Cue quality and criterion setting in recognition memory

Previous studies on how people set and modify decision criteria in old-new recognition tasks (in which they have to decide whether or not a stimulus was seen in a study phase) have almost exclusively focused on properties of the study items, such as presentation frequency or study list length. In contrast, in the three studies reported here, we manipulated the quality of the test cues in a scene-recognition task, either by degrading through Gaussian blurring (Experiment 1) or by limiting presentation duration (Experiment 2 and 3). In Experiments 1 and 2, degradation of the test cue led to worse old-new discrimination. Most importantly, however, participants were more liberal in their responses to degraded cues (i.e., more likely to call the cue “old”), demonstrating strong within-list, item-by-item, criterion shifts. This liberal response bias toward degraded stimuli came at the cost of increasing the false alarm rate while maintaining a constant hit rate. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 2 with additional stimulus types (words and faces) but did not provide accuracy feedback to participants. The criterion shifts in Experiment 3 were smaller in magnitude than Experiments 1 and 2 and varied in consistency across stimulus type, suggesting, in line with previous studies, that feedback is important for participants to shift their criteria.     

Perceived collective continuity and attitudes toward outgroups

In a series of six studies, we examined the role that perceived collective continuity (PCC) plays in intergroup attitudes. While the extant literature focuses on attitudes toward ingroups, the current studies chose to expand upon this research by concentrating on three types of outgroups (national, religious, and organizational). Results indicated that for groups perceived as neutral or positive, increased PCC was associated with more positive attitudes, while for enemy groups, increased PCC was associated with more negative attitudes. Entitativity played a mediating role such that as the outgroup was perceived as more continuous, it was also seen as more entitative. Higher entitativity led to less negative attitudes toward a past ally but more negative attitudes toward a past enemy. Results held whether past conflict and PCC were measured or manipulated, further supporting our findings. PCC has negative or positive implications for judgments of outgroups depending on intergroup history. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predictors of Appraisal and Psychological Well-Being in Alzheimer's Disease Family Caregivers

The objective of this study was to test a model of stress, appraisal, and adaptation in 114 family caregivers of patients diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (white non-Hispanic, N = 64; Hispanic-American, N = 50). Results of structural equation analysis show that appraised caregiver burden played a central role in determining the psychological well-being of family caregivers. The findings indicate that this mediating variable, negative caregiver appraisal, was predicted by increased functional limitations and behavioral disturbances in the patient, poorer perceived physical health, and lower levels of perceived emotional support. Contrary to a priori hypotheses, functional limitations in the patient also exhibited a direct association with caregiver depression. Further, patient cognitive impairment and caregiver ethnicity were not related to caregiver appraisal. Overall, these results support the role of appraised burden in mediating the relationships between caregiving factors and the adaptational outcome of depression. The implications of these findings, limitations of the study, and future directions are discussed.     

Selection of movement patterns during functional tasks in humans

These experiments examine the role of vision and step height in the selection of a simple binary choice of movement pattern by human subjects. The subjects selected a heel strike movement pattern (HS) (as used during level surface locomotion) or a toe strike movement pattern (TS) (as used during stair descent). The functional task involved descending a step of adjustable height followed by level surface walking under vision and nonvision conditions. Triceps surae and tibialis anterior electromyographic (EMG) activity, ankle angle position, and vertical force were examined. As step height was increased, there was an indistinct threshold at which subjects switched from landing with a HS movement pattern to a TS movement pattern. The tibialis anterior and triceps surae precontact EMG burst and subsequent ankle movement for HS and TS trials appear to be part of preprogrammed movement patterns, which are presumably of central origin. The particular mixture of voluntary, stereotypic, and reflex actions for any specified movement is based on the intent or functional outcome desired. The switching to the TS movement pattern as step height increased presumably results in the most efficient and stable movement.     

Occupational Choice and Occupational Success in Slow-Learning School-Leavers

Educationally sub normal adolescents in special schools are compared with others of the same ability in the remedial groups of comprehensive schools, with regard to their choice of jobs and success in employment after leaving school. ESN pupils from special schools were found to be more realistic in their choice of occupation and to do better in their subsequent employment than those from comprehensive schools. Some possible reasons for this difference are proposed.     

Causality and things in themselves

In this paper I examine Kant's use of causal language to characterize things in themselves. Following Nicholas Rescher, I contend that Kant's use of such causal language can only be understood by first coming to grips with the relation of things in themselves to appearances. Unlike Rescher, however, I argue that things in themselves and appearances are not numerically distinct entities. Rather, I claim that it is things in themselves that we are intentionally related to in veridical experience, though of course we know them only as they appear to us via our subjective experiential faculties. In light of this account of the role of things in themselves in Kant's account of experience, I argue that his use of causal locutions to describe things in themselves is simply his attempt to capture the fact that as the objects that we are related to in experience, the existence of things in themselves is presupposed by any account of the nature of our experienceof them.Substantial work on this paper was done while I attended the National Endowment for the Humanities 1986 Summer Seminar given by Hector-Neri Castañeda at Indiana University. I would like to thank the National Endowment for the Humanities for their support, and Professor Castañeda and the other members of the seminar for their many invaluable comments, suggestions, and criticisms.     

Scientology's relationship with eastern religious traditions

Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, frequently made claims that Scientology was related to or shared significant similarities with Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism and Taoism. However, careful examination of Hubbard's claims indicates that he had only a superficial acquaintance with Eastern religions, and most of his attempts to associate Scientology with these faiths are unwarranted. Moreover, social and political pressures against his organisation's alleged healing practices probably provided the catalyst for Hubbard's attempt to portray his creation as a religion with Eastern overtones.