Verbal short-term memory as an articulatory system: Evidence from an alternative paradigm

In a series of seven experiments, the role of articulatory rehearsal in verbal short-term memory was examined via a shadowing-plus-recall paradigm. In this paradigm, subjects shadowed a word target presented closely after an auditory memory list before they recalled the list. The phonological relationship between the shadowing target and the final item on the memory list was manipulated. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that targets sounding similar to the list-final memory item generally took longer to shadow than unrelated targets. This inhibitory effect of phonological relatedness was more pronounced with tense- than lax-vowel pseudoword recall lists. The interaction between vowel tenseness and phonological relatedness was replicated in Experiment 3 using shorter lists of real words. In Experiment 4, concurrent articulation was applied during list learning to block rehearsal; consequently, neither the phonological relatedness effect nor its interaction with vowel tenseness emerged. Experiments 5 and 6 manipulated the occurrence frequencies and lexicality of the recall items, respectively, instead of vowel tenseness. Unlike vowel tenseness, these non-articulatory memory factors failed to interact with the phonological relatedness effect. Experiment 7 orthogonally manipulated the vowel tenseness and frequencies of the recall items; slowing in shadowing times due to phonological relatedness was modulated by vowel tenseness but not frequency. Taken together, these results suggest that under the present paradigm, the modifying effect of vowel tenseness on the magnitude of slowing in shadowing due to phonological relatedness is indicative of a prominent articulatory component in verbal short-term retention. The shadowing-plus-recall approach avoids confounding overt recall into internal memory processing, which is an inherent problem of the traditional immediate serial recall and span tasks.     

Dimensionality and Validity of a Structured Telephone Reference Check Procedure

A structured telephone reference check (STRC) was developed to assess three job-relevant personality/interpersonal dimensions (Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, customer focus) for a family of entry-level, customer-contact jobs within a service organization. The procedure was designed to be brief (a 10–15 minute telephone call with each referee) and easy to administer by untrained recruitment staff. Confirmatory factor analyses on referee ratings for 223 applicants indicated that referees were able to adequately discriminate between dimensions of applicants' past performance. A predictive, criterion-related validation study on those applicants who were hired demonstrated that the STRC predicted supervisory ratings of job performance (   r = .25, p < .01,  uncorrected; .36 corrected for range restriction and criterion unreliability). No evidence was found that referees with shorter working relationships with applicants provided less valid ratings.     

Bringing forth spirituality dialogues in family therapy education

Our intention in the following article is to bring forth connections with spiritual resources in teaching and supervision. We construct this focus within a collaborative learning approach. Methods and techniques used include curiosity, reflexivity inquiry, deconstruction, outsider witness practices and re‐authoring conversations. We evaluate how the dialogue has transformed our abilities to relate to spirituality.     

The Unity of Language and Logic in Wittgenstein's Tractatus

The purpose of this paper is to offer an interpretation of the Tractatus’ proof of the unity of logic and language. The kernel of the proof is the thesis that the sole logical constant is the general propositional form. I argue that the Grundgedanke, the existence of the sole fundamental operation N and the analyticity thesis, together with the fact that the operation NN can always be seen as having no specific formal difference between its result and its base, imply that NN is intrinsic to every elementary proposition. I also argue that the picture theory of proposition is an account of the generation of propositions via naming, and that its crucial idea is that naming is the instantiation of the form of a name, which consists in arbitrarily picking out an object as the meaning of the name from those objects sorted out by the form of the name. It follows that the existential quantifier, that is, NN, is intrinsic to naming (and therefore to every elementary proposition). It is then proven that the sole logical constant is the general propositional form. This, together with the truth‐functionality of logical necessity, implies that logic and language are unified via a general rule – logical syntax.     

The Satir Model and Cultural Sensitivity: A Hong Kong Reflection

This paper addresses cultural sensitivity in applying the Satir model in the Hong Kong Chinese cultural setting, focusing on congruent communication. The authors contend that Satir was sensitive to the demands of culture. Her focus on individuality, equality, and freedom responds aptly to the egalitarian individualist ethos of the United States. In Hong Kong the family is generally dominated by hierarchical collectivist values. Applying the Satir model as it is being practiced in the United States totally ignores prevailing cultural conditions. Following the spirit of Satir, the authors propose the adoption of an emic approach, drawing inspiration and resource from traditional Chinese culture and maintaining continuity with hierarchical collectivism while protecting individual quests for equality, freedom, and independence.     

Cognitive and emotional dysfunction after central pontine myelinolysis

The case of a 67-year-old right-handed Chinese man with Central Pontine Myelinolysis [CPM] is described to illustrate the resulting cognitive and emotional disturbances. A comparison of the data in this report with that in published studies suggests that ethnicity does not seem to have much effect on the symptoms of CPM. Possible underlying neural-pathological mechanisms are discussed. This case further substantiates the speculation that the brainstem plays a role in higher cognitive processes and emotional regulation.     

Dependent effect sizes in meta-analysis: incorporating the degree of interdependence

In the present article, a commonly used meta-analytic procedure for handling dependent effect sizes from a single sample was examined, and 2 revised procedures that estimate and incorporate the degree of interdependence were proposed. The authors' simulation results reveal that the commonly used procedure that averages the effect sizes from a single sample (denoted as the samplewise procedure) underestimates the degree of heterogeneity. The proposed variations are less biased than the samplewise procedure in estimating the degree of heterogeneity in most of the situations that we examined. Future directions to further improve the procedures for handling dependent effect sizes from a single sample are discussed.     

Discriminative facility and its role in the perceived quality of interactional experiences

Discriminative facility refers to an individual's sensitivity to subtle cues about the psychological meaning of a situation. This research aimed at examining (a) the conceptual distinctiveness of discriminative facility, (b) the situation-appropriate aspect of this construct, and (c) the relationship between discriminative facility and interpersonal experiences. Discriminative facility was assessed by a new measure of situation-appropriate behaviors across a variety of novel stressful situations. Results from study 1 showed that discriminative facility had weak positive relationships with cognitive complexity and nonsignificant relationships with self-monitoring and social desirability, indicating that discriminative facility is a unique construct. Results from Study 2 revealed that higher levels of discriminative facility were associated with higher levels of perceived social support and a greater number of pleasant interpersonal events experienced, thus providing support for the theoretical proposition that discriminative facility is an aspect of social intelligence.