AN EXPLOSION OF DAZZLING FLASHES: TEILHARD'S UNITY OF FAITH AND SCIENCE

Abstract. Science and revelation have been presented as two books with the same “author,” their reconciliation being called “concordism.” Teilhard opposed concordism, insisting that supposed “revelations” be treated as scientific hypotheses to be verified or not in experience. Applying his criterion for truth (Does it bring “coherence and fecundity” to the phenomena?) to Christian revelation, he told of finding “an explosion of dazzling flashes.” So Teilhard spoke of the hypothesis as the supreme spiritual act wherein the dust of experience takes on form and is kindled at the fire of knowledge.     

Antecedents of information-processing skills in infants: Habituation, novelty responsiveness, and cross-modal transfer

Three skills which characterize cognitive functioning in human infants in the middle of the first year of life—habituation, novelty responsiveness, and cross-modal transfer—predict mental ability in later childhood. Antecedents of each skill at 5 months postnatal were examined in a short-term prospective longitudinal study of infant ability and maternal intelligence and interaction style. Infant perceptuocognitive performance at 2 months, maternal intelligence, and maternal responsiveness at 5 months relate to the expression of the three infant cognitive skills, but in different ways. Variation in infant information-processing abilities can be explained by specific child and maternal factors that are evident soon after birth.     

Decompositions and biplots in three-way correspondence analysis

In this paper correspondence analysis for three-way contingency tables is presented using three-way generalisations of the singular value decomposition. It is shown that in combination with Lancaster's (1951) additive decomposition of interactions in three-way tables, a detailed analysis is possible of the deviations from independence. Finally, biplots are shown to produce powerful graphical representations of the results from three-way correspondence analyses. An example from child development is used to illustrate the theoretical developments.     

Interactions in multiple schedules: negative induction with squirrel monkeys

In Experiment I, lever pressing by squirrel monkeys was maintained under a sequence of variable-interval, multiple variable-interval variable-interval, and multiple variable-interval extinction schedules of food presentation. Negative induction (decreased responding in the unchanged component) occurred when one component of the multiple variable-interval variable-interval schedule was changed to extinction. Negative induction was transient over sessions; responding in the unchanged component usually recovered to a rate similar to that under the multiple variable-interval variable-interval schedule. Negative induction was not accompanied by consistent changes in the patterns of local responding within the unchanged component, and did not depend on whether component schedules were associated with localized (lever lights) or diffuse visual stimuli (houselights), or on whether the unchanged component was a 60- or 180-sec variable-interval schedule. In Experiment II, responding was maintained under a sequence of variable-interval and multiple variable-interval timeout schedules of food presentation. Negative induction occurred when responding declined gradually in the timeout component but not when responding declined abruptly. The nature of interactions in multiple schedules may depend on the species; negative induction was observed with squirrel monkeys under conditions similar to those that produce positive contrast with pigeons.     

Parameters for vowel substitutions in Broca''s aphasia

Most phonological investigations of aphasic speech have focused on consonants. In this study, the vowel substitutions of five English-speaking Broca's aphasics were investigated with respect to several major explanatory hypotheses. An important possible motivating factor for aphasic substitutions, phonological environment, is an unlikely origin for these errors, since most substitutions occur along the paradigmatic axis. Another prominent hypothesis, markedness, also has no predictive power for the data of this sample. However, an analysis of the five Chomsky and Halle (1968, (The Sound Pattern of English), New York: Harper and Row) vowel features indicates that the two features for vowel height are selectively impaired: There is a strong tendency for lower vowels to replace higher targets. Moreover, the substitution sounds tend to be close to their target sounds along the height axis. Four possible hypotheses are advanced to account for this consistent lowering tendency.     

Studies in social influence: V. Minority influence and conversion behavior in a perceptual task

The effects of influence attempts by a majority and by a minority were examined on both a manifest response level and a latent perceptual level. Female subjects were exposed to a series of blue slides that were consistently labeled as green by a female confederate. The confederate was presented as a member of either a majority or a minority. On each trial, subjects were required to indicate the color of the slide presented and the color of the afterimage perceived on a white screen following removal of the slide. It was predicted that (a) the subject's judgment of the chromatic afterimage would be modified when the influence agent represented a minority, and (b) this modification will be more pronounced when the source of influence is absent than when it is present. The results supported the prediction in both the main study and its replication.     

Positive conditioned suppression: Transfer of performance between contingent and noncontingent reinforcement situations

Five homing pigeons were trained on concurrent variable-interval schedules. A fixed-duration stimulus was occasionally presented on one key; and, in various conditions, this stimulus terminated (a) without reinforcement, (b) in noncontingent reinforcement, (c) with reinforcement contingent on a response on the key on which the stimulus was presented, and (d) with reinforcement contingent on a response on the key on which the stimulus was not presented. Initially, a stimulus terminating in noncontingent reinforcement generally produced decreased response rates on both keys during the stimulus. Contingencies, however, reliably produced increased rates during the stimulus on the key on which the contingency was arranged, relative to the rate on the concurrently available key. Contingency conditions were followed by noncontingency conditions in which the separation of rates caused by contingencies was maintained. When rates during the stimulus were compared with response rates on the same keys in the absence of the stimulus, contingency-caused rate increases and decreases were again found, but only the rate decreases were maintained in subsequent noncontingency conditions. Further data suggested that the contingency-caused rate changes were not maintained when the stimulus terminated without reinforcement, and that they were unaffected by a threefold decrease in the reinforcement rate provided by the baseline schedules. The results support the suggestion that performance in the positive conditioned suppression procedure results from concurrent and multiple schedule interactions. They further suggest that the production of either acceleration or suppression is dependent on adventitious and historical contingencies.     

Task determinants of ear differences in melody processing

In Experiment 1 nonmusicians were presented with dichotic melodies, which differed either on all pitches or by a single note, followed by a set of four binaural melodies. They were asked to recognize among the alternatives only one member of the dichotic pair in the “single-focus” task, and both dichotic melodies in the “double-focus” task. These different attention requirements led to a LEA in the first task which contrasted with the REA observed in the other task when melodies differed by all pitches. A possible confounding (fusion of the common pitches) prevents comparison of the tasks for melodies differing by a single pitch. The role of the extent of melody differences was further investigated in a second experiment by changing melodies on one, two, or three notes. No effect of material was observed on ear asymmetries. Task demands appeared as the most critical determinant of ear differences and are discussed in terms of their particular influence on the adoption of an analytic or holistic processing mode. Male subjects were found to be more responsive than females to analytic processing suggestions.