A preferential matching problem

A matching method proposed by Dr. C. E. Stuart is presented in some detail and the essentials for a test of significance are derived. This method differs from the older matching methods in that partial credit is allowed for a near miss. A slight variation of the method permits the matching of one item withM sets ofn traits.     

The perceptual determinants of person construal: reopening the social-cognitive toolbox

Guided by a heuristic account of social-cognitive functioning, researchers have attempted to identify the cognitive benefits that derive from a categorical approach to person construal. While revealing, this work has overlooked the fact that, prior to the application of categorical thinking as an economizing mental tool, perceivers must first extract category-triggering information from available stimulus cues. It is possible, therefore, that basic perceptual processes may also contribute to people's propensity to view others in a category-based manner. This possibility was explored in 3 experiments in which the authors investigated the ease with which perceivers can extract categorical and identity-based knowledge from faces under both optimal and suboptimal (i.e., inverted faces, blurred faces, rapidly presented faces) processing conditions. The results confirmed that categorical knowledge is extracted from faces more efficiently than identity-related knowledge, a finding that underscores the importance of perceptual operations in the generation of categorical thinking.     

Simultaneous visual discrimination in Asian elephants

Two experiments explored the behavior of 20 Asian elephants (Elephas aximus) in simultaneous visual discrimination tasks. In Experiment 1, 7 Burmese logging elephants acquired a white+/black- discrimination, reaching criterion in a mean of 2.6 sessions and 117 discrete trials, whereas 4 elephants acquired a black+/white- discrimination in 5.3 sessions and 293 trials. One elephant failed to reach criterion in the white+/black- task in 9 sessions and 549 trials, and 2 elephants failed to reach criterion in the black+/white- task in 9 sessions and 452 trials. In Experiment 2, 3 elephants learned a large/small transposition problem, reaching criterion within a mean of 1.7 sessions and 58 trials. Four elephants failed to reach criterion in 4.8 sessions and 193 trials. Data from both the black/white and large/small discriminations showed a surprising age effect, suggesting that elephants beyond the age of 20 to 30 years either may be unable to acquire these visual discriminations or may require an inordinate number of trials to do so. Overall, our results cannot be readily reconciled with the widespread view that elephants possess exceptional intelligence.     

The look of love: gaze shifts and person perception

Gaze direction is a vital communicative channel through which people transmit information to each other. By signaling the locus of social attention, gaze cues convey information about the relative importance of objects, including other people, in the environment. For the most part, this information is communicated via patterns of gaze direction, with gaze shifts signaling changes in the objects of attention. Noting the relevance of gaze cues in social cognition, we speculated that gaze shifts may modulate people's evaluations of others. We investigated this possibility by asking participants to judge the likability (Experiment 1) and physical attractiveness (Experiment 2) of targets displaying gaze shifts indicative of attentional engagement or disengagement with the participants. As expected, person evaluation was moderated by the direction of gaze shifts, but only when the judgment under consideration was relevant to participants. We consider how and when gaze shifts may modulate person perception and its associated behavioral products.     

Look into my eyes: gaze direction and person memory

The current research considered the effects of gaze direction on a fundamental aspect of social cogition: person memory. It was anticipated that a person's direction of gaze (i.e., direct or averted) would impact his or her subsequent memorability, such that recognition would be enhanced for targets previously displaying direct gaze. In Experiment 1, participants were presented with faces displaying either direct or averted gaze in a person-classification (i.e., conceptual) task. Then, in a surprise memory test, they were required to report whether a presented face had been seen before. As expected, a recognition advantage was observed for targets displaying direct gaze during the initial classification task. This finding was replicated and extended in a second experiment in which participants initially reported the spatial location (i.e., perceptual task) of each face. We consider the implications of these findings for basic aspects of social-cognitive functioning and person perception.     

An examination and replication of the psychometric properties of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument--second edition (MAYSI-2) among adolescents in detention settings

There is a high prevalence of psychological disorders among adolescents in detention facilities. The need for a simple, effective screening tool led to the development of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI) and its successor, the MAYSI-2. This study evaluated the MAYSI-2 psychometric properties based on the records of 704 youths evaluated at intake to detention facilities. In addition to factor structure, the study evaluated test-retest reliability and concurrent external validity. Results were generally encouraging in terms of the use of MAYSI-2 in detention facilities, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Psychoanalytische Therapie

A statement of the professional umbrella society DGPT is presented that was formulated in cooperation with the various professional societies and with the German Society of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy and the Society of Child and Adolescent Therapy. The statement is a reaction to the public claim for effective evidence of psychotherapy and takes the opportunity for a comprehensive presentation of this field. In the introduction Alf Gerlach, as chairman of the umbrella society at the time of the formulation of this statement and now executive chairman responsible for coordinating research, describes the history of the development of the statement.There were two particular moments prompting this statement. On the one hand the Scientific Advisory Board for Psychotherapy as an advisory committee based on the law of psychotherapy, has presented demands for effective evidence that are incompatible with psychoanalysis. Thus, the recognition of psychoanalysis as a treatment method for illnesses was put in doubt. On the other hand, a suggestion was put forward to the Board to recognize psychodynamic psychotherapy as an independent entity. This questioned the unity of the psychotherapeutic field.The statement was passed onto the Scientific Advisory Board last autumn. It is intended for a professional audience and includes answers to important issues of this field. It will have an important role to play in future discussions about professional politics. For this reason, we have decided to begin the present issue of our journal with this statement and thus to open a wide discussion forum.

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Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychoanalyse, Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Tiefenpsychologie e.V. (DGPT)In Verbindung mit:Deutsche Gesellschaft für Analytische Psychologie (DGAP)Deutsche Gesellschaft für Individualpsychologie (DGIP)Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychotherapeutische Medizin (DGPM)Deutsche Psychoanalytische Gesellschaft (DPG)Deutsche Psychoanalytische Vereinigung (DPV)Vereinigung Analytischer Kinder- und Jugendlichen-Psychotherapeuten (VAKJP)Redaktion: Stephan Hau und Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber

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Predicting risk sensitivity in humans and lower animals: risk as variance or coefficient of variation

This article examines the statistical determinants of risk preference. In a meta-analysis of animal risk preference (foraging birds and insects), the coefficient of variation (CV), a measure of risk per unit of return, predicts choices far better than outcome variance, the risk measure of normative models. In a meta-analysis of human risk preference, the superiority of the CV over variance in predicting risk taking is not as strong. Two experiments show that people's risk sensitivity becomes strongly proportional to the CV when they learn about choice alternatives like other animals, by experiential sampling over time. Experience-based choices differ from choices when outcomes and probabilities are numerically described. Zipf's law as an ecological regularity and Weber's law as a psychological regularity may give rise to the CV as a measure of risk.     

Amplitude scaling in a bimanual circle-drawing task: pattern switching and end-effector variability

The authors manipulated movement amplitude in a bimanual circle-tracing task performed by 11 participants. With pacing frequency fixed, the systematic increase and decrease of circle diameter within a trial induced phase transitions from the asymmetric (33% of trials) to the symmetric bimanual circle-tracing pattern; the transitions resulted from a loss of stability in the asymmetric pattern. Tracing frequency varied inversely with circle diameter so that end-effector variability was minimized in a set of self-paced trials in which the circle diameter in a trial was fixed. In the amplitude-scaling trials, end-effector variability varied directly with circle diameter, a consistent speed-accuracy tradeoff. The results support the conclusion that movement amplitude is a nonspecific control parameter. The findings are discussed with reference to several factors, e.g., tactile feedback, the recruitment and suppression of biomechanical degrees of freedom, and the role those factors may play in stabilizing bimanual coordination patterns