Rules in relevant logic — II: Formula representation

This paper surveys the various forms of Deduction Theorem for a broad range of relevant logics. The logics range from the basic system B of Routley-Meyer through to the system R of relevant implication, and the forms of Deduction Theorem are characterized by the various formula representations of rules that are either unrestricted or restricted in certain ways. The formula representations cover the iterated form,A ₁ .A ₂ . ... .A _n B, the conjunctive form,A ₁&A ₂ & ...A _n B, the combined conjunctive and iterated form, enthymematic version of these three forms, and the classical implicational form,A ₁&A ₂& ...A _n B. The concept of general enthymeme is introduced and the Deduction Theorem is shown to apply for rules essentially derived using Modus Ponens and Adjunction only, with logics containing either (A B)&(B C) .A C orA B .B C .A C.I acknowledge help from anonymous referees for guidance in preparing Part II, and especially for the suggestion that Theorem 9 could be expanded to fully contraction-less logics.     

Faking Good: An Investigation of Social Desirability and Defensiveness in an Inpatient Sample With Personality Disorder Traits

Accurate interpretations of psychological assessments rely heavily on forthright reporting. However, researchers and practitioners recognize that examinees can easily invalidate their test results by underreporting symptoms or overstating positive attributes. Rogers (2008) delineated two distinct but related forms of positive impression management (PIM): defensiveness (denying symptoms and psychological impairment) and social desirability (putting forth an exaggeratedly positive image). Although these two have often been combined in past research, this study sought to investigate each separately via a mixed within- and between-subjects simulation design. Simulation scenarios included a special rehabilitation program for the defensiveness (DF) condition and a competitive job for social desirability (SD). The study used the Personality Inventory for DSM–5 (PID–5; Krueger, Derringer, Markon, Watson, & Skodol, 2012) and recruited 106 inpatients from a psychiatric hospital. As expected, inpatients with prominent personality traits substantially suppressed them under both PIM conditions. Having shown the susceptibility of the PID–5 to intentional distortion, two empirically derived and conceptually based validity scales were next developed to address this important concern. Pending further validation, they might contribute to screening PIM presentations, thus promoting the PID–5's clinical utility. Continued research is needed across multiscale inventories for differentiating PIM presentations.     

Developmental trajectories to heroin dependence: Theoretical and clinical issues

We have built up a great deal of insight into the early developmental trajectories that lead to heroin use. These cluster under five domains: social disadvantage, parental drug use/psychopathology, childhood abuse and neglect, early onset psychopathology and antisocial behaviors, and a developmental sequence of drug onsets. While not all heroin users have these risk factors, the broad clinical picture shows these early correlates to be the predominant presentation. We discuss each of the early psychosocial correlates of heroin dependence, as well as possible early interventions. Given the chronicity of heroin dependence, interventions to prevent heroin use emerging would reduce the considerable burden of disease associated with the disorder.     

A generalization of the interpoint distance model

Coombs and Kao have conjectured that, given the distances between a set of points representing persons and another representing objects, factor analytic methods can be used to recover the locations of the persons and objects. In the present paper it is proved that the conjecture applies, with some qualifications, to squared distances rather than distances themselves. Possible applications to scaling and to inventory responses are discussed.Most of the work that resulted in this paper was done while the authors were affiliated with Educational Testing Service. Portions of this paper were presented at the APA convention, St. Louis, 1962.     

Non-associative fear acquisition: a review of the evidence from retrospective and longitudinal research

It is axiomatic that the capacity to experience fear is adaptive, enabling rapid and energetic response to imminent threat or danger. Despite the generally accepted utility of functional fear, the nature of maladaptive fear remains controversial. There is still no consensus about how specific fears and phobias are acquired and modulated. Two major schools of thought are apparent: those suggesting dysfunctional fear arises largely as the result of associative-conditioning processes versus those who favour more biologically based etiological explanations. In this regard, the non-associative model of fear acquisition postulates the existence of a limited number of innate, evolutionary-relevant fears, while emphasising conditioning modes of onset for evolutionary-neutral fears. Recent retrospective and longitudinal studies have tested predictions from the non-associative model. In general, findings support non-associative hypotheses and are difficult to reconcile with neo-conditioning explanations of fear acquisition. These data suggest that four pathways to fear may provide the most parsimonious theory of fear etiology. The theoretical and practical implications of adding a fourth, non-associative path to Rachman's (Behav. Res. Ther. (1977) 15, 375-387) three 'associative' pathways are discussed. Unresolved issues requiring further investigation are considered.