Haptic classification of common objects: Knowledge-driven exploration

In Experiment 1, haptically available object properties that would be diagnostic for constrained common object classification at the basic and subordinate levels were elicited in a questionnaire. The results are considered in terms of the nature of the haptically derived representations of common objects. Initial data are also presented regarding knowledge of the natural co-occurrence of properties in haptic object perception. In Experiment 2, the hand movements executed during haptic classification of manipulable common objects were examined. Manual exploration consisted of a two-stage sequence, an initial generalized "grasp-and -lift" routine, followed by a series of more specialized hand-movement patterns strongly driven by knowledge of the property diagnosticity for the specific object (obtained in Experiment 1). The current results may guide computational models of human haptic object classification and the development of perceptual systems for robots equipped with sensate dextrous hands, capable of intelligent exploration, recognition, and manipulation of concrete objects.     

The GRIMS. A psychometric instrument for the assessment of marital discord

Research in marital therapy has been disadvantaged by the lack of a good, short and recent psychometric questionnaire to objectively assess the state of a marriage for research, demographic and clinical purposes. The Golombok Rust Inventory of Marital State (GRIMS) is a companion questionnaire to the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS), and concentrates on aspects other than the sexual in a dyadic relationship between two adults living together. It is a 28 item psychometrically constructed inventory designed to produce a single scale along which changes in a marriage may develop as marital therapy progresses. It has been shown to be valid for this purpose, and to have a good reliability.     

The lateralization of language comprehension using event-related potentials

Event-Related Potentials were recorded over occipital and parietal scalp from left- and right-handed adults presented with a language and a non-language visual stimulus using a divided field, "oddball" paradigm. The major finding of interest was that the P300 component was larger over the left than the right hemisphere of the right-handers when the language stimulus was presented to the left hemisphere; there were no hemispheric differences for the left-handers, regardless of field of presentation. These results are discussed in the context of developing noninvasive measures to lateralize language function.     

Sex role flexibility and prosocial behavior among preschool children

The relationship between sex role flexibility and prosocial behavior among preschool children was investigated. Subjects included 16 boys and 18 girls, ranging in age from 36 to 60 months, from intact families of the upper middle class. A nonhierarchical multiple regression analysis was undertaken to determine the contributions of the predictor variables of sex, age, IQ, and sex role flexibility, as well as their interactions with prosocial behavior (criterion variable). Results indicated that while the overall regression model was not significant, the variable of Sex × Sex Role Flexibility did contribute significantly to the model. Inspection of the correlation coefficients associated with this variable revealed that while sex role flexibility and prosocial behavior among boys were significantly and positively related, among girls no significant relationship was found.     

Perspectives on the role of the eyewitness expert

Extensive controversy over the appropriate application of expert knowledge regarding issues of eyewitness accuracy led to a conference and a special issue of taw and Human Behavior in 1986. Arguments were presented both in support of and against the eyewitness researcher as expert testifier. The current research explored the views of the general public (N = 50), defense attorneys (N = 14), and prosecutors (N = 10) with regard to the use of eyewitness expertise in each of four roles (court-appointed expert, consultant, researcher, expert tesdfier for the defense). Extensive differences of opinion were found across both samples and expert roles. In general, prosecutors held significantly more negative views of the usefulness of expert witnesses for the defense than did the public or defense attorneys. The role of court-appointed expert was viewed positively by all three groups and may present a useful alternative to the battles of experts that may result from current practices.     

Notes on the Tenacity of Therapeutic Presuppositions in Process Research: Examining the Artfulness of Blamings in Family Therapy

In their recent contribution to the Journal of Family Therapy , Frosh et al . apply discourse analytic methods to the study of 'process' in family therapy. While we welcome this contribution, we suggest that the authors' reading of the data has been affected by a number of fundamental presuppositions, which have led them to neglect the skilful rhetorical work taking place in the session. In this paper, we have undertaken an alternative analysis of the data, examining its rhetorical features and suspending judgement on the efficacy of the therapeutic project and on the truth status of statements made by participants in the session. While acknowledging that our microanalytic method has some shortcomings, we contend that attention to the situated and strategic nature of 'therapy talk' has exposed the primacy of notions of responsibility and blame in family work, and has shown how these issues are artfully negotiated by therapist and family in the cut and thrust of the therapeutic interview.     

Personality and charismatic experience among adult christians

A sample of 368 committed Christian adults completed the Index of Charismatic Experience together with the short form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The data demonstrate that, according to the MBTI typology, Christians who prefer “thinking” are likely to score higher on the Index of Charismatic Experience than Christians who prefer “feeling”. According to the Eysenckian dimensional model of personality, the charismatic experience is associated with stable extraversion.     

Codependency: An interpersonal phenomenon

An alternative perspective to the clinical model of codependency is that codependency is contextual and reflects inequality within a relationship. This study examined whether the evaluation of codependent behavior depends on the context of the relationship, i.e., the reciprocity of the person’s partner, and the gender of the stimulus person (SP). College students (N=302, 46% non-Caucasian) read one of six scenarios in which the codependent SP’s behavior was held constant but the reciprocity of the partner and the gender of the SP were varied. The stimulus person and her/his relationship were rated significantly more healthy in the reciprocal condition than in the nonreciprocal or control conditions, but a better partner in the nonreciprocal condition. Codependent female SPs were judged less healthy but better partners than codependent male SPs. Judgments of codependent behavior and persons are contextual in nature, may reflect inequality within relationships, and to some extent, depend upon the gender of the codependent person.     

The Balance of Power in Romantic Heterosexual Couples Over Time from “His” and “Her” Perspectives

In this investigation, the balance of power between men and women in romantic relationships was examined with a sample of 101 heterosexual couples, some of whom were surveyed up to jive times over a four-year period. A majority of the participants (who were primarily Caucasian and middle class) reported some imbalance in power in their relationship (53% of the men and 52% of the women on a global measure of power; 67% of the men and 65% of the women on a measure of decision making). The longitudinal data indicated that perceptions of power were quite stable over time. When power imbalances in relationships occurred, the male partner was more likely than the female to be seen as the power holder, although these differences were statistically significant only for men (full sample). In support of W. Waller's principle of least interest [(1937) The Family: A Dynamic Interpretation, New York: Gordon], being the less emotionally involved partner in the relationship was associated with greater power. We further found that men were more likely than women to perceive themselves as the less emotionally invested partner. Perceptions of power balance were generally unrelated to either relationship satisfaction or to the likelihood that the couple broke up over time. In one exception, men who perceived their relationship to be equal in power (but not decision making) reported the highest level of satisfaction. We conclude that the balance of power still often favors men in these romantic couples (especially in decision making), although couples do not always agree on their perceptions, with male partners tending to see more male dominance than females.