Concerning the Sociological Analysis of Technological Innovation

Des observations paradoxales faites pendant les phases d'une recherche sur les salaires dans des entreprises industrielles françaises, nous ont conduit àénoncer que leur situation est le résultat de la présence de trois modèles de valorisation validés simultanément. On a observé que l'innovation technologique est une source de modification de l'équilibre des salaires. L'approche en termes de modéle de valorisation aide à comprendre le processus de régulation qui peut être remarqué après l'apparition de ce type d'innovation. Le processus qui a conduit à un nouvel équilibre des salaires des spécialistes de l'informatique est offert ici en exemple.
Some paradoxical observations made during a research study on wages in French industrial firms have led us to propose that the state of wages is the result of the presence of three simultaneously legitimate models of validation. Technological innovation is a source of modification of the equilibrium observed at any moment with regard to wages. The approach in terms of models of validation helps the understanding of the regulation process which may be observed after the appearance of such an innovation. The process which has led to a new equilibrium of the wages of specialists in data processing is offered as an example.     

Manipulation of the apparatus and response context may reduce the US pre-exposure interference effect

In two experiments, we investigated whether manipulations of associations formed between the context and unconditioned stimulus (US) during exposure would reduce the retardation of future conditioning produced by exposure to the US. In the first experiment, we found that extinguishing the context reduced fear of the context and partially attenuated interference with future conditioning. This attenuation was only transient and there was considerable interference which was unaffected by extinction. In the second experiment, we found that signalling the US during pre-exposure which was carried out off-baseline did not reduce interference when conditioning was also carried out off-baseline. However, signalling the US did reduce interference when conditioning was subsequently continued on-baseline. These results suggest that although the US interference effect is partly mediated by conditioning of the context, it may also depend on learning about the unpredictability of the US during exposure, and some long-term, perhaps context specific, adaption-like mechanism.     

External thought—does sketching assist problem analysis?

An experimental study (n = 60 students) tests the advantages of being allowed to sketch a representation of a mechanical system (involving components such as weights, ropes and pulleys) when one is to be subsequently asked questions about this system. In comparison to a control group who were not allowed to sketch the system, the main advantages of sketching were found to be a reduction in the perceived difficulty of the problems and an increase in the likelihood of correctly inferring relations between the components. These advantages came at no extra cost in terms of additional time being needed to analyse the situation or solve the problems. However, sketching conferred no advantage in terms of the correct recall of system components. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Learning from implicit learning literature: Comment on Shea, Wulf, Whitacre, and Park (2001)

In their analysis of complex motor skill learning, Shea, Wulf, Whitacre, and Park (2001) have overlooked one of the most robust conclusions of the experimental studies on implicit learning conducted during the last decade--namely that participants usually learn things that are different from those that the experimenter expected them to learn. Weshow that the available literature on implicit learning strongly suggests that the improved performance in Shea et al.'s Experiments 1 and 2 (and similar earlier experiments, e.g., Wulf & Schmidt, 1997) was due to the exploitation of regularities in the target pattern different from those on which the postexperimental interview focused. This rules out the conclusions drawn from the failure of this interview to reveal any explicit knowledge about the task structure on the part of the participants. Similarly, because the information about the task structure provided to an instructed group of participants in Shea et al.'s Experiment 2 did not concern the regularities presumably exploited by the standard, so-called implicit, group, Shea et al.'s claim that explicit knowledge may be less effective than implicit knowledge is misleading.     

A social psychological perspective on World War II collaboration in the 21st century: A Belgian case

The present study addresses antecedents and consequences of attitudes towards collaboration in the context of World War II (WWII) in Belgium. A survey conducted on 922 Belgian French- and Dutch-speaking participants shows that, on overall, Dutch-speakers perceive collaboration as more moral and support amnesty of the former collaborators at a higher level than their Francophone counterparts. In addition, we show that these attitudes are predicted by the generational belonging, linguistic and national identification of the participants. Finally, we find that attitudes towards WWII collaboration are linked to specific political prospects for the future of the country only among Dutch-speakers. These findings suggest that, 75 years after its end, the issue of collaboration during WWII still divides the Belgian society. Furthermore, they underline the added value of a multilevel approach in the understanding of social psychological phenomena.