An evaluation of three different theories of metaphor production through the use of an intentional category mistake procedure

Three current theories of metaphor production, those of atribute matching, analogical reasoning, and Gestalt perceptual processing, were tested by asking subjects to compare famous people with various categories. Three sets of instructions were devised, each reflecting one of the major theories. Results showed that while subjects could make comparisons under all conditions, they found it significantly easier to work with Gestalt instructions than with either of the other two. Gestalt instructions also produced more novel metaphoric comparisons, with such responses judged to be no less apt than statistically more conventional comparisons. Similar results did not apply to metaphoric comparisons produced under the remaining two instructional conditions where statistically novel comparisons were judged to be less apt than their more conventional counterparts. A second study was run to control for possible demand property differences among the various instructional conditions. Even with these additional controls, results of the second study replicated all major findings reported in Experiment I. Implications of these findings for the production of metaphors in more natural contexts were discussed, as were implications for creative problem-solving. In both cases it was suggested that a direct, nonananalytic approach might be more useful in revealing unexpected and important relationships between concepts than would be the case for more analytic approaches usually stressed as optimum for either metaphor production or problem solving.Visiting Research Scholar (1979–1980)     

An investigation of preconditions necessary for the introduction of a campaign to promote breast self-examination amongst Zimbabwean women

This study examines elements of the health belief model as predictors of intentions to self-examine breasts in two samples of women. Undergraduate samples from London and Harare are compared on levels of knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination (BSE), and on scales measuring perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, exposure to information and experience of breast cancer and perceived costs, barriers and benefits of BSE. Analysis of results indicates that an education campaign to promote awareness and the practice of BSE which incorporates factors of the health belief model could increase the number of Zimbabwean women performing this valuable preventive health behaviour.     

The effect of constant vs. varied encoding and massed vs. distributed presentations on recall of paired associates

The variables of coding (constant vs. varied) and spacing (massed vs. distributed) were factorially combined in an independent-groups design. Sixteen nominal pairs were presented twice, with the two presentations being either massed or distributed. A given nominal pair (e.g., AR-LE) was accompanied either by the same word-pair code on both presentations (e.g.,arm-leg) or by a different code on each presentation (e.g.,arm-leg; arrive-leave). On a subsequent recall test, the nominal stimulus only was shown. Better recall of the nominal response was found after constant coding and after distributed presentations, and there was no interaction between the spacing and coding variables. The results (a) support none of the current proposed explanations for the distributed practice effect, and (b) suggest that the critical factor in determining the probability of response recall is the strength of the strongest potential route to the response, not the number of different routes. This research was supported by a grant from the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin.     

Self-disclosure reciprocity,liking and the deviant

Conflicting predictions were derived from social exchange theory about the role of social attraction and the reciprocity norm on mutual self-disclosure in dyadic relationships. Sixty-six female subjects were exposed to one of three levels of disclosure input: conventional-low disclosure, conventional-high disclosure, or devianthigh disclosure. In support of the reciprocity norm prediction, willingness to disclose personal information was a positive function of the amount of disclosure input from another person, regardless of the degree of liking for the initial discloser.     

Effects of noun imagery and awareness of the discriminative cue upon differential eyelid conditioning to grammatical and ungrammatical phrases

Two differential eyelid conditioning studies employed grammatically correct and incorrect adjective-noun phrases as conditioned stimuli. For different groups of subjects, the nouns were either high or low in imagery. The hypothesis that congruency between grammatical correctness and reinforcement consequences (i.e., the aversive stimulus contingent upon presence of incorrect rather than correct grammar) would facilitate conditioned discrimination was not supported, but the hypothesis that high noun imagery would facilitate differential response to syntax received strong support. Cognitive awareness of the syntactic discriminandum was also related to effective differential responding, as well as being implicated as a mediating mechanism in the imagery effects. Finally, performance was also significantly related to conditioned-response topography, with better conditioned discrimination by voluntary-form (V) than by conditioned-form (C) responders, and also evidence of more effective utilization of contingency awareness by Vs than by Cs.     

The role of noun imagery in the speed of processing the grammaticality of adjective-noun phrases

This experiment investigated speed of processing the grammaticality of phrases consisting of the adjective “one” or “two” followed by a singular or plural noun. The subject’s task was to press one of two keys, depending upon whether the phrase was grammatically correct or incorrect. There were eight types of phrases, formed by the factorial combinations of singular or plural adjectives, singular or plural nouns, and high or low noun imageD’. These served as within-subjects variables. Between-subjects variables were the factorial combinations of sex of subject, duration of stimulus phrase (.2 or 2.5 sec), and hand assigned to the correct-grammar key. A fourth between-subjects variable was whether or not the subject reported using an artificial phrase-scanning strategy to determine grammaticality. Correct grammar, singular noun form, high noun imagery, and reported use of the strategy all produced highly significant reductions in reaction times. Only 1% of the interactions were significant. A multistage serial processing model that could be based upon Sternberg’s additive factor paradigm or even Donders’ subtraction method was found to be highly successful in describing the results.     

Recognition memory for colors and faces in profoundly retarded young children

Visual recognition memory was examined in a group of profoundly retarded young children whose visual-motor developmental level was estimated to be below one year. The children were tested for recognition of a previously shown face photo or a previously exposed color either immediately or following a short-term delay by observing the distribution of their visual fixation responses to novel stimuli when paired with previously seen targets. During a study or “familiarization” period the profoundly retarded children devoted voted approximately the same amount of attention to photos of faces as they did to colored, abstract patterns, and individual differences in overall looking time proved to be reliable. During the recognition testing phase the profoundly retarded children demonstrated immediate recognition memory for both faces and colors, preferring a novel to a previously exposed target, but responsiveness to novelty declined abruptly over a short-term delay, providing little evidence for delayed recognition.