Experiencing whole type: living into the archetypal Self

Expanding on Jung’s use of the role of the superior and inferior functions, Angelo Spoto advances a new typological model based on ‘whole type’ that utilizes a typological perspective on the archetypal Self. In this new model four cognitive modes taking superior positions are developed in the first half of life and four cognitive modes taking inferior positions are encountered in the second half of life. This model indicates that type development and type dynamics take place through the holding of the tension of opposites between superior and inferior functions, helped by the transcendent function operating differently in the first and second halves of life. Specifically, in the first half of life, the transcendent function produces a tertium that moves typological development along to consolidate an ego-pattern. In the second half of life, the transcendent function takes the individual into encounters having to do with an appreciation of sacrifice, transformation, and symbol-making, as the personality advances towards a greater awareness of wholeness, by way of the inferiors.     

Ontogeny of early event memory: I. Forgetting and retrieval by 2- and 3-month-olds

In 2 experiments, 2-month-olds, trained in the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm for two daily sessions, showed retrieval deficits relative to 3-month-olds. In Experiment 1, tests of simple forgetting administered to 2-month-olds after retention intervals of 1, 3, 6, and 9 days (a period over which 3-month-olds remember the contingency) indicated that their forgetting was complete after delays greater than 1 day. In Experiment 2, reactivation treatments administered to 2- and 3-month-olds alleviated forgetting after a retention interval of 28, but not 35, days in the 3-month-old group only. Previously, alleviated forgetting by a reactivation treatment had been demonstrated in 2-month-olds after a delay of 18 days. In both of the present experiments, performance of the two age groups did not differ during the immediate retention test at the end of training. These results suggest that neither the age of the infant nor the age of the memory determines memory retrieval after long delays; instead, it appears to be determined by the length of time that a memory has been inaccessible (i.e., forgotten). We propose that factors which delay simple forgetting will correspondingly increase the length of the interval over which a retrieval cue can still be effective in a reactivation paradigm, irrespective of the age of the infant or the age of the memory.     

The intrinsic difficulty of recursive functions

This paper deals with a philosophical question that arises within the theory of computational complexity: how to understand the notion of INTRINSIC complexity or difficulty, as opposed to notions of difficulty that depend on the particular computational model used. The paper uses ideas from Blum's abstract approach to complexity theory to develop an extensional approach to this question. Among other things, it shows how such an approach gives detailed confirmation of the view that subrecursive hierarchies tend to rank functions in terms of their intrinsic, and not just their model-dependent, difficulty, and it shows how the approach allows us to model the idea that intrinsic difficulty is a fuzzy concept. Jan Zygmunt     

Choice As A Function Of Reinforcement Ratios In Delayed Matching-to-sample

Pigeons were studied in two experiments using a delayed matching-to-sample task. In Experiment 1, 4 subjects were exposed to a task in which the proportion of reinforcement associated with matching and nonmatching, and the overall proportion of reinforcement associated with selecting each choice, regardless of the sample stimulus, were varied. Choice was sensitive to both proportions. A least squares regression analysis showed that Wixted's (1989) proportions of reinforcement model closely fit the data from Experiment 1; however, the model failed to make accurate qualitative predictions for some test conditions. In Experiment 2, 4 subjects were exposed to a delayed matching-to-sample task in which the retention intervals and the reduction in delay to reinforcement signaled by the onset of the sample stimulus were independently varied. When the retention interval was short and when the delay-reduction value of the sample stimulus was high, the sample exerted greater control over choice; the control by the overall proportion of reinforcements for selecting each choice stimulus was correspondingly low. Conversely, when the retention interval was long and the delay-reduction value of the sample stimulus was low, the sample exerted relatively less control over choice; control by the overall proportion of reinforcements obtained for selecting each choice stimulus was correspondingly high. A signal detection analysis found that sensitivity to reinforcement varied directly with retention interval. Data were also consistent with misallocation models. No evidence was found to suggest that pigeons ignore the rate at which selecting individual choice stimuli is reinforced, as has been reported in studies with human subjects.     

Optimum examinee samples for item parameter estimation in item response theory: A multi-objective programming approach

This paper proposes a multi-objective programming method for determining samples of examinees needed for estimating the parameters of a group of items. In the numerical experiments, optimum samples are compared to uniformly and normally distributed samples. The results show that the samples usually recommended in the literature are well suited for estimating the difficulty parameters. Furthermore, they are also adequate for estimating the discrimination parameters in the three-parameter model, butnot for the guessing parameters.     

Acceleration model in the heterogeneous case of the general graded response model

A new model, called acceleration model, is proposed in the framework of the heterogenous case of the graded response model, based on processing functions defined for a finite or enumerable number of steps. The model is expected to be useful in cognitive assessment, as well as in more traditional areas of application of latent trait models. Criteria for evaluating models are proposed, and soundness and robustness of the acceleration model are discussed. Graded response models based on individual choice behavior are also discussed, and criticisms on model selection in terms of fitnesses of models to the data are also given.This research was supported by the Office of Naval Research (N00014-90-J-1456).     

Retention and treatment failure in Classwide Peer Tutoring: Implications for further research

Knowledge of basic arithmetic facts aids in the acquisition and speed of performance of arithmetic operations. A peer mediated instructional procedure, Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT), has been shown to increase the rates and accuracy of students responses to academic tasks and to improve student performance on a variety of academic tasks. The present investigation evaluated the retention of 100 subtraction items by primary grade-age children with mild disabilities using CWPT for 10 weeks. Short- and long-term retention of items, and rate of correct responding were assessed. Results indicated that the students' average pretest score was 58.0% correct, and their average weekly posttest score was 87.12 correct, a 27% improvement in accuracy. Short- and longer-term retention measured on posttests was 88.7 % and 85.0% correct, respectively. Improvement in students rate of accurate responding to subtraction items practiced during CWPT was obtained. Student failure to learn particular items was not attributable to fewer opportunities to practice these items, less accurate practice, or item difficulty. Students reported positive evaluation of CWPT and perceived positive social and self esteem outcomes. Directions for future research focusing on retention and analysis of treatment failure are suggested.     

Projection of a binary criterion into a model of hierarchical classes

A formal analysis is made of how to project an attribute criterion into the hierarchical classes model for object by attribute data proposed by De Boeck and Rosenberg. The projection is conceptualized as the prediction of the attribute criterion by means of a logical rule defined on the basis of attribute combinations from the model. Eliminative and constructive strategies are proposed to find logical rules with maximal predictive power and minimal formula complexity. Logical analyses of a real data set are reported and compared with a logistic regression to demonstrate the usefulness of the logical strategies, and to show the complementarity of logical and probabilistic approaches.The first suthor is Senior Research Assistant of the National Fund for Scientific Research (Belgium). We would like to thank the Editor, the reviewers, Seymour Rosenberg, and Luc Delbeke for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.     

Specifying optimum examinees for item parameter estimation in item response theory

Information functions are used to find the optimum ability levels and maximum contributions to information for estimating item parameters in three commonly used logistic item response models. For the three and two parameter logistic models, examinees who contribute maximally to the estimation of item difficulty contribute little to the estimation of item discrimination. This suggests that in applications that depend heavily upon the veracity of individual item parameter estimates (e.g. adaptive testing or text construction), better item calibration results may be obtained (for fixed sample sizes) from examinee calibration samples in which ability is widely dispersed.This work was supported by Contract No. N00014-83-C-0457, project designation NR 150-520, from Cognitive Science Program, Cognitive and Neural Sciences Division, Office of Naval Research and Educational Testing Service through the Program Research Planning Council. Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the United States Government. The author wishes to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Maxine B. Kingston in carrying out this study, and to thank Charles Lewis for his many insightful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.