Semantic congruity effects in judgments of loudness

This research uses comparative judgments of the relative loudness of sounds to make a critical test of one theory of the mental representation of continuous physical attributes. The first two experiments find a semantic congruity effect, which is an interaction such that subjects can pick the louder of two loud sounds faster than the softer, and the softer of two quiet sounds faster than the louder. According to the theory under test, physical quantities are stored as points on a representational continuum, with a variance as well as a mean placement on it. The theory predicts the semantic congruity effect by assuming that the variance of placement of intensities on the representational continuum is a function of the direction of judgment: a soft sound will have less variance than a loud one when judged for softness and more when judged for loudness. Since the speed of making a judgment increases as variance decreases, the theory predicts a semantic congruity effect. However, for loudness, it can be shown that variance does not change in the manner assumed. The finding of a semantic congruity effect therefore disconfirms the theory. Alternative models are discussed. This research was supported by NSF Grant BNS 78-17442.     

Cross-cultural model testing: toward a solution of the etic-emic dilemma

A model for the prediction of behavior from attitudinal components, developed by Triandis, was tested with samples of U.S. and Mexican women, and with fertility relevant behaviors. The elements of the model are etic, but the operationalizations of the various variables were done emically. Results support the model in both cultures. While the predictive utility of the model is equivalent in two cultures, there are social class differences on which component of the model is most emphasized. The U.S. upper-middle-class sample and the Mexican upper-middle-class sample emphasized the person's attitude toward the act, while the Mexican lower SES (socio-economic status) sample emphasized the person's normative beliefs (moral obligations).     

Naming of object-drawings by dyslexic and other learning disabled children

On the Oldfield-Wingfield Picture-Naming Test, sensitive to subtle chronic dysphasia in adults, dyslexic children name fewer pictures correctly. Even when correct on words with less than 30 per million frequency of occurrence, they perform more slowly than do nondyslexic subjects suffering from minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) or normal controls. However, there is no evidence for “perceptual impairment” underlying dyslexic subjects' low scores and prolonged latencies, as the distribution of their errors is similar to that of normal children. Rather it is the nondyslexic MBD group which produces a high percentage of wrong names, suggestive of mistaking the pictured stimuli for other, visually similar, objects.     

Fear of failure and fear of success

Verbal leads were used to elicit TAT responses from 160 male and female high school seniors, under neutral and aroused conditions. These protocols were scored for fear of success (FOS) according to the 1973 revised scoring system developed by Horner, Tresemer, Berens, and Watson (Note 1) and also scored for fear of failure (FOF) according to the Hostile Press Scoring System developed by Birney, Burdick, and Teevan (1969). Significant positive correlations between the two motive scores were obtained under both neutral and aroused conditions. The lack of independence between the FOS and FOF scores reflects theoretical similarities in the definitions of the motives, as well as considerable overlap in the scoring systems. It was hypothesized that for those people (especially women) whose affiliative and achievement needs are interrelated, FOF and FOS may be nearly equivalent, since fear of social rejection thus becomes tantamount to fear of failure.     

Environmental and Psychological Factors that Influence the Creative Excellence of Brazilian and Portuguese Women

There is increasing recognition of the importance of creativity for social development. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were differences among Brazilian and Portuguese women recognized for their creative excellence in relation to the psychological and environmental factors that might impact their achievements. The sample was composed of 33 women; 18 who were socially recognized for excellence in creativity in different areas (nine Brazilian, nine Portuguese) were compared to 15 who were not recognized (nine Brazilian, six Portuguese). The instruments used were the Biographical Questionnaire of Creative Women, a semi‐structured interview guide, and the Creative Production Analysis Guide. Non‐parametric tests indicated significant differences in environmental factors and personal cognitive characteristics between the creative and non‐creative women when compared within each country. However, no significant differences among Brazilian and Portuguese creative women were found, thus indicating that they present similar psychological profiles.     

On Online Practices of Hospitality in Higher Education

Studies in Philosophy and Education - This article contributes to conversations on hospitality in educational settings, with a focus on higher education and the online context. We integrate...