Accuracy in scientific discourse

Response to Rudmin, F. W. & Ahmadzadeh, V. (2001). Psychometric critique of acculturation psychology: The case of Iranian migrants in Norway.     

Historical misrepresentation in science: The case of fetal alcohol syndrome

The history of the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) provides a microcosm in which to explore the larger ramifications of historical citations in biomedical publications. Though some historical references such as Biblical writings may hint at a rudimentary understanding of the relationship between maternal drinking and fetal development, no definitive case can be made for an understanding of FAS dating back hundreds of years. Authors who claim an impressive history for FAS misrepresent that history. The modern history of FAS raises a question concerning citations of original discoveries. The first paper describing ethanol-induced damage to the fetus appeared in 1968 yet most researchers cite one of two papers from 1973. Both ancient citations and modern references to original discoveries pose difficult questions for the scientist. Both dilemmas may be solved by a better reading of the literature and a more judicious wording when writing about history. This work was supported in part by Grant # AA10681 to SNP.     

Process and detection in fraud and deceit

There has been considerable interest recently in scientific misconduct. Although much has been written and discussed about specific cases, very little, if any, research has been carried out on the process of fraud. An understanding of this aspect can contribute much to methods of detection and lead to recommendations for preventing misconduct and for implementation of appropriate sanctions where fraud has been detected and proved. In this article I initiate a study of the process of fraud using a series of case studies. Hypotheses are generated by methods pioneered by Peirce and most recently developed and thoroughly discussed by Glaser and Strauss under the name of grounded theory. Some illustrations of what can be learned from such studies are included.     

Direct and collateral effects of positive reinforcement,response cost,and mixed contingencies for academic performance

The relative effects of positive reinforcement, response cost, and the two contingencies combined when used as contingencies for correct academic responses were compared on the dependent measures of accuracy of academic performance and level of on-task behavior. Thirty-three fourth- and fifth-grade pupils served as subjects. A combination of between-group and within-group comparisons indicated that all three contingency systems increased academic performance and on-task behavior (even though on-task behavior was never directly reinforced), but differences in effectiveness between the systems were insignificant. Most importantly, treatment effects on academic performance and on-task behavior persisted following abrupt withrawal of treatments for all three contingency systems. These results confirm earlier speculations that the reinforcement of academic behavior is (a) more likely to positively influene both academic and on-task behavior than in reinforcement of on-task behavior, and (b) is much more resistant to extinction following abrupt termination of the program.     

Conceptual metaphors are not automatically accessed during idiom comprehension

Do conceptual analogies motivate idiom use and comprehension in discourse? For example, a story in which a person is described asfuming would be analogically consistent with an idiom such asblew her top, but inconsistent with an idiom such asbite his head off. Earlier work by Nayak and Gibbs(1990) had suggested that people use such analogical information during idiom comprehension. We replicated their findings inan idiom choice task, suggesting that people can indeed make use of such knowledge. However, when reading times were used to assess idiom comprehensibility, no effects of analogical consistency were found. We conclude that conceptual analogies play little, if any, role in idiom comprehension unless people have the time (and motivation) to make considered judgments.     

Evaluating the integration hypothesis: A meta-analysis of the ICSEY project data using two new methods

The Integration Hypothesis states that acculturating migrants who adopt the integration strategy (i.e. being doubly engaged, in both their heritage culture and in the larger national society) will have better psychological and socio-cultural adaptation than those who adopt any other strategy (Assimilation, Separation or Marginalization). This hypothesis was supported in the original evaluation of the ICSEY project data, using the mean adaptation scores for individuals in the four acculturation clusters. This conclusion was further supported by an analysis that used scores that were derived from the two underlying dimensions. This paper further evaluates this hypothesis meta-analytically using two new methods: Cultural Involvement and Cultural Preference; and Euclidean Distance. The results showed that these two methods provided support for the integration hypothesis, for both psychological adaptation and socio-cultural adaptation. The pattern of relationships was stronger for positive than for negative indicators of adaptation. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.     

The curious case of spacetime emergence

Philosophical Studies - Work in quantum gravity suggests that spacetime is not fundamental. Rather, spacetime emerges from an underlying, non-spatiotemporal reality. After clarifying the type of...     

Grounding at a distance

Philosophical Studies - What distinguishes causation from grounding? One suggestion is that causation, but not grounding, occurs over time. Recently, however, counterexamples to this simple...     

On the reality of the conjunction fallacy

Attributing higher "probability" to a sentence of form p-and-q, relative to p, is a reasoning fallacy only if (1) the word probability carries its modern, technical meaning and (2) the sentence p is interpreted as a conjunct of the conjunction p-and-q. Legitimate doubts arise about both conditions in classic demonstrations of the conjunction fallacy. We used betting paradigms and unambiguously conjunctive statements to reduce these sources of ambiguity about conjunctive reasoning. Despite the precautions, conjunction fallacies were as frequent under betting instructions as under standard probability instructions.     

Induction as conditional probability judgment

Existing research on category-based induction has primarily focused on reasoning about blank properties, or predicates that are designed to elicit little prior knowledge. Here, we address reasoning about nonblank properties. We introduce a model of conditional probability that assumes that the conclusion prior probability is revised to the extent warranted by the evidence in the premise. The degree of revision is a function of the relevance of the premise category to the conclusion and the informativeness of the premise statement. An algebraic formulation with no free parameters accurately predicted conditional probabilities for single- and two-premise conditionals (Experiments 1 and 3), as well as problems involving negative evidence (Experiment 2).