Do children "DRM" like adults? False memory production in children

The Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm was used to investigate developmental trends in accurate and false memory production. In Experiment 1, DRM lists adjusted to be more consistent with children's vocabulary were used with 2nd graders, 8th graders, and college students. Accurate and false recall and recognition increased with age, but semantic information appeared to be available to all age groups. Experiment 2 created a set of child-generated lists based on the free associations by a group of 3rd graders to critical items. The child-generated associates were different from those generated by adults; long and short versions of the child-generated lists were therefore presented to 2nd, 5th, and 8th graders and college students in Experiment 3. Second graders exhibited few false memories, whereas 5th graders were similar to adults in low-demand conditions and more similar to younger children in high-demand conditions. Findings are discussed in terms of developmental changes in automatic and effortful processing and the use of semantic networks.     

On Argumentation Schemes and the Natural Classification of Arguments

We develop conceptions of arguments and of argument types that will, by serving as the basis for developing a natural classification of arguments, benefit work in artificial intelligence. Focusing only on arguments construed as the semantic entities that are the outcome of processes of reasoning, we outline and clarify our view that an argument is a proposition that represents a fact as both conveying some other fact and as doing so wholly. Further, we outline our view that, with respect to arguments that are propositions, (roughly) two arguments are of the same type if and only if they represent the same relation of conveyance and do so in the same way. We then argue for our conceptions of arguments and argument types, and compare them to alternative positions. We also illustrate the need for, and some of the strengths of, our approach to classifying arguments through an examination of aspects of two prominent and recent attempts to classify arguments using argumentation schemes, namely those of M. Kienpointner and D. Walton. Finally, we clarify how our conception of arguments and of argument types can assist in developing an exhaustive classification of arguments.     

How to Think about Fallibilism

Almost every contemporary theory of knowledge is a version of fallibilism, yet an adequate statement of fallibilism has not yet been provided. Standard definitions cannot account for fallibilistic knowledge of necessary truths. I consider and reject several attempts to resolve this difficulty before arguing that a belief is an instance of fallibilistic knowledge when it could have failed to be knowledge. This is a fully general account of fallibilism that applies to knowledge of necessary truths. Moreover, it reveals, not only the connection between fallibility and error, but the connection between fallibility and accidental truth as well.     

Traits, states, and attentional gates: temperament and threat relevance as predictors of attentional bias to social threat

This study investigated the influence of situational and dispositional factors on attentional biases toward social threat, and the impact of these attentional biases on distress in a sample of adolescents. The results suggest greater biases for personally relevant threat cues, as individuals reporting high social stress were vigilant to subliminal social threat cues, but not physical threat cues, and those reporting low social stress showed no attentional biases. Individual differences in fearful temperament and attentional control interacted to influence attentional biases, with fearful temperament predicting biases to supraliminal social threat only for individuals with poor attentional control. Multivariate analyses exploring relations between attentional biases for social threat and symptoms of anxiety and depression revealed that attentional biases alone were rarely related to symptoms. However, biases did interact with social stress, fearful temperament, and attentional control to predict distress. The results are discussed in terms of automatic and effortful cognitive mechanisms underlying threat cue processing.     

VIDEO MODELING TO TRAIN STAFF TO IMPLEMENT DISCRETE‐TRIAL INSTRUCTION

Three new direct‐service staff participated in a program that used a video model to train target skills needed to conduct a discrete‐trial session. Percentage accuracy in completing a discrete‐trial teaching session was evaluated using a multiple baseline design across participants. During baseline, performances ranged from a mean of 12% to 63% accuracy. During video modeling, there was an immediate increase in accuracy to a mean of 98%, 85%, and 94% for each participant. Performance during maintenance and generalization probes remained at high levels. Results suggest that video modeling can be an effective technique to train staff to conduct discrete‐trial sessions.     

Serious mental illness and capitation financing

Traditional organization and financing of mental health care has not adequately served the needs of persons with serious mental illness. Capitation financing is being tested in several localities, but little experimental data has been yielded to date, and it is mixed. The results from the Rochester experiment were positive but limited, and some other pilots also reported positive experiences with capitation. Others have ended prematurely or confronted obstacles. Experimental findings are also anticipated from the Philadelphia and California pilots, and others are just beginning. Existing financing mechanisms, cost-shifting efforts, and professional cultures represent powerful obstacles to successfully implementing capitation financing for care of persons with long-term mental illnesses, and potential incentives to underserve enrollees require adequate accountability structures. In spite of obstacles, the goodness of fit between the needs of persons with serious mental illness and capitation flexibility warrant further exploration of this financing modality.     

The Effects on Layoff Survivors of Their Fellow Survivors' Reactions1

A multimethod series of studies examined factors that moderate the effects on layoff survivors of their fellow survivors' reactions. Studies 1 and 2 showed that survivors' work performance was more influenced by the reactions of fellow survivors who were relatively attractive. Study 3 revealed that survivors' work performance and turnover intention were more positively related to the reactions of relatively attractive fellow survivors, but only when the survivors had relatively little communication with their fellow survivors about the layoff; among those who communicated a great deal with fellow survivors about the layoff, work performance, and turnover intention were positively related to their fellow survivors' reactions, regardless of the attractiveness of their fellow survivors. The discussion focuses on theoretical and practical implications, limitations of the studies, and areas for further research.     

The Student Guided Functional Assessment Interview: An Analysis of Student and Teacher Agreement

Functional assessment strategies are used to guide the treatment of problem behavior with individuals who have severe disabilities. Also, researchers have extended functional assessment applications to individuals with emotional and behavioral disabilities. One such extension is the use of students as informants in the functional assessment process. The present study assessed an interview tool designed to elicit information directly from students regarding their problem behaviors. We examined agreement between students and their teachers. Results showed high agreement on the causes and functions of problem behavior with mixed agreement on support plan recommendations.