Showing papers on "Similarity (psychology) published in 1979"

Overcoming the Golden Rule: Sympathy and Empathy

Abstract: The Golden Rule enjoins us to treat others as we would like to be treated. But inherent in the Rule is an assumption of similarity: that others are like ourselves and therefore want to be treated s...

Perceptual development and category generalization.

Abstract: This work is concerned with developmental changes in the structure of classifications. The central claim is that young children's undifferentiated perceptions of complex stimuli are highly structured by wholistic similarity whereas older children's perceptions are structured by component dimensions. It is shown in 2 experiments that young children systematically and spontaneously generalize a category if it is well organized by overall similarity but not if it is organized by a criterial dimension. Older children, on the other hand, spontaneously apprehend and extend a category by its dimensional structure. The third experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that criterial property categories are preferred in classification tasks requiring the explicit discovery of a general rule. It was found that younger children's attention to the dimensional relations within a category increases under rule-discovery instructions, although they still have difficulty ignoring wholistic similarity relations. The trend from similarity to dimensional classification is discussed in the context of Piagetian classification tasks and family-resemblance accounts of natural categories.

Similarity and Order in Memory1

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses two related issues in human memory theory: how the effects of similarity on serial memory are represented and how the distinction between item and order information is understood. A central phenomenon for both issues is the interaction first documented by Horowitz showing that high intra list similarity facilitates item memory but inhibits order memory. The results of experiments in the chapter argue that semantic similarity affects performance in list memory situations much in the same way as does phonological similarity. This means investigators should formulate explanations for these effects in terms that transcend particular manipulations of similarity. The chapter concludes that the facilitation of high intra list similarity for item information, such as in free recall, does not occur with recognition tests of item information. This result may be understood with reference to the sophisticated guessing hypothesis and it has a major implication for the distinction between item and order information. All similarity effects appear to operate in the same way, and similarity seems to have uniform effects on item and order information once these are defined with respect to the proper scale.

A classification of coping behavior based on multidimensional scaling of similarity ratings

Abstract: Developed a classification of coping behavior based on people's cognition of the domain by multidimensional scaling of 87 Ss' similarity ratings of 30 coping strategies. There were five dimensions: Confrontation vs. Avoidance, Optimism vs. Realism, Seeking vs. Not Seeking Interpersonal Help, Fatalism vs. Positive Orientation, Control vs. Lack of Control by the self. A regional interpretation also was made and uses of the classification suggested.

On inheritance in knowledge representation

Abstract: This paper examines the problem of inheritance in Knowledge representation. Research in the formellteton of Knowledge has resulted in a small number of Knowledge classes and associated inheritance relations, e.g., INSTANCE IS-A, DEROTHERC, PERSPECTIVE, Virtual-Copy, etc. (Brachman, 1977; Fahlman, 1977; Hayes, 1977; Levesque & Mylopoloue, 1978). The process of inheritance is defined by the procedures that access these inheritance relationa. This paper proposes that: 1) in some cases inheritance between concepts is idiosyncratic and does not fit predefined inheritance relations, 2) learning and discovery systems require information on how and why one concept wes derived from another, which again Is not represented in standard inheritance relations, and 3) current methods of specifying inheritance modification and similarity mappings are complex to specify and understand. Consequently, e declarative approach to inheritance and similarity specification is presented as a solution to the above problems.

A Study of Complex Learning: Theory and Methodologies

Abstract: : This paper presents an analysis and model of the cognitive processes underlying complex learning situations. A theory is proposed that attempts to specify particular internal knowledge structures generated and modified during instruction, and to use them to explain specific difficulties that the learner experiences and also the overall progress being made. The theory states that (1) the underlying process reflects largely the prior knowledge structures of the student interacting with the information implied by the instruction; (2) the learning mechanisms involved are mostly simple and automatic; (3) the key information within the knowledge structures which allows complex learning to occur is the similarity between higher-order structures. This theory was applied to novices learning to use a computer text editor by reading a basic instruction manual and completing some exercises. After each sentence of instruction, they were asked to describe their current understanding, any difficulties they were aware of, and their expectations about what would follow. Their protocols were analyzed for evidence of underlying cognitive processes. These learning processes and the associated knowledge structures on which they operate were then modeled in terms of the theory at several levels of detail. Several issues of knowledge representation related to the model are discussed and possible solutions proposed.

Parental — Offspring similarity on jealousy and related personality dimensions

Abstract: The degree of similarity between undergraduate students and their parents on jealousy was evaluated for data collected through questionnaires. In addition, the relationships between jealousy and two personality dimensions (repression-sensitization and screening-nonscreening) were examined within individuals and within families. Results showed that jealous persons are more likely to be sensitizers and nonscreeners. Similarity between parents and offspring was found for dispositional jealousy and jealous feelings. In addition, familial similarity for jealousy and personality dimensions was found most frequently between parents and female offspring. The developmental origins of jealousy are discussed.

SUPP: understanding moving picture patterns based on linguistic knowledge

Abstract: This paper presents a system for understanding moving picture patterns based on linguistic knowledge. In order to deal with the difference of knowledge level between picture pattern and natural language, a hierarchical structure is adopted for the representation of knowledge. At a certain level knowledge data is organized as frame centred around the concept of verb. The concepts of approximately five thousand Japanese verbs were systematically classified to construct such a knowledge system. The program reads a picture pattern sequence. Pairing a picture pattern with the successive one in the sequence, it recognizes primitive pictures in the pair. Then, checking dynamic relations among primitive pictures, it organizes the relations into verb-centred events . It makes inferences about similarity between two concepts of verbs . Finally it describes each event in Japanese and English.

A classificatory theory of similarity

Abstract: This paper outlines a classificatory theory of cognitive similarity and compares it to feature approaches. The theory assumes that similarity is a function of the number of classes contained in the universe referred to in the judgments and the number of elements contained in the class defined by the two comparison stimuli. The theory is tested in a number of studies in which verbal stimuli are used. Most of the experiments concern context effects predicted by the theory. An empirical comparison is made between the classificatory theory and a feature theory. It is argued that the classificatory theory accounts for some of the data more easily than a feature approach does. Some implications for the use of similarity data in multidimensional scaling are also discussed.

Attraction, credibility, perceived similarity, and the image of public figures

Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between the communication source variables of attraction, credibility, and perceived similarity and the overall image of public figures. The arrangement of 15 public figures in a multidimensional space was compared to their arrangement on measures of attraction, credibility, and similarity. The arrangement of public figures in the multidimensional space was based on respondents' paired comparisons among all public figures. Results indicated that most of the theoretic concepts were used by respondents to construct their iamge of public figures. However, the concepts did not emerge as major determinants of that image. It was suggested that these concepts might be part of a latent structure which emerges whenever public figures are viewed as communicative sources.

cognitive pluralism or individual differences: a comparison of alternative models of American English kin terms

Abstract: This paper uses multidimensional scaling (MDS) to compare alternative models of kinship terms of American English. It thereby inquires into whether the same person can operate with alternative cognitive structures when the verbal context of the kinship terms is systematically modified by the presence (as in the Wallace-Atkins model) or the absence (as in the Romney-D'Andrade model) of an ego reference point. Our experiments also demonstrate unexpected discrepencies between the results of similarity tests with dyads and those with triads when the ego reference point is present.

Prose Representation: A Multidimensional Scaling Approach.

Abstract: Multidimensional scaling was employed to study the comprehension of prose. Subjects rated the similarity between pairs of 20 nouns before reading. After reading a passage containing the nouns, the subjects re-rated the words with respect to similarity within the passage. Subjects then recalled the passage. The similarity ratings were analyzed by multidimensional scaling. The results indicated that the scaling analysis provided an effective, valid indicator of prose representation. The multidimensional structural characteristics of dimension interpretation, clustering, and centrality were interpreted in terms of the theme, episodes, and central organizing feature of the story, respectively. Theoretically, the analysis indicated that comprehension was a function of the passage organization mapping onto the existing memory structure superimposed upon and suppressing the prior conceptual structure.

Effects of Affective Value and Similarity on Attraction.

Abstract: It has been suggested that an information processing analysis of the ubiquitous similarity-attraction relationship predicts that the effects of similarity on attraction are indirect. A reanalysis which views similarity manipulations as conveying relevant information about attraction was subjected to empirical test. Data from 60 male and female undergraduates who rated the attractiveness of persons described by positive or negative personality traits under conditions in which their own personality feedback was either similar but neutral, similar but explicitly positive or negative, or controlled (no feedback) provided a test of the effects of similarity with affective value controlled. Results showed significant main effects for both affective value and similarity indicating that similarity can have direct effects on attraction.

Reactions to Death as a Function of Perceived Similarity to the Deceased

Abstract: This study investigated reactions to the death of a similar or dissimilar person. Sixty females met and evaluated a confederate who was presented as similar or dissimilar to themselves. Participant...

Political perception dimensions based on negative similarities

Abstract: Sttmmary.-The purpose was to study (a) the relationship between positive and negative similarity estimations for political stimuli and (b) the generality of dimensions of political perception across methods and populations. One sample of 199 high-school students gave estimates of the degree of positive similarity between all pairs of 8 Swedish political parties on an 11-step scale. Another sample of 148 high-school students provided the same type of data wirh the exception that they were also allowed to express negative similaritiis when the stimuli were perceived as opposite to each other. Contrary to the results from a previous study, the relationship between positive and negative similarities was linear, and the similarity distributions did not differ as expected. Possible explanations for these discrepancies are discussed. In accordance with expectations, the multidimensional scaling solution based on negative similarities was more parsimonious. Dimensions obtained were the same as those in an earlier study, which supports the generalizability of these dimensions of political perception.

Item similarity and proactive interference in short-term memory

Abstract: The present paper addresses the question of the nature of interitem similarity effects in short-term retention An interference theory prediction is pitted against an opposing expectation based on a cognitive strategy subjects could use in the “release-from-PI” paradigm The experiment consisted of three conditions that differed in the extent of overlap among items in the short-term retention task Results supported interference theory, in that increasing the interitem similarity of the to-be-recalled items resulted in a substantial decrease in correct recall

Contingency awareness and interpersonal attraction

Abstract: The role of contingency awareness in research concerned with attitude similarity and interpersonal attraction was investigated by using both a traditional attitude questionnaire and a correlated attitude questionnaire procedure for manipulating attitude similarity. The results showed that the correlated questionnaire procedure led to fewer subjects who were judged to be contingency aware. Both of the procedures led to replications of the often reported finding that interpersonal attraction is directly related to the proportion of attittude similarity between two people. This effect was obtained both for subjects who were judged to be contingency aware and for subjects who were not so judged.

Politics and Interpersonal Attraction

Abstract: Two explanations have been offered for the similarity of husband and wife political views. One is mutual socialization, which states that after a period of time married couples come to share political values. An alternative explanation is that individuals select mates who share their political views. A test of the mutual socialization hypothesis would require panel data, but the selection hypothesis can be tested using experimental techniques. Drawing on the literature from social psychology, an experiment was designed to deter mine whether political views make any difference in interpersonal attraction. The findings of the experiment revealed that the political views of opposite sex others do have an effect on interpersonal attraction. The attraction scores of females who were interested in politics were influenced the most by political issues. This study provides partial confirma tion of the selection hypothesis.

Zur Analyse nichtsymmetrischer Ähnlichkeitsurteile : ein dimensionales Driftmodell, eine Vergleichshypothese, Tversky's Kontrastmodell und seine Fokushypothese

Abstract: Often the similarity between Ss and objects is judged in a nonsymmetric way. Nearly all methods (multidimensional scaling) assume symmetric data. Nonsymmetries are related to the nonreliability of judgements. Tversky (1976a) proposed a set-theoretic contrast model and focus hypothesis which want to describe and explain nonsymmetric similarity judgements. It is the purpose of this paper to show that the multidimensional scaling methods can take into account nonsymmetries, too. This is done by proposing a driftmodel and a comparison hypothesis. The driftmodel incorporates some ideas of Lewin's field theory, whereas the comparison hypothesis leans heavily on feature matching theory. Both approaches are compared using Rothkopf's Morse code data ("percent-same-judgments"). In the last part of the paper we discuss some psychological and heuristic problems when testing axioms of measurement models.

Similarity of effects of alcohol and sensory stimulation in post-alcoholics and controls.

Abstract: Derived from the hypothesis that many alcoholics would experience autonomic "arousal" and craving for alcohol under conditions of high sensory stimulation, this study does not support prior findings.

Closest friendships of black college students: group stability

Abstract: Patterns of interaction, attitude and value similarity, as well as structural characteristics of friendships, are found in the literature. Using structural or relational networks of closest friendships as a framework for analyses, the present study attempted to investigate their influences on perceived group stability. Among heterosocial and homosocial closest friendships, dyadic forms of group structure, particularly the dyadic and double dyadic, were found to have the greatest influence on perceived group stability.