Note on the least squares solution for the method of successive categories

The problem of estimation in the method of successive categories is reconsidered and a new least squares solution is obtained. An empirical comparison of this solution with Gulliksen's solution is presented.Preparation of this paper has been supported by the Quartermaster Food and Container Institute for the Armed Forces. Views or conclusions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or indorsement of the Department of Defense.     

Comprehension and memory of the literal and figurative meaning of proverbs

Proverbs were used to examine recognition memory for four types of sentence information (figurative meaning, literal meaning, lexical information, syntactic information) with two levels of comprehension. Forced-choice recognition tasks showed that subjects were successful in remembering all four types of information. Recognition scores for the figurative meaning of unfamiliar proverbs presented in isolation were above chance and were also significantly improved when procedures were employed which encouraged comprehension of this level of meaning. The results are most consistent with theories of comprehension which provide for different types of processing for figurative and literal language.     

The persistence of structural priming: transient activation or implicit learning?

Structural priming in language production is a tendency to recreate a recently uttered syntactic structure in different words. This tendency can be seen independent of specific lexical items, thematic roles, or word sequences. Two alternative proposals about the mechanism behind structural priming include (a) short-term activation from a memory representation of a priming structure and (b) longer term adaptation within the cognitive mechanisms for creating sentences, as a form of procedural learning. Two experiments evaluated these hypotheses, focusing on the persistence of structural priming. Both experiments yielded priming that endured beyond adjacent sentences, persisting over 2 intervening sentences in Experiment 1 and over 10 in Experiment 2. Although memory may have short-term consequences for some components of this kind of priming, the persisting effects are more compatible with a learning account than a transient memory account.     

The role of salience in conceptual combination

The present study investigated three factors that affect the interpretation of novel noun-noun (N-N) combinations: simple feature salience, ontological category, and assessed similarity. Participants read and defined a series of novel N-N combinations in which the feature salience of N1 and N2 was manipulated. Participants also rated the combinations for similarity. The combinations were constrained to be within ontological category. All interpretations were scored in terms of the strategies (property mapping vs. relation linking) used to produce the given interpretations. Highly salient features drove property-mapping interpretations based on those features. Natural kinds produced more property-mapping interpretations than did artifacts. There was no correlation between the proportion of property-mapping interpretations and the assessed similarity of the N-N combinations. These results are discussed as an extension of Estes and Glucksberg's (2000) interactive theory of conceptual combination and argue for the importance of feature salience as a factor in conceptual combination.     

Dissoziation und Kreativität—Entrückungen im Alltag

Our everyday life is characterized by changing conditions of awareness up to ecstasy. Ecstasy is a special form of dissociation, which must be differentiated from the pathological-clinical forms of dissociation. Its psychic mechanisms are illustrated by the example of ecstasy during the process of reading. On the basic of the myths of Dionysos and Orpheus as well as in biographies of artists, the ability to reach the state of ecstasy is described as one of the presuppositions for creativity, which must be supplemented by the ability of working through. Reverie and interpretation are the corresponding creative abilities in the psychoanalytical process. Our psychic vitality and creativity results from permanent switches between these different spheres, which must be identifiable as being distinct. The disappearing fonction du réel (Janet)—because of the increasing virtualisation of our everyday life—should be discussed with respect to creativity.     

Adaptation of Reactive Saccades is Influenced by Unconscious Priming of the Attention Focus

The authors investigated whether the size of the attention focus can influence saccadic adaptation, and whether this influence changes in older age. Using the scrambled sentence task, young and older participants were either primed for a wide attention focus, or primed of a narrow attention focus, or were not primed for any specific attention focus. Subsequently, all participants underwent a double-step saccadic adaptation paradigm aimed at changing the direction of reflexive saccades. The authors found that compared to the nonprimed control group, priming for a wide attention focus enhanced saccadic adaptation in both age groups by a similar amount; the benefit persisted throughout the adaptation phase, but was absent during the deadaptation phase. In contrast, the authors found no effects of priming with a narrow attention focus on saccadic adaptation. From this the authors conclude that a wide attention focus is beneficial for workaround strategies but not for adaptive recalibration, and that those benefits are similar in young and older persons.     

Gratitude in buyer-seller relationships: a dyadic investigation

In addressing the call for research to understand affect in sales, this research uses moral affect theory and literature on emotional contagion to examine the effects of salesperson gratitude and customer gratitude on downstream relationship outcomes. The findings of this work suggest that salesperson prosocial behaviors account for the positive association between salesperson gratitude and customer gratitude. These prosocial behaviors – information sharing and extra-role behaviors – combined with customer gratitude serve as explanatory mechanisms for the positive effects of salesperson gratitude on customer commitment, which is an important result of buyer-seller interactions and an essential component of long-term relationships. Further, this research finds that salesperson extra-role behaviors and relationship length interact such that salesperson extra-role behaviors cultivate customer gratitude within developing and established relationships, but that these behaviors are particularly beneficial for less mature relationships. Understanding the role of salesperson gratitude and customer gratitude in driving relational outcomes contributes to both a theoretical understanding of the role of affect in sales and practical applications of emotions within buyer-seller relationships.     

Do Cross‐Cultural Values Affect Multisource Feedback Dynamics? The Case of High Power Distance and Collectivism in Two Latin American Countries

In this investigation we report results of a study designed to test the effect of cross‐cultural values on multisource feedback (MSF). With the participation of a sample of 501 managers from Venezuela and Colombia, two collectivistic and high power distance countries, results of the study indicate that cultural values distort the evaluations involved in MSF systems. Specifically, unlike reports of studies conducted in individualistic and low power distance environments, we found that (a) peers are the least discrepant source of information, (b) subordinates tend to provide the highest evaluations across feedback sources, and (c) there is an excessive emphasis on people‐oriented behaviors. Results are discussed in light of the conflict between our findings and those in existing literature. The practical implications of MSF in multi‐cultural workplaces are addressed.     

Understanding smoking after acute illness: An application of the sentinel event method

The sentinel event theory provides a stepwise approach for building models to understand how negative events can spark health behaviour change. This study tested a preliminary model using the sentinel events method in a sample (N = 300) of smokers who sought care for acute cardiac symptoms. Patients completed measures on: smoking-related causal attribution, perceived severity of the acute illness event, illness-related fear and intentions to quit smoking. Patients were followed up one week after the health event and a seven-day timeline follow back was completed to determine abstinence from tobacco. Structural equation models were performed using average predictor scale scores at baseline, as well as three different time anchors for ratings of illness severity and illness-related fear. Quit intentions, actual illness severity and age were the consistent, positive and independent predictors of seven-day point prevalence abstinence. Additional research on the influences of perceptions and emotional reactions is warranted.