2008 Publications
Gibson's "Affordances": Evolution of a Pivotal Concept
Harold S. Jenkins
University of Central Oklahoma
Ecological psychology applies insights of Darwinian theory and Gestalt principles to the understanding of perceptual processes. James J. Gibson developed a perceptual theory of "affordances", a neologism he adopted for the pivotal concept in a radical view of how interactive organism-environment features index the behaviors an organism may perform (perceived action possibilities). Gibson asserted "a niche is a set of affordances" (Gibson, 1986, p. 128) and affordances "are properties of the environment relative to an animal" (Gibson, 1966, p. 285). In the ecological view, understanding the constraints and opportunities offered by an environs (its affordances) requires recognition of a dynamic reciprocity between an organism's perception and specific environmental features (their demand characteristics, or "invariances") that together form the background (situation or context) of an organism-environment event. Affordances theory seeks both to objectify perceptual processes and to operationalize the foundational Gestalt principle of complementarity between 'figure' and 'ground'. Rationales for Gibson's hybrid approach are examined, and a chronology of theory development is accompanied by review of recent refinements, criticisms, and their implications.
Harold S. Jenkins
University of Central Oklahoma
Ecological psychology applies insights of Darwinian theory and Gestalt principles to the understanding of perceptual processes. James J. Gibson developed a perceptual theory of "affordances", a neologism he adopted for the pivotal concept in a radical view of how interactive organism-environment features index the behaviors an organism may perform (perceived action possibilities). Gibson asserted "a niche is a set of affordances" (Gibson, 1986, p. 128) and affordances "are properties of the environment relative to an animal" (Gibson, 1966, p. 285). In the ecological view, understanding the constraints and opportunities offered by an environs (its affordances) requires recognition of a dynamic reciprocity between an organism's perception and specific environmental features (their demand characteristics, or "invariances") that together form the background (situation or context) of an organism-environment event. Affordances theory seeks both to objectify perceptual processes and to operationalize the foundational Gestalt principle of complementarity between 'figure' and 'ground'. Rationales for Gibson's hybrid approach are examined, and a chronology of theory development is accompanied by review of recent refinements, criticisms, and their implications.
| Gibson's "Affordances": Evolution of a Pivotal Concept |
Editorial
Skeptical Optimism: An Open Letter to New Practitioners of Scientific Psychology
Robert D. Mather
Editor
Science requires skepticism. A scientist lives in a "show me the data" world in which theories are never proven, only supported. Science requires a certain level of pessimism, or the negative expectancies that lead the scientist to question everything. There is no question that the systematic methods of science are important, efficient, and necessary to acquiring knowledge. However, once a person is trained as a skeptical inquirer, optimism is necessary for creativity. Armed with the tools of science, I challenge you to become a skeptical optimist.
Skeptical Optimism: An Open Letter to New Practitioners of Scientific Psychology
Robert D. Mather
Editor
Science requires skepticism. A scientist lives in a "show me the data" world in which theories are never proven, only supported. Science requires a certain level of pessimism, or the negative expectancies that lead the scientist to question everything. There is no question that the systematic methods of science are important, efficient, and necessary to acquiring knowledge. However, once a person is trained as a skeptical inquirer, optimism is necessary for creativity. Armed with the tools of science, I challenge you to become a skeptical optimist.
| Skeptical Optimism: An Open Letter to New Practitioners of Scientific Psychology |
Social Connectivity: How the Brain Helps to Shape Interactions: A review of Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships by Daniel Goleman
Melissa J. Moore Mario P. Casa de Calvo
Boise State University Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Author Daniel Goleman explores the manner in which the brain is designed to engage in brain-to-brain "hook-ups" with others, and how these interactions affect both our social interactions and physical/mental well being. Based upon conceptualizations pioneered by Edward Thorndike, Goleman analyzes a traditional concept of social intelligence for the purpose of developing a revised model that consists of two categories: Social awareness (e.g., assessing the feelings of others) and social facility (e.g., awareness of how people present themselves). Goleman also explores advances in neuroscience that have made it possible for scientists and psychologists to study the ways in which emotions and biology work together.
Melissa J. Moore Mario P. Casa de Calvo
Boise State University Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Author Daniel Goleman explores the manner in which the brain is designed to engage in brain-to-brain "hook-ups" with others, and how these interactions affect both our social interactions and physical/mental well being. Based upon conceptualizations pioneered by Edward Thorndike, Goleman analyzes a traditional concept of social intelligence for the purpose of developing a revised model that consists of two categories: Social awareness (e.g., assessing the feelings of others) and social facility (e.g., awareness of how people present themselves). Goleman also explores advances in neuroscience that have made it possible for scientists and psychologists to study the ways in which emotions and biology work together.
| Social Connectivity: How the Brain Helps to Shape Interactions: A review of Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships by Daniel Goleman |
An Entropy Estimator of Population Variability in Nominal Data
Mickie Vanhoy
University of Central Oklahoma
Entropy is an established measure of variability in nominal data. The present paper addresses the problem of directly estimating population entropy from an empirical sample. Thirty artificial, nominal, population distributions were subjected to Monte Carlo analysis. Comparison of sample entropy values to the known population entropy values showed that entropy is a consistent measure of nominal variability. Raw sample entropy is a biased estimator that underestimates the population value. This bias was virtually eliminated through bootstrap resampling from the samples. Bootstrap corrected sample entropy is a sufficient, consistent, minimally biased, population estimator of nominal variability that can be used in further statistical analyses.
Mickie Vanhoy
University of Central Oklahoma
Entropy is an established measure of variability in nominal data. The present paper addresses the problem of directly estimating population entropy from an empirical sample. Thirty artificial, nominal, population distributions were subjected to Monte Carlo analysis. Comparison of sample entropy values to the known population entropy values showed that entropy is a consistent measure of nominal variability. Raw sample entropy is a biased estimator that underestimates the population value. This bias was virtually eliminated through bootstrap resampling from the samples. Bootstrap corrected sample entropy is a sufficient, consistent, minimally biased, population estimator of nominal variability that can be used in further statistical analyses.
| An Entropy Estimator of Population Variability in Nominal Data |
Extended Family Support: Making a Difference in the Attachment Styles of Adult Children of Divorce
Msichana McDole Alicia Limke
Southern Nazarene University University of Central Oklahoma
Previous research has found that divorce negatively predicts college students' romantic relationships and intimacy (Ensign, Scherman, & Clark, 2006). However, previous studies on adult children of divorce have not included extended family support as an influence on attachment styles. To address this void, the current study examined differences in attachment styles of children of divorced and intact parents and investigated whether extended family social support predicted attachment avoidance and anxiety among adult children of divorce. Simple linear regressions revealed that perceived extended family support did not significantly predict attachment avoidance among adult children of divorce. However, perceived extended family support did predict attachment anxiety, such that the greater the perceived extended family support, the lower the anxiety reported.
Msichana McDole Alicia Limke
Southern Nazarene University University of Central Oklahoma
Previous research has found that divorce negatively predicts college students' romantic relationships and intimacy (Ensign, Scherman, & Clark, 2006). However, previous studies on adult children of divorce have not included extended family support as an influence on attachment styles. To address this void, the current study examined differences in attachment styles of children of divorced and intact parents and investigated whether extended family social support predicted attachment avoidance and anxiety among adult children of divorce. Simple linear regressions revealed that perceived extended family support did not significantly predict attachment avoidance among adult children of divorce. However, perceived extended family support did predict attachment anxiety, such that the greater the perceived extended family support, the lower the anxiety reported.
| Extended Family Support: Making a Difference in the Attachment Styles of Adult Children of Divorce |
Editorial
How to Cite a Journal of Scientific Psychology Article
Robert D. Mather
Editor
The Journal of Scientific Psychology (JSP) has a future as exciting as the journal's relatively short history. JSP was created to facilitate professional discourse in scientific psychology across the world and is an online, peer-reviewed, open access journal that has grown quickly. In fact, the founders of this venue could be considered pioneers of the online, open access, peer-reviewed academic journal. Indeed, Society for Personality and Social Psychology President Harry Reis (2007) recently wrote about the impact of open access science publications on the traditional academic community and publishers. He suggested that, "It's no longer a question of whether we should have Open Access in one form or another-rather, the key question is, how do we move in all good speed toward Open Access while at the same time protecting the integrity of our science and the viability of our journals" (p. 21). Many journals such as Psychological Science are moving toward electronic publication ("Help Shape," 2007) and many journals publish online versions of articles in advance of the print versions, with the online versions featuring more interactive features. Nature (see Nature's supplementary information policy) and Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour are just two examples of scientific journals with such features.
How to Cite a Journal of Scientific Psychology Article
Robert D. Mather
Editor
The Journal of Scientific Psychology (JSP) has a future as exciting as the journal's relatively short history. JSP was created to facilitate professional discourse in scientific psychology across the world and is an online, peer-reviewed, open access journal that has grown quickly. In fact, the founders of this venue could be considered pioneers of the online, open access, peer-reviewed academic journal. Indeed, Society for Personality and Social Psychology President Harry Reis (2007) recently wrote about the impact of open access science publications on the traditional academic community and publishers. He suggested that, "It's no longer a question of whether we should have Open Access in one form or another-rather, the key question is, how do we move in all good speed toward Open Access while at the same time protecting the integrity of our science and the viability of our journals" (p. 21). Many journals such as Psychological Science are moving toward electronic publication ("Help Shape," 2007) and many journals publish online versions of articles in advance of the print versions, with the online versions featuring more interactive features. Nature (see Nature's supplementary information policy) and Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour are just two examples of scientific journals with such features.
| How to Cite a Journal of Scientific Psychology Article |
Beyond Full Scale IQ: A New WAIS-III Indicator of Mental Retardation
Christina M. Almstrom Nick M. Wisdom Jennifer L. Callahan
Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University University of North Texas
It is paradoxical that individuals with mental retardation are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, suggesting a greater proportion of false positives, while at the same time there is concern regarding a potential motivation for individuals without mental retardation to simulate such a condition for the purpose of avoiding the death penalty, a concern for false negatives. To determine if the likelihood of accurate classification of impairment could be enhanced, we examined the pattern of scaled scores in the WAIS-III standardization dataset. Specifically, we compared the scores obtained by individuals obtaining a Full Scale IQ within the Borderline range with those in the Mild or Moderate range of impairment. Difference scores among the indexes were used to create a composite indicator making it possible to more than double the likelihood of correctly detecting impairment. Given the potential motivation to simulate impairment, a unique feature of the composite indicator described here is the inclusion of a regression equation to estimate missing values.
Christina M. Almstrom Nick M. Wisdom Jennifer L. Callahan
Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University University of North Texas
It is paradoxical that individuals with mental retardation are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, suggesting a greater proportion of false positives, while at the same time there is concern regarding a potential motivation for individuals without mental retardation to simulate such a condition for the purpose of avoiding the death penalty, a concern for false negatives. To determine if the likelihood of accurate classification of impairment could be enhanced, we examined the pattern of scaled scores in the WAIS-III standardization dataset. Specifically, we compared the scores obtained by individuals obtaining a Full Scale IQ within the Borderline range with those in the Mild or Moderate range of impairment. Difference scores among the indexes were used to create a composite indicator making it possible to more than double the likelihood of correctly detecting impairment. Given the potential motivation to simulate impairment, a unique feature of the composite indicator described here is the inclusion of a regression equation to estimate missing values.
| Beyond Full Scale IQ: A New WAIS-III Indicator of Mental Retardation |
In Search of the Prize: Is Conscious Awareness a Good Thing? A review of The New Unconscious
Robert D. Mather Jerri C. Jones
University of Central Oklahoma University of Central Oklahoma
Editor: Kelli Vaughn-Blount served as Action Editor for this article.
Why do we do things? As humans, we are uniquely equipped to reflect upon our own existence. We constantly strive to understand why others behave as they behave as well as to understand how our own actions bring about actions of others (Heider, 1958). We commonly make decisions and do so with the widespread belief that more awareness and more thought lead to better decisions (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). It is intuitive among humans-if you want to make a good decision, you must think really hard. Otherwise, people would get married on first dates and never make it to a second real estate showing. If we took awareness from decisions, we'd be left with a society in which people close-mindedly evaluated each potential mate, each house, each decision as "yes/no" rather than comparing options, for how can we compare options without awareness? Humans would be like other animals--breeding and feeding without thought to the consequence. Awareness must be what separates us from other animals, which means awareness must be a "good thing," right?
Robert D. Mather Jerri C. Jones
University of Central Oklahoma University of Central Oklahoma
Editor: Kelli Vaughn-Blount served as Action Editor for this article.
Why do we do things? As humans, we are uniquely equipped to reflect upon our own existence. We constantly strive to understand why others behave as they behave as well as to understand how our own actions bring about actions of others (Heider, 1958). We commonly make decisions and do so with the widespread belief that more awareness and more thought lead to better decisions (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). It is intuitive among humans-if you want to make a good decision, you must think really hard. Otherwise, people would get married on first dates and never make it to a second real estate showing. If we took awareness from decisions, we'd be left with a society in which people close-mindedly evaluated each potential mate, each house, each decision as "yes/no" rather than comparing options, for how can we compare options without awareness? Humans would be like other animals--breeding and feeding without thought to the consequence. Awareness must be what separates us from other animals, which means awareness must be a "good thing," right?
| In Search of the Prize: Is Conscious Awareness a Good Thing? A review of The New Unconscious |
Editorial
Filling Our Niche in 2008
Robert D. Mather
Editor
What is this journal? Is it any good? Should I submit my manuscript to it? Aren't many of the names on the Editorial Board familiar? The answers to these questions are: your, yes, yes, and yes. It's YOUR JOURNAL. Yes, it's good because it is YOUR JOURNAL. Yes, you should submit to it because it's YOUR JOURNAL. Yes, many of the names on the Editorial Board are familiar because they signed on to be part of YOUR JOURNAL. That means that a lot of very important people think very highly of you! The Journal of Scientific Psychology is emerging, and I expect 2008 to be important to our development. That is, important to the development of the journal that is YOURS and MINE.
Filling Our Niche in 2008
Robert D. Mather
Editor
What is this journal? Is it any good? Should I submit my manuscript to it? Aren't many of the names on the Editorial Board familiar? The answers to these questions are: your, yes, yes, and yes. It's YOUR JOURNAL. Yes, it's good because it is YOUR JOURNAL. Yes, you should submit to it because it's YOUR JOURNAL. Yes, many of the names on the Editorial Board are familiar because they signed on to be part of YOUR JOURNAL. That means that a lot of very important people think very highly of you! The Journal of Scientific Psychology is emerging, and I expect 2008 to be important to our development. That is, important to the development of the journal that is YOURS and MINE.
| Editorial: Filling Our Niche in 2008 |