Implementation of global memory models with software that does symbolic computation

A number of software tools are available that do symbolic computation that can facilitate the theoretical analysis of a mathematical model. We made use of one these tools, Mathematica (Wolfram, 1988), to implement the global familiarity memory models of Gillund and Shiffrin (1984) and Murdock (1982, 1983). We describe our implementation, and illustrate the flexibility and efficiency of use that these tools allow.     

Aptness in metaphor

We propose that in understanding a metaphor, an individual sees a concept from one class or domain in terms of its similarity in two different respects to a concept from another class or domain. The two kinds of similarity are within-domain similarity, or the degree to which two concepts occupy similar positions with respect to their own class or domain; and between-domain similarity, or the degree to which the classes or domains occupied by the concepts are themselves similar. To test this dual notion of similarity, we obtained ratings of the aptness of 64 metaphors from one group of subjects and ratings of their comprehensibility from another group of subjects. The terms of the metaphors had been scaled (based on the ratings of pretest subjects) to give measures of distance both within and between domains. Aptness of metaphors related positively to betweendomain distance, negatively to within-domain distance, and not at all to overall distance. Metaphors are thus perceived as more apt to the extent that their terms occupy similar positions within domains that are not very similar to each other. Comprehensibility also related to aptness. In a second experiment, subjects ranked a set of terms as possible completions for metaphors. For both groups of subjects in this experiment, the rank of an alternative's within-domain distance correlated with its relative popularity. Quantitative models, patterned after a model proposed by D. Rumelhart and A. A. Abrahamson (Cognitive Psychology, 1973, 5, 1–28) for analogical reasoning, afforded significant prediction of the choices of the group of subjects in which all the possible completions of a metaphor were from a single domain. The same models did not predict the choices of a group of subjects in which the possible completions of the metaphors were from different domains.     

Psychological relations and psychophysical scales: On the status of “direct” psychophysical measurement

Arguments, originally developed some fifteen years ago, concerning the sort of “direct” psychophysical measurement advocated by S. S. Stevens are reproduced here in order to facilitate access by a wider audience. Considerations of measurement theory, biological adaptation, perceptual invariance, and neurophysiological noise, as well as various empirical results, suggest (a) that it is primarily the relations—particularly the ratios—between stimulus magnitudes and not the individual magnitudes themselves that are represented within the organism and, accordingly, (b) that “direct” psychophysical measurement, by itself, uniquely determines neither a psychological magnitude of any one stimulus nor a psychophysical law relating such psychological magnitudes to corresponding physical magnitudes. What such measurement can uniquely determine, evidently, is a psychological parameter characterizing each sensory continuum.     

Some effects of the Edinburgh Masker on stuttering during oral reading and spontaneous speech

This study assessed the effect of a voice-activated masking unit, known as the Edinburgh Masker, on the speech of four stutterers during oral reading and spontaneous speech. The results show that one stutterer reduced stuttering almost completely whenever the masker was activated. Two subjects showed either marginal or temporary reductions of stuttering during one speaking condition but showed no change in the other condition. The other subject reduced stuttering only during spontaneous speech. No reduction in stuttering was associated with reduced speech rate. A perceptual analysis procedure conducted to assess for altered speech quality during masking conditions found changes in speech quality were evident in two subjects. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Three-mode factor analytic reference curves for concept identification

Tucker's three-mode common factor analysis is used to explore the intrinsic individual differences in a figural, disjunctive conceptual behavior task. The results reveal differential shifts in the structure of the individual differences during concept identification. Individual patterns can be described by five factors, each of which specifies the parameter vales for the shape of the individual performance functions. A three-way core further identifies the nature of the individual differences factors. These results indicate that averaged curves for the separate response measures would not have adequately reflected the individual data in this sample. The present findings are consistent with earlier work and suggest that a better approach to the study of complex human behavior is to identify the individual differences intrinsic to the situation before mapping antecedent influences on the dimensionality of the behavior.     

An exposure approach to alcohol abuse

The drinking behaviour of alcoholics was firstly analysed in terms of antecedents, behaviour and consequences. Thereafter, treatment consisted of exposure to the antecedents of drinking, whilst patients were prevented from drinking. Five out of the six patients attained abstinence from drinking by the end of therapy, this abstinence being maintained over follow-ups of up to 9 months, and also noted an absence of desire to drink at the end of therapy. The possible mechanisms in operation during treatment are discussed, including operant or classical conditioning, teaching of self control and cognitive invalidation.     

What's what: talkers help listeners hear and understand by clarifying sentential relations

It was predicted that a talker would clarify the sentential relations of an utterance if a listener indicated difficulty in hearing and understanding. Subjects read syntactically clear and distorted sentences to a listener (experimenter) in an adjoining room. The experimenter often asked “What?” Subjects changed distorted versions to clear versions, while repeating clear versions essentially as first read. Other subjects were asked to make the sentences clear and simple to understand. The same basic results were obtained. Talkers thus seem to interpret a “What?” partly as a request for clearer sentential relations and respond accordingly. The results indicate that talkers have knowledge of underlying structure. Several alternate explanations can be rejected. A relative derivational theory of complexity is presented.     

Differential runway performance using goal box placement and running trials as discriminative stimuli

Two experiments compared the effects of reinforced, partially reinforced and nonreinforced intertrial goal box placements (ITR, ITP, and ITN respectively) on runway performance. In Experiment I differential responding (animals running slower on nonreinforced (N) trials than on reinforced (R) trials) was observed during acquisition for subjects receiving ITP preceding N trials or subjects receiving ITP before R trials, and also for subjects receiving ITR preceding N trials. No differential responding was observed in subjects receiving ITP prior to both N and R trials or ITN prior to N trials. In extinction, the subjects which had responded differentially during acquisition demonstrated reduced resistance to extinction in comparison to the subjects which had not. In Experiment II, a 2 × 2 factorial design was utilized with placement schedule (ITN and ITP) and type of trial predicted by placement (N and R) serving as the factors. Differential responding was observed in all four groups. The apparent contradiction between the results and the discrimination hypothesis proposed by Capaldi and Olivier (1967) to explain the attenuation of ITR and ITN effects on resistance to extinction is discussed.