Diffusion model analysis with MATLAB: A DMAT primer

The Ratcliff diffusion model has proved to be a useful tool in reaction time analysis. However, its use has been limited by the practical difficulty of estimating the parameters. We present a software tool, the Diffusion Model Analysis Toolbox (DMAT), intended to make the Ratcliff diffusion model for reaction time and accuracy data more accessible to experimental psychologists. The tool takes the form of a MATLAB toolbox and can be freely downloaded from ppw.kuleuven.be/okp/dmatoolbox. Using the program does not require a background in mathematics, nor any advanced programming experience (but familiarity with MATLAB is useful). We demonstrate the basic use of DMAT with two examples.     

Exploiting redundancy for flexible behavior: unsupervised learning in a modular sensorimotor control architecture

Autonomously developing organisms face several challenges when learning reaching movements. First, motor control is learned unsupervised or self-supervised. Second, knowledge of sensorimotor contingencies is acquired in contexts in which action consequences unfold in time. Third, motor redundancies must be resolved. To solve all 3 of these problems, the authors propose a sensorimotor, unsupervised, redundancy-resolving control architecture (SURE_REACH), based on the ideomotor principle. Given a 3-degrees-of-freedom arm in a 2-dimensional environment, SURE_REACH encodes 2 spatial arm representations with neural population codes: a hand end-point coordinate space and an angular arm posture space. A posture memory solves the inverse kinematics problem by associating hand end-point neurons with neurons in posture space. An inverse sensorimotor model associates posture neurons with each other action-dependently. Together, population encoding, redundant posture memory, and the inverse sensorimotor model enable SURE_REACH to learn and represent sensorimotor grounded distance measures and to use dynamic programming to reach goals efficiently. The architecture not only solves the redundancy problem but also increases goal reaching flexibility, accounting for additional task constraints or realizing obstacle avoidance. While the spatial population codes resemble neurophysiological structures, the simulations confirm the flexibility and plausibility of the model by mimicking previously published data in arm-reaching tasks.     

RULES AND REASON

Wittgenstein's rule‐following considerations (PI §§185–242) have often been discussed in terms of the debate occasioned by Kripke's interpretation of the so‐called ‘paradox’ of rule‐following. In the present paper, some of the remarks that stood in the centre of that debate are looked at from a very different perspective. First, it is suggested that these remarks are, among other things, meant to bring out that, to the extent we can speak of ‘reason’ in the context of rule‐following, it is a very restricted form of reason – one which is basically to be understood as a kind of conformity. Second, by telling part of the story of the genesis of the relevant remarks it is pointed out that there is a certain tension between the ‘liberating’ character of earlier remarks bearing on rule‐following (PI §§81ff.) and the ‘sinister’ side of later remarks like §§198–202, which helps explain why it took Wittgenstein such a long time to arrive at the views expressed in his rule‐following considerations.     

Book reviews and notes

GENERAL

ISLAM AND HUMAN RIGHTS: TRADITION AND POLITICS. By Ann Elizabeth Mayer. Boulder and San Francisco: Westview Press/London: Pinter Publishers, 1991. xix + 258pp. Hb. £35.00. ISBN 0–8133–8091‐X [U.S.] ISBN 0–86187–091–3 [U.K.].

TOWARD AN ISLAMIC REFORMATION: CIVIL LIBERTIES, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND INTERNATIONAL LAW. By Abdullahi Amhed AN‐NA'IM. Foreword by John Voll. New York: Syracuse Press, 1990. xvi + 253pp. Hb. $29.95. ISBN 0–81656–2484–8.

WAS JEDER VOM ISLAM WISSEN MUSS. Edited by Lutherischen Kirchenamt Der Vereinigten Evangelischen‐Lutherischen Kirche Deutschlands and Kirchenamt der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland. Gutersloh: Gerd Mohn, 1990. 224pp. Pb. np. ISBN 3–579–00786–6.

WER WAR MUHAMMAD? LEBENSGESCHICHTE UND PRO‐PHETISCHER ANSPRUCH. By Adel Theodor Khoury. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1990. 125pp. Pb. DM10.90. ISBN 3–451–08719–7.

DER ISLAM: SEIN GLAUBE — SEINE LEBENSORDNUNG — SEIN ANSPRUCH. By Adel Theodor Khoury. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1988. 238pp. Pb. DM12.90. ISBN 3–451–08602–6.

MOHAMMED UND DER KORAN. By Rudi Paret. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1991. 181pp. Pb. DM20.00. ISBN 3–17–011317–8.

DER ISLAM: RELIGION‐ETHIK‐POLITIK. By Peter Antes et al. Stuttgart, Berlin, Koln: Kohlhammer, 1991.151pp. Pb. DM29.80. ISBN 3–17–011737–8.

INTRODUCING ISLAM FROM WITHIN. By Mona Abul‐Fadl. Leicester: The Islamic Foundation, 1991. 135pp. Pb. n.p. ISBN 0–86037–209‐X.

MUSLIMS: THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES: VOLUME 1: THE FORMATIVE PERIOD. By Andrew Rippin. London:. Routledge, 1990. 155pp. Pb. £9.99. ISBN 0–415–04519–3.

MACHT UND EINSAMKEIT GOTTES: DIALOG MIT DEM ISLAMISCHEN RADKAL‐MONOTHEISMUS. By Thomas Mooren. Religionswissenschaftliche Studien, hrsg. von A. Th. Khoury und L. Hagemann; 17. Wurzburg: Echter/Altenberge: Oros, 1991. 408pp. Pb. DM59.80. ISBN 3–429–01411–5 (Echter); ISBN 3–89375–040–1 (Oros).

DER KORAN: ARABISCH‐DEUTSCH: UBERSETZUNG UND WISSENSCHAFTLICHER KOMENTAR. By Adel Theodor Khoury. Band 1: Muhammad. Der Koran Sure 1,1–2,74. Giitersloh: Giitersloher Verlagshaus Gerd Mohn, 1990. 367pp. Hb. DM250.00 for subscribers to the whole work: DM195.00 per volume. ISBN 3–579–00336–4. Band 2: Sure 2,75–2,212. Gutersloh: Gutersloher Verlagshaus Gerd Mohn, 1991.384pp. Hb. DM250.00. ISBN 3–579–00337–2.

THE ISMAILIS: THEIR HISTORY AND DOCTRINES. By Farhad Daftary. Cambridge: Cambridge Univeristy Press, 1990. 804pp. Hb. £60.00; $79.50. ISBN 0–521–37019–1.

BELIEF AND LAW IN IMAMI SfflTSM. By Etan Kohlberg. Alder‐shot: Variorum, 1991. x + 352pp. Hb. n.p. ISBN 0–86078–292–1.

NAQSHBANDIS: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND PRESENT SITUATION OF A MUSLIM MYSTICAL ORDER: PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVRES ROUND TABLE 2–4 MAY 1985. Edited by Marc Gaborieau, Alexandre Popovic and Thierry Zarcone. Varia TurcicaXVII. Istanbul‐Paris: Editions ISIS, 1990.750pp. HB. n.p. ISBN 2–906053–12–0.

LE LIVRE REUNISSANT LES DEUX SAGESSES. (Kitab‐e Jami al‐Hikmatayri). By Nasir‐e. Khosraw. Translation from the Persian, introduction and notes by Isabelle de Gastines. Paris: Fayard, 1990.345pp. Pb. FF130.00. ISBN 9–782213–026138.

ISLAM AND LIBERATION THEOLOGY. By Asghar Ali Engineer. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1990. 238pp. Hb. RS200.00. ISBN 81–207–1046–0.

ISLAMIC HISTORY: A FRAMEWORK FOR INQUIRY. By R. Stephen Humphreys. London: I.B. Tauris, 1991. Revised edition. 401pp. Pb. £9.95. ISBN 1–85043–360–7.

THE ELEMENTS OF SUFISM. By Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri. Shaftesbury: Element Books Ltd., 1990. 118pp. Pb. £4.99; $7.95. ISBN 1–8523O‐O68‐X.

MELANGES — Volume 20. Edited by Institute Dominicain d'Etudes Orientales du Caire: Louvain‐Paris, Editions Peeters, 1991. 597pp. Hb. n.p. No ISBN number.

DEBATING MUSLIMS: CULTURAL DIALOGUES IN POSTMODER‐NITY AND TRADITION. By Michael M.J. Fischer and Mehdi Abedi. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990. 564pp. Hb. n.p. ISBN 0–299–12430–4.

MUSLIM TRAVELLERS: PILGRIMAGE, MIGRATION AND THE RELIGIOUS IMAGINATION. Edited by Dale F. Eickelman and James Piscatori. London: Routledge, 1990. 281pp. Pb. £40.00. ISBN 0–415–05033–2.

PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE. By Mohammed Hashim Kamali. Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1991. 417pp. Hb. £25.00. ISBN Hb. 0–946621–23–3; Pb. 0–946621–24–1.

RELIGION, LEARNING AND SCIENCE IN THE ‘ABBASID PERIOD. Edited by M.J.L. Young, J.D. Latham and R.B. Serjeant. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. 587pp. Hb. £60.00; $95.00. ISBN 0–521–32763–6.

THE SOCIAL LAWS OF THE QUR'AN: By Robert Roberts. London: Curzon Press Ltd.,. 1990. First pub. 1925. 125pp. Pb. £3.75. ISBN 0–391–03661–0.

BUSINESS ACCOUNTING AND ETHICS. By TREVOR GAMBLING and Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim. London and New York: Mansell, 1991. 152pp. Hb. n.p. ISBN 0–7201–2074–8.

ISLAMIC FAMILY LAW. Edited by Chibli Mallat and Jane Connors. London and Norwell: Graham and Trotman Ltd, 1990. 358pp + appendix and index. Hb. n.p. ISBN 1–85333–301–8.

THE SAYINGS OF MUHAMMAD. Selected and translated from the Arabic by Neal Robinson. London: Duckworth, 1991 63pp. Pb. £499. ISBN 0–7156–2365–6.

ECONOMIE DU MONDE ARABE ET MUSULMAN. EDITIONS EMAN. Cachan: Editions EMAM, 1990. 240pp. Pb. FF230.00. ISBN 2–9503–484–2–4.

SCHLAGLICHTER UBER DAS SUFITUM: ABU NASR AS‐SARRAGS KITAB AL‐LUMA’. Eingeleitet, iibersetzt und kommentiert von Richard Gramlich. Freiburger Islamstudien, Band XIII. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1990. 676pp. Pb. DM270.00. ISBN 3–515–05199–6.

THE MUSLIM MIND. By Charis Waddy. London: Grosvenor Books, 1990. 3rd Edition. 218pp. Pb. £7.50. ISBN 1–85239–008–5.

DECREE AND DESTINY: THE FREEDOM OF NO CHOICE. By ShaykhFadhlallaHaeri. Shaftesbury: Element Books in association with Sahra Publications, 1991. 147pp. Pb. £7.99. ISBN 1–85230–178–3.

REGIONAL

Africa

RELIGION AND PROPERTY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA. By Lissi Rasmussen. Copenhagen: Academic Press, 1990. 278pp. Pb. DKR228.00. ISBN 87–500–2944–4.

DER GNAWA‐KULT: TRANCESPBELE, GEISTERBESCHWORUNG UND BESESSENHEIT IN MAROKKO. By Frank Maurice Welte. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1990. 379pp. Pb. DM36.00. ISBN 3–631–42273–3.

SUDAN AFTER NIMIERI. Edited by Peter Woodward. London: Routledge, 1991. 223pp. Hb. £35.00. ISBN 0–415–00480–2.

MODERN ALGERIA: A HISTORY FROM 1830 TO THE PRESENT. By Charles‐Robert Ageron. London: Hurst & Co., 1991.166pp. Hb. £16.50; Pb. £9.50. ISBN Hb. 1–85065–027–6; Pb. 1–85065–106‐X.

THE BEDOUIN OF CYRENAICA: STUDIES IN PERSONAL AND CORPORATE POWER. By the late Emrys L. Peters. Edited by Jack Goody and Emanuel Marx. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 310pp. Hb. £32.50, $47.50. ISBN 0–521–38561‐X.

LE TROUPEAU DES SONGS. By Alain Le Pichon and Souleymane Balde. Paris: Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 1990. 353pp. FF240.00. ISBN 2–7351–0411–7.

Asia

RESISTANCE AND CONTROL IN PAKISTAN. By Akbar S. Ahmed. London: Routledge, 1991. 207pp. Pb. n.p. ISBN 0–415–05797–3.

PAKISTAN: SOCIAL SCIENTISTS’ PERSPECTIVE. Edited by Akbar S. Ahmed. Karachi, Oxford: OUP, 1990. 298pp. £12.95. ISBN 0–19–577388–8.

MUSLIM SEPARATISM: THE MOROS OF SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES AND THE MALAYS OF SOUTHERN THAILAND. By W.K. Che Man. Oxford: OUP, 1990. 240pp. Hb. £22.50. ISBN 0–19–588924‐X.

TURKEY AND THE MIDDLE EAST. By Philip Robins. London: Pinter Publishers, 1991. 130pp. Pb. £7.95. ISBN 0–86187–198–7.

INDIEN AM SCHEIDEWEG ZWISCHEN SAKULARISMUS UND FUNDAMENTALISMUS. By Ernst Pulsfort. Religionswissen‐schaftlich Studien, 18. Wurzburg: Echter Verlag; Altenberge: Oros Verlag, 1991. 97pp. + 14 maps and tables. Pb. DM19.80. ISBN 3–429–01412–3 (Echter); 3–89375–041‐X (Oros Verlag).

FROM ZARATHUSTRA TO KHOMEINI: POPULISM AND DISSENT IN HIAN. By Manochehr Dorraj. London: Lynne Rienner, 1990. 220pp. Hb. £29.95. ISBN 1–55587–181‐X.

Europe

ISLAM IN BRITAIN: PAST, PRESENT AND THE FUTURE. By Mohammad S. Raza. Leicester: Volcano Press Ltd., 1991. 120pp. Pb. n.p. ISBN 0–06–066837–7.

NEW CHALLENGES — OLD STRATEGIES: THEMES OF VARIATION AND CONFLICT AMONG PAKISTAN MUSLIMS IN NORWAY, by Nora Ahlberg. Helsinki: Finnish Anthropological Society, 1990. 295pp. Hb. FIM130.00. ISBN 951–95435–5–4.

THE INTEGRATION OF ISLAM AND HINDUISM IN WESTERN EUROPE. Edited by W.A.R. Shadid and P.S. van Koningsveld. The Hague: Kok Pharos, 1991, 254pp. Pb. n.p. ISBN 90–242–3078–0.

SACRILEGE VERSUS CIVILITY: MUSLIM PERSPECTIVES ON THE SA TANIC VERSES AFFAIR. Edited by M.M. Ahsan and A.R. Kidwai. Leicester: the Islamic Foundation, 1991. 383pp. Pb. £8.50. ISBN 0–86037–210–3.

ISLAM IN EUROPEAN THOUGHT. By ALBERT HOURANI. Cambridge: CUP, 1991. 199pp. Hb. £25.00; $34.50. ISBN 0–521.39213–6.

WERELDGODSDIENSTEN IN NEDERLAND. Edited by JAN SLOMP. Amersfoort/Leuven: De Horstink, 1991. 234pp. Pb. n.p. ISBN 90–6184–361–8.

VEILED HALF TRUTHS: WESTERN TRAVELLERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF MIDDLE EASTERN WOMEN. Selected and introduced by Judy Mabro. London; New York. I.B. Tauris, 1991.275pp. Hb. £19.95. ISBN 1–85043–097–7.

Middle East

NO TRUMPETS, NO DRUMS: A TWO‐STATE SETTLEMENT OF THE ISRAELI‐PALESTINIAN CONFLICT. By Sari Nusseibeh and Mark A. Heller. London: I.B. Tauris, 1991. 183pp. Hb. £12.95. ISBN 1–85043–365–8.

ISTANBUL HOUSEHOLDS: MARRIAGE, FAMILY AND FERTILITY, 1880–1940. By Alan Duben and Cem Behar. Cambridge: CUP, 1991. 276pp. Hb. £30.00, $59.50. ISBN 0–521–38375–7.

CHRISTIAN‐MUSLIM RELATIONS

INDIGENOUS CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN ISLAMIC LANDS: CONVERSION AND CONTINUITY: EIGHTH TO EIGHTHEENTH CENTURIES. Edited by Michael Gervers and Ramzi Jibran Bikhazi. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1990. 559pp. Pb. CNS49.50. ISBN 0–88844–809–0.

PLANNING STRATEGIES FOR WORLD EVANGELIZATION. By Edward R. Dayton and David A. Fraser. Monrovia, California: MARC and Grand Rapids/Michigan: Wm. B‐ Eerdmans, 1990. First edition pub. 1980. 349pp. Pb. US$15.95. ISBN 0–8028–0422–5.

KAISER JOHANNES VI: KANTAKUZENOS UND DER ISLAM: POLTTISCHE REAUTAT UND THEOLOGISCHE POLEMIK IM PALAIOLOGENZEITLICHEN BYZANZ. By Klaus‐Peter Todt. Religjonswissenschaftliche Studien 16. Wiirzberg: Echter and Altenberge: Oros‐Verlag, 1991. lx + 705pp. Pb. DM94.80. ISBN 3–429–01370–4 (Echter); 3–89375–035–5 (Oros‐Verlag).

CHRIST IN ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY. By Neal Robinson. London: Macmillan Press, 1991.235pp. Hb. £40.00. ISBN 0–333–52209–5.

GUIDELINES FOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS. By Maurice Borrmans. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1990 (English Translation). Originally published 1981, in French: 132pp. Pb. US$12.95. ISBN 0–8091–3181–1.

WIE TOLERANT 1ST DER ISLAM? Edited by Walter Kerber. Munich: Kindt Verlag, 1991.. 147pp. Pb. n.p. ISBN 3–925412–11–5.

GEMEINSAM VOR GOTT: RELIGIONENIM GESPRACH. Edited by R. Kirste, P. Schwarzenau and U. Tworuschska. Hamburg E.B.‐Verlag Rissen, 1991. 335pp. Pb. np. ISBN 3–923002–54–8.

‘GOTT 1ST CHRISTUS, DER SOHN DER MARIA’: EINE STUDIE ZUM CHRISTUSBILD IM KORAN. By Günter Risse. Bonn: Borengasser, 1989. 273pp. Hb. DM34.00. ISBN 3–923946–17–1.

JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM: THE CLASSICAL TEXTS AND THEIR INTERPRETATION. Edited by F.E. Peters. Vols. 1, 2 and 3. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990. xxv + 408; xxv + 395; xxv+408pp. Hb. £75.00. Pb. £14.95 (Vol.1); £14.95 (Vol.2); £14.95 (Vol.3). ISBN 0–691–02044–2; 0–691–02054‐X; 0–691–02055–8.

FULNESS OF LIFE (John 10:10): ENCOUNTERING ISLAM, APOSTOLIC VISION. Special issue No.2 of Petit Echo of the’ missionaries of Africa. Rome: Missionaries of Africa, 1991. 172pp. Pb. n.p. No ISBN number.

TRENDS IN MISSION: TOWARD THE 3RD MILLENNIUM. Edited by William Jenkinson and Helene O'Sullivan. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1991. 419pp. Pb. $26.95. ISBN 0–88344–766–5.     

Book reviews

Islam: a challenge for Christianity (Concilium 1994/3). Hans Kung & Jurgen Moltmann (Eds), 1994. London, Concilium; Maryknoll, SCM Press; London, Orbis Books. 163 pp., pb. £8.95, ISBN 0–334–030269.

Cultures in Conflict: Christians, Muslims and Jews in the age of discovery. Bernard Lewis, 1995. New York, Oxford University Press. 101 pp., hb., $16.95, ISBN 0–19–509026–8.

Beyond Faith and Infidelity: the Sufi poetry and teachings of Mahmud Shabistari. L. Lewisohn, 1995. Richmond, Surrey, Curzon Press. 344 pp. pb. £14.99, 0–7007–0343–8.

The Prophet's Pulpit: Islamic preaching in contemporary Egypt. [Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies, 20]. Patrick Gaffney, 1994. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press. 367 pp., hb. £40.00, ISBN 0–520–08471–3, pb. £15.95, ISBN 0–520–08472–1.

Sufi and Scholar on the Desert Edge: Muhammad b. CA1i al‐Sanūsi and his Brotherhood. K. S. Vikor, 1995. London, Hurst & Co. 310 pp. hb. £37.50, ISBN 1 85065 218 X.

Children of Islam. Marie Parker‐Jenkins, 1995. Stoke‐on‐Trent, Trentham Books Ltd. 162 pp., £12.95, ISBN 1–85856 034 9.     

PERCEPTIONS OF BEHAVIORAL CONSISTENCY:

Abstract— Actors view behavior relevant for personality traits as more variable than observers do. This study was designed in replicate this actor-observer effect (AOE) in a common-target paradigm, test whether actors, observers, or both are intuitively aware of the AOE, and examine the effects of social projection on people's awareness of the AOE. Within each actor-observer pair, subjects described the actor on a series of trait adjectives and rated the consistency of relevant behavior. They then predicted the other person's ratings. The AOE emerged, and actors, but not observers, were aware of the effect On average, actors correctly predicted that observers rated actors' behavior as more consistent than actors themselves did Correlational analyses showed that actors and observers were equally prone to project their own ratings lo their matched partners     

A stochastic model for paired comparisons of social stimuli

A stochastic model for paired comparisons of multiattribute social stimuli is proposed where one objective is to find the relative importance of the attributes for a judge. The model can be conceived as a special strict binary utility model, i.e., a BTL-model, and is related to of the stimuli are linear combinations of functions of the attributes of the stimuli. The model neither assumes that the functions are fixed in advance nor that different judges have the same set of functions. The choice among such functions, however, is admitted only within a finite scope. Within the framework of exponential families, maximum likelihood estimators and tests are derived and applied to data coming from two psychological experiments.     

The place of order and uncertainty in art and environmental aesthetics

Contrasting views in writings of architectural aesthetics regarding the virtues of diversity as opposed to unity are examined in terms of Berlyne's treatment of the unity-amid-variety issue, and of work by him and others attempting to distinguish effects of complexity and redundancy. Research on the role of structural relationships in complex configurations suggests the need for coming to grips with such Gestaltist variables as order and balance in the context of a motivational theory of response to aesthetic stimuli such as Berlyne's.This paper was written while the author was on leave at the Institute for Urban and Regional Development of the University of California at Berkeley, with partial support from a grant from the Farrand Fund of the Department of Landscape Architecture. It was prepared for a symposium in memory of Daniel Berlyne held at the meetings of the Canadian Psychological Association in Vancouver, B. C., June 9, 1977.