Insight without awareness: On the interaction of verbalization, instruction and practice in a simulated process control task

Four experiments in which subjects learned to control two versions of a complex simulated process control task show that verbalizable knowledge of procedures used to perform these tasks is very limited and is acquired late in learning. Individual learning curves associated with these tasks showed sudden improvements in performance, which were not accompanied by a similar increase in verbalizable knowledge. It was also found that verbal instructions consisting of exemplar memorization, strategies for rule induction, simple heuristics, and experts' instructions were all effective in enhancing novice subjects' performance. A theoretical framework is proposed in which subjects draw on two separate but interacting knowledge structures to perform these tasks. One knowledge structure is based on memory for past experiences (close analogies), and the other is based on one's current mental model of the task. Implicit sets of competing rules that control response selection are derived from both sources of knowledge. It is suggested that dissociations between task performance and verbalizing occur because memory-based processing tends to have more control over response selection because of its greater specificity, whereas a mental model tends to be the preferred mode for verbal reporting because of its greater accessibility.     

Base-rate effects in category learning: a comparison of parallel network and memory storage-retrieval models

Exemplar-memory and adaptive network models were compared in application to category learning data, with special attention to base rate effects on learning and transfer performance. Subjects classified symptom charts of hypothetical patients into disease categories, with informative feedback on learning trials and with the feedback either given or withheld on test trials that followed each fourth of the learning series. The network model proved notably accurate and uniformly superior to the exemplar model in accounting for the detailed course of learning; both the parallel, interactive aspect of the network model and its particular learning algorithm contribute to this superiority. During learning, subjects' performance reflected both category base rates and feature (symptom) probabilities in a nearly optimal manner, a result predicted by both models, though more accurately by the network model. However, under some test conditions, the data showed substantial base-rate neglect, in agreement with Gluck and Bower (1988b).     

Type A behaviour and psychological androgyny among Greek college students

Research conducted primarily in the United States suggests that the combination of Type A behaviour, high instrumentality, and low expressiveness may place individuals at relatively high risk for coronary-artery and heart disease. The present research investigates the trans-societal generalizability of the structure, reliability, relationships among, and distributional characteristics of these measures for 117 college students in Athens, Greece. As hypothesized, the Greek students were significantly less instrumental and less expressive than the American students, and scored significantly higher on the measure of Type A. Although there were significant mean differences between these samples, the results suggest that many of the interscale relationships are comparable, supporting an etic (universal) interpretation of the findings. Nevertheless, the results suggested several emic (unique) characteristics of these measures and their interrelationships.     

Assessing the relationship of Type A beliefs to cardiovascular disease risk and psychosocial distress

Investigators have begun to take a multimodal approach to the assessment and treatment of psychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). For instance, cognitive responses have become the focus of contemporary research along with continued examination of overt Type A behaviors. Price (1982) has outlined a set of beliefs purportedly associated with Type A behavior and subsequent CVD risk. The current study examines the validity of this belief set as represented by a newly developed measure, the Type A Cognitive Questionnaire (TACQ). Subjects were 221 employed adults participating in a worksite CVD risk reduction program. They completed the TACQ as part of a pretreatment CVD risk screening protocol. As hypothesized, TACQ scores were significantly associated with Type A behavior, hostility, physiological mediators of CVD, and psychosocial distress. Discussion addresses continued refinement of the Type A belief construct.     

How and when to correct for juror hindsight bias in mental health malpractice litigation: Some preliminary observations

This article examines the hindsight bias in the context of mental health malpractice litigation, analyzes various legal mechanisms for dealing with the bias, and discusses whether the law should strive for debiasing in all mental health malpractice cases.     

Hugs or shrugs: Parental and peer influence on continuity of involvement in sport by female adolescents

The study was designed to examine the influence of significant others (mothers, fathers, and male and female peers) on continuing involvement in sport by adolescent females. Survey data were collected from 376 girls using a forced-choice, self-administered questionnaire. Maintenance of involvement was measured by the proportion of possible years in which the respondents were involved in physical activity within each of three participation contexts (intramural, interschool, and community sport). Several indicators of significant other influence were used. The degree to which involvement in physical activity is maintained is positively related to the source, amount and type of influence received from significant others, and varied by the participation context. Overall, the socializing influence of significant others was able to account for 11% of the variance in intramural activity, 20% of the variance in interschool sport, and 10% of the variance in community-based activity.This study was funded by a grant from Fitness Canada.     

Psychological conceptions of randomness

This article presents a critique of the concept of randomness as it occurs in the psychological literature. The first section of our article outlines the significance of a concept of randomness to the process of induction; we need to distinguish random and non-random events in order to perceive lawful regularities and formulate theories concerning events in the world. Next we evaluate the psychological research that has suggested that human concepts of randomness are not normative. We argue that, because the tasks set to experimental subjects are logically problematic, observed biases may be an artifact of the experimental situation and that even if such biases do generalise they may not have pejorative implications for induction in the real world. Thirdly we investigate the statistical methodology utilised in tests for randomness and find it riddled with paradox. In a fourth section we find various branches of scientific endeavour that are stymied by the problems posed by randomness. Finally we briefly mention the social significance of randomness and conclude by arguing that such a fundamental concept merits and requires more serious considerations.