Effect of presentation order on the construction of linear orders

Subjects constructed four-term linear orders from three sentences expressing the relationships between adjacent elements in the order. Successful performance was more likely when the second sentence introduced only one element not mentioned in the first sentence rather than two new elements and when the second and third sentences introduced new elements as grammatical subjects rather than objects. Except for the latter result, previously proposed theories of reasoning processes primarily in three-term series problems, predict other differences that failed to appear. Apparently, in longer series, memory limitations favor conditions in which each sentence after the first presents a relationship between a new and an old element in linguistic forms that identify the new element.     

MODELR—Model building and model modification for instruction

An integrated set of three computer programs that enable the implementation and student investigation of computer models of behavioral phenomena is described. These models are intended as tools for aiding in the instruction of undergraduate social science courses in research methods. Each program provides for natural language interaction with one of three classes of users: A “Modeler,” who implements a model of some behavioral phenomenon; an “Instructor,” who tailors his own or others’ models for his course of instruction; and a “Student Experimenter,” who applies an experimental design to the model and receives synthetic data in return. None of these users need have any prior computer expertise nor do they depend on external documentation on how to use the programs.     

Perfectionism,life events,and depressive symptoms: A test of a diathesis-stress model

The present research tested the hypothesis that perfectionists who experience stress are vulnerable to depression, in part because negative life events represent a failure to maintain control over negative outcomes. In Study 1, 215 subjects completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and control measures. The MPS assesses self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism. It was confirmed that self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism were associated with both higher desire for control and greater perceived personal control. Study 2 examined whether trait levels of perfectionism moderate the link between life stress and symptoms of depression. In addition, prospective analyses investigated whether perfectionism accounts for changes in levels of depressive symptomatology over time. Two samples comprised of 374 students (Sample 1) and 173 students (Sample 2) completed the MPS and measures of major life stress and depression symptoms. Subjects in Sample 2 completed these measures at two timepoints separated by a three-month interval. Regression analyses indicated that self-oriented perfectionism and life stress interact significantly to produce higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Moreover, in Sample 2, self-oriented perfectionism at Time 1 was associated with increases in depression symptoms three months later for those individuals who had experienced a major life event. The results provide support for diathesis-stress models, which maintain that perfectionists exposed to life stress are vulnerable to symptoms of depression. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the study of personality, stress, and vulnerability to symptoms of depression. This research was supported by grants #410-89-0335, #410-91-8056, and #410-93-1256 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded to the authors.     

Processing of text containing artificial inclusion relations

The present studies were based on the hypothesis that the majority of college students have available to them the appropriate schema for understanding set inclusion relations, but that various factors influence the likelihood that the schema is used in the processing of text containing artificial inclusion relations. Although group data did not support this hypothesis, the data of individual subjects could be readily interpreted as resulting from the selection of one of a small set of representational schemata. Among the factors shown to influence schema selection were the choice of sentence frame used to present each relation, the presence or absence of real-world contextual information, and the structure (simple vs. complex) of the underlying inclusion relation. In addition, one experiment showed that the processes used in constructing a mental representation of an inclusion relation and in retrieving information from the representation are similar to those used with linear orderings.     

Habit reversal in the turtle

Two groups of mature “painted” turtles were trained in a T-maze. One group had five trials per day, with correct and incorrect turns reversed for each animal whenever it reached the criterion of five errorless trials on a given day. The second group had 10 trials per day, with correct and incorrect turns reversed daily, irrespective of the performance of the animals. Only in the data for the second group did there appear some indication of progressive improvement in habit reversal. The results are considered in relation to those obtained in analogous experiments with other species.     

Recommendations and resources for counseling older workers

The purpose of this article is to provide employment counselors an overview of the growth in the number of older workers in the U.S. Various demographic, employment, and career development trends are presented. Specific suggestions for counseling older workers are offered. Readers are directed to a number of high‐quality online resources for older workers.