Nearest neighbor analysis of point processes: Simulations and evaluations

Tversky, Rinott, and Newman (Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 1983, 27, 000) examine the asymptotic behavior of a measure of the centrality of the nearest neighbor relation. The applicability of their conclusions when the number of dimensions (d) and the number of points (n) take on the small-to-moderate values commonly encountered in the analysis of proximity data is investigated. The results suggest that convergence is fast when n is large relative to d and slow when d is large relative to n.     

Ethical dimensions of diagnosis: A case study and analysis

A rational reconstruction of the role of moral values in diagnostic reasoning is undertaken. In the context of a case study it is shown how value and ethical considerations come into play in the complex course of making diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.     

Phonological considerations in children's early imitative and spontaneous speech

The relationship between the phonological characteristics of young children's unsolicited imitative and spontaneous speech was examined as a function of (1) the level of the children's linguistics development, and (2) the children's knowledge of the words imitated. A greater number of phonological discrepancies were seen in children with lexicons of fewer than 40 words than in children with larger lexical repertories. Such discrepancies were also more likely when the children displayed little comprehension of the words they were imitating. This tendency was particularly strong in the children with limited lexicons. The results are discussed in terms of a developmental shift in the bases of children's phonological organization.     

Neuropsychological perspectives on delinquency

Neuropsychological studies of delinquents have revealed characteristic deficits in skills that require verbal mediation, conceptual integration, impulse control, anticipation of consequences of actions, and the utilization of feedback from behavior to modify maladaptive response patterns. Formulations of this impairment pattern in terms of frontal lobe and left hemisphere dysfunction are reviewed. The role of verbal mediation in the development of a stable personality and the capacity for self-control is discussed. It is proposed that the neuropsychodynamic profile of the delinquent is dominated by an inability to form a self-referential conceptual classification system and that this predisposes to behavioral disinhibition under conditions of stress or interpersonal conflict. The relationship between language development, moral cognition, and social behavior is examined and therapeutic and dispositional implications are discussed. Finally, the general role of neuropsychological models in personality and social theory is addressed.     

Multiple predictors of hypnotic susceptibility

In this article, we report two experiments in which various measures thought to be related to hypnotizability were analyzed by stepwise discriminant analysis techniques. Absorption (Tellegen, 1981, 1982; Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974) and preference for an imagic style of thinking (Isaacs, 1982) were robust predictors of hypnotizability; each variable accounted for significant variance in hypnotizability at their respective steps in two samples and correctly classified a significant proportion of low- and high-hypnotizable subjects in the discriminant analyses. The addition of two other variables in Experiment 2--a Sleep-Dream score derived from Evans's (1977) Cognitive Control of Sleep Mentation subscale and Gibson's (1985) Dream Questionnaire, and the Belief in the Supernatural subscale of the Taft (1969) Experience Questionnaire--increased the correct classification of the medium-hypnotizable subjects from chance levels to 74%. It is argued that a confirmatory and hierarchical approach is needed in future studies to explore correlates of hypnotizability more fully.     

Treatment rights of the mentally retarded: The cost of refusal

The cost of the mentally retarded client's rights to refuse treatment, in both monetary and human terms, varies under different legal/clinical circumstances. The process of placing severely retarded clients into the community with poor or no supervision, especially those who refuse or are denied treatment, can result in devastating costs for the client and others. The complexities associated with mental retardation require sophisticated treatment considerations. Moreover, these clients often need guidance in making meaningful decisions relevant to their quality of life. In order for this process to produce desirable results, for both the mentally retarded client and society, in general, a balance must be struck between the legal and clinical factors involved.     

The Capital Punishment Debate: Public Perceptions of Crime and Punishment1

Psychophysical scales for seriousness of crime and severity of punishment were developed to aid in investigating the Eighth Amendment issue of whether the death penalty is “cruel and unusual” punishment. Using indirect crossmodality matching techniques with a quota sample of the Boston SMSA, satisfactory scales were obtained for both dimensions with most items in both scales concentrated toward the serious/severe end as planned. Further, specific case vignettes in which experimental variations were embedded were also developed; psychophysical lines production judgments for these specific cases indicated that quite complex social stimuli can be successfully judged psychophysically. Results indicated that (1) capital and noncapital offenses are thoroughly intermingled in seriousness ratings; (2) the death penalty is not rated as significantly more severe than life imprisonment without parole; (3) respondents assign the death penalty relatively rarely even to serious offenses, and then in a manner not particularly in line with capital statutes; and (4) respondents' weighing of extra-legal and legally relevant aspects of capital cases is inconsistent with current statutes. These results suggest multiple ways in which capital punishment could be defined as “cruel”, and strongly suggest the need for further research and through about the issue.