The eclipse of heritability and the foundations of intelligence

It is well known that theory in human cognitive ability or ‘intelligence’ is not well developed, especially with regard to sources of trait variation. Roots of theory have been sought in biology, and it is now widely accepted, on the basis of twin studies, and statistical analysis of variance, that at least half of the normal trait variation can be attributed to genetic variation, a correlation known as the trait ‘heritability’. Since the 1990s, methods in molecular biology have been adopted to go ‘beyond’ this mere statistical attribution to the identification of individual genes responsible for trait variation. More than a decade of intense effort, however, has failed to produce unambiguous, replicable findings; explanations for the ‘missing heritability’ are now being demanded; and calls for new perspectives on the roles of genes and environments in development and trait variation are being demanded. Here, I propose a dynamic systems perspective indicating how the processes in which heritability becomes missing are the very ones that provide the roots of new intelligence theory.     

Reciprocity and Rivalry: A Critical Introduction to Mimetic Scapegoat Theory

This paper presents a critical overview of René Girard’s mimetic theory, identifies several concerns about the adequacy of mimetic theory’s account of human agency and interdependence, and suggests ways this account might be clarified and enhanced. We suggest that mimetic theory tends to reify or hypostatize the core reality of mimetic desire, which sometimes is spoken of as a kind of trans-individual entity that directs human action, no doubt because of Girard’s concern to avoid any taint of individualism or subjectivism. We argue, however, that hermeneutic and dialogical philosophies like those of Hans-Georg Gadamer and Mikhail Bakhtin explicate profound human relationality and interdependence in a way that obviates individualism without overriding or obscuring personal responsibility. The concern of many Girardian theorists that hermeneutic philosophy covers over or even rationalizes conflictual and violent human dynamics, we contend, is unfounded. However, we insist that most contemporary social theory, including hermeneutic thought, fails to do full justice to the challenges posed by envy, enmity, and scapegoating violence in human affairs and to the struggle for a good or decent life that mimetic theory richly portrays. Thus, we explore some of the possibilities for a fruitful cross-fertilization of mimetic theory and hermeneutic/dialogical viewpoints. Similarly, we argue that recent work on virtue ethics in theoretical psychology contains rich resources for elaborating what would be involved in a so-called “positive” or “creative” mimesis that moves beyond the destructive kinds of mimetic entanglement upon which Girardian thought has tended to concentrate. Finally, we suggest that any effort of this sort to clarify what Girard terms our “interdividual” human reality and to investigate positive mimesis would be greatly assisted by Eugene Webb’s delineation of a fundamental kind of “beneficient motivation” or positive “existential appetite,” a third species of human desire in addition to the two that Girard clearly identifies, namely finite needs and the kind of insatiable, artificial craving that the term mimetic desire usually designates.     

A Review of Ministering to Older Adults: The Building Blocks

Book reviewed in this article: Donald R. Koepke, Ed. (2005). Ministering to Older Adults: The Building Blocks.     

The availability and effectiveness of reported mediators in associative learning: A historical review and an experimental investigation

This paper provides a historical review and empirical investigation of the availability and the effectiveness of different types of mediator in associative learning, as inferred from subjects’ retrospective reports. Mental imagery is a preferred mediational strategy in the learning of pairs of common concrete nouns, and its use is associated with a high level of recall performance. Its availability and its effectiveness are both enhanced if subjects are given interactive imagery instructions. It is argued that retrospective mediator reports provide valid accounts of the cognitive processes that occur at the time of learning and that play a causal role in determining the subsequent level of retention.     

Response selection in paired-associate learning

Ss were presented pairs of items on study cycles; on test cycles Ss were presented the stimulus items and required either to recall the correct response or to indicate the correct response from three alternatives. It was demonstrated that Ss who chose the correct responses from the alternatives tended to select from both stimulus and response compounds so that the association was between stimulus and response components. The amount of selection from the response compounds was comparable to that from the stimulus compounds.     

The interpretation of a test validity coefficient in terms of increased efficiency of a selected group of personnel

The predictive efficiency of a test used to select personnel is defined in terms of total effectiveness of the group thus selected, as compared with chance selection. The formula developed requires the use of an estimate of the ratio of average effectiveness of men selected to the average effectiveness of men not selected by the test. The predictive efficiency of the test varies directly with the magnitude of this ratio and also directly with the percentage rejected.     

The theory of the estimation of test reliability

The theoretically best estimate of the reliability coefficient is stated in terms of a precise definition of the equivalence of two forms of a test. Various approximations to this theoretical formula are derived, with reference to several degrees of completeness of information about the test and to special assumptions. The familiar Spearman-Brown Formula is shown to be a special case of the general formulation of the problem of reliability. Reliability coefficients computed in various ways are presented for comparative purposes.     

The relation between the difficulty and the differential validity of a test

Using scores of 1200 students on a long test as a criterion, each of five subtests of different difficulty has maximum correlation with the criterion when the criterion is dichotomized at a value appropriate to the difficulty of the subtest. A 50-item test element is scored on an all-or-none basis with different standards for passing, and the percentage of passes for successive points on the criterion variable is computed. The Constant Method is applied to this relationship. The limen thus computed is a measure of difficulty, the dispersion is a measure of average (or total) validity, and the slope of the curve is a measure of differential validity. The difficulty of a test element is thus directly related to the maximum differential validity.