The roles of semantic similarity and proactive interference in the word length effect

We examined the influence of semantic similarity and proactive interference (PI) on the word length effect (WLE) in immediate serial recall. Word length was manipulated by comparing memory for monosyllabic versus multisyllabic words. PI effects were evaluated by manipulating semantic similarity in the to-be-remembered lists and examining its impact on the WLE’s magnitude across eight-trial blocks. Words were sampled from a single semantic category across the entire block, from a single category within the list, or from different categories. Robust WLEs were observed in single-category blocks and when words were from different categories. However, when all the within-list words were from the same semantic category, the WLE was sharply attenuated. Except for the within-list semantic similarity condition, there was a buildup in PI levels in the form of protrusion errors across trials. However, the magnitude of the WLE did not increase with the PI buildup, suggesting that it was not affected by PI across trials.     

An islet of social ability in Asperger Syndrome: judging social attributes from faces

We asked adults with Asperger Syndrome to judge pictorial stimuli in terms of certain social stereotypes to evaluate to what extent they have access to this type of social knowledge. Sixteen adults with Asperger Syndrome and 24 controls, matched for age and intelligence, were presented with sets of faces, bodies and objects, which had to be rated on a 7-point scale in terms of trustworthiness, attractiveness, social status, and age, or, in the case of objects, price. Despite impaired performance on two important aspects of social cognition (second-order mentalizing and face recognition) the social judgements of the individuals with Asperger Syndrome were just as competent and consistent as those of their matched controls, with only one exception: there was a trend for them to be less able to judge the attractiveness of faces if they were the same sex. We explain this difference in terms of a weakness in mentalizing, specifically the ability to take a different point of view: While all other stereotypic attributions could be made from an egocentric point of view, judging the attractiveness of faces of one's own sex requires taking the perspective of someone of the opposite sex, a challenge for people with mentalizing problems. We conclude that individuals with Asperger Syndrome show preserved aspects of social knowledge, as revealed in the attribution of stereotypes to pictures of people. These findings suggest that there are dissociable subcomponents to social cognition and that not all of these are compromised in Asperger Syndrome.     

An analysis of U.S. parachuting fatalities: 2000-2004

Between 2000 and 2004, 125 recreational parachuting fatalities were reported in the USA. Each was categorized using a previously reported taxonomy. While patterns of skydiving fatality were largely unchanged since the last such analysis of fatalities from 1993-1999, some variations were noted. As in previous analyses, most of the recent skydiving fatalities were the direct result of human error. Some examples of commonplace human error fatalities were turning low to the ground resulting in a hard landing, accidentally colliding with other skydivers resulting in entangled parachutes, and failure to deploy the reserve parachute correctly in the event of malfunctioning main parachute.     

Ruminative and mindful self-focused processing modes and their impact on problem solving in dysphoric individuals

A mindful experiential rather than an analytical ruminative mode of information processing is beneficial in depression. However studies have not taken into account people’s trait mindfulness or trait rumination. This study aimed to examine the effects of state and trait analytical rumination and experiential mindfulness on affect and social problem solving (SPS). Participants filled in the trait mindfulness and trait rumination questionnaires. After mood induction, dysphoric participants with and without a history of depression were assessed for SPS and affect before and after induction of mindful (experiential) or ruminative (analytic) processing modes. Results showed trait mindfulness was negatively correlated with the BDI and trait rumination was positively correlated with the BDI. There was no significant difference between groups after the induced experiential mindful or analytical ruminative processing modes. However, participants who scored high on trait rumination showed significant improvement in SPS after induced mindfulness processing. No such effect was found on trait mindfulness. These findings suggest a useful way to prevent high trait ruminators from developing depressive symptoms or depression. Experiential mindful processing may help reduce the risk of developing depressive symptoms by increasing social problem solving ability in those with low mood and high levels of trait rumination.     

A General Family of Limited Information Goodness-of-Fit Statistics for Multinomial Data

Maydeu-Olivares and Joe (J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 100:1009–1020, 2005; Psychometrika 71:713–732, 2006) introduced classes of chi-square tests for (sparse) multidimensional multinomial data based on low-order marginal proportions. Our extension provides general conditions under which quadratic forms in linear functions of cell residuals are asymptotically chi-square. The new statistics need not be based on margins, and can be used for one-dimensional multinomials. We also provide theory that explains why limited information statistics have good power, regardless of sparseness. We show how quadratic-form statistics can be constructed that are more powerful than X ² and yet, have approximate chi-square null distribution in finite samples with large models. Examples with models for truncated count data and binary item response data are used to illustrate the theory.     

Religious Involvement among Caribbean Blacks in the United States

This study examined demographic and denominational differences in religious involvement (i.e., organizational, non-organizational, subjective) among Caribbean Blacks (Black Caribbeans) residing in the U.S. using data from the National Survey of American Life. Caribbean Blacks who were born in the U.S. had lower levels of religious involvement than those who immigrated and respondents originating from Haiti (as compared to Jamaica) had higher levels of religious involvement, while persons from Trinidad-Tobago reported lower service attendance than did Jamaicans. Older persons, women and married persons generally demonstrated greater religious involvement than their counterparts, while highly educated respondents expressed lower levels of self-rated religiosity. Denominational differences indicated that Baptists reported high levels of religious involvement; however, in several cases, Pentecostals and Seventh Day Adventists reported greater involvement.     

The Effect of Perceived Locomotor Constraints on Distance Estimation

Two experiments were conducted to examine the ways in which the visual estimation of distance to a target is affected by constraints perceived to be placed on the subsequent locomotion to the target without vision. We hypothesized that an appraisal of impending effort would play a role in ascertaining the distance to be walked. In Experiment 1, the amount of resistance to walking was variable and unpredictable. One group of subjects performed against relatively low resistance, whereas another group performed against substantially greater resistance. In the low-resistance condition, no significant differences in CE, VE, time to target, or number of steps to target were found between any of the eight combinations of predictable or unpredictable resistances during walking. In the high-resistance condition, however, significant differences were found for CE and number of strides to target when resistance varied unpredictably during walking. Experiment 2 was similar in design but required subjects to walk with combinations of normal or short steps after they had viewed the target knowing only the gait type that would be used to begin locomotion. No differences in CE, VE, or time to target were found between four different combinations of gait type and predictability, under subjectively controlled conditions. When the step constraints were externally imposed, however, differences were found for CE. None of the results from either experiment, in which the number of strides needed to reach the target or the predictability of gait did not change from normal, supported the hypothesis that motor output requirements are necessary in forming a mental representation of the target position that can be used to walk to the target with eyes closed. Whichever locomotor technique was used to walk the estimated distance in these cases, the representation was able to be used independently. When walking mechanics were altered by externally imposed constraints, however, the success at reaching the estimated target position was reduced. These latter results are consistent with those obtained using up, down, and level walking and support the premise that mental representations used in blind walking are linked to the locomotor mechanics afforded by environmental conditions.     

Assessing Approximate Fit in Categorical Data Analysis

A family of Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) statistics is proposed for assessing the goodness of approximation in discrete multivariate analysis with applications to item response theory (IRT) models. The family includes RMSEAs to assess the approximation up to any level of association of the discrete variables. Two members of this family are RMSEA₂, which uses up to bivariate moments, and the full information RMSEA_n. The RMSEA₂ is estimated using the M₂ statistic of Maydeu-Olivares and Joe (2005, 2006), whereas for maximum likelihood estimation, RMSEA_n is estimated using Pearson's X² statistic. Using IRT models, we provide cutoff criteria of adequate, good, and excellent fit using the RMSEA₂. When the data are ordinal, we find a strong linear relationship between the RMSEA₂ and the Standardized Root Mean Squared Residual goodness-of-fit index. We are unable to offer cutoff criteria for the RMSEA_n as its population values decrease as the number of variables and categories increase.     

The Concept of Responsibility: Introduction and Translation

Adrian Hastings, The Church in Africa 1450–1950. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1994, xiv+706 pp., 8 maps, $ 45.00 (paperback) ISBN 0 19 826399 6.

Elizabeth Isichei, A History of Christianity in Africa. Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans, 1995, xi+420 pp., $ 24.00 ISBN 0 8028 08433.

Paul Giord (ed.), The Christian Churches and the Democratisation of Africa. Studies of Religion in Africa: Supplements to the Journal of Religion in Africa, No. 12. Leiden, Brill, 1995, xi+301 pp., $ 101.50 ISBN 9004103244.

Paul Giord, African Christianity: Its Public Role. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1998, viii+368 pp., $ 39.95 (hardback) ISBN 0 253 33417 9, $ 22.95 (paperback) ISBN 0 253 21204 9.

Kwame Bediako, Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a Non-Western Religion. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1995, xii+276 pp., £18.00 (paperback) ISBN 0 7486 0635 4; New York, Orbis Books, 1995, $ 25.00 (paperback) ISBN 1570750483.