FACAIC: Model selection algorithm for the orthogonal factor model using AIC and CAIC

This paper describes the authors' FORTRAN algorithm FACAIC for choosing the number of factors for an orthogonal factor model using Akaike's Information Criterion. FACAIC utilizes the IMSL subroutine OFCOMM.The authors dedicate this algorithm to Professor Hirotugu Akaike in appreciation of his pioneering work on AIC which was originally intended for the factor analysis and other statistical model identification problems.     

The fallacy of fallacies

Several of the so-called fallacies in Aristotle are not in fact mistaken inference-types, but mistakes or breaches of rules in the questioning games which were practiced in the Academy and in the Lyceum. Hence the entire Aristotelian theory of fallacies ought to be studied by reference to the author's interrogative model of inquiry, based on his theory of questions and answers, rather than as a part of the theory of inference. Most of the fallacies mentioned by Aristotle can in fact be diagnosed by means of the interrogative model, including petitio principii, multiple questions, babbling, etc., and so can Aristotle's alleged anticipation of the fallacy of argumentum ad hominem. The entire Aristotelian conception of inquiry is an interrogative one. Deductive conclusions caught Aristotle's attention in the form of answers that every rational interlocutor must give, assuming only his own earlier answers. Several features of Aristotle's methodology can be understood by means of the interrogative model, including the role of endoxa in it. Theoretically, there is also considerable leeway as to whether fallacies are conceived of as mistakes in questioning or as breaches of the rules that govern questioning games.     

A note on remembering to execute planned actions

The purpose of this article is to call attention to the necessary role of remembering in the execution of planned actions, such as following instructions, delivering messages, and keeping appointments. Remembering in this context is considered within a theoretical framework of activities, actions, and operations advanced by Soviet developmental psychologists. The importance of remembering planned actions in applied settings, strategies employed by children and adults in remembering planned actions, relationships between motivation and remembering, and developmental relationships are discussed. In addition, several characteristics of the Soviet developmental approach are briefly noted.     

Conditioned fear-induced opiate analgesia on the Formalin test: Evidence for two aversive motivational systems

Fear, conditioned to apparatus cues associated with electric shock, was measured by recording freezing. Pain reactivity was simultaneously measured by recording the paw-licking and paw-lifting response to Formalin injected into a paw. Stimuli associated with shock produced freezing and inhibited the responses to Formalin; whereas various control stimuli did neither. These results indicate that one of the responses to fear is analgesia. The opiate antagonist naltrexone reversed this analgesia, suggesting that the analgesia has an opiate nature. The results were interpreted in terms of a two-aversive-motivational-systems model. One system, the pain system, is instigated by tissue-damaging stimuli and produces recuperative behavior that functions to promote healing. The other system, the fear system, is triggered by conditioned fear stimuli. It produces species-specific defensive reactions and also inhibits the pain system via analgesia.     

Sequential consistency and subjective clustering in the multitrial free recall of children

The organization imposed by children on lists presented in a multitrial free recall task was investigated in two experiments. In the first, 6 and 9 year olds were tested for multitrial free recall of an unstructured noun or mixed list, followed by two sorting trials. Organization was quantified using two structurally comparable indices. One was an index of subjective clustering, based on individual word groupings determined in the sorting trials, and the other was an index of the sequential consistency of recall order over successive trials. The older children had significantly higher scores on recall and subjective clustering but there was no age effect on sequential consistency. In the second experiment 6, 8 and 10 year olds were tested for multitrial free recall of line drawings of common objects. Two sorting trials followed and organization was quantified using the subjective clustering and sequential consistency indices. Recall and subjective clustering scores again showed significant increases with age. As before, no age effect on sequential consistency was found. The results were interpreted in terms of a differential sensitivity of the two indices to an age-related qualitative change in the basis of organization.     

Constraints on the visual accuracy of drawings produced by young children

Errors made by young children when they are asked to draw a model were investigated in two studies. In the first study, the experimenter asked 5- and 8-year-old children to draw a cup that had a flower decal (transfer) attached to its outside surface, attached to its inside surface or positioned beside it. The 8-year-old children in all conditions produced visually accurate drawings. The 5-year-old children produced visually accurate drawings when the flower decal was positioned beside the cup and when the flower decal was attached to the inside surface of the cup but not when the flower decal was attached to the cup's outside surface. In the second study, 5- and 8-year-old children were asked to draw a cup that had either an intact or a broken handle. The handle area of the cup was either in view or not in view. The 5- and 8-year-old children performed comparably in this experiment. The children had difficulty producing accurate copies of the model only when the cup had a handle and the handle was not in view. Taken together, these studies indicate that 5-year-old children are more likely to produce visually accurate drawings than has previously been supposed. Difficulty in producing accurate drawings occurred when drawing rules and drawing conventions interfered with the task.