DEGREES AND DIMENSIONS OF SOCIAL INTERACTION IN TRIBAL GROUPINGS

On a administré un inventaire de quinze questions sociométriques à onze groupes d'élèves d'écoles primaires et secondaires, d'une école d'instituteurs, et d'une école pour jeunes mineurs de la region minière (Copperbelt) de Zambie (N = 274). Les choix ont été analysés en prenant l'origine tribale comme base de classification pour les groupements dans les classes et pour tous les répondants. l'origine tribale représente une catégorie importante pour l'interaction sociale à l'intérieur des groupes institutionnels quand la distance est grande. Les dimensions de l'inventaire, que fait apparaître une analyse factorielle basée sur les groupements par tribu des répondants, suivent trois axes et pourraient correspondre à l'autorité (leadership) dans un système institutionnel, l'acceptation par les pairs et l'origine ethnique. l'A. discute de ces résultats en se référant à d'autres recherches sur la distance sociale et montre quelles modifications de la théorie traditionnelle ils suggèrent.     

Towards a theory of algorithm-determined cognitive test construction

A rationale for, and data from, a trial of a theory of item generation by algorithms whose origins are cognitive models of task performance are presented. Since Spearman (1904), intelligence has been operationally defined and assessed in human subjects by administering identical test items whose content and order have been fixed only after empirical iterations. In our approach, intelligence is ostensively defined by theoretically determined algorithms used for item construction and presentation. Knowledge of what cognitive factors limit human performance makes it possible to vary within tightly specified parameters those features of the tasks that contribute to difficulty, which we call radicals, to let those components of the tasks that do not contribute to difficulty vary randomly, and to counterbalance aspects of answer production that might induce biases of response. Empirical data are based on the generation of five different short tests demanding only functional literacy as a prerequisite for their execution. Four parallel forms of each test were administered to young male Army recruits whose scores were collated with their Army Entrance Test results, which were not previously known to us. Results show that the parallel, algorithm-generated item sets are statistically invariant, which item generation theory demands; and that the individual tests differentially predict Army Entrance Test scores. We conclude that IQ test performances are parsimoniously explained by individual differences in encoding, comparison and reconstructive memory processes.     

Valid and more valid? Keys to understanding personal appraisal practices at work

Four empirical studies of the roles of self-report questionnaires, tests, and ratings in employment interviews, staff appraisal, and personnel validation surveys are presented in order to examine the number and relationships of psychological constructs derived from data provided by candidates, employees, and their assessors. Test results are related to different kinds of criteria, including job offers following interview, supervisor ratings on the job, and objective indices of work performance. From the practices reported and observed in these various contexts, a theory of personal appraisal mechanisms in occupational settings is derived using data reduction and linear regression methods. Applications of cognitive information processing theory to self-reports and ratings by individuals, and of exchange theory to the social context of panel discussions among assessors, provide a key to understanding why psychometric measures of personal qualities vary in their power to predict work performance in spite of consistent construct validity.     

Long-term repetition priming with symmetrical polygons and words

In two different tasks, subjects were asked to make lexical decisions (word or nonword) and symmetry judgments (symmetrical or nonsymmetrical) about two-dimensional polygons. In both tasks, every stimulus was repeated at one of four lags (0, 1, 4, or 8 items interposed between the first and second stimulus presentations). This paradigm, known as repetition priming, revealed comparable short-term priming (Lag 0) and long-term priming (Lags 1, 4, and 8) both for symmetrical polygons and for words. A shorter term component (Lags 0 and 1) of priming was observed for nonwords, and only very short-term priming (Lag 0) was observed for nonsymmetrical polygons. These results indicate that response facilitation accruing from repeated exposure can be observed for stimuli that have no preexisting memory representations and suggest that perceptual factors contribute to repetition-priming effects.     

What chance-credence norms should be

Synthese - Multiple realizability says that the same kind of mental states may be manifested by systems with very different physical constitutions. Putnam (1967) supposed it to be...     

Intentional Action and the Post-Coma Patient

Detecting conscious awareness in a patient emerging from a coma state is problematic, because our standard attributions of conscious awareness rely on interpreting bodily movement as intentional action. Where there is an absence of intentional bodily action, as in the vegetative state, can we reliably assume that there is an absence of conscious awareness? Recent neuroimaging work suggests that we can attribute conscious awareness to some patients in a vegetative state by interpreting their brain activity as intentional mental action. I suggest that this change of focus, from the interpretation of motor behaviour as intentional bodily action to the interpretation of neural activity as intentional mental action, raises philosophical issues that affect the interpretation of the neuroimaging data.     

Review of the Evidence for Motivation Deficits in Youth with ADHD and Their Association with Functional Outcomes

Preeminent theories of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suggest that motivation deficits are core underlying features of the disorder. However, it is currently unclear whether empirical evidence supports the assertion that significant group (ADHD v. comparison) differences in motivation exist or that problems with motivation contribute to the functional impairments that youth with ADHD experience. Accordingly, this review focused on evaluating and summarizing the empirical literature on the presence of motivation deficits and their association with functional outcomes in samples of youth with ADHD. Twenty studies met the review inclusion criteria. Results support the assertion that youth with ADHD have lower academic-related motivation in comparison to their peers and that motivation plays an important role in academic outcomes, with the strongest evidence to date for reading achievement. However, the available evidence is limited, and few existing studies are aligned with the much larger theoretical and empirical motivation literature in typically developing youth. Given preliminary evidence that motivation plays a role in the academic impairments of youth with ADHD, the review concludes with a discussion of whether current ADHD interventions adequately target motivation and highlights important future directions.