COMMONALITY OF WORD LISTING,PREDICTABILITY, ORIGINALITY AND CHUNKING

Les AA. analysent les données de deux épreuves verbales (liste de mots, créativité) auxquelles ont été soumis des adolescents hindous (N = 144) et américains (N = 96). Ils constatent que : (1) les sujets hindous montrent plus de variabilité dans la tendance à donner des mots identiques (commonality) dans une liste et se caractérisent par un nombre plus élevé de “ groupes ” de mots, liés entre eux dans une même chaîne de pensée; (2) les filies donnent plus de mots identiques que les garçons, mais seulement dans le groupe américain; (3) il existe une relation faible, mais de sens contraire, entre la prédictibilité et le groupement des mots dans les deux groupes linguistiques. La discussion est centrée sur la pertinence des ressemblances plutôt que des différences en matière de comparaisons interculturelles; les similitudes verbales pourraient refléter chez les sujets américains L'orientation vers le groupe des pairs et il est possible de donner d'autres explications à L'absence de Jiaison entre les similitudes verbales, la prédictibilité, I'originalité et la tendance à répondre par groupes de mots.     

Generative theories in language and music descriptions

The style of a set of Swedish nursery tunes is described in terms of a generative rule system. A generative rule system producing melodically similar versions of an old Swedish folk song is also presented. Examples of melodies generated by these two rule systems are given.Both these rule systems are similar in several respects. Thus, the marking of the hierarchical constituent structure seems to be one of the important principles in composing simple melodies.The rule systems also show a number of similarities with the Chomsky & Halle (1968) generative phonology of English. For instance, the procedures used for deriving a stress contour from a tree diagram are almost identical. Moreover, in sentences as in melodies this stress, or prominence contour is of decisive importance to the generation of the surface structure, such as meter, harmony, and sequences of pitches. It is believed that such parallels between language and music reflect characteristics of man's perceptual and cognitive capacities.     

Recent research trends in testing

Summary: Recent trends in test research as measured by references in Buros' Mental Measurements Yearbooks were investigated. The 24 tests with the greatest number of publications were identified, and growth trends of five major tests (Rorschach, MMPI, TAT, Stanford-Bhet, and SVIB) were shown. The correlation between test publications and test usage was .25. The authors speculated that future research trends might include increasing psychometric attention to behavioral assessment and test modifications for minorities. Based on a survey of psychologists' judgments of test quality, the authors concluded that good psychometric properties do not test leaders make.     

OVERCOMING AN AUTISTIC CHILD'S FAILURE TO ACQUIRE A TACT REPERTOIRE

A 6-year-old nonvocal autistic girl who had acquired over 30 signs as mands (requests), simple intraverbals (English-sign translations), and imitative responses repeatedly failed to acquire a tact (labeling) repertoire. It was speculated that the verbal stimulus “What is that?” blocked the establishment of stimulus control by nonverbal stimuli. When procedures to transfer stimulus control from verbal to nonverbal stimuli were implemented, the subject quickly learned to tact all 18 target stimuli.     

Personality and spirituality: comparative TATs of high-achieving Rajneeshees

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was administered to followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in their commune in central Oregon. The Rajneeshee subjects had been high achievers (with advanced degrees and/or previous incomes greater than 30,000 dollars in 1984 dollars). Later, TATs were administered to persons matched for gender, age, education, and occupation but not involved in new religions. The final matched sample included 24 men and 20 women, half of whom were Rajneeshees. TATs were coded for a variety of formal variables as well as personality ratings. Though the analysis showed no between-group differences on most variables, significant mean differences occurred on ratings of unusual conditions, quest, and narcissism, with Rajneeshees higher than comparison subjects. Gender differences in personality variables were not conspicuous. Factor analysis established a strong productivity element. Card 16 (the blank card) provided the greatest number of differences.     

Boredom proneness--the development and correlates of a new scale

This article reports the development, validation, and correlates of a self-report measure of boredom proneness. The 28-item Boredom Proneness (BP) Scale demonstrates satisfactory levels of internal consistency (coefficient alpha = .79) and test-retest reliability (r = .83) over a 1-week interval. Evidence of validity for the BP is supported by correlations with other boredom measures and from a set of studies evaluating interest and attention in the classroom. Other hypothesized relationships with boredom were tested, with significant positive associations found with depression, hopelessness, perceived effort, loneliness, and amotivational orientation. Additional findings indicate boredom proneness to be negatively related to life satisfaction and autonomy orientation. The relationship of boredom to other affective states is discussed, and directions for future research are outlined.