Different Kinds of Near-Death Experience: A Report on a Survey of Near-Death Experiences in Germany

This article provides a short summary of a representative survey on near-death experiences (NDEs) in Germany, which is the first of its kind in Europe. We tested several assumptions derived from previous research on NDEs, including the assumptions of a unified pattern of experience, the universality of the pattern, and the necessary link between NDEs and clinical death. We received replies from more than 2,000 persons, 4 percent of whom reported NDEs. The patterns of the NDEs did not seem to correspond to earlier findings: aside from being much more diverse, they also differed with respect to cultural variables, particularly the difference between religious interpretations and the differences between post-socialist East Germany and West Germany.     

One, two or three memories: some comments and new findings

Comments are presented on a paper by Tore Helstrup, ‘One, two or three memories? A problem-solving approach to memory for performed acts’ (Acta Psychologica, 1987, 66, 37–68). There he proposed that a monistic strategy-based explanation is sufficient to explain memory for performed acts and that a multi-code (e.g. Engelkamp and Zimmer 1985) is not necessary and raises a number of problems. We claim that his findings do not disconfirm our multi-code model. Using our model, we would predict the same results in nearly all of the experiments. Because there are some results which are contradictory to a strategy-free code redundancy model, and also further results which cannot be accounted for solely by a monistic model, we propose that a valuable approach would be to combine his assumption that subjects behave strategically with our multi-code approach.     

Correspondence analysis and optimal structural representations

Many well-known measures for the comparison of distinct partitions of the same set ofn objects are based on the structure of class overlap presented in the form of a contingency table (e.g., Pearson's chi-square statistic, Rand's measure, or Goodman-Kruskal'sτ _b ), but they all can be rephrased through the use of a simple cross-product index defined between the corresponding entries from twon ×n proximity matrices that provide particular a priori (numerical) codings of the within- and between-class relationships for each of the partitions. We consider the task of optimally constructing the proximity matrices characterizing the partitions (under suitable restriction) so as to maximize the cross-product measure, or equivalently, the Pearson correlation between their entries. The major result presented states that within the broad classes of matrices that are either symmetric, skew-symmetric, or completely arbitrary, optimal representations are already derivable from what is given by a simple one-dimensional correspondence analysis solution. Besides severely limiting the type of structures that might be of interest to consider for representing the proximity matrices, this result also implies that correspondence analysis beyond one dimension must always be justified from logical bases other than the optimization of a single correlational relationship between the matrices representing the two partitions.     

The Heritage of Ralph Wendell Burhoe for the Dialogue between Science and Theology: A German Perspective

This paper begins with some reflections on my personal experiences with Ralph Wendell Burhoe during visits to the Chicago Center for Religion and Science. I learned to know Burhoe as an interested and kind person with enormous intellectual power. In this paper I argue that integration of different concepts was the chief focus of his thinking, expressing both an ethical and a dogmatic concern. If his theory of altruism contributes to the scientific investigations into the problem of trans-kin altruism, then his vision of a scientific theology gains credibility. Such an integration is made plausible through the interpretation of altruism in light of Christian love. In fact, Burhoe's neonaturalistic approach may be a fertile resource for the dialogue between science and theology in Germany, and serve as an exemplar of Burhoe's important impact on this dialogue in general.     

Introversion-Extraversion, Self-Monitoring, and Applicant Performance in a Situational Panel Interview: A Field Study

This study investigated relationships between applicant introversion-extraversion, self-monitoring, and performance in a situational panel interview. Police officers applying for promotion to the rank of sergeant in a metropolitan police department participated in a selection interview and completed a personality questionnaire. Results showed self-monitoring moderated the relation between introversion-extraversion and interview performance. As predicted, the relationship was stronger for low self-monitors than for high self-monitors. Extraverted, high self-monitoring and introverted, low self-monitoring promotion candidates were rated highest by selection interview panelists.     

An empirical comparison of several interval estimation procedures for coefficient alpha

Following a general introduction to Tukey's Jackknife technique and the construction of approximate confidence intervals, ten variants of the procedure are defined for giving interval estimates for coefficient alpha. A data base of known population characteristics was generated and used to compare the robustness of the ten Jackknife alternatives with Feldt's well-known sampling theory based upon the assumptions of normality. The empirical results indicate that out of the ten variants, defined by five transformations and two methods of data subdivision, only two are justifiable competitors to Feldt's approach.     

Data analysis and the connectivity of random graphs

This paper presents empirical information on the adequacy of an asymptotic approximation developed by Erdös and Rényi dealing with the minimum number of lines needed to connect a random graph. It is shown that the approximation is poor for several data analysis applications of the result previously published in the behavioral sciences.     

Monotone invariant clustering procedures

A major justification for the hierarchical clustering methods proposed by Johnson is based upon their invariance with respect to monotone increasing transformations of the original similarity measures. Several alternative procedures are presented in this paper that also share in the same property of invariance. One of these techniques constructs a hierarchy of partitions by sequentially minimizing a monotone invariant goodness-of-fit statistic; the other techniques construct a hierarchy of partitions by successively subdividing the complete set of objects until one partition class is defined for each individual member in the set. A numerical example comparing these alternative procedures with Johnson's two methods is duscussed in terms of a simplified computational scheme for obtaining the necessary hierarchies.     

Applications of combinatorial programming to data analysis: The traveling salesman and related problems

The Traveling Salesman and similar combinatorial programming tasks encountered in operations research are discussed as possible data analysis models in psychology, for example, in developmental scaling, Guttman scaling, profile smoothing, and data array clustering. In addition, a short overview of the various computational approaches from this area of combinatorial optimization is included.The research of the first author was supported by a research grant SOC-75-07860 from the National Science Foundation.     

Matrix reorganization and dynamic programming: Applications to paired comparisons and unidimensional seriation

A recursive dynamic programming strategy is discussed for optimally reorganizing the rows and simultaneously the columns of ann ×n proximity matrix when the objective function measuring the adequacy of a reorganization has a fairly simple additive structure. A number of possible objective functions are mentioned along with several numerical examples using Thurstone's paired comparison data on the relative seriousness of crime. Finally, the optimization tasks we propose to attack with dynamic programming are placed in a broader theoretical context of what is typically referred to as the quadratic assignment problem and its extension to cubic assignment.Partial support for this research was provided by NIJ Grant 80-IJ-CX-0061.