Cognitive structures in comprehension and memory of narrative discourse

The effects of structure and content variables on memory and comprehension of prose passages were studied in two experiments. The experimental passages exemplify a class of simple narrative stories that is described by a generative grammar of plot structures. A comprehension model is proposed that assumes a hierarchical organizational framework of stories in memory, determined by the grammar, representing the abstract structural components of the plot. The quality and characteristics of subjects' memory for stories were tested on a variety of experimental tasks in which story organization was manipulated. Comprehensibility and recall were found to be a function of the amount of inherent plot structure in the story, independent of passage content. Recall probability of individual facts from passages depended on the structural centrality of the facts: Subjects tended to recall facts corresponding to high-level organizational story elements rather than lower-level details. In addition, story summarizations from memory tended to emphasize general structural characteristics rather than specific content. For successively presented stories, both structure and content manipulations influenced recall. Furthermore, repeating story structure across two passages produced facilitation in recall of the second passage, while repeating story content produced proactive interference. The implications for a model of memory for narrative discourse are discussed.     

Identification with film characters, covert aggressive verbalization, and reactions to film violence

To determine some conditions governing the aggressive aftereffects of identification with aggressive film characters, men were first angered by a confederate and then exposed to a film clip of a violent boxing match. Subjects instructed to identify with the winner of the prize-fight were subsequently more aggressive toward the confederate than subjects instructed to identify with the loser or subjects not asked to identify with a film aggressor. Apparently, viewers must perceive their identificand incur reinforcement for his aggression before they become more aggressive themselves. However, requiring subjects to make implicit aggressive verbalizations during the film completely eliminated any aggressive aftereffects of identification. This finding was opposite to prediction and suggested that covert verbalization interfered with subjects' ability to make the vicarious aggressive responses which mediate increased subsequent aggression.     

Validating a selection test,a predictive probability approach

The problem of inferring the validity of a selection test (x) as a predictor of some criterion (y) when completexy data are not available is investigated. The basic approach is to construct the predictive probability distribution of the unobservedy scores and then derive interval estimates of the least squares regression weights, the difference in averagey scores for selected and unselected cases, and the residual variance in predictingy fromx. Further, an approximation to the predictive distribution of the squared correlation betweenx andy in a future group is derived.     

Same-sex imitation: The avoidance of cross-sex models or the acceptance of same-sex models?

This experiment examined whether acceptance of same-sex behavior and rejection of opposite-sex behavior contribute equally to the same-sex imitation effect in both boys and girls. Third- and fourth-grade children observed four male and four female peer models display preferences toward a variety of objects. For each object, only four models were asked for their preferences. In this way, it was possible for the objects to become sex-linked depending on the sex composition of the group of models endorsing a particular item. Subsequently, children were presented with pairwise combinations of the more masculine, feminine, or neutral objects and asked their preference. Results indicated that although there is no difference between boys' and girls' acceptance of same-sex behavior, boys tend to reject opposite-sex behavior more than girls.     

Love and the addicted physician

This paper reviews the cases of two addicted physicians. One is dead and the other alive and well as a result of the heroic and compassionate effort of his friends. We offer speculations regarding the physicians' special vulnerabilities and the role of a tough love in transcending these vulnerabilities.     

Book Reviews

M eghnagi , D avid (ed.) Freud and Judaism
S piegelman , J. M arvin . Judaism and Jungian Psychology
M omigliano , L uciana N issim and R obutti , A ndreina . Shared Experience: The Psychoanalytical Dialogue
N emiroff , R obert A., S ugarman , A lan and R obbins , A lvin (eds). On Loving, Hating and Living Well: The Public Psychoanalytic Lectures of Ralph R. Greenson, M.D
R osenfeld , D avid . The Psychotic: Aspects of the Personality     

Book Reviews

C larke , J.J. In Search of Jung.
K luger , R ivkah S chärf , The Archetypal Significance of Gilgamesh: A Modern Ancient Hero.
M attoon , M ary A nn (ed.). Paris 89: Proceedings of the Eleventh International Congress for Analytical Psychology, August 28-September 2, 1989: Personal and Archetypal Dynamics in the Analytical Relationship.
S chwartz -S alant , N athan and S tein , M urray (eds.). Gender and Soul in Psychotherapy.
S ignell , K aren . Wisdom of the Heart.
S teinberg , W arren . Circle of Care: Clinical Issues in Jungian Therapy.     

A method of matrix analysis of group structure

Matrix methods may be applied to the analysis of experimental data concerning group structure when these data indicate relationships which can be depicted by line diagrams such as sociograms. One may introduce two concepts,n-chain and clique, which have simple relationships to the powers of certain matrices. Using them it is possible to determine the group structure by methods which are both faster and more certain than less systematic methods. This paper describes such a matrix method and applies it to the analysis of practical examples. At several points some unsolved problems in this field are indicated.