Structural Universals And Formal Relations

I will consider Armstrong's problems in trying to account for structural universals,i.e., a kind of complex universal whose instantiation by particulars involves differentparts of those particulars instantiating several basic properties and relations, such asthe property of being a molecule of methane. I present and criticise Armstrong's mostrecent attempt to explain structural properties by means of the identification of universals with types of states of affairs and I state my own solution to the problem by appealing to formal relations holding between particulars.     

Respective contributions of inhibition and knowledge levels in class inclusion development: a negative priming study

Dempster ( Dempster, 1995 ; Dempster & Corkill, 1999 ) proposed that developmental changes in performance on Piagetian tasks could be related to changes in inhibitory efficiency more than to logical development. In this study, the negative priming paradigm was adapted to the class inclusion task in order to investigate the role of inhibition and knowledge levels in the development of class inclusion. Participants were pre‐tested on two inclusion tasks, the standard Piagetian task and Markman's modification task, and assigned to different knowledge levels: empirical, and logical necessity. Children were then tested on a priming version of the class inclusion task. Results showed a negative priming effect, indicating that the irrelevant ‘subclass comparison strategy’ was actively inhibited during the processing of the class inclusion task. This effect was found to vary as a function of knowledge levels, indicating that the need for inhibition was reduced when children had attained logical necessity.     

Test–Retest Reliability of Ratings of Job Performance Dimensions in Managers

This article examines the test–retest reliability of supervisory ratings for several dimensions of job performance and for overall job performance. We found that the test–retest reliability of overall job performance is .79 (SD = .08), a value very close to the one found by Viswesvaran, Ones and Schmidt (1996), and that the average test–retest reliability for specific dimensions of job performance is .57 (SD = .07). We also found that some dimensions of job performance appear to be easier to rate than others. We suggest some implications of these findings for research and practice of personnel selection.     

Are Dishonest Extraverts More Harmful than Dishonest Introverts? The Interaction Effects of Honesty‐Humility and Extraversion in Predicting Workplace Deviance

Honesty‐Humility, one of the six major personality dimensions included in the HEXACO model of personality structure, has previously been found to show negative correlations with workplace deviance. In this study, we hypothesised that Extraversion would moderate the relationship between Honesty‐Humility and workplace deviance. In particular, we posited that the relation between Honesty‐Humility and workplace deviance would be stronger among employees who are high on Extraversion than among those low on Extraversion. The hypothesis was tested using three different samples across Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands. It was found in two of the three samples that high levels of Extraversion did indeed amplify the relationship between (low) Honesty‐Humility and workplace deviance. Results suggest a potentially important role for multiplicative effects of personality variables on workplace criteria.     

Perceptual adjustment to time-compressed speech: A cross-linguistic study

Previous research has shown that, when hearers listen to artificially speeded speech, their performance improves over the course of 10–15 sentences, as if their perceptual system was “adapting” to these fast rates of speech. In this paper, we further investigate the mechanisms that are responsible for such effects. In Experiment 1, we report that, for bilingual speakers of Catalan and Spanish, exposure to compressed sentences in either language improves performance on sentences in the other language. Experiment 2 reports that Catalan/Spanish transfer of performance occurs even in monolingual speakers of Spanish who do not understand Catalan. In Experiment 3, we study another pair of languages— namely, English and French—and report no transfer of adaptation between these two languages for English—French bilinguals. Experiment 4, with monolingual English speakers, assesses transfer of adaptation from French, Dutch, and English toward English. Here we find that there is no adaptation from French and intermediate adaptation from Dutch. We discuss the locus of the adaptation to compressed speech and relate our findings to other cross-linguistic studies in speech perception.     

Kritischer realismus und induktionsproblem

Ohne ZusammenfassungIch danke Herrn Dr. Rainer Trapp und Herrn Ulrich Kohlenbach für ihre kritischen Bemerkungen bezüglich bestimmter Punkte dieser Arbeit.     

HYPNOSIS AS SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE

Å s , A. & O sstvold , S. Hypnosis as subjective experience. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1968, 9, 33–38.—Fifty female students were interviewed about their subjective experiences during experimental hypnosis. A majority of the experiences correlated positively with measured depth of hypnosis. A factor analysis suggested three experiential factors, differently correlated with hypnotic depth.     

Disorganization and Individual Psychotherapy for Schizophrenia: A Case Report of Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy

Despite being a characteristic symptom of schizophrenia, implications for therapy with persons experiencing prominent disorganization have received less attention in the psychotherapy literature than have other aspects of the disorder. As such, formal thought disorder may be viewed largely as a barrier to effective participation in therapy. In contrast, though, a range of writers from varied traditions have stressed that this feature of schizophrenia is meaningful and improved coherence of speech is an important and viable component of treatment and recovery. This paper suggests that an emergent integrative psychotherapy, metacognitive reflection and insight therapy (MERIT), may be well-suited for work with persons experiencing disorganization symptoms. A brief overview of MERIT is provided, followed by a case report of an 18-month course of therapy with a man with severely disorganized speech.