Additivity of loudness across critical bands: A critical test

The use of magnitude estimation as well as axiomatic measurement theory has led to the suggestion that loudness adds across critical bands. In the present paper, we challenge this postulate by applying a more sensitive methodology, based on Falmagne’s (1976) random conjoint measurement procedure. A necessary condition for additivity of loudness was investigated in tone complexes consisting of 2-kHz and 5-kHz (resp. 3-kHz) components; the results showed systematic deviations from additivity. We argue that these deviations are due to asymmetric masking of the higher component by the lower one, and we propose a tentative quantitative model to account for the data. Such a model is in line with results from tone-on-tone masking, which show masking to be effective over a range of several critical bands.     

Linguistic Phenomena and Language Selection in the REM Dreams of German-English Bilinguals

Sixteen German-English bilinguals were studied in a sleep laboratory for four nonconsecutive nights each. Half were native English speakers living in Zürich, and half native German speakers living in Atlanta. Presleep thought samples were solicited each evening and REM dream reports each night; subjects judged the waking appropriateness of their imagined speech and language phenomena, and also identified waking sources of their dream imagery, the following mornings. Incidences of dreaming and of speech therein generally were similar to those of monolinguals. Whether sessions were conducted in German (two nights) or English (two nights) did directly influence language selection in subjects' dreams. Judged appropriateness of language selection to imagined events was very high for thought samples, and high for REM dreams. Sources for thought samples were generally consonant with the language dominant at study site; for REM dreams this relationship was considerably weaker. Judged waking appropriateness to imagined situations was more strongly related to language selection than was the language reference of the supposed sources of those situations.     

Disordered Communication and Grieving in Deaf Member Families

When a deaf child is born to hearing parents, a grieving process is initiated in the parents. Unresolved grieving over their child's deafness often makes it difficult for hearing parents to accept the importance of signing, thus increasing the child's problems — further source of grief for these parents. Clinical illustrations are provided of (1) the reciprocal relationship between disruption of the mourning process and disturbance of communication between family members, and (2) the transmission of the dysfunctional relationship between hearing parents and deaf children to the subsequent relationship between the deaf children, when they reach adulthood, and their hearing children.     

Relevant consequence and empirical inquiry

A criterion of adequacy is proposed for theories of relevant consequence. According to the criterion, scientists whose deductive reasoning is limited to some proposed subset of the standard consequence relation must not thereby suffer a reduction in scientific competence. A simple theory of relevant consequence is introduced and shown to satisfy the criterion with respect to a formally defined paradigm of empirical inquiry.Research support was provided by the Office of Naval Research under contract No. N00014-89-J-1725 to Osherson and Weinstein, Swiss National Science Foundation under contract No. 21-32399.91 and by a Siemens Corporation grant to Osherson.     

Twenty-five basic theorems in situation and world theory

Conclusion The foregoing set of theorems forms an effective foundation for the theory of situations and worlds. All twenty-five theorems seem to be basic, reasonable principles that structure the domains of properties, relations, states of affairs, situations, and worlds in true and philosophically interesting ways. They resolve 15 of the 19 choice points defined in Barwise (1989) (see Notes 22, 27, 31, 32, 35, 36, 39, 43, and 45). Moreover, important axioms and principles stipulated by situation theorists are derived (see Notes 33, 37, and 38). This is convincing evidence that the foregoing constitutes a theory of situations. Note that worlds are just a special kind of situation, and that the basic theorems of world theory, which were derived in previous work, can still be derived in this situation-theoretic setting. So there seems to be no fundamental incompatibility between situations and worlds — they may peacably coexist in the foundations of metaphysics. The theory may therefore reconcile two research programs that appeared to be heading off in different directions. And we must remind the reader that the general metaphysical principles underlying our theory were not designed with the application to situation theory in mind. This suggests that the general theory and the underlying distinction have explanatory power, for they seem to relate and systematize apparently unrelated phenomena.This research was conducted at the Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI). I would like to thank John Perry for generously supporting my research both at CSLI and in the Philosophy Department at Stanford. I would also like to thank Bernard Linsky, Chris Menzel, Harry Deutsch and Tony Anderson for many worthwhile and interesting suggestions for improving the paper. An earlier version of the paper, more narrowly focused on situation theory, has appeared in Zalta (1991).     

Chronic Stress as a Mediator of Acute Stress: The Case of Hurricane Hugo1

This study explored one mechanism through which acute disaster stress (injury, life threat, property damage, loss) may produce lasting psychological distress (depression, anxiety, somatization, hostility). More specifically, the study examined the mediating roles of seven domains of chronic stress (marital, parental, filial, financial, occupational, ecological, physical) within a sample of 930 disaster victims and controls. The results provided strong support for the hypothesis that chronic stress mediates the long-term effects of acute disaster stress on psychological distress. The main effects of loss, though limited in strength, were completely explained by victims’ higher financial, marital, filial, and physical stress. The effects of injury, though quite strong, were largely mediated by these same domains of chronic stress. Likewise, the effects of life threat were largely mediated by all these domains plus ecological stress. A mediational model was not appropriate for understanding the consequences of property damage because it did not exhibit a main effect on psychological distress.