Contribution of the parafascicular nucleus in the spontaneous object recognition task

The parafascicular (PF) nucleus, a posterior component of the intralaminar nuclei of the thalamus, is considered to be an essential structure in the feedback systems of basal ganglia–thalamo-cortical circuits critically involved in cognitive processes. The specific role played by multimodal information encoded in PF neurons in learning and memory processes is still unclear. We conducted two experiments to investigate the role of the PF in the spontaneous object recognition (SOR) task. The behavioral effects of pretraining rats with bilateral lesions of PF with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) were compared to vehicle controls. In the first experiment, rats were tested on their ability to remember the association immediately after training trials and in the second experiment after a 24 h delay. Our findings provide evidence that PF lesions critically affect both SOR tests and support its role in that non-spatial form of relational memory.     

Construct Validity of Multi‐Source Performance Ratings: An Examination of the Relationship of Self‐, Supervisor‐, and Peer‐Ratings with Cognitive and Personality Measures

Although more and more organizations prefer using multi‐source performance ratings or 360° feedback over traditional performance appraisals, researchers have been rather skeptical regarding the reliability and validity of such ratings. The present study examined the validity of self‐, supervisor‐, and peer‐ratings of 195 employees in a Dutch public organization, using scores on an In‐Basket exercise, an intelligence test, and a personality questionnaire as external criterion measures. Interrater agreement ranged from .28 to .38. Variance in the ratings was explained by both method and content factors. Support for the external construct validity was rather weak. Supervisor‐ratings were not found to be superior to self‐ and peer‐ratings in predicting the scores on the external measures.     

Differences on the projective hand test among chronic pain patients reporting three different pain experiences

This study examined personality differences among individuals experiencing 3 different types of pain. The projective Hand Test was administered to 90 individuals who were seeking treatment at a pain clinic in an urban area of the southeast United States. These people were seeking treatment for either arthritis (n = 31), fibromyalgia (n = 29), or migraine headaches (n = 30). A 2 (gender) x 3 (pain group) x Age Group multivariate analysis of variance was conducted using the quantitative Hand Test scoring variables as dependent measures. Results indicated that individuals who were seeking treatment for migraine headaches had a higher production rate of responses involving exhibitionistic displays (EXH) than individuals in the other 2 groups. Individuals who were seeking treatment for fibromyalgia had a higher production rate of responses indicating fear and phobic concerns (FEAR) than individuals in the other 2 groups. Individuals who were seeking treatment for arthritis had a higher production rate of Active (ACT) responses than individuals in the other 2 groups. Possible causes and consequences of these effects are discussed.     

Normative and Descriptive Analyses of Simpson's Paradox in Decision Making

Suppose that you are evaluating two delivery companies. Your investigation shows that Company B has a better on-time rate for small packages and also for large packages. Despite Company B's performance, however, Company A has a better overall on-time rate. This situation exemplifies Simpson's Paradox, in which the judged relationship between two variables (e.g., company and performance) differs depending on whether that relationship is viewed within subcategories of a third variable (e.g., package size) or in the aggregate. A normative analysis is presented arguing that the reasonableness of using the third variable depends upon the sample size as well as the separation between and variability within categories. To test subjects' abilities to behave appropriately in Simpson's Paradox situations, we examined responses to variations in these factors in five studies. Results showed that subjects had little or no sensitivity to differing stimulus set sizes. Also, subjects were sensitive to relationship strength and the variability within and between groups, and in nonnormative ways. Subjects' judgment behavior is related to a broader perspective concerning selection among multiple available levels of analysis based on a consideration of argument strength.     

Satisfaction with Family Life in South Africa: The Role of Socioeconomic Status

This paper investigates the determinants of self-reported satisfaction with family life, applied to the South African context, with socioeconomic status (SES) as the main covariate and family functioning as the secondary covariate of interest. An individual-, household-, and subjective SES index is constructed via multiple correspondence analysis. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and multiple-group SEM (MGSEM) are used to analyse the role of SES in explaining satisfaction with family life. Higher levels of SES, especially household SES and subjective SES, are related to greater satisfaction with family life. Family functioning, in terms of better family flexibility, is associated with higher satisfaction with family life. The MGSEM results indicate that the role of family flexibility in explaining satisfaction with family life is similar across SES quartiles; family flexibility is an important predictor of family-life satisfaction, regardless of SES quartile.     

Kuhn's Structural Revolutions and the Development of Christian Doctrine: A Systematic Discussion

In 1845, John Henry Cardinal Newman wrote a treatise describing the development of Christian doctrine. Since then, his ideas have been challenged, in particular by Protestant theologians who have argued that the development of doctrine does not progress in either a smooth or linear path. In the philosophy of science, Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions has challenged the idea that science is purely driven by objective and rational motives. In this paper, Kuhn's ideas are applied to the development of Christian doctrine. Drawing from historical examples, it is shown that Kuhn's contextual approach to describe the progress of science aids in understanding the way doctrines themselves develop. Although this is not the first time that theology and Kuhn have conversed, the notion of doctrinal development being systematically and methodically shown to have parallels with Kuhn's ideas is novel. Ultimately, this work is another important step in building interdisciplinary links between science and theology.     

On S

The sentential logic S extends classical logic by an implication-like connective. The logic was first presented by Chellas as the smallest system modelled by contraining the Stalnaker-Lewis semantics for counterfactual conditionals such that the conditional is effectively evaluated as in the ternary relations semantics for relevant logics. The resulting logic occupies a key position among modal and substructural logics. We prove completeness results and study conditions for proceeding from one family of logics to another.We are grateful to Peter Apostoli, Kosta Doen, and anonymous referees for their comments on an earlier version of this paper. A.F.'s work has been supported by a grant from the Volkswagen-Stiftung.Presented byJan Zygmunt     

Task instructions for persons with severe intellectual disability: reducing the number of instruction occasions after the acquisition phase

During the first part of the study, eight tasks were taught to four participants with severe intellectual disability. A portable computer‐aided system was used that presented one pictorial instruction per task step, individually. During the second part of the study, the same computer‐aided system was used but the number of instruction occasions available for the tasks was reduced. In one condition, the system presented all the step instructions but mostly in small clusters rather than individually. In another condition, the system presented only some of the instructions. Data for the first part of the study showed that the participants managed to perform 83–97% of the task steps correctly. Data for the second part of the study showed that the condition in which instructions were clustered was more effective in maintaining high percentages of correct performance. Implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Motivation through conscious goal setting

The article describes what has been found during 30 years of research by the author and others on the relationship between conscious performance goals and performance on work tasks. This approach is contrasted with previous approaches to motivation theory which stressed physiological, external or subconscious causes of action. The basic contents of goal setting theory are summarized in terms of 14 categories of findings. An applied example is provided.