Case-to-Case Arguments

Arguers sometimes cite a decision made in an earlier situation as a reason for making the equivalent decision in a later situation. I argue that there are two kinds of “case-to-case arguments”. First, there are arguments by precedent, which cite the mere existence of the past decision as a reason to decide in the same way again now, independent of the past decision’s merits. Second, there are case-to-case arguments from parralel reasoning which presuppose that the past decision was justified and are used to show that an equivalent present decision would also be justified. Both arguments are a type of argument by analogy. They differ in their structures and conditions of cogency, even though they often look the same in presentation. Their similar appearance poses a risk of miss-evaluation and fallacious use. Therefore a clearly theorized distinction is important.     

Variability of olfactory threshold and its role in assessment of aging

Olfactory thresholds of elderly persons (over 65 years) average one to two orders of magnitude higher than those of young adults (under 30 years). Past studies reveal enormous spreads (typically about three orders of magnitude) of individual thresholds within each age group and extensive overlap between the two groups—enough to question how typically decline in sensitivity characterizes the individual aged person. The present study shows that much of the observed overlap is misleading, because the brief threshold tests usually administered tend to exaggerate individual differences. A more representative assessment of an individual’s threshold (for 1-butanol) was achieved by averaging the thresholds from two to eight separate short tests, spread over 4 days. The spread of each group’s thresholds (12 young and 12 elderly subjects) narrowed strikingly as the number of tests averaged increased from one to four; further tests accomplished no additional narrowing of spread. Based on a single test, thresholds of young and elderly overlapped in the usual way; but based on four or more tests, thresholds of young and elderly overlapped little or not at all. The outcome (1) argues that decline in smell sensitivity seems to be, after all, a common feature of aging, and (2) sheds light on the sourcesof variability of sensory thresholds.     

Positive and Negative Peer Influence in Residential Care

The potential for negative peer influence has been well established in research, and there is a growing interest in how positive peer influence also impacts youth. No research, however, has concurrently examined positive and negative peer influence in the context of residential care. Clinical records for 886 residential care youth were used in a Hierarchical Linear Model analysis to examine the impact of negative and positive peer influence on naturally occurring patterns of serious problem behavior over time. Negative peer influence, where the majority of youth in a home manifested above the average number of serious behavior problems, occurred 13.7% of the time. Positive peer influence, where the majority of youth manifested no serious problem behaviors for the month, occurred 47.7% of the time. Overall, youth problem behavior improved over time. There were significantly lower rates of serious problem behavior in target youth during positive peer influence months. Conversely, there were significantly higher rates of serious problem behaviors in target youth during negative peer influence months. Negative peer influence had a relatively greater impact on target peers’ serious behavior problems than did positive peer influence. Caregiver experience significantly reduced the impact of negative peer influence, but did not significantly augment positive peer influence. Months where negative peer influence was combined with inexperienced caregivers produced the highest rates of serious problem behavior. Our results support the view that residential programs for troubled youth need to create circumstances that promote positive and control for negative peer influence.     

Individual brightness functions

A total of 34 individual brightness functions were measured for 18 observers by two different methods. In one method the observer set various luminance levels of a white target and assigned numbers proportional to the apparent brightness of the levels set. In the other method the observer adjusted the loudness of a white noise and the luminance of a white target in order to achieve a series of cross-modality matches between loudness and brightness. Both methods gave good approximations to power functions, showing that the psychophysical power law holds for the individual perceiver.     

Jungian approach to human aggression with special emphasis on war

Cross-cultural and interdisciplinary agreement as to the universality of aggressive behavior and warfare is compatible with Jung's [(1959): “The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Vol 9, Part I, Para 3.” London: Routledge] theory of archetypes functioning as components of the human collective unconscious. Jungian formulations involve a phylogenetic view of psychic phenomena since archetypes are conceived as neuropsychic entities which evolved through natural selection. It is argued that the banding together of young males for the purpose of aggressive pursuits such as hunting, intergroup conflict, and warfare is a biologically transmitted propensity mediated by archetypal structures in the human brain-psyche. Universally apparent patterns of affiliative and hostile behaviors are linked to Chance's [(1988): “Social Fabrics of the Mind.” London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates] hedonic and agonic modes and seen as later ontological expressions of archetypal structures responsible in childhood for formation of bonds of attachment to familiars and avoidance and wariness of strangers. Erikson's [(1984): Yale Review 73(4): 481–486] concept of pseudospeciation is associated with Jung's concept of shadow projection to elucidate the phenomena of patriotism, xenophobia, national paranoia, Lorenz's [(1966): “On Aggression.” London: Methuen & Co.] “militant enthusiasm,” propaganda, and mobilization for war. Finally, it is argued that peace between nations can be promoted through conscious awareness of archetypally determined patterns of intergroup conflict and a collective resolve not to pseudospeciate our neighbors. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.