Towards an account of argumentation in science

In this article it is argued that a complex model that includes Toulmin's functional account of argument, the pragma-dialectical stage analysis of argumentation offered by the Amsterdam School, and criteria developed in critical thinking theory, can be used to account for the normativity and field-dependence of argumentation in science. A pragma-dialectical interpretation of the four main elements of Toulmin's model, and a revised account of the double role of warrants, illuminates the domain specificity of scientific argumentation and the restrictions to which the confrontation and opening stages of scientific critical discussions are subjected. In regard to the argumentation stage, examples are given to show that a general account of argumentation, as advocated by informal logicians, is not applicable to arguments in science. Furthermore, although patterns of inference differ in various scientific practices, deductive validity is argued to be a crucial notion in the assessment of scientific arguments. Finally, some remarks are made concerning the burden of proof and the concluding stage of scientific argumentation.     

Determinants of Self-Protective Behavior: Home Radon Testing

This field experiment explored the use of informational brochures to encourage home radon testing. Homeowners ( N = 271) received a radon brochure, a questionnaire, and a form for ordering a $20 radon test kit. The brochures differed in their presentations of the magnitude of the threat (varying risk likelihood and severity) and the difficulty of reducing radon levels. Some also included a detailed list of home radon risk factors. Combinations of these three variables yielded a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design. Although 19.2% of the sample ordered tests, the percentage was constant across brochures. Data from the questionnaire showed that self-reported risk likelihood, risk seriousness, and concern were strongly correlated with intentions to test and with actual test orders. Calculations revealed that although the threat manipulation had a highly significant effect on these risk perceptions, the effect was too small to produce different rates of test orders. Confirming previous radon studies, perceived mitigation difficulty proved unrelated to interest in radon testing.     

A psychometric evaluation of the new NEO-PIR facet scales for agreeableness and conscientiousness

The five-factor model of personality represents one of the more important developments in the area of personality theory and assessment. This empirically derived model consists of the major factors of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Currently there is only one commercially available measure of these dimensions: The NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI). The NEO-PI measures each of these global domains as well as more specific facets of Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Openness to Experience. The new revision of the NEO-PI (NEO-PIR) now includes facet scales for Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. The purpose of this article is to provide a psychometric evaluation of these new scales using a sample of working adults and relying on both self-report and observer ratings. The results provide strong support for the reliability and construct validity of these new scales.     

Paradigms of truth detection

Alternative models of idealized scientific inquiry are investigated and compared. Particular attention is devoted to paradigms in which a scientist is required to determine the truth of a given sentence in the structure giving rise to his data.     

Successive teacher expectation effects across the early school years

The capacity for teacher expectation effects to interact and compound across a child's schooling offers a largely untested mechanism for magnifying or minimizing effects. This study examined four types of long-term teacher expectation effects: within-year effects of single teachers, cross-year effects of single teachers, mediated effects of single and multiple teachers, and compounded effects of multiple teachers. Participants were 110 students tracked from preschool through Grade 4 on measures of achievement and teacher expectations. Evidence was found for within-year but not direct cross-year effects. However, path models demonstrated enduring indirect effects of teacher expectations on cross-year achievement. Multiple years of teacher expectation effects were additive in predicting student achievement at fourth grade, with similar effects for teachers' over- and underestimates of student ability. The study extends understanding of longer-term teacher expectation effects.     

White Matter Hyperintensities and Working Memory: An Explorative Study

ABSTRACT

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are commonly observed in elderly people and may have the most profound effect on executive functions, including working memory. Surprisingly, the Digit Span backward, a frequently employed working memory task, reveals no association with WMH. In the present study, it was investigated whether more detailed analyses of WMH variables and study sample selection are important when establishing a possible relationship between the Digit Span backward and WMH. To accomplish this, the Digit Span backward and additional working memory tests, WMH subscores, and cardiovascular risk factors were examined. The results revealed that performance on the Digit Span backward test is unrelated to WMH, whereas a relationship between other working memory tests and WMH was confirmed. Furthermore, a division between several white matter regions seems important; hyperintensities in the frontal deep white matter regions were the strongest predictor of working memory performance.     

A Decline in Creativity? It Depends on the Domain

Earlier studies using psychometric tests have documented declines in creativity over the past several decades. Our study investigated whether and how this apparent trend would replicate through a qualitative investigation using an authentic nontest measure of creativity. Three-hundred and fifty-four visual artworks and 50 creative writing works produced by adolescents between 1990–1995 and 2006–2011 were assessed. Products were analyzed using a structured assessment method based on technical criteria and content elements. Criteria included in the current investigation (e.g., genre, medium, stylistic approach) are relevant both to the specific media domains and to previously established dimensions of creativity, such as originality and complexity. Results showed strong domain differences: performance in visual arts increased on a variety of indices of complexity and technical proficiency, and performance in writing decreased on indices related to originality and technical proficiency. Findings highlight the value of analysing creativity across domains. The importance of considering cultural and technological changes in characterizing and understanding apparent trends in amount and types of creativity is discussed.     

The influence of surgical stress,anxiety and benzodiazepine intravenous sedation on recall of oral surgery

Abstract

This study, part of a larger investigation of the efficacy and safety of intravenous sedation in dentistry, reports the prevalance of failure to recall information during third molar impaction surgery and attempts to differentate the effects of stress and benzodiazepines on recall. Both recognition of neutral pictures and the recall of surgical procedures were assessed. Recall failure in the drug groups ranged from zero for recall of stressful procedures, completed before drug titration, to 92 percent of subjects for recognition of the neutral picture presented at 5 minutes after the surgical procedure began. Placebo condition subjects had almost no recall loss. Recall failure was demonstrated to be primarily a function of the volume of midazolam employed. However, operative stress and trait and state anxiety explained some of the findings.