bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SPATIAL PERCEPTION IN THE BLIND
Authors: JONES BILL
Published: April 2011

It is often assumed that the spatial senses (vision, hearing and the tactual senses) operate as distinct and independent modalities and, moreover, that vision is crucial to the development of spatial abilities. However, well controlled studies of blind persons with adequate experience show that they can function usefully in space. In other words, vision is not a necessary condition for spatial awareness. On the other hand, though the blind may be equal or even superior to the sighted when performing spatial tasks within the body space, they may be deficient, either developmentally or absolutely, in tasks which involve events at a distance from the body, principally in auditory localization. One possible explanation of the differences between blind and sighted (McKinney, 1964; Attneave & Benson, 1969; Warren, 1970) is that vision is the primary spatial reference, and inputs from other modalities are fitted to a visual map. Several criticisms of this theory are adduced and an alternative theory derived from Sherrington (1947), in which all sensory inputs map on to efferent patterns, is sketched.
DEGREES OF NOVELTY AND THEIR EFFECTS ON CHILDREN'S ATTENTION AND PREFERENCE
Authors: HUTT CORINNE
Published: April 2011

Two experiments investigated the question of whether those attributes of stimuli effective in eliciting attention are also effective in motivating choice. In the first experiment children of 4 and 6 years were given the opportunity to view pictures varying in novelty. They could choose the type of picture they wished to view and view as long as they wished. They also stated their preference. Novelty influenced attention and expressed preference but not choice. In the second experiment fewer stimuli were used in the familiarization phase, thereby increasing tedium, whereupon choice was also found to be influenced. The results are considered in the context of other studies which have related exposure to attention and preference.
THE RECALL OF CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT SENTENCES AS A FUNCTION OF INTERPOLATED TASK
Authors: DAVIES GRAHAM , PROCTOR JOHN
Published: April 2011

Begg & Paivio (1969) have proposed that while sentences dealing with abstract matters are normally coded in verbal terms, those concerned with concrete events are internalized as imagery. In two experiments, subjects observed both types of sentence prior to carrying out a distracter task which involved either verbal or perceptual coding. In agreement with the hypothesis, sentence type interacted significantly with interpolated task in both studies. Abstract sentence recall was significantly more impaired following the verbal task than the perceptual, while this effect was reversed for concrete sentences. In the second experiment, this latter difference also reached significance and, further, error analysis confirmed that the perceptual task influenced the semantic content of the sentences recalled. The results are discussed in terms of Begg & Paivio's hypothesis. Certain extensions and limitations of the theory are then considered.
EFFECTS OF NOVELTY AND ODDITY ON VISUAL SELECTIVE ATTENTION
Authors: BERLYNE D. E. , DITKOFSKY JOYCE
Published: April 2011

Effects of novelty and of oddity on selective attention were investigated through tachistoscopic recognition. When a pre‐exposure field consisted of dots of one colour, letters of a different colour were more likely to be identified than letters of the same colour. In displays of 10 letters, two letters differing in colour from the remainder were more likely to be identified. Tachistoscopic exposure precluded determination of responses by eye movements, and there were controls for chromatic adaptation and other factors that might have biased the results.
REPRODUCTION OF KOHS‐TYPE FIGURES BY GHANAIAN CHILDREN: ORIENTATION ERRORS REVISITED
Authors: JAHODA GUSTAV
Published: April 2011

First, a relationship was postulated between the experienced difficulty of patterns and the amount of disorientation of their reproductions. Secondly, while the major determinants of gross orientation errors among Africans seem to have been established, this in itself fails to explain why Europeans are little affected by them. It was proposed that the underlying factor might be the development of the concept of horizontality, which reduces dependence on the perceptual pull of the prevailing spatial framework.

These notions were tested with 44 Ghanaian schoolboys aged between 10 and 16. The first relationship was clearly confirmed. As for the second, there was some association between horizontality and rotation errors, but it failed to account for a major part of the variance. Ex post facto exploration of the data strongly suggests that degree of psychological differentiation is likely to be the key factor influencing rotation error.
SEMANTIC INTERFERENCE FROM UNATTENDED PRINTED WORDS
Authors: UNDERWOOD GEOFFREY
Published: April 2011

Is attention necessary for reading? Whilst subjects named simple line‐drawings which were exposed briefly in these experiments, irrelevant words were also displayed for short intervals. The naming latencies to the drawings varied as a function of attentional selectivity and as a function of the semantic association between picture and word. With focused attention only related words caused interference, but with a divided attention strategy unrelated words also retarded the naming latencies to the drawings. Words may be recognized whilst attention is diverted away from them, but if attention is highly selective then only semantically related items will affect performance. If the extraction of individual meanings of words is a preattentive process, then the selective admittance of information to awareness, in reading and elsewhere, may be for purposes of schematic assimilation.
A FAILURE TO EXPLAIN THE EFFECTS OF FALSE HEART‐RATE FEEDBACK ON AFFECT BY INDUCED CHANGES IN PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE
Authors: THORNTON E. W. , HAGAN PATRICIA J.
Published: April 2011

An experiment was performed to validate and extend the self‐persuasion hypothesis of Valins by using slide stimuli reported to create strong unpleasant feelings. The hypothesis suggests that in situations where there is no immediate explanation of induced arousal in terms of a cue of false heart‐rate feedback then reported affect is dependent on a cognitive interpretation. Evidence is presented in the present study which not only supports such an interpretation but finds no support for a previous study that reported changes in affect to be a consequence of induced changes in actual physiological responses. The implication of this discrepancy from the previous reported findings are related to the possible efficiency of techniques of systematic desensitization.
THE RELATION OF REPORTED IMAGERY TO COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE
Authors: DURNDELL A. J. , WETHERICK N. E.
Published: April 2011

Six groups of subjects with known scores on reported controllability and vividness of imagery were tested on five cognitive tasks. A high ‘controllability of visual imagery’ group performed two divergent thinking tasks better than a low ‘controllability’ group. Self‐rated use of imagery was positively associated [with performance on the divergent thinking tasks and negatively associated with performance on a Gestalt‐type problem task. No relationships were found between reported imagery and performance on two concept tasks, one of which was purely visual.
THE EFFECT OF TASK COMPLEXITY AND SEQUENCE ON RULE LEARNING AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Authors: SWELLER J.
Published: April 2011

Two experiments were carried out in order to test the effects of task sequence on the speed of rule learning and problem solving. Expt. I involved numerical rule‐learning tasks. One group of subjects was presented with the tasks using a simple‐complex sequence while another group was presented with the complex rather than the simple task initially. The simple‐complex order resulted in a far superior performance. Expt. II tested the effect of task difficulty and task precedence using problem‐solving tasks. Speed of problem solving was not found to be significantly affected by task order.

These contrasting results were discussed in terms of hypothesis testing theory and learning hierarchies.
Inappropriate constancy scaling as a factor in the müller‐lyer illusion
Authors: MORRISON L. C.
Published: April 2011

The inappropriate constancy theory of geometrical illusions assumes the existence of implicit depth cues which automatically set constancy scaling. In the present study the phenomenon of cue conflict has been employed to test for latent depth cues in the Müller‐Lyer figures.

The technique consisted in introducing a stereoscopic disparity between the figures by means of an aniseikonic lens and measuring the perceived depth between the figures. The magnitude of the stereoscopic effect depends on whether the perspective cues augment or inhibit the stereoscopic depth cues. The results were inconsistent with the misapplied constancy theory, but confirmed Pike & Stacey's (1969) observation that the illusion of size may act as a depth cue.
The discovery of segments in natural language
Authors: WOLFF J. G.
Published: April 2011

The performance of a computer model of linguistic segmentation is described and evaluated when it is used with natural language. It identifies words quite successfully and seems to have some sensitivity to morphs but it performs poorly with structures larger than words. From the language samples, the program extracts most of the sequential redundancy and some of the redundancy due to the unequal frequencies of elements. This accords with the principle of economical coding in cognition (Attneave, 1954; Oldfield, 1954). The process seems also to model certain aspects of how children's vocabularies grow and the increasing lengths of the words which children acquire. It may have a bearing on the explanation of infantile amnesia and the word transformation effect.
An experimental investigation of piaget's analysis of class inclusion
Authors: Meadows SARA
Published: April 2011

Piaget's analysis of the class inclusion problem identifies three operations in its solution. His prediction of the order of achievement of these constituent operations was tested in two experiments. The results of both experiments were contrary to his hypothesis and lend no support to the importance of the suggested operations. Explanations for the order of achievement of constituents of class inclusion are discussed, and an alternative model of the class inclusion model is put forward.
The validity and reliability of self‐report items for the measurement of lateral preference
Authors: Coren Stanley , Porac Clare
Published: April 2011

In a series of experiments, self‐report items for the measurement of eye, foot and ear preference were validated against individual behavioural measures. Test‐retest reliabilities were obtained over a one‐year period for eyedness, handedness and footedness self‐report items. These data indicate that a questionnaire is a valid and reliable method for the assessment of various forms of lateral preference.
An imagery mnemonic for the learning of people's names
Authors: Morris Peter E. , Jones Susan , Hampson Peter
Published: April 2011

Since the failure to remember the name of a person to whom one has been introduced can be embarrassing, methods of improving the recall of names to faces are desirable. As a means of learning names Lorayne (1958) suggests a mnemonic technique the effectiveness of which was tested in the present experiment.

Lorayne's method involves first converting the name to be retained into an easily imaged form. For example, Fishter can be made into fish stir and be imaged as a fish stirring and Gorden can become garden. The next step involves choosing a prominent feature of the person's face, and linking the image of the name to it. Thus, if Mr Gorden has a large nose an image could be formed of a garden growing over his nose. When recall of the name is required the face should recall the image, the image cue the substitute form of the name, and this, in turn leads to a recall of the appropriate name. Lorayne maintains that his mnemonic system enables him to perform impressive stage demonstrations of memory for names. For example, he reports being able to name almost 400 people in 7 min (Lorayne & Lucas, 1976, p. 77).

The method may seem bizarre, but it incorporates mnemonic techniques which have been shown experimentally to be powerful aids to memory in verbal learning experiments (e.g. Bower, 1970; Morris & Stevens, 1974).
The influence of lateral organization on the evaluation of paintings
Authors: Freimuth Marilyn , Wapner Seymour
Published: April 2011

This study examines influence of directional properties of lateral organization on evaluation of paintings. Lateral organization, as defined here, has two dimensions: (1) left or right location of principal figure; and (2) left‐to‐right or right‐to‐left sequence of figures represented by direction of suggested movement, action, or lines. That previous studies have failed to demonstrate consistently a relationship between evaluations and directional properties is attributed to methodological shortcomings involving lack of control of stimulus properties and exposure time. Here, on basis of a well‐defined judging procedure, paintings were distinguished according to whether each dimension of lateral organization depicted one or more than one direction. Under two exposure conditions, 5 and 20 s, three evaluations (general preference, balance, and dynamics) were made for paintings which were presented simultaneously in artist‐created, original view, and mirror‐image, reversed view. It was found that evaluations were influenced by directional properties (sequence of figures) with a 5 s exposure and by more inclusive formal features with a 20 s exposure. Implications of findings for perception and aesthetics are considered.
How old and young subjects monitor and control responses for accuracy and speed
Authors: Rabbitt Patrick
Published: April 2011

It is well known that old people respond more slowly than young but it is not known whether these changes occur because some elements in control processes which are responsible for choice and execution of responses are impaired more than others by advancing age. In order to control response speed and accuracy human beings must be able to exercise control of three parameters: (1) they must detect errors when they occur; (2) they must be able to monitor and vary response speed so as to recognize, and avoid, faster RT bands at which errors are intolerably frequent; (3) they must be able to adaptively control response speeds so as to select optimal RT bands and avoid others which may be too fast or too slow.

In two serial, self‐paced C.RT experiments groups of old people were found to detect and correct their errors as efficiently as young. With increasing age RTs for error and for error correction responses remained relatively constant while RTs for correct responses and for other, arbitrary, error‐signalling responses markedly increased. It seems that efficiency of error detection and maximal response speed are relatively unimpaired with age. It seems likely that slowing of C.RT with age is related to loss of precise control over speed at which responses can be made, or to loss of fine differentiation between ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ responses.
Interocular transfer of movement after‐effects in schizophrenia
Authors: Tress Kathleen H. , Kugler Barbara T.
Published: April 2011

A group of 16 chronic schizophrenic subjects were compared with 15 age‐matched control subjects for interocular transfer of movement after‐effects. Contrary to the hypothesis that schizophrenic subjects would show a deficit on this measure schizophrenics showed increased transfer compared to the controls. This effect is not due to response perseveration and is not correlated with length of hospitalization, age or dose of antipsychotic drugs. It is suggested that the effect reflects a deficit in ‘inhibitory processes’ in schizophrenia.
Children's implicit theories of their peers: A developmental analysis
Authors: Honess Terry
Published: April 2011

Common assumptions in the theories of Kelly and Werner allow Werner's description of development to be readily translated into a number of predictions concerning the course of construct system or implicit theory development. Construct organization was inferred from subjects’ responses to a specially modified implication grid. Both developmental predictions and the validity of grid measures received excellent support from the analysis of children's implicit theories of their peers as a function of their own age, sex, and verbal intelligence. In addition, the grid responses provided fresh insights into the course of sex differences in person perception.
The British use of The Barber Suggestibility Scale: Norms, psychometric properties and the effects of the sex of the subject and of the experimenter
Authors: Fellows Brian J.
Published: April 2011

The Barber Suggestibility Scale, as a measure of hypnotic susceptibility, was administered to 130 British undergraduate students by 13 student experimenters in a 2times2 factorial design with the sex of the subject and the sex of the experimenter as the two variables. The results showed no significant differences among the scores obtained by the 13 experimenters and no significant effect of either the subject's sex or the experimenter's sex though there was some tendency towards an interaction effect. The distribution of scores from the present sample was similar to the American norms reported by Barber (1965) except for slightly lower means on certain test‐suggestions. The scale also showed satisfactory internal consistency and item‐scale correlations. A principal components analysis revealed evidence for a general factor underlying the scale in addition to three special factors associated with direct motor, motor challenge and cognitive suggestions which confirms the work of Hilgard (1965) on the Stanford scales. The distinction between objective and subjective responses to suggestions is discussed and some improvements are recommended in the scale. It was concluded that the BSS appears to be a simple and reliable measure of hypnotic susceptibility and is suitable for British usage.
Individual differences in visual imaging and the voluntary control of heart rate
Authors: Carroll Douglas , Baker Janet , Preston Martin
Published: April 2011

The role of visual imagery in the bidirectional control of heart rate (HR) was explored in 24 subjects. While voluntary HR increases were reliably demonstrated with and without HR feedback, appropriate HR decreases were modest and inconsistent. Changes in respiration rate (RR) generally paralleled the alterations in HR. Eighteen of the subjects reported conventionally using visual imagery to effect HR changes. For these subjects, vividness of visual imagery scores and the extent of HR change showed indications of a direct relationship in the HR increase condition. However, in the HR decrease condition, it was concomitant RR changes which were associated with the vividness and the control of imagery production. The remaining six subjects, who reported not employing visual imagery, demonstrated superior HR acceleration to the imaging subjects. Further, while the imaging subjects did not benefit from the introduction of feedback, the six non‐imaging subjects showed reliably greater HR acceleration as a result of feedback introduction.
Lateralization of functions in the vertebrate brain: A review
Authors: Walker S. F.
Published: April 2011

That the human left and right cerebral hemispheres perform different functions is widely accepted; but there is little evidence of whether or not similar functional asymmetries exist in non‐human vertebrates. In this paper, neuro‐anatomical similarities between human and other vertebrate brains are considered, and data concerning physical asymmetries reviewed. The defining features of human lateralization are taken to be right‐handedness, as a skewed but continuous distribution of preferences, and a greater involvement of the left hemisphere in species‐specific vocalization, with right‐hemisphere superiority in spatial perception and emotionality less well‐marked characteristics. Rodents, cats, at least one species of marsupial, and macaque monkeys have consistent hand preferences for food reaching. These may result from constitutional factors, but in every species studied the distribution of preferences is unskewed. Canaries appear to have left‐hemisphere dominance of vocal production, and there is limited support for the conjecture that macaque monkeys have left‐hemisphere dominance for reception of species‐specific cries, and/or for short‐term auditory memory. Left and right unilateral hemispheric damage may have appreciably different effects on emotionality in rats, sound localization in cats, and tactile discrimination in monkeys, although the available evidence is equivocal. It seems possible that asymmetries of cerebral function are widespread in vertebrates. In particular, left hemisphere dominance of species‐specific communication might be common in birds and primates: left‐hemisphere dominance of human speech may be an example of a general vertebrate tendency towards unilateral control of vocalization.
Liking words as a function of the experienced frequency of their occurrence
Authors: Sluckin W. , Colman A. M. , Hargreaves D. J.
Published: April 2011

A hypothetical inverted‐U curve is postulated linking liking of stimuli to familiarity with them. An experiment using a special procedure was carried out in which the relationship was investigated for words, ranging from very unfamiliar to very familiar, between favourability and familiarity. The results conformed to the theoretical curve. This indicated that the positive correlation between the variables reported by several researchers (e.g. Zajonc) and the negative correlation found by others (e.g. Cantor) should be regarded as complementary rather than contradictory.
The effects of prior beliefs in reasoning: An associational interpretation
Authors: Pollard P. , Evans J. St B. T.
Published: April 2011

Van Duyne (1976) reports that the subjects’ performance on the Wason selection task is biased by their prior belief in the truth of the rule with which they are reasoning. Specifically, the subjects are reported as reasoning more logically if they believe the rule to be ‘sometimes true’ rather than ‘always true’. Van Duyne's analysis rests, however, upon an interpretation of the subjects’ verbal justifications; a reanalysis of his data shows no effects upon actual response frequencies.

However, it was felt that a more powerful test might be obtained by use of rules explicitly thought to be true and false. Accordingly, the subjects were asked to generate statements that they thought to be always and usually true and always and usually false; and were subsequently presented with a selection task on each of the four types of statement.

Falsity did have a significant effect upon response frequencies, in the direction of better logical performance. It is suggested that this result is not caused by the subjects’ intention to validate their beliefs (as Van Duyne proposes) but that the subjects’ prior experience leads to the logical answer having more associative cues on ‘false’ sentences.
The effect of familiarity on preferences for surnames
Authors: Colman Andrew M. , Sluckin Wladyslaw , Hargreaves David J.
Published: April 2011

A sample of 40 male and 40 female subjects rated either their familiarity with or their liking for 60 one‐syllable and two‐syllable surnames selected randomly from a local telephone directory. Linear and curvilinear regression analyses strongly corroborated the hypothesis of an inverted‐U familiarity‐favourability relationship. These results, together with those of earlier investigations using other classes of stimuli, are discussed in the light of a preference‐feedback hypothesis according to which the naturally occurring frequency of exposure of certain stimuli is largely determined by the degree to which they are preferred. This hypothesis accounts for the monotonic familiarity‐favourability relationship found for Christian names and the non‐monotonic relationship found for letters of the alphabet, one‐syllable words, and surnames, and for the cyclical vogues to which Christian names and other cultural objects appear to be subject.
Conservation: What is the question?
Authors: Donaldson Margaret
Published: April 2011

Success in a conservation task entails understanding that the transformation is irrelevant to the question. Much depends, however, on whether the question is treated as a set of disembedded words, in which case it is still ‘the same question’ when asked a second time, or as a unity of words‐and‐context, in which case it is not. There is now much evidence that young children tend to the latter mode of interpretation and, in effect, often fail to conserve the question.

Children are sensitive to indications of purpose and may try to make sense of the question by wondering about the purposes of the experimenter in asking it. Or they may have regard to purposes which are internal to the task structure, where these exist. Or they may concentrate on impersonal features of the array, as Piaget took them to do. What happens in a given instance will depend both on personal characteristics and on general developmental trends.
Young children's use of transitive inference in causal chains
Authors: Shultz Thomas R. , Pardo Seymour , Altmann Esther
Published: April 2011

Mediate causal transmissions are those in which the transmission between an initial cause and an eventual effect is mediated by a third event. The concept of causal mediation is seen as analogous to that involving use of a middle term in non‐causal transitive inference problems. Contrary to some previous research, both three‐ and five‐year‐olds understood mediate causal transmission as portrayed in simple, three‐term causal chains. Children of both ages chose to activate a cause which could produce an effective causal mediator over an alternative cause which could produce an ineffective causal mediator. The five‐year‐olds in addition correctly identified the impossibility of producing the effect without an appropriate causal mediator and often mentioned the causal mediator explicitly in verbal justifications of their responses. Relations between the present experiment and previous literature on causal reasoning and transitive inference are discussed.
Meaning in movement: An investigation into the interrelationship of physiographic gestures and speech in seven‐year‐olds
Authors: Riseborough M. G.
Published: April 2011

The popular tradition of research into non‐verbal behaviour has assumed a differentiation of function for gesture and speech, in spite of a steady accumulation of evidence indicating their commonalities. One class of gesture (physiographic), was explored in the speech of a group of seven‐year‐olds. Data were obtained from video‐recorded, semi‐structured, informal interviews held in classrooms. Physiographic gestures were found in abundance, in conversations, but were not randomly distributed. Typically, describing pictures and previously executed motor activities produced many accompanying physiographic gestures, whereas story‐telling produced almost none. The tentative explanation put forward is that physiographic gestures are utilized when there is a discrepancy between the units of thought and units of speech.
Letters and shapes: Developmental changes in search strategies
Authors: Green D. W. , Hammond E. J. , Supramaniam S.
Published: April 2011

In search tasks that are otherwise identical, adults process strings of letters differently from strings of other shapes (Hammond & Green, 1982). This result has implications for word recognition and reading, and it is important to establish its developmental sequence. Two groups of primary school children and an adult control group completed a similar visual search task: determining whether a predesignated target character occurred in a subsequently displayed character string. The mean search latency decreased with age, and the results showed a qualitative difference in the processing of letters and shapes for even the youngest group. However, the left to right processing of letter strings does become more established with age.
The influence of trait and physical‐feature‐based orienting strategies on aspects of facial memory
Authors: Parkin Alan J. , Hayward Cheryl
Published: April 2011

This paper describes a series of incidental learning experiments in which facial memory is assessed following either a ‘connotative feature’ task (how likable is this person?) or a ‘distinctive feature task’ (what is the most prominent physical feature of this face?). Subjects saw each target face in a different environmental setting (e.g. pub, carpark) and their memory was tested in two ways: an old/new recognition test, in which each target face was presented in mugshot form (i.e. devoid of the original context), and a second context recall or recognition test in which subjects' ability to remember the environmental context in which each face had appeared was examined. The results showed five important findings: (1) subjects performed the connotative task significantly faster than the distinctive features task; (2) recognition accuracy measured in various ways was identical in the two orienting conditions; (3) recognition latencies to targets and distractors in the yes/no recognition test were significantly faster following connotative processing; (4) recognition latencies to target faces presented in context during learning were significantly faster than targets initially presented devoid of context following connotative processing but not following distinctive features orientation; and (5) context recall and recognition were significantly and substantially higher following connotative processing. These data are discussed in terms of Winograd's (1981) assertion that connotative and physical‐feature‐based orienting tasks induce the same type of encoding.
A factorial analysis of the authoritarian personality
Authors: Kline Paul , Cooper Colin
Published: April 2011

A battery of personality tests measuring authoritarian personality traits together with the EPQ and the Cattell 16PF test were administered to a sample of students in order to identify and locate a factor or factors of authoritarianism. One factor emerged independently of neuroticism and extraversion on which the authoritarian scales loaded ‐ a factor identified as the obsessional personality. Of all the authoritarian tests in this study the Kohn scale and the Wilson‐Patterson C scale appeared to be the most useful.
Continuity between childhood dyslexia and adult reading
Authors: Scarborough Hollis S.
Published: April 2011

If reading disabilities were the result of developmental lags, disabled readers should catch up to their peers in proficiency at maturity. As a test of this hypothesis, current literacy skills were assessed for adults who did, and did not, have childhood reading disabilities. Contrary to the developmental lag hypothesis, most of the former group remained poor readers in adulthood, in many cases reading more than two standard deviations below levels predicted by IQ. Both within and between groups, very similar relationships were observed between reading level and: word recognition; phonic analysis; prose comprehension; reading speed; spelling ability and error types; and tolerance for visual and semantic text transformations. Other purported characteristics of dyslexia differentiated disabled from normal adult readers with only limited success. The results have implications for theoretical, methodological, and practical issues in the study of dyslexia in childhood as well as adulthood.
Beyond locus of control: Attribution of responsibility for positive and negative outcomes
Authors: Brewin Chris R. , Shapiro David A.
Published: April 2011

Many locus of control measures fail to distinguish attributions for positive and negative outcomes even though these appear to be separate dimensions. Scales measuring the attribution of responsibility for positive and for negative outcomes are reported, together with data on their reliability and validity. Rotter's I‐E scale was found to correlate with responsibility for positive but not for negative outcomes. Responsibility for positive outcomes, together with the Rotter scale, predicted examination performance, while responsibility for negative outcomes correlated with self‐esteem and revealed consistent sex differences. The implications for locus of control research are discussed.
A stress and arousal mood scale for low vocabulary subjects: A reworking of Mackay et al. (1978)
Authors: Cruickshank P. J.
Published: April 2011

In an experiment investigating patient mood in an out‐patient setting, a Mood Adjective Checklist (Mackay et al., 1978) was administered to 189 patients before and after their consultations, obtaining 366 completed questionnaires. Both the stress and arousal scales in the Mackay et al. checklist contain unequal numbers of positive and negative items, and are thus subject to response bias. When the results were analysed, it was noted that some items in the checklist led to large numbers of question mark responses, and it was discovered that word frequency, used as an estimate of word unfamiliarity, was correlated with the use of the question mark. Furthermore, when question mark responses were treated as missing data, as recommended by Meddis (1972), the factor analytic distinction between stress and arousal disappeared. Next, items giving rise to 15 per cent or more question mark responses were omitted from analysis, and the remaining items factor analysed. The resulting checklist comprised nine high stress items, nine low stress items, four high arousal items and four low arousal items. Mackay et al.'s stress and arousal scales were reconstructed using these items; they were no longer subject to response bias, and were more accessible to low vocabulary subjects.
Development of face recognition: An encoding switch?
Authors: Flin Rhona H.
Published: April 2011

Two experiments were designed to examine Carey's (1978) theory that face recognition improves with age because young children (< 10 years) encode predominantly piecemeal details from unfamiliar faces, whereas older children (≥ 10 years) and adults rely mainly on configurational information. In Expt 1, children (7–16 years) were tested for ability to recognize unfamiliar faces presented upright and inverted. Performance in the inverted condition was significantly poorer for all age groups. In a second experiment, subjects (4–8 years) were given a forced‐choice, face recognition task. The tendency of young children to select incorrectly paraphernalia cues as a basis for identity judgements was found to be dependent on the similarity of the faces paired in each trial. These results suggested that Carey's original data were contaminated by floor effects. It was argued that there is insufficient evidence to endorse Carey's explanation of an encoding switch at age 10 years as a satisfactory account of the development of face recognition.
Spearman's original computation of g: A model for Burt?
Authors: Fancher Raymond E.
Published: April 2011

Recalculation of the statistics for Charles Spearman's classic 1904 paper, in which he introduced the concept of General Intelligence, reveals a large number of errors of many different kinds, and results considerably less theoretically ‘perfect’ than he claimed. Since Spearman appended raw data to his paper, and his errors extended into non‐essential as well as crucial aspects of his argument, selective checking of results seems a more likely explanation than deliberate deception. It also seems, however, that Cyril Burt detected several of Spearman's irregularities, and it is possible Burt learned from them how easy it is for fundamental flaws in published scientific papers to go undetected.
On drawing analogies when solving problems: A theory and test of solution generation in an analogical problem‐solving task
Authors: Keane Mark
Published: April 2011

Three criticisms are made of present theories of analogy: (a) that they fail to model the process of object identification; (b) that, in the case of story analogues, the solution statement part may be accessed directly using schematic knowledge; (c) that they fail to model the role of goals. A theory of solution generation by analogy is proposed which takes these criticisms into account, and two aspects of the theory are tested.

Experiment 1 supported the second criticism, in finding that the provision of an analogous solution statement is sufficient to influence significantly the production of a specific solution to Duncker's ‘radiation problem’. Experiment 2 tested a specific aspect of the theory, namely, the prediction that ‘functionally relevant attributes’ (FRAs) significantly influence the generation of solutions by analogy. The results confirmed this prediction but, contrary to pre‐experimental predictions, this influence seems mainly attributable to facilitation by FRAs of relational transfer.
Belief in the paranormal: Probability judgements, illusory control, and the ‘chance baseline shift’
Authors: Blackmore Susan , Trościanko Tom
Published: April 2011

Possible reasons for belief in the paranormal are discussed and two hypotheses suggested. The first ‐that some belief in psi arises from misjudgements of probability ‐ predicts more errors in probability tasks among believers (sheep) than disbelievers (goats). In two experiments subjects completed various computer‐controlled probability tasks. In the first sheep performed worse than goats on most tasks and were significantly worse at responding appropriately to changes in sample size. In Expt 2 sheep were significantly worse at questions involving sampling.

The second hypothesis is that some belief in psi arises from an illusion of control. Previous studies have shown a greater illusion of control among sheep in psi tasks (even when no psi occurs). We predicted the same effect in tasks not overtly involving psi. This was confirmed in Expt 3, using a computer‐controlled coin‐tossing task. Half the trials allowed for subject control of the coin and half did not. Sheep felt that they were exercising greater control than goats (irrespective of actual control) but estimated they had scored fewer hits. This could be explained if sheep misjudged chance scoring level. This was tested and sheep were found to underestimate chance scores. This ‘chance baseline shift’ could underlie the illusion of control and the belief in psi. No evidence of psi was found.
The biology of intelligence?
Authors: Mackintosh N. J.
Published: April 2011

The idea that there is a biological basis for intelligence in people has been translated into two beliefs about IQ tests: first, that measured IQ is genetically determined and that differences in IQ between different groups are partly or largely caused by genetic differences between them; secondly, that IQ reflects some presumed fundamental property of the brain such as efficiency or speed of neural transmission, that can be measured by recording evoked potentials or by the speed with which a person performs some very simple task.

Measured IQ may well have a significant heritable component, but there is very little evidence that average differences in IQ between, say, different ethnic groups are genetic in origin. In Great Britain, moreover, differences in IQ between whits, West Indian, Indian or Pakistani children are closely correlated with differences in their social circumstances. It should be stressed, however, that there is equally little evidence that IQ tests significantly underestimate the academic attainments of children from ethnic minorities or that such children fall progressively further behind as they go through school.

The search for simple, physiological or behavioural correlates of IQ has met with no more than modest success. Recent reports of highly significant correlations between IQ and measures of evoked potentials have not always been replicated and the past history of failures of replication in this general area counsels caution. Reports of very high (> 0–60) correlations between IQ and measures of timed performance have not been substantiated and can usually be attributed to the inclusion of disproportionate numbers of retarded subjects in the samples. There is quite good evidence of moderate correlations (in the range 0·20 to 0·40) with those measures, but it is not even clear how they should be interpreted. One possibility is that they reflect differences in concentration or sustained attention. If we want higher correlations with IQ we will probably need to look to more sophisticated tasks.
Colour naming of phobia‐related words
Authors: Watts Fraser N. , McKenna Frank P. , Sharrock Robert , Trezise Lorna
Published: April 2011

A version of the Stroop test was developed which requires colour naming of spider words. Spider phobics were severely retarded on this task, but not on the conflicting colour‐word Stroop or a Stroop with more general threat words. Desensitization of phobics significantly reduced interference on the Spider Stroop. A third experiment examined the retest properties of the Stroop and the value of equivalent forms. The explanation of the Spider Stroop effect and its usefulness as an outcome measure are discussed.
My half‐sister is a THOG: Strategic processes in a reasoning task
Authors: Smyth Mary M. , Clark Steven E.
Published: April 2011

Five experiments are reported in which a naturally occurring category was used in a version of Wason's THOG task to investigate both the role of realism and the use of strategies in the approach to complex reasoning problems. The category was that of half‐sister which is defined by exclusive disjunction of parents (my mother or my father but not both). Realism improves problem solution only if there is no statement of the disjunction and no indications that there are two unknowns within the problem. However, the full exclusive disjunctive half‐sister task is as difficult as the THOG itself, although both the content items and the rule which relates them are realistic ones. The source of the difficulty is found to be the existence of two unknowns. Subjects do not naturally use hypothesis generation and testing in this situation, and when they are asked to do so they refuse to accept the solutions which are produced. The strategy of ‘supposing’ one possible combination of unknowns and then the other is contra‐indicated by the problem statement, and although realist content helps with hypothesis generation it is not sufficient to induce the appropriate strategy.
A longitudinal analysis of the effects of different patterns of employment and unemployment on school‐leavers
Authors: Feather N. T. , O'Brien G. E.
Published: April 2011

Large samples of young employed and unemployed respondents in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, completed questionnaires on two occasions one year apart. A wide range of variables was assessed that included measures of aspects of the self‐concept, Protestant Ethic values, desired work values, stress symptoms, life satisfaction, unemployment disappointment, job need, employment value, external control and attributions for youth unemployment. There was little evidence from longitudinal analyses of change scores that a shift from employment to unemployment or the reverse transition had significant effects on psychological well‐being, but unemployment attributions were affected. The shift from employment to unemployment led to less internal and more external causal attributions for youth unemployment; the reverse transition had the opposite effects. Cross‐sectional comparisons of findings from the employed and unemployed samples replicated previous results that were consistent with the conclusion that many of the obtained differences were present when respondents were still at school. Variables assumed to reflect employment importance did not have moderating effects on psychological well‐being when employed and unemployed groups were compared in either longitudinal or cross‐sectional analyses but they were involved in significant associations with other measures. Results suggested the need for more empirical and conceptual analysis of the concepts of psychological well‐being and employment importance.
Phonological similarity effects, memory span and developmental reading disorders: The nature of the relationship
Authors: Johnston Rhona S. , Rugg Michael D. , Scott Tana
Published: April 2011

Eight‐ and 11‐year‐old poor readers of average and below average intelligence carried out a visually presented immediate memory task, recalling strings of similar‐ and dissimilar‐sounding letters. Task difficulty was adjusted for each child by determining memory span for the dissimilar items prior to the memory task. All poor reader groups recalled significantly more dissimilar‐ than similar‐sounding items, and the magnitude of these effects was comparable to those shown by their chronological and reading age controls. A close association was found between memory span and reading age, such that average intelligence poor readers had memory spans indistinguishable from those of their reading age controls. Furthermore, a highly significant correlation was found between memory span and reading age. However, it was concluded that this relationship could not be primarily due to a substantial immediate memory component in word recognition as the below average intelligence poor readers had poorer memory spans than the brighter poor readers, yet they had very similar reading ages. Additionally, a weaker association was found between memory span and non‐word reading than between memory span and word reading. It was hypothesized that recognition difficulties may be the primary problem underlying both poor word recognition and immediate memory impairments in children with reading disorders.
The fugit amor experience in the process of valuation: A self‐confrontation with an unreachable other
Authors: Hermans Hubert J. M. , Hermans‐Jansen Els , van Gilst Willem
Published: April 2011

This article shows the close relationship between self and other and has its focus on the fugit amor metaphor, i.e. the loving orientation to another person or object which is or has become unreachable. A self‐confrontation method which invites a person to self‐reflection on his or her everyday situation is described in detail. In applying this method in a group of clients, it was found that about 30 per cent of the people showed one or more fugit amor experiences. The method, presented for other research purposes as well, is an idiographic research instrument allowing a comparison of different people along nomothetic lines. This method is presented together with its background theory which distinguishes manifest and latent levels of personality organization. At the manifest level a great variety of valuations is conceived, where a valuation is anything a person finds important in his or her everyday situation. From the latent level a limited number of basic motives is assumed to influence the manifest level. With this distinction the phenomenological variety of important experiences and personal meanings can be analysed according to their underlying basic motivational structure. It is demonstrated how this model can be applied to an existential experience like fugit amor.