Matfit: A fortran subroutine for comparing two matrices in a subspace

This research was supported by grant APA 3020 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The author would like to thank Dr. David O'Hare for providing the data used to illustrate the use of the program MATFIT.     

Temporal clause comprehension in fluent and nonfluent aphasics

Ten fluent and ten nonfluent aphasics participated in this study. Their ability to comprehend before and after clauses which mirrored the order of occurrence and those which did not mirror the order of events was investigated. Results indicate that type of aphasia was not a significant variable related to comprehension but that sentence type was a significant variable. Aphasics' comprehendbefore clauses better thanafter clauses. Nonfluent aphasics were able to comprehend those temporal clauses that mirror the order of occurrence better than those that do not. Order of mention was not a significant factor related to comprehension in the fluent group.     

一种快速记忆法个案报告

作者以自己为被试,运用自己创造的一系列数序形象挂钩法识记105位化学元素名称和300位圆周率数字,结果表明:运用此法记忆顺序性极强、数量很大、难于记住的材料快速高效,能倒顺背诵和随点随背,能冲破前摄和倒摄干扰,使识记很快通过短时记忆而迅速地顺利进入长时记忆,在识记后的开初(26小时)遗忘不多也不快,在隔一天以后进行检查(复习)并强化未记牢的材料,可使保持率在数百日后不下降,因而作者认为,艾宾浩斯遗忘曲线应界定为机械识记的遗忘曲线较为妥当。作者在文中第一次较详细地公开了在一天内就能倒顺背诵105位化学元素名称和300位圆周率数字的数序形象挂钩法及其关键与技巧。     

Relative preference and adaptiveness of behavioral blame for observers of rape victims

Observers viewed one of nine dramatized videotaped interviews of a rape victim describing her rape. Information in the interview varied the prudence of the victim's behavior (careful, careless, no information provided) and the respectability of her character (good, bad, no information provided). Behavioral blame was significantly greater than characterological blame when the victim was careless or when no information was provided about behavior, regardless of the victim's character. When the behavior was careful, behavioral blame was equal in magnitude to characterological blame. In no case was characterological blame preferred. The adaptive value of behavioral blame for preserving a belief in a controllable and meaningful world was examined using a hierarchical multiple regression. After removing the effects of the prebeliefs of the subjects and the independent variable manipulations, only behavioral blame was significantly related to the maintenance of adaptive beliefs. Implications of the adaptive value of behavioral blame are discussed along with the importance of distinguishing observers' behavioral and characterological blaming strategies in the victimization literature.     

Knowing others through the self—Influence of self-perception on perception of others: A review

The literature relating to the influence of self-perception on the perception of others is reviewed. Projective effects are shown to occur in judgments of a wide range of psychological characteristics. Cognitive and dissonance theories of the projective process are critically examined. Drawing on the developmental literature, a cognitive theory of the projective process is proposed in which projective phenomena are conceptualized as side effects of a basic mechanism involved in knowing others.     

Pattern-directed attention in uncertain-frequency detection

The role of early pattern components as cues in uncertain frequency detection was investigated in four probe-signal experiments. Listeners heard two consecutive presentations of one of two 12-tone patterns in a noise background. One presentation of the pattern was complete, whereas the other was missing the 11th (primary) tone. Listeners were required to indicate which presentation was complete. On 20% of the test trials, the 11th component of the complete pattern was replaced with one of four probe tones. The results indicated that listeners were more sensitive to the primary tone than to probe tones, and this selective sensitivity changed on a trial-by-trial basis as a function of the attentional cues provided by early pattern components. The data suggested two cue functions: (1) an “informational” function in providing information regarding which of two primary tones is likely to occur on a given trial, and (2) a “frequency” function that “automatically” directs listening to an appropriate frequency range and narrows or “fine tunes,” the listening band.     

The effect of reserpine, syrosingopine, and guanethidine on the retention of discriminated escape reversal: peripherally administered catecholamines cannot reverse the reserpine amnesia in this situation

In a series of experiments, the effects of reserpine, syrosingopine, and guanethidine on retention of a discriminated escape reversal training were investigated in mice. The peripherally and centrally acting reserpine produced amnesia while the primarily peripherally acting compounds, syrosingopine or guanethidine, did not produce amnesia even when given in high dosages or when training was given with low footshock. Unlike in the passive avoidance situation, peripherally administered norepinephrine or dopamine was not able to attenuate the reserpine-induced amnesia. The results were discussed in terms of the role of biogenic amines in memory formation.     

Some social contexts of self-destructive behavior

This study investigated the social context of self-injurious behavior in autistic, schizophrenic, and mentally retarded children residing in a state hospital. Social interactions between subjects and staff were recorded along with subjects' self-destructive behavior. The results showed a substantial increase in self-destructive behavior following the staff's presentation of demands, denials, and punishments in 19 of the 20 subjects. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that self-injurious behavior is a social behavior, which is determined by persons in the environment. In addition, the self-destructive behavior of one subject may have been largely self-stimulatory in nature.     

Linear systems analysis of infant visual pattern preferences

Karmel's check-pattern preference data for 13-week-old infants were reanalyzed using linear systems analysis. The two-dimensional Fourier amplitude spectrum was calculated for each of his eight checkerboard and random check patterns. The mean contrast sensitivity data for 3-month-old infants of Banks and Salapatek and the spatial frequency amplitudes of the patterns were used to derive three metrics to predict the looking times observed by Karmel. One was based on the sensitivity of the visual system to the single pattern component highest above threshold (maximum amplitude), the second was based on the total amount of pattern energy above threshold (total summation), and the third was based on the maximum amplitude with summation over nearby spatial frequency components (limited summation). The predictive power of the maximum amplitude and the total summation metrics depended on whether the pattern type was checkerboard or random check. The limited summation metric predicted looking times well for both pattern types. A linear function of the logarithm of the limited summation metric accounted for 91% of the total variance in looking time.