Stimulus-specific processing consequences of pattern goodness

Two issues concerning the effects of visual pattern goodness on information processing time were investigated: the role of memory vs. encoding and the role of individual stimulus goodness vs. stimulus similarity. A sequential “same-different” task was used to provide differentiation of target item or memory effects from display item or encoding effects. Experiment 1 used four alternative stimuli in each block of trials. The results showed that good patterns were processed faster than poor patterns for both “same” and “different” responses. Furthermore, the goodness of the target item had a greater effect on reaction time than did the goodness of the display item, indicating that memory is more important than encoding in producing faster processing of good stimuli. Effects of interstimulus similarity on processing time were minimal, although isolation of good stimuli in a similarity space could explain many of the results. Experiment 2 replicated the results of Experiment 1, despite the fact that differences in similarity space had been minimized by using only two alternative stimuli in each block. In addition, the speed of processing a “same” pair was essentially independent of the particular alternative stimulus in a block. These results suggest that in this task, there is a processing advantage for good stimuli that is stimulus specific, with the effect operating primarily in memory.     

Efficacy of a brief group psychoeducational intervention for bulimia nervosa

This study compared a brief group treatment that was designed to be purely educational (ED) with a longer course of individual cognitive-behavioural (CB) therapy intended to represent more standard clinical care. Participants were 65 women who sought treatment at Toronto General Hospital, met DSM-III criteria for bulimia nervosa at a normal weight and reported vomiting at least twice weekly. Results indicated that the CB treatment, as expected, was generally more effective than the ED intervention, but on several important outcome indices both treatments appeared to be equally effective for the healthiest 25-45% of the sample. The more intensive individual CB treatment was associated with greater improvement in patients who were more severely symptomatic. However, the ED intervention proved significantly more cost-effective and it was suggested that a sequential treatment program might achieve the superior benefits associated with the longer individual CB treatment at a reduced cost.     

Self-Motivation and Adherence to Habitual Physical Activity1

The purpose of this investigation was to develop and refine a psychometric measure of self-motivation and assess its relationship to adherence to programs of habitual physical activity. Following construction of a Self-Motivation Inventory, a series of studies were conducted involving the pretesting of undergraduate males and females (N= 401) and subsequent validation work involving intercollegiate women athletes (N= 64) and adult males (N= 66) in actual exercise settings. Results of the psychometric work provided evidence for the logical validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the self-motivation construct. In addition, convergent and discriminant evidence was provided for construct validity through self-motivation's pattern of association with other conceptually relevant psychometric variables. Finally, from the standpoint of behavioral validation, self-motivation proved to be the best discriminator between exercise adherers and dropouts among the psychological variables employed and was strongly related to program adherence in both exercise settings. In fact, when combined with selected morphologic variables in a psychobiologic framework, self-motivation scores were found to accurately classify participants according to their adherence status in approximately 80% of all cases and to account for nearly 50% of the variance in exercise adherence behavior.     

Letter identification as a function of type of perceptual limitation and type of attribute

It is argued that the distribution of errors in letter identification depends on two factors: (a) whether the set of letters is defined by features that exist or do not exist or by dimensions that exist at some positive value, and (b) whether errors are produced by process limitation in which the letter patterns are distorted or by state limitation in which there is inadequate energy. A specific hypothesis tested was that error distributions reflect the attribute structure under both types of limitation if dimensions define the letter set, but only under a process limitation if features define the letter set. Under a state limitation, feature set errors are primarily produced by a loss of features, so that a letter with more features is called a letter with fewer features more often than conversely. An experiment completely validated the hypothesis under test. In addition, the relative discriminabilities of two dimensions defining a dimension set of letters was reversed from state to process limitation. Thus the attribute structure derived from error distributions is not invariant across types of perceptual limitation, nor are distances between letter pairs always symmetric.     

Book reviews

Patterns of Redundancy: A Psychological Study. By A.C. Staniland. London: Cambridge university Press. 1966. Pp. viii + 216. 45s. $50.

Signal Detection theory and Psychophysics. By David M. Green and John A. Swets. London and New York: Wiley. 1966. Pp. xi + 455. 104s.

Acquisition of Skill. Edited by E.A. Bilodeau. New York and London: Academic Press. 1966. Pp. xiii + 539. £5.0

Readings in Verbal Learning: Contemporary Theory and Research. Edited by Donald H. Kausler. London and New york: Wiley. 1966. Pp. xii + 578. 60s.

Experiments in Visual Perception. Edited by M.D. Vernon. London: Penguin Modern Psychology. Pp. 430. 8s 6d.

Motivation. Edited by Dalbir Bindra and Jane Stewart. London: Penguin Modern Psychology. 1966. Pp. 352. 8s. 6d.

Pattern Recognition: Theory, Experiment, Computer Simulations, and Dynamic Models of Form Perception and discovery. Edited by Loenard Uhr. New York and London: wiley. 1966. Pp. xii + 393. 68s. cloth, 45s. paper.

Advances in the Study of Behavior. Volume I. Edited by D. S. Lehrman, R. A. Hinde and E. shaw. New York and London: Academic Press. 1965. Pp. x + 320. 76s.

Fields of Psychology. Edited by J. P. Guilford. Third Edition. Princeton, N. J. and London: Van Nostrand. 1966. Pp. x + 350. 72s.

Attitudes. Edited by M. Jahoda and N. Warren. London: Penguin Modern Psychology. 1966. Pp.375. 8s. 6d.

Personality Assessment. Edited by Boris Semeonoff. London: penguin Modern Psychology. 1966. Pp. 443. 8s. 6d

The Psychology Of Learning. By R. Borger and A. E. M. Seaborne. Harmondsworth. Middx.: penguin Books (Pelican Orginal). 1966. Pp. 243. 5s.

Eliminating the Unconscious: A Behaviourist View Psycho-analysis. By T.R. Miles. Oxford and London: Pergamon. 1966. Pp. xviii + 171. 17s. 6d.

Manuel Pratique de Psychologie Experimentale. By Paul Fraisse. Paris: Presses universitaires de France. 2nd edition, 1963. Pp. 392. 20F.

Abstraction and Concept Formation. By Anatol pikas. London: Oxford University press (Harvard University Press). 1966. Pp.xiii + 303. 56s.

Tactics of Scientific research. By Murray Sidman. London and New York: Basic Books. 1966. Pp. x + 428. $17s. 6d.

Psychodynamics and Hypnosis: New Contributions to the practice and theory Of hypno-therapy. Compiled and Edited by Milton V. Kline. Springfield. Illinois: Thomas. 1966. Pp. xi + 194. $8.75.

Psychology: The Science of Mental Life. By G.A Miller. London: Penguin Books. 1966. Pp. 415.7s. 6d.

The Memory System of the Brain. By J. Z. Young. London: Oxford University Press. 1967. Pp. vii + 128. 28s.     

The structure of visual pattern associates and pattern goodness

Two tasks were used with a total set of 126 dot patterns. In one task Ss rated the goodness of each pattern. In another task they produced a dot pattern as an associate to each of the patterns used as a stimulus. The distributions of the associates suggest that the total set of patterns is both partitioned and nested. Groups defined by rotation and reflection are partitioned, thus kept intact. These groups in turn form a series of nested subsets., Both partitioning and nesting produce subsets of different size. The size of these subsets is related to pattern goodness, with good patterns coming from small subsets.     

Rejection sensitivity and disruption of attention by social threat cues

Two studies tested the hypothesis that Rejection Sensitivity (RS) increases vulnerability to disruption of attention by social threat cues, as would be consistent with prior evidence that it motivates individuals to prioritize detecting and managing potential rejection at a cost to other personal and interpersonal goals. In Study 1, RS predicted disruption of ongoing goal-directed attention by social threat but not negative words in an Emotional Stroop task. In Study 2, RS predicted attentional avoidance of threatening but not pleasant faces in a Visual Probe task. Threat-avoidant attention was also associated with features of borderline personality disorder. This research extends understanding of processes by which RS contributes to a self-perpetuating cycle of interpersonal problems and distress.     

Multidimensional body image comparisons among patients with eating disorders,body dysmorphic disorder,and clinical controls: A multisite study

Body image disturbance is considered a core characteristic of eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), however its definition has been unclear within the literature. This study examined the multidimensional nature of body image functioning among individuals with either anorexia nervosa (AN; n = 35), bulimia nervosa (BN; n = 26), or BDD (n = 56), relative to female (n = 34) and male (n = 36) psychiatric controls. Participants were recruited from 10 treatment centers in the United States and England and completed psychometrically validated and standardized self-report measures of body image. Overall, the AN, BN, and BDD groups were characterized by significantly elevated disturbances in most body image dimensions relative to their gender-matched clinical controls. There was variability, however, in the comparisons among the three groups of interest, including foci of body dissatisfaction and body image coping patterns. On omnibus indices of body image disturbance and body image quality of life, patients with BDD reported more body image impairment than those with eating disorders. Although AN, BN, and BDD are characterized by body image disturbances, similar and partially distinctive cognitive, behavioral, and emotional elements of body image functioning exist among these groups. The study's empirical and clinical implications are considered.     

“2 x 3” primes naming “6”: Evidence from masked priming

It is a common assumption for multiplication-solving models that single-digit multiplications are automatically retrieved. However, the experimental evidence for this is based on paradigms under suspicion. In this research, we employed a new procedure with the aim of assessing the automatic retrieval of multiplication more directly. In two experiments, multiplication automatism was studied using briefly presented primes (stimulus onset asynchrony = 48 msec) in a number-naming task. In Experiment 1, in the congruent conditions, the target and the prime were the same numbers (e.g., prime, 6; target, 6) or the target was the solution to the multiplication prime (e.g., prime, 2×3=; target, 6). In the incongruent conditions, no relationship existed between the primes and the targets (e.g., prime, 32; target, 6; or prime, 4×8=; target, 6). Experiment 2 explored the relevance of the equal sign for the multiplication-priming effect. Data showed that naming was faster when the solution of the multiplication prime matched the target, as compared with the incongruent condition (multiplication-priming effect), and that these effects were found irrespective of the presence of the equal sign. The fact that this priming effect was found even though the participants were unaware of the presentation of the primes supports the automatic character of single-digit multiplication. We conclude by arguing that this procedure is highly valuable for exploring the mechanisms involved in simple arithmetic solving.     

Shaming and Unreasonable Shame in the Book of Job1

While the philosophical study of shame has gained popularity, its application in the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible remains in its early stages. This paper delves into an analysis of shaming and unreasonable shame in the Book of Job, particularly in chapter 19. Through an examination of the Hebrew text and drawing on contemporary philosophical definitions of shame and shaming, I argue that Job perceives his friends, God, and the community to be employing shaming tactics against him, attempting to induce feelings of shame, a sentiment Job considers unjustified. In his case, shame is deemed unreasonable because Job has not violated any cherished values that would warrant such an emotion. Additionally, I demonstrate that while Job senses God shaming him, the biblical character acknowledges that his deity is the sole entity aware of his innocence—God's eyes perceive accurately, in contrast to humans', which only assess outward appearances. The role of God as the perfect witness to Job's life is fulfilled in the epilogue of the book, where Yahweh vindicates Job from the shame he has endured by publicly denouncing the serious faults of his friends.