DISCRIMINATIVE CONTROL OF THERAPISTS' PERFORMANCE1

In order to examine therapists' discriminative responding to normal and idiosyncratic patient responses, naive subjects were presented with a simulated “patient” for treatment. The subjects were made to believe they were reinforcing normal verbalizations emitted by this patient In fact, they were listening to a tape on which normal and idiosyncratic verbalizations had been recorded. Different probabilities of normal and idiosyncratic “patient” verbalizations could be presented to the subjects by means of a digital programming unit. In one of a number of conditions, the subjects' accurate reinforcing responses were followed by an increased probability of the patient's normal verbalizations. Accurate reinforcing responses emitted by the subjects were brought under the control of normal and idiosyncratic patient responses, by use of contingent feedback, change in patient responding, and monetary reinforcers. When the patient's normal verbalizations increased in probability, so did the subjects' accurate reinforcing responses following the patient's normal verbalizations, and to a lesser degree, the subjects' inaccurate reinforcing responses following the patient's idiosyncratic verbalizations. When the patient's idiosyncratic verbalizations increased in probability, the subjects' accurate and inaccurate reinforcing responses decreased in probability. The clinical implications of these tendencies are discussed.     

INCREASING VERBAL INTERACTION AMONG ELDERLY SOCIALLY ISOLATED MENTALLY RETARDED ADULTS: A GROUP LANGUAGE TRAINING PROCEDURE

The present study examined the effectiveness of a group language training procedure for directly increasing and generalizing the rate of verbal interaction among four elderly, socially isolated, moderately mentally retarded men. A withdrawal of treatment design was used to examine the effect of the procedure that used verbal prompts, behavioral rehearsal, and contingent social praise. Changes in behavior were examined in two generalization settings, one similiar to the training environment (Generalization I) and the other arranged as part of the subjects' daily routine (Generalization II). Baseline data indicated no verbal interaction among the subjects. During treatment the training procedure increased the rate of subjects' verbal interactions not only in the training situation, but also in the two generalization settings. An analysis of the data obtained during the Generalization II situation indicated that subjects' verbal interaction increased not only among themselves, but with nonsubject peers present in this setting. Follow-up data showed that increases in rates of verbal interaction were maintained four months after the cessation of training. The implications of the results for program generalization and work with the language deficient individual is discussed.     

Rarely Occurring Headaches and Rarely Occurring Blindness: Is Rarely=Rarely? The Meaning of Verbal Frequentistic Labels in Specific Medical Contexts

In three experimental studies, factors were examined which might influence the interpretation of verbal frequentistic labels in a specific context (i.e. side effects of medical drugs). In Study 1, we directly assessed subjects' numerical equivalents of three verbal labels (recommended for use by the German Federal Health Agency), which were embedded in stylized leaflets for medical drugs; we compared the estimates with those obtained in a context-free situation. The major findings were that (1) subjects' numerical equivalents for the verbal labels were clearly lower in the context condition than in the context-free situation, (2) subjects'; interpretations appeared to depend on the seriousness of the side effects, but (3) this dependency disappeared when explicit base rates were provided. In Studies 2 and 3, we indirectly examined the influence of the seriousness of the side effects, their frequency, and of the mode of expression (verbally versus numerically) by asking for risk judgments for and choices between drugs. Results of particular importance were that (1) seriousness and frequency of side effects had the same influence on judgments and choices but the mode of expression had no significant effect on either judgments or choices; (2) when subjects’ individual numerical equivalents of verbal labels were used in the leaflets, numerically described drugs were judged equally risky as verbally described drugs but were significantly preferred for consumption. These findings have theoretical relevance for research on the processing of verbal and numerical frequentistic expressions as well as a number of practical implications for the communication of medical information.     

Prediction of environmental change: Wish-fulfillment revisited

Two experiments are reported which examine the relationship between a person's estimate of the likelihood of a future change in his environment and his assessment of its desirability. The first experiment showed a general tendency for probability and desirability ratings to be positively correlated. This correlation was higher when the desirability of a predicted change was seen, on average, as matching its probability of occurrence, e.g., if the change was seen as both desirable and probable rather than probable but undesirable. In the second experiment subjects wrote an essay arguing either that a predicted change was probable, improbable, desirable or undesirable. Arguing for desirability of the predicted change had as much effect on subjects' probability estimates as arguing for its probability; similarly, arguing for its probability had as much effect on desirability ratings as arguing for its desirability. These results are taken to imply that individuals may seek to achieve greater cognitive simplicity by treating probability and desirability as a single dimension.     

Text memory and integration at different times of day

This paper reports an experiment that explored whether the extent to which the ideas in a text are integrated changes over the day. In order to monitor integration, a task used by Wilkes, Alred and Al-Ahmar (1983) was adopted. The assumption underlying the task was that information that is inconsistent with respect to preceding information in a text will be remembered differently from information that is not inconsistent. Obviously, such selective remembering cannot occur if the information in the text is not integrated, so the degree to which differential remembering occurs can be taken as an index of degree of integration. Although the predicted differences in degree of integration between morning and afternoon subjects were not confirmed, the morning superiority effect in text recall was replicated, and it was demonstrated that this superiority arose because of the morning subjects' better memory for the exact wording of the text. In addition, subjects showed different types of recall error at the two times of day. These errors are discussed in relation to subjects' hypothesized changes in strategy over the day.     

Task-Intrinsic and Social-Extrinsic Sources of Arousal for Motives Assessed in Fantasy and Self-Report

ABSTRACT A review of the literature on individual differences in motive dispositions points toward the importance of distinguishing between motives as assessed in fantasy and self-report. We proposed that these two modes of assessment have identified independent motivational systems that influence behavior in different ways. Two experiments were designed to show that the two kinds of motives are unrelated to one another and are aroused by different factors in a performance situation. It was hypothesized that motives as assessed from fantasy (seen as implicit needs) are primarily aroused by factors intrinsic to the process of performing an activity, whereas motives obtained through self-report inventories (seen as self-attributed needs) are aroused by social factors that are extrinsic to the process of performing an activity (e.g., the way in which a task is presented by an experimenter). In the first experiment, performance on a memory task was shown to depend on the interaction of subjects' self-reported motive for achievement with achievement-arousing instructions, whereas performance on a word-finding puzzle depended on the interaction of subjects' fantasy need for achievement with the puzzle's level of intrinsic challenge. A second experiment generalized these findings to the power domain.     

On the system of representations in a group situation

Relations between the representations of group members with respect to different elements in the group set-up: The task, the others, the self and the group as a whole are analyzed from data collected in four experiments. Results show that the interrelations between these representations in the subjects' cognitive universe are determined by a combination of three separate principles which deal respectively with: 1) the degree of generality, complexity or semantic ‘globality’ of each element of the situation in the subjects' representation thereof; 2) the functional importance (particularly in determining behaviours in the situation) of each representation, as well as its centrality within the subjects' representational system. The functional importance and centrality of a given representation seem to be directly related in turn to the perceived normative character of the represented objects in terms of the group's objectives; 3) a process of social comparison between the self and others, according to which each group member tends to perceive himself as being more in harmony than the others with the norms and requirements of the situation as he perceives them. The discussion deals with the generality of the above results.     

Human Signal-detection Performance: Effects Of Signal Presentation Probabilities And Reinforcer Distributions

University students participated in one of four standard two-choice signal-detection experiments in which signal presentation probability was varied and the reinforcement distribution was held constant and equal. In Experiments 1, 3 and 4, subjects' performance showed a systematic response bias for reporting the stimulus presented least often. Experiments 1 and 4 showed that this effect was reliable with extended training and monetary, rather than point, reinforcement. In Experiment 2, all correct responses were signaled in some way, and this produced the opposite relationship between signal presentation probability and response bias. Experiments 1 and 3 found that explicitly deducting money (intended as punishment) for equal numbers of incorrect responses on each alternative, or varying the obtained overall rate of reinforcement, produced no clear change in response bias. The bias, shown by humans, for reporting the stimulus presented least often remains a challenge for theories of stimulus detection.     

THE STRANGER AND THE SPOUSE AS TARGET PERSONS FOR COMPLIANCE-GAINING STRATEGIES: A SUBJECTIVE EXPECTED UTILITY MODEL1

This study examines the use of compliance-gaining message strategies in “interpersonal” versus “noninterpersonal” relationships. Subjects were asked how likely they would be to use persuasive strategies in a hypothetical situation involving either a spouse (interpersonal situation) or new neighbors (noninterpersonal situation). A subjective expected utility model is proposed to account for subjects' choice of strategies. According to the SEU model, subjects weigh the expected advantages and disadvantages of strategies both in terms of their persuasiveness and their effects on the relationship with the persuadee. Regression analysis supported the use of the SEU model to predict subjects' choice of strategies. Situational comparisons of SEU indicated that most strategies are rated more persuasive, less likely to damage the personal relationship, and more likely to be used in the spouse situation than in the neighbor situation.     

Flexibility in strategy use: Adaptation of numerosity judgement strategies to task characteristics

In previous investigations we documented that people use several strategies to determine numerosities of blocks that are presented in a square grid. One of these strategies is the clever subtraction strategy, wherein the number of empty squares in the grid is subtracted from the total number of squares in the grid. In the present study we investigated participants' flexibility in strategy use when varying the size of the grids. Results are described in terms of the theoretical framework of Lemaire and Siegler (1995) regarding strategic change, and show that this contextual variable affected the frequency, execution time, and accuracy of subjects' use of the subtraction strategy. The usefulness of this framework for analysing the nature of the adaptation to contextual variations is discussed. From a methodological point of view, this study documents the potential of Beem's (1993, 1999) segmented linear regression models for assessing subjects' strategy use in cognitive tasks.     

Images of politics: A multidimensional analysis of implicit representations of political parties in a newly emerging democracy

What sorts of features define people's implicit cognitive representations about the political domain in a newly emerging democracy, with no previous experience of multi-party politics? This study used a multidimensional scaling (MDS) approach to investigate the dimensional structure of, and individual differences in, cognitive representations of the party political space before the recent first free elections were held in Hungary. It was found that three cognitive dimensions explained subjects' intuitive view of political parties, evaluation, conservatism, and an urban–rural dimension. Significant individual differences in the use of these dimensions linked to gender, education, and city versus country background were also found. The relationship between implicit cognitive representations about parties and political attitudes and behaviour are discussed, and the implications of the findings for our understanding recent political developments in Eastern Europe are considered.     

Perspective Effects on Causal Attributions of Success and Failure

The performance attributions of actors (participants on a task or in an interaction), active observers (co-actors who make observations of the actor) and passive observers (non-participants who observe but do not interact with the actor) were compared on a task in which actors succeeded or failed after competing or working independently. Contrary to Jones and Nisbett's (1971) divergent perspectives hypothesis, the results indicated that the subjects' person attributions were influenced interactively by the actor's outcome and the subjects' perspective while their situation attributions were influenced interactively by their perspective and the nature of the task. The implications of these findings for the divergent perspectives hypothesis were discussed.     

More about linda or conjunctions in context

Abstract

Tversky and Kahneman (1982; 1983) reported that subjects rated the con junction of two events as more likely than one of the component events. This “conjunction effect” is an error in terms of formal probability, where the probability of more happening is always smaller than the probability of less. They explained this effect in terms of a “representativeness” heuristic. This paper focuses on the context of the problem and the suggestions implied by the questions in the task. The three studies reported here provide evidence that context effects and implicit suggestions alter subjects' judgements. Tvenky and Kahneman's models take no account of such factors. Two studies show that when implicit suggestions are reduced, subjects are much less prone to the conjunction “effect”. Subjects take being asked the question “Is person X a Y?”, as providing evidence that X may be Y.     

Choice among bets and revision of opinion

Ss estimated subjective probability (SP) on the basis of a sample in a hypothesis testing situation by choosing the subjectively optimal bet cat of a list and by stating verbal odds. In the choice among bets situation SP was inferred on the assumption of subjectively expected value maximization. Both estimates of SP were conservative compared with the theoretical prediction and did not differ significantly. This suggests that (a) utility had no distorting effect on the choice of the bet and (b) conservatism is not specifically bound to the use of special number scales or response sets.     

The Role of Alcohol and Gender in Choices and Judgments About Hypothetical Sexual Encounters1

The goal of this study was to explore the process by which sexual situations that involve alcohol are negotiated. A scenario depicting a drinking situation involving potential sexual activity was constructed and converted into a text-based interactive computer game, in which alcohol consumption of the subject and partner roles was varied. The program included a number of points at which the subject's response determined the subsequent course of action. At these choice points, questions were asked about perceptions of sexual interest and nervousness. The results showed strong gender differences in subjects' choices, judgments, and feelings throughout the hypothetical encounter, with men much more likely to choose responses leading to sexual activity and to express more attraction and sexual desire throughout. Alcohol interacted with gender such that among women, those in drinking scenarios were more likely than those in nondrinking scenarios to choose to have sex at the end of the scenario; this effect was not seen in male subjects.     

Sensitivity to alternatives in social hypothesis-testing

Past research has documented a hypothesis-testing strategy wherein evidence is sought to the extent that it is probable under the hypothesis. This strategy may yield nondiagnostic information and even biased confirmation of the hypothesis if the simultaneous probability of the evidence under the alternatives is disregarded. The results of three experiments demonstrated that hypothesis-testers were in fact sensitive to the probability of the evidence under the alternatives. In the first experiment, subjects tested a hypothesis under which two kinds of personal features, A-features and B-features, were highly probable. Subjects could test their hypothesis by selecting questions from a list of questions about A-features and B-features. The rerults showed that subjects' questions depended on the probability of the features under the alternative. Specifically, when the hypothesis shared A-features with the alternative, subjects preferred questions about B-features, but when the hypothesis shared B-features with the alternative, subjects preferred questions about A-features. Experiment 2 extended these findings to self-generated questions about a broader range of hypotheses and alternatives. Experiment 3 found that subjects who were provided with a specific alternative asked more diagnostic questions than subjects who were not provided with a specific alternative. Together, these results suggest that the process of generating and evaluating alternatives plays a crucial role in social hypothesis-testing and categorization.     

Intention and Expectation Measures as Predictors of Academic Performance1

The predictive validity of intention and expectation measures was examined by comparing subjects' intentions and expectations of their academic performance with their actual class performance. A total of 166 subjects were randomly assigned to respond to an intention or expectation version of a questionnaire. The instrument asked for intentions or expectations regarding performance on the next test, final examination, and final course grade. Expectations were found to be better predictors of academic performance. Expectation responses were also found to explain significant amounts of variance in the dependent measures after the effect of subjects' prior class performance (their first test score) had been taken into consideration. Additional types of outcomes and goals for which expectation measures are likely to provide more accurate prediction are discussed.     

Relationship between gender and knowledge of U.S. state names and locations

Two experiments were conducted to assess gender differences in knowledge of U.S. state names and locations. Subjects for both experiments were drawn from a population that was approximately 95% Caucasian, 2% Native American, 1% Black, 1% Asian, and 1% Hispanic. Experiment 1 demonstrated superior male performance with respect to ability to correctly label state outlines on a blank map. Providing subjects with a list of state names (as a recall aid) resulted in performance deficits that were of equivalent magnitude for both males and females. It is suggested that this may have changed subjects' labeling strategy. Experiment 2, which assessed ability to list state names, showed no gender differences and no effect for providing a blank map (as a recall aid). Therefore, the performance differences obtained in Experiment 1 appear mediated by a gender difference in geographical knowledge and not by a gender difference in knowledge of state names. Implications of geographical knowledge deficits are briefly discussed.     

The modality effect,sensory handicap,and compensatory functions

In the present study 84 subjects (48 normal, 24 deaf, and 12 blind subjects) participated in a free recall experiment. Modality of presentation (auditory, visual) as well as mode of response (oral, written) were manipulated as between-subjects variables. It was found that deaf subjects can compensate for their handicap in as much that written recall of visual short-term memory items was significantly better than for normal subjects. For oral recall of long-term memory positions the deaf performed worse than the normal hearing. The blind subjects' oral recall performance was on a par with the normal subjects' for written recall of auditory presented items, but the blind exhibited some signs of inferiority for the oral comparison. The output order data demonstrated that normal subjects recall visual items in a backward order and auditory items with a mixed strategy; the deaf exhibited mixed strategies and the blind displayed clear backward strategies. Neither output order nor recency-prerecency preference could account for the compensatory patterns. Finally, the task-dependent nature of the obtained data is discussed.