Hasidism and the Habsburg Empire, 1788–1867

This article discusses the attitude of the Habsburg empire towards hasidim in Galicia during the years 1788–1867. It is based on a range of laws regarding hasidim, including the private minyanim (prayer groups) laws. The main argument of the article is that hasidim, like all other Jews, enjoyed the Austrian policy of religious toleration, and could perform all their religious rituals and customs so long as they did not contravene civil law. The examples cited in the article, almost all based on newly discovered archival documents, demonstrate the failure of efforts, such as that of the maskil Yehudah Leib Mieses, to define Hasidism as Religionsschwärmerei (religious enthusiasm), and thus to prohibit hasidim from petitioning for a license to set up private minyanim. Other examples show that the Austrian imperial authorities rebuked some district authorities for wrongly detaining hasidic leaders, finding it necessary to explain the correct interpretation of the law to local officials who had misapplied it. Hasidim in Galicia were familiar with the law and quickly learned to protest when their rights had been violated. Contrary to Raphael Mahler’s claim, the story of government treatment of hasidim in Galicia was not one of persecution, but one that involved enforcement of civil law on the one hand, and the policy of religious toleration on the other.     

Information Integration in Modulation of Pragmatic Inferences During Online Language Comprehension

Upon hearing a scalar adjective in a definite referring expression such as “the big…,” listeners typically make anticipatory eye movements to an item in a contrast set, such as a big glass in the context of a smaller glass. Recent studies have suggested that this rapid, contrastive interpretation of scalar adjectives is malleable and calibrated to the speaker's pragmatic competence. In a series of eye‐tracking experiments, we explore the nature of the evidence necessary for the modulation of pragmatic inferences in language comprehension, focusing on the complementary roles of top–down information ‐ (knowledge about the particular speaker's pragmatic competence)  and bottom‐up cues  (distributional information about the use of scalar adjectives in the environment). We find that bottom‐up evidence alone (e.g., the speaker says “the big dog” in a context with one dog), in large quantities, can be sufficient to trigger modulation of the listener's contrastive inferences, with or without top‐down cues to support this adaptation. Further, these findings suggest that listeners track and flexibly combine multiple sources of information in service of efficient pragmatic communication.     

Odor memory: Review and analysis

We critically review the cognitive literature on olfactory memory and identify the similarities and differences between odor memory and visual-verbal memory. We then analyze this literature using criteria from a multiple memory systems approach to determine whether olfactory memory can be considered to be a separate memory system. We conclude that olfactory memory has a variety of important distinguishing characteristics, but that more data are needed to confer this distinction. We suggest methods for the study of olfactory memory that should make a resolution on the separate memory system hypothesis possible while simultaneously advancing a synthetic understanding of olfaction and cognition.     

The Effects of Selective Cholinergic Basal Forebrain Lesions and Aging upon Expectancy in the Rat

The effects of selective cholinergic cell loss within the basal forebrain (BF) were determined using a task that requires shifting of attention between two visual stimuli. Discriminability between two stimuli and response bias were determined in young and old F-344 rats given BF injections of IgG-192 saporin (100 ng). The lesion reduced ChAT activity in the frontal and parietal cortices, hippocampus, and olfactory bulbs. The lesion did not significantly alter Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity in cortex, hippocampus, or olfactory bulbs, or endogenous levels of neuropeptide Y and neurokinin B within the BF. The BF lesions impaired both stimulus discriminability and response bias in young and old rats. The BF lesions had a significantly greater effect upon stimulus discriminability and response bias in aged rats, compared to young rats, only when the stimulus duration was very brief, i.e., when the task was most difficult to solve. At longer stimulus durations, aging and lesions showed no interaction. The results suggest that the selective loss of cholinergic cells in the BF, but not normal aging, impairs the ability to discriminate between independent sensory stimuli. The loss of these cells confers a response bias in simple operant tasks involving motor responses to reward-related visual stimuli.     

Peer Group and Family Relationships in Early Adolescence

This study explored the possible interface between family and peer group systems in early adolescence. Sixth-graders who were identified as group members were interviewed and given questions regarding their attitudes toward the group and group dynamics. Family atmosphere and parent-adolescent relationships were evaluated from the parents' perspective. The results show two different linkages of peer and family processes: On the one hand, family relationships are related to the perception of the peer group as a source of support, especially when individual growth is respected within an atmosphere of acceptance and support in the family. On the other hand, family life characterized by conflict and lack of support for individual development is related to an increased involvement with groups and more conformity to group pressure. Results are discussed in line with theories dealing with the role of the family in adolescent development.     

TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRUCTURED CRITERIA FOR INTERPRETATION OF FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS DATA

Using functional analysis results to prescribe treatments is the preferred method for developing behavioral interventions. Little is known, however, about the reliability and validity of visual inspection for the interpretation of functional analysis data. The purpose of this investigation was to develop a set of structured criteria for visual inspection of multielement functional analyses that, when applied correctly, would increase interrater agreement and agreement with interpretations reached by expert consensus. In Study 1, 3 predoctoral interns interpreted functional analysis graphs, and interrater agreement was low (M = .46). In Study 2, 64 functional analysis graphs were interpreted by a panel of experts, and then a set of structured criteria were developed that yielded interpretive results similar to those of the panel (exact agreement = .94). In Study 3, the 3 predoctoral interns from Study 1 were trained to use the structured criteria, and the mean interrater agreement coefficient increased to .81. The results suggest that (a) the interpretation of functional analysis data may be less reliable than is generally assumed, (b) decision-making rules used by experts in the interpretation of functional analysis data can be operationalized, and (c) individuals can be trained to apply these rules accurately to increase interrater agreement. Potential uses of the criteria are discussed.     

Young people's theories of anorexia nervosa and obesity

One hundred and forty-seven participants completed a 108-item questionnaire, based on that used by Fumham and Hume-Wright in 1992 aournal of Clinical Psychology, 48, 20-36) that looked at their beliefs about the causes and cures of anorexia neruosa and obesity. The four parts of the questionnaire were individually factor analysed and an intevretable factor structure emerged for each. while age and knowing someone with anorexia neruosa or obesity did not correlate with the factors obtained, sex, actual body size, estimated body size and having experience of an eating disorder were found to correlate significantly with a number of factors. Factors of cause and cure were not correlated regarding anorexia neruosa, but were for obesity. Several correlations within cause and cure, across both disorders, were also significant. The implications of these jindings and how they relate to the theories described in the Introduction are considered in the Discussion.     

Effects of meaning training on overcoming functional fixedness

Functional fixedness (FF) consists in focusing on some function of an object while overlooking another necessary for problem solving. Assuming that FF occurs when too few meanings are assigned to the major problem aspects, it was hypothesized that widening the scope of meaning would reduce FF, particularly in subjects providing more responses. The task was completing two electrical circuits. Meaning training consisted in requesting the subjects to provide responses to questions reflecting 11 meaning variables concerning three referents of the task. The subjects were 64 high school girls about 15 years old, only half of whom got meaning training. The results showed that meaning training reduced FF: the experimental subjects solved the target task faster, especially if they assigned more direct or indirect function responses to the target referents. Discussion centered on the effects of specific and nonspecific meaning training on different phases of problem solving. This study is based partly on the data presented by the first author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at the Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University.     

Partial integration of single electrocutaneous pulses

Psychometric functions generated by single eleetroeutaneous stimuli yielded a median coefficient of variation ( σ/μ ) of 0.23. These data are consistent with other psychometric data recently reported by us which yielded σ/μ ratios of this size. The data are discussed and related to conflicting data reported in the recent literature indicating coefficients of variation for this mode of stimulation which are only 1/3 as large. Evidence is presented for partial temporal summation (time-intensity reciprocity) for electrocutaneous stimuli ranging from 175 to 610 microseconds. The data are best fitted by the equation I x t^a = k, where a is approximately 0.57. This equation and exponent also fit summation data reported by the same authors who report finding steep psychometric functions. Clearly, then, the mechanism responsible for the very limited temporal summation found for eleetrocutaneous stimulation and the mechanism responsible for very steep psychometric functions are not identical. The discussion also includes speculation regarding possible mechanisms and suggestions for research.