A PARADIGM FOR OPERANT CONDITIONING IN BLOW FLIES (PHORMIA TERRAE NOVAE ROBINEAU‐DESVOIDY, 1830)

An operant conditioning situation for the blow fly (Protophormia terrae novae) is described. Individual flies are trained to enter and reenter a hole as the operant response. Only a few sessions of contingent reinforcement are required to increase response rates. When the response is no longer followed by food, the rate of entering the hole decreases. Control procedures revealed that rate of responding is not a simple overall result of feeding or of aging. The flies entered into the hole only if the response was required to obtain the food.     

Distribution-free tests of stochastic dominance for small samples

One variable is said to “stochastically dominate” another if the probability of observations smaller than x is greater for one variable than the other, for all x. Inferring stochastic dominance from data samples is important for many applications of econometrics and experimental psychology, but little is known about the performance of existing inferential methods. Through simulation, we show that three of the most widely used inferential methods are inadequate for use in small samples of the size commonly encountered in many applications (up to 400 observations from each distribution). We develop two new inferential methods that perform very well in a limited, but practically important, case where the two variables are guaranteed not to be equal in distribution. We also show that extensions of these new methods, and an improved version of an existing method, perform quite well in the original, unlimited case.     

The pursuit of the natural

In recent years, it has become common to defend science against charges of bias against the supernatural by explaining that science must remain methodologically natural but does not assume metaphysical naturalism. While such a response is correct, some details about the distinction between methodological naturalism and ontological or metaphysical naturalism have been lacking, as has a clear understanding of the distinction between the methodological restriction of science to natural explanations and naturalistic claims about the scope of those methods. We still require an account of the natural that explains well why science is restricted to giving naturalistic methods, and why the pursuit of natural explanations is not tantamount to the assumption that only natural causes exist. I suggest that the distinguishing characteristics of the natural are not metaphysical at all but broadly epistemological, concerning goals of intersubjectivity and predictability. I argue that by focusing on naturalistic goals we can better explain why the pursuit of natural explanations need not presume any purely natural metaphysics. But I also suggest that the adoption of natural methods is not entirely metaphysically neutral, as it is associated with values that may be more closely associated with some metaphysical views than others.     

Troublesome Sentiments: The Origins of Dewey’s Antipathy to Children’s Imaginative Activities

One of the interesting aspects of Dewey’s early educational thought is his apparent hostility toward children’s imaginative pursuits, yet the question of why this antipathy exists remains unanswered. As will become clear, Dewey’s hostility towards imaginative activities stemmed from a broad variety of concerns. In some of his earliest work, Dewey adopted a set of anti-Romantic criticisms and used these concerns to attack what one might call “runaway” imaginative and emotional tendencies. Then, in his early educational writings, these earlier concerns were augmented by several other factors, including problematic trends in progressive education, new developments in psychology, and Dewey’s own educational aims. This analysis explores the roots of these criticisms, and explains how they culminate in the stance on the imagination that Dewey eventually outlined in the early educational writings. Notably, these findings have some important implications for certain prominent contemporary critics of progressivism.     

Mimicking disliked others: Effects of a priori liking on the mimicry‐liking link

The sharing of bodily states elicits in mimicker and mimickee corresponding conceptualisations, which facilitates liking. There are many studies showing the relatedness of mimicry and liking. However, the mimicry‐liking link has not been investigated under conditions in which the mimickee is liked or disliked a priori. In two studies, we examined moderating effects of a priori liking on the mimicry‐liking link. Liking was measured via self‐report measures (Studies 1 and 2) and behavioural measures using a virtual environment technology (Study 2). Results showed that when participants intentionally mimicked a disliked person, liking for that person was not improved, whereas when participants mimicked a liked person, liking for that person increased. These effects were shown to be mediated by affiliation. These studies not only provided further evidence of a link between mimicry and liking, but also demonstrated that this relationship is moderated by a priori liking. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Community Psychology of Men and Masculinity: Historical and Conceptual Review

This paper introduces the special section by presenting a historical and conceptual review of theory and research on the psychology of men and masculinity and then introducing the section’s papers. Men have power because of their gender, but differ in access to power based on other individual characteristics such as social class, income, education, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or physical strength. Men typically have been studied as generic rather than gendered beings in psychology. In contrast, a gendered analysis of men highlights the ways in which men’s experience, masculinity, and behavior contribute to health and social problems and to resources commonly addressed by community psychologists. Our gendered analysis suggests ways of working with men in group, organizational, and community settings to create positive individual and social change. Crucial to this analysis is the paradox that enacting masculinity both privileges and damages men. A second paradox stems from men having power as a group over women while individual men feel powerless or victimized by women as a group. The papers in this volume illustrate key themes of our historical and conceptual review through studies of adolescent and adult men as fathers, patients, partner abusers, support group participants and community members, and through examination of the impact of their gendered identities and behavior on health, well being, and justice.     

Chemical diffusion by vacancy pairs in intermetallic compounds with the B2 structure

This paper is concerned with the implications of vacancy-pair mechanisms on chemical diffusion in intermetallic compounds with the B2 structure. The discussion specifically includes the so-called triple-defect mechanism. It is shown that the vacancy-pair mechanism cannot contribute to chemical diffusion in the intermetallic compound at the stoichiometric composition AB. Focusing on the triple-defect mechanism we extend it to non-stoichiometric compositions by including isolated antistructural atoms. By means of Monte Carlo simulation we show that the efficiency of the triple-defect mechanism in providing for chemical diffusion increases linearly with increasing antistructural atom composition but the efficiency remains relatively low unless the composition is highly non-stoichiometric.     

Kinetics of photoinduced changes in Ag nanoparticles deposited on an indium tin oxide surface

An enhancement of the UV-visible optical absorption spectra of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) surfaces of different resistance by a seed-mediated growth technique is presented. A bicolour coherent beam, obtained from a pulsed Nd:YAG laser providing a 1060-nm fundamental wavelength and a double-frequency one at 530?nm, was used. A significant change in the optical density is observed for Ag NPs on low-resistance ITO surfaces (≈4?Ω/square), while almost nothing occurs with high-resistance (≈50?Ω/square surfaces). The spectral position of the maximal absorption at 440?nm is almost preserved in both cases. This result is explained in terms of a local photoinduced static field and surface-plasmon polaritons interacting with photoexcited phonons. A grating effect, arising from the coherent bicolour light forming a superstructure as for quantum crystals, could be another contribution.     

Precipitation in a Cu–4Ti–2Be alloy

It is known that the binary Cu–2?wt.% Be alloy can be strengthened by ageing its supersaturated solution at 523?K. The increase in the strength arising from ageing is because of the formation of GP zones. The same level of strength is achieved by ageing the supersaturated solid solution of a dilute binary Cu–4?wt.% Ti alloy at 723?K. In contrast to Cu–2?wt.% Be alloy, the increase in strength in this alloy occurs on account of spinodal decomposition of the as-quenched microstructure through the mechanism of clustering and ordering. In the present study, decomposition of a supersaturated solid solution of the ternary Cu–4?wt.% Ti–2?wt.% Be alloy was studied. Whereas ageing of this alloy at 523?K resulted in the formation of GP zones like in a Cu–2?wt.% Be alloy, ageing at 723?K resulted in a spinodally decomposed microstructure as in a Cu–4?wt.% Ti alloy. The decomposition of the ternary alloy at the two temperatures by two different mechanisms indicates that Be and Ti in solution in Cu act, more or less, independently of each other during ageing.     

The Effect of Non‐native Accents on the Evaluation of Applicants during an Employment Interview: The development of a path model

As the workplace becomes increasingly global, organizations are more likely to employ individuals with non‐native accents. The present study looked at the influence of accents on the evaluation of job applicants during an interview. In addition, a path model was developed to understand the accent condition–hiring recommendation relationship. Participants were asked to evaluate an applicant with one of three accents (Midwestern US, French, Mexican) at two understandability levels (low and high) by listening to an audiofile. The results showed that the applicant with the Midwestern US accent was seen as more hirable than the applicant with the French low understandability accent. The path model indicated that the accent condition–hiring recommendation relationship was mediated by similarity, interpersonal attraction, and understandability.