The functional independence of response latency and accuracy: Implications for the concept of conceptual tempo

Kagan (1965a) developed the concepts of impulsive and reflective cognitive styles (conceptual tempo) to add a new dimension to the understanding and assessment of human intelligence. Although latency (the principal component of conceptual tempo) is negatively correlated with academic performance, it may not be necessary to modify latency in order to modify accuracy. With 40 disadvantaged preschool children, it was found that reinforcing long latencies in choice tasks did not increase accuracy and vice versa, and that reinforcing both long latencies and accuracy was no more effective than reinforcing accuracy alone. These data were used to question the usefulness of the construct of conceptual tempo.This article is based on a master's thesis prepared by the first author under the supervision of the second author.     

‘... That too.’ A Review of Dimitar Denkovs's Martin Heidegger – An Ontology of the Tragic

Studies in East European Thought -     

Arguments,Meta-arguments,and Metadialogues: A Reconstruction of Krabbe,Govier, and Woods

Krabbe (2003, in F.H. van Eemeren, J.A. Blair, C.A. Willard and A.F. Snoeck Henkemans (eds.), Proceedings of the Fifth Conference of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation, Sic Sat, Amsterdam, pp. 641–644) defined a metadialogue as a dialogue about one or more dialogues, and a ground-level dialogue as a dialogue that is not a metadialogue. Similarly, I define a meta-argument as an argument about one or more arguments, and a ground-level argument as one which is not a meta-argument. Krabbe (1995, in F.H van Eemeren, R. Grootendorst, J.A. Blair, C.A. Willard and A.F. Snoeck Henkemans (eds.), Proceedings of the Third ISSA Conference on Argumentation, Sic Sat, Amsterdam, pp. 333–344) showed that formal-fallacy criticism (and more generally, fallacy criticism) consists of metadialogues, and that such metadialogues can be profiled in ways that lead to their proper termination or resolution. I reconstruct Krabbe’s metadialogical account into monolectical, meta-argumentative terminology by describing three-types of meta-arguments corresponding to the three ways of proving formal invalidity he studied: the trivial logic-indifferent method; the method of counterexample situation; and the method of formal paraphrase. A fourth type of meta-argument corresponds to what Oliver (1967, Mind 76, 463–478), Govier (1985, Informal Logic 7, 27–33), and Copi (1986) call refutation by logical analogy. A fifth type of meta-argument represents my reconstruction of arguments by parity of reasoning studied by Woods and Hudak (1989, Informal Logic 11, 125–139). Other particular meta-arguments deserving future study are Hume’s critique of the argument from design in the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, and Mill’s initial argument in The Subjection of Women about the importance of established custom and general feeling vis-à-vis argumentation.     

Parent Prediction of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Infants at Risk: A Follow-up Study

Later-born siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder are considered at biological risk for autism spectrum disorder and the broader phenotype. Early screening may detect first signs of autism spectrum disorder and expedite diagnosis and early intervention. In this follow-up study, we re-examine a validated second-degree autism spectrum disorder screener for children at biological risk of autism spectrum disorder, the parent observation of early markers scale. Using available follow-up information up to age 13 years, 110 children (the original 108 infants plus 2 infants recruited after the completion of the original study) were divided into three groups: diagnosed group (n?=?13), lost diagnosis group (n?=?5), and undiagnosed group (n?=?92). The parent observation of early markers scale continued to show acceptable predictive validity. The parent observation of early markers scale total scores and mean number of elevated items were significantly higher in the diagnosed group than the undiagnosed group. The lost-diagnosis group did not differ from the undiagnosed group on parent observation of early markers scale total scores and elevated items at any age, but the lost-diagnosis group had significantly lower total scores, and number of elevated items than the diagnosed group starting at 18 months. Both autism spectrum disorder core and subsidiary behaviors differentiated the diagnosed and undiagnosed groups from 9 to 36 months of age. We hereby provide further evidence that the parent observation of early markers scale may serve as a low-cost early screener for autism spectrum disorder in at-risk children and pinpoint specific developmental ,and behavioral problems that may be amenable to very early intervention.     

Auditory hindsight bias

People who know the outcome of an event tend to overestimate their own prior knowledge or others' na?ve knowledge of it. This hindsight bias pervades cognition, lending the world an unwarranted air of inevitability. In four experiments, we showed how knowing the identities of words causes people to overestimate others' na?ve ability to identify moderately to highly degraded spoken versions of those words. We also showed that this auditory hindsight bias occurs despite people's efforts to avoid it. We discuss our findings in the context of communication, in which speakers overestimate the clarity of their message and listeners overestimate their understanding of the message.     

Behavioral Health Adjustment in Reserve Component Soldiers During a Noncombat Deployment to Africa

This study benchmarked rates of mental health problems, adjustment difficulties, and perceptions of unit climate among 505 U.S. soldiers (primarily National Guard) deployed to the Horn of Africa in 2012. In addition, the study examined whether differences across these outcomes exist between combat veterans (n = 239) and noncombat veterans (n = 242). Rates of mental health problems among soldiers on this noncombat deployment were lower than rates typically found among soldiers on combat deployments. Furthermore, soldiers without previous combat experience had lower rates of mental health problems and aggression than combat veterans. Similar differences were evident when adjustment difficulties and unit climate variables were compared. Although combat veterans could be valuable in training new soldiers, the results of this study indicate that combat veterans may need more targeted resources to facilitate their adjustment if they are to be optimally utilized.     

Preferential processing of visual trauma-film reminders predicts subsequent intrusive memories

This study used an analogue design to test the hypothesis that preferential processing of visual trauma reminders in the aftermath of a stressful or traumatic event gives rise to subsequent intrusive memories. Shortly after the presentation of a stressful film fragment, participants (n=36) were asked to detect neutral targets (rotated buildings or nature scenes) in a single target rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) paradigm. During half of the streams, the target was preceded by a distracter. The distracters consisted of visual images extracted from an earlier presented stressful film (e.g., persons and objects that figured in the film). The degree of interference by these film reminders predicted subsequent intrusions recorded in a one-week diary. The results provide evidence that a deficient ability to obtain attentional control over perceptual “trauma” reminders during goal-directed behaviour may set people at risk for persistent intrusive memories. Implications for research investigating attentional bias and intrusive memories in context of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are discussed.