bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Language and problem solving ability: A comparison between deaf and hearing adolescents
Authors: TELLEVIK JON MAGNE
Published: May 2008

Two groups of subjects, one deaf and one hearing, were tested in pairs on problem solving tasks. The poorer performance of the deaf observed in other studies has been explained as due to difference in language ability between the two groups. This finding was not replicated in the present study where use of language was required to solve tasks of different complexity. It is suggested that sign language may be as effective a tool for problem solving as spoken language. The postulated supremacy of spoken language to other forms of communication with regard to logical and symbolic functioning is thus questioned.
Acquisition of locational information about reference points during blindfolded and sighted locomotion: Effects of a concurrent task and locomotion paths
Authors: LINDBERG ERIK , GÄRLING TOMMY
Published: May 2008

Acquisition of cognitive maps (locational information about reference points) was investigated by requiring subjects to walk repeatedly according to paths consisting of 2, 4 and 6 linear segments. The starting point of each path was designated as a reference point, to which direction and distance were estimated by the subjects at the end of the path. Acquisition was indicated by the finding that variable errors and latencies decreased across blocks of trials. Interfering with central processing of locational information during locomotion by means of a concurrent task, while impairing orientation performance, did not seem to prevent acquisition. As suggested by an increase in latencies with the number of path segments, the subjects performing the concurrent task may have been able to infer and store the location of the starting point after walking. Finally, orientation performance did not improve for blindfolded subjects, probably because they were unable to use stored information about locations.
On intelligence II: A neo‐Spearman model to replace Cattell's theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence
Authors: UNDHEIM JOHAN OLAV
Published: May 2008

While many empirical studies now support second‐order simple structure factor analytic distinctions consistent with Cattell's theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence, the hierarchical order analyses carried out in the present study show that these factors are structured so as to suggest a neo‐Spearman hierarchical model where fluid intelligence is equivalent to a general intelligence factor and broad group factors of verbal‐educational knowledge, speediness, and visualization appear. The two models have different implications regarding the status of the fluid and crystallized “intelligence” factors and the relationship between them.
Predictability and recall strategy for nominal serial position curves
Authors: RÖNNBERG JERKER
Published: May 2008

Forty subjects participated in the present study which was designed to test the predictability notion (Rönnberg, 1980b) contra a temporal model and how they apply to a list learning situation. Recall order was combined with type of encoding function governing the inter‐item intervals in the lists. Data supported the predictability notion in general and a strong position of this concept in particular.
A theory of behavior in a two‐valenced psychoecological space
Authors: GOUDE GUNNAR
Published: May 2008

A theory of behavior in a two‐valenced psychoecological space is presented. It is an extension of Miller's theory of approach‐avoidance mechanisms into a two‐dimensional space. It incorporates a learning theory, which describes how the approach and avoidance gradients are built up following experiences over time. It also includes a choice model for an individual's action within the space. The theory describes an organism as active in its psychoecological space, interacting with the environment. The theory is explicated mathematically with a combination of algebraic and stochastic functions and simulated on a computer parallel to an illustratory experimental example with the behavior of rats in an open‐field situation with positive reinforcement and punishment at different spatial positions. Examples from simulations with different learning and choice parameters are given together with examples of the changing approach and avoidance surfaces. The predicted behavior patterns are compared with empirical findings in the open‐field observations, and the results are used to determine plausible sets of parameter values for the different experimental conditions.
Smoking among Norwegian schoolchildren 1975–1980: II. The influence of the social environment
Authors: AARØ LEIF EDVARD , HAUKNES ARNE , BERGLUND ELSE‐LILL
Published: May 2008

In 1975 all primary schools in Norway were asked to carry out local studies of the smoking habits of all pupils in grades 6–9 (age 12–15). A sample of 6968 questionnaires from the pupils (those born on the sixth irrespective of month) forms the empirical basis of the present study. Among ninth graders (age 15) coming from homes where both parents smoked and the children were permitted to smoke, 67% of the boys and 78% of the girls smoked daily. Among children from homes where both parents were non‐smokers and did not permit their children to smoke, only 9% of the boys and 11 % of the girls smoked daily. The probability of being a daily smoker can to a great extent be regarded as the additive effect of milieu predictors. When both parents smoke, older sisters and brothers smoke, best friend smokes, and the pupils are permitted to smoke, practically all 15 year olds were daily smokers. On the contrary, an environment of non‐smokers and with no permission to smoke reduces the probability of being a daily smoker to almost zero.
Does increasing the warning signal intensity decrease or increase simple reaction time?
Authors: NIEMI PEKKA
Published: May 2008

The purpose of the study was to reconcile the contradictory evidence reporting either a shortening or lengthening of the simple reaction time (RT) as a function of the intensity of a warning signal. The lengthening of auditory RT is obtained when short visual or auditory warning signals are of constant intensity within a session and succeeded by a fore‐period. Visual RT did not vary under similar circumstances. There was no effect when a warning signal of constant intensity overlapped in time with the response stimulus. The shortening of RT occurred with auditory warning signals of variable intensity and overlapping in time with the response stimulus. The shortening of RT was interpreted as facilitation‐by‐arousal. The lengthening of RT is a contextual effect but the data do not support accounts based on sensory‐neural adaptation or criterion changes.
Prediction and diagnosis: An experimental comparison
Authors: BJÖRKMAN MATS , NILSSON RICKARD
Published: May 2008

Diagnostic tasks differ from predictive tasks in two respects (1) the direction of the inference in diagnosis (from effect to cause) is inverse to that in prediction (from cause to effect), and (2) the event to be inferred is more distal in diagnostic tasks than in predictive tasks. These task features led to the hypothesis that a diagnostic task would be harder to learn than a predictive task. This hypothesis was tested in an experimental situation in which the causal mechanism was random sampling with replacement. Five groups of subjects with 10 subjects in each (two predictive and three diagnostic groups) were run in individual sessions with 100 trials of feedback training. The two predictive groups learned more rapidly and to a higher level compared to the diagnostic groups. Conclusion: the present data support the hypothesis that predictive tasks are easier to learn than comparable diagnostic tasks.
Group aggression among school children in three schools
Authors: LAGERSPETZ KIRSTI M. J. , BJÖRKQVIST KAJ , BERTS MARIANNE , KING ELISABETH
Published: May 2008

“Mobbing”, i.e. school children repeatedly ganging up on the same victims, was studied among 434 12–16 years old children in three schools in Finland. A group of bullies and a group of victims were selected on basis of peer ratings. 13.7% of the boys and 5.4% of the girls were involved in mobbing behaviour. The children's personality variables were studied with questionnaires. The victims had low self‐esteem, were subjectively maladjusted, and experienced their peer relations negatively. The victims were physically weaker than well‐adjusted children, and obesity and handicaps were more common among them. The bullies were physically strong, and handicaps were also among them more frequent than among well‐adjusted children. The bullies held positive attitudes towards aggression, experienced their peer relations negatively, and held negative attitudes towards teachers and peers. They were unpopular among their peers, though not so unpopular as the victims.
Logical versus psychological necessity: A discussion of the role of common sense in psychological theory
Authors: SJÖBERG LENNART
Published: May 2008

Smedslund's has argued that psychological theory should be concerned with the logical analysis of common sense since (a) empirical data are “arbitrary” and no general and empirical laws can exist when it comes to human action; and (b) theoretical explanation of data is likely to be empirically empty—psychological theory often cannot be falsified. The argument was supported mainly by an analysis of Bandura's self‐efficacy conceptions. Bandura's approach is, however, not developed to the point of being an explicit theory, a fact that explains why it can be demonstrated as being non‐distinguishable from the naive analysis of action. Many well developed theories of decision making, such as Tversky's EBA theory, transcend common sense and are falsifiable. Common sense is, furthermore, subject to change over time and differs between cultures, and even between individuals. There is no such things as the common sense. It is also inconsistent and ambiguous and uses a loose mode of thinking which can often provide post hoc explanations but no predictions. Therefore, common sense probably offers little in the way of profound insights. Furthermore, the problems of inferrring general laws from unique events have not stifled progress in the natural sciences and should not discourage psychologists. The case for general laws in psychology is still being heard. Besides, even if findings are restricted in time and space they concern important questions of how people act here and now. Finally, Smedslund's attempt at logical analysis of treatment rules is shown to provide little more than semantic explication of the chosen definitions of key terms; in no way can such explication serve as a substitute for empirical research on psychotherapy effects.
Common sense as psychosocial reality: A reply to Sjöberg
Authors: SMEDSLUND JAN
Published: May 2008

Attempted explications of common sense can be submitted to consensual validation. Therefore, purely programmatic discussion about common sense may be dispensed with in favor of actual studies. The failures to recognize the fundamental role of common sense may stem from an unreflective presupposition that psychological language and psychological reality are independent realms. Actually, language and psychosocial reality are mutually constitutive, and the total cultural order is built upon common sense. We are not free to choose conceptualizations. Our theorizing must consist of explications of common sense.
Consistency in catecholamine excretion in laboratory and natural settings: correlational and variance components analyses
Authors: FORSMAN LENNART
Published: May 2008

Data from 20 healthy male subjects were used to evaluate the consistency in catecholamine excretion in both laboratory and natural situations during approximately a 48‐hr period. Correlational analyses showed high interindividual consistency in adrenaline excretion under laboratory conditions regardless of degree and kind of activity and of the interval at which measures were taken. In non‐standardized natural situations the consistency was low. For nor adrenaline the pattern was less regular. Analysis of variance components showed that absolute consistency was high in both amines in situations with similar activity content and low activity level. It was found that the more similar the situations the more of variation in catecholamine excretion was due to interindividual differences and the more dissimilar the situations the more of the variation was due to interaction. It is concluded that the degree of consistency in catecholamine excretion varies with situational characteristics.
Amnesic effects of diazepam: “Drug dependence” explained by state‐dependent learning
Authors: JENSEN HANS HENRIK , POULSEN JENS CHRISTIAN
Published: May 2008

An experimental study on 12 healthy volunteers showed that an amnesic effect of a therapeutic dose of diazepam (10 mg 3 times a day) may be explained by a theory of state‐dependent learning. Asymmetric state‐dependence was demonstrated by visually as well as verbally learned material, but in the latter case there was also evidence of an anticonsolidating effect upon learning. The findings are related to drug dependence, and it is suggested that therapeutic gains obtained during long‐term diazepam treatment may not transfer to the no‐drug state.
On the tracing of auditory and visual support systems for remembering
Authors: RÖNNBERG JERKER
Published: May 2008

Ten subjects participated in an experiment testing two theoretical notions concerning the modality effect. The productive task used was a classification task, in which the subjects classified previously memorized auditorily presented verbal material or visually presented line figures according to a cue‐word. These two input modes were crossed with three output modes, i.e. knocking, pointing and speaking according to a yes‐no procedure. The dependent variable was classification time and data supported a two‐store notion of the modality effect. A levels‐of‐processing notion was also tested and falsified.
On the nature of subjective scales
Authors: EISLER HANNES
Published: May 2008

A number of problems connected with psychophysical scaling are pointed out and solutions suggested. The importance of searching for invariant relations (“laws”) is stressed and the advantage of dealing with intrasubjective relations—thereby avoiding the “physicalistic trap”—is emphasized. Two series of experiments, concerning time perception and similarity, are discussed and it is concluded that they support the validity of subjective scales. Finally the role of the observer in scaling experiments is commented on.
Attributional self presentation for actors and observers in success and failure situations
Authors: SAGATUN INGER J. , KNUDSEN JON HELGE
Published: May 2008

Attributions are an important part of self‐presentation strategies. In order to favorably control their interpersonal environment, people are motivated to seek social approval in their self‐presentations. Social norms determine which types of attributional self‐presentations will result in social approval and which will not. A regression analysis was performed which showed that actor‐observer conditions interact with success‐failure conditions to produce different attributional patterns depending on the particular combination of at‐tributor perspective and task outcome. These results are interpreted to mean that different attributional norms exist for actors and observers in success and failure situations. It is concluded that a normative self‐presentational approach to attributions which includes both motivational and cognitive factor can help to explain inconsistent findings in the relevant research literature.
Prediction and diagnosis: Task variable revealed
Authors: NILSSON RICKARD , BJÖRKMAN MATS
Published: May 2008

The authors' work on demonstrating fundamental differences between predictive learning and diagnostic learning lead incidentally to the discovery of a critical task variable operating in diagnostic tasks. In our experiments these tasks consist of random sampling with replacement of cues from two cue‐generators. The subject has to infer from which cue‐generator the cue was drawn. Two different sampling procedures can be distinguished. Under forced sampling the predetermined probabilities of the occurrence of each cue agree exactly with the relative frequencies within each block of trials. Under free sampling there are no with in‐block restrictions on the sampling, which results in sampling fluctuations from block to block. It was demonstrated that this difference in sampling is a critical task variable. Free sampling results in a higher frequency of long sequences of confirming trials, that is, trials in which feedback indicates the optimal rule. The excess of long sequences of confirming trials under free sampling makes this kind of sampling a better condition for efficient learning than forced sampling. If one believes (as the authors do) that “nature” does not apply forced sampling the results indicate that the “natural” way of sampling is also the most favorable for learning diagnostic tasks.
Attempts to predict intelligent behavior: III. The relative importance of divergent and convergent production
Authors: HELLESNES TORE , RAAHEIM KJELL , BENGTSSON GØRAN
Published: May 2008

Scores on a test built on Raaheim's (1974) theory of problem solving and intelligence (the Family Test, Part I) were correlated with scores of divergent and convergent production within the same ideational area (the Family Test, Parts II and III). The results indicate that both divergent and convergent production contribute to the solution of the problem‐solving tasks. To expand the findings to a broader field of intelligence research scores on the tests of divergent and convergent production were correlated with school achievement. Multiple correlations of 0.61 (males) and 0.67 (females) were found between school achievement and the two tests. Comparisons of groups with scores above and below the means of the two tests show that school achievement depends on the combination of divergent and convergent production, suggesting that, although the two types of production reflect two different aspects of intellectual activity, as a rule they work together in the process of intelligent adjustment.
Sequence of Information and Processing Strategies in Oral Language
Authors: WOLD ASTRI HEEN
Published: May 2008

An experimental task of impression formation and recall has earlier been used by the present author to explore processing strategies in oral language and their dependence on the specific order in which information was presented. More particularly the difference between pre‐and post‐position of a noun in relation to its qualifying adjectives have been investigated. The experiments demonstrated marked differences in recall of adjectives depending on noun position, suggesting rather different processing strategies in these two cases. The results of the present experiment, a replication/generalization study of the earlier experiments, confirm the earlier results. The experiments are discussed within the frame of a social‐cognitive theory of language and communication and the levels‐of‐processing approach to memory processes.
Psychological functions of urban busdrivers exposed to exhaust gases: A cross sectional study of urban busdrivers in Denmark
Authors: LAURSEN PETER , NETTERSTRØM BO
Published: May 2008

Busdrivers are assumed to be exposed to air pollutants in the exhaust gases from other vehicles via the defroster system of the buses. A cross sectional study using questionnaires and psychological tests was conducted on 171 urban busdrivers from the three largest cities in Denmark (Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense). A group of 47 commuter train drivers, assumed to be exposed to air pollutants no more than the average citizen, was studied as referents. The air of the busdrivers' breathing zone was analysed for its content of toxic agents. The hygienic effect in the winter season was found to be 0.63 and in the summer season 0.36. The year mean hygienic effect was found to be 0.42. Neurastenic complaints such as difficulties of concentration, verbal retrieval, and tiredness were significantly more frequent among the busdrivers, particularly in the Copenhagen group. On psychological tests of verbal and spatial learning, retrieval and memory, psychomotor functions, visual perception, and vigilance, the Copenhagen busdrivers compared to the reference group only showed significant dysfunctions of verbal learning and long‐term memory. The bus‐drivers from the two smaller cities did not differ significantly from the reference group. It is suggested that the subjective complaints are due to psychosocial stressors in the busdrivers' condition of work, whereas the few differences in psychological test results may indicate a subclinical effect caused by the presence of neurotoxic agents in the busdrivers' working environment.
Cross‐cultural comparison of personality in Danish and English children
Authors: NYBORG H. , EYSENCK S. B. G. , KROLL N.
Published: May 2008

536 Danish boys and 575 Danish girls between the ages of 7 and 15 years filled out a translation of the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnarie (JEPQ). The data were analyzed in terms of 4 scales which measure Psychoticism (P), Extraversion (E), Neuroticism (N), and Lying (L). Factor comparison indicated very good agreement between the scales of the Danish and English versions of the JEPQ. Reliabilities of the Danish L and N scales were satisfactory, while those for the P and E scales were lower but acceptable. Danish boys scored higher than Danish girls on P and E scales, but lower on N and L scales, in accordance with the usual sex difference seen in the JEPQ. A cross‐cultural comparison of scores obtained by children in Denmark and in England showed that Danish boys scored significantly lower than British boys on N and L scales, while Danish girls scored lower than British girls on all scales, although the difference on the L scale was not statistically significant. The notion that L scale scores are related inversely to the degree of permissiveness of society is considered on the basis of findings obtained in the present and previous studies carried out using the JEPQ in Denmark, England, Hungary and Yugoslavia.
Bullies and victims: Their ego picture, ideal ego picture and normative ego picture
Authors: BJÖRKQVIST KAJ , EKMAN KERSTIN , LAGERSPETZ KIRSTI
Published: May 2008

The ego picture, ideal ego picture and normative ego picture of bullies and their victims in a school situation were measured with semantic differentials. The bullies considered themselves to be dominant, had high ideals concerning dominance and thought this was what the social norms require. They felt themselves to be impulsive and lacking in self‐control. The victims considered themselves to be depressed, lacking in intelligence and personal attractiveness, and displayed in general feelings of inferiority. These characteristics can be partly a cause and partly an effect of the bullying situation. Girls scored in general lower than boys on socially valued characteristics and higher on socially undesirable ones.
Hippocampal deafferentation: transplantderived reinnervation and functional recovery
Authors: DUNNETT S. B. , GAGE F. H. , BJÖRKLUND A. , STENEVI U. , LOW W. C. , IVERSEN S. D.
Published: May 2008

A brief review is provided of the capacity of neural tissue transplants to reinnervate the deafferented hippocampus and repair functional deficits induced by the lesion. The techniques for transplantation of solid pieces of embryonic septum, locus coeruleus or raphe nuclei, or tissue suspensions of embryonic septum, to the adult rat hippocampus are described. Such grafts manifest good long‐term survival, provide a good reinnervation of the hippocampus that is histochemically and biochemically appropriate and specific, can establish ultrastructural synaptic contacts with the host, and are electrophysiologically active. Rats with septal grafts manifest recovery of the capacity to learn certain aspects of radial 8‐arm maze, T‐maze alternation and Morris water‐maze tasks. Rats with locus coeruleus grafts manifest an amelioration of lesion‐induced hyperactivity. It is concluded that neural tissue transplantation provides a powerful new tool in the study of the functional organization of the hippocampus and its various neurotransmitter‐specific afferent systems.
Hypothalamic control of motivation: the medial preoptic area and masculine sexual behaviour
Authors: HANSEN S.
Published: May 2008

We here review briefly the evidence suggesting a key role for the medial preoptic area in the regulation of sexual behaviour, with particular emphasis on the behavioural consequences of preoptic degeneration.
Estradiol and progesterone in the control of sexual receptivity in female rats
Authors: SÖDERSTEN P. , ENEROTH P.
Published: May 2008

Estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) are both required for induction of sexual behavior in female rats under physiological conditions. Administration of E2 in brief pulses can induce the behavior in ovariectomized rats. P does not normally exert inhibitory or anti‐estrogenic effects on the behavior. The decline of sexual receptivity in ovariectomized E2+P‐treated rats is dependent upon the amount of E2 and P given but independent on the continued presence of either hormone. Ovariectomized animals treated with a constant amount of E2 show a behavioral rhythm which is disrupted by hypothalamic lesions and it is suggested that peptidergic neurons in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus rhythmically inhibit the behavior of ovariectomized E2‐treated rats.
Type A behaviour and psychophysiological arousal
Authors: LUNDBERG U.
Published: May 2008

The “coronary prone” or Type A behaviour pattern, characterized by e.g., hard‐driving competitiveness, impatience and aggressiveness, is associated with elevated systolic blood pressure and catecholamine secretion during challenge. In experiments at our laboratory, elevated psychophysiological arousal was found in Type A subjects during understimulation, but not during active performance on a self‐paced reaction time task. Results suggest that differences in cardiovascular and behavioural reactivity between Type A and B persons tend to be related to the pace of the environment to which they are exposed. Studies of antecedents of Type A behaviour in children show that “Type A children” respond to challenge with a greater increase in sympathetic arousal than “non‐Type As”. This suggests the possibility that genetic dispositions and/or conditioned sympathetic reactivity play an important role in the development of the Type A behaviour pattern.
Interobserver and test‐retest reliability of Rothbart's Infant Behavior Questionnaire
Authors: LAMB MICHAEL E. , FRODI ANN M. , HWANG CARL‐PHILIP , FRODI MAJT E.
Published: May 2008

Forty‐five Swedish couples (N=90) independently completed a translation of Rothbart's Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) when their infants were 3 and 8 months of age. There was greater agreeement between mothers and fathers at 8 than at 3 months, perhaps because fathers became more involved as their children grew older. At neither age was agreement as great as that reported by Rothbart (1981) in the USA. Parents did not agree on the dimensions Duration of Orienting and Soothability. In the eyes of both parents, there was significant, although modest, stability over time on most dimensions of infant temperament. There was least perceived stability in Distress to Approaching Stimuli (Fear). These results suggest that the IBQ (even in a Swedish translation) may be a reliable and valid way of measuring parental perceptions of infant temperament.
Performance of musical rhythm in 3/4 and 6/8 meter
Authors: GABRIELSSON ALF , BENGTSSON INGMAR , GABRIELSSON BARBRO
Published: May 2008

Monophonic performances of 15 melodies in 3/4 or 6/8 meter were analyzed according to previously described methods (Bengtsson & Gabrielsson, 1980) to test the hypothesis that live performance of musical rhythm is characterized by various systematic variations (SYVAR) as regards the duration of the sound events in relation to strict mechanical regularity. The results show many different types of SYVAR, varying with music and/or performers but with certain recurring features. at the sound event level as well as at the beat, half‐measure and measure levels. It is pointed out that these results should be supplemented by data in other performance variables, and that there probably are certain basic relationships between SYVAR and different aspects of the rhythm response to be further investigated.
Ratio estimation of distance in a large open field
Authors: da SILVA JOSÉ APARECIDO
Published: May 2008

Psychophysical power functions were obtained from ratio estimation of apparent distance in a large open field with two ranges of distance. The findings showed that the exponent varied with the ranges of the distances, but less steeply than previously assumed by Kunnapas (1960). Comparisons with previous results furthermore showed that the exponents obtained from ratio estimation were greater than those obtained from magnitude estimation.
Decision making, risk taking and psychological time: Review of empirical findings and psychological theory
Authors: BJÖRKMAN MATS
Published: May 2008

Three domains of research (1) involvement in past and future events, (2) knowledge of the past and the future, and (3) value as a function of time (discounting) were used to elucidate man's limitations when he makes decisions based on earlier experience with consequences in the close and distant future. Evidence from all three areas illustrate that man is captured in a narrow time‐space sphere around “here and now”.—One consequence of this limitation is that risk‐willingness increases the longer ahead the outcome of a decision is likely to occur. To specify, the less we are involved in, the less we know of and the less the consequences are evaluated the larger is our willingness to make decisions with future risks. Learning from experience seems to play a minor role in improving decision making. Ill‐defined problems and non‐distinct outcomes make “economic man” fairly useless as a norm for decision making in decisions with longranging effects and of a non‐repititive character.—The paper ends with a discussion of strategies that can compensate for the limitations of distal cognition.
Introduction to phenomenological psychological research
Authors: BULLINGTON JENNIFER , KARLSSON GUNNAR
Published: May 2008

This report presents an introduction to phenomenological psychological research. A brief theoretical section on Husserl's phenomenological philosophy is followed by a comparison between phenomenological psychology and traditional psychology and a tutorial example of the phenomenological method in psychological research. The authors argue for the necessity of a phenomenological descriptive approach to psychological research which seeks to discover the meaning of various phenomena using the descriptions of subjects' experiences. The results of a phenomenological psychological study consist of a structural description of the phenomenon in question, which basically describes the what and how of a specific phenomenon rather than the explanatory why.
Restructuring revisited
Authors: OHLSSON STELLAN
Published: May 2008

The Gestalt psychologists proposed that restructuring (Umstrukturierung) is an essential process in thinking. This concept has not been integrated into the information processing theory of problem solving. As a preparation for such an integration, the Gestalt writings about restructuring in problem solving are summarized in a set of principles. Critical scrutiny shows that some Gestalt principles are overstated; others have very weak empirical support. But the psychological reality of restructuring is not in doubt, in spite of the recent criticism by Weisberg and Alba (1982a). A unified theory of thinking should interpret restructuring in information processing terms, and explain the relation between restructuring and search.
Restructuring revisited
Authors: OHLSSON S.
Published: May 2008

The central concept of the information processing theory of problem solving is search. In contrast, the central concept of the Gestalt theory of problem solving is restructuring. Both concepts express important aspects of human thinking. A theory is presented which interprets restructuring and the related concept of insight in information processing terms. It is hypothesised that restructuring is a change in mental representation which affects the applicability of problem solving operators. Insight is hypothesized to occur when restructuring of the search space brings the goal state within the horizon of mental look‐ahead.
Serial position phenomena: Memory for acts, contents and spatial position patterns
Authors: HELSTRUP TORE
Published: May 2008

The influence of functional control operations on serial position effects was examined in a series of four experiments. When recall was required of performed operations as well as of the information operated upon, the result generally turned out to be absence of recency effects and presence of primacy effects. Primacy effects were found to be more prominent with active execution of operations than with passive list reception. Simultaneous presence of spatial and temporal position cues was shown to coincide with disruption of the ordinary primacy‐recency pattern. The findings were taken to prove the importance of functional factors, and were interpreted as in agreement with a two‐stage analysis of serial learning where the first stage is assumed to involve the differentiation of list items and the second stage the integration of differentiated items. The experiments were claimed to indicate that memory is better understood from a problem‐solving than from an information‐processing point of view.
The relationship between induced emotional arousal and amnesia
Authors: CHRISTIANSON SVEN‐ÅKE
Published: May 2008

An experiment was conducted to test a hypothesis emanating from a similarity in data pattern between studies on amnesia and studies on the effects of arousal on memory. The hypothesis was that arousal and amnesia might be related, or more precisely, that amnesia induced in the laboratory might be mediated by high levels of arousal. Subjects in this experiment were presented with a thematic, short story in pictorial form. One version of the story consisted of a traumatic, arousal‐inducing event placed between neutral events. A second version of the story contained the same neutral events in the beginning and the end, but also a neutral event in the middle. Palmar skin conductance, heart rate, and subjective self‐ratings were used to determine that the manipulation made had caused different degrees of emotional arousal for the two groups of subjects presented with the different versions of the story. The methods used to determine memory performance were recall and recognition. The data obtained indicate that amnesia induced in the laboratory is mediated by emotional arousal in terms of concepts of attention and reconstruction.
Type A behaviour and its relation to seriousmindedness (telic dominance)
Authors: SVEBAK SVEN , APTER MICHAEL J.
Published: May 2008

A sample of 222 students in medicine and psychology, of both sexes, completed the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS: Norwegian translation of a Swedish student version) and the Telic Dominance Scale (TDS). The latter is a measure of an individual's tendency to take life seriously, i.e., to pursue important goals, to plan ahead, and to avoid arousal if possible. The total scores on both scales were found to be orthogonally related over the sample as a whole, and the same was true of the main factor extracted from the JAS in relation to both the TDS total scores and the scores of each of the subscales of the TDS (for the sample as a whole and for each of the subgroups). This implies that the JAS survey for Type A behaviour assessment and the TDS were measuring rather different psychological characteristics. It is argued that there are reasons for supposing that telic dominance may be a factor which predisposes the individual to high cardiovascular reactivity and that, since this factor appears to be different from the Type A personality as measured by the present JAS version, further investigation is called for.
Serial position phenomena: Training and retrieval effects
Authors: HELSTRUP TORE
Published: May 2008

With successive free recall lists primacy items are usually among the first to be reported on the initial list. Recency items will then take over and be first reported on later lists. This retrieval shift was studied under varied list conditions designed to counteract ordinary position effects, and proved to be a stable and resistent effect. One experiment had subjects practice on five different free recall lists over three trials, and the results agreed with the hypothesis that primacy reduction is caused by proactive interference rather than by the primacy to recency report shift. Experiments of the usual one‐session laboratory type have consistently failed to show practice effects on serial lists with incompatible spatial and temporal order cues. In a case study of five subjects examined over a period of three months only slight improvement on single‐trial lists was observed. However, when naive subjects were given four successive trials with the same type of cue‐conflict list, prominent practice effects were easily demonstrated. Observations confirmed the assumption that repeated presentations of items located in middle list positions may counteract the privilege of primacy and recency positions. When repetitions were made within contracting and expanding lists, the results proved that active anchoring, making itself visible as primacy effects, is feasible with contracting lists but difficult with expanding lists. Active performance of list learning strategies generally results in primacy effects; whereas passive shortcut procedures, in learning and retrieval of information, produce recency effects. Predominant recency effects are symptoms of difficult task situations only partially mastered by the learner; primacy effects point to more successful elaboration. Overall, serial position effects do not seem to be due to structural memory stores so much as to the working of cognitive strategy factors. A problem‐solving theory was presented as an alternative to information‐processing models of serial learning and memory.
Psychological stress‐factors and concentrations of immunoglobulins and complement components in humans
Authors: URSIN HOLGER , MYKLETUN REIDAR , TØNDER OLAV , VÆRNES RAGNAR , RELLING GERHARD , ISAKSEN EVA , MURISON ROBERT
Published: May 2008

Relationships between two types of occupational stress, one chronic and one acute, and plasma immunoglobulin and complement components were measured. The first group comprised female primary school teachers (N=40) subjected to long‐lasting work stress. The second group comprised male merchant navy students (N=38) subjected to a series of short‐lasting fear‐inducing 20 meter drops in a life boat specially built for rescue operations from oil platforms. Significant correlations were found between personality factors, immunoglobulins and complement components in the teacher group, but not amongst the merchant navy students. For the teachers, personality traits correlated negatively with concentrations of IgA and IgG. IgM concentrations correlated with the more immediate work‐related problems reported by the teachers. In a multiple regression analysis, psychological factors explained between 32% (IgM) and 15% (IgG) of the interindividual variance, when sex, age and job seniority and employment factors were controlled for. Psychological factors may therefore, at least on longlasting occupational stress groups, correlate with immune processes. The data support the concept of the importance for psychological factors in immunological function.
Strain differences in open field activity after learning in mice
Authors: KVIST BÉATRICE
Published: May 2008

Male mice of albino and pigmented strains were tested on their open field activity after maze learning and passive avoidance conditioning. The results indicated that the albino strains Balb/c, NMRI, Swiss albino and hybrids of these, reacted with an open field activity increase after maze learning in contrast to the pigmented strains C3H/He, C57BL/6J and DBA/2N. Only Swiss albino displayed an increased ambulatory level after passive avoidance conditioning for the whole experimental time. It is suggested that an ambulatory increase after learning is related to fur color and not to the initial open field activity level, nor to the learning time or the learning capacity.
Comparison of perceptual dimensions uncovered from infant‐cry signals using the method of pair‐comparisons and the semantic differential
Authors: BRENNAN M. , KIRKLAND J.
Published: May 2008

Since infant cry sounds may provide caregivers with information concerning an infant's needs, several studies have examined the perceptual features of cry signals. This tradition is followed in the present study, which utilises two techniques; the method of pair‐comparisons (coupled to INDSCAL) and the Semantic Differential (SD). In each case 24 infant cries (six each of pain, hunger, pleasure and birth) are used as stimuli. Data were collected from mothers; 39 rated each cry on 50 SD scales, and 26 provided ratings of similarity for every possible pairwise combination of cries. The similarity of the perceptual spaces described by the two techniques is demonstrated by a canonical analysis which compared the SD factor matrix with the INDSCAL dimension‐weight matrix. Two of three possible common dimensions were uncovered. This similarity is also indicated by a standard multiple regression analysis by which the INDSCAL dimensions were described in terms of the SD scales. However, it appears the SD emphasised emotional characteristics of the cry signals whereas INDSCAL emphasised physical attributes.
Effects of CS concentration in taste‐aversion learning: Problems in assessing aversion strength
Authors: ARCHER TREVOR , SJÓDÉN PER‐OLOW
Published: May 2008

The concentration of saccharin (CS) solutions was varied between groups of rats in four taste‐aversion learning experiments, using lithium chloride as the aversive agent (US). Saccharin intake was measured on four one‐bottle presentations yielding data on initial taste neophobia as well as postconditioning aversion strength. The results indicated that saccharin intake declined progressively with increasing concentrations on the first presentation, and that preconditioning intake to a large extent predicted postconditioning intake. In an attempt to correct postconditioning values for differences of saccharin intake on the preceding trial, a taste suppression ratio (TSR) was computed as the quotient of the amounts of saccharin consumed by individual rats on consecutive presentations. In general, the TSR was found to be too insensitive to detect differences of conditioning strength acquired by different saccharin concentrations. Alternative approaches to the CS‐concen‐tration problem in taste‐aversion learning are discussed.
Problems in contemporary psychoanalytic theory: II. Lines of advance
Authors: KILLINGMO BJØRN
Published: May 2008

In the theoretical development to come in psychoanalysis, an “inclusive” strategy is recommended, allowing for conflicting points of view to exist side by side waiting for a new integrating theory to emerge. Until such a theory is at hand, the term “psychoanalysis” will remain a rather loose heading for several psychoanalytic subcultures. It is argued, both clinically and theoretically, in favour of giving the organizing function of the ego a central position in the forthcoming theory. Some consequences of this “organizational” point of view are discussed in relation to: (a) diagnostic classification, (b) the distinction between psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy, and (c) the theoretical language of psychoanalysis. In conclusion som requirements for a future theory of psychoanalysis are proposed.
An assimilation effect in perceptions of Sweden's political parties on the left‐right dimension
Authors: GRANBERG DONALD
Published: May 2008

The hypothesis that people would assimilate in their perceptions of the position of a preferred political party was tested using the left‐right dimension in Sweden's 1976 National Election Survey. The hypothesis was supported within each of five party preference groups. People who strongly identified with their party showed a stronger tendency towd assimilation, but the effect was also present among people with a weak identification.
A geometric counterpart to Tversky's set‐theoretic model of similarity
Authors: JUNGE KENNETH
Published: May 2008

It is shown that Junge's (1978) geometric similarity model corresponds to Tversky's set‐theoretical model of similarity.
Common sense and psychological theories: The historical nature of logical necessity
Authors: VALSINER JAAN
Published: May 2008

The importance of common sense for psychological theories is construed as a limiting condition that must be transcended if a particular psychological theory is expected to have generalizability across cultures and over history. Discussion on the pages of this journal, initiated by Jan Smedslund in 1978, has brought the common‐sensical nature of the majority of psychological theories into psychologists' focus of attention. Smedslund has attempted to explicate ‘theorems’ of common sense that underlie thinking and activities of human beings in a culture—and that are shared by laypersons as well as by psychologists. This article approaches the issue of common sense in psychological theorizing from a developmental perspective. This perspective emphasizes the process of emergence of qualitatively new cognitive phenomena in the course of cultural history. It is argued that the ‘logical necessity’ based on the ‘theorems’ of common sense is itself ‘historical necessity’, as it results from the history of human cultures. Smedslund's ‘theorems’ of common sense can only be formal, but not substantive, analogues of theorems in geometry, since the latter are ahistorical, whereas the former constitute products of the history of cultures and individuals.
Perceptgenetic defenses against anxiety and a threatened sense of self as seen in terms of the Spiral Aftereffect Technique
Authors: ANDERSSON ALF L. , BENGTSSON MARGOT
Published: May 2008

In a group of 48 female university students we studied the relation between measures obtained with two perceptgenetic techniques, the Spiral Aftereffect Technique (SAT) and a modified version of the Defense Mechanism Test (DMT). With few exceptions, the findings of a previous study in which male conscripts were tested were confirmed. DMT indices of repression and projected introagression were shown to be related to a successive decrease (minus trend) in aftereffect duration in the SAT, whereas DMT indices of introagression, depressive inhibition and anxiety were found to be related to a successive increase (plus trend). Disavowal, i.e. denial through various forms of reversal of aspects in the DMT motifs, was more prevalent in subjects having a short final aftereffect duration (LL., LL and L classifications) or a long duration (H) than an intermediate one (M). For instance, H subjects more frequently reported the young DMT hero figure to be an elderly person; L subjects were more often incorrect in reporting its sex. The findings were interpreted within a developmental frame of reference combining Freudian, Kleinian and Kohutian psychoanalytic conceptualizations.