Miracles and the case for theism

I would like to thank Keith Parsons for reviving my interest in this topic, and Robert McKim, Patrick Maher, Hugh Chandler, Jordan Howard Sobel, and William Alston for helpful remarks concerning previous versions of this paper.     

The etiology of schizophrenia as perceived by psychiatrists in Europe and the United States

This paper compares and contrasts statements made by American and European psychiatrists on the etiology of schizophrenia. In the U.S., leading figures in psychiatry hold increasingly to the view that the disorder is physiogenic at source—from which it seems to follow that the appropriate treatments should similarly focus on physiological and pharmacological therapies. In contrast, European psychiatrists seem to be divided in support for organic and psychodynamic explanations. Some European writers have pointedly warned against over-interpreting recent studies which seem to point to specific organic dysfunctions and deficits as schizophrenogenic. This paper was presented at the Second Annual Convention of the American Psychological Society, Dallas, Texas, June 7–10, 1990.     

The perception of shape and curvedness from binocular stereopsis and structure from motion

The integration of binocular stereopsis and kinetic depth was measured for two distinct aspects of 3-Dstructure: (1)shape index, which is a measure of scale-independent structure, and (2)curvedness, which is a measure of scale-dependent structure. We found that motion contributes significantly more to judged shape index than it does to judged curvedness, and stereo contributes significantly more to judged curvedness than it does to judged shape index. This suggests that the differences in the relative contribution of motion and stereo reported here occurred because these two sources do not equally specify the scale-dependent and scale-independent aspects of surface structure. Furthermore, these results seem to be inconsistent with integration models in which the different visual cues all initially contribute to the same single representation of 3-Dstructure.     

Factor analysis of the social performance survey schedule

There are several studies suggesting that the Social Performance Survey Schedule (SPSS) is a reliable and valid measure of social skill. However, the factorial structure of the SPSS has never been examined. In the present study, SPSSs taken by 652 college students were factor analyzed by the method of principal components and the resulting factors were rotated according to the varimax criterion. Separate factor analyses were conducted for men and women. Seven factors, which accounted for a little over a third of the total variance, were retained for each sex. A large general factor labeled Prosocial Competence emerged for both sexes. Beyond this, the factorial solutions for the two sexes tended to diverge, with males showing a large negative factor (Social Offensiveness) and three smaller negative factors and females showing five relatively small negative factors. Suggestions were made concerning additional factor analytic studies of the SPSS and the ways in which derived factors might be used in research and clinical work.This research was supported by funds from the Rutgers University Research Council. Thanks are due to Leona Aiken for her statistical consultation.     

The impact of social environment and sex on adolescent social values: A comparison of the kibbutz and the city in Israel

The present study compares the effects of two different socialization environments—the Israeli kibbutz and the city—on the social values held by 16-17 year-olds. A total of 352 boys and girls, 195 porn the city and 157 porn the kibbutz, filled out a specially prepared thirteen-item questionnaire on social values. The results revealed the existence of four factors underlying these values: self-oriented concerns (factor 1), other-oriented concerns (factor 2), reliance on innate spiritual capacities (factor 3), reliance on physical and productive capacities (factor 4). Significant differences on factors 1 and 3 were uncovered for the kibbutz and the city subjects, while boys and girls differed significantly on factors 2 and 4. The findings were discussed in light of the differences in educational systems between the kibbutz and the city, and in light of sex-role differences characteristic of Western society in general.     

Shepherd Ivory Franz: His contributions to neuropsychology and rehabilitation

Shepherd I. Franz was an important figure in psychology of the last century, and historians of psychology have given recognition to much of his work. However, his experimental work with animals and his pioneer investigations in experimental and clinical neuropsychology have been largely ignored. This article reviews his conceptual, assessment, and treatment contributions, including (1) his pioneering work on the use of learned behavior as a baseline for the study of cerebral ablations, (2) his interest in brain plasticity, (3) his development of comprehensive psychological assessment methods, and (4) his work on the rehabilitation of neurological patients with techniques derived from his animal experiments. His work predated much of what is now part of the conceptual substance of the experimental and clinical neurosciences.     

Gender differences in autonomous and social achievement orientations

This research examined gender differences in orientations toward autonomous and social achievement. Three independent samples of subjects (total N= 359 males and 574 females) completed measures of achievement orientation (including Strumpfer's [1975] Autonomous Achievement Values and Social Achievement Values scales) and relevant cognitive, affective, and behavioral variables. Correlational and factor analyses clearly identified distinct autonomous and social achievement factors for both men and women in each of the samples. Examination of the correlates of achievement orientation indicated that whereas an autonomous achievement orientation is similarly expressed in males and females, there are considerable sex differences in the expression of an orientation toward social achievement. In particular, a social achievement orientation was associated with concerns over social approval and responsiveness to social influence among males, but was generally unrelated to these factors among females. Findings are discussed in terms of several recent hypotheses concerning the effects of sex role norms on the development and expression of achievement needs in men and women.