Quine on translation

Against Quine's thesis of the ‘indeterminacy of translation’, in Word and Object, it is argued that the extension of terms, where determinable at all except by arbitrary decision, is determinable by empirical means other than comparison of ‘stimulus meaning’, that translation of terms does not presuppose prior translation of syncategoremata, that parallelisms of function of syncategoremata in different languages can in part be discovered on the basis of stimulus meanings, that it is incorrect to speak of bilinguals’ necessarily using ‘analytical hypotheses’, that in one form the thesis is correct and uncontroversial, that in another it is controversial but both unacceptable and at variance with Quine's own views on language.     

No Work for a Theory of Grounding

It has recently been suggested that a distinctive metaphysical relation— ‘Grounding’—is ultimately at issue in contexts in which some goings-on are said to hold ‘in virtue of’’, be (constitutively) ‘metaphysically dependent on’, or be ‘nothing over and above’ some others. Grounding is supposed to do good work (better than merely modal notions, in particular) in illuminating metaphysical dependence. I argue that Grounding is also unsuited to do this work. To start, Grounding alone cannot do this work, for bare claims of Grounding leave open such basic questions as whether Grounded goings-on exist, whether they are reducible to or rather distinct from Grounding goings-on, whether they are efficacious, and so on; but in the absence of answers to such basic questions, we are not in position to assess the associated claim or theses concerning metaphysical dependence. There is no avoiding appeal to the specific metaphysical relations typically at issue in investigations into dependence—for example, type or token identity, functional realization, classical mereological parthood, the set membership relation, the proper subset relation, the determinable/determinate relation, and so on—which are capable of answering these questions. But, I argue, once the specific relations are on the scene, there is no need for Grounding.     

What to wear? The influence of attire on the perceived professionalism of dentists and lawyers

Using a sample of 201 participants and a between‐subjects design, the perceived professionalism—suitability, capability, ease to talk to and friendliness—of male and female dentists and lawyers in various attires was examined. Results showed an absolute preference for male dentists and lawyers in professional and formal attire, respectively. Male dentists and lawyers in professional and formal attire were further rated as more suitable, capable, easier to talk to, and friendlier than female professionals, and than those dressed in smart or casual attire. Results are discussed in terms of positive dental outcomes and legal representation. Limitations are considered.     

Children's Responses to Entry Failure: Attention Deployment Patterns and Self-Regulation Skills

In this study the authors investigated associations among children's observed responses to failure in an analogue entry situation, their attention deployment patterns, and skills and processes associated with self-regulation. Participants were 54 kindergarten and first-grade students who were either aggressive-rejected or low aggressive-popular based on peer nominations. Inhibitory control predicted the tendency to respond to entry failure by stopping and watching the group's activity. Baseline vagal tone and other-directed attention predicted children's tendency to change entry strategies after failure. Parent-rated attention skills moderated the relation between children's attention deployment patterns during the entry task and their responses to entry failure. Children who engaged in more other-directed attention were less likely to turn to solitary play after entry failure but only if they had high or moderate levels of attentional control. Other-directed attention was related to repeating previous entry bids without modification after entry failure but only when children had high levels of attention problems.     

Immediate Movement History Influences Reach-to-Grasp Action Selection in Children and Adults

The authors review studies of mentally simulated movements. In automatic or cyclical movements, actual and motor imagery (MI) durations are similar. When athletes simulate only dynamic phases of movement or perform MI just before competing, however, environmental and time constraints lead to an underestimation of actual duration. Conversely, complex attention-demanding movements take longer to image. Finally, participants can modify the speed of MI voluntarily when they receive specific instructions. To complete the available data, the authors compared imagined and actual durations in tennis and gymnastics. Results showed systematic and disproportionate overestimation of actual duration. The authors found a relationship between complex motor skills and MI duration. They discuss the factors leading to over- and underestimation and the hypotheses that could be tested.     

SORTO: Factor Analyzing Q Sorts of Kelly's Personal Construct Productions

A procedure for evaluating personality is described. Conventional and transposed factor analyses are made from Q sort data describing the important people in the subject's life in terms of his own constructs (á la Kelly) as variables. The scoring procedure produces construct-factors and people-factors. Sorts from a subject illustrate the method. Cross-cultural applications are possible since the translation of personal constructs is not essential. Simulation of relationships to others, SORTO, combines Kelly's (1955) personal constructs with Stephenson's (1953) Q sort procedure. A large amount of personal data is factor analyzed by the computer to reveal the main idiosyncratic features of a subject's perceptions of his relationships to others. Maximum output from the analysis occurs when the nature of personal constructs employed is supplied as input to the analysis.     

Assessing Male Batterers With the Personality Assessment Inventory

Despite the importance of the assessment of ego strength for appropriate assignment of clients for psychotherapy and/or rehabilitation, existing techniques have not fulfilled expectations. A method for assessing ego strength through the Rorschach Test independent of clinical criterion is proposed. In addition to certain variables of Klopfer's RPRS (M+, FM+, FC+ plus CF+), sharply preceived space responses are included. They constitute a highly intercorrelated global measure of ego strength and are also highly correlated to a relatively independent Rorschach variable of global ego efficiency, i.e. integrated whole responses. In accordance with prediction, non-controlled color responses as well as accuracy of form perception did not correlate in a non-clinical sample with either measure of ego strength.     

Age-related changes in motor imagery from early childhood to adulthood: Probing the internal representation of speed-accuracy trade-offs

The purpose of this study was to chart the development of motor imagery ability between 5 and 29 years of age and its relationship to fine-motor skill. 237 participants performed a computerized Virtual Radial Fitts Task (VRFT) as a measure of Motor Imagery (MI) ability. Participants aimed at five targets, positioned along radial axes from a central target circle. The targets differed in width over trials (2.5, 5, 10, 20 or 40 mm). Performance was indexed by the relationship between the movement time (MT) in executed and imagined movements. A subset of participants (11–19 years old, n = 22) also performed the task with their non-preferred hand. We also examined if manual skill (measured by peg board task and posting coins) was related to the executed and imagined MT on the VRFT. Our results showed that the accuracy of the imagined movement improved steadily over childhood, reaching an asymptote during adolescence and into early adulthood. The correlation between the real and virtual MT using the preferred hand did not differ appreciably from that using the non-preferred hand. If the children could perform the tasks with their non-preferred hand (11 years and older), they also scaled performance in relatively precise terms using the less dextrous non-preferred hand. The correlation between real MT on the VRFT and fine-motor performance ranged between .53 and .42, while that for virtual movement was between .37 and .34. MI ability predicts manual skill to a moderate degree.     

An 18-month follow-up investigation of motor coordination and working memory in primary school children

The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between motor coordination and visual working memory in children aged 5–11 years. Participants were 18 children with movement difficulty and 41 control children, assessed at baseline and following an 18-month time period. The McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development provided a measure of motor skills and the CogState One-Back task was used to assess visual working memory. Multi-level mixed effects linear regressions were used to assess the relationship between fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and visual working memory. The results revealed that for children with movement difficulty, better fine motor skills at baseline significantly predicted greater One-Back accuracy and greater (i.e., faster) speed at 18-month follow-up. Conversely, fine motor skills at baseline did not predict One-Back accuracy and speed for control children. However, for both groups, greater One-Back accuracy at baseline predicted better fine and gross motor skills at follow-up. These findings have important implications for the assessment and treatment of children referred for motor difficulties and/or working memory difficulties.