Argumentation Schemes in Persuasive Brochures

Many public information documents attempt to persuade the recipients that they should engage in or refrain from specific behaviour. This is based on the assumption that the recipient will decide about his or her behaviour on the basis of the information given and a rational evaluation of the pros and cons. An analysis of 20 public information brochures shows that the argumentation in persuasive brochures is often not marked as such. Argumentation is presented as factual information, and in many instances the task of making argumentational links and drawing conclusions is left to the reader. However, since the information offered does follow familiar argumentational schemes, readers can, in principle, reconstruct the argument. All the brochures make use of pragmatic argumentation (argumentation from consequences),i. e.,they formulate at least certain benefits of the desirable behaviour or disadvantages of the undesirable behaviour. In addition, they make regular use of argumentation from cause to effect and argumentation from example. Argumentation from rules and argumentation from authority are less frequently used. This empirical analysis of the use of argumentation schemes is a solid base for interesting and rich hypotheses about the cognitive processing of persuasive brochures. Central processing requires the reader to be able to reconstruct argumentation from informational texts and to identify and evaluate various types of argumentation.     

Determining linkages between consumer choices in a social context and the consumer's values: a means–end approach

This paper presents a conceptual model of means–end theory. The proposed model, built on Gutman's (1982) contributions to means–end theory, consists of four conceptual categories that are linked together. The conceptual categories are context‐nested consumer choices, attributes of the consumer choices, consequences and values. The discussion uses results of four cases to illustrate the conceptual categories of the proposed explanatory means–end model. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications Ltd.     

The measurement of cognitive impulsiveness: Psychometric properties of two automated adult versions of the Matching Familiar Figures Test

An automated version of the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) was administered to undergraduates, along with a parallel from. The latency-errors correlation (–0.61) was higher than that reported for most studies in children and weakly supports the view that the correlation increases with age. Repeated exposure resulted in improved performance, which was faster, more accurate, and more efficient, but there was no effect on impulsiveness. Reliability and internal consistency of both forms were acceptably high and the forms were comparable. Use of the univariate measures (impulsiveness-reflectiveness and efficiency-inefficiency) is superior to other scoring methods.Supported in part by a grant from the Nuffield Foundation, England.     

Historical Origins of Argumentum ad Consequentiam

What are the historical origins of the argumentum ad consequentiam, the argument from (or literally, to) consequences, sometimes featured as an informal fallacy in logic textbooks? As shown in this paper, knowledge of the argument can be traced back to Aristotle (who did not treat it as a fallacy, but as a reasonable argument). And this type of argument shows a spotty history of recognition in logic texts and manuals over the centuries. But how it got into the modern logic textbooks as a fallacy remains somewhat obscure. Its modern genesis is traced to the logic text of James McCosh (1879).     

Computer supported mathematics with Ωmega

Classical automated theorem proving of today is based on ingenious search techniques to find a proof for a given theorem in very large search spaces—often in the range of several billion clauses. But in spite of many successful attempts to prove even open mathematical problems automatically, their use in everyday mathematical practice is still limited.The shift from search based methods to more abstract planning techniques however opened up a paradigm for mathematical reasoning on a computer and several systems of that kind now employ a mix of interactive, search based as well as proof planning techniques.The Ωmega system is at the core of several related and well-integrated research projects of the Ωmega research group, whose aim is to develop system support for a working mathematician as well as a software engineer when employing formal methods for quality assurance. In particular, Ωmega supports proof development at a human-oriented abstract level of proof granularity. It is a modular system with a central proof data structure and several supplementary subsystems including automated deduction and computer algebra systems. Ωmega has many characteristics in common with systems like NuPrL, CoQ, Hol, Pvs, and Isabelle. However, it differs from these systems with respect to its focus on proof planning and in that respect it is more similar to the proof planning systems Clam and λClam at Edinburgh.     

Language in benign childhood epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes abbreviated form: rolandic epilepsy and language

Although Benign Childhood Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes (BECTS) has a good prognosis, a few studies have suggested the existence of language disorders relating to the interictal dysfunction of perisylvian language areas. In this study, we focused on language assessment in 16 children aged 6-15 currently affected by BECTS or in remission. An important proportion of children showed moderate or more severe language impairment. The most affected domains were expressive grammar and literacy skills. We found linguistic deficits during the course of epilepsy but also persistent deficits in children in remission, suggesting possible long-term effects. Our results support the hypothesis that BECTS may be associated with impairment to language and suggest the possibility of a direct link between epileptic activity and language development, and the existence of long-term consequences.     

Automated analysis of the WISC-R: A validation study

This study evaluated and automated analysis system for the WISC-R Reports generated by psychological examiners and by a comoputer program were rated by a random sample of National Association of School Psychologists menbers using a rating scale developed for this study. The results indicated significantly higher ratings for the automated analysis on an overall item and on items addressing Verbal-Performance discrepancies, relative weaknesses, and relative lack of irresponsible interpretation. These results support cautious use of the automated reports and validation in current practice.     

工业与组织心理学中的集体效能感

集体效能感是指团体成员对于团体成功地完成特定任务或取得特定水平成就的能力的共同信念,其测量方法主要有自我效能感总和法、个体评估平均法和团体讨论法等三种。在影响效果方面,集体效能感可以有效地预测绩效以及其他一些工作态度和行为变量,但过高的集体效能感也会产生负面作用;在影响因素方面,团体规模和团体间竞争等团体内外部因素均能显著影响集体效能感,并且目标设定训练等干预措施也能显著提高集体效能感。文章最后指出未来的研究有必要加强对新型团队中的集体效能感、集体效能感的动态变化等五方面问题的探讨     

Social Behaviors as Determined by Different Arrangements of Social Consequences: Diffusion of Responsibility Effects With Competition

Abstract

According to a recently proposed synthesis, social loafing, social facilitation, and deindividuation can be viewed as different ways of arranging social consequences (B. Guerin, 1999). The effects of such arrangements have been measured in past research as productive output (social loafing and social facilitation) or as antinormative behaviors (deindividuation), but all 3 effects are manipulable by changing individual identifiability, evaluation, social identity, task difficulty, and presence in a group. The synthesis also predicted that these same variables would apply to other measures and other arrangements of social consequences. To this end, in the present 2 experiments, the author varied the arrangements for consequence diffusion in a competition situation by varying small and large competing groups and measured productive output and antinormative behaviors simultaneously. The 2 experiments showed social-consequence effects in competition situations with college students, giving further support for the social-consequence synthesis and the idea that the verbal naming of phenomena in social psychology is arbitrary.     

Using Automated Essay Scores as an Anchor When Equating Constructed Response Writing Tests

Assessments consisting of only a few extended constructed response items (essays) are not typically equated using anchor test designs as there are typically too few essay prompts in each form to allow for meaningful equating. This article explores the idea that output from an automated scoring program designed to measure writing fluency (a common objective of many writing prompts) can be used in place of a more traditional anchor. The linear-logistic equating method used in this article is a variant of the Tucker linear equating method appropriate for the limited score range typical of essays. The procedure is applied to historical data. Although the procedure only results in small improvements over identity equating (not equating prompts), it does produce a viable alternative, and a mechanism for checking that the identity equating is appropriate. This may be particularly useful for measuring rater drift or equating mixed format tests.