Philosophy of Mind, Cognitive Science, andPedagogical Technique

Changes in the aims and methods of the philosophy of mind have occurred in recent decades. In particular, computer simulations have emerged as a means of constructing empirically and conceptually defensible theories of mind. This article explores pedagogical innovations that may be necessitated by these changes. One question raised is whether hands-on teaching of simulation methods should be a standard part of philosophy of mind courses. These courses, because of an increasing empirical orientation, are becoming more interdisciplinary, and certain consequences of this development are elaborated here.     

TAKING PRAGMATISM SERIOUSLY: A REVIEW OF WILLIAM BAUM'S UNDERSTANDING BEHAVIORISM: BEHAVIOR,CULTURE, AND EVOLUTION (SECOND EDITION)

This important book has two main purposes. The first is to present, in a non‐technical way, accessible to intelligent laypeople, a scientific, behavioral approach to all aspects of human activity including choice, rule‐governed behavior, self control, religious belief, linguistic interaction, ethics, and culture. Its scope equals that of Skinner's nontechnical writings, but Baum's approach is more molar and more pragmatic than Skinner's. The book's second purpose is to embed behavioral science firmly in the context of Darwinian evolution. Baum is generally successful, we believe, in both of these ambitious purposes.     

The Commercialization of Clinical Genetics: An Analysis of Interrelations Between Academic Centers and For-Profit Clinical Genetics Diagnostics Companies

The field of clinical genetics has undergone substantial commercialization, including the development of genetics diagnostics companies. Numerous for-profit corporations now offer genetic diagnostic services; until recently, these clinical services were provided almost exclusively through academic, not-for-profit medical centers. Some of these for-profit corporations have business and/or research relationships with academia. An evaluation of the interconnections between academia and the clinical genetics industry is an important first step in analyzing the risks and benefits of commercialization. We analyzed the personnel and business affiliations of 19 major U.S. for-profit clinical genetics diagnostics companies with universities, academic medical centers, and the scientific and medical genetics communities in a 2-year period, 1991–1992. We noted extensive connections between the for-profit sector and academia. At least 17% of high-ranking personnel and 85% of consultants for the companies had one or more academic ties. At least 68% of the companies had one or more business agreements with at least one university or academic medical center. These results raise many issues regarding the delivery of genetic medicine and the structure and function of academic medical genetics centers.     

Cognitive and projective measures of differentiation and their relationship to empathy

The present investigation compared cognitive and projective methods of assessing “differentiation,” Witkin's Embedded Figures Test (EFT) and Blatt's Concept of the Object Scale (COS), and reexamined expectations concerning the relationship between level of differentiation and capacity for empathy. Whether lesser or greater differentiation would promote empathy was of specific interest. Two forms of empathy were investigated, an “affective” form assessed by the Mehrabian Empathy Scale and a “cognitive” form assessed by the Hogan Empathy Scale. Expected sex differences in differentiation and empathy were also investigated. Results demonstrated consonance between COS and EFT measures of differentiation within the male sample only (p < .05). Individuals classified by EFT as relatively less differentiated (“field dependent”) produced more part object responses (p < .02) and those classified as more differentiated (“field independent”) showed a trend toward more whole object responses (p < .10) on the COS. Associations between measures of differentiation and empathy reached significance or showed trends in the male group only. Men with relatively lesser differentiation on the EFT (“field dependent”) showed greater “affective empathy” (p < .10) and men with greater differentiation on the COS showed greater “cognitive” empathy (p < .05). Women demonstrated higher levels of “affective” empathy than men (p < .001).     

Predictive validation of an insurance agent support person selection battery

This study investigated the predictive validity of a selection battery for insurance agent support persons. The selection battery included cognitive tests, personality scales, and biodata scales. Predictor data were collected as part of the agent support person selection process. Behavior summary scale ratings made by immediate supervisors of agent support persons were used as criteria in this study. Uncorrected correlations for six matched predictor composite-criterion dimension combinations identified in a previous concurrent validation study (Ashworth, Barge, Dunnette, & Carter, 1987) ranged from .17 (p<. 01) to .28 (p< .01) (M=.21, N=357).     

Spatial problem solving: The integration of independently learned cognitive maps

The process of mentally integrating separate regions of a layout into a unified representation is a critical component in generating inferred spatial information. Blindfolded subjects learned two different paths by tactual exploration. The subjects were then given information that permitted them to integrate the two cognitive maps of the paths into one map. In Experiment I, the speed and accuracy of originally learned and inferred movements within a path were equivalent, whereas inferred movements between the two paths were significantly slower and less accurate. In Experiment 2, the subjects could request additional training on the paths before they were given the integration information, and they also rated how well they knew the path on which they were tested. When the subjects judged that they remembered all or most of the path information, movements between two paths and within one path were performed with the same accuracy. The equivalent accuracy of all the movements suggests that cognitive integration can generate an accurate representation of an integrated layout when the path information is recalled.     

An investigation of some hypotheses concerning rape and murder

The study compared three groups of incarcerated criminals, including 40 men convicted of rape, 40 convicted of murder (of another male) and 40 sentenced for property offenses. A number of personality and attitude scales, behavioral records and a binocular rivalry test were used to test various hypotheses concerning rape and murder. Rapists and murderers did not differ on general control of aggressive behavior but both showed more control than convicted felons. In the binocular rivalry task rapists and murderers were less prone to perceive sexuality than property felons, but the three groups did not differ on perceived aggression toward women. Rapists and murderers were more prone to deny feminine traits than property felons. Rapists had heterosexual experience with more partners than property felons. The three groups did not differ on attitudes toward women or on disinhibition as a mode of sensation seeking. In general, rapists resemble murderers more than ordinary felons and the evidence does not support hypotheses that characterize them as significantly more hostile toward women than are other types of criminals.     

Biochemical correlates of personality traits in normals: An exploratory study

This study attempted to identify biochemical systems associated with the personality dimensions of Extraversion (E), Neuroticism (N), Psychoticism (P), Sensation Seeking (SS) and Impulsivity (Imp). The subjects were 43 normal volunteers who volunteered to take a battery of psychological tests and allow investigators to obtain samples of blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for biochemical assessment.Substantial positive correlations were found between CSF norepinephrine (NE), MHPG (the principal metabolite of NE), DBH (an enzyme involved in the production of NE) and plasma MHPG and DBH; all of these are regarded, in some part, as putative indicators of central noradrenergic activity. After partialling out the influences of age, height and weight, a number of significant relationships were found between psychological traits and biochemical variables. Extraversion correlated positively and introversion and neuroticism correlated negatively with CSF Ca. Neuroticism also correlated negatively with plasma MHPG. Ego Strength (inversely related to Neurotic Introversion), P and Disinhibitory SS correlated negatively with CSF cort. General SS correlated negatively with CSF NE and plasma DBH, and these correlations were significant in both males and females, as well as in the total group. The results are consistent with some biological models of personality, but suggest the need for modification in others.     

Role selection in the service of self-presentation

Two experiments were conducted to examine the general hypothesis that a person’s behavior in a social situation is a function of the kind of impression he wants to make on the other person, and that the kind of impression that he wants to make is influenced by the characteristics of the other person. Two experiments were conducted in which male subjects anticipated interaction with either an attractive female (attractive condition), an unattractive female (unattractive condition), or a female whose attractiveness was unknown (control). Each subject first chose either a high, medium, or low status role to enact during the interaction with the female. He then indicated the role which most closely corresponded to his true role. In Experiment I, role choices were significantly biased in the direction of higher status roles in the attractive condition but not in the unattractive or control conditions. These findings were partially replicated in Experiment II, but difference was shown to be a consequence of the fact that the experimenter was an attractive female. The subjects biased their reports of true role status in the direction of higher status, thus leaving little room for change in the selection of role to be enacted during the social interaction. These findings are consistent with the general hypothesis and with exchange theory predictions.