Demand Transitions and Sustained Attention

A recent report by the National Research Council (Huey & Wickens, 1993) has identified transitions in task demand as an important dimension for study in vigilance research. This experiment tested the possibility that the effects of such transitions follow a relatively simple psychophysical rule—they are characterized by contrast effects. Transitions in task demand were achieved by shifting subjects from single-task to dual-task monitoring and vice versa. These transitions produced changes in subjects' sensing and decision-making functions that were far more intricate than simple contrast effects. The demand transition issue offers a complex research challenge on both basic and applied levels and warrants further investigation.     

A Muscle Awareness Model for Changes in Rorschach Human Movement Responses

The present series of studies sought to provide evidence that M would increase under any conditions which make an S more aware of his muscles. The studies demonstrated that at least in women, M increased over a variety of conditions involving heightened muscle awareness. Specifically M increased in conditions utilizing muscle activation, deactivation, hypnosis, and focusing thoughts on the body musculature. The muscle awareness model unlike the sensory-tonic model accounts for increases in M following hyperactivity as well as inhibition.     

Associations Between Symptom Validity Test Failure and Scores on the MMPI–2–RF Validity and Substantive Scales

Existing measures of approval motivation attempt to assess this dimension of personality indirectly through evaluation of socially desirable response tendencies. The Martin-Larsen Approval Motivation (MLAM) Scale takes a more direct approach by focusing on individual differences in need for social approval. Since the original version of the MLAM scale is subject to acquiescence response bias, fully balanced and partially balanced scales were created to minimize this response style. Results indicated that the revised measures arc equivalent to the original version and that balancing affects the magnitude but not the pattern of correlates with other scales. Comparisons with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability (MCSD) Scale revealed a divergent pattern of correlates with several measures of personality suggesting a basic difference between the MLAM and MCSD in their conceptualization of approval motivation.     

Assessing Measurement and Predictive Invariance of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale–20 in U.S. Anglo and U.S. Hispanic Student Samples

We collected data from a predominately Anglo American student sample in the Southeastern United States and a predominately Hispanic student sample in the Southwestern United States. Along with an assessment of internal consistency reliability, we examined measurement invariance of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale–20 (TAS–20) using confirmatory factor analysis. We also assessed the predictive invariance of the TAS–20. Results indicate that 2 of the 3 TAS–20 subscales demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency reliability across samples. Items from the TAS–20 subscales demonstrated measurement invariance of the latent means. The relationship between 2 measures of emotional dysfunction and the TAS–20 also demonstrated slope and intercept invariance, indicating equivalent validity.     

The MMPI–2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales and Redundancy: Response to Tellegen,Ben-Porath,and Sellbom

In this article, we examine 5 criticisms of Tellegen, Ben-Porath, and Sellbom (2009/this issue) about our study demonstrating the redundant relationships of the Restructured Clinical (RC) scales with extant MMPI–2 scales. We discuss differences in univariate versus multivariate comparisons of the RC scales and our “proxy” scales using their data. We show that (a) both the RC and extant proxy scales identified in our analyses account for most of the variance in the Clinical scales; (b) the proxy scales are redundant with the RC scales; (c) the proxy scales matched the 6 RC scales in accounting for variance in the Clinical scales exactly in three cases, differed by ≤.02 in 2 cases, and reached a maximum of .11 in one case; (d) the item overlap between RC1 and HEA is not at issue but rather their correlation with Scale 1; and (e) the evidence for the construct validity of the RC scales is weak using findings on the incremental validity of RC4 as illustrative.     

Children's Eyewitness Identification as Implicit Moral Decision‐Making

Why are young children particularly prone to make false positive errors or false alarms when identifying a wrongdoer? In three studies, the problem was approached using a signal detection analysis, focusing on the moral costs of false alarms, as understood at different points in development. The findings are as follows: (i) decisional criteria became more conservative, indicating fewer false alarms, with age in three studies; (ii) children's beliefs about the seriousness of false alarms and misses changed from (a) a non‐moral concern to (b) a moral concern for misses to (c) a moral concern for false alarms. (iii) These findings were replicated in two demographically different communities. More critically, (iv) framing of the filmed event, for example, as a moral transgression (stealing) or a pro‐social (helping) act (Study 1) and as intentional with little damage or unintentional with major damage (Study 3), interacts with age in influencing decisional criteria. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Landmark Frames of Reference in Interactive Route Description Tasks

The current study investigated the use of frames of reference in an asymmetrical spatial dialogue task. Participants navigated through a real environment by following instructions provided by other participants guiding them over the phone. The dialogues were transcribed and analysed to locate the introduction of landmarks. We examined which frames of reference were used to introduce these landmarks and how far their use was determined by each participant's role within the dyads (i.e. guide vs. guided person). Results revealed that both partners contributed to the dialogue by introducing landmarks. However, the guides introduced more landmarks than the guided persons and were also more likely to use perspective taking when doing so. These results are discussed in the light of perspective taking and collaboration in dialogue. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bocheński on divine ineffability

Section 11 of Józef Bocheński’s The Logic of religion (1965), is devoted to the question of divine ineffability: Is it possible to speak of God? Bocheński shows that even if the assertion of God’s ineffability is not contradictory, it can be contested. Bocheński seems to think ineffabilism is based primarily on a confusion, viz., on the claim that faith is dependent on an extraordinary experience, and it is this extraordinary experience which is supposed to be ineffable. The ineffabilist is unable to say who he is addressing in his prayers and praises so long as he maintains that nothing can be said of Him to whom they are addressed. Any meaningful language is minimally referential, whether the ineffabilist likes it or not. This could be the basis for a critique of Jean-Luc Marion’s account of apophatism. This criticism shows the fecundity of Bocheński’s account of ineffability.