Mereological nihilism: quantum atomism and the impossibility of material constitution

Mereological nihilism is the philosophical position that there are no items that have parts. If there are no items with parts then the only items that exist are partless fundamental particles, such as the true atoms (also called philosophical atoms) theorized to exist by some ancient philosophers, some contemporary physicists, and some contemporary philosophers. With several novel arguments I show that mereological nihilism is the correct theory of reality. I will also discuss strong similarities that mereological nihilism has with empirical results in quantum physics. And I will discuss how mereological nihilism vindicates a few other theories, such as a very specific theory of philosophical atomism, which I will call quantum abstract atomism. I will show that mereological nihilism also is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that avoids the problems of other interpretations, such as the widely known, metaphysically generated, quantum paradoxes of quantum physics, which ironically are typically accepted as facts about reality. I will also show why it is very surprising that mereological nihilism is not a widely held theory, and not the premier theory in philosophy.     

A multilevel framework for understanding relationships among traits,states, situations and behaviours

A conceptual and analytic framework for understanding relationships among traits, states, situations, and behaviours is presented. The framework assumes that such relationships can be understood in terms of four questions. (1) What are the relationships between trait and state level constructs, which include psychological states, the situations people experience and behaviour? (2) What are the relationships between psychological states, between states and situations and between states and behaviours? (3) How do such state level relationships vary as a function of trait level individual differences? (4) How do the relationships that are the focus of questions 1, 2, and 3 change across time? This article describes how to use multilevel random coefficient modelling (MRCM) to examine such relationships. The framework can accommodate different definitions of traits and dispositions (Allportian, processing styles, profiles, etc.) and different ways of conceptualising relationships between states and traits (aggregationist, interactionist, etc.). Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Psychometric Analysis of the Child Behavior Checklist DSM-Oriented Scales

The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6–18 (CBCL/6-18) possesses newly developed DSM-Oriented Scales, constructed through expert clinical judgment to match selected categories for behavioral/emotional problems as described in the DSM-IV. The present investigation examined the basic psychometric properties for all six DSM-Oriented Scales (i.e., Affective, Anxiety, Somatic, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity, Oppositional, and Conduct Scales) in a large clinical sample of children and adolescents (N = 673). Findings from the present study provide strong evidence for the reliability, as well as convergent and discriminative validity, of these scales. It appears that the DSM-Oriented Scales may provide accurate supplementary information that may be considered when formulating clinical diagnoses.

Quantum mechanics, interference, and the brain

In this paper we discuss the use of quantum mechanics to model psychological experiments, starting by sharply contrasting the need of these models to use quantum mechanical nonlocality instead of contextuality. We argue that contextuality, in the form of quantum interference, is the only relevant quantum feature used. Nonlocality does not play a role in those models. Since contextuality is also present in classical models, we propose that classical systems be used to reproduce the quantum models used. We also discuss how classical interference in the brain may lead to contextual processes, and what neural mechanisms may account for it.     

Normische Gesetzeshypothesen und die wissenschaftsphilosophische Bedeutung des nichtmonotonen Schliessens

Normic Laws and the Significance of Nonmonotonic Reasoning for Philosophy of Science. Normic laws have the form ‘if A then normally B’. They have been discovered in the explanation debate, but were considered as empirically vacuous (§1). I argue that the prototypical (or ideal) normality of normic laws implies statistical normality (§2), whence normic laws have empirical content. In §3–4 I explain why reasoning from normic laws is nonmonotonic, and why the understanding of the individual case is so important here. After sketching some foundations of nonmonotonic reasoning as developed by AI-researchers (§5), Iargue that normic laws are also the best way to understand ceteris paribus laws (§6). §7 deals with the difference between physical and non-physical disciplines and §9 with the difference between normicity and approximation. In §8 it is shown how nonmonotonic reasoning provides a new understanding of the protection of theories against falsification by auxiliary hypotheses. §10, finally, gives a system- and evolution-theoretical explanation of the deeper reason for the omnipresence of normic laws in practice and science, and forthe connection between ideal and statistical normality. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Axiomatic Quantum Theory

The basis of a rigorous formal axiomatization of quantum mechanics is constructed, built upon Dirac's bra–ket notation. The system is three-sorted, with separate variables for scalars, vectors and operators. First-order quantification over all three types of variable is permitted. Economy in the axioms is effected by, e.g., assigning a single logical function * to transform (i) a scalar into its complex conjugate, (ii) a ket vector into a bra and a bra into a ket, (iii) an operator into its adjoint. The system is accompanied by a formal semantics. Further papers will deal with vector subspaces and projection operators, operators with continuous spectra, tensor products, observables, and quantum mechanical probabilities.     

A Statistical Interpretive Method for Neuropsychological Test Data

The accurate interpretation of large numbers of neuropsychological tests within a flexible battery approach is a difficult and sometimes controversial process. We present a statistically based method of interpretation (Rohling's Interpretive Method or RIM) and evaluation of neuropsychological data that allows for varying numbers of tests along a varying number of cognitive domains, yet remains psychometrically based. This method requires informed clinical judgment in that the level of confidence for tests, cognitive domains, and global indices are used as the backdrop for interpretive decisions. Specific procedures for use are presented in a systematic, detailed fashion to allow the interested reader to replicate the method. Two case examples are presented: a straightforward case of cerebrovascular insult and a more complicated case of mixed etiology. Examples include a variety of different neuropsychological tests commonly used in a flexible battery approach. A discussion of the practicality, ease of use, and potential limitations of this method are further presented.     

Assessment and choice: an operant simulation of foraging in patches

Pigeons were presented with an operant simulation of two prey patches using concurrent random-ratio schedules of reinforcement. An unstable patch offered a higher initial reinforcement probability, which then declined unpredictably to a zero reinforcement probability in each session. A stable patch offered a low but unvarying reinforcement probability. When the reinforcement probability declined to zero in a single step, the birds displayed shorter giving-up times in the unstable patch when the ratio between the initial reinforcement probabilities in the unstable and stable patches was greater and when the combined magnitude of the reinforcement probabilities in the two patches was greater. When the unstable patch declined in two steps, the birds behaved as if their giving-up times were influenced heavily by events encountered during the most recent step of the double-step change. This effect was observed, however, only when the reinforcement probability in that step was .04, not when it was .06. All of these data agree with the predictions of a capture-probability model based on a comparison of the estimated probability of receiving a reinforcer in the current patch with that in alternative patches.     

APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS AND STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL?

This paper examines Pfadt and Wheeler's (1995) suggestions that the methods of statistical process control (SPC) be incorporated into applied behavior analysis. The research strategies of SPC are examined and compared to those of applied behavior analysis. I argue that the statistical methods that are a part of SPC would likely reduce applied behavior analysts' intimate contacts with the problems with which they deal and would, therefore, likely yield poor treatment and research decisions. Examples of these kinds of results and decisions are drawn from the cases and data Pfadt and Wheeler present. This paper also describes and clarifies many common misconceptions about SPC, including W. Edwards Deming's involvement in its development, its relationship to total quality management, and its confusion with various other methods designed to detect sources of unwanted variability.     

差数显著性t检验与元分析的对比研究

利用计算机构造被试总体、模拟实验研究程序进行抽样研究,探讨显著性ｔ检验方法与元分析方法在检验实验结果数据方面的差异。在模拟实验过程中,ｔ验受到显著性水平、样本容量和总体效果大小的影响,因此最终影响了统计推断的可靠性,建议：在进行显著性检验过程中,应对统计检验能力进行估计;元分析方法以样本为元素对总体进行推断,因此具有很高的准确性和可靠性,它将很有可能成为今后心理学研究的重要统计工具。