Die ganzheitliche Methode musikalischer Begabungsprüfung

Ohne ZusammenfassungIn dankbarer Erinnerung an meinen verehrten Münchener Lehrer Kurt Huber, dessen frühzeitigen gewaltsamen Tod (13. 7. 43) wir noch immer beklagen. Die Arbeit entsprang einer seiner letzten wissenschaftlichen Anregungen.     

Interventionist Explanation and the Problem of Single Variable Boundary Constraints

According to Interventionism , explanations cite invariant relations which hold among multiple variables. Interventionism incorrectly implies, however, that many common scientific explanations—which cite single-variable boundary constraints—are not actually explanatory. So I propose a different account of explanation, similar in spirit to Interventionism , which gets those cases of scientific explanation right.     

The Influence of Goal Orientation on Task Performance: A Substantively Meaningful Suppressor Variable1

The present study investigated the relationship between performance goal orientation and performance on a complex task. It was hypothesized that cognitive interference would mediate this relationship. In addition, it was hypothesized that cognitive ability would moderate the relationship between cognitive interference and task performance. A three-variable suppressor relationship indicated that, although the direct effect of performance goal orientation on performance was one that produced better performance, the indirect effect of performance goal orientation indicated that performance orientations were associated with increases in cognitive interference, and these increases in cognitive interference were associated with poorer performance. Thus, the beneficial aspect of performance goal orientation (i. e., the direct effect) was counterbalanced by the dysfunctional aspects of performance goal orientation (i. e., the associated increase in cognitive interference). Support was also found for the proposed moderation of ability on the cognitive interference-task performance relationship for final, but not initial performance. The results are interpreted in light of recent discussions regarding the influence of goal orientation on task performance and cognitive interference.     

Gender role stereotyping in Australian radio commercials

Most previous research into gender role stereotypes in the mass media has concentrated on television or print. Only one content analysis (Furnham & Schofield, 1986) has examined radio content, finding patterns of bias in British radio commercials consistent with, though less marked than, those in television commercials. The present study sought to determine whether similar patterns obtain in another Western country’s radio commercials collected approximately a decade later. Over 100 Australian radio ads were content analyzed, and results very similar to those of the earlier study were obtained. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for studies of gender role development and audience reactions to media content. We are grateful to Elyse Frankel and Jason Low for assistance in data coding and checking, and to two anonymous reviewers for constructive commentaries on an earlier version.     

On the nature of meaning and its indeterminacy: Davidson''s view in perspective

In order to illustrate the nature of the indeterminacy of meaning, Donald Davidson sometimes compares it to the fact that we can measure length or temperature on different scales. In the following paper I try to explain first why we are supposed to expect such an analogy, given the semantics of the word meaning and of the word length or temperature. In the second part I examine how close the analogy is by distinguishing different forms of indeterminacy of meaning (viz., the indeterminacy of reference and the indeterminacy of truth) and ask whether both forms have an equivalent in a theory of measurement. I shall conclude that this is indeed the case.I would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for his or her detailed comments on a first version of this paper, which helped me to clarify my views considerably.     

A psychometric analysis of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire

The psychometric properties of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire were examined in independent samples of male and female high school students, college students, and adults. In each of the six samples a two-factor structure (masculinity/instrumentality and femininity/expressivity) paralleling the empirically derived scales was found. Additional factor analyses of negative masculine and feminine traits were reported. Discriminant analyses revealed highly significant differentiation between the sexes. The reliabilities (Cronbach alpha) of the unit-weighted scales in each sample were also satisfactory.Support for this research was provided by NASA Grant NSG 2065 (Robert L. Helmreich, Principal Investigator) and NSF Grant BNS 78-08911 (Janet T. Spence and Robert L. Helmreich, Principal Investigators). The article was prepared while the second author was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, with support from the Spencer Foundation, NIMH Grant 5T32MH14581-03, and the University of Texas Research Institute.