All 1:6 patterns composed of five dots distributed over the cells of a 3 by 3 matrix were examined for the predictability of their elements. The predictability of a given dot in a given pattern was measured as the percentage of Ss who indicated that dot as one "implied or suggested" by the subpattern composed of the remaining four dots of the pattern. The dots comprising a figurally good five-dot pattern were generally more predictable. one from the others. than the dots comprising a poor pattern. This finding accords with the Gestaltivt conception of a good figure as one whose elements are well organized. and it is the state of affairs required by Garner's hypothesis that better figures are perceived to have fewer alternatives than poorer figures. A mechanism mediating the prediction of an element of a pattern from the other elements was suggested.

Computationally intensive methods of statistical inference do not fit the current canon of pedagogy in statistics. To accommodate these methods and the logic underlying them, I propose seven pedagogical principles: (1) Define inferential statistics as techniques for reckoning with chance. (2) Distinguish three types of research: sample surveys, in which statistics affords generalization from the cases studied; experiments, in which statistics detects systematic differences among the batches of data obtained in the several conditions; and correlational studies, in which statistics detects systematic associations between variables. (3) Teach random-sampling theory in the context of sample surveys, augmenting the conventional treatment with bootstrapping. Regarding experimentation, (4) note that random assignment fosters internal but not external validity, (5) explain the general logic for testing a null model, and (6) teach randomization tests as well as t, F, and X 2 • (7) Regarding correlational studies, acknowledge the problems of applying inferential statistics in the absence of deliberately introduced randomness.

We inspected over 4000 baseball cards every fifth season from 1952 through 1987. We found that among whites, pitchers and catchers were overrepresented and fielders were underrepresented, whereas the opposite pattern occurred among blacks. Among Latinos, pitchers were under-represented (a new finding) and shortstops were overrepresented. Contrary to claims that segregation by playing position changed during the years we studied, these patterns were stable.

No abstract