Software management of timing in computer-controlled on-line experiments

Some uses of clocks by programming systems which control on-line experiments contain dangers of inaccuracy and variability in the times between events. The reasons for these dangers are discussed, and an alternative approach to the problem of timing is outlined. A sample of current systems is reviewed with regard to approaches to timing, and five questions for users to ask of potential designers or suppliers of on-line programming systems are suggested in light of the considerations raised.     

Issues in the psychology of religious conversion

Conclusion Such are the issues that two psychologists with theological training and ministerial ordination draw from social science literature as it relates to religious conversion. Few, if any, of these issues are settled definitively. There is a great need for solid, responsible research, not to prove or disprove, but simply to understand, predict, and, where desirable, control. For these are the goals of science. Before research can be productive, however, these are the goals of science. Before research can be productive, however, there is need for theoretical development. Inadequate conceptualization, especially of necessary distinctions and discriminations, has handicapped the scientific investigation of religion almost as much as a limited tool kit. But the signs of the times regarding social scientific investigation of conversion are hopeful. Especially to be recommended for further research by someone well acquainted with the field of religious conversion is the vast literature in social psychology on opinions, attitudes, and beliefs. Perhaps we can continue the process of knowledge-building that began so promisingly in the first three decades of the century and then stopped on a plateau.This article is a revision of a paper presented at The First National Faith and Order Colloquium of the National Council of Churches, Chicago, June 12–17, 1966.     

The rolling totals method of computing sums,sums of squares,and sums of cross-products

The rolling totals method of computing sums, sums of squares, and sums of cross-products appears to have several advantages over usual methods, in that it saves time and requires less equipment. Only an IBM sorter and a tabulator equipped with Card Cycle Total Transfer Device are used. The method provides an immediate independent visual check on the accuracy of the sums of cross-products of each successive variable as it is run. Since controlling is done by sorting, the necessity for re-wiring after each run on the tabulator is eliminated. The wiring, illustrated by a diagram, is simple and straightforward.ABITIBI POWER AND PAPER COMPANY     

Explorations of creative visual synthesis in mental imagery

The mental synthesis of visual patterns has been previously studied by instructing subjects to imagine assembling the component parts in specific ways. We report two experiments that show that subjects can often discover recognizable patterns in imagery when the component parts are randomly chosen and are provided without instructions for how they might be assembled. On each trial, the subjects were given a set of three parts, consisting of geometric forms, lines, or alphanumeric characters, and were instructed to close their eyes and imagine combining the parts to make some type of recognizable pattern. They were successful in doing so on about 40 % of the trials. Many of these mentally synthesized patterns were strikingly creative, and few of them could be predicted, either by the experimenter or by the subjects themselves, simply by knowing what the parts were. On the contrary, most of the subjects reported that they had performed the task by imagining various combinations of the parts until a recognizable pattern “emerged.” These findings show that visual discoveries in imagery can be reliably induced under appropriate laboratory conditions.     

Effects of Case History versus Abstract Information on Health Attitudes and Behaviors1

Social psychological theory suggests that information presented in the form of a vivid case history is often more persuasive than information presented in abstract form, yet this idea has rarely been tested in the health promotion area. Three studies compared the effectiveness of health information presented in case history form with equivalent information presented in abstract form. The case history version had a greater impact on subjects' health attitudes and behavioral intentions in Studies 1 and 2. Study 3 investigated subjects at high risk for a serious health threat and found that the case history version was more persuasive than the abstract version among those who minimized the health threat. A six-weeks follow-up in Study 3 indicated that the case history version modestly enhanced long-term recall of the information but did not differentially affect subjects' actual health behaviors. The three studies provided partial support for the prediction that the case history version would arouse greater affect than the abstract version. Implications for health promotion programs are discussed.     

Remembering words and how often they occurred in memory-impaired patients

Memory &; Cognition - The recent memory impairments in Korsakoff’s (KD), Huntington’s (HD), and Alzheimer’s (SDAT) diseases are qualitatively different from one another. All...     

Extending formant transitions may not improve aphasics'' perception of stop consonant place of articulation

Synthetic speech stimuli were used to investigate whether aphasics' ability to perceive stop consonant place of articulation was enhanced by the extension of initial formant transitions in CV syllables. Phoneme identification and discrimination tests were administered to 12 aphasic patients, 5 fluent and 7 nonfluent. There were no significant differences in performance due to the extended transitions, and no systematic pattern of performance due to aphasia type. In both groups, discrimination was generally high and significantly better than identification, demonstrating that auditory capacity was retained, while phonetic perception was impaired; this result is consistent with repeated demonstrations that auditory and phonetic processes may be dissociated in normal listeners. Moreover, significant rank order correlations between performances on the Token Test and on both perceptual tasks suggest that impairment on these tests may reflect a general cognitive rather than a language-specific deficit.