Effect of perceptual cohesiveness on pattern recoding in the block design task

In the block design task, one type of intelligence test task, the subject reproduces a square-field pattern by assembling cubes having solid and diagonally divided surfaces. The task requires that the subject recode the perceived stimulus pattern into the alternatives available on the block surface. This experiment examined the effect on response or reproduction time of perceptual cohesiveness of pattern, quantified as the number of adjacent same-colored edges of cubes which abutt to form the pattern. This stimulus variable interacts with the type of design (quantified as total set size for designs constructed of all solid surfaces, all diagonally divided surfaces, or mixtures of the two types of surfaces) and with cuing (presence or absence on stimulus pattern of a superimposed grid congruent with block edges of the constructed design). Cohesiveness increases the difficulty of “mentally slicing” or recoding the pattern into the set of block alternatives. The psychological processes involved in recoding probably are the most important ones underlying the intelligence test task.     

Three-membered domains for aristotle's syllogistic

The paper shows that for any invalid polysyllogism there is a procedure for constructing a model with a domain with exactly three members and an interpretation that assigns non-empty, non-universal subsets of the domain to terms such that the model invalidates the polysyllogism.I am grateful to T. J. Smiley and an anonymous referee for comments that improved this paper.     

Rigorous health screening reduces age effect on memory scanning task

Eighty subjects participated in a study with five age groups (20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 years). Forty subjects showed evidence of factors related to brain dysfunction (risk factors). Their performance on a Sternberg-type memory scanning task was assessed. Age-related slowing of virtually all aspects of the memory scanning process was observed in the healthy group. However, the effect of the presence of risk factors was larger than that of biological age. The results of the present study make a reasonable case for the view that many age effects reported in the literature can be largely explained by suboptimal brain functioning, i.e., by other factors than aging per se.     

Group therapy with inner city hispanic acting-out adolescent males: Some theoretical observations

Group therapy with inner city Hispanic acting-out adolescent males is described as an effective psychotherapeutic modality in treating this difficult population. Topics addressed include the development of personality during adolescence, Hispanic family dynamics and gender roles, group therapy as a pseudofamily structure, stages of group development as they pertain to this population, and the group therapist's role and characteristics in the treatment situation.     

Judgment processes in motivation: Anchoring and adjustment effects on judgment and behavior

The behavioral correlates of human judgment have received little attention from judgment and decision making researchers. One behavioral domain that provides for the study of judgment-behavior relations is task motivation (i.e., the allocation of time and effort to a task). Judgments of contingent relations are primary components of several theories of motivation, including expectancy theories and the theory of behavior in organizations proposed by Naylor, Pritchard, and Ilgen (1980). The characteristics of heuristic judgment processes are hypothesized to affect contingency judgments and thus behavioral allocations of time and effort. This paper examines the effects of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic upon (a) judgments of future effort and performance and (b) upon actual allocations of time and effort using several types of anchoring information. Results indicate that both irrelevant and relevant information have strong anchoring effects on effort and performance judgments, but do not have concomitant effects on behavior. Implications for the role of judgment in motivation and for the link between judgment and behavior are discussed.     

Impact of artificial fissioning and social networks on levels of aggression and affiliation in primates

Levels of aggression may be affected by stability of social relationships or by population density. A number of studies of nonhuman primates have indicated that spatial density influences agonistic activity levels less than does social density. Artificial fissioning of a captive troop of rhesus macaques was undertaken and the resultant differences in patterns of aggression and affiliation were examined. If population density has a major effect on levels of aggression, then fissioning will result in a decrease in aggression; if social stability has a major effect on levels of aggression, then fissioning is likely to be accompanied by an increase in aggression. An increase in rates of both aggressive and affiliative behavior resulted from artificial troop fissioning. These findings concur with other studies that have concluded that social stability is a more important determinant of primate aggression than is population density. Nonhuman primates use affiliative mechanisms to adjust their behavior when population density increases such that potentially adverse consequences of crowding are avoided.     

Disruptive Behavior Disorders in Children and Adolescents: How Do Girls Differ From Boys?

Disruptive behavior disorders in children and adolescents can lead to a lifetime of problems. The 2 disruptive behavior disorders identified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM‐IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) are oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. Although much research has been conducted to learn more about these 2 disorders, little is known about gender differences in the disorders. There is a dearth of specific information regarding girls with disruptive behavior disorders. This article discusses the diagnosis, risk factors, and treatment of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder while incorporating information specific to girls to investigate how disruptive behavior disorders differ for girls.