Belief systems and attitudes toward the death penalty and other punishments

This study focused on the relationship of belief systems as a configural construct and conservatism-liberalism to attitudes toward the death penalty and other punishments for offenses of varying severity Extrapersonalists, the most concretely functioning of the four conceptual or belief systems posited by Harvey, Hunt, and Schroder (1961), were most in favor of the death penalty They also endorsed the most severe punishment for a variety of crimes, to a particularly greater extent than did representatives of either of the two more abstractly functioning systems The belief dimensions of Openness, Evaluativeness, and Complexity, as well as the frequency of church attendance, correlated more highly and consistently with attitudes toward punishment than did either Conservatism-Liberalism or gender Both of the latter variables failed to correlate with a number of the outcome variables and related at only low levels to the others The greater predictive power of a configural conception of personality or belief systems over a unidimensional conception seems to have been demonstrated Configural concepts may additionally be generally superior to multidimensional concepts treated linearly     

A comparison of three predictors of an individual's memory performance: the individual's feeling of knowing versus the normative feeling of knowing versus base-rate item difficulty

Distinctions are drawn between different predictors of an individual's memory performance, with emphasis on the notion of privileged access to idiosyncratic knowledge. Research is reported in which undergraduates attempted to recall the answers to general-information questions, then made feeling-of-knowing judgments on nonrecalled items, and subsequently had a criterion test (relearning, perceptual identification, or one of two versions of recognition). For predicting an individual's criterion performance, the individual's own feeling-of-knowing predictions were intermediate between two kinds of normative predictions: The individual's feeling-of-knowing predictions were more accurate than predictions derived from normative feeling-of-knowing ratings but were less accurate than predictions derived from base-rate item difficulty (normative probabilities of correct recall). Subsidiary analyses showed that factors other than unreliability are responsible for the partial inaccuracy of the individual's feeling of knowing. Ramifications are discussed for possible ways to improve the accuracy of an individual's feeling-of-knowing predictions.     

Common response processing and psychological refractoriness

This experiment examined whether structural considerations, that is the functional closeness of limb control centres (Kinsbourne and Hicks 1978), have a role to play in common processing models of psychological refractoriness. A typical double stimulation paradigm was used (Kantowitz 1974). On experimental trials, subjects responded with the right hand (RT1) to an auditory signal (0.80 probability). After a varied interstimulus interval (ISI) of 100, 200, 300 or 700 msec, one of three lights corresponding to one of the other limbs provided the signal for the second response (RT2). Control trials for RT1 and RT2 involved both stimuli, but subjects were required to make only one response. Results indicated that experimental RT1 was lengthened considerably over control values. While typical double stimulation effects were found at short ISIs, that is RT2 was lengthened, RT2 at long ISIs was actually faster than double stimulation control values. Although the RT results were not in a pattern that would be predicted by functional distance (Kinsbourne and Hicks 1978), within subject correlations of RT1 and RT2 by limb condition suggest that structural considerations may have a role to play. While within subject correlations were positive at all levels of ISI, they decreased as the interval between the two signals increased. The implications of these results for common processing models are discussed.     

Cognitive dysfunction in compulsive checkers: Further explorations

Recent evidence suggests a relationship between certain memory deficits and compulsive-checking behavior. The present study explores this relationship in the context of several additional memory capacities not yet investigated. Using the Maudsley Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory and the Everyday Checking Behavior Scale four groups of Ss were identified: (1) frequent checkers, (2) occasional checkers, (3) infrequent checkers and (4) noncheckers. Consistent with previous research, a memory-for-actions task indicated a deficit among compulsive checkers. Furthermore, checking status was found to be negatively related to memory functioning as measured by the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). This memory deficit was most pronounced on the Logical Memory subtest of the WMS. Checkers appear to have difficulty recalling details of meaningfully linked sequences, either presented in narrative form or engaged in personally. Although the reasons for these checking-related deficits are not clear, a complete understanding of checking phenomena will involve an appreciation of the role played by memory deficits.     

THE IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING ON EDUCATIONAL AND PERSONNEL SELECTION IN AFRICA

Psychological testing for Education and Personnel selection is of great importance in the efforts by many African countries to ensure that suitable candidates are selected for education beyond the primary school level and for training for different employment. Major investigations directed to this need have been in the area of adapting tests already available in Western countries and determining the reliability and predictive validity of battery of tests so adapted and their tryout in African schools to determine their efficiency as tools for selection.