Subitizing and similarity: Toward a pattern-matching theory of enumeration

Pattern-matching theories of subitizing claim that subjects enumerate displays with small numerosities by retrieving numerical responses associated with similar displays experienced in the past. Such retrieval implies that displays with small numerosities are similar to other displays of the same numerosity and dissimilar to other displays of different numerosities. These hypotheses were tested by having subjects rate the similarities of displays of dot patterns with numerosities in the range of 1-10. One group of subjects rated patterns of the same numerosity. Their ratings were higher for patterns in the subitizing range (numerosities of 1-3) than for patterns beyond the subitizing range (numerosities of 4-10). Another group rated patterns of different numerosities. Their ratings were lower in the subitizing range than beyond the subitizing range. An analysis based on multidimensional scaling suggested that numerosity could be retrieved accurately for displays of 1-3 dots, but not for displays of 4-10 dots.     

Silences from the Deep: Mapping Being and Nonbeing in The Piano and in a Schizoid Young Woman

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Rational consensual procedure: Argumentation or weighted averaging?

The following is a defense of Jurgen Habermas' argumentational consensual procedure against Keith Lehrer and Carl Wagner's weighted averaging consensual procedure (and, I tentatively claim, against any weighted averaging consensual procedure). The argument is twofold: if Lehrer and Wagner intend, implicity, to replace what is for Habermas the metatheoretical stage of a discussion with the aggregation of judgments of respect, then their procedure fails to make use of all available information and the participants are not committed to the weighted average position on these grounds; if, on the other hand, they do not intend to replace metatheoretical discussion by aggregation, then the conditions under which the discussion could conceivably have come to a halt are such as to provide no support for the claim that it is rational to aggregate, rather than to consider the discussion unresolved until more information is available.An earlier and abbreviated draft of this paper was read at the 10th Annual International Wittgenstein Symposium, August 1985, in Kirchberg, Austria.     

Obtaining Systematic Teacher Reports of Disruptive Behavior Disorders Utilizing DSM-IV

This study examines the psychometric properties of the Vanderbilt AD/HD Diagnostic Teacher Rating Scale (VADTRS) and provides preliminary normative data from a large, geographically defined population. The VADTRS consists of the complete list of DSM-IV AD/HD symptoms, a screen for other disruptive behavior disorders, anxiety and depression, and ratings of academic and classroom behavior performance. Teachers in one suburban county completed the scale for their students during 2 consecutive years. Statistical methods included (a) exploratory and confirmatory latent variable analyses of item data, (b) evaluation of the internal consistency of the latent dimensions, (c) evaluation of latent structure concordance between school year samples, and (d) preliminary evaluation of criterion-related validity. The instrument comprises four behavioral dimensions and two performance dimensions. The behavioral dimensions were concordant between school years and were consistent with a priori DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Correlations between latent dimensions and relevant, known disorders or problems varied from .25 to .66.     

Perceptions of Social Support in Men with AIDS and ARC: Relationships with Distress and Hardiness1

Previous research has suggested that social support may act as a buffer against stress or in other ways may affect physiological adjustment, health, longevity, and sense of well-being. Perceptions of social support in persons newly diagnosed with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related Complex (ARC) were examined as a part of an ongoing longitudinal study. Social support was examined in terms of emotionally-sustaining and problem-solving types of help, based on Gottlieb's content analysis of informal helping behaviors. Representative examples of each of the four major categories of help were assessed in terms of their perceived desirability, availability, frequency of use, and usefulness if used. These social support data were then examined in relation to other behavioral, cognitive, affective, and medical indices. For persons with AIDS only, increased physical distress was associated with perceiving less availability of support. For both persons with AIDS and ARC, the more available social support was perceived to be, the less hopelessness and depression were reported. While all types of help were rated as desirable by both persons with AIDS and ARC, emotionally-sustaining types of help were rated as more desirable, more available, more frequently used, and more useful when used than were problem-solving types of help. Social support measures were most consistently and strongly correlated with the Commitment subscale of Kobasa's Hardiness Scale.     

Age,Race, and Sex Similarity to Candidates and Voting Preference1

One thousand five hundred and seven voters aged 18 to over 75 from many different geographical areas were presented with pairs of candidates in a simulated mayoral election who differed in sex, race, or age and were asked to “vote.” Results confirmed the conclusions of previous research on undergraduate students (Sigelman & Sigelman, 1982), which found a stronger effect of the age of candidates than of either their sex or their race on voting, and also demonstrated race and sex similarity effects in voting preference. The present study also demonstrated a significant age-similarity effect. Voters over 65 showed a marked “reverse ageism” effect, actively preferring the older of any pair of candidates that differed significantly in age. Complex effects of the race and sex of experimenters on voting preference, interpreted as salience effects, were also obtained. Implications for actual electoral outcomes in the situation of an aging population are discussed.     

Self-centeredness and the adult male perpetrator of child sexual abuse

Self-centeredness has been identified as a quality of the adult male perpetrator of child sexual abuse, but little or no effort has been expended toward defining the concept clearly. In this paper, the research literature on the perpetrator and psychoanalytic writings on narcissism are reviewed for the purpose of developing a comprehensive definition of self-centeredness. Literature related to the social and developmental context of child sexual abuse also is discussed. In the final section of the paper, implications for primary prevention and treatment are drawn.This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Groves Conference on Marriage and the Family, July, 1986, in London, England. Support for the paper was provided through the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and the Faculty Summer Research Fellowship Program, Graduate School, University of Minnesota.     

Couples therapy with gay clients: Issues facing counsellors

Couples therapy is widely practised by a range of different counselling professionals, but, as yet, concentrates on heterosexual clients, to the exclusion of gay people. This paper argues that couples therapy should be more readily available for gay clients. A review of the major issues which need to be addressed by counsellors before embarking on couples therapy with gay men is presented, with illustrative case material. It is concluded that established forms of intervention are effective with gay clients, providing that the specific needs and problems of the gay community are recognized by the counsellor.     

The neglected bulimic: The nonpurger

For nearly 10 years bulimia has been recognized officially as a distinct eating disorder, and yet in that time only minimal attention has focused on the nonpurging subtype. The present investigation compared 21 DSM-III-R diagnosed nonpurging bulimics with 22 non-eating-disordered controls on three standardized questionnaires and during a unique assessment task. In this procedure subjects imagined that they were the character in a series of slides and audiotaped flooding scenes. The content of the stimuli ranged from food and weight cues to issues hypothesized to play a role in the development or maintenance of bulimia (e.g., rejection or loss of control fears). A MANOVA conducted on the three questionnaires was highly significant, with the Beck Depression Inventory and the Restraint Scale being responsible for the elevated bulimic scores. A repeated-measures ANOVA performed on the self-report ratings during the exposure task also achieved significance, as the bulimics reported higher anxiety reactions than controls to each experimental stimulus. Significant skin conductance reactions were detected when a group of only the most psychophysiologically responsive bulimics and controls were compared. The importance of continued comprehensive evaluations with DSM-III-R nonpurging bulimics was emphasized.This research was supported by grants both from the University of New Mexico's Research Allocation Committee and the Biomedical Research Support Grant committee. Portions of this paper were presented at the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy annual conference, Boston, November 1987.