bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Human information processing capacity in counting several things simultaneously
Authors: HOLLNAGEL ERIK
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— In the area of human information processing an important concept is that of a limited capacity central processing system (CPS). Posner (1970) emphasized the distinction between a short‐term memory (STM) and an operational memory (OM). To evaluate this distinction, as well as to obtain data on the capacity limit of the CPS, and experiment was carried out, in which 14 subjects had to keep a running count of the number of occurrences of two or more predetermined items in a series of stimuli. Based on the experimental data a register model of the CPS was suggested which emphasized the distinction between the STM and the OM as one of two different memory functions carried out by a common memory system. The model also suggested that the capacity limit of the CPS was around eight items of verbally coded information.
Multidimensional scaling of political parties A methodological study
Authors: LUND THORLEIF
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— With 7 Norwegian parties as stimuli, comparisons were made of various content and distance approaches to scaling. As expected, the former gave two factors, socialistic and nonsocialistic, and the latter gave one bipolar dimension, interpreted as socialistic‐non‐socialistic. Individual differences in structure were not found. Among several principles of similarity, Ekman's original (1961) gave the best fit. It is maintained, however, that the fundamental vector model of the content approach is inadequate, both for theoretical reasons and because subjects are unable to operate in accordance with it.
Sex differences in self‐reported anxiety for different situations and modes of response
Authors: EKEHAMMAR BO
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A review was made of recent studies employing different S‐R inventories of anxiety and fear. The review pointed to the need for studies of sex differences for inventories where both situations and modes of response are selected separately. Such an analysis was made in the present study with regard to sex differences in both level and variability of self‐reported anxiety for both total scores, factor scores, and single situation and response scales. The Ss were 116 adolescents, about 16 years of age. The inventory comprised 17 situations and 18 modes of response. With a few minor exceptions the analyses showed consistent sex differences throughout, with girls scoring higher than boys and showing greater interindividual variability in reported anxiety. Among other things, the results are discussed in relation to sex differences reported for physiological variables.
Social status and language comprehension
Authors: LARSEN STEEN F. , HERMANN JESPER
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Previous research on differences in language use in relation to social status have dealt almost exclusively with language production. The present study investigated the comprehension of connected discourse by 116 adult Danes from two different socio‐economic status groups, high status (HSES) and low status (LSES). On a task at the lexical level of comprehension (choosing between alternatives to two words in each of four texts) there appeared no differences between HSES and LSES subjects. At the structural level a difference (p<0.05) was found in drawing conclusions from the texts, but the groups nevertheless agreed completely (p<0.05) in underlining important segments of the texts. Thus the symmetry between production and comprehension hypothesized by Bernstein did not appear. The results are interpreted in accordance with a general model of language processing. It is suggested that in the future more attention should be paid to variables other than the purely sociological variable of social status or social class.
The effect of simulation exercises on the control of aggressive behaviour in children
Authors: PITKÄNEN LEA
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The subjects consisted of two. matched, extremely aggressive (experimental = ExG and control = CoG) groups of twelve 8–year‐old boys. and of one criterion group (CrG) of extrovert, well‐controlled boys. Video‐tape recording of behaviour was used both in pretest (T1) and post‐test (T2). Between T1 and T2 the ExG was submitted to simulation exercises of 8 lessons given in a period of four weeks. The exercises consisted in social problem solutions on the purely cognitive (imaginary and symbolic) level and in role‐playing (behavioral level). The hypothesis was that the combination of cognitive training and observational learning with the aim of making children realise alternatives to aggression in coping with thwarting situations and their after‐effects. would influence individuals with strong aggressive habits to abandon theiraggressive reactions in favour of more constructive behaviour. As to aggression, the results supported the hypothesis. For constructive behaviour, (1) the ExG maintained the samelevel of control of social behaviour in T1 and T2, while a significant drop occurred in the GoC, and (2) the strategies of problem solution improved significantly in the ExG. In T2, the behaviour of the ExG resembled more closely that of the CoG than the behaviour of the CrG, as hypothesized.
Are individual and group decisions dependent on the available information?
Authors: KLEIVEN JO , FRASER COLIN , GOUGE CELIA
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A choice‐shift experiment explored the role of available information in individual and group decisions to one “risky” and one “cautious” problem. Individual pre‐discussion decisions to both problems by Bristol University students were shown to be related to the relative number of arguments favouring risky and cautious decisions known by each student. This information index was related to group decisions on the cautious problem only. Normative group influence, as well, seems to be involved in group decisions, and it is suggested that the relative importance of informational and normative processes for group decision may depend on the nature of the problem discussed.
Social pressure and policy change in the “lens model” interpersonal conflict paradigm
Authors: BREHMER BERNDT , GARPEBRING STAFFAN
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The effects of conflict and policy inaccuracy on policy change in the “lens model” interpersonal conflict paradigm were investigated in an experiment which compared amount of policy change for subjects who were paired with a stooge who did not change his policy even though it was incorrect with the amount of policy change for subjects whose opponents changed their policies to reduce the inaccuracy of these policies. The amount of policy change was the same in both of these conditions, indicating that task adaptation is a more important goal to the subjects than conflict reduction in these experiments.
Concept learning and the intradimensional spread of the relevant values of the instances I. Effects of intraclass variability
Authors: LINDAHL MAJ‐BRITT
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The effect on concept learning of the intra‐class variability of the relevant values of the instances was investigated. 20 subjects took part, and two ranges of the concerned intraclass variability, one about twice the other, were used. Depending upon the learning strategy used by the subjects the smaller intraclass variability was shown to have a limited facilitating effect on concept learning. Some facilitation thus occurred when strategies involved a rather unselective attention to the appearance characteristics of the instances but not when they involved selective focusing on these characteristics, or on elements of relevant knowledge established pre‐experimentally. The results were discussed in relation both to relevant S‐R‐conceptions and information processing models of concept learning. It was concluded that automatic generalization as described in S‐R‐theories might have to be integrated into the information processing models for some categories of learning.
A theory of veridical space perception
Authors: ERIKSSON E. STURE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A theory of veridical space perception based on the principles of movement parallax is proposed. Since optical changes are ambiguous with regard to veridical distances it is suggested that veridicality is obtained on the basis of an interaction between optical information and information from the body‐state system. The optical system generates size and shape constancy on the basis of proximal common motions described by a vector‐derivative model. The body‐state system is thought to register information in a similar manner, and the interaction between the two subsystems is assumed to function according to the vector‐derivative principle.
Light intensity in the rod‐and‐frame test reconsidered
Authors: NYBORG HELMUTH
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Previously collected data (Nyborg, 1972) on the perception of the vertical in the Rod‐and‐Frame Test (RFT) were reanalysed according to the method of signed errors presented by Nyborg (1974). Regression analysis showed no systematic relationship between light intensity and frame dependence and that the effect of light intensity on the perception of vertical in the RFT in general is negligible, thus confirming the conclusions drawn originally.
Coping patterns in shock anticipation and in everyday stress
Authors: NIEMELÄ PIRKKO
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— GSR patterns were studied in 30 subjects anticipating and receiving electric shocks with high but not definitive probability. Although the majority of subjects showed anticipatory responses, six subjects displayed low or no response during anticipation but very high responses to shocks. As these subjects also reported that during anticipation they tended to deny the possibility of receiving a shock, their response pattern was interpreted as indicating denial of threat, and consequently, little preparation for stress. Self reports about behavior in everyday stress revealed a similar kind of behavior.
Self‐reported arousal: further development of a multi‐factorial inventory
Authors: KJELLBERG ANDERS , BOHLIN GUNILLA
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The previously presented (Bohlin & Kjellberg, 1973) inventory of self‐reported arousal, which contained four factor analytically derived scales, was further developed in the following way. First, the original factor pattern was cross‐validated. Second, a new response scale was constructed which proved to be superior to the old one. Third, the inventory was extended with new items and factor analysis applied to this new inventory. From the model of phenomenological arousal advanced by Bohlin & Kjellberg (1973) six factors were hypothesized and it was shown that a similar solution could be obtained with the extended inventory. Finally, this six‐factor pattern was cross‐validated and six scales, labelled Sleep‐Wakeful‐ness, Energy, Stress, Irritation, Euphoria, and Concentration, were constructed.
Apparent distance vs. apparent size as determiners of figural after‐effects
Authors: NIEMI PEKKA , KOLEHMAINEN KYÖSTI
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Sutherland's (1954) much discussed experimental design was analysed in a new fashion. When the original experiment was repeated as such, the expected FAE was found. However, when the same IFs and TFs were presented in a vertical position, no significant FAEs were found. The results lend support to the interpretation presented earlier by Kolehmainen (1968): The FAE found by Sutherland was apparently due to an uncontrolled binocular disparity resulting in a different localization of stimulus figures in respect to the fixation point.
Stages in concept learning. III
Authors: STENILD MARIANE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— In a task‐oriented concept learning situation with 30 children, 12–13 years of age, as subjects, the concept to be learned was made unfamiliar by using labels which had no bearing on the defining attributes. Under these conditions it was found that the categorization of the stimulus figures became more difficult and that identification of the defining attributes preceded an adequate categorization of the stimulus figures. But forcing the child into identification of the attributes before he started to categorize the stimulus figures did not result in better concept learning scores.
Concurrent responses during multiple schedules in rats
Authors: IVERSEN IVER H.
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Rats' lever pressing was reinforced with a sucrose solution. In the presence of a tone pressing one lever was reinforced on a FR 40 schedule, in the absence of the tone pressing another lever was reinforced on a FR 20 schedule. The components alternated every fourth minute. In both components, the duration of pauses in lever pressing after reinforcement was positively correlated with the duration of licking the empty sucrose‐delivery mechanism. In the FR 40 component, the duration of pauses was also positively correlated with the number of presses on the non‐reforced lever. Licking and non‐reinforced lever pressing were decreased when the rate of reinforced lever pressing was high. The response interactions were similar to those described for concurrent reinforcement schedules.
Perception and tonus
Authors: MOUSTGAARD IB KRISTIAN
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A review is given of the achievements of more than one hundred years of research concerning the influence of muscular tonus on the perceptual phenomena related to human spatial orientation. The tonal conditions of both the extrinsic eye muscles and the complex system of skeletal muscles have been shown to have decisive influence on “egocentric localization”. The factual median is perceived as being displaced in the direction of the side of the body with greater tonus. This is the case whether the tonic asymmetry is experimentally induced or natural. Corresponding to this fact, a spot of light in the dark situated at the factual eye level will be perceived as being situated above the experienced eye level. The influence on egocentric localization exercised by prolonged fixation of greater or smaller parts of the muscular system (especially of the eye muscles) is pointed out. This “fixation effect” seems to be in accordance with conceiving the postural system of the body by analogy with a servo‐mechanical system, the feed‐back part of which is restrained.
Generalization of ratings based on projective tests
Authors: NYSTEDT LARS , MAGNUSSON DAVID , ARONOWITSCH EVA
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A multivariable‐multimethod analysis was performed on six professional clinical psychologists' ratings of 38 patients for the three variables, Intelligence, Ability to Establish Contact and Control of Affect and Impulses. The judges based their ratings of the patients performance on each of the three tests Rorschach, TAT, and Sentence Completion separately as well as on all tests together. The stability coefficients and the consensus among judges was rather high but decreased when the depth of interpretation of the response variable increased. The ratings showed both convergent and discriminant validity but the generality of the ratings was generally low. The results support the opinions held among clinicians, that tests give different kinds of information about individuals and that clinicians, to some extent, use the information from each test as a subvariable which is integrated into a more global variable.
Styles in humour and social self‐images
Authors: SVEBAK SVEN
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The three‐dimensional Sense‐of‐Humour Questionnaire (SHQ) was coordinated with items based upon social self‐image related to three styles in humour‐“funny” wit, “sarcastic” wit, and “mixed” wit. The total questionnaire was answered by male and female students in college (average age: 17) and teacher's certificate school (average age: 25) to test the relationship between social self‐image and sense of humour at different age levels. The social self‐image of college women proved highly loaded on the “funny” style compared with college males. A two‐way analysis of variance (sex by age) revealed a strong sex effect on the “sarcastic” category (males high). “Mixed” wit yielded an interaction effect: high scores in college males and teacher females. Males and older subjects (teaching students) tended to associate high senstivity to humorous messages and emotional impulsiveness with the “sarcastic” style. Women who scored high on “mixed” wit favoured the humorist as a general social stereotype. A sex difference in development trends from adolescence to adulthood was indicated the way that females changed from “funny” to “mixed” wit and males from “mixed” to “sarcastic” wit.
Policy conflict and policy change as a function of task characteristics: IV. The effect of cue intercorrelations
Authors: BREHMER BERNDT
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The hypothesis that intercorrelations between the cues in the conflict task will inhibit the reduction of the systematic differences in policies in policy conflict as studied in Hammond's “lens model” interpersonal conflict paradigm was tested in two experiments. The results supported the hypothesis, and suggested that the effect was due to the fact that the subjects have greater freedom in developing different policies when the cues are intercorrelated. In addition, the results suggested that the process of policy change when the conflict task has a lower degree of predictability than the original policy learning task might differ from that when the conflict task has the same predictability as the original task.
Political dimensions and relative party positions: A factor analytical study of Swedish attitude data
Authors: LINDÉN MICHAEL
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The problems of this study were to describe dimensions and related party positions, representative of significant attitude differences in Swedish politics. A set of 97 attitude statements was answered by subjects representing the five largest Swedish political parties and rated for content validity by the subjects and an expert group of political scientists. The correlations of the attitude variables were analyzed by the principal factor method. Factor scores were computed by multiple regressions, relative party positions calculated as party means, and the differences tested by a multiple comparison procedure. Following the results of an initial analysis 42 marker variables were further analyzed. A dimensional description based on an oblique five‐factor solution is presented. The generality of obtained dimensions is commented by national and international comparisons.
Rated funniness and dissimilarity of figures Divergence from expectancy
Authors: NERHARDT GÖRAN
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Three experiments were conducted to test whether funniness of a stimulus could be interpreted as a function of divergence from expenctancy concerning the stimulus as a member of different classes.

Stimuli were combinations of two moving, successive, non‐representational figures projected onto two screens. Funniness of the figure to the right was rated, as was divergence in qualities between the figure to the right and the preceeding one on the left. The main prediction was that data would show a decrease after an increase in funniness with increasing divergence for a certain right‐hand stimulus. An increase should reflect a series of similar classes, a decrease a transition to another series. In some instances a decrease did occur after an increase, as predicted; in others the series of combinations seemed to overlap. Funniness could be interpreted as formulated initially.
Perception of poetic rhythm‐a dimension analysis
Authors: LINDE LENA
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The dimensionality in perceived qualities of poetic rhythm was investigated. Twenty‐eight excerpts from Swedish poetry, including metric and free verse, were rated during silent reading by 60 undergraduate students of psychology, using 36 semantic scales. The rated aspects were selected from a large pool of adjectives on the basis of results from two prestudies concerning semantic similarity between the adjectives and pertinence as descriptions of poetic rhythm. The aspects found to be most pertinent were selected from obtained clusters of semantically similar adjectives. Correlations were computed between aspects, the individual ratings being averaged for each excerpt. The correlation matrix was subjected to principal component analysis, which seemed to justify the interpretation of four dimensions. The first two components, interpreted as dimensions of rhythm in a strict sense, have been labelled regularity vs. variation and melody vs. lack of melody respectively. The third component was named emphasis vs. lack of emphasis and the fourth calmness vs. agility.
Interference effects in short‐term memory
Authors: HELSTRUP TORE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Two experiments exploring the modality relation between memory task and interference task are reported. With visual and verbal tasks, variations in modality relation did not influence the total amount recalled. The usual serial position effect was observed when memory and interference task were of different modalities. The amount of recall was found to be a function of the memory strategies used by the subjects, ‘active’ strategies producing highest recall.
A unifying interpretation of different models for the integration of information when evaluating gambles
Authors: SVENSON OLA
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Experimental results reported by Sjöberg, Anderson and Shanteau, and Tversky on the structure underlying judgments of the utility of gambles are discussed. Although the authors find different models applicable to their data, it is shown that they may all have the same theoretical basis. Differences in experimental design such as stimulus ranges and response measures used in the experiments may explain the divergent results reported earlier.
Generalization of mental health across life sectors
Authors: MÄKINEN RAIMO
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Questionnaire data on mental health in three life areas (work, family, and leisure) were analysed by ANOVA together with estimation of the magnitudes of different effects. The Ss were 60 employed women with varied marital status. About 55% of mental health variation was explained by the generalization model and 4% by the person by life area interaction. It was suggested that analysis of variance components is useful in comparing corresponding effects in different groups of subjects. Some limitations of cross‐sectional research strategy were discussed, stressing the need for other strategies in research on the relation between mental health in different life areas.
Probability estimates of social events as related to values
Authors: SEVÓN GUJE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Differences in estimates of probabilities that certain social events would happen after given alternatives of (political) actions were analysed for individuals with different untrained values about those events. Subjects with extremely positive or extremely negative values had 0.05‐0.20 higher probability estimates than subjects with no opinion. Subjects who earlier in the experiment had attached neutral or extreme values to the events showed a tendency to estimate the probabilities higher than those subjects who had had no such activity preceeding the estimation. Awareness of probability estimates did not seem to affect values.
Imitation as a dyadic interchange pattern
Authors: QUILTY ROBERT F.
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Imitation was considered one pattern of interactional behavior adopted by children. Forty‐eight firstgrade children were paired with experimenters, who first gave instructions for imitation, attention, or for joint or isolate play and later behaved identically toward all the children. Children who received instructions either to copy or to simply pay attention watched and then copied the adults. The other children played with the adults, or played alone and ignored the adults, as expected. Later in a standard phase, children continued to attend and copy if they had initially received explicit instructions to copy, but not if they had gotten instructions only for attention. Children given comparison instructions shifted on some measures, but followed many initial patterns. The implications for interactional patterning in imitation and other recurrent situations were discussed.
Similarity of poetic rhythms with different amounts of semantic content‐stress ratings and pairwise similarity ratings
Authors: LINDE LENA
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Two experiments are reported. In exp. 1 12 lines, taken from Swedish poems, were presented in written form. Exp. II concerned 12 “nonsense” lines metrically equivalent to the ones in exp. I and presented in the same way. Fourteen subjects made pairwise similiarity ratings and also rated stress of the syllables in each verse line. The intra‐as well as the interrater reliability turned out to be low in the similarity data and INDSCAL analysis did not suggest any interpretable multidimensional solutions. The ratings of syllabic stress, however, showed a very good correspondence to prosodic norms and meter. Moreover, the correlations between rated stress in the “poetic” lines and that in the “nonsense” lines were mostly around 0.90.
Measures of attitudinal polarization
Authors: EDVARDSSON BO , VEGELIUS JAN
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Criteria for measures of attitudinal polarization, i. e., degree of opposition among people on a specific issue, are proposed and some formulas, including the standard deviation, are evaluated in relation to the criteria. The formulas were also tested on empirical data with respect to level, dispersion and agreement of received values. The measures on the whole showed a high degree of agreement. There clearly exist instances where the standard deviation is not an adequate measure of attitudinal polarization. Some guidelines are given for the choice of constant values in one of the formulas.
On non‐verbatim learning: 1. Level of processing and level of outcome
Authors: MARTON FERENCE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Non‐verbatim learning is analyzed in terms of the distinction between the sign and what is signified. This view of learning is made explicit in order to arrive at a commensurable description of the process and the outcome of learning. A close relationship is demonstrated between level of processing and level of outcome. In terms of the latter, qualitative inter‐and intra‐individual variation is also described in a commensurable way.
Effects of interrupting the process of preparation for film stress
Authors: NIEMELÄ PIRKKO
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The process of preparation for exposure to a stressful film was initiated by describing the film. The subjects were told that the film would be shown 3 days later, whereas the preparation process was interrupted by showing the film unexpectedly after shorter time intervals. It was predicted that the stress reaction, as indicated by skin conductance (SC) responses to the stressful scenes, would be lower the longer the pre‐stress interval. Instead, an opposite relationship was found for scenes at the beginning of the film. The self‐report data indicated that the shorter the interval between the actual and expected times of the film showing, the more subjects suppressed thoughts associated with it. It is suggested that the SC patterns obtained indicate an ‘astonishment’ response to sudden confrontation with suppressed material.
Achievement motivation and field independence
Authors: VOLLMER FRED
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Previous studies on the relationship between achievement motivation and field independence appear to have concentrated on the hope of success motive and Embedded Figures Test measures of field independence. The present study relates measures of both hope of success and fear of failure to performance on the Rod and Frame Test. It was found that a group with high Hope of Success/high Fear of Failure and one with low Hope of Success/low Fear of Failure were more field dependent than a group with high Hope of Success/low Fear of Failure and one with low Hope of Success/high Fear of Failure. The results were interpreted in line with the Yerkes‐Dodson law. High Hope of Success/high Fear of Failure was assumed to reflect a too high level of effort output or arousal, whereas low Hope of Success/low Fear of Failure was assumed to reflect a too low level of effort expenditure. According to a second interpretation, the field dependent performance of high/high and low/low groups was assumed to relate to a confused/uncertain self image.
Social skills of aggressive and nonaggressive adolescents
Authors: PITKÅNEN‐PULKKINEN LEA , PITKÅNEN MATTI
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Forty 14‐year‐old boys were selected on the basis of peer ratings to represent characteristic aggressive, controlled extravert, anxious, and controlled introvert patterns of behaviour. Each boy was asked to play the role of either a son or a chum with the corresponding father's or chum's role played by the male E in four tape recorded dialogues. The topics were “getting more pocket money”, “holiday making”, “choosing a TV channel”, and “agreeing on a favourite make of car”. The boys' ability to persuade the opponent and to express their disagreement in a socially acceptable manner was studied. In accordance with the hypotheses the results showed that the controlled extraverts were sensible negotiators while the aggressive belittled the other's proposals and showed disagreement and indifference. The controlled introverts conformed passively and the anxious had signs of blocking in their speech. A discriminant analysis revealed that the differences were also very clear on the individual level.
Towards a co‐ordination of conditioning and information‐processing mechanisms within the field of human learning
Authors: LINDAHL MAJ‐BRITT
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A delimitation of the fields of application of conditioning and information‐processing models was attempted. The delimitation was made in relation to two psychological dimensions, a perception‐conception dimension and a selectivity‐of‐attention dimension. It depicted conditioning models as more applicable the more perceptually‐loaded and attentionally non‐selective the lzarning attempts, and information‐processing models as more applicable the more conceptually‐loaded and attentionally selective the learning attempts. Three assumptions were made concerning the intra‐individual coordination of conditioning and information‐processing mechanisms of learning. Conditioning and hypotheses‐testing were, for instance, assumed to be encoding processes functioning in a parallel way and resulting in products, which may fuse when retrieved and used in efferent processes.
On non‐verbatim learning: II. The erosion effect of a task‐induced learning algorithm
Authors: MARTON FERENCE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The failure of a learning‐algorithm (which tells the subjects what to do in order to succeed in the learning task) is demonstrated. The experimental group was asked content‐neutral questions, intended to induce deep‐level processing after each section of the passage to be read. Narrow focusing of attention on the questions themselves resulted in erosion of content, reflected in weak performance on a retention test, and only mentioning (as opposed to commenting on) topics in recall. The deleterious effects persisted over an interval of more than two months.
A note on measuring human functions in systems
Authors: BERGSTRÖM BENGT , GILLBERG MATS
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Performances in different man‐machine system functions are usually not directly comparable: It is suggested that some functions may be measured through quantities corresponding to β and d' of the signal Detection Theory. Necessary assumptions are that the task can be reduced to a binary decision and that the decision depends upon a subjective value of certainty which vanes in one dimension. The method of measurement is illustrated by an example with a hypothetical system comprising three functions: detecting, identifying and interpreting.
On non‐verbatim learning: IV. Some theoretical and methodological notes
Authors: MARTON FERENCE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The assumption of a sign‐neutral level of information is made explicit. The categories of the outcome space in non‐verbatim learning are seen as fragments of human competence, which can be described only in terms of the content of its various strata. The structural identity of research on non‐verbatim learning and of non‐verbatim learning itself is pointed out in the second section of the article. The main problem in both cases is discovering an underlying structure sufficient to generate a given discourse. The possibility of finding a learning algorithm, i.e. a set of procedural rules applicable to any discourse is questioned. The relationship between the different levels of information cannot be made explicit even in a specific case, however, the model of description should be subject to testing in some instructional setting.
The role of the symptom in psychopathological states
Authors: HOLTE ARNE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Four approaches to the role of symptoms in psychopathological states are discussed. These are: Prepsychoanalytic psychiatry, psychoanalysis, family communication theory, and the view that symptoms as a sign of mental illness do not exist. The latter comprises labelling theory and social learning theory. Particular interest is attached to the contentions of symptom substitution and symptomatic treatment. Both are rejected as myths. A theory of action is briefly outlined, and on the basis of this, an alternative interpretationof phenomena ordinarily conceptualized as mental pathology is suggested. The concepts of “psychopathology” and “symptoms” are redefined in accordance with present knowledge, and the importance of formulating human action in an ethical frame of reference is pointed out.
The relationship between IQ, social class and EEG findings in healthy children investigated by child‐psychiatric methods
Authors: PETERSÉN INGEMAR , SELLDÉN ULLA , BOSAEUS ELISABETH
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— 222 children aged between 4.5 and 16.5 years. who were found to be normal by strict somato‐neuro‐logical criteria, were investigated by EEG and by child‐psychiatric methods. Intelligence tests were performed according to WISC. The mean intelligence quotient amounted to 116.3± 12.4 in boys and 116.6± 14.1 in girls. Child‐psychiatric findings deviating from the strictly normal occurred in 30 children significantly more frequently in social class III compared to I and 11. There was no relationship of significance between IQ and social group. No relevant relationship was found between IQ and psychiatric variables, nor between IQ and EEG‐findings. The absence of the normal fixed relationship between IQ and social group is a notable finding, as is also the high average IQ. The strict normal criteria may have contributed to the exclusion of individuals with lesions and thus diminished factors having an inhibitory effect of the development of intelligence.
Determinants of expectancy of examination results
Authors: VOLLMER FRED
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— In a group of undergraduate psychology students, expectancy of examination results was found to be positively related to experienced effort (work put out for the exam) and estimated importance of success for future career, both for men and women. The assumptions that men consider success to be more important for self esteem and future career than women do, and that women consider success to be more important in connection with social acceptance than men do, were not supported. Women were found to have a lower expectancy level than men in spite of there being no sex difference as to experienced effort. It was suggested that women perceive their ability to be lower than men do. In a group of persons who were homogenous as to the importance of success for future career, incentive value of success for social acceptance correlated positively with expectancy for men, but negatively for women.
A token economy program for chronic schizophrenic patients
Authors: ÖST LARSGÖRAN , MELIN LENNART , GÖTESTAM K. GUNNAR
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A token economy program was applied on a ward for 12 chronic schizophrenic patients. An ABABC‐design, i.e. a group reversal design with a noncontingent reinforcement phase at the end, was used to evaluate the treatment. The patients' activity‐level increased from baseline to the treatment phase. During the reversal period the activity‐level decreased but it increased again when the token economy was reintroduced. The non‐contingent reinforcement resulted in the predicted decrease for two of the six behaviors recorded. Five of the twelve patients were discharged from the ward during the 8‐month program period and none of them had been readmitted at the end of the one year follow‐up. Individual treatment programs for two of the patients concerning aggressive acts, deficient eye‐contact and lip‐biting are described.
Language acquisition as concept formation; an experimental approach
Authors: HELSTRUP TORE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— A concept formation task which in important respects was meant to simulate a natural language acquisition situation was constructed. The experimental focus was on the establishment of the semantic relation between names and their objects. The task contained both relevant and irrelevant stimulus and response items, and different types of informative feedback were given. The results showed that a self‐controlled selection strategy was more efficient than a fixed reception strategy. However, the superiority of the selection strategy was found to depend on the level of task difficulty. With an easier task, no difference between the two strategies was observed. Ambiguous feedback turned out to be less effective than unambiguous feedback. The findings suggest that word learning takes place as a concept formation process.
Effects of context variation, intracategory variation, and spacing on the free recall of pictures
Authors: von WRIGHT J. M.
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Two experiments examined the effects of encoding variability on the free recall of pictures. In Expt. I, drawn objects were presented 3 times in different pictorial contexts (RV) or in the same contexts (RR). In Expt. II, repeated stimuli were 3 different specimens of the same object category (VR) or the same object presented 3 times (RR). Spacing of repetitions was varied from zero to 15, and a mixed‐list design was used. Both RV and VR items tended to be recalled better than and prior to RR items. Recall of RR and of VR items increased with increasing spacing, but recall of RV items showed no spacing effect. In a second recall test, preceded by 4 min of “thinking about” the pictures, the only remaining effect of spacing or of context variation was a low recall of massed RR items. VR items were still recalled better than and prior to RR items. It is suggested that spacing, and variation of the external context of pictures, facilitate retrieval when the time and effort spent on recall is limited, by increasing the numberlvariety of potential recall cues stored together with item information.
Materialistic conceptions of cognition, the principle of reinforcement, and Skinnerian behavior therapy
Authors: POULSEN HENRIK
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— It is argued that the materialistic position of radical behaviorism has overlooked the incapacity of idealism to solve the problem of veridicality. This defect is displayed within behavior therapy as an idealistic agnostic attitude towards the question of the veridicality of the patient's cognition. Furthermore, it is argued that the principle of reinforcement by its nature of being a general presupposition for empirical research is too general and abstract to serve as an answer to the limited but truly psychological questions concerning the origins of pathological behavior.
Attitudes of life in children and young adolescents
Authors: MOORE TERENCE , CLAUTOUR S. E.
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— As part of a longitudinal study in London, 68 boys and 48 girls were asked, at ages 7, 12 and 15, their views on the advantages and disadvantages of various times of life, of being a boy or a girl and a man or a woman, of marrying and having children. This paper reports on the distribution of attitudes in each sex at the three ages; discusses the reasons given; relates the attitudes to social class, intelligence, and physical maturation in each sex; looks at longitudinal consistency in relation to age of puberty and other variables; and considers the developmental and social implications of these children's views of life.
Overt repetition as a means of controlling rehearsal
Authors: ÅSTRÖM BJÖRN , NILSSON LARS‐GÖRAN
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Three different ways of using the concept of rehearsal were discussed. Examples were presented showing confusions in the literature due to a failure to distinguish these three definitions. A free recall experiment was conducted with the purpose of investigating three problems relating to the concept of rehearsal: (a) an unclear relationship between overt and covert repetition, (b) whether overt repetition excluded other control processes, and (c) whether a shallow repetition produces a permanent memory trace or not. Using a pronounced time pressure it was demonstrated first that overt repetition facilitated recall performance of recency items and that recall of primacy items was facilitated by covert repetition. Secondly, it was shown that overt repetition did not exclude other types of encoding. Finally, a shallow maintaining repetition did not produce a permanent memory trace. The results are interpreted as supporting a level of processing point of view rather than a multistore approach.
Emotion and cognition in vicarious instigation research
Authors: LINDAHL MAJ‐BRITT
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— It is argued that the vicarious instigation research would benefit from integrating phenomena and distinctions acknowledged within emotion psychology and cognitive psychology. In particular, suggestions are made which aim at increasing the specificity of terminological, methodological, and interpretational aspects of vicarious instigation research.
Choice frequency and similarity
Authors: SJÖBERG LENNART
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Within the framework of a Thurstonian approach to social choice frequencies, an assumption of a positive correlation between similarity and correlation predicts smaller standard deviations of utility differences for more similar choice objects. This prediction was supported in two studies of similarity and preference, one concerned with social science disciplines and the other with Swedish political parties. Implications for understanding social choice phenomena in politics and marketing are discussed.
A percept‐genetic study of some defence mechanisms in the PN‐test
Authors: KLINE PAUL , COOPER COLIN
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Two hypotheses, namely that percept‐genetic analysis can reveal mechanisms of defence (Kragh & Smith, 1970) and that defence mechanisms can be seen in the responses to the Patte Noire Test (Corman, 1966) were put to experimental verification. Card 14, the oral card of the PN‐test, together with other stimuli were presented to 9 subjects for percept‐genetic analysis of the responses. Evidence is presented demonstrating clear defence mechanisms, supporting the validity of percept‐genetic theory and this part of the PN‐test.
What are the prospects for a higher‐order stimulus theory of perception?
Authors: EPSTEIN WILLIAM
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Gibson has advocated a pure higher‐order stimulus theory of perception. Johansson has agreed that the stimuli for perception are higher order variables of stimulation. However, unlike Gibson, Johansson assigns an important role to decoding principles in determining perception. Evidence is reviewed to show that percept‐percept relations are involved in perception. On this ground it was argued that the prospects for a successful pure‐stimulus theory are poor and that Johansson's views should be elaborated to include various types of decoding principles.
Three‐ and two‐dimensional motion after‐effects
Authors: MARMOLIN HANS
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The principle of perceptual vector analysis proposed by Johansson (1W) implicitly assumes the organism to be equipped with physiological systems sensitive to common and divergent components of change in the proximal stimulation. The present investigation was designed to study these units by means of the after‐effect paradigm. It was found that prolonged viewing of complex changes produced after‐effects of motion in depth and changing form specific to the common and divergent components of change in the stimulation. Data supported an explanation of these after‐effects in terms of adaptation of units selectively sensitive to different kinds of motion vectors.
Effects of different motion characteristics on perceived motion in depth
Authors: BOFUESSON ERIK , HOFSTEN CLAES VON
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The effect of different velocity characteristics on type of perceived motion were tested with three different stimulus patterns, each representing a certain case of relative motion vectors derived from a vector model for perceived motion in space. The oscilloscope generated patterns, displayed onto a translucent screen, consisted of two dots moving back and forth in their motion paths. The subjects described the perceived motion verbally. The reports were classified into four response categories, i.e. perceived translation in depth, rotation in depth, translation and rotation in depth, and finally, perceived motion in a frontoparallel plane. It was found, first, that no type of relative motion vectors consistently yielded the same distribution of responses for the different velocity conditions. Second, there were no main effects of type of velocity functions (sinusoidal, hyperbolical, and constant) on perceived motion. Third, the position of maximum velocity of the dots affected perceived motion, maximum velocity at the center of the motion path favoring perceived rotation in depth and maximum velocity at the end points of the paths favoring perceived translation in depth. Finally, patterns with continuously repeated motion cycles favored perceived rotation in depth. When the continuity was broken down by pauses at the center and the end points of the motion paths and a small spatial gap at the center of the path, perceived translation in depth was favored.
Concept formation and language acquisition
Authors: HELSTRUP TORE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— Aspects of language acquisition (simulated) were studied in a concept formation situation with adult subjects. It was found that word meanings were acquired faster with complex than with simple stimulation, as detined by low and high variance distributions of attribute values. It was also demonstrated that stimulus and response choice strategies affect the acquisition of word meanings. Implicit hypotheses about the number of relevant stimulus dimensions were not found to influence concept formation. In a more general perspective, the outcome of the study is consistent with the assumption that the meaning of words is acquired by a concept formation process.
The role of reference fields in learning of artificial language expressions
Authors: HELSTRUP TORE
Published: May 2008

Abstract.— The learning of artificial language “sentences” as a function of reference fields in different modalities was studied in a concept formation situation. With verbal sentences a visual reference field was found to be more expedient than a verbal reference field. When the sentences were represented in a visual sign‐language form, this effect was reversed, thus revealing an interaction effect between sentence modality and reference field modality. Each sentence contained three nonsense items and was presented together with a contextual reference field. However, the denotative content of the items was not specified in advance. In solving the task, the subjects were thus left free to establish their own relations between the sentence items and the reference fields, instead of having to discover predetermined denotative relations between items and context. The findings were taken to support the notion that concept formation and association formation are basically aspects of the same underlying process.