RATE OF EXTINCTION OF A CONDITIONAL ELECTRODERMAL RESPONSE (EDR) AS RELATED TO VARIABILITY OF SHOCK INTENSITY DURING ACQUISITION

Comparing frequency during extinction of electrodermal reactions (EDR) to a tone stimulus previously potentiated through combination with an electric shock of variable intensity, it was found that the greatest resistance to extinction prevailed in the group given the most variable shock intensity during the acquisition trials.     

CHANGES IN BLOOD PRESSURE AND HEART RATE DURING FIXED‐INTERVAL RESPONDING IN SQUIRREL MONKEYS

Episodic and sustained increases in heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure can occur with recurring patterns of schedule‐controlled behavior. Most previous studies were conducted under fixed‐ratio schedules, which maintained a consistent high rate of responding that alternated with periods of no responding during times when the schedule was not in operation. The present study examined changes in heart rate and blood pressure under fixed‐interval schedules which maintained a range of rates that varied from little or no responding at the beginning of the fixed interval to high rates at the end of the interval. The relations of cardiovascular function to rate of responding were examined. Squirrel monkeys prepared with arterial catheters were trained to respond under fixed‐interval schedules of electric‐shock presentation. The duration of the interval was varied across sessions and cardiovascular parameters were examined. Local rates of responding were typically near zero during timeout periods, low at the beginning of each fixed‐interval cycle, and then increased as the fixed interval progressed. At most schedule durations, arterial blood pressure and heart rate levels were lowest at the beginning of the interval cycles, increased as the rate of responding increased, and then decreased during the timeout periods. At all parameters studied, there was a direct relationship between changes in response rate within fixed‐interval cycles and changes in heart rate and blood pressure. The results suggest that a much closer concordance of these cardiovascular parameters and schedule‐controlled responding is obtained by examining ongoing behavior as it occurs within the contingencies by which it is maintained.     

TYPES OF PRAYER,HEART RATE VARIABILITY,AND INNATE HEALING

Spiritual practices such as prayer have been shown to improve health and quality of life for those facing chronic or terminal illness. The early Christian healing tradition distinguished between types of prayer and their role in healing, placing great emphasis on the healing power of more integrated relational forms of prayer such as prayers of gratitude and contemplative prayer. Because autonomic tone is impaired in most disease states, autonomic homeostasis may provide insight into the healing effects of prayer. I report on observations in five volunteers engaging in five types of prayer. Using heart rate variability as a measure of autonomic tone and adaptability, I review the potential correlation of type of prayer with autonomic rebalance as measured specifically by psychophysiological coherence ratios. The five types—supplication, devotion, intercession, gratefulness, and contemplative prayer—elicited varying degrees of improvements in heart rate variability and corresponding psychophysiological coherence. These observations suggest a correlation of innate healing to prayer type that is consistent with teachings from the Christian healing tradition and with modern research. Further research is warranted to verify these hypotheses.     

AN ANALYSIS OF ERROR-CORRECTION PROCEDURES DURING DISCRIMINATION TRAINING

Mechanisms involved in error-correction procedures during behavioral acquisition were examined. Seven developmentally delayed subjects participated in match-to-sample discrimination training, consisting of three conditions arranged in a multielement design. Correct responses in all conditions were followed by praise and either food or pennies. In the baseline condition (differential reinforcement), an error produced no consequences. In the practice condition, an error was followed by repetition of the trial until a correct response occurred. In the avoidance condition, an error was followed by additional trials consisting of irrelevant stimuli; this condition separated the effects of repeated exposure to the same task from those of negative reinforcement, both of which existed in the practice condition. All 7 subjects made noticeable progress in the baseline condition. However, 5 of the 7 performed better in one of the error-correction conditions: 2 performed better in the practice condition, and 3 performed better in the avoidance condition. These data indicate that error-correction procedures may serve multiple functions and suggest that the practice requirement in this study included both avoidance and stimulus control components. More generally, the data indicate that additional control procedures should be included in acquisition studies to identify the relevant behavioral mechanism(s).     

不同干预方式、不同应激源对血压、心率的影响

探讨不同干预方式、不同应激源对血压、心率影响的差异。被试为本科生48人,采取干预方式、应激源、实验间期的三因素混合实验设计。干预方式为放松训练和预知,应激源为心算和恐怖影片。实验间期包括基线期、干预期、应激期、恢复期。实验的因变量为每个实验间期的血压和心率。结果显示,心算应激引起的血压和心率升高显著高于恐怖影片应激引起的血压和心率的升高;放松训练组和预知组其干预期的血压和心率值都低于基线期;干预方式和应激源在血压和心率两个指标上交互作用不显著。结果表明,与恐怖情绪引起的紧张相比较,智力操作紧张更容易影响血压和心率;放松训练和预知对于对抗应激时血压和心率升高都起到了一定的作用;不同干预方式对于不同性质的应激源作用没有差别。     

AN ANALYSIS OF RAVEN MATRIX RESPONSES IN FIFTH GRADECHILDREN. I

V ejleskov , H. An analysis of Raven matrix responses in fifth grade children. I. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1967, 8 , 177–186.—The performances of 628 children in the Standard Progressive Matrices were studied by means of the average score in the five series of the test as well as by the time used for the whole test. The analysis considered differences with regard to sex, age, and socio-economic status. Further, the individual items of the test were analysed with regard to the order of presentation and sex differences of response frequencies. Finally, the nature of the test and the application of a stochastic model are discussed.     

对弱电集中控制电站信号显示的工程心理学意见

电站中央控制室弱电集中控制方式是一项比较新的技术,具有经济和技术上的优越性。我们在有关单位的支持和协助下,从工程心理学的角度,对弱电集中控制电站信号显示设计,进行了一些研究工作,着重探讨信号显示方式对值班员的适宜性。部分实验工作是在弱电集中控制电站现场进行的,并选择强电电站(机组台数、额定容量与弱电集中控制电站相似)进行对比实验。此外,建立了模拟弱电电站中央控制室的实验室,进行现场的模拟实验。这里提出一些研究项目及有关结果。     

放松训练和腹式呼吸对应激的影响

探讨腹式呼吸和放松训练对应激引起的T波幅度降低和心率升高的对抗作用。被试为 3组 38名女大学生。结果表明 :(1)放松训练和腹式呼吸均能显著促进T波幅度升高和对抗应激时T波幅度的降低 ,但腹式呼吸的效果优于放松训练。 (2 )应激会引起心率的显著上升和T波幅度的显著降低。 (3)心率不是测量放松训练和腹式呼吸效果的敏感指标。结论 :腹式呼吸和放松训练可以有效地缓解心血管系统的应激反应     

REPLACING MALADAPTIVE SPEECH WITH VERBAL LABELING RESPONSES: AN ANALYSIS OF GENERALIZED RESPONDING

We taught three mentally handicapped students to answer questions with verbal labels and evaluated the generalized effects of this training on their maladaptive speech (e.g., echolalia) and correct responding to untrained questions. The students received cues-pause-point training on an initial question set followed by generalization assessments on a different set in another setting. Probes were conducted on novel questions in three other settings to determine the strength and spread of the generalization effect. A multiple baseline across subjects design revealed that maladaptive speech was replaced with correct labels (answers) to questions in the training and all generalization settings. These results replicate and extend previous research that suggested that cues-pause-point procedures may be useful in replacing maladaptive speech patterns by teaching students to use their verbal labeling repertoires.     

AN ANALYSIS OF REINFORCER SUBSTITUTABILITY USING OBJECT MANIPULATION AND SELF-INJURY AS COMPETING RESPONSES

The concept of reinforcer substitutability proposes a continuum of interactions among reinforcers in a given situation. At one end of this continuum, reinforcers are substitutable, with one reinforcer being readily traded for another. We conducted an analysis of reinforcers that were substitutable with those produced by self-injurious behavior (SIB). Three individuals with profound developmental disabilities, whose SIB appeared to be maintained by automatic reinforcement, participated. Results of three experiments showed that (a) object manipulation and SIB were inversely related when leisure materials and SIB were concurrently available, with participants showing almost complete preference for object manipulation; (b) attempts to reduce SIB using the preferred objects as reinforcers in differential reinforcement contingencies were unsuccessful for all 3 participants; and (c) participants' preferences for SIB or object manipulation systematically changed when reinforcer cost (the amount of effort required to obtain the object) was varied. Results of the three experiments illustrate the importance of examining interactions among concurrently available reinforcers when conducting reinforcer assessments.     

AN EVALUATION OF RESURGENCE DURING TREATMENT WITH FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING

Extinction‐induced resurgence is the recurrence of previously reinforced behavior when another behavior is placed on extinction (Lieving, Hagopian, Long, & O'Connor, 2004). This phenomenon may account for some instances of treatment relapse when problem behavior recovers during extinction‐based treatments. The current study sought to determine whether resurgence of problem behavior would reliably occur with 5 participants who received treatment with FCT. Results showed that problem behavior reemerged for all but 1 participant when the communicative response was exposed to extinction or thin schedules of reinforcement. These findings suggest that resurgence may account for some instances of response recovery during treatment, and that the described procedure may be useful for the further study of resurgence and eventual prevention of this phenomenon.     

COMPARING PLEASURE AND PAIN: THE FUNDAMENTAL MATHEMATICAL EQUIVALENCE OF REWARD GAIN AND SHOCK REDUCTION UNDER VARIABLE INTERVAL SCHEDULES

The relationship between positive and negative reinforcement and the symmetry of Thorndike's law of effect are unresolved issues in operant psychology. Here we show that, for a given pattern of responding on variable interval (VI) schedules with the same programmed rate of food rewards (positive reinforcement VI) or electric shocks (negative reinforcement VI), there is a fundamental mathematical equivalence between reward gain and shock reduction. We also provide the first normative account of how animals should respond on a negative VI schedule, showing that it is better to space responses evenly than to respond with a variable interresponse time (IRT). Published data from rats, however, indicate that these animals respond irregularly, often with a burst of activity immediately following a shock. While this is irrational in the experimental setting, it may represent an appropriate response to the heterogeneity of stimuli commonly encountered in natural environments. We discuss the broader implications of our analysis for understanding how animals evaluate appetitive and aversive stimuli.     

应激干预对不同行为类型大学生心率血压手指温度的影响

探讨应激干预对心率、血压、手指温度的影响及不同行为类型的差异。被试为河北师范大学本科生72人(A、B型各36人),应激干预为音乐放松、腹式呼吸和静坐休息,实验包括基线期-干预期-应激期-恢复期四个阶段,在观看紧张性影片前进行应激前干预,记录被试的心率、血压、手指温度。结果发现,就缓解应激所产生的交感神经活动增强来说,音乐放松效果较好,腹式呼吸也明显优于自然休息;行为类型（A、B）和应激干预大多表现出来交互作用;个体生理反应的性别差异与生理指标有关,基线值的性别差异较大时,男女生的生理数据不宜混合在一起,基线值相差不大时,可以用相对值（如变化值或变化率）进行统计处理。说明行为类型（A、B）对于应激而言是一种微调变量,在自然休息状态或者低应激水平下作用更明显,应激水平较高时,行为类型的调节作用会显著降低;不同应激干预适用不同行为类型个体     

SOME DIRECT AND GENERALIZED EFFECTS OF REPLACING AN AUTISTIC MAN'S ECHOLALIA WITH CORRECT RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS

We extended the use of operant procedures to decrease immediate echolalia and increase the appropriate responding to questions of a 21-year-old autistic man. Three experiments were conducted in which the overall plan was to (a) encourage the subject to remain quiet before, during, and after the presentation of questions and (b) teach him to use environmental cues (i.e., word cards or a model's responses) to increase the likelihood of responding correctly. Multiple baseline designs demonstrated that echolalia was rapidly replaced with correct stimulus-specific responses. In addition, there were a variety of generalized improvements in the subject's verbal responses to questions. The procedures and results are contrasted to previous research in an attempt to explain the encouraging findings.     

THE EFFECT OF POLITICAL REALIGNMENTS DURING AN ARMED CONFLICT ON ETHNIC STEREOTYPES1

A stereotype check-list was administered to 42 postgraduate students in India on December 3, 1971 (before the 14 day Indo-Pakistan war started) and on December 14, 1971 (two days before the end of the war), asking them to attribute to each of the seven nationalities five traits which they considered as most characteristic of them. The results of the study indicate that political realignements during the war affected the favorability-unfavorability of the stereotypes assigned to various groups. The perception of the nations favoring India became more positive, whereas the perception of those favoring Pakistan became more negative. The self-image of Indians also improved.     

AN EVALUATION OF THE NUMBER OF PRESENTATIONS OF TARGET SOUNDS DURING STIMULUS—STIMULUS PAIRING TRIALS

We evaluated the differential effects of 2 variations of a stimulus–stimulus pairing procedure on the vocalizations of 2 children with autism. For both participants, presenting 1 sound per pairing trial resulted in a higher rate of vocalizations than 3 sounds per pairing trial.