The surface form x problem size interaction in cognitive arithmetic: evidence against an encoding locus.

Sixty-four university students received simple addition problems with operands presented as arabic digits (e.g. 2 + 3, 8 + 6) or as English number words (two + three, eight + six). Operands either were displayed simultaneously or sequentially with the left operand appearing 800 ms before the right operand. Consistent with previous findings, word problems were slower than digit problems and this word-format cost was larger for large- than small-number problems. The central question addressed by this experiment concerned whether this Format x Size interaction arises during problem encoding processes or in subsequent retrieval or production processes. In the simultaneous condition, both operands would contribute to format-related differences in encoding, whereas in the sequential condition encoding differences would arise only in connection with the second operand. Critically, however, the Format x Size interaction did not differ between the sequential and simultaneous conditions, although the experiment had ample power to detect such an effect. The results argue that the Format x Size interaction does not arise during encoding, but instead arises during calculation or production processes.     

The Community Response to Rape: Victims' Experiences with the Legal, Medical, and Mental Health Systems

This research examined how the legal, medical, and mental health systems respond to the needs of rape victims. A national random sample of rape victim advocates (N = 168) participated in a phone interview that assessed the resources available to victims in their communities. as well as the specific experiences of the most recent rape victim with which they had completed work. Results from hierarchical and iterative cluster analysis revealed three patterns in victims' experiences with the legal, medical, and mental health systems. One group of victims had relatively positive experiences with all three systems, a second group had beneficial outcomes with only the medical systems, and the final group had difficult encounters with all three systems. Multinominal logistic regression was then used to evaluate an ecological model predicting cluster membership. Community-level factors as well as features of the assault and characteristics of the victims predicted unique variance in victims' outcomes with the legal, medical, and mental health systems. These findings provide empirical support for a basic tenet of ecological theory: environmental structures and practices influence individual outcomes. Implications for ecological theory and interventions to improve the community response to rape victims' needs are discussed.     

Prehension in children and adults: The effects of object size

Studies of visually goal-directed arm movements in adults have shown that various task constraints such as intention, context, and object properties affect different kinematic characteristics of the movement components (Jeannerod, 1984; MacKenzie et al., 1987; Marteniuk et al., 1987, 1990; Paulignan et al., 1991; Soechting, 1984). The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of varying object size on the kinematics of reaching and grasping in both children and adults. Five children aged 9–10 years and five adults aged 18–24 years reached for and grasped three different sized cubes. Results revealed that object size had the same effect on the planning and control of reaching and grasping movements in children as in adults. Unlike adults, however, children in this age range spent more time in deceleration and reached peak aperture much later in the movement trajectory. The results were interpreted as immature integration of the visual and proprioceptive systems in 9–10 year olds. The implications of these findings for further examining developmental trends in prehension are discussed.PsycINFO classification: 2330     

Relationship of Parental Alcoholism to Family-of-Origin Functioning and Current Marital Satisfaction

This study examined the relationship between parental alcoholism, family-of-origin functioning, and current marital satisfaction. Results indicated family-of-origin functioning is positively related to marital satisfaction. In addition, individuals with alcoholic parents reported lower family-of-origin functioning, and an interaction between gender and parental alcoholism was found for marital satisfaction.     

Reaction time and movement time as measures of stimulus evaluation and response processes

Reaction time has been divided into the time to initiate a response (RT) and the time to execute the motor response (MT) in many chronometric studies of intelligence. Our purpose was to determine which cognitive processes are reflected by RT and MT. To accomplish this, the latency of the P300 wave of the event-related potential was recorded concurrently with RT and MT measures in three experiments. P300 latency reflects the duration of stimulus evaluation relatively independently of response processes. In the first experiment, a Sternberg memory task was employed to manipulate stimulus classification requirements. In the second, the subjects' emphasis on either speed or accuracy of responding was examined during a task that also manipulated stimulus evaluation time. In the third experiment, a Stroop-like task was used to examine response processes. RT and P300 latency varied with manipulations of stimulus evaluation time, whereas MT varied with difficulty of motor execution. MT was also affected by stimulus classification processes. Both RT and MT were sensitive to processes involved in response bias and preparation. The possibility that the correlations of RT and MT with measures of intelligence are due to effects on a common stage of information processing cannot be rejected in the light of these results.     

Of Orchids,insects, and natural theology: Timing,tactics, and cultural critique in darwin's post-“Origin” strategy

This essay examines the relation of Darwin's orchids book to a central persuasive flaw in theOrigin: Its inability to give variation sufficient presence to break the hold of design in the mind of the reader. Darwin characterized the orchids book as a flank movement on the enemy; this essay identifies the enemy as Paley's natural theology and the flank as thetopoi, maxims, and habits of perception that led Darwin's colleagues and contemporaries to see design in nature. Moreover, this essay examines three aspects of rhetorical timing pertinent toOrchids - time askairos, time as adequate duration, and time as transformation - and then relates those features to Robert Cox's Heideggerian logic of repetition, disavowal, and transcendence. The essay concludes with implications of the tactical and temporal aspects of Darwin's reasoning for understanding both the logic of science and of Darwin as a rhetorical artist.An earlier version of this essay appeared in the Proceedings of the Sixth SCA/AFA Conference on Argumentation.     

Ontogeny of behavioral arousal: the role of environmental stimuli

During the course of ontogenesis the developing rat has been reported to pass through a transient period of intense behavioral arousal which peaks at 15 days of age, a phenomenon that has been interpreted to reflect a sequential caudal to rostral development of excitatory and inhibitory systems in the mammalian brain. In a series of four experiments it was shown (a) that this period of intense hyperactivity occurs only when the animal is tested alone in an unfamiliar environment, that the degree of arousal is proportional to the dissimilarity between the home cage and the test environment, and that isolation per se is insufficient to elicit the arousal response; (b) that environmental temperature has a minimal influence on the degree of behavioral arousal seen in either familiar of unfamiliar environments; (c) that unlearned responses to pheromonal or other naturally occurring nest odors do not suppress the high levels of locomotor activity evoked by unfamiliar environments in the 15-day old rat pup; and (d) that it is fear or distress evoked by the unfamiliar environment rather than curiosity that underlies this developmental phenomenon. It is concluded that the sequential increase and decrease in locomotor activity that occurs during ontogenesis cannot be used to support the principle of caudal to rostral development of excitatory and inhibitory centers in the central nervous system.     

The primary personality factors of Hawaiian, middle adolescents

To determine whether the primary personality factors of Hawaiian, middle adolescents were the same as those Cattell postulated in 1970, for adolescents on the mainland of the United States, and in 1974 for adolescents in Germany, a personality questionnaire representing those factors completed by 694 Hawaiian, middle adolescents (M age = 15.9 yr.) was factor analyzed. Despite the analysis adhering closely to the recommendations of Cattell stated in 1973 and 1978, the eight factors derived are not the set of primary factors postulated for the other populations. Six of them do appear to be, however, primary factors within a set of seven reported in 1988 for a younger population of Hawaiian, early adolescents. In addition, these six factors also appear to be similar to the major constructs in the psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Horney.     

The effect of repeated testing on judgement bias in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris)

Animal Cognition - Judgement bias paradigms are increasingly being used as a measure of affective state in dogs. Approach to an ambiguous stimulus is commonly used as a measure of affect, however,...     

Social representation of aggression as an explanation of gender differences: A preliminary study

Academic theories of aggression can be dichotomized as expressive (in which aggression results from a failure of self control) or instrumental (in which aggression represents the exercise of control over others). We propose that the two sexes hold a parallel distinction in their social representations of aggression; women subscribe to an expressive model, men to an instrumental model. A 20-item questionnaire was generated by systematic comparison of the two theories with respect to their differential predictions concerning perceived social value, proximate causes, relevant emotions and congnitions, form, aim, social facilitators, and reputational aspects of aggression. Factor analysis indicated a first factor of expressive-instrumental aggression on which all items had significant loadings. A significant correlation (.46) was found between gender and questionnaire score confirming the hypothesis. The notion of gender-specific social representations is discussed in terms of its ability to coherently interpret patterns of differences in aggression found in experimental and observational studies.