Universes of Fuzzy Sets and Axiomatizations of Fuzzy Set Theory. Part I: Model-Based and Axiomatic Approaches

For classical sets one has with the cumulative hierarchy of sets, with axiomatizations like the system ZF, and with the category SET of all sets and mappings standard approaches toward global universes of all sets. We discuss here the corresponding situation for fuzzy set theory.Our emphasis will be on various approaches toward (more or less naively formed)universes of fuzzy sets as well as on axiomatizations, and on categories of fuzzy sets. What we give is a (critical)survey of quite a lot of such approaches which have been offered in the last approximately 35 years. The present Part I is devoted to model based and to axiomatic approaches; the forth-coming Part II will be devoted to category theoretic approaches. This paper is a version of the invited talk given by the author at the conference Trends in Logic III, dedicated to the memory of A. MOSTOWSKI, H. RASIOWA and C. RAUSZER, and held in Warsaw and Ruciane-Nida from 23rd to 25th September 2005. Presented by Jacek Malinowski     

Is this a question? Not for long. The statement bias

Four experiments demonstrate a fundamental ‘statement bias’: questions are more often misremembered as statements than vice versa. The bias increases with increasing item comprehensibility (Experiment 1) and is related to depth of processing at encoding (Experiment 2). When sentences are simply comprehended, the bias is not affected by the truth of the statement underlying the sentence (Experiment 3). The statement bias generalizes to contexts in which people have to express consent with the content of the sentence (Experiment 4) but is somewhat reduced when they are not sure what the correct answer is. Our findings are consistent with the idea that during processing of a sentence the content of the sentence is represented similar to a statement.     

Explicit Persuasive Intent and Its Impact on Success at Persuasion—The Determining Roles of Attractiveness and Likeableness

The effect on the impact of a message of explicitly stating a desire to persuade can depend on the communicator's physical attractiveness. Experiment 1 confirmed this possibility. Attractive male and female salespersons induced more positive attitudes and stronger intentions to purchase a product when they explicitly stated their desire to influence potential buyers. In contrast, unattractive salespersons were less likely to induce a favorable attitude toward the product under these conditions. Experiment 2 replicated these effects and provided evidence that they are mediated by the attribution of self‐serving motives to the salesperson. A 2‐step process of impression formation and attribution was used to describe the mechanisms underlying these effects.     

Cognitive modeling with spreadsheets

Spreadsheet implementations of two different types of cognitive models—a neural network model and a statistical model—are presented. The two examples illustrate how to employ the facilities of spreadsheets, the spreadsheet data structure, array functions, the built-in function library, and the integrated optimizer, for building cognitive models. The two presented models are new extensions of existing models. They are used for simulating data from experiments illustrating that the extended versions are able to explain experimental results that could not be simulated by the original models. The whole simulation study demonstrates that spreadsheets are a handy tool, especially for researchers without programming knowledge who want to build cognitive models and for instructors teaching cognitive modeling.     

Modeling associative recognition: a comparison of two-high-threshold, two-high-threshold signal detection, and mixture distribution models

A 2-high-threshold signal detection (HTSDT) model, a mixture distribution (SON) model, and 2-high-threshold (HT) models with responses distributed over 1 or several response categories were fit to results of 6 experiments from 2 studies on associative recognition: R. Kelley and J. T. Wixted (2001) and A. P. Yonelinas (1997). HTSDT assumes that associative recognition is based on conscious recollection and familiarity assessment, whereas according to SON and HT, associative information results in a shift of familiarity. The modeling results cast doubt on the prominent role of conscious recollection, and as far as models are valid, parameter estimation suggests 2 processes in associative recognition: a shift in familiarity that is due to associative information and the determination of the source of familiarity of pairs.     

Testing the Four Main Predictions of the Interpersonal–Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behavior in an Inpatient Sample Admitted Due to Severe Suicidality

This study aimed to evaluate four main predictions of the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS): the importance of perceived burdensomeness (PB), thwarted belongingness (TB), hopelessness (H), and capability for suicide (CS) for (passive/active) suicide ideation, suicide intent and suicide attempts. N = 308 psychiatric inpatients admitted due to severe suicidality (53.6% female: n = 165; age: M = 36.82, SD = 14.30, range: 18–81) completed self-report measures of TB, PB, H, CS and suicide ideation as well as interviews on suicide intent and suicide attempts. TB and PB were associated with (passive/active) suicidal ideation, whereas the three-way interaction PB, TB, and H was not associated with active suicide ideation. Fearlessness about death in conjunction with active suicidal ideation was not associated with suicide intent and the interaction of PB, TB, and CS was neither predictive of recent suicide attempt status nor lifetime number of suicide attempts. Given the cross-sectional nature of the data, conclusions on causality should be handled carefully. The results challenge the theoretical validity of the IPTS and its clinical utility—at least within the methodological limitations of the current study. Yet, findings underscore the importance of PB in understanding suicidality.     

The Explanatory Power of the General Theory of Crime: A Comparative Analysis of a General Population and Serious Offender Sample

The purpose of this study was to investigate—via direct comparison—the fundamental supposition that the general theory of crime should be valid for both criminal and analogous behavior in both an offender and a general population sample. The core constructs of the theory, namely the influence of parenting style on self-control and the relationship with different manifestations of deviance, were analyzed by comparing a sample of incarcerated sexual and violent offenders with a general population sample. The validity of the general theory could only be confirmed for the offender population.     

‘The less I trust,the less I contribute (or not)?’ The effects of trust,accountability and self‐monitoring in social dilemmas

The present research examined the influence of trust, accountability, and self‐monitoring on individual decision makers' willingness to contribute in a give‐some game and in an experimental public goods dilemma. Previous research has shown that trust and contributions are positively related such that high trusters generally contribute more than low trusters. The present research questions the pervasiveness of this relation by arguing that low trusters may increase their contributions to the same level as those of high trusters, but only under circumstances where their decisions are highly identifiable to their interaction partner(s). Both studies showed that strong perceptions of trust, high accountability and high self‐monitoring influenced contributions positively. In line with predictions, individuals low in trust contributed up to the same level as high trusters when accountability was high rather than low. Moreover, this interaction between trust and accountability was only found among those classified as high self‐monitors. Our results suggest that the well‐known positive relation between trust and contributions may take a different form when situational cues and individual predispositions are taken into account. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.