Conditional discrimination and equivalence relations: A theoretical analysis of control by negative stimuli

A detailed analysis is presented of the ways in which control by the negative stimulus in two-comparison conditional discriminations may be expected to affect the outcome of tests for the properties of equivalence relations. Control by the negative stimulus should produce the following results: (a) no observable effect on symmetry tests; (b) reflexivity test results should look like “oddity” rather than “identity”; and (c) transitivity tests that involve an odd number of nodes should yield results that are 100% opposite to tests that involve an even number of nodes. The analysis also considers the effects of variation in the type of comparison-stimulus control between and within baseline conditional discriminations. Methods are suggested for experimentally regulating the type of control, and for verifying the predictions that the analysis generates. If suggested experiments continue to support the analysis, investigators who use two-comparison conditional discriminations to study equivalence relations will either have to control explicitly whether the positive or the negative comparison governs their subjects' choices, or they will have to abandon two comparisons and use three or more comparisons instead.     

Empirical Support for the Critical Assumptions of Empowerment Theory

This exploratory case study provides empirical support for three critical assumptions of empowerment theory. Many empowerment theorists have argued that empowerment takes on multiple forms across people, is contextually embedded, and shifts over time (Rappaport, 1984; Zimmerman, 1990, 1995). To better understand the implications of these assumptions for empowerment theory and the research and intervention methods we employ, the empowerment experiences of 49 employees within a large human service delivery organization were explored. A method well suited to investigate empowerment's assumptions of multiplicity and dynamism—a constructivist approach to inquiry—was employed. Content analyses of interview and observational data revealed that the process of empowerment may be more complex than originally conceived. Not only did multiple meanings and desires for empowerment emerge across employees and between employees and leaders, but several shifting ecologies impacted the employees' lives, causing the employees' empowerment experiences to fluctuate. Empowerment emerged as a dynamic, highly individualistic, contextually layered process. Multiple forms, contexts, and dynamics that influenced employee empowerment are described. Implications of these findings for empowerment research and intervention are discussed.     

Is science socially constructed—And can it still inform public policy?

This paper addresses, and seeks to correct, some frequent misunderstandings concerning the claim that science is socially constructed. It describes several features of scientific inquiry that have been usefully illuminated by constructivist studies of science, including the mundane or tacit skills involved in research, the social relationships in scientific laboratories, the causes of scientific controversy, and the interconnection of science and culture. Social construction, the paper argues, should be seen not as an alternative to but an enhancement of scientists’ own professional understanding of how science is done. The richer, more finely textured accounts of scientific practice that the constructivist approach provides are potentially of great relevance to public policy. This paper is based on a Topical Lecture presented at AMSIE'96, the 162nd National Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Baltimore, Maryland, 8–13 February 1996. The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of the AAAS or its Board of Directors. For permission to cite or quote any part of this paper please refer to the author for permission.     

The social construction of gender

The categories provided by the language of our culture give us a meaning-making framework that guides our perception of the world. This paper views the process of categorizing people from a constructivist perspective. It argues that many categories such as race, nationality, homosexuality, and gender are arbitrary social constructions created to fill some human purpose based on sociopolitical rather than biological or natural considerations. Similarity among people may arise from a history of being in the same category rather than being the basis for categorization. Whereas people are attached to categories that shape their identity and unite with other persons from similar categories to fight for their rights, they should also envisage the possibility of revising these arbitrary categories.     

DISTINCTIVELY HUMAN? MEANING-MAKING AND WORLD SHAPING AS CORE PROCESSES OF THE HUMAN NICHE

Part of the task in studying human evolution is developing a deep understanding of what we share, and do not share, with other life, as a mammal, a primate, a hominin, and as members of the genus Homo. A key aspect of this last facet is gained via the examination of the genus Homo across the Pleistocene. By at least the later Pleistocene members of the genus Homo began to habitually insert shared meaning into and onto their world forming one of the bases of contemporary human abilities to develop a distinctive human niche and human culture. Meaning-laden cultural dynamics constitute the core of a ubiquitous semiotic ecosystem, which in turn structures the architecture of the complex niches and niche construction processes that characterize humanity today. Here, I offer a summary of Pleistocene evolution of the genus Homo and an argument for when and how that extensive and distinctive capacities for shared meaning-making and a particularly dynamic niche construction emerged.     

并列和偏正结构双字合成词的注视位置效应

采用EyeLink II眼动仪, 选取并列结构和偏正结构两种类型的目标词, 要求大学生被试阅读包含有目标词的句子, 以探讨两种双字合成词的注视位置效应。结果发现：在阅读并列和偏正结构的目标词时, 单次注视条件下读者往往将首次注视定位于词的中心位置, 多次注视时首次注视往往落在词的开端部分; 当首次注视落在词的开端时再注视该词的概率增加, 而且再注视往往落在词的结尾部分。结果提示：在单次注视条件下存在偏向注视位置; 双字合成词结构不影响偏向和最佳注视位置; 研究结果支持“战略-战术”模型。     

Ships That Pass In The Night.

A major source of tension between Staddon's The new behaviorism and Baum's Review is that the former was written for a general audience but the latter evaluates it as a technical work. Be that as it may, the central issue—Skinner's conception of the role of theory in behavior analysis—is inadequately portrayed in both the book and the review. The two primary sources of difficulty arise from failures to honor Skinner's distinction between experimental analysis and interpretation and to appreciate Skinner's views on events that are not observable at the behavioral scale of measurement.     

合作学习认知研究综述

到20世纪末期,合作学习研究转向对其认知过程的分析,当前的研究将合作学习过程分成了两个阶段。第一阶段是个体知识建构阶段,在该阶段中,合作性理解监控过程是对心理模型的比较过程。第二阶段是合作性联合结构阶段,该阶段的研究主要集中在精制、商讨、冲突三个方面,这些研究对教学干预提供了重要的理论借鉴。     

时间知觉理论和实验范型

回顾了时间知觉界定上的纷争．在分段综合的框架下考察了时间知觉的内涵．并基于生物模型、认知模型和综合模型对时间知觉的理论解释进行了讨论,还分析了时间知觉的实验范型．进一步指出分段综合取向对时间知觉研究的重要意义。