ACHIEVING A SCIENCE OF SACRED DOCTRINE*

Aquinas claims that sacred doctrine is a science, or scientia. All scientiae involve demonstrations containing principles which yield conclusions that are necessary and certain. The principles leading to sacred scientia are the articles of faith. Those articles are contained in Scripture and constitute the premises of demonstrations the conclusions of which form sacred doctrine's content. Because of those articles' divine origin, we can expect them to yield conclusions the truth of which is guaranteed. According to William Abraham, however, Aquinas must demonstrate Scripture's divine origin as a condition for achieving a sacred scientia. In the absence of such a demonstration, we cannot be certain that the articles contained in Scripture are God‐breathed, nor can we be certain that the conclusions deduced from them belong to sacred doctrine. Abraham argues that Aquinas's putative demonstration of Scripture's divine origin fails and—consequently—so does his attempt to establish a sacred scientia. In this paper, I will show that Aquinas never intended to provide such a demonstration, nor does he need to in order to secure sacred doctrine's status as a scientia. Furthermore, I will show that achieving sacred scientia is not, pace Abraham, an epistemological undertaking but a spiritual discipline that eventuates in knowledge of and love for God.     

Single versus multiple systems of category learning: Reply to Nosofsky and Kruschke (2002)

Nosofsky and Kruschke (2002) argued that the singlesystem ALCOVE model (Kruschke, 1992) can account for the dual-task category learning data reported by Waldron and Ashby (2001). In our reply, we argue that Nosofsky and Kruschke overstated the ability of ALCOVE to account for the Waldron and Ashby results. In fact, ALCOVE has difficulty with these data, and we show that the only versions of ALCOVE that actually fit the Waldron and Ashby accuracy data make incorrect predictions about other previously unreported features of that experiment. We also show that the dual-system COVIS model (Ashby, Alfonso-Reese, Turken, & Waldron, 1998) naturally predicts these results.     

The Token Activity: Generating Awareness of Power in Counseling Relationships

The authors present an experiential activity, the token activity, that increases student awareness of power and privilege dynamics. Student feedback is incorporated to offer perceptions and knowledge gained from their experience. Los autores presentan una actividad experiencial, la actividad simbólica, que incrementa la conciencia los estudiantes sobre poder y dinámica de privilegios. Se incluyen las reacciones de los estudiantes para ofrecer las percepciones y el conocimiento que adquirieron durante su experiencia.     

Critrial noise effects on rule-based category learning: The impact of delayed feedback

Variability in the representation of the decision criterion is assumed in many category-learning models, yet few studies have directly examined its impact. On each trial, criterial noise should result in drift in the criterion and will negatively impact categorization accuracy, particularly in rule-based categorization tasks, where learning depends on the maintenance and manipulation of decision criteria. In three experiments, we tested this hypothesis and examined the impact of working memory on slowing the drift rate. In Experiment 1, we examined the effect of drift by inserting a 5-sec delay between the categorization response and the delivery of corrective feedback, and working memory demand was manipulated by varying the number of decision criteria to be learned. Delayed feedback adversely affected performance, but only when working memory demand was high. In Experiment 2, we built on a classic finding in the absolute identification literature and demonstrated that distributing the criteria across multiple dimensions decreases the impact of drift during the delay. In Experiment 3, we confirmed that the effect of drift during the delay is moderated by working memory. These results provide important insights into the interplay between criterial noise and working memory, as well as providing important constraints for models of rule-based category learning.     

EFFECTS OF CHOOSING ACADEMIC ASSIGNMENTS ON A STUDENT WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

The effects of choosing academic assignments on the undesirable behaviors manifested by a second-grade student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were analyzed. This study extended Dunlap et al.'s (1994) research on choice making as a form of antecedent control. A reversal design showed that undesirable behaviors decreased when the student was given a choice of academic assignments.     

Loss of Control,Attributions, and Helplessness in the Homeless1

Control has emerged as an important psychological variable. The purpose of this project was to extend the concept of environmental control to the homeless shelter environment. Data from interviews conducted with residents of a homeless shelter supported the hypothesis that perceived loss of control over the shelter environment would be positively related to giving up on finding a home and employment. The hypothesis that the helplessness created by low control environments is consistent with the external, stable attributional style of “universal” helplessness was partially supported. Suggestions for future research are provided. Changes in the shelter environment are recommended for the treatment of helplessness in the homeless though helplessness is expected to persist as long as poverty, expensive housing, and prejudice against the homeless make efforts and outcomes noncontingent.     

Determinants of the perception of choice

Two experiments were conducted to investigate possible determinants of perceived choice. The first experiment employed an observer paradigm and the second employed an actor paradigm. The results of both studies provided evidence for the hypotheses that perceived choice will be greater when there is a small difference in attractiveness between outcome alternatives than when there is a large difference and under conditions of low certainty about the attractiveness of each outcome alternative than under conditions of high certainty. Also, the results of both studies provided some evidence for the hypothesis that the effect of the relative difference in attractiveness upon perceived choice will be greater under conditions of low certainty than under conditions of high certainty. The hypothesis that perceived choice will be less when there is no difference in attractiveness between outcome alternatives than when there is a small difference was not supported by the results of the first experiment but was supported by the results of the second experiment. The hypothesis that perceived choice will be greater the more time a person takes to select an action from possible actions was supported by results of the first experiment but not by those of the second experiment. The results for the relative difference and certainty variables were discussed in terms of a theoretical analysis of perceived choice.     

Effect of perceived choice,expected outcome,and observed outcome of an action on the causal attributions of actors

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that actors' causal attributions for success and failure would be affected by the degree of perceived choice they had in taking an action. Actors either were assigned, or selected one of four therapeutic outlines which were expected to have either a positive or a negative effect, and which actually had either a positive or negative outcome on a purportedly phobic person. For negative outcomes, it was predicted that perceived choice would induce a sense of personal responsibility when a positive outcome was expected, and lead actors to attribute more responsibility to themselves as a result. Results supported this prediction. For positive outcomes, however, actors attributed responsibility to themselves regardless of expectancy or choice. Actors were also found to attribute generally more responsibility to themselves for positive than negative outcomes. Results were discussed in terms of self-esteem motivation and the information available to the actor.     

Abrupt onsets cannot be ignored

Participants identified target letters at cued locations in the presence of occasional abrupt onsets of new distractor letters. The onsets distracted the participants and impaired their letter identification performance despite confirmation that they were using the information provided by the cue. This result contrasts with earlier results found by other researchers that revealed an ability of participants to ignore abrupt onsets in some cases. Our results, however, were obtained under conditions that prevented anticipatory eye movements to the target. In a subsequent experiment when participants were permitted to look at the target in advance, the distracting effect of the onsets was eliminated, suggesting that participants may have looked at the target in the earlier studies. We conclude that abrupt onsets cannot be ignored unless the target element receives a substantial advantage via fixation.