The Effects of Food and Gender on Interpersonal Perceptions

Male and female subjects provided ratings of personal traits, femininity and masculinity, and total caloric consumption for a female or a male target based on the type of diet she or he had allegedly consumed. The gender associated with the foods presented for each dietary profile was manipulated. Results showed that Target Gender and Dietary Profile significantly affected impression ratings and calorie estimates. Both male and female subjects perceived male eaters and those who ate a feminine diet more favorably. Results are discussed in terms of the different underlying expectations held for males and females when food consumption is involved during the impression formation process.     

Dialektik Und Formalisierung

Dialectics and Formalization. In an appendix to his article Can the concept of dialectic be made clear? (JGPS 27: 131–165) the author critically examined an attempt by D. Wandschneider of reconstructing Hegelian dialectical logic by displaying antinomic structures. The main steps of this reconstruction were formalized within the framework of second order predicate logic. In his reply (JGPS 27: 347–352) Wandschneider argues that formalization is the wrong way of interpreting and judging his reconstruction project on the ground that the understanding of predication is already presupposed by predicate logic and, therefore, cannot be formalized. In the present contribution it is shown that Wandschneider's criticism is based on a fundamentally mistaken conception of formalization and formal logic and that the problems posed by his project remain completely unresolved.     

Recall suffers from collaboration: Joint recall effects of friendship and task complexity

Collaborative recall in episodic memory tasks was investigated in two experiments. The experiments were explicitly designed to investigate how the interaction between two subjects influences group productivity. Subjects were requested to recall twice, first individually, and second, in different subject constellations (individually, or in dyads, as friends or non-friends). Experiment 1 employed free recall of words and story recall. In Experiment 2, a video-taped lecture on child development was recalled. The observed score at the second recall (Recall 2) was compared with the nominal predicted score, based on the initial recall. The results of the experiments are summarized and discussed in four clusters: (1) observed productivity for dyads never reached their predicted potential; (2) the negative effects of collaborative recall can be reduced; (3) friends rather than non-friends, and complex rather than simple tasks, reduce the loss in productivity; and (4) the data also suggest that encoding alone is superior to collaborative encoding.     

The Formal Characteristics of Behaviour—Temperament Inventory (FCB—TI): Validity studies

A psychometric study has been conducted with the aim of testing the validity of the Formal Characteristics of Behaviour—Temperament Inventory (FCB—TI). FCB—TI has been constructed to measure six temperament traits according to the Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT): Briskness, Perseverance (referring to the temporal aspect of behavior), Sensory Sensitivity, Emotional Reactivity, Endurance, and Activity (referring to the energetic characteristics of behaviour). These traits have been compared with other temperament as well as personality dimensions. The following measures were used: PTS, EAS—TS, DOTS—R, EPQ—R, SSS—V, 16PF, and NEO-FFI. The study was conducted on samples consisting of over 1500 subjects with satisfactory balanced gender ratio (about 50 per cent), and with a broad range of age (from 15 to 77 years), representing a variety of professions and educational levels. The correlational and factor analytic findings are presented; these show high theoretical validity of the FCB—TI scales, except the Sensory Sensitivity scale. In the discussion some conclusions concerning the revision of the structure of temperament have been suggested.     

De Finetti's earliest works on the foundations of probability

Bruno de Finetti's earliest works on the foundations of probability are reviewed. These include the notion of exchangeability and the theory of random processes with independent increments. The latter theory relates to de Finetti's ideas for a probabilistic science more generally. Different aspects of his work are united by his foundational programme for a theory of subjective probabilities.This work would not have been possible in its present form without the generous help of Prof. Maria Carla Galavotti. For several years, she has unfailingly answered all my requests for papers difficult of access, and discussed the details of interpretation as well as the philosophy of probability in general. To her I express my gratitude for everything.     

A new computational method to fit the weighted euclidean distance model

This paper describes a computational method for weighted euclidean distance scaling which combines aspects of an analytic solution with an approach using loss functions. We justify this new method by giving a simplified treatment of the algebraic properties of a transformed version of the weighted distance model. The new algorithm is much faster than INDSCAL yet less arbitrary than other analytic procedures. The procedure, which we call SUMSCAL (subjectivemetricscaling), gives essentially the same solutions as INDSCAL for two moderate-size data sets tested.Comments by J. Douglas Carroll and J. B. Kruskal have been very helpful in preparing this paper.