Book Reviews

M eier , C arl A lfred Personality: The Individuation Process in the Light of C.G. Jung's Typology
K ast , V erena . Folktales as Therapy
N eumann , E rich . The Fear of the Feminine: and Other Essays on Feminine Psychology
E l S affar , R uth A nthony . Rapture Encaged: the Suppression of the Feminine in Western Culture
S tein M urray , & H ollwitz , J ohn (eds.). Psyche at Work: Workplace Applications of Jungian Analytical Psychology
R obertson , R obin . Beginner's Guide to Revelation: a Jungian Interpretation
T hrail , E mma . Retrospect: The Story of an Analysis
U lanov , A nn B elford . The Wizard's Gate: Picturing Consciousness
W alker , S teven F. Jung and the Jungians on Myth: An Introduction
A lexandris , A thina & V aslamatzis , G rigoris , (eds.). Countertransference: Theory, Technique, Teaching
C lulow , C hristopher (ed.). Rethinking Marriage: Public and Private Perspectives     

Are the grammatical sentences of a language a recursive set?

Many believe that the grammatical sentences of a natural language are a recursive set. In this paper I argue that the commonly adduced grounds for this belief are inconclusive, if not simply unsound. Neither the native speaker's ability to classify sentences nor his ability to comprehend them requires it. Nor is there at present any reason to think that decidability has any bearing on first-language acquisition. I conclude that there are at present no compelling theoretical grounds for requiring that transformational grammars enumerate only recursive sets. Hence, the fact that proposed transformational grammars do not satisfy this requirement does not, as some have claimed, represent a shortcoming in current theory.     

Perception and memory loss of item and order information in short-term memory

Recognition probes given before or after a series of letters presented at varying rates were used to evaluate perception and memory loss of order and item information. For both order and item information pre- and postprobe functions converged at fast rates of presentation. Performance decrement at fast rates is attributable to perceptual factors and is greater for order than for item information.     

A study of afterimages generated by monocular and dichoptic viewing

Fragmentation of a prolonged afterimage of a vertical bar viewed monocularly against a background of either horizontal or vertical stripes was investigated. The background of vertical stripes produced greater partial fragmentation of the bar than did the horizontal background. This effect was not found for binocular viewing, in which the afterimage was viewed against a background seen by the other eye. Implications for present theories of fragmentation are discussed.     

Spatial and temporal factors in masking by edges and disks

Increment threshold of a small test probe is found to be elevated by backgrounds of a disk, bar, or luminance step. The spatial parameters that produce maximum masking are found to be essentially similar with the three types of background. The lime course of masking is also found to be similar for the disk and bar background. It is suggested that a fundamentally similar type of visual processing underlies each of the masking situations.     

A convective thermal controller for behavioral experiments

The Convective Thermal Controller (CTC) is designed to provide rapid and precise control of a thermal stimulus for application to behavioral experiments with small animals. Subjects are bathed in one of two continuously recirculating air systems; two valves determine which of the systems play on S. When the systems are stabilized at different temperatures, actuation of the valves can produce an abrupt and stable temperature change in .3 sec. Behavioral observations indicate that escape learning occurs readily; latency decreases monotonically with drive intensity and increases monotonically with reinforcement duration.     

Some factors involved in the comparison of response systems: acquisition, extinction, and transfer of head-poke and lever-press Sidman avoidance

Head poking, a suggested natural escape reaction to shock for the rat, was compared to lever pressing in a Sidman avoidance study. Both responses could be emitted at any time, but only one was effective in a given session. Acquisition and extinction of the two responses were compared under both signalled and unsignalled avoidance. Then, a test for transfer was conducted in which acquisition conditions were re-instated, but the effectiveness of the responses was reversed. Three differences between responses were noted: (a) head poking was superior in reducing shock rates under signalled conditions; (b) head poking was more resistant to extinction, especially under signalled conditions; (c) under unsignalled conditions, animals were unable to learn to head poke if they had previously learned to lever press. Findings a and c were pursued in later experiments. Finding a depended on the location of the warning signal with respect to the response system. When the lever press required approach to the warning signal, the head poke was superior. But when the head poke required approach to the warning signal, the two responses were equally effective. Finding c depended on the absence of feedback for head poke during transfer. Two conclusions are offered: first, the two responses appear to obey the same laws when their topographical differences are taken into account. Second, response feedback appears to be more critical in transfer than in original acquisition.     

Exploring Divergent Patterns in Racial Identity Profiles Between Caribbean Black American and African American Adolescents: The Links to Perceived Discrimination and Psychological Concerns

Using cluster analyses, this study explored the relations among racial identity, perceived discrimination, and psychological concerns among 189 Caribbean Black American and African American adolescents. Findings showed that for all participants, less mature racial identity profiles were significantly related to perceived discrimination and psychological concerns. However, nuances in racial identity profiles between Caribbean Black American and African American participants suggest subtle ethnic group differences in racial identity development. Implications for practitioners and research are discussed. Usando análisis cluster, este estudio exploró las relaciones entre identidad racial, discriminación percibida y preocupaciones psicológicas en 189 adolescentes afroamericanos y americanos negros caribeños. Los hallazgos mostraron que, para todos los participantes, los perfiles de identidad racial menos maduros estaban significativamente relacionados con una discriminación percibida y preocupaciones psicológicas. Sin embargo, los matices de los perfiles de identidad racial entre los participantes afroamericanos y americanos negros caribeños sugieren unas diferencias sutiles entre ambos grupos étnicos en el desarrollo de la identidad racial. Se discuten las implicaciones para practicantes e investigadores.     

Distinguishing CEOs from Top Level Management: A Profile Analysis of Individual Differences,Career Paths and Demographics

Purpose

Identifying the characteristics of chief executive officers (CEOs) has been a longstanding goal in leadership and individual differences research. The purpose of this exploratory study was to consider which individual difference and career path variables differentiate CEOs from other senior managers.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Participants (N = 1152) were UK-based senior managers (n = 1040) and CEOs (n = 112) who completed a self-report measure of the Five Factor Model of personality (NEO-PI-R), a measure of cognitive ability (graduate and management aptitude test), and answered a number of additional questions on their career paths as part of development centres. Analyses comprised inter-individual mean difference tests, intra-individual external profile analysis and logistic regression.

Findings

Results indicated that personality facets of impulsiveness, vulnerability, activity and dutifulness showed the largest mean differences. No significant effects were found for the criterion profile pattern, but significant effects were found for profile level. Of the additional predictors, career path variables were the strongest predictors of CEO status.

Implications

The combination of significant effects across domains of individual differences and career path variables emphasizes the importance of a multivariate approach in the study of leadership, top management teams and career progression.

Originality/Value

The current study combines personality, cognitive ability, demographic and career path variables, and applies intra-individual methodologies to explore the characteristics of the very top level of organisational hierarchy.

     

Effects of Lipopolysaccharide on Consolidation of Partial Learning in the Y-Maze

Research on consolidation of long-term memory suggests that acute immune system activation induced by endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) may disrupt consolidation of newly acquired learning. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to perform a simple Y-maze task and were immediately afterwards administered LPS (15 microg/kg) or saline. After a seven-day interval, subjects were returned to the Y-maze and were retrained to criterion. It was found that subjects treated with saline required significantly fewer trials to relearn the task relative to the LPS group and a no-partial-learning control group, which themselves did not differ. These results are most readily explained in terms of a disruptive effect of acute immune system activation on consolidation of newly induced acquired memories.