Evidence of the origin of specific spontaneous head turns during intertrial intervals

Direction and the frequency of spontaneous head movements during the ITIs following forward and backward paired trials were compared to an acquisition of a conditioned orienting (alpha) response directed to the side of the tone source. The head movements were analyzed from video recordings using classification of head turns to preferred and to nonpreferred directions. The results showed a significant increase in the alpha responses during the forward paired conditioning to the preferred direction and rapid extinction during the subsequent backward conditioning sessions. Spontaneous head movements during the ITIs increased to the same preferred direction as the conditioned alpha responses. The results of this experiment suggest that the response initially elicited by the CS can later appear as “spontaneous,” instrumental behavior, the form and the nature of which is determined by the characteristics of the conditioned alpha response developing as a result of classical conditioning.     

“Smart” mechanisms emerging from cooperation and competition between modules

Summary Three sets of experiments are described. The first set concerns the detection of the 3-D possibility of shaded 2-D block patterns. The data indicate that the human perceptual system is able to do this above chance level, but in a specific and restricted way, which suggests the possibility of a module devoted to it. The second set concerns the determination of the 3-D orientation of coloured 2-D patterns. The data show that the human perceptual system uses physical constraints of colour mixing in doing this. Again, the mechanism seems to have characteristics suggesting modularity. The third set is about the detection of skewed symmetry in dot patterns. Skewed symmetry can be used as a source of information about the slant and tilt of a surface with bilateral symmetry present on it. Therefore, a module for recovering this information might exist.All these empirical data show that Fodor's criteria of modularity can be used to test hypotheses about visual mechanisms recovering 3-D information from 2-D inputs. But this does not imply that the results prove modularity and cannot be interpreted otherwise. As an exercise the same story about these experiments is told with the use of jargon from ecological realism and connectionist approaches. It is concluded that some of the approaches to some perceptual mechanisms are not as divergent as they might seem. The main theme underlying modular, connectionist, and ecological approaches is the avoidance of central intelligence agencies by the incorporation of physical constraints. Within this broad framework different questions can be asked and answers attempted that may depend on personal taste.     

Generative theories in language and music descriptions

The style of a set of Swedish nursery tunes is described in terms of a generative rule system. A generative rule system producing melodically similar versions of an old Swedish folk song is also presented. Examples of melodies generated by these two rule systems are given.Both these rule systems are similar in several respects. Thus, the marking of the hierarchical constituent structure seems to be one of the important principles in composing simple melodies.The rule systems also show a number of similarities with the Chomsky & Halle (1968) generative phonology of English. For instance, the procedures used for deriving a stress contour from a tree diagram are almost identical. Moreover, in sentences as in melodies this stress, or prominence contour is of decisive importance to the generation of the surface structure, such as meter, harmony, and sequences of pitches. It is believed that such parallels between language and music reflect characteristics of man's perceptual and cognitive capacities.     

The logical study of science

The relation between logic and philosophy of science, often taken for granted, is in fact problematic. Although current fashionable criticisms of the usefulness of logic are usually mistaken, there are indeed difficulties which should be taken seriously — having to do, amongst other things, with different scientific mentalities in the two disciplines (section 1). Nevertheless, logic is, or should be, a vital part of the theory of science. To make this clear, the bulk of this paper is devoted to the key notion of a scientific theory in a logical perspective. First, various formal explications of this notion are reviewed (section 2), then their further logical theory is discussed (section 3). In the absence of grand inspiring programs like those of Klein in mathematics or Hilbert in metamathematics, this preparatory ground-work is the best one can do here. The paper ends on a philosophical note, discussing applicability and merits of the formal approach to the study of science (section 4).I would like to thank David Pearce and Veikko Rantala for their helpful comments.     

The variety of consequence,according to Bolzano

Contemporary historians of logic tend to credit Bernard Bolzano with the invention of the semantic notion, of consequence, a full century before Tarski. Nevertheless, Bolzano's work played no significant rôle in the genesis of modern logical semantics. The purpose of this paper is to point out three highly original, and still quite relevant themes in Bolzano's work, being a systematic study of possible types of inference, of consistency, as well as their meta-theory. There are certain analogies with Tarski's concerns here, although the main thrust seems to be different, both philosophically and technically. Thus, if only obliquely, we also provide some additional historical perspective on Tarski's achievement.     

Book reviews

Byrne, R. W. and Whiten, A. (Eds.) (1988). Machiavellian intelligence: Social expertise and the evolution of intellect in monkeys, apes, and humans. Oxford: Clarendon press. Pp. xiv + 413. ISBN 0-19-852175-8, £25.00 (paperback).

Dudai, Y. (1989). The neurobiology of memory. Concepts, findings, trends. Oxford: Oxford University press. pp. xi + 340. ISBN 0-19-854261-5, £40.00 (hardback), ISBN 0-19-854229-1, £18.00 (paperback).

Richards, R. J. (1987). Darwin and the emergence of evolutionary theories of mind and behavior. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press, Pp. xvii + 700. ISBN 0-226-71199-4. £23.95.

Archer, T. & Nilsson, L. (Eds.) (1989). Aversion, avoidance and anxiety: Perspectives on aversively motivated behavior. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Pp. 491. ISBN 0-8058-0132-4. £29.95     

Comment on Björn Sahlberg’s paper

This paper is a comment on Björn Sahlberg’s paper on the function of training analysis in the Swedish psychoanalytic association and discusses some aspects of the candidates’ personal analysis and supervision. The paper further suggests some possible sources for inspiration and perspective on organizational and educational issues, for example taking an interest in the epistemology of professions, in what the concept of ‘reflection-in-action’ could mean in the training situation, or in empirical research about the educational models and the practice of psychoanalysis.