Whorf and Wittgenstein. Language, world view and argumentation

Whorf and Wittgenstein are perhaps the most famous names in linguistics and philosophy associated with the assumption that language plays a decisive role in shaping our view of reality. After a critical discussion of Whorf's linguistic relativity principle I conclude that it is not language as a system, but the use of language according to the rules of language games which connects language thought and world view, especially if some particular usage becomes the commonly accepted norm. This traditional norm also enters argumentative discourse in the form of background assumptions occuring in the premises of arguments. Thus, traditional points of view and prevailing ideologies in a society, even if challenged in discussions, can become reinforced and stabilized. This is illustrated with a critical analysis of the role and function of tautological utterances in argumentative discourse, which only apparently are compelling means of argumentation.     

The relationship between Fisher's exact test and Pearson's chi-square test: A bayesian perspective

It is demonstrated in this paper that two major tests for 2 × 2 talbes are highly related from a Bayesian perspective. Although it is well-known that Fisher's exact and Pearson's chi-square tests are asymptotically equivalent, the present analysis shows that a formal similarity also exists in small samples. The key assumption that leads to the resemblance is the presence of a continuous parameter measuring association. In particular, it is shown that Pearson's probability can be obtained by integrating a two-moment approximation to the posterior distribution of the log-odds ratio. Furthermore, Pearson's chi-square test gave an excellent approximation to the actual Bayes probability in all 2×2 tables examined, except for those with extremely disproportionate marginal frequencies.     

Learning about food: starlings, skinner boxes, and earthworms

Despite its importance as a tool for understanding a wide range of animal behavior, the study of reinforcement schedules in the laboratory has suffered from difficulties in the biological interpretation of its findings. This study is an operant-laboratory investigation of the ability of European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, to learn to respond adaptively to the problem of foraging on patchily distributed prey that are uncertainly located in space. In order to maximize the biological relevance of the laboratory study, variation in the aggregation of earthworms, Lumbricus terrestris (a prey species), was rigorously quantified from the field, and the experimental birds were presented with reinforcement schedules designed to represent the extremes of the observed variation. The results demonstrate that, even for a single prey species, the degree to which individuals are aggregated can vary markedly over a range of spatial scales, and that starlings can rapidly learn to respond, in an adaptive manner, to these variations. These findings suggest that starlings are capable of adjusting their behavior to facilitate the efficient exploitation of prey that occurs in patches of an uncertain nature, and thus illustrate the heuristic value of an ecologically informed operant-laboratory approach to studying foraging behavior.     

Systems Theory and Family Therapy: From a Critique on Systems Theory to a Theory on System Change

Some system therapists reject the systemic view for various reasons, often related to violence, victimisation and power. This critique is based on an outdated narrow and incomplete knowledge of linear systems theory. A better understanding of these linear systems theories and of systems levels of organisation already answers much of the critique, but does not explain change. For the latter, a theory of how systems change is necessary for systems therapy in general and family therapy in particular. Modern dynamic systems and chaos theory are most useful to understand change, chaos, history, unpredictability and flexibility.     

MISCONCEPTIONS OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Abstract. Scholars in religious studies, or "religionists," often mischaracterize the social-scientific study of religion. They assume that a social-scientific analysis of the origin, function, meaning, or truth of religion either opposes or disregards the believer's analysis, which religionists profess to present and defend. I do not argue that the social sciences analyze religion from the believer's point of view. I argue instead that a social scientific analysis is more akin and germane to the believer's point of view than religionists assume. I single out seven mischaracterizations of the social sciences typically held by religionists.     

Some contributions to efficient statistics in structural models: Specification and estimation of moment structures

Current practice in structural modeling of observed continuous random variables is limited to representation systems for first and second moments (e.g., means and covariances), and to distribution theory based on multivariate normality. In psychometrics the multinormality assumption is often incorrect, so that statistical tests on parameters, or model goodness of fit, will frequently be incorrect as well. It is shown that higher order product moments yield important structural information when the distribution of variables is arbitrary. Structural representations are developed for generalizations of the Bentler-Weeks, Jöreskog-Keesling-Wiley, and factor analytic models. Some asymptotically distribution-free efficient estimators for such arbitrary structural models are developed. Limited information estimators are obtained as well. The special case of elliptical distributions that allow nonzero but equal kurtoses for variables is discussed in some detail. The argument is made that multivariate normal theory for covariance structure models should be abandoned in favor of elliptical theory, which is only slightly more difficult to apply in practice but specializes to the traditional case when normality holds. Many open research areas are described.     

Agoraphobia and Locus of Control

This study investigated whether external locus of control, as measured with the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, is a specific feature of agoraphobia or whether it characterizes neurosis in general. Forty agoraphobic patients, 81 nonagoraphobic neurotic controls, and 49 normal controls completed the Dutch version of the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale. Agoraphobic patients were found to have a more external orientation as compared to the normal controls, but as a group, they could not be identified as being different from neurotic controls.This study was supported in part by a grant from the Dutch Organization for Fundamental Research (ZWO/Psychon 560-268-001).     

Comparing latent distributions

We consider the problem of comparingm latent population distributions when the observed values are scores on a test battery with binary items. The latent densities are assumed to be normal densities, and we consider a test for equality of the means as well as a test equality of the variances. In addition, we consider a longitudinal model, where the test battery has been applied to the same individuals at different points in time. This model allows for correlations between the latent variable at different time points, and methods are discussed for estimating the correlation coefficient.This work was supported in part by a grant from the Danish Social Science Research Council.     

Avoidance,induction, and the illusion of reinforcement

Environmental events that impact reproductive success may be called phylogenetically important events (PIEs). Some promote reproductive success, like mates and food; others threaten reproductive success, like predators and injury. Beneficial PIEs induce activities that enhance them, and detrimental PIEs induce activities that mitigate or avoid them. Free-operant avoidance relies on electric shock as a proxy for injury, a PIE. One theory takes avoidance behavior to be reinforced by its reducing shock rate. A more complete explanation is that avoidance both reduces shock rate and is induced by the PIEs it usually prevents. Shocks received act in concert with shock-rate reduction, in a feedback system. Four parametric data sets were analyzed to show that avoidance is induced by received shock rate according to power functions. Avoidance is not reinforced at all; avoidance is induced by its failures. Induction explains not only avoidance itself, but also phenomena unique to avoidance, like warmup and effects of unavoidable shock. Induction explains behavior more generally than reinforcement, because induction explains not only food-maintained operant and nonoperant behavior, but also shock-maintained behavior, including avoidance. Reinforcement fails to explain behavior when reinforcement is defined as strengthening by consequences. Induction erases the distinction between consequences and antecedents.     

Comment on Björn Sahlberg’s paper

This paper is a comment on Björn Sahlberg’s paper on the function of training analysis in the Swedish psychoanalytic association and discusses some aspects of the candidates’ personal analysis and supervision. The paper further suggests some possible sources for inspiration and perspective on organizational and educational issues, for example taking an interest in the epistemology of professions, in what the concept of ‘reflection-in-action’ could mean in the training situation, or in empirical research about the educational models and the practice of psychoanalysis.