Effects of prefeeding on performance with body weight held constant

Two experiments are reported in which rats received either no prefeeding, nutritive substance prefeeding, or nonnutritive substance prefeeding prior to running in a straight alley. The running-speed data supported body weight as an overall measure of hunger drive. Performance was a function of body weight but not stomach weight or associated stomach bulk.     

Response elimination in concurrent and single operant situations with pigeons

Two experiments compared the efficiency and durability of elimination of a free operant resulting from omission (OM) or extinction (EXT) when an alternative to the response undergoing elimination was available. Pigeons were pretrained on concurrent VI (Expt I) before response elimination, durability testing, and extinction testing. Maintenance of one operant by the adventitious reinforcement for not emitting a second operant subjected to OM was demonstrated. Response elimination effects were more durable after OM than EXT. Experiment II compared concurrent and single operant paradigms in response elimination with OM and EXT. Response elimination was more rapid and more durable in the concurrent situation than in the single operant situation, and OM conditions were more durable than EXT conditions.     

Emotional responsivity to nonveridical heart rate feedback as a function of anxiety

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the effects of nonveridical heart rate feedback and anxiety on electrodermal responses and verbal reports to emotionally laden stimuli. Forty-eight female subjects were divided into high and low anxious groups on the basis of their Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale scores and resting level electrodermal activity. All subjects viewed 10 autopsy slides while hearing continuous auditory tones supposedly representing their own heartbeats. Twenty-four subjects heard the tones increase in rate with slide onset. The other 24 subjects heard no change in rate with slide onset. The high resting autonomic activity group responded with significantly larger electrodermal responses to the heart rate feedback-slide combination than the low resting level autonomic activity group. The high autonomic activity group also reported that the slides were significantly more unpleasant than the low autonomic activity group, particularly those slides accompanied by an increase in heart rate feedback. Implications of these findings for a cognitive-visceral model of emotion are discussed.     

Evidence for a developmental shift in the basis for memory organization

Using a false recognition procedure, either with or without instructions to facilitate Synonym or Antonym encoding, 128 second- and sixth-grade boys and girls were tested. The results indicated that there were no grade or sex differences in generalization errors to synonyms or antonyms under neurtral learning instructions, but that facilitative instructions interacted with grade level. Under instructions to facilitate synonym encoding, second graders showed a marked increase in synonym errors. On the other hand, under instructions to facilitate antonym encoding, sixth graders showed an increase in antonym errors. In addition, association strength was directly related to the magnitude of the generalization errors in both grades. The results are discussed in terms of age-related shifts in the basis underlying the organization of verbal memories.     

Flooding as a function of shock level and length of confinement

In a one-way avoidance learning situation with rats, response prevention trials facilitated extinction as an increasing function of the duration of the prevention interval for shock levels below 1.8 mA. For 1.8 mA, extinction was a nonmonotonic function of the response prevention interval, with 15- and 210-sec durations showing the most facilitation of extinction. For all response prevention intervals except 15 sec, trials to extinction was a direct function of shock level. For 15 sec, it was an inverse function of shock level. The unexpected interaction of shock level with prevention interval was explained by invoking the concept of relief.     

Effects of dominance cues on attributions of sexual behavior

Many writers have suggested that dominance plays an important role in human sexuality. This proposition was examined by asking 51 females and 85 males to rate their impressions of a man and woman (photographed in the nude) who were described as having a male-dominant, female-dominant, or equalitarian relationship. Results indicated that although subjects' level of sexual arousal was unaffected by dominance, dominant individuals were perceived as more sexually active than the other stimulus persons. As expected, dominance appeared to enhance perceived masculinity, while submissiveness increased perceived femininity. Surprisingly, dominant male and female stimulus persons were not differentially evaluated. These findings were interpreted as being consistent with the assumption dominance is positively associated with sexuality.     

Cross-response mode consistency in risk taking as a function of self-reported strategy and self-perceived consistency

Earlier work (Slovic, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1972, 22, 128–134) has found that consistency in preference for the same stimuli across two response modes, selling price and choice, is only moderate. The present study followed the same procedure and also asked subjects to report the strategies they used to determine their preferences and to state how consistent they usually were in gambling tasks. Greater consistency was found for those (1) who reported strategies for both response modes, (2) whose strategy type matched across response modes, and (3) who perceived themselves as consistent. Strategy differences were also found across response modes. The results were discussed in terms of the usefulness of assessing subjective task interpretation in predicting consistency and for the general desirability of greater idiographic assessment for increased predictability.     

The effects of behavior rehearsal and feedback on the acquisition of problem-solving skills in distressed and nondistressed couples

Couples who were paid to participate in an experimental marital enrichment program were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions or to a control group. All groups received training in solving marital problems, but the groups differed according to how they were trained; some received feedback (FB) on their previous taped performances, some had the opportunity to practice the skills suggested by the therapist (BR), some had both (complete treatment), and some simply were presented with instructions. Changes in problem-solving skills were assessed by behavioral observations of the frequency of positive problem-solving behavior before and after treatment, and global ratings of problem-solving effectiveness made by trained raters. In general, the complete treatment condition produced greater changes from pre- to post-test than any other condition. Couples in this condition showed significantly greater increases in positive behavior than any other group, and on global ratings of problem-solving skills they evidenced the greatest improvement, although on this measure they did not improve significantly more than BR couples.     

Role played self-disclosure as a function of liking and knowing

Subjects identified persons from their own lives whom they liked and knew to varying degrees. At a later session, subjects role-played a self-disclosing conversation with each identified person. Verbal behavior was recorded and analyzed with respect to the personalness of disclosure. Analysis of variance results for both self-report and observational measures show significant effects for liking and knowing on personal, but not impersonal, self-disclosure. The pattern of results over all dependent measures indicates that liking has a more specific effect on personal disclosure than does knowing, but that liking and knowing do not differ in relative control over impersonal disclosure. A correlational analysis involving subjects' perceptions of the experimental situation and the dependent disclosure measures supported this interpretation.     

An empirical investigation of self-esteem as a composite construct

Three measures of chronic self-esteem, plus four measures developed to assess situational components of self-esteem (task-specific self-esteem and social self-esteem), were administered to 238 undergraduates at a large, urban university and a community college in the southeastern United States. Evidence for a composite construct of self-esteem was found. Results also indicate task-specific self-esteem correlates as high as .42 (p < .01) with chronic self-esteem and as high as .76 (p < .01) with social self-esteem. Task-specific self-esteem was found to be a better predictor of grade point average than chronic or social self-esteem. Suggestions are made for further research on the situational components of self-esteem to extend current findings.     

Causal internalization of academic performance as a function of self-esteem and performance satisfaction

In the present investigation, we integrated self-theories (specifically, theories of cognitive consistency and self-esteem) with attribution theory. Our intent was to clarify the effects of different levels of self-esteem and performance satisfaction on causal internalization of academic performance. Subjects were 162 university students who attributed causality for their individual performances on a midterm examination. Attributions to four internal and four external causal sources were analyzed with a 2 × 2 (Self-Concept × Performance Satisfaction) MANOVA and with follow-up univariate F ratios. Most of the findings support the predictions based on self-esteem theory; i.e., satisfaction with performance, rather than consistency of performance with self-esteem, served as the primary influence on internalization of causality, with students internalizing satisfying outcomes more than dissatisfying outcomes. Cognitive-consistency theory and B. Weiner's (1979, Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 3–25) attribution proposal regarding maintenance of a stable self-concept also received support, as attributions to the internal and stable causal sources of ability and general effort were a function of an interaction of self-esteem and performance satisfaction. Hence, neither self-theory adequately anticipated the effects of self-esteem and performance satisfaction on causal internalization. Rather, a consolidation of theories is needed to explain the results.     

Effects of performance expectancies created by peer comparison as related to social reinforcement,task difficulty,and age of child

Children in kindergarten-first grades and fourth-sixth grades (6 and 10 years of age, respectively) participated in one of two experiments and performed either a simple motor task or (for older children only) a two-choice simultaneous discrimination task at two difficulty levels. Children received either positive, negative, or no peer comparison statements (describing how other children their age had allegedly performed) and either praise, silence (in Experiment 2 only), or criticism on a fixed-interval 20-second schedule throughout the task. Young children were more responsive to adult evaluation of their performance than to peer comparison. Expectancies created by peer comparisons affected older children's motor performance most if they received reinforcement contrary to the expectancy. In situations requiring greater cognitive ability, older children, particularly boys, responded to the performance expectancies created by positive peer comparison. Older boys, compared with older girls, seemed to be more sensitive to peer comparison and social reinforcement.     

Preference for shock signals as a function of the temporal accuracy of the signals

Three groups of rats were exposed to pairs of three different contingencies on two sides of a shuttlebox. One signaled contingency provided 10-min danger and safety cues plus an additional 10-sec cue immediately preceeding shock (P-S), another signaled contingency provided 10-min danger and safety cues but random 10-sec cues with respect to shock (R-S), and an unsignaled contingency provided no safety period, but only a 20-min danger period during which shock could occur (NS). Signaled P-S and R-S contingencies were preferred in a choice test to the unsignaled NS contingency, and P-S was preferred to R-S. Independent tests of the fear-eliciting properties of the cues made in an off-baseline test of suppression of ongoing exploration indicated more freezing (fear) to the 10-sec cue in rats experiencing the P-S contingency. The results were interpreted as indicating a preference for cues providing more precise information about the temporal location of shock even when those cues were fear-eliciting.     

Physiological arousal in the context of a specified anticipatory period and experimentally induced expectancy for shock

Anticipatory and reactive components of skin conductance and heart rate were assessed under different levels of shock expectancy. Sixty college males received two shock and two nonshock trials of a 12-light count-up where shock occurred at the eighth light. Expectancies were experimentally induced via 20 preliminary trials during which a red light substituted for shock. The red light appeared on 18/20, 10/20, and 2/20 preliminary trials for 90, 50, and 10% expectancy groups, respectively. Prior to each test trial, subjects estimated the likelihood of receiving shock. Major findings were that: (a) mean probability estimates corresponded closely with values provided by preliminary trials; (b) tonic skin conductance during anticipation was higher with greater expectancy for shock; (c) phasic change in skin conductance to the count-up lights was greatest in the 90% group during anticipation; and (d) reactivity at impact tended to be greater with higher anticipatory arousal. The relationship of event probability to stress was discussed with respect to length of the anticipatory periods and methods used to establish expectancies.