The primacy of generalities in hypothetical reasoning

Subjects were given a noncontradictory set of propositions followed by a sentence which they had to accept as true. This sentence introduced an inconsistency which the Ss were required to resolve by assigning truth values to the statements. In previous work, the authors found that when forced to choose between the truth of a generality (All A's are B's) and that of a particular fact (This Y is a Z), subjects consistently rejected the fact in favor of the generality. Affirmative generalities were accepted more often than negative ones, and those expressing class-inclusion were accepted more often than those expressing property-assignment. The present experiments show that preference for generalities is independent of (a) the superficial form of the generality (i.e., the surface presence of a quantifier), (b) the polarity of the contrasted fact (affirmative or negative), and (c) the terms used to express the relations (is a and has a). The preference for reasoning with generalities is enhanced when they assert generally known facts which are not delimited in space or time. A theoretical treatment of the results employing the calculus of modal logic was explored.     

Relations among categorization, induction, recognition, and similarity: comment on Sloutsky and Fisher (2004)

V. M. Sloutsky and A. V. Fisher reported 5 experiments documenting relations among categorization, induction, recognition, and similarity in children as well as adults and proposed a new model of induction, SINC (similarity, induction, categorization). Those authors concluded that induction depends on perceptual similarity rather than conceptual knowledge. Despite the useful contributions of this work, there are some important limitations. The experimental designs examined a limited range of phenomena that are not the most revealing about the use of nonperceptual information. The main results involved a simple triad task, for which the SINC model's predictions are equivalent to the predictions of previous models of inductive reasoning. It is also unclear whether the SINC model can account for the observed relations between similarity and recognition. Implications for future work on induction and related cognitive activities are discussed.     

Children use vowels to help them spell consonants

English spelling is highly inconsistent in terms of simple sound-to-spelling correspondences but is more consistent when context is taken into account. For example, the choice between ch and tch is determined by the preceding vowel (coach, roach vs. catch, hatch). We investigated children's sensitivity to vowel context when spelling consonants in monosyllabic nonwords. Second graders (7-year-olds) tended to use vowel context correctly when spelling word-final consonants (codas). This use of context was progressively stronger for third and fifth graders as well as for college students. The increase is not due to differences in vocabulary because the contextual patterns are similar in reading materials targeted at all four age groups. Vowel letters (graphotactics) had a stronger influence than did vowel pronunciation. Children also used vowel context when spelling word-initial consonants (onsets); this effect was as strong for second graders as for adults. Thus, novice spellers take advantage of graphotactic information.     

Young children's phonological sensitivity after exposure to a rhyming or nonrhyming story.

This study examined the ability of preschool children to make phonological discriminations after hearing rhyming or nonrhyming versions of the same story. Participants first listened to either a rhyming or nonrhyming version of a story, Rainy Day Kate (Blegvad, 1987), then attempted a phonological deletion and a rhyme/alliteration detection task. In accordance with prior theoretical notions that listening to rhyme sensitizes young children to phonological properties of words, children who heard the rhyming version of the story showed significantly higher performance on the rhyme/alliteration task than did participants who heard the nonrhyming narrative. Children in the rhyme condition also offered more rhyming and clang (nonword but phonologically similar) associates in completing the phonological deletion task.     

Gender and Diversity in Organizations: Past,Present, and Future Directions

This introduction reviews some of the key issues that have been studied by researchers focused on gender and diversity in organizations. Issues such as discrimination, affirmative action, barriers to career advancement, and sexual harassment at work are discussed. Although the study of gender and diversity in organizations has expanded in the last decade, key areas of research are still underrepresented. Issues for future research in this area are discussed.     

The role of causal models in multiple judgments under uncertainty

Two studies examined a novel prediction of the causal Bayes net approach to judgments under uncertainty, namely that causal knowledge affects the interpretation of statistical evidence obtained over multiple observations. Participants estimated the conditional probability of an uncertain event (breast cancer) given information about the base rate, hit rate (probability of a positive mammogram given cancer) and false positive rate (probability of a positive mammogram in the absence of cancer). Conditional probability estimates were made after observing one or two positive mammograms. Participants exhibited a causal stability effect: there was a smaller increase in estimates of the probability of cancer over multiple positive mammograms when a causal explanation of false positives was provided. This was the case when the judgments were made by different participants (Experiment 1) or by the same participants (Experiment 2). These results show that identical patterns of observed events can lead to different estimates of event probability depending on beliefs about the generative causes of the observations.     

Perceived Everyday Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms: Does Cognitive Style Mediate?

In the hopelessness theory of depression, a causal chain from stressors (e.g., perceived everyday discrimination [PED]) to 5 negative cognitive styles (NCSs) and depressive symptoms is delineated. In a sample of 243 diverse community college students, PED was positively associated with 4 NCSs. Furthermore, 2 specific NCSs were associated with depressive symptoms and mediated the effect between PED and depressive symptoms. Implications for research and practice with individuals who experience PED are discussed.