Is Hume’s Principle analytic?

Synthese - The question of the analyticity of Hume’s Principle (HP) is central to the neo-logicist project. We take on this question with respect to Frege’s definition of analyticity,...     

Using on-line and CD-ROM database archives as an adjunct to teaching survey research methods

Many undergraduate courses in research methods include a section on surveys. A number of practical issues can interfere with the design and implementation of student survey research and often preclude the completion of well-designed survey studies. This paper examines the use of on-line and CD-ROM databases as an alternative to student-designed survey instruments. Problems faced by student survey researchers can often be addressed by the use of such databases, rather than by “live” surveys. Data from experimental research collected on line are also available and downloadable for analysis, providing even greater flexibility for analysis. Advantages and problems of using archival databases in the teaching of survey research are considered. A brief list of databases that may be suitable for student research is provided, and a list of URLs, including where and how to obtain archives, is given.     

Individualism, Externalism and Idiolectical Meaning

Semantic externalism in contemporary philosophy of language typically – and often tacitly – combines two supervenience claims about idiolectical meaning (i.e., meaning in the language system of an individual speaker). The first claim is that the meaning of a word in a speaker’s idiolect may vary without any variation in her intrinsic, physical properties. The second is that the meaning of a word in a speaker’s idiolect may vary without any variation in her understanding of it. I here show that a conception of idiolectical meaning is possible that accepts the “anti-internalism” of the first claim while rejecting (what I shall refer to as) the “anti-individualism” of the second. According to this conception, externally constituted idiolectical meaning supervenes on idiolectical understanding. I begin by trying to show that it is possible to disentangle anti-internalist and anti-individualist strands of argument in Hilary Putnam’s well-known and widely influential “The Meaning of ‘Meaning’.” Having once argued that the latter strand of argument is not cogent, I then try to show that individualism (in the sense above) can be reconciled with perhaps the most plausible reconstruction of Putnam’s well-known and widely accepted “indexical” theory of natural kind terms. Integral to my defense of the possibility of an individualist externalism about idiolectical meaning are my efforts to demonstrate that, pace Putnam, there is no “division of linguistic labor” when it comes to the fixing the meanings of such terms in a speaker’s idiolect. The fact that average speakers sometimes need defer to experts shows that not reference, but only reliable recognition of what belongs in the extension of a natural kind term is a “social phenomenon.”

Wittgenstein (1958, 14).

     

Writing programs on the Apple for the student psychology laboratory: Routines,subroutines, and sources of information

Writing programs for the student psychology laboratory on the Apple II series of microcomputers presents the programmer with a number of problems. Among these are increasing program execution speed, obtaining precise response and interval timing, reducing program memory requirements, obtaining efficient disk I/O, providing good error trapping, and presenting clear screen displays. Since Applesoft BASIC is not equipped with many of the desirable features of a more advanced language, ways to solve these problems are not obvious. This paper suggests a number of potential solutions and provides additional sources of information.     

Writing high-quality statistical software for Apple II microcomputers

The purpose of this paper is to describe some principles and techniques that programmers should consider when trying to improve or create a statistical package. Four computational issues are discussed: accuracy, speed, computing probabilities, and error trapping. A single-array data structure is proposed for use within the program. Several other input-output issues are covered, including menus, command languages, questions, data input and editing, CRT and printer formatting, and graphics.     

Integrating a computer component into the student psychology laboratory: Problems and prospects

This paper presents some commonly occurring problems associated with integrating a computer component into student psychology laboratories. Implementation of a computer component requires consideration of differences among students, objectives and teaching style of the instructor, course level and content, and courseware to be used. These factors are examined with respect to how they can affect the success of an attempt to use computers in the instructional laboratory.     

Problems with evaluation of courseware for instruction in psychology

Recent trends in courseware evaluation have stressed the importance of program characteristics ancillary to the learning process, such as the use of menus. Although attention to these aspects of programming may improve the appearance and ease of use of software, the primary consideration in the selection of instructional software is whether it can provide instructional content to the students who use it. This can best be determined by the instructor alone, who may often find it necessary to write programs to suit specific instructional needs. Such programs are in wide use and are often better than commercially available sets designed by professionals.     

Cognition to genes via the brain in the study of conduct disorder

Although a single diagnostic label, conduct disorder, is currently applied to children exhibiting antisocial behaviour, multiple routes to the same behavioural phenomena exist. Morton and Frith's (1995) causal modelling has been fundamentally important in influencing models of cognitive/affective and associated neural differences between callous-unemotional (CU) and reactive/threat-based antisocial behaviour. Current behavioural genetic research is still catching up with the developmental cognitive neuroscience, and very few genetically informative studies differentiate between these two subtypes of antisocial behaviour. Our own work with preadolescent twins suggests that while the CU subtype is genetically vulnerable to antisocial behaviour, the non-CU subtype manifests a primarily environmental aetiology to their antisocial behaviour. Molecular genetic work to date has not differentiated between these two subtypes, and we highlight why it might be of interest to do so. Finally, we discuss how the novel approach of imaging genetics could be harnessed to study genes to cognition pathways for different subtypes of conduct disorder. Uta Frith's contributions to articulating research strategies for developmental disorders are important in conducting and interpreting this work.