An analysis of behavior in the hobbits-orcs problem

Young adults solved a problem in which hobbits and orcs had to be transported across a river. In Expt I, a Part-Whole group of subjects solved the problem starting at a different state in the middle and then were given the entire problem. Comparison with a Control group indicated that the initial practice of the Part-Whole group did not facilitate their later performance on the same problem segment, but did facilitate performance in a different portion of the problem. In Expt II, some subjects were given feedback halfway through the problem that they were on the right track. Results gave some support to the notion that a possible difficulty in the problem is the subject's belief that he must have entered a blind alley in the search space. However, other difficulties were also involved. Inferences from several different dependent performance variables, the transfer results, and subjects' comments consistently suggested that subjects solving this problem needed to undergo a number of cognitive changes (3–4) that was smaller than the minimum number of external moves required to solve the problem (11).     

Mood and organizational citizenship behavior: the effects of positive affect on employee organizational citizenship behavior intentions

This study, involving 139 employees from a variety of industries, organizations, and positions in Singapore, measured the effects of mood on the intentions of employees to contribute actions that are organizationally desirable but are not part of their formal job requirements (organizational citizenship behavior). After effects of established patterns of historical organizational citizenship behavior, demographic characteristics, and employee positive and negative affectivity had been controlled, stepwise regression analysis revealed that the amount of positive affect currently experienced by an employee significantly influenced the employee's intention to perform specific acts of organizational citizenship.     

The effects of reward and punishment in violent video games on aggressive affect, cognition, and behavior

Three experiments examined the effects of rewarding and punishing violent actions in video games on later aggression-related variables. Participants played one of three versions of the same race-car video game: (a) a version in which all violence was rewarded, (b) a version in which all violence was punished, and (c) a nonviolent version. Participants were then measured for aggressive affect (Experiment 1), aggressive cognition (Experiment 2), and aggressive behavior (Experiment 3). Rewarding violent game actions increased hostile emotion, aggressive thinking, and aggressive behavior. Punishing violent actions increased hostile emotion, but did not increase aggressive thinking or aggressive behavior. Results suggest that games that reward violent actions can increase aggressive behavior by increasing aggressive thinking.     

An intervention study of the effects of the coping strategy of "finding positive meaning" on positive affect and health

Previous research has shown that positive affect (PA) is associated with the coping strategies of "searching for and finding positive meaning." The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the coping strategy of "finding positive meaning" and PA using an intervention method. Additionally, inasmuch as previous research has revealed that PA is associated with physical and mental health status, the current study measured health status in order to carry out a preliminary test as to whether PA increased by the intervention can also improve health. Participants in the intervention group (Japanese graduate students; 13 men and 16 women) reported the most stressful event during the past 3 days and its positive meaning, while those in the control group (13 men and 15 women) reported the most stressful event alone. Both groups reported twice a week for 5 successive weeks using e-mails. Three questionnaires, the Japanese version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule scales for measuring positive and negative affects (NA), the situational version of the General Coping Questionnaire for coping strategies, and the Japanese version of the General Health Questionnaire for health status, were administered to all participants just before the start of the intervention, after the conclusion of the intervention, and at the 5-week follow-up session. Results revealed that the "finding positive meaning" coping strategy and PA were enhanced by the intervention in the follow-up for men and women with no changes in NA. For the health scales of the General Health Questionnaire, no significant group-related effects were observed. Thus, the intervention had no significant influence on NA or health status. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed along with a few limitations in this study.     

Preliminary evidence of diurnal rhythms in everyday behaviors associated with positive affect

The authors used the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) to track within-day variability in everyday behaviors associated with positive and negative affect across two samples. The EAR is a portable audio recorder that periodically samples snippets of ambient sounds from participants’ momentary environments. The recorded sounds are then coded for different behaviors. The study tested whether previous findings regarding diurnal patterns in self-reported mood extend to naturalistically observed behavior. Across both samples, behavior associated with positive affect (i.e., socializing, laughing, and singing) varied according to a sinusoidal 24-h rhythm centered around participants’ average waketime while behavior associated with negative affect (i.e., arguing and sighing) did not. Further, there was preliminary evidence that personality traits can moderate these rhythms (e.g., their amplitude).     

A choice technique to assess the effects of selective punishment on fixed-ratio performance

The emission of a fixed number of responses by rats was followed by food reinforcement. This fixed number could be accumulated in any way from two continuously available but mutually incompatible response classes, bar pressing, and not bar pressing for a fixed time period. A preference for one response class was arranged by specifying different maximum reinforcement rates for the two classes. Under selective punishment conditions, the preferred response occasionally led to both food and electric shock, while the non-preferred response led only to food. Selective punishment effects were measured through changes in the preference to the two responses in the sequence. The actions of shock intensity, deprivation, the specification of the non-preferred response, and three drugs were investigated. The results were broadly similar to the work reported by Dardano and Sauerbrunn (1964), who found localized increases in interresponse times before punished responses in fixed-ratio schedules. Performance under this procedure was found to be stable and sensitive to each of the experimental variables examined.     

An interresponse time analysis of variable-ratio punishment

An interresponse time analysis was used to study the effects of variable-ratio punishment schedules on the temporal pattern of reinforced responding. Twelve pigeons responded on a baseline variable-interval schedule of food reinforcement. A variable-ratio ten schedule of electric shock punishment was then introduced. The shock intensity was systematically increased to the highest intensity at which responding could be maintained. At this intensity, the mean variable-ratio value was increased and then decreased. Variable-ratio punishment resulted in an increased relative frequency of very short unreinforced interresponse times (response bursting). Increased response bursting accounted for instances of response rate facilitation. In addition, shock was followed by interresponse times of decreasing mean length over the first several responses after shock.     

Suppression of behavior by timeout punishment when suppression results in loss of positive reinforcement

This investigation, using rats as subjects and punishment by timeout for responses maintained on a ratio schedule, sought to determine whether behavior would be suppressed by timeout punishment when such suppression also reduced reinforcement density or frequency. A series of experiments indicated that timeout punishment suppressed responding, with the degree of suppression increasing as a function of the duration of the timeout period. Suppressive effects were found to decrease as a function of increases in deprivation (body weight) and were eliminated when the punished response also was reinforced. It was concluded that timeout can produce aversive effects even when loss of reinforcement results. An alternative interpretation of the findings, based on the effects of extinction periods and delay of reinforcement on chained behavior, was discussed.     

Corporal punishment and long-term behavior problems: the moderating role of positive parenting and psychological aggression

The aims of this study were: (a) to examine the prevalence of corporal punishment (CP) of children in Spain; (b) to analyze the extent to which CP is used in combination with psychological aggression and positive parenting among Spanish parents; and (c) to investigate whether the relation between CP and behavior problems is moderated by a positive parenting context in which CP may be used, and by the co-occurrence of psychological aggression. The sample comprised 1,071 Spanish university students (74.8% female; 25.2% male). Findings indicate a high prevalence of CP of Spanish students, revealing that significantly more mothers than fathers used CP. Furthermore, more CP is related to more use of psychological aggression and less of positive parenting. Regression analyses revealed that CP was associated with an increased probability of antisocial traits and behaviors regardless of whether there was positive parenting and psychological aggression. These results highlight that, though many Spanish parents use CP as a disciplinary strategy, it appears to be related to negative outcomes for children regardless the parental context in which it is used.     

Culture,morality, and the effect of prosocial behavior motivation on positive affect

We investigated the effect of culture, moral discourse, and motivation to engage in prosocial behavior on benefactors’ positive affect. Participants from three cultures (Japan, Romania, and the United States) responded to scenarios in which they could perform small acts of kindness for different targets. A stronger relationship between agentic and obligated motivation to perform acts of kindness, as well as between obligated motivation and positive affect, was observed for participants from Japan, and for individuals with higher endorsement of the Community Ethic. Agentic motivation to engage in prosocial behavior was related to benefactors’ positive affect, regardless of relationship type.     

Some effects of noncontingent positive reinforcement on multiply controlled problem behavior and compliance in a demand context

Functional analysis suggested that the problem behavior of an 8-year-old girl with autism was maintained by escape from demands and access to edible items. Noncontingent delivery of an edible item was sufficient to increase compliance and reduce the rate of problem behavior without the use of escape extinction in a demand context. Leaner and richer schedules of noncontingent reinforcement were equally effective, and there were minimal differences between noncontingent reinforcement and differential reinforcement of compliance.     

An analysis of the physical punishment component of a parent training program

One component of a well-researched, standardized parent training program is to spank children for escape from time-out. The contribution of the spanking component to compliance acquisition in a clinic analog setting was evaluated. Time-out duration and child disruption at time-out release were balanced across spank and no-spank (“barrier”) conditions. Sixteen noncompliant, clinic-referred preschool children participated. The data indicated that both spank and barrier procedures were equally effective at increasing compliance ratios. Physical punishment did not appear to be a critical component. Given prior research, it was concluded that the enforcement of a minimum time-out duration is critical for compliance acquisition within the analog setting.     

Stimulus generalization of the effects of punishment

Three pigeons were trained to respond to seven spectral stimulus values ranging from 490 to 610 mμ and displayed in random order on a response key. After response rates had equalized to these values, a brief electric shock was administered when the subject (S) responded to the central value (550 mμ) while positive reinforcement for all values was maintained. Initially, there was broad generalization of the resulting depression in response rate, but the gradients grew steeper in the course of testing. When punishment was discontinued, the rates to all values recovered, and equal responding to all stimuli was reattained by two of the Ss. Stimulus control over the effects of punishment was clearly demonstrated in the form of a generalization gradient; this probably resulted from the combined effects of generalization of the depression associated with punishment and discrimination between the punished value and neutral stimuli.     

An intervention study of the relations of positive affect to the coping strategy of 'finding positive meaning' and health

This study examined the relations of positive affect (PA) to the coping strategy of 'finding positive meaning' and to health. Participants in the intervention group (29 university students) wrote about a happy event once a week in an experimental room and noted happy events each day as homework for four consecutive weeks. In addition, they received a small present each time they left the room after writing. Participants in the control group (29 university students) wrote about and noted trivial neutral events instead of happy events, and they did not receive any small presents. Results showed that PA induced by this manipulation did not significantly enhance coping but did significantly improve health status on several self-report scales.