The acquisition of mental verbs: A systematic investigation of the first reference to mental state

It is generally recognized that the ability to contemplate and communicate about the knowledge, beliefs, and goals of oneself and others is a benchmark of human cognition. Yet, little is known about the beginnings of this ability, in large measure because methods for accurately assessing very young children's ability have been unavailable. Here we present the results of using a method of convergent analyses of naturally occurring speech to assess the young child's ability to contemplate and communicate about mental state. The first study describes the frequency and function of verbs of mental reference such as think and know in the speech of one child from 2;4 to 4;0. The second examines shorter samples of speech collected from 30 two-year-olds over a 6 month period. Results from both studies suggest that the earliest uses of mental verbs are for conversational functions rather than for mental reference. First attempts at mental reference begin to appear in some children's speech in the second half of the third year. Since most of the children studied exhibited the linguistic knowledge necessary to make reference to mental states, we conclude that the absence of such reference earlier suggests that still younger children lack awareness of such states, or at the very least, an understanding of their appropriateness as topics of conversation.     

Tracking the line of primary gaze in a walking simulator: modeling and calibration.

This article describes a system for tracking the line of primary gaze (LoPG) of participants as they view a large projection screen. Using a magnetic head tracker and a tracking algorithm, we find the onscreen location at which a participant is pointing a head-mounted crosshair. The algorithm presented for tracking the LoPG uses a polynomial function to correct for distortion in magnetic tracker readings, a geometric model for computing LoPG from corrected tracker measurements, and a method for finding the intersection of the LoPG with the screen. Calibration techniques for the above methods are presented. The results of two experiments validating the algorithm and calibration methods are also reported. Experiments showed an improvement in accuracy of LoPG tracking provided by each of the two presented calibration steps, yielding errors in LoPG measurements of less than 2 degrees over a wide range of head positions. Source code for the described algorithms can be downloaded from the Psychonomic Society Web archive, http://www.psychonomic.org/archive/.     

The Integration of Family and Group Therapy as an Alternative to Juvenile Incarceration: A Quasi‐Experimental Evaluation Using Parenting with Love and Limits

The current study employed a quasi‐experimental design using both intent‐to‐treat and protocol adherence analysis of 155 moderate‐ to high‐risk juvenile offenders to evaluate the effectiveness of Parenting with Love and Limits® (PLL), an integrative group and family therapy approach. Youth completing PLL had significantly lower rates of recidivism than the comparison group. Parents also reported statistically significant improvements in youth behavior. Lengths of service were also significantly shorter for the treatment sample than the matched comparison group by an average of 4 months. This study contributes to the literature by suggesting that intensive community‐based combined family and group treatment is effective in curbing recidivism among high‐risk juveniles.     

Measurement and Computational Skepticism

Putnam and Searle famously argue against computational theories of mind on the skeptical ground that there is no fact of the matter as to what mathematical function a physical system is computing: both conclude (albeit for somewhat different reasons) that virtually any physical object computes every computable function, implements every program or automaton. There has been considerable discussion of Putnam's and Searle's arguments, though as yet there is little consensus as to what, if anything, is wrong with these arguments. In the present paper we show that an analogous line of reasoning can be raised against the numerical measurement (i.e., numerical representation) of physical magnitudes, and we argue that this result is a reductio ad absurdum of the challenge to computational skepticism. We then use this reductio to get clearer about both (i) what's wrong with Putnam's and Searle's arguments against computationalism, and (ii) what can be learned about both computational implementation and numerical measurement from the shortcomings of both sorts of skeptical argument.     

Anticipation measures of sequence learning: manual versus oculomotor versions of the serial reaction time task

The serial reaction time (SRT) task has generated a very large amount of research. Nevertheless the debate continues as to the exact cognitive processes underlying implicit sequence learning. Thus, the first goal of this study is to elucidate the underlying cognitive processes enabling sequence acquisition. We therefore compared reaction time (RT) in sequence learning in a standard manual activated (MA) to that in an ocular activated (OA) version of the task, within a single experimental setting. The second goal is to use eye movement measures to compare anticipation, as an additional indication of sequence learning, between the two versions of the SRT. Performance of the group given the MA version of the task (n = 29) was compared with that of the group given the OA version (n = 30). The results showed that although overall, RT was faster for the OA group, the rate of sequence learning was similar to that of the MA group performing the standard version of the SRT. Because the stimulus-response association is automatic and exists prior to training in the OA task, the decreased reaction time in this version of the task reflects a purer measure of the sequence learning that occurs in the SRT task. The results of this study show that eye tracking anticipation can be measured directly and can serve as a direct measure of sequence learning. Finally, using the OA version of the SRT to study sequence learning presents a significant methodological contribution by making sequence learning studies possible among populations that struggle to perform manual responses.     

Arbitrary Social Norms Influence Sex Differences in Romantic Selectivity

ABSTRACT— Men tend to be less selective than women when evaluating and pursuing potential romantic partners. The present experiment employed speed-dating procedures to test a novel explanation for this sex difference: The mere act of physically approaching a potential romantic partner (vs. being approached), a behavior that is more characteristic of men than of women, increases one's attraction to that partner. This hypothesis was supported in a sample of speed daters ( N = 350) who attended a heterosexual event where either men (eight events) or women (seven events) rotated from one partner to the next while members of the other sex remained seated. Rotators were significantly less selective than were sitters, which meant that the tendency for men to be less selective than women at events where men rotated disappeared at events where women rotated. These effects were mediated by increased self-confidence among rotators relative to sitters.     

Measurement Theoretic Semantics And The Semantics Of Necessity

In the first two sections I present and motivate a formal semantics program that is modeled after the application of numbers in measurement (e.g., of length). Then, in the main part of the paper, I use the suggested framework to give an account of the semantics of necessity and possibility: (i) I show thatthe measurement theoretic framework is consistent with a robust (non-Quinean) view of modal logic, (ii) I give an account of the semantics of the modal notions within this framework, and (iii) I defend the suggested account against various objections.     

Simultaneous processing of visual information and planning of hand movements in a visuo-manual search task

When searching for a target with eye movements, saccades are planned and initiated while the visual information is still being processed. If hand movements are needed to perform a search task, can they too be planned while visual information from the current position is still being processed? To find out we studied a visual search task in which participants had to move their hand to shift a window through which they could see the items. The task was to find an O in a circle of Cs. The size of the window and the sizes of the gaps in the Cs were varied. Participants made fast, smooth arm movements between items and adjusted their movements, when on the items, to the window size. On many trials the window passed the target and returned, indicating that the next movement had been planned before identifying the item that was in view.     

Relationship Trajectories: A Meta-Theoretical Framework and Theoretical Applications

This article introduces a metatheoretical framework—the Relationship Trajectories Framework—that conceptualizes how human mating relationships develop across their complete time span, from the moment two people meet until the relationship ends. The framework depicts relationships as arc-shaped evaluative trajectories that vary on five dimensions: shape (which includes ascent, peak, and descent), fluctuation, threshold, composition, and density. The framework can depict single trajectories in isolation or two partners’ trajectories with respect to each other (dyadic trajectories). Two theoretical models demonstrate the generative power of the framework—the relationship coordination and strategic timing (ReCAST) model and the sociosexuality trajectory model—both of which integrate close relationships and evolutionary psychological perspectives on mating. Finally, additional examples illustrate how the framework can generate new research questions about core relationships topics.