DOCSLIB.ORG

Incredible Utility 1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Incredible Utility 1 Incredible utility 1 Incredible utility: The lost causes and causal debris of psychological science John E. Richters Rockville, Maryland Direct correspondence to: John E. Richters 13200 Valley Drive Rockville, MD 20850 [email protected] Incredible utility 2 Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 The incredible utility of perpetual motion ................................................................................................................................ 4 Incredible utility thesis ................................................................................................................................................................ 4 The plumbing and wiring of individual differences methodology ........................................................................................ 6 Table 1. .............................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Individual-level theoretical models ................................................................................................................................. 11 Aggregate-level empirical models .................................................................................................................................. 12 The inferential passage from aggregates to individuals ............................................................................................... 13 Psychological homogeneity and the logic of sample-based inferences ....................................................................... 13 Figure 1. ........................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Exegesis: psychological vs statistical homogeneity ...................................................................................................... 14 Corollaries of psychological homogeneity ..................................................................................................................... 14 The remarkable, unremarkable psychological homogeneity assumption .......................................................................... 15 Contemporary literature ................................................................................................................................................. 15 Historical literature ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 A well-tested compass .................................................................................................................................................... 17 Psychological heterogeneity of psychological structures ..................................................................................................... 18 Psychology's terrible difficulties ..................................................................................................................................... 18 A clarifying perspective ................................................................................................................................................... 19 Machines and minds ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 Natural functions ............................................................................................................................................................. 20 Natural functions of hearts and minds .......................................................................................................................... 20 Genetic underdetermination of psychological structures ............................................................................................. 21 Biological complexity and degenerate brains ................................................................................................................ 22 The ubiquity of psychological heterogeneity.......................................................................................................................... 23 Causal heterogeneity and inus conditions ..................................................................................................................... 23 Psychological and causal heterogeneity in vivo: A ground-level view of 9 hypothetical cases ................................... 24 Methodological implications of psychological heterogeneity .............................................................................................. 26 Homogeneity at work: Interpreting a bivariate correlation ........................................................................................... 26 Homogeneity on leave: Interpreting a bivariate correlation.......................................................................................... 27 Figure 2. ........................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Statistical controls and iatrogenic effects ...................................................................................................................... 29 Homogeneity on leave: Exploratory clustering strategies ............................................................................................. 30 Rabbit stew and individual differences ................................................................................................................................... 31 Catching the quantitative rabbit ..................................................................................................................................... 31 Methodological virtues and vices ................................................................................................................................... 32 How the individual differences paradigm perpetuates itself ............................................................................................... 33 The self-cloaking gravitational pull of psychological homogeneity and its corollaries ............................................... 34 Paradigmatic blindness and its virtues .......................................................................................................................... 34 Hard core privileges and protective belts ...................................................................................................................... 35 The surface and substrate of individual differences methodology .............................................................................. 35 How to diagnose a paradigmatic scotoma ..................................................................................................................... 36 Methodological myopia and the riddle of Meehl's lament ............................................................................................ 37 Concluding comments and redeeming methods .................................................................................................................... 39 Science in a box, no assembly required ......................................................................................................................... 39 Staying aloft and the challenges of landing ................................................................................................................... 40 Fear of flying and the search for exits ........................................................................................................................... 41 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................................................... 42 References .................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Incredible utility 3 Incredible utility: The lost causes and causal debris of psychological science Abstract Variable-oriented, sample-based individual differences research strategies and statistical modeling approaches to causal-theoretical inference depend for their logic, coherence, justification, and presumed heuristic value on the tacit assumption that individuals are qualitatively the same, homogeneous with respect to the psychological structures and processes underlying their overt functioning, and that quantitative differences between them are produced by exactly the same psychological structures functioning in exactly the same way within each individual. This psychological homogeneity assumption, however, is demonstrably false and invalidated by a substantial body of uncontested scientific evidence documenting psychological heterogeneity as a ubiquitous, defining characteristic of human functioning. This irreconcilable mismatch between the psychological homogeneity assumption of the paradigm and the psychologically heterogeneous realities of its phenomena renders the individual differences methodology intrinsically incapable of advancing theoretical knowledge about the causes of psychological and behavioral
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 'Introspectionism' and the Mythical Origins of Scientific Psychology
    Consciousness and Cognition Consciousness and Cognition 15 (2006) 634–654 www.elsevier.com/locate/concog ‘Introspectionism’ and the mythical origins of scientific psychology Alan Costall Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 2DY, UK Received 1 May 2006 Abstract According to the majority of the textbooks, the history of modern, scientific psychology can be tidily encapsulated in the following three stages. Scientific psychology began with a commitment to the study of mind, but based on the method of introspection. Watson rejected introspectionism as both unreliable and effete, and redefined psychology, instead, as the science of behaviour. The cognitive revolution, in turn, replaced the mind as the subject of study, and rejected both behaviourism and a reliance on introspection. This paper argues that all three stages of this history are largely mythical. Introspectionism was never a dominant movement within modern psychology, and the method of introspection never went away. Furthermore, this version of psychology’s history obscures some deep conceptual problems, not least surrounding the modern conception of ‘‘behaviour,’’ that continues to make the scientific study of consciousness seem so weird. Ó 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Introspection; Introspectionism; Behaviourism; Dualism; Watson; Wundt 1. Introduction Probably the most immediate result of the acceptance of the behaviorist’s view will be the elimination of self-observation and of the introspective reports resulting from such a method. (Watson, 1913b, p. 428). The problem of consciousness occupies an analogous position for cognitive psychology as the prob- lem of language behavior does for behaviorism, namely, an unsolved anomaly within the domain of an approach.
    [Show full text]
  • Procedural Content Generation for Games
    Procedural Content Generation for Games Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Naturwissenschaften der Universit¨atMannheim vorgelegt von M.Sc. Jonas Freiknecht aus Hannover Mannheim, 2020 Dekan: Dr. Bernd L¨ubcke, Universit¨atMannheim Referent: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Effelsberg, Universit¨atMannheim Korreferent: Prof. Dr. Colin Atkinson, Universit¨atMannheim Tag der m¨undlichen Pr¨ufung: 12. Februar 2021 Danksagungen Nach einer solchen Arbeit ist es nicht leicht, alle Menschen aufzuz¨ahlen,die mich direkt oder indirekt unterst¨utzthaben. Ich versuche es dennoch. Allen voran m¨ochte ich meinem Doktorvater Prof. Wolfgang Effelsberg danken, der mir - ohne mich vorher als Master-Studenten gekannt zu haben - die Promotion an seinem Lehrstuhl erm¨oglichte und mit Geduld, Empathie und nicht zuletzt einem mir unbegreiflichen Verst¨andnisf¨ur meine verschiedenen Ausfl¨ugein die Weiten der Informatik unterst¨utzthat. Sie werden mir nicht glauben, wie dankbar ich Ihnen bin. Weiterhin m¨ochte ich meinem damaligen Studiengangsleiter Herrn Prof. Heinz J¨urgen M¨ullerdanken, der vor acht Jahren den Kontakt zur Universit¨atMannheim herstellte und mich ¨uberhaupt erst in die richtige Richtung wies, um mein Promotionsvorhaben anzugehen. Auch Herr Prof. Peter Henning soll nicht ungenannt bleiben, der mich - auch wenn es ihm vielleicht gar nicht bewusst ist - davon ¨uberzeugt hat, dass die Erzeugung virtueller Welten ein lohnenswertes Promotionsthema ist. Ganz besonderer Dank gilt meiner Frau Sarah und meinen beiden Kindern Justus und Elisa, die viele Abende und Wochenenden zugunsten dieser Arbeit auf meine Gesellschaft verzichten mussten. Jetzt ist es geschafft, das n¨achste Projekt ist dann wohl der Garten! Ebenfalls geb¨uhrt meinen Eltern und meinen Geschwistern Dank.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nature of Student Thinking and Its Implications for the Use of Learning Progressions to Inform Classroom Instruction
    The Nature of Student Thinking and Its Implications for the Use of Learning Progressions to Inform Classroom Instruction Alicia Alonzo, Michigan State University, [email protected] Andrew Elby, University of Maryland, [email protected] Abstract: Underlying much of the work on learning progressions (LPs) is a strong though often tacit assumption that student thinking is theory-like and context-independent. In this work-in-progress, we use both theoretical perspectives on the nature of novices’ knowledge and empirical evidence of the context-dependent variability of students’ reasoning in physics to question this assumption and to argue that characterizing students in terms of LP “levels” inadequately captures their understanding of force and motion. We then analyze one teacher’s use of LP-based data to reason about student thinking and instructional responses. While the teacher reasoned fluidly using LP levels, he more frequently used finer-grained knowledge elements and contextual factors to interpret student thinking; and these finer-grained interpretations led to more actionable instructional implications. Thus, while recognizing LPs as models (imperfect representations) of student thinking, we argue that their assumption of “levels” of student understanding may limit their utility for classroom decision-making. Introduction Learning progressions (LPs)—“descriptions of the successively more sophisticated ways of thinking about a topic” (National Research Council [NRC], 2007, p. 219)—have been touted as having the potential to influence educational policies and practices including standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment (e.g., Black, Wilson, & Yao, 2011; National Assessment Governing Board, 2008; NRC, 2007, 2012). Although the NRC (2007, 2012) has tended to emphasize large-scale applications and LPs that span many years of instruction, LPs have also been promoted as tools to support teachers’ instructional decision-making (Alonzo, 2011; Black et al., 2011; Furtak, 2012).
    [Show full text]
  • Making a Game Character Move
    Piia Brusi MAKING A GAME CHARACTER MOVE Animation and motion capture for video games Bachelor’s thesis Degree programme in Game Design 2021 Author (authors) Degree title Time Piia Brusi Bachelor of Culture May 2021 and Arts Thesis title 69 pages Making a game character move Animation and motion capture for video games Commissioned by South Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences Supervisor Marko Siitonen Abstract The purpose of this thesis was to serve as an introduction and overview of video game animation; how the interactive nature of games differentiates game animation from cinematic animation, what the process of producing game animations is like, what goes into making good game animations and what animation methods and tools are available. The thesis briefly covered other game design principles most relevant to game animators: game design, character design, modelling and rigging and how they relate to game animation. The text mainly focused on animation theory and practices based on commentary and viewpoints provided by industry professionals. Additionally, the thesis described various 3D animation and motion capture systems and software in detail, including how motion capture footage is shot and processed for games. The thesis ended on a step-by-step description of the author’s motion capture cleanup project, where a jog loop was created out of raw motion capture data. As the topic of game animation is vast, the thesis could not cover topics such as facial motion capture and procedural animation in detail. Technologies such as motion matching, machine learning and range imaging were also suggested as topics worth covering in the future.
    [Show full text]
  • Blender Instructions a Summary
    BLENDER INSTRUCTIONS A SUMMARY Attention all Mac users The first step for all Mac users who don’t have a three button mouse and/or a thumb wheel on the mouse is: 1.! Go under Edit menu 2.! Choose Preferences 3.! Click the Input tab 4.! Make sure there is a tick in the check boxes for “Emulate 3 Button Mouse” and “Continuous Grab”. 5.! Click the “Save As Default” button. This will allow you to navigate 3D space and move objects with a trackpad or one-mouse button and the keyboard. Also, if you prefer (but not critical as you do have the View menu to perform the same functions), you can emulate the numpad (the extra numbers on the right of extended keyboard devices). It means the numbers across the top of the standard keyboard will function the same way as the numpad. 1.! Go under Edit menu 2.! Choose Preferences 3. Click the Input tab 4.! Make sure there is a tick in the check box for “Emulate Numpad”. 5.! Click the “Save As Default” button. BLENDER BASIC SHORTCUT KEYS OBJECT MODE SHORTCUT KEYS EDIT MODE SHORTCUT KEYS The Interface The interface of Blender (version 2.8 and higher), is comprised of: 1. The Viewport This is the 3D scene showing you a default 3D object called a cube and a large mesh-like grid called the plane for helping you to visualize the X, Y and Z directions in space. And to save time, in Blender 2.8, the camera (left) and light (right in the distance) has been added to the viewport as default.
    [Show full text]
  • Hindu Fundamentalism and Christian Response in India
    HINDU FUNDAMENTALISM AND CHRISTIAN RESPONSE IN INDIA Rev. Shadakshari T.K. (Bangalore, India and Pastoring Divyajyothi Church of the Nazarene) Introduction One of the purposes of religion, humanly speaking, is to enable people to live a responsible life. One desire is that religious people may not disturb the harmonious life; rather, they may contribute towards it. Today, religions have become a source of conflict and violence in many Asian societies. This is very evident in India where the inter-relationship among religions is breaking up. The contemporary problem in India is the question of nationalism and the issue of marginalized identities. Christians are caught between two: participation in the nationalism in the one hand and commitment to the cause of the marginalized on the other. There is an awakening of nationalism, which bears strong religious stamp, which is strongly promoted by the Hindutva ideology. At the same time there is a strong awakening of the Tribals and Dalits. In this context, the question comes to our mind: how do Christians in India serve both nationalism and marginal groups when both of them are opposing each other? I am not promising the absolute answer for the question raised. However, this article provides some clues by analyzing the historical development of religious fundamentalism and suggesting an appropriate response for Christians. Though there are several religious fundamental groups in the history of India (including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and others), this article limits its study to the religious fundamentalism of Hinduism. The importance of Hindu fundamentalism lies in its very contemporary and nationalistic scope, compared to other, more regional expressions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Misconceived Assumption About Constitutional Assumptions
    Georgetown University Law Center Scholarship @ GEORGETOWN LAW 2009 The Misconceived Assumption About Constitutional Assumptions Randy E. Barnett Georgetown University Law Center, [email protected] This paper can be downloaded free of charge from: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/852 http://ssrn.com/abstract=1285485 103 Nw. U. L. Rev. 615-661 (2009) This open-access article is brought to you by the Georgetown Law Library. Posted with permission of the author. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub Part of the Constitutional Law Commons THE MISCONCEIVED ASSUMPTION ABOUT CONSTITUTIONAL ASSUMPTIONS Randy E. Barnett* INTRODUCTION Whether or not they are originalists, most constitutional scholars and observers assume that the basic assumptions held at the time the Constitution was enacted or amended are relevant to ascertaining its original meaning. Some originalists use constitutional assumptions to constrain judges in their interpretations of the more abstract passages of the text. Others reject originalism precisely because they object to the outmoded assumptions that prevailed at the time of enactment, and they assume that these assumptions must shape the original meaning of the text. For example, some claim that because of widespread concern about the continued vitality of the militia, the original meaning of the Second Amendment’s right to keep and bear arms is limited to those who are in service to the militia. Others think that because many in the Thirty-Ninth Congress and elsewhere assumed the continued existence of segregated government schools or the inferiority of women, the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment must be consistent with segregated schools and the common law rules of coverture.
    [Show full text]
  • A Procedural Interface Wrapper for Houdini Engine in Autodesk Maya
    A PROCEDURAL INTERFACE WRAPPER FOR HOUDINI ENGINE IN AUTODESK MAYA A Thesis by BENJAMIN ROBERT HOUSE Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Chair of Committee, André Thomas Committee Members, John Keyser Ergun Akleman Head of Department, Tim McLaughlin May 2019 Major Subject: Visualization Copyright 2019 Benjamin Robert House ABSTRACT Game development studios are facing an ever-growing pressure to deliver quality content in greater quantities, making the automation of as many tasks as possible an important aspect of modern video game development. This has led to the growing popularity of integrating procedural workflows such as those offered by SideFX Software’s Houdini FX into the already established de- velopment pipelines. However, the current limitations of the Houdini Engine plugin for Autodesk Maya often require developers to take extra steps when creating tools to speed up development using Houdini. This hinders the workflow for developers, who have to design their Houdini Digi- tal Asset (HDA) tools around the limitations of the Houdini Engine plugin. Furthermore, because of the implementation of the HDA’s parameter display in Maya’s Attribute Editor when using the Houdini Engine Plugin, artists can easily be overloaded with too much information which can in turn hinder the workflow of any artists who are using the HDA. The limitations of an HDA used in the Houdini Engine Plugin in Maya as a tool that is intended to improve workflow can actually frustrate and confuse the user, ultimately causing more harm than good.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of Human Mating: Trade-Offs and Strategic Pluralism
    BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2000) 23, 573–644 Printed in the United States of America The evolution of human mating: Trade-offs and strategic pluralism Steven W. Gangestad Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 [email protected] Jeffry A. Simpson Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 [email protected]. Abstract: During human evolutionary history, there were “trade-offs” between expending time and energy on child-rearing and mating, so both men and women evolved conditional mating strategies guided by cues signaling the circumstances. Many short-term matings might be successful for some men; others might try to find and keep a single mate, investing their effort in rearing her offspring. Recent evidence suggests that men with features signaling genetic benefits to offspring should be preferred by women as short-term mates, but there are trade-offs between a mate’s genetic fitness and his willingness to help in child-rearing. It is these circumstances and the cues that signal them that underlie the variation in short- and long-term mating strategies between and within the sexes. Keywords: conditional strategies; evolutionary psychology; fluctuating asymmetry; mating; reproductive strategies; sexual selection Research on interpersonal relationships, especially roman- attributes (e.g., physical attractiveness) tend to assume tic ones, has increased markedly in the last three decades greater importance in mating relationships than in other (see Berscheid & Reis 1998) across a variety of fields, in- types of relationships (Buss 1989; Gangestad & Buss 1993 cluding social psychology, anthropology, ethology, sociol- [see also Kenrick & Keefe: “Age Preferences in Mates Re- ogy, developmental psychology, and personology (Ber- flect Sex Differences in Human Reproductive Strategies” scheid 1994).
    [Show full text]
  • Leonardo Da Vinci and Perpetual Motion
    Leonardo da Vinci and Perpetual Motion Allan A. Mills CELEBRATING LEONARDO DA VINCI CELEBRATING umankind has always sought to reduce the the same wheel, then the machine H ABSTRACT need for its own manual labor. Draught animals were one might turn “forever.” solution, but much more beguiling was the concept of ma- A number of empirical attempts Leonardo da Vinci illustrated chines that would work “by themselves,” with no obvious prime to achieve such a hydraulic chimera several traditional forms of mover [1]. Even in ancient times, it appears that at least two perhaps were made but went un- “perpetual-motion machine” in categories had been proposed: the self-pumping waterwheel recorded because they never worked. small pocket books now known and the mechanical overbalancing wheel. None of course Drawings and plans of self-pumping as the Codex Forster. He was well aware that these designs, worked, and as science and technology progressed it became wheels persisted into the 18th cen- based on waterwheel/pump apparent that any such device was theoretically impossible. tury and even into modern times combinations, mechanical However, before this understanding was fully achieved and as amusing artifacts of linear per- overbalancing hammers or became well known, many technologists and hopeful inven- spective [3]. Progress in the under- rolling balls, would not—and could not—work. tors [2] felt obliged to devote time to this hoary problem. standing of efficiency, friction and Among the former was Leonardo da Vinci. Well aware of the the conservation of energy gradu- futility of all suggestions for achieving “perpetual motion,” he ally vindicated the practical knowl- simply recorded—and refuted—ideas that were prevalent in edge that, no matter how ingenious, his time.
    [Show full text]
  • The Museum of Unworkable Devices
    The Museum of Unworkable Devices This museum is a celebration of fascinating devices that don't work. It houses diverse examples of the perverse genius of inventors who refused to let their thinking be intimidated by the laws of nature, remaining optimistic in the face of repeated failures. Watch and be amazed as we bring to life eccentric and even intricate perpetual motion machines that have remained steadfastly unmoving since their inception. Marvel at the ingenuity of the human mind, as it reinvents the square wheel in all of its possible variations. Exercise your mind to puzzle out exactly why they don't work as the inventors intended. This, like many pages at this site, is a work in progress. Expect revisions and addition of new material. Since these pages are written in bits and pieces over a long period of time, there's bound to be some repetition of ideas. This may be annoying to those who read from beginning to end, and may be just fine for those who read these pages in bits and pieces. Galleries The Physics Gallery, an educational tour. The physics of unworkable devices and the physics of the real world. The Annex for even more incredible and unworkable machines. Advanced Concepts Gallery where clever inventors go beyond the classical overbalanced wheels. New Acquisitions. We're not sure where to put these. Will They Work? These ideas don't claim perpetual motion or over-unity performance, nor do they claim to violate physics. But will they work? Whatever Were They Thinking? The rationale behind standard types of perpetual motion devices.
    [Show full text]
  • Narcissism and the Strategic Pursuit of Short-Term Mating: Universal Links Across 11 World Regions of the International Sexuality Description Project-2
    Psychological Topics, 26 (2017), 1, 89-137 Original Scientific Paper – UDC – 616.89-008.442.6 159.923.3.072 613.88 Narcissism and the Strategic Pursuit of Short-Term Mating: Universal Links across 11 World Regions of the International Sexuality Description Project-2 David P. Schmitt - Bradley University, USA, Lidia Alcalay - Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile, Jüri Allik - University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, I.C.B. Alves - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Craig A. Anderson - Iowa State University, USA, A.L. Angelini - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, Jens B. Asendorpf - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany, Ivars Austers - University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia, Isabel Balaguer - University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain, Américo Baptista - University of Lusofona-Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, Sóley S. Bender - University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland, Kevin Bennett - Penn State University-Beaver, USA, Gabriel Bianchi - Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, Behrooz Birashk - Faculty of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Tehran Psychiatric Institute, Tehran, Iran, April Bleske-Rechek - University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, USA, Fredrick A. Boholst - University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines, Lynda Boothroyd - University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland, Teresa Borja - Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador, Arjan Bos - Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Edwin Brainerd - Clemson University, USA, David P. Schmitt, Department of Psychology, Bradley University, Peoria, IL 62625, USA until August of 2017. Afterward send correspondence to David P. Schmitt, Psychology Division, Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected] Data collection representing Costa Rica was from the University of Costa Rica and was supported by the University of Costa Rica Psychological Research Institute.
    [Show full text]