Showing papers in "Psychological Review in 1962"

Cognitive, social, and physiological determinants of emotional state.

Abstract: The problem of which cues, internal or external, permit a person to label and identify his own emotional state has been with us since the days that James (1890) first tendered his doctrine that "the bodily changes follow directly the perception of the exciting fact, and that our feeling of the same changes as they occur is the emotion" (p. 449). Since we are aware of a variety of feeling and emotion states, it should follow from James' proposition that the various emotions will be accompanied by a variety of differentiable bodily states. Following James' pronouncement, a formidable number of studies were undertaken in search of the physiological differentiators of the emotions. The results, in these early days, were almost uniformly negative. All of the emotional states experi-

The associative basis of the creative process.

Abstract: The intent of this paper is the presentation of an associative interpretation of the process of creative thinking. The explanation is not directed to any specific field of application such as art or science but attempts to delineate processes that underlie all creative thought. The discussion will take the following form, (a) First, we will define creative thinking in associative terms and indicate three ways in which creative solutions may be achieved—serendipity, similarity, and mediation, (b) This definition will allow us to deduce those individual difference variables which will facilitate creative performance, (c) Consideration of the definition of the creative process has suggested an operational statement of the definition in the form of a test. The test will be briefly described along with some preliminary research results. (d) The paper will conclude with a discussion of predictions regarding the influence of certain experimentally manipulable variables upon the creative process. Creative individuals and the processes by which they manifest their creativity have excited a good deal of

Observations on active touch.

Abstract: ed by solid geometry (slant, curvature, edge, corner) did not seem any more complex to introspection than the solely visible features of things abstracted by plane geometry (triangle, square, circle). A new set of shapes has now been devised for the study of object-perception by active touch. They consist of ten solid sculptures, or free-forms, made of plastic, the surfaces being curved, with no planes, edges, or corners. They are intended to be felt with two hands (and are called "feelies"). Approximately one-half of each surface (the "rear") is convex; the other half (the "front") consists of six convexities with intermediate saddles or concavities. In general, there are five protuberances around a central protuberance, but no object is symmetrical, either radially or bilaterally. They cannot, therefore, be distinguished from one another by counting. Each is readily discriminated from every other by vision of the "front" surface. They are also mutually distinguishable by feeling, although with some error and hesitation for an unpracticed observer. Replicas of the ten objects are available, made from the same molds. It is therefore possible to present one object to the hands and the same or a different object to the eyes simultaneously. Preliminary results indicate that the cross-modal matching of these novel preceptions is possible even for a naive observer, and that practice can bring about errorless judgments in all observers so far tested. Passivity and activity in touch and vision. In passive touch the individual makes no voluntary movements. Similarly, in passive vision he makes no eye movements, which means that he must voluntarily fixate his eyes on a point specified by the experimenter. Neither state is natural to an individual. In a tactual situation, the observer will explore with his fingers unless prevented and, in a visual situation, he will explore the focussable light, fixating, accommodating, converging and pursuing. Both senses are normally active. The passive stimulation of the skin or the retina is necessary for the study of the receptorcells in the skin or the retina, but the experiences resulting are atypical. In active touching and looking the observer reports experiences of a quite different order. They correspond to

An association model for response and training variables in paired-associate learning.

Abstract: This paper reports an attempt to apply a simple association learning model to the analysis of the influence of response and training variables on paired-associate learning. The issues under investigation are old ones but have not been resolved satisfactorily in the past. With the aid of the elementary learning model, the problems are posed clearly and, the data willing, adequately resolved by the use of a few simple and intuitively compelling assumptions about learning. The first problem that led to this investigation concerns the relationship betvven the number of response alternatives (N) and error rate in pairedassociate learning. Experimental results (Noble, 1955; Riley, 1952) are in agreement in showing that the number of errors subjects make before reaching some criterion of learning is greater the larger the number of response alternatives. There is little agreement, however, as to the interpretation of this fact. Two possible factors could be involved. First, the effectiveness of a reinforced trial in increasing performance (i.e., the learning rate constant) may be influenced by N; and second, N may influence the probability of being correct by sheer guessing on items that are yet unlearned. It is a reasonably safe assumption that N has the second effect on chance guessing. Previous data are unclear on whether N also influences the first factor, the