Latent structure in measures of associative,semantic, and thematic knowledge

There has been much debate about the relation between knowledge for meaning (semantic memory) and knowledge for words in context (associative memory). Many measures of that knowledge exist, but do they all measure the same thing? In this study, scaling, clustering, and factor-analytic techniques were used to reveal the structure underlying 13 variables. Semantic similarity determined from lexicographic measures is shown to be separable from the associative strength determined from word association norms, and these semantic and associative measures are in turn separable from abstract representations derived from computational analyses of large bodies of text. The three-factor structure is at odds with traditional views of word knowledge. The expression of long-term knowledge about words and the concepts they represent may be better viewed in terms of associative, semantic, and thematic information.     

Increasing therapeutic exercise participation by individuals with acquired brain injury using self‐recording and reinforcement

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of self‐recording and contingent reinforcement on exercise participation by four adults with acquired brain injury. The results indicate that self‐recording and contingent reinforcement increased participation in stretching, aerobic, and weight‐lifting activities for each participant. The results also indicate that each participant was able to accurately self‐record his or her exercise participation. Possible operant conceptualizations for the observed behavior change, as well as limitations to the results, are briefly discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semantic distance norms computed from an electronic dictionary (WordNet)

WordNet, an electronic dictionary (or lexical database), is a valuable resource for computational and cognitive scientists. Recent work on the computing of semantic distances among nodes (synsets) in WordNet has made it possible to build a large database of semantic distances for use in selecting word pairs for psychological research. The database now contains nearly 50,000 pairs of words that have values for semantic distance, associative strength, and similarity based on co-occurrence. Semantic distance was found to correlate weakly with these other measures but to correlate more strongly with another measure of semantic relatedness, featural similarity. Hierarchical clustering analysis suggested that the knowledge structure underlying semantic distance is similar in gross form to that underlying featural similarity. In experiments in which semantic similarity ratings were used, human participants were able to discriminate semantic distance. Thus, semantic distance as derived from WordNet appears distinct from other measures of word pair relatedness and is psychologically functional. This database may be downloaded fromwww.psychonomic.org/archive/.     

Matching vocalizations to vocalizing faces in a chimpanzee (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pan troglodytes</Emphasis>)

Auditory–visual processing of species-specific vocalizations was investigated in a female chimpanzee named Pan. The basic task was auditory–visual matching-to-sample, where Pan was required to choose the vocalizer from two test movies in response to a chimpanzees vocalization. In experiment 1, movies of vocalizing and silent faces were paired as the test movies. The results revealed that Pan recognized the status of other chimpanzees whether they vocalized or not. In experiment 2, two different types of vocalizing faces of an identical individual were prepared as the test movies. Pan recognized the correspondence between vocalization types and faces. These results suggested that chimpanzees possess crossmodal representations of their vocalizations, as do humans. Together with the ability of vocal individual recognition, this ability might reflect chimpanzees profound understanding of the status of other individuals.     

Preschoolers' knowledge about strategies in coping with other's disgust evoked by immoral actions

40 preschoolers in Exp. 1 and 22 in Exp. 2 (mean ages were both 5:11) were shown short stories presented as colored videotaped pictures with explanatory narrations. In each story a recipient felt disgusted by an agent's action. In Exp. 1 the agent's action was immoral. The participants were asked to tell how the agent would behave, supposing they were the agent themselves. About 80% of their answers were prosocial. In Exp. 2, two kinds of story were shown. In one, the agent hurt the recipient intentionally; in the other, by accident. Almost all answers in both kinds of story were prosocial. Furthermore, over a third of the participants told the reasons for their answers, considering the recipient's emotion, even when the agent's action was intentional and immoral. These findings show that the preschoolers had suitable knowledge about the agent's strategies in coping with the recipient's disgust.     

Development of a cognitive function test using virtual reality technology: examination in healthy participants

We developed a virtual reality test to assess the cognitive function of Japanese people in near-daily-life environment, namely, a virtual shopping test (VST). In this test, participants were asked to execute shopping tasks using touch panel operations in a “virtual shopping mall.” We examined differences in VST performances among healthy participants of different ages and correlations between VST and screening tests, such as the Mini–Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Everyday Memory Checklist (EMC). We included 285 healthy participants between 20 and 86 years of age in seven age groups. Therefore, each VST index tended to decrease with advancing age; differences among age groups were significant. Most VST indices had a significantly negative correlation with MMSE and significantly positive correlation with EMC. VST may be useful for assessing general cognitive decline; effects of age must be considered for proper interpretation of the VST scores.     

Relationships between self-regulation and personality scores of persons with Down syndrome.

This study examined the associations of self-regulation (scores on self-assertion and self control) with personality traits for 76 persons with Down syndrome. Analysis shows self-assertion scores were correlated with scores for all personality traits. The correlations were significant with Emotionality and Playfulness for people with Down syndrome but not for those without Down syndrome (n=40). Self-control scores significantly correlated with scores on controlling and attachment for both groups. Emotionality was related to scores on self-control for students without Down syndrome but not for those with Down syndrome.     

Rorschach Comprehensive System data for a sample of 343 adults from Finland

This article combines Rorschach Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 1990, 1993) data from four projects conducted in Finland between 1990 and 1995. The projects studied a stratified random sample of Finnish nonpatients, a cohort of twins, a group of elderly men, and a random sample collected to investigate sleep difficulties. The 343 records from these four studies provide a representative survey of Rorschach responding throughout the Finnish population.     

Offender and crime characteristics of female serial arsonists in Japan

This study of Japanese female serial arsonists examined their crimes and background characteristics. The data were a sample from the national police register containing arson cases resulting in charges in Japan between 1982 and 2005. Serial arsonists were 6% of the arson offenders and 12% of these were female, resulting in 83 female serial arsonist data sets. The mean age was 37.6 years and 43% were unemployed. Nearly half were married. Only 28% had a documented history of mental problems and 22% had a prior arrest, usually for theft (19%). Female serial arsonists are characterised by going to a place near their home with a lighter and setting fire directly to combustible materials. Non‐metric multidimensional scaling was used to analyse 33 variables related to the offences. The arsons could be differentiated in terms of either expressive or instrumental sources of action. Expressive arsons were opportunistic and impulsive acts, motivated by emotional distress. The fires were mostly set close to home. Expressive arsons were characteristic of 66% of the females. Instrumental arsons were often motivated by revenge and involved planned and goal‐directed behaviours. They were committed by 13% of the females. Instrumental arsonists tended to travel further from home. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.