Axiomatic and numerical conjoint measurement: An evaluation of diagnostic efficacy

Synthetic data are used to examine how well axiomatic and numerical conjoint measurement methods, individually and comparatively, recover simple polynomial generators in three dimensions. The study illustrates extensions of numerical conjoint measurement (NCM) to identify and model distributive and dual-distributive, in addition to the usual additive, data structures. It was found that while minimum STRESS was the criterion of fit, another statistic, predictive capability, provided a better diagnosis of the known generating model. That NCM methods were able to better identify generating models conflicts with Krantz and Tversky's assertion that, in general, the direct axiom tests provide a more powerful diagnostic test between alternative composition rules than does evaluation of numerical correspondence. For all methods, dual-distributive models are most difficult to recover, while consistent with past studies, the additive model is the most robust of the fitted models.Douglas Emery is now at the Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, on leave from the University of Calgary.     

Effects of retention interval and modality on sensory and semantic trace information

Subjects studied a long list of individual words that were presented either visually or auditorily. Recall was tested immediately or after a filled delay by using either word endings or taxonomic categories as extralist retrieval cues. Two interactions were of particular interest. First, word ending cues were just as effective as taxonomic cues on the immediate test. On the delayed test, however, ending cues were less effective. This result suggests that sensory information encoded about a word decays at a faster rate than semantic information. Second, although modality had no observable influence on the taxonomic cues, word ending cues were more effective when all items were shown visually than when they were presented auditorily. Taken together, these findings indicate that the visual features of words are encoded at study and that this information can be accessed during test if it is recapitulated by the retrieval cue shortly after acquisition.     

Coactor's behavior and imitative aggression

After being exposed to either an aggressive or a nonaggressive filmed model, four- and five-year-old boys were tested for imitation while either alone or with a confederate who had also seen the film. The confederate's behavior was either inactive, the same as that in the film, the same as that in the film the child had not seen, novel but of the same category (aggressive or nonaggressive) as that in the film seen, or novel but in the category of the film not seen. These conditions conformed to the dimensions of a 2 × 6 factoral design. According to prediction, the imitation of subjects exposed to the aggressive model was greatest when the confederate's behavior was similar to the model's. No difference in imitation was produced by the confederate's actions if the boy had watched the nonaggressive model. The results were interpreted within the context of social comparison theory.This project was facilitated by the senior author's Margaret Bosshardt Pace and Paul David Pace Research Fellowship.     

PDP-12 stimulus control and data collection for lateralized discrimination learning

A BASIC program that requires a minimum 8K core, 32K disk, KW12-A real-time clock, eight extended operation eight-mode DEC relays with peripheral interface, and user-generated special-function assembly language subroutines for clock and relay control was prepared, using advanced OS/8 BASIC, for conducting laterality studies. It is assumed that the user’s system has a dual tape drive. CRT, and Teletype. Modified IEE readouts have been used for stimulus presentation. Laterality effects and results suggesting application of the procedure in clinical neuropsychological testing have been achieved. This paper describes the rationale for development of the task, summarizes administration procedures, and provides flowcharts of the BASIC program and assembly language special functions, as well as a circuit diagram for the peripheral relay interface.     

Increasing engagement in activity of residents in old people's homes by providing recreational materials

This project investigated whether the level of engagement in two special Homes for the elderly could be increased by providing a regular recreational session, where the residents had the opportunity to use various extra recreational materials and to interact with the organiser of the session. The residents' level of engagement during the sessions was consistently higher than under baseline conditions. This indicates that the low engagement of the residents is at least partly due to lack of opportunity to engage, rather than to the specific disabilities of the residents. The methodological approach used in this study is suggested as a useful, objective way of evaluating the effects of, and preferences for, various types of recreational activities that might be offered to elderly people in residential care.