Direct quantitative judgments of sums and a two-stage model for psychophysical judgments

Judged magnitudes of differences between stimuli have previously been shown to support a two-stage interpretation of magnitude estimation, in which input transformations and output transformations are each describable as power functions. In an effort to provide support for the model independent of the difference estimation procedure. the present investigation employed two additional judgment tasks. We obtained magnitude judgments and category judgments of the combined magnitudes (sums) of paired weights from two groups of Ss. Values of the inferred input exponent k calculated from the two sets of data were very similar and were also remarkably similar to the exponent previously calculated from magnitude estimations of differences between weights. The output exponent calculated from magnitude judgments of sums described a concave upward function; however. the similar function describing category judgments was essentially linear. These results show that the inferred input exponent is not the result of the difference estimation task, and in addition provides support for the contention that the interval scale may be a less biased sensory measure than the magnitude scale. The introduction of an additive constant to the model improved its fit to the data but the rule by which it was introduced made very little difference.     

Binocular fusion: A test of the suppression theory

Binocular fusion may be due to interocular inhibitory suppression, an hypothesis difficult to evaluate by phenomenal inspection. A test probe method (reaction time to a light pulse) was used to measure visual sensitivity during binocular rivalry and fusion. The absence of inhibitory effects during fusion fails to support the suppression theory of fusion.     

Cognitive behavior modification: ‘Motivated learning’ reading treatment with subprofessional therapy-technicians

A method of treating reading deficits based upon an extrinsic motivational system previously employed successfully with a single subject was extended to eighteen additional subjects. The junior-high age subjects included retarded children in special classes, several emotionally disturbed children, and culturally deprived children. The method of training used in the original study was designed to be simple to administer and simple to record the performance of the child. Thus, it was hypothesized that subprofessional personnel could be employed to administer the treatment. Adult volunteers and high school seniors were used as the therapy-technicians.

The eighteen Ss were given 38.2 hr of training in daily half-hour sessions, during which period the average reinforcement earned was $22.29. The mean number of single word reading responses was 94,425. The rate of reading accelerated over the period of training even though the reading material became more difficult. This occurred during a period when progressively less (about one-fourth as much) reinforcement was given per reading response. A mean of 593.5 new words were learned and 70.9 per cent of these were retained in a long-term test. The attention, attendance, cooperation, and diligent work behavior of the various children were maintained in good strength throughout the duration of the study. The results suggest that research be conducted to develop methods for treatment of behavioral deficits that can be widely applied by subprofessional therapy-technicians supervised by clinical psychologists.     

Toward a therapeutic jurisprudence analysis of medication refusal in the court review model

A therapeutic jurisprudence analysis attempts to discern the role of legal proceedings, lawyers and judges in producing therapeutic or anti-therapeutic consequences. This paper will attempt to use the therapeutic jurisprudence framework to analyze the legal and administrative aspects of court review as it was reported during a one year epidemiologic study of drug refusal. Characteristics of the review process, the effect on patient refusal, and the attitudes of treating psychiatrists are presented. To broaden the clinical context of the administrative findings, selected clinical characteristics of refusing patients, their attitudes toward mental illness, reasons for refusing medication and satisfaction with court review will be described. The discussion attempts to show how the initial administrative study findings may be interpreted in the broader context of their relationship to the achievement of therapeutic outcomes.     

The Determinants of Mock Jurors' Verdicts in a Rape Case1

The determinants of verdicts in a rape case were examined. Pretrial attitudes (rape empathy, juror bias, belief in a just world, and authoritarianism) were measured to ascertain both the intercorrelations among the attitudes and their predictive value of verdicts. The eye contact (staring, avoiding, or random) of the alleged rape victim with the defendant was also examined. Results showed that rape empathy was predictive of verdict. The eye contact of the alleged victim with the defendant also affected verdicts of female mock jurors. Specifically, when eye contact was avoided, more guilty verdicts were rendered. Furthermore, interpretation of eye contact was found to be a function of mock jurors' reported rape empathy. Specifically, subjects who reported empathy with the victim tended to interpret the victim's behavior as consistent with being raped. Finally, differences were found between high and low empathizers for the rape victim in what aspects of the trial were important to mock jurors' decisions.     

Mental retardation and perception of global motion

We have found that mildly mentally retarded adults are impaired in their perception of global stereoscopic forms (Fox & Oross, 1988) in ways that cannot be attributed to peripheral visual deficits or failures to comprehend. To assess the generality of that result, we measured the ability of mentally retarded adults to perceive kinematographic forms. Mentally retarded and nonretarded adults were presented with a two-choice, forced-choice detection task requiring the location of a target's spatial position. The discriminability of the forms was varied by systematic reductions in both element density and temporal correlation. We found that, relative to nonretarded adults, mentally retarded adults exhibited large qualitative deficits in their ability to discriminate these kinematographic forms when either density or correlation was reduced. After considering a number of alternative interpretations of these data based on factors such as peripheral visual impairment and a failure to attend, we could find none more compelling than a perceptual interpretation, which posits a deficit within the short-range motion system.     

Emerging images of severely battered women and the criminal justice system

The research literature of the 1970s and 1980s created a rather singular image of the battered woman. This image functioned as a standard to be met by battered women who attributed their own acts of violence or their failures to protect their children to the violence they endured. Three severely battered women, Hedda Nussbaum, Frances McMillian and Damian Pizarro illustrate the real diversity that exists. Each woman coped differently with her fear of her abuser's violence and domination. Nonetheless, the experiences of all three were unified by the intensity of their fear and by the fact that their acts (or failures to act) were so serious that they led to these women's involvement with the criminal justice system. The psychological consequences of extraordinary violence and the criminal justice system responses are discussed specifically, in relation to each case. The woman's social class and race are emphasized as important mediators of the criminal justice system response. In the final, general section, questions are addressed about society's role in idealizing the f d y and in silencing, ignoring, acknowledging, and/or solving the problems of severely battered women in desperately violent families.     

Light at the End of the Tunnel? Philosophy of Religion and the Near Death Experience

This article argues that currently many aspects of the Near Death Experience (NDE) remain a mystery, even after the more than two decades of discussion and analysis triggered by the publication of Raymond Moody's ground‐breaking study, Life After Life in 1975. It suggests that one reason for this continuing mystery is connected to the current under‐representation of studies of the phenomenon from within philosophy generally, and philosophy of religion in particular. It questions why this under‐representation should exist, suggesting that the very complexity of the NDE demands a thoroughgoing philosophical analysis, and arguing that philosophy and philosophy of religion have a crucial and rightful role alongside other disciplines within any attempt to gain a total understanding of what NDEs, in essence, are.     

Psychometric Properties and Clinical Utility of the Scale for Suicide Ideation with Inpatient Children

The purpose of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI) for children. The SSI was administered to 100 children who were hospitalized. Data were not used from 13 subjects due to the presence of a psychotic disorder or IQ less than 70, leaving 87 participants. The SSI was examined regarding its internal consistency, concurrent validity, construct validity, and factor structure when used with children. Based on the findings, the SSI appears to have adequate psychometric properties and can be used by clinicians and researchers examining children in an inpatient setting. Recommendations for clinicians are included to help make the SSI more functional in use for children.     

Confirmatory factor analysis of The Aggression Questionnaire

A confirmatory factor analysis of the factor structure of The Aggression Questionnaire created by Buss and Perry (1992) [Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 452–459] was conducted to assess whether the scale's purported 4 factors emerged. The results generally supported the 4-factor model. However, the hostility factor may be improved if 2 items pertaining to suspicion are removed from the scale. These items had relatively low loadings on that factor and decreased the hostility scale's internal reliability.