Selective attention and the breadth of learning: A developmental study

Nursery school and second-grade subjects were trained on an optional intradimensional/extradimensional shift task with (1) no overtraining, (2) overtraining on the initial problem only, (3) overtraining on the shift problem only, or (4) overtraining on both the initial and the shift problems. Predictions concerning the effects of age and training conditions on the type of solution and the breadth of learning for the shift problem were derived from selective attention theory. However, the results were not consistent with the one-look assumption of such models. Instead, a multiple-look theory in which the breadth of attention varies with task demands seems most tenable.     

Group identification and political protest: farmers' protest in the Netherlands

Social identity theory is employed to conceptualise the role of group identification in the conversion of discontent into participation in political protest. It is assumed that higher levels of group identification stimulate participation in protest on behalf of the group. Perceived characteristics of the intergroup situation such as the permeability of group boundaries, and the stability and legitimacy of intergroup relations are supposed to modify the role of group identification. Group identification is decomposed into an affective and a behavioural component. Furthermore, ingroup identification is distinguished from outgroup differentiation; and groups are defined at different levels of inclusiveness. In a longitudinal study among Dutch farmers (n=168) the relationship between group identification and protest participation is investigated. Group identification, be it affective or behavioural, appears to influence action preparedness. People seem to enter the protest arena with some level of group identification. This level of group identification sets the level of action preparedness. Once set, the level of action preparedness remains fairly stable over time and appears to be a strong predictor of future action preparedness and participation. Action preparedness in its turn together with the behavioural component of group identification influences actual participation in collective action. Outgroup differentiation did not have any impact on protest participation. Identification with farmers in the European Union did not matter, but identification with farmers at the national or regional level did stimulate protest participation. Perceived characteristics of the intergroup situation did not have an impact on group identification, but permeability and stability did affect protest participation. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Training of practitioners and beliefs about family skills in family-based prevention programmes

To ensure close adherence to the contents of a family-based cognitive-behavioural programme, and maintain a high standard of quality in its implementation, it is important that practitioners’ attitudes and beliefs regarding family skills coincide with those of the programme. This paper describes and analyses (observed) potential changes in these beliefs, after training courses held prior to the application of a prevention programme for families: the Family Competence Programme. A questionnaire was devised to examine practitioners’ beliefs regarding family skills; and completed both before and after the training course. The results point to significant changes in family dynamics, realistic expectations and active listening. Thus, it can be demonstrated that preliminary training courses promote practitioner attitudes and beliefs which are more coherent with a subsequent programme’s approach.     

Logical competence and transitive inference in young children

Five-year-old children were trained on the length relationships between the adjacent members of a five-term series of sticks. They were then tested on their abilities (1) to judge the length relationships between nonadjacent pairs of the series, and (2) to incorporate an unseen novel stick into the series through inference. Children who were trained with sticks of markedly different lengths succeeded on the first test but not the second; they apparently relied on memory for the absolute lengths of the sticks. Children in the other groups succeeded on both tests. The critical factor in inducing the use of seriation and transitivity seemed to be the elimination of alternative solutions.     

What Malapropisms Mean: A Reply To Donald Davidson

In this paper, I argue against Davidson's (1986) view that our ability to understand malapropisms forces us to re-think the standard construal of literal word meaning as conventional meaning. Specially, I contend that the standard construal is not only intuitive but also well-motivated, for appeal to conventional meaning is necessary to understand why speakers utter the particular words they do. I also contend that, contra Davidson, we can preserve the intuitive distinction between what a speaker means and what his words mean, even while retaining the standard construal of literal word meaning as conventional.