Consciousness of attention and expectancy as reflected in event-related potentials and reaction times

The effects of conscious expectancies and attention on event-related potentials (ERP) and choice reaction times (RT) and their modulation by stimulus sequence were studied. Subjects retrospectively reported their expectancy of, and attention to, the terminal tones of short series. ERPs and RTs showed the usual sequential effects that were modulated by practice. As ratings were affected by only a few of the stimulus sequence, conscious access to sequence-based expectancy or attention appears to be fragmentary. Increased P300 amplitude with attention indicates conscious access to processing capacity. RTs and P300 latencies suggest stimulus processing time to decrease with sequence-based and consciously accessible expectancy. Differential effects of stimulus sequences and conscious expectancies on P300 amplitude indicate influences of two varieties of expectancy.     

The process of learning from small-scale maps

Two experiments are reported that test the general hypothesis that learning from a small scale map proceeds in a global to local fashion, structured by the spatial subdivisions present in the map. In Experiment 1, a fairly simple map depicting a single fictitious country containing provinces and cities was used as the to-be-learned stimulus. Evidence for a provincial to capital to city learning process was found, with map recall best when subjects used an imagery learning strategy. In Experiment 2, a more complex map containing multiple countries, with provincial and city elements present was used. The global to local learning process was replicated, as well as the beneficial effects of an imagery study strategy. Results are discussed in terms of progressive image differentiation and total information set size.     

Principia Ecologica: Eco-principles as a conceptual framework for a new ethics in science and technology

As a result of contemporary environmental problems, scientists are focusing their interests on developing a greater understanding of nature. Described in this paper is a view of life and the environment as a case of complex systems analysis; this analysis results in a series of general principles which are manifested in life and bioprocesses. These ‘eco-principles’ will be very useful as guidelines for the eco-restructuring of technology as well as the reorientation of human activities towards a sustainable lifestyle which includes the economy, society, management of industry, the university and even the church. The goal is a society which will be in harmony with the laws of nature (‘Principia Ecologica’). The author is a bioprocess engineer interested in achieving a transition from ‘biotech’ to ‘ecotech’.     

Signs of change in the affective context of dreams and the psychoanalytic process]

The author inquires whether dreams related in psychoanalysis can be indicator of curative change, and if so what affective conditions go to making this possible. To answer this question convincingly, he puts forward a new model of dream generation. It proceeds from the relation between cognitive elements, regulatory affective processes and species of interaction represented in individual dream situations. Such a model requires a new theory of mental representation, affective processes and memory. For precise analysis of change processes, Moser has recourse to a coding system for dream content. Finally he compares change processes in dreams with those in the psychoanalytic situation and suggests hypotheses on the extent to which changes in dreams can be indicators of changes in the psychoanalytic process.     

Exploring biases in self-reported exercising behavior heuristics based on recency, frequency, and preference

This study investigated biases in the recall of frequency and duration of physical exercise. Following an initial computer-administered self-report interview, 77 subjects maintained diaries for four weeks, in which they recorded the day, time, duration, and type of each exercising bout. Then the interview was administered again, and subjects recalled they exercised more often and for shorter durations than they recorded in their diaries. While social desirability may explain the overestimation of the number of days exercised, the underestimation of exercise duration poses a puzzle. The heuristic of frequency, recency, or prototype could not account for this underestimation. Alternative explanations are explored. Self-reported estimates of exercising duration and frequency should not be taken at face-value until the processes and heuristics used to record and recall exercising behaviors are better understood.     

The Behavioral Genetics of Alcoholism

Twin and adoption studies consistently implicate the importance of genetic influences on alcoholism risk, especially in men. Heritability estimates suggest that approximately 50% to 60% of the variability in alcoholism liability is associated with genetic factors. Although there has been progress in identifying specific genes that predispose toward alcoholism, we know relatively little about the nature of the genetic influence on alcoholism risk. We also know relatively little about how genetic factors combine with environmental factors to affect alcoholism risk. Genotype-environment interaction models posit that alcoholism occurs when individuals both inherit a vulnerability to develop alcoholism and are reared in a provocative environment. Such models hold great promise for understanding alcoholism's etiology.