Average exponent from magnitude production

When magnitude production is used to obtain a psychophysical power function for a group ofSs, the group exponent is shown to be the harmonic mean of individual-S exponents under the conditions usually employed in empirical research. The conditions are (a) the same numbers are presented to eachS, (b) responses to each number are pooled overSs by taking geometric means, and (c) the function is fit by the method of least squares in which regression is of the logarithm ofSs' responses upon the logarithm of numbers presented byE.This paper was supported in part by grant no. APA-151 from the National Research Council of Canada. The author wishes to thank William W. Rozeboom for his helpful comments on this paper.     

Perceptual equivalence between visual and tactual pattern perception: An anchoring study

An anchoring design was used to investigate correspondence between visual and tactual scaling of complexity when two samples of random polygons served as stimulus forms. The results support the conclusion that within an adjustment for differential acuity between vision and active touch input is referred to a common perceptual mechanism.     

The effects of false feedback on attributed arousal and rated attractiveness in female subjects1

In an expanded version of the Valins false feedback paradigm, female subjects viewed ten slides of seminude males accompanied by either an increase or no change in amplified heart beats. Heart rate increase slides were rated as both more attractive and more arousing than no-change slides. These two measures were highly correlated, and did not differ significantly in the degree to which they were influenced by feedback. Subjects also showed significantly greater changes in actual heart rate for the increasing feedback slides than for the no-change slides, although the feedback produced no corresponding differences in GSR. Despite the effects on both subjective report and cardiac activity, correlations between these two measures were generally nonsignificant. Subjects classified as high in autonomic perception showed no significant relationship between actual cardiac activity and slide ratings, nor were they more influenced in their ratings by the feedback than subjects low in autonomic perception. Implications for the false feedback paradigm and for current issues in the social psychology and psychophysiology of emotion are discussed.     

Solutions to some nonlinear equations from nonmetric data

A method is presented to provide estimates of parameters of specified nonlinear equations from ordinal data generated from a crossed design. The analytic method, NOPE, is an iterative method in which monotone regression and the Gauss-Newton method of least squares are applied alternatively until a measure of stress is minimized. Examples of solutions from artificial data are presented together with examples of applications of the method to experimental results.This work was begun while the author was on sabbatical leave during 1970–71 at the Department of Mathematical Psychology, University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands, where discussions with E. E. Roskam on the problem were very helpful. Support was provided by Grant A0151 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council, Canada.     

Assimilation and contrast illusions: Differences in plasticity

Three experiments show differences in the plasticity of the contrast and assimilation portions of the Delboeuf, Ebbinghaus, and Ponzo illusions. Contrast illusions show decrement in illusion magnitude with free inspection, whereas assimilation illusions do not. A model to explain both the original distortion and the differential susceptibility of the two classes of illusion to decrement is offered.     

A computer-oriented task analysis method for mathematics instruction

Components of a computer solution for fraction problems in arithmetic have an analog in a new approach to educational task analysis. The components may be called goal-setting or planning elements, in contrast to the goal-satisfying or behavioral steps emphasized in much contemporary task analysis. A hypothetical tutorial dialogue in which a student is asked to tell a tutor what step to perform next is presented as an example of the emphasis of the planning side of computation. Explicit identification of goal-setting elements of a task is illustrated by analysis of the task of converting a pair of fractions to a new pair with a common denominator. The decomposition thus produces is simulated with two computer programs: (1) a LISP program using a set of production rules consisting of conditions to be met and subsequent actions to be taken and (2) a PROLOG program stating goals and solving goals explicitly.     

A systems approach to decision making on student services

It is argued that student services in higher education need to be made more accountable. A systems approach to planning and evaluation is outlined, and problems of resource allocation and of performance measurement are discussed. Some research problems are also indicated. It is suggested that a system of the kind proposed will enable wider use to be made of limited resources.     

Theory of learning mathematics with computer-assisted instruction: Hierarchical and nonhierarchical options

The learning of arithmetic problems is assumed to be a Markov process involving conditioning of a set of k subskills, each consisting of one or more productions. An axiom set is provided, with the choice between two options for one axiom controlling which of two models results. Model 1, which assumes that every subskill is attempted on every occurrence of a given problem, is a nonhierarchical model. Model 2, which assumes that every subskill in the temporal sequence for a problem is attempted until one is failed, is a somewhat unconventional hierarchical model: It is hierarchical in the sense that conditioningor chance success at one level is prerequisite to performance of the next subskill (next level) in the problem. As the value of the guessing parameter, g, declines, Model 2 leads to less efficient learning than Model 1.