The transcoding processes in patients with agraphia to dictation

The main purpose of the present study is to prove that the mechanism of transcoding, that is, of transposition of certain units of a sign system into the corresponding ones of another sign system, is an independent mechanism. We attempted to demonstrate this thesis with reference to certain transcoding processes within the verbal function of writing to dictation, in particular, by examining the agraphic disturbances in aphasics on this form of writing. We found that this type of agraphia in patients with an intact input stage (i.e., intact auditory and visual word perception) but with a blocked shift from the phonetic to the graphemic level (even in cases with intact auditory and visual word perception), or in those with a blocked shift to the grapho-motor one (even in cases with intact copying), is due to disturbed mechanisms of transcoding. The fact that in patients with pure writing-to-dictation disability copied writing is not disturbed proves that the transcoding process is selectively blocked. Transcoding processes in copying and total agraphia are discussed by comparison.     

Everything is What it is,and Not Another Thing: Knowledge and Freedom in Isaiah Berlin's Political Thought

Although Isaiah Berlin's critique of positive liberty has achieved canonical status, its place within his wider political philosophy remains obscure. However, the re-publication of one of his most important philosophical essays, From Hope and Fear Set Free, as part of a new edition of Four Essays on Liberty, simply entitled Liberty, has opened the door to a re-evaluation of Berlin's political project.

At the heart of Berlin's argument, which gains its fullest expression in From Hope and Fear Set Free, stands his contention that positive liberty, in its incarnation as self-realisation, conflates liberty with knowledge, which leads to the distortion of our phenomenologically inescapable structure of experience. This transgression against the conceptual framework in terms of which we think, Berlin argues, played its desolate part in linking the ‘totalitarian temptation’ latent in liberty as self-realisation with the totalitarian politics of the mid-twentieth century.     

A Strange Alliance: Isaiah Berlin and the Liberalism of the Fringes

This paper is a homage to Isaiah Berlin. It argues that Berlin's philosophy has preceded many of the present discussions concerning liberalism-culturalism. In an age in which most liberal philosophers ignored the importance of belonging, of member-ship, identity, cultural affiliations and historical continuity, Berlin stands out as a welcome exception. His philosophy is therefore fresh and innovative as it was in the sixties and seventies when it was written. It carries within it the germs of the liberalism of the fringes advocated nowadays by members of national minorities, immigrants, women, and gays, the kind of liberalism which fits well the politics of identity and recognition.     

On Being One's Own Person

The aim of the paper is to provide a philosophical account of our sense that some people are more their own person than others. I begin by exposing the weaknesses in three possible accounts, which I label the "interventionist", the "existentialist" and the "ideal" accounts. I then go on to argue that the distinguishing feature of those who are their own person is that their natural inclinations are accurately expressed in their behaviour.     

The Wall: On the psychology of the reunification of Germany

The fall of the Berlin Wall, which separated West Germans and East Germans for decades, led to emotional catastrophe among the reunited peoples. The authors conducted a psychological research program in Berlin to analyze individual and interpersonal processes in the reunification. They describe four categories used to pinpoint different (largely unconscious) levels of coping and defense strategies used to deal with the changes: control, splitting, symbiosis, and integration.Thomas Krauss, Dr. phil., is a family therapist and teaching supervisor. From 1985–1990 he worked as scientific employee at the Free University Berlin. Angelika Fass, Dr. phil., is a family therapist and teaching supervisor. From 1986–1991 she worked as scientific employee (research and lecturer) at the Technical University in Berlin. Reprint requests should be sent to the authors at Markt 2, D-29493 Schnackenburg, Germany.Translation by Ann Brandt.     

Training research in aging on the fluid ability of inductive reasoning

The modifiability of older adults' performance on Induction tasks was examined through cognitive training. The posttraining performance of 52 older adults ($\text{X}\text{age = 70.3}\text{years}$) was assessed with regard to a transfer-of-training paradigm and maintenance of training effects at three posttests (one week, one month, six months). A pattern of differential training transfer across the posttest battery of fluid and crystallized intelligence measures was predicted, with the largest training effects expected for near transfer (Induction) measures. The predicted pattern of training transfer was obtained at one-week and one-month posttests, with significant training effects to the nearest Induction measure. Large retest (practice) effects across posttests also occurred for training and control groups. This research contributes to the position that modifiability of intellectual performance through cognitive intervention extends across the adult life span.     

Interhemispheric functional relationships in auditory agnosia : An analysis of the preconditions and a conceptual model

A statistical analysis revealed the following concerning auditory agnosia. (1) Bilateral temporal lobe lesions prevailed; in a minority of cases unilateral lesions were verified. (2) The syndrome occurred as a result of repeated insults. (3) There was a statistically significant correlation between the side of the first insult and the predilective type of the syndrome, i.e., agnosia preferably for linguistic with respect to nonlinguistic material. On the basis of these results we discuss the principle of contralateral compensation and the hypothesis of lesional interference. In doing so a conceptual model of interhemispheric functional relationships is developed. We made use of a set theory-oriented interpretation of Kinsbourne's “attention-model” (M. Kinsbourne, 1970, Acta Psychologica 33, 193–201).     

毕生发展心理学的新进展

毕生发展心理学是近年来比较活跃的心理学研究领域。本文主要综述了它在理论和实践上的新进展。理论分析首先提出了生物和文化共同进化的毕生发展总体框架,接着在此框架下阐述了带有补偿的选择性最优化理论。然后,以智力发展和才智的实证研究来支持毕生发展的理论,并对该领域的新发展作了简要评价。     

社会发展过程中城市老年人心理适应的柏林智慧范式研究

基于智慧显义理论,对社会发展过程中我国城市老年人的心理适应进行柏林智慧范式研究。在对上海市社区老年人(n=247)进行社会发展相关典型现实生活问题的随机抽样调查的基础上,遴选三种问题情境,通过结构性晤谈采集老年人(n=65)应对这些问题的认知-行为反应,对晤谈记录进行五个维度的评价,并且考察评价结果与生活满意度的关系。研究结果表明,受访老年人中多数表现出中度的心理适应水平,心理适应较好者具有较高的生活满意度。本研究采用的测评方式具有符合心理测量学要求的信度和效度。本研究对于生活在现代社会的城市老年人的成功老龄化心理适应辅导工作具有重要的指导意义,也有助于进一步开展成功老龄化的跨文化研究。