Principled and statistical connections in common sense conception

Nominal concepts represent things as tokens of types. We report six experiments that investigate the nature of the relations we represent between the type of thing something is (e.g. DOG) and its other properties. The experiments provide evidence that we represent principled connections between the type of thing something is (e.g. DOG) and some of its properties (k-properties; e.g. having four legs for dogs), but not other properties (t-properties; e.g. being brown for dogs). Principled connections are different from logical, statistical, and causal connections. Principled connections, (i) license the expectation that tokens of the type will generally possess the k-property, (ii) license explanation of the presence of k-properties in tokens of a type by reference to the type of thing it is, and (iii) license normative expectations concerning the presence of the k-property in tokens of the type. The experiments provide evidence for all three of these aspects of principled connections. The experiments also demonstrate that principled connections must be distinguished from merely strong statistical connections. We suggest that principled connections are one of the fundamental types of relations (in addition to logical, statistical, and causal relations) in terms of which our conceptual knowledge is structured. We argue that principled connections reveal a formal mode of understanding and explanation. This mode of understanding complements other modes of understanding that have been studied within the theory-based approach to conceptual representation. Finally, we suggest that kind representations are distinguished from representations of mere types by the representation of principled connections to k-properties.     

Out of nothingness: rhythm and the making of words

Abstract: This contribution describes some aspects of the work with a four‐year‐old autistic child who was treated for many years with four times weekly sessions of psychotherapy. The fluctuations between the symbolic and non‐symbolic use of external objects are described, as well as the ever changing quality of the child's object relations. The rhythmical element in the analysand‐analyst interplay is of great importance: the construction of the temporal shapes (Alvarez) and the modulation of presence and absence are relevant as regards the progressive capacity to name aspects of external reality and subjective experience. From a theoretical point of view, the contributions of both the post‐Jungian, including Michael Fordham, and the post‐Kleinian traditions are outlined. The notions of pre‐conception (Bion) and of archetype (Jung) are immensely helpful in working with autistic children as they actually help the analyst in assuming that some proto‐trace of representational potential is always present in the individual.     

Chess as a Behavioral Model for Cognitive Skill Research: Review of Blindfold Chess by Eliot Hearst and John Knott

This multifaceted work on chess played without sight of the pieces is a sophisticated psychologist's examination of this topic and of chess skill in general, including a detailed and comprehensive historical account. This review builds on Hearst and Knott's assertion that chess can provide a uniquely useful model for research on several issues in the area of cognitive skill and imagery. A key issue is the relationship between viewing a stimulus and mental imagery in the light of blindfold chess masters' consistent reports that they do not use or have images. This review also proposes a methodology for measuring and quantifying an individual's skill shortfall from a theoretical maximum. This methodology, based on a 1951 proposal by Claude Shannon, is applicable to any choice situation in which all the available choices are known. The proposed “Proficiency” measure reflects the equivalent number of “yes—no” questions that would have been required to arrive at a best choice, considering also the time consumed. As the measure provides a valid and nonarbitrary way to compare different skills and the effects of different independent variables on a given skill, it may have a wide range of applications in cognitive skill research, skill training, and education.     

急性泪囊炎不同排脓途径的疗效观察

由于急性泪囊炎的一期处理过程中经泪小管引流脓液与经皮肤切开排脓对治疗效果的影响不同,将我院2007年以来接诊的急性泪囊炎患者随机分为观察组与对照组:患者抗感染治疗后经泪小管引流脓液,成人行经鼻内镜泪囊开窗引流术,先天性泪囊炎患儿行泪道探通;对照组患者急性期经皮肤切开排脓、放置引流条和消炎处理后再行泪囊鼻腔吻合术.观察组患者治疗成功率98.46％,外观满意率98.25％;对照组患者治疗成功率89.11％,外观满意率54.35％.观察组患者较对照组患者疗程缩短约7天～10天.急性泪囊炎经全身抗感染治疗后行泪小管引流脓液能更有效地控制炎症,不给患者带来新的创伤,值得临床推广应用.     

Shoulder Joint Position Sense Improves With External Load

Joint position sense (JPS) is important in the maintenance of optimal movement coordination of limb segments in functional activities. Researchers have shown that the sensitivity of musculotendinous mechanoreceptors increases as muscle activation levels increase. In the present study, when 25 participants tried to replicate the same presented position, both vector and elevation angle repositioning errors decreased linearly as the external load increased up to 40% above unloaded shoulder torque. However, external load had no effect on plane repositioning error. The results indicated that JPS increased under conditions of increasing external load but only in the direction of the applied load. That finding indicates that JPS acuity improves as muscle activation levels increase.     

Data Collection in a Flat World: The Strengths and Weaknesses of Mechanical Turk Samples

Mechanical Turk (MTurk), an online labor system run by Amazon.com, provides quick, easy, and inexpensive access to online research participants. As use of MTurk has grown, so have questions from behavioral researchers about its participants, reliability, and low compensation. In this article, we review recent research about MTurk and compare MTurk participants with community and student samples on a set of personality dimensions and classic decision‐making biases. Across two studies, we find many similarities between MTurk participants and traditional samples, but we also find important differences. For instance, MTurk participants are less likely to pay attention to experimental materials, reducing statistical power. They are more likely to use the Internet to find answers, even with no incentive for correct responses. MTurk participants have attitudes about money that are different from a community sample's attitudes but similar to students' attitudes. Finally, MTurk participants are less extraverted and have lower self‐esteem than other participants, presenting challenges for some research domains. Despite these differences, MTurk participants produce reliable results consistent with standard decision‐making biases: they are present biased, risk‐averse for gains, risk‐seeking for losses, show delay/expedite asymmetries, and show the certainty effect—with almost no significant differences in effect sizes from other samples. We conclude that MTurk offers a highly valuable opportunity for data collection and recommend that researchers using MTurk (1) include screening questions that gauge attention and language comprehension; (2) avoid questions with factual answers; and (3) consider how individual differences in financial and social domains may influence results. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic Regulation Responding to an External Stimulus: A Differential Equation Model

This study examines the dynamic regulation process responding to an external stimulus. The damped oscillator model has been used to describe this process. However, the model does not allow a nonzero steady state, even though the oscillations may continue and do not necessarily damp toward zero. This study introduces the driven damped oscillator model which has an additional parameter to identify different patterns of the steady state. Three methods, generalized local linear approximation, continuous time structural equation modeling, and analytic solutions of differential equations are provided to estimate model parameters. A simulation study indicates that parameters in the driven damped oscillator model are well recovered. The model is then illustrated using a data set on the daily reports of sales after a sale promotion. Potential applications and possible expansions of this model are also discussed.     

Social support and cardiovascular responding to laboratory stress: Moderating effects of gender role identification,sex, and type of support

The objective of the present study was to examine moderating effects of gender role identification, sex, and type of support on the buffering role of social support on cardiovascular responses. We hypothesized that (a) gender role identification, more than sex, would moderate the effect of social support and (b) to obtain optimal attenuating effects of social support, type of support provided should match type of support preferred in terms of one's gender role identification. That is, feminine participants would benefit more from relatively direct support, whereas masculine participants would benefit more from indirect support. Healthy participants (N = 100) performed a psychological stressor in the presence of a friend, after mental activation of a friend, or alone. Results revealed no moderating effects of gender role identification whether or not in combination with type of support. Nevertheless, results demonstrated an attenuating effect of mental support on heart rate and cardiac output in men. It is concluded that pathways linking social relationships and health may differ between women and men.     

Comparison of the role of self-efficacy and illness representations in relation to dietary self-care and diabetes distress in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

This cross-sectional study examined the joint effects of self-efficacy and illness representations on dietary self-care and diabetes distress in adolescents with type 1 diabetes by comparing two theoretical models: the Self-regulation Model (Leventhal, H., Meyer, D., & Nerenz, D. (1980). The common-sense representations of illness danger. In S. Rachman (Ed.), Medical Psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 7–30). New York: Pergamon.) and Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, A. (1997). Self efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman.). One hundred and fifty-one adolescents with type 1 diabetes completed self-report measures of dietary self-efficacy, illness representations, dietary self-care and diabetes distress. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The model best supported by the data (Leventhal's Self-regulation Model) showed that dietary self-efficacy, perceived consequences and treatment effectiveness had direct and independent effects on both dietary self-care and diabetes distress. Together with dietary self-efficacy, perceived short-term treatment effectiveness was a significant predictor of dietary self-care. Age was found to be a negative predictor of short-term treatment effectiveness beliefs. Diabetes distress was best predicted by self-efficacy and perceived consequences. It can be concluded that to target effectively dietary self-care and distress, clinicians should focus on key illness representation variables (perceived short-term treatment effectiveness and perceived consequences) in conjunction with self-efficacy.