( Higgins, Kruglanski, & Pierro, 2003 ) illustrates that these preferences have unique effects on basic processes of judgment, including the evaluation of alternative hypotheses or counterfactuals, the prioritization of fast versus accurate information processing, and the recall and activation of knowledge from memory. Moreover, this review also demonstrates important interactions between strategic preferences and outcome preferences. Strategic preferences thus appear to make distinct and important contributions to understanding how motivation influences judgment and should feature prominently in general analyses of motivated thinking.     

Error discounting in probabilistic category learning

The assumption in some current theories of probabilistic categorization is that people gradually attenuate their learning in response to unavoidable error. However, existing evidence for this error discounting is sparse and open to alternative interpretations. We report 2 probabilistic-categorization experiments in which we investigated error discounting by shifting feedback probabilities to new values after different amounts of training. In both experiments, responding gradually became less responsive to errors, and learning was slowed for some time after the feedback shift. Both results were indicative of error discounting. Quantitative modeling of the data revealed that adding a mechanism for error discounting significantly improved the fits of an exemplar-based and a rule-based associative learning model, as well as of a recency-based model of categorization. We conclude that error discounting is an important component of probabilistic learning.     

Sex differences in dichotic listening

The present study quantified the magnitude of sex differences in perceptual asymmetries as measured with dichotic listening. This was achieved by means of a meta-analysis of the literature dating back from the initial use of dichotic listening as a measure of laterality. The meta-analysis included 249 effect sizes pertaining to sex differences and 246 effect sizes for the main effect of laterality. The results showed small and homogeneous sex differences in laterality in favor of men (d=0.054). The main effect of laterality was of medium magnitude (d=0.609) but it was heterogeneous. Homogeneity for the main effect of laterality was achieved through partitioning as a function of task, demonstrating larger asymmetries for verbal (d=0.65) than for non-verbal tasks (d=0.45). The results are discussed with reference to top-down and bottom-up factors in dichotic listening. The possible influence of a publication bias is also discussed.     

Training Experiences as Mediators of the Association Between Gender-Role Egalitarianism and Women��s Adjustment to Marine Recruit Training

Women may face particular challenges adjusting to the military environment, in part due to their numerical minority status in a traditionally male culture. In addition, women are more likely than men to experience the added stressor of sexual harassment. We examined several potential mediators of the relationship between gender-role egalitarianism and adjustment to boot camp training in a sample of 658 female U.S. Marine recruits. Results indicated that sexual harassment, performance stress, and unit cohesion mediated the relationship between egalitarianism and mental health symptomatology. These findings suggest that beliefs about gender roles are important to consider in efforts to improve women??s adjustment in the military.     

Response-time tests of logical-rule models of categorization

A recent resurgence in logical-rule theories of categorization has motivated the development of a class of models that predict not only choice probabilities but also categorization response times (RTs; Fifi?, Little, & Nosofsky, 2010). The new models combine mental-architecture and random-walk approaches within an integrated framework and predict detailed RT-distribution data at the level of individual participants and individual stimuli. To date, however, tests of the models have been limited to validation tests in which participants were provided with explicit instructions to adopt particular processing strategies for implementing the rules. In the present research, we test conditions in which categories are learned via induction over training exemplars and in which participants are free to adopt whatever classification strategy they choose. In addition, we explore how variations in stimulus formats, involving either spatially separated or overlapping dimensions, influence processing modes in rule-based classification tasks. In conditions involving spatially separated dimensions, strong evidence is obtained for application of logical-rule strategies operating in a serial-self-terminating processing mode. In conditions involving spatially overlapping dimensions, preliminary evidence is obtained that a mixture of serial and parallel processing underlies the application of rule-based classification strategies. The logical-rule models fare considerably better than major extant alternative models in accounting for the categorization RTs.     

Severity of childhood attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder--a risk factor for personality disorders in adult life?

Some evidence points to an increased rate of cluster B and C personality disorders (PDs) in adult ADHD patients. In order to assess axis II disorders comprehensively we used the diagnostic instrument of the WHO. In sixty adult out-patients with ADHD according to DSM-IV criteria PDs were assessed with the International PD Examination (IPDE) and severity of childhood ADHD with the Wender-Utah-Rating Scale (WURS). We found at least one PD in 25% of cases. Cluster C PDs were most common (36.6%) followed by Cluster B (23.3%) and A (8.3%). Avoidant (21.7%) and borderline (18.3%) were the most frequent single PD entities. ADHD patients with PD suffered from significantly more severe childhood ADHD compared to those without co-occurring PD. Applying the IPDE we confirmed a high number of PDs among adult ADHD patients. Our findings point to a higher vulnerability for the development of PDs in patients with severe childhood ADHD.