The organization of multidimensional selection on the basis of color and shape: An event-related brain potential study

In this paper, we examine whether color and shape, tied to a single object in space, (1) are identified and selected in series or in parallel, (2) are identified and selected in a dependent, self-terminating manner or in an independent and exhaustive manner, and (3) are conjoined by a feature integration process before or only after an initial stage of separate attribute analyses has finished. We measured response time and the selection negativity (SN) derived from event-related brain potentials when participants responded to a unique conjunction of color and shape in a go/no-go target detection task. The discriminability of the color and the shape of the conjunction was manipulated in three conditions. When color and shape were easy to discriminate, the SNs to color and shape started at the same time. When one attribute was less discriminable, the SN to that attribute started later, but not the SN to the complementary attribute. This suggests that color and shape are identified and selected in parallel. In all three discriminability conditions, the SNs to color and shape were initially independent but later interacted. This suggests that color and shape are initially selected independently and exhaustively, after which their conjunction is analyzed. The SN to local shape features started later than that to the conjunction of color and global shape features, which suggests that feature integration can start before the analyses of the separate attributes have finished.     

Perceptions of Brainstorming in Groups: The Quality Over Quantity Hypothesis

Our research focused on the implicit beliefs of potential brainstormers about the possible outcomes of brainstorming. We conducted four studies to assess the relative importance of quality and quantity as goals of brainstorming. In Study 1, we found evidence for a quality over quantity hypothesis: participants indicated that it was more important to produce creative, original, and high quality ideas than to generate a large number of ideas. In Studies 2 and 3, participants displayed support for the quality over quantity hypothesis by showing in group favoritism for a quality dimension but not a quantity dimension. Study 4 showed that participants believed brain-storming would enhance the quality of others' ideas more than one's own ideas, but they did not display a similar bias about idea quantity.     

Apocalyptic Argument and the Anticipation of Catastrophe: the Prediction of Risk and the Risks of Prediction

This essay proposes to extend the model of apocalyptic argument developedin my recent book Arguing the Apocalypse (OLeary, 1994) beyond the study ofreligious discourse, by applying this model to the debate over awell-publicized earthquake prediction that caused a widespread panic in theAmerican midwest in December, 1990. The first section of the essay willsummarize the essential elements of apocalyptic argument as I have earlierdefined them; the second section will apply the model to the case of the NewMadrid, Missouri, earthquake prediction, in order to demonstrate thatcertain patterns of reasoning characteristic of religious apocalyptic arepresent in the discourse over an anticipated local disaster. My ultimatepurpose is to show that predictions of global and local catastrophe mayserve as extreme cases that will illuminate the dynamics of predictiveargument in general. Thus my argument will seek to undercut Daniel Bellsdistinction between prophecy and prediction (Bell, 1973) by establishingthat these discourses share identifiable formal and substantivecharacteristics, and depend for their rhetorical effect on anxiety, hope,far, and excitement as modes of temporal anticipation.     

Imperialism,nationalism and missionaries: Lessons from Sudan for the twenty‐first century

Muslim‐Christian relations in modem Sudanese history involve the tensions created by the transition from imperial rule to independence and by the impact of contemporary processes of globalization. The conflicts between Christian missionaries and the newly‐independent government of Sudan in the early 1960s reflected the tensions between old mission‐station style Christian activities and attempts by a military régime to impose measures of ‘national’ unification. Opportunities for creating institutions for constructive interactions were missed or not even conceived. Lessons from the experiences of the early 1960s emphasize the importance of viewing Muslim‐Christian relations in the 1990s in the context of the actual current conditions rather than imposing out‐of‐date images on existing realities.     

Factors in Chinese Marital Process: Relationship to Marital Adjustment

This research examined the applicability, in Taiwan Chinese groups, of western approaches to conceptualizing and assessing aspects of marital relations. Chinese translations of American measures of marital adjustment (the Marital Adjustment Test) and marital process (the California Inventory for Family Assessment, mea- suring respondents' perceptions of their spouses' behavior) were developed to study a Taiwan Chinese sample of husbands and wives (N = 104 in Taiwan and N = 54 in the United States). These translations were found to be reliable and for the most part to relate as expected. In accordance with 14 reconceptualization of the cohesion-enmeshment domain, factor analytic results yielded independent dimensions consistent with the western constructs of intrusiveness and closeness-caregiving. Results also suggested aspects of marital process that may distinguish Taiwan Chinese marriages from those among western cultures. These findings were interpreted with reference to the impact of modernization on Chinese marital relations.     

Toward a Developmentally Informed Narrative Therapy

Narrative approaches to psychotherapy emphasize the impact of the stories or narratives we construct on our reality and behavior. However, little effort has been made to elucidate how individuals' differential capacities for meaning-making influence the process of re-storying lives. The present article introduces to family therapy a model of the changing nature of individuals' ability to create meaning. The model, referred to as developmental-constructivism ( 10 ), suggests that, in addition to contextual factors, individual differences in the capacity for organizing experience will influence therapeutic efforts to generate new and more adaptive narratives. The model is also presented as a heuristic for comparing and integrating two influential approaches to narrative therapy: the externalizing approach of Michael White and the solution-focused approach of Steve de Shazer.     

The value of possessions in compulsive hoarding: Patterns of use and attachment

Hoarding behavior, patterns of use of possessions, and emotional attachment to possessions were examined among a sample of female undergraduates and a sample of community volunteers. Hoarding behavior was associated with a decreased frequency of use of possessions and excessive concern about maintaining control over possessions. Furthermore, high scores on the hoarding scale were associated with higher levels of perceived responsibility for: (1) being prepared; and (2) the well-being of the possession. Hoarding was also associated with greater emotional attachment to possessions and to the reliance on possessions for emotional comfort. The implications of these findings for the definition of hoarding are discussed.     

GENERALIZATION OF EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT TRAINING TO THE JOB SETTING: INDIVIDUAL AND SITUATIONAL EFFECTS

This study examined whether variables at individual, unit, and suborganization levels influence the extent to which the knowledge and skills learned in employee involvement (EI) training are generalized beyond specific EI activities. Training generalization occurs when the knowledge and skills learned in training for a specific purpose in one context (e.g., EI training for use in quality circles) are applied by trainees in another context (e.g., regular job duties). A multiple-cross-level design using data gathered from 252 employees and supervisors drawn from 88 units across 11 suborganizations provided support for both individual and situational effects. Hierarchical regression results demonstrated that characteristics at individual, unit, and suborganization levels significantly predicted the extent EI knowledge, skills, and attitudes were generalized to the core job activities. As predicted, trainees were more likely to use EI training in performing core job activities the more EI activities they participated in, the greater their commitment to the organization, and the less cynical they were about the likelihood of positive organizational change. Contrary to expectations, more generalization of EI training was found to occur in units and suborganizations with less participative climates.