Evaluating increased effort for item disposal to improve recycling at a university

An evaluation of increased response effort to dispose of items was conducted to improve recycling at a university. Signs prompting individuals to recycle and notifying them of the location of trash and recycling receptacles were posted in each phase. During the intervention, trashcans were removed from the classrooms, and one large trashcan was available in the hallway next to the recycling receptacles. Results showed that correct recycling increased, and trash left in classrooms increased initially during the second intervention phase before returning to baseline levels.     

Effects of increased response effort on self-injury and object manipulation as competing responses

We evaluated the effects of a response-effort intervention on the occurrence of self-injurious hand mouthing and a competing response (object manipulation) with 4 individuals who had profound developmental disabilities. During Phase 1, results of functional analyses showed that all participants engaged in high levels of hand mouthing in the absence of social contingencies, suggesting that the behavior was maintained by automatic reinforcement. In Phase 2, preferred leisure items were identified for participants during assessments in which duration of leisure item manipulation was used as the index of preference. In Phase 3, participants were observed to engage in high levels of hand mouthing and in varying levels of object manipulation when they had free access to their most preferred leisure items during baseline. The effects of increased response effort on hand mouthing and object manipulation were then evaluated in mixed multiple baseline and reversal designs. The response-effort condition was identical to baseline, except that participants wore soft, flexible sleeves that increased resistance for elbow flexion but still enabled participants to engage in hand mouthing. Results showed consistent decreases in SIB and increases in object manipulation during the response-effort condition for all participants. These results suggested that a less preferred reinforcer (produced by object manipulation) may substitute for a more highly preferred reinforcer (produced by hand mouthing) when response effort for hand mouthing was increased. DESCRIPTORS: self-injurious behavior, automatic reinforcement, reinforcer substitutability, response effort     

Making life easier with effort: Basic findings and applied research on response effort

Early basic research showed that increases in required response effort (or force) produced effects that resembled those produced by punishment. A recent study by Alling and Poling determined some subtle differences between the two behavior-change strategies, but also confirmed that increasing required effort is an effective response-reduction procedure with enduring effects. In this paper we summarize basic research on response effort and explore the role of effort in diverse applied areas including deceleration of aberrant behavior, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oral habits, health care appointment keeping, littering, indexes of functional disability, and problem solving. We conclude that renewed interest in response effort as an independent variable is justified because of its potent effects and because the political constraints imposed on punishment- and reinforcement-based procedures have yet to be imposed on procedures that entail manipulations of response effort.     

Rapid assessment of the effects of restraint on self-injury and adaptive behavior

We evaluated the effects of restraint on occurrences of self-injurious behavior (SIB) and adaptive responses exhibited by 2 individuals across eight response-effort conditions: baseline (no restraints); restraint sleeves without stays; restraints with 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 thin metal stays; and restraints with five thick metal stays. From this analysis, we identified a restraint level for each participant that reduced SIB but did not inhibit adaptive responding.     

The effects of response effort on safe performance by therapists at an autism treatment facility

The effects of response effort on safe behaviors (i.e., glove wearing, hand sanitizing, and electrical outlet replacement) exhibited by therapists at an autism treatment center were examined. Participants were exposed to 2 or 3 levels of effort (i.e., high, medium, low) for each dependent variable. Results showed increased safe performance during the low-effort conditions relative to other conditions across all dependent variables for all participants.     

Effects of methamphetamine and scopolamine on variability of response location.

Methamphetamine and scopolamine were studied in monkeys responding under a multiple fixed-ratio fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement. A response on any one of six levers could satisfy the schedule requirements. Variability of response location was evaluated in terms of switches, where a switch was defined as a response on one lever followed by a response on a different lever. Under baseline conditions the fixed-ratio schedule generated a high rate of responding and a low level of variability, while the fixed-interval schedule generated a low rate of responding and a high level of variability. Both methamphetamine (0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg) and scopolamine (2.4 to 240 microgram/kg) decreased overall response rate and increased variability of response location in each component of the multiple schedule with increasing doses of drug. At lower doses both drugs were found to decrease rate without affecting response variability.     

The effects of number of sample stimuli and number of choices in a detection task on measures of discriminability

Six pigeons were trained on a conditional discrimination task involving the discrimination of various intensities of yellow light. The research asked whether stimulus—response discriminability measures between any pair of stimuli would remain constant when a third or fourth sample and reinforced response were added. The numbers of different sample stimuli presented and different responses reinforced were two (Part 1), three (Parts 2 and 4), and four (Part 3). Across conditions within parts, the ratios of reinforcers obtainable for correct responses were varied over at least five levels. In Part 5, the numbers of sample stimuli and reinforced responses were varied among two, three, and four, and the reinforcer ratio between consecutive remaining samples was constant at 2:1. It was found that once a particular response had been reinforced, subjects continued to emit that response when the conditional stimulus for that response was no longer presented. Data analysis using a generalization-based detection model indicated that this model was able to describe the data effectively. Four findings were in accord with the theory. First, estimates of stimulus—response discriminability usually decreased as the arranged physical disparity between the sample stimuli decreased. Second, stimulus—response discriminability measures were independent of response—reinforcer discriminability measures, preserving parameter invariance between these measures. Third, stimulus—response discriminability measures for constant pairs of conditional stimuli did not change systematically as conditional stimulus—response alternatives were added. Fourth, log stimulus—response discriminability values between physically adjacent conditional stimuli summed to values that were not significantly different from estimates of the discriminability values for conditional stimuli that were spaced further apart.     

Separating response dependency and response-reinforcer contiguity within a recycling conjunctive schedule

A procedure is described which disrupts response-reinforcer contiguity and response dependency and which demonstrates how the location of the response dependency in interval schedules can be regarded as a controlling variable in its own right. Rats' lever pressing produced sucrose on a recycling conjunctive fixed-time 30-second fixed-ratio 1 schedule of reinforcement. Reinforcement occurred only at the end of the fixed-time component on this schedule and only if a response had occurred during that component. This produced a pause-respond-pause pattern during the interreinforcer interval for all animals. When the location of the response dependency was then restricted to a 10-second period in the middle of the fixed-time component, the pattern was accentuated and response rates increased for all animals, while postreinforcement pauses decreased sharply for two animals. When responding was required in the first 10 seconds of the fixed-time component, responding peaked earlier in the interval for all animals. Response rates were slightly below those in the previous conditions, while postreinforcement pauses were between 2 and 6 seconds across animals.     

Shape discriminations of three-dimensional objects depend on the number and location of bends

In three experiments, subjects made shape discriminations of three-dimensional objects differing in orientation, number of bends, and location of bends (e.g., the central arm vs. a minor subarm). In general, encoding times at 0° disparity on bothsame anddifferent trials were affected by the number of bends, but only after a certain threshold of bends in the objects had been reached (Experiment 1). This effect was not due to the subjects’ having to search for matching ends of the objects (Experiment 2). In contrast, rotation rates were influenced by the location of the bends, but not by the number of bends per se (Experiment 3). The results support a representational scheme that is hierarchical, but not necessarily one in which the principal axis of an object is paramount.     

Shear band evolution during large plastic deformation of brittle and ductile metallic glasses

Four monolithic metallic glasses (MMGs) with different plasticities varying from brittle to ductile behavior under unconstrained loading were subjected to small punch testing. All specimens undergo large plastic deformation with multiple cobweb-like shear bands under these conditions. The process of shear band evolution was carefully controlled and investigated. Plasticity of MMGs is characterized by equivalent plastic strain ε* (product of shear band density and critical shear offset). Thus, this article provides an experimental basis for a better understanding of the shear band evolution during plastic deformation of MMGs.     

Shaping the location of a pigeon's peck: effect of rate and size of shaping steps.

For several pigeons, pecking at particular locations within a ten-inch-wide response area was reinforced by grain presentations. The reinforced locations changed systematically to "shape" response location back and forth across the area. The rate and size of these shifts in reinforced locations were varied in both between-subject and within-subject comparisons to evaluate the influence of these variables on the shaping process. Larger step sizes produced larger shifts in location for all sizes inspected, with all sizes from .5 to 3.0 inches effective in shaping behavior. More rapid steps were approximately as effective as slower steps for all rates of shift inspected from 25 reinforcers to 400 reinforcers per step. These data suggest that shaping peck location proceeds most efficiently with rapid, relatively large shifts in criterion performance.     

Effects of performance anxiety on effort and performance in rock climbing: A test of processing efficiency theory

Abstract

Three studies examined the effort and performance of rock climbers in the context of processing efficiency theory. Anxiety was manipulated by different means in the three studies. In each study, the effort due only to the physical exertion of climbing was controlled for. Anxiety, effort, and performance were measured via self-report, an integrated heart rate measure, and belayer observation. Consistent with processing efficiency theory, the results showed that higher levels of anxiety were usually associated with higher levels of effort and commensurately higher levels of performance. However, the results also suggested that cognitive anxiety may not be the prime determinant of the effort and performance changes observed. Finally, the results suggested that other individual difference variables may play an important part in determining the extent to which individuals may be able to make use of anxiety-induced effort.     

Assessing potency of high- and low-preference reinforcers with respect to response rate and response patterns

Previous research has suggested that the availability of high-preference stimuli may override the reinforcing efficacy of concurrently available low-preference stimuli under relatively low schedule requirements (e.g., fixed-ratio 1 schedule). It is unknown if similar effects would be obtained under higher schedule requirements. Thus, the current study compared high-preference and low-preference reinforcers under progressively increasing schedule requirements. Results for 3 of the 4 participants indicated that high-preference stimuli maintained responding under higher schedule requirements relative to low-preference stimuli. For 1 participant, high-preference and low-preference stimuli were demonstrated to be equally effective reinforcers under increasing schedule requirements. Implications with respect to rate of performance and response patterns are discussed.     

唯识精进的结构与功能――以对主观幸福感的影响为例

以588名高中生为被试,以《精进问卷》、《生活满意度量表》和《积极与消极情感量表》为工具,先考察唯识精进的结构,然后,以精进对主观幸福感的影响为例,考察精进的功能。结果表明：（1）精进是七因素的结构;（2）对于生活满意度和积极情感而言,最有力的正向预测变量是无下和披甲精进;（3）对于消极情感而言,披甲和加行精进有微弱的负向预测作用。本研究突破了唯识心理学乃至佛教心理学偏重思辨研究而忽略实证研究的局限。     

Epistemological transformation for a sustainable and transdisciplinary university: The experience at the university of veracruz

This article presents a brief history of the development of the Western university and the individuation of disciplines. It discusses the phenomenal specialization that has occurred since the 19th century, and the lack of correlative synthesis of the disparate fields of knowledge, which increasingly has come under critique. We explore the transdisciplinary experience that has been developing over the last few years in the University of Veracruz, in particular with regards to the Program for Transdisciplinarity, Dialogue of Knowing Styles and Sustainability, a co-construction of a set of actions that foster a transformation of university academics by means of deep dialogue and a transdisciplinary re-learning process.     

Effects of display complexity on location and feature inhibition

Inhibition of return refers to the lengthening of reaction times (RTs) to a target when a preceding stimulus has occupied the same location in space. Recently, we observed a robust inhibitory effect for color and shape in moderately complex displays: It is more difficult to detect a target with a particular nonspatial attribute if a stimulus with the same attribute was recently the focus of attention. Such nonspatial inhibitory effects have not generally been found in simpler displays. In the present study, we test how location-based and nonspatial inhibitory effects vary as a function of display complexity (eight, six, four, and two locations). The results demonstrated that (1) location-based inhibition effects were much stronger in more complex displays, whereas the nonspatial inhibition was only slightly stronger in more complex displays; (2) nonspatial inhibitory effects emerged at longer stimulus onset asynchronies than did location-based effects; and (3) nonspatial inhibition appeared only when cues and targets occurred in the same locations, confirming that pure feature repetition does not produce a cost. Taken together, the results are consistent with perceptual processes based on object files that are organized by spatial location. Using somewhat more complex displays than are most commonly employed provides a more sensitive method for observing the role of inhibitory processes in facilitating visual search. In addition, using a relatively wide set of cue–target timing relationships is necessary in order to clearly see how inhibitory effects operate.     

The Enhancing Effect of Overconfidence on Subsequent Learning Performance: Potential Mediation Effects of Dissatisfaction and Effort

Three studies were conducted to investigate whether individuals whose performance on a learning task fell short of their previous overconfident self‐assessment would apply more effort on a subsequent task to resolve their dissatisfaction and thereby achieve better subsequent performance than individuals who made accurate or underconfident self‐assessments. Specifically, Study 1 and Study 2 used overestimation, and Study 3 used overplacement to predict subsequent performance by measuring students' self‐assessments before the first task, their level of dissatisfaction with their actual performance on that task, the effort they applied in learning, and their performance on the subsequent task. Furthermore, Study 3 divided the participants randomly into a false feedback group (the control group) and a real feedback group (the experimental group). The results showed that when controlling for prior performance, participants who were more overconfident tended to express greater dissatisfaction and increase more effort to achieve their desired outcomes when they perceived a gap between their desired performance and their actual performance. Notably, they achieved better subsequent performance, whereas those in the control group who were overconfident neither applied more effort in subsequent learning nor increased their subsequent performance when they received “unbiased feedback.” The implications of these findings for education are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of alcohol drinkers at a state and private university

The purpose of this study was to compare the drinking behaviors of college students at a large state university to the drinking behaviors of their counterparts at a smaller church university.Questionnaires were administered to a total sample of 764—434 students represented the state university, while 330 students represented the church university. Statistical analysis of the data revealed significant differences at the .05 alpha level between the two groups of drinkers. However, many similarities between the two groups did exist. Two of the three null hypotheses were supported by the data. Only in one category did the drinkers at the church school respond notably higher than the state school drinkers. Considerably more church school drinkers admitted to drinking primarily when in a lonely or sad mood than the state school drinkers. Drinkers at the church school felt a need to hide or be alone when drinking and did not use alcohol to socialize as often as their state school counterparts.     

Reinforcer control by comparison-stimulus color and location in a delayed matching-to-sample task

Six pigeons were trained in a delayed matching-to-sample task involving bright- and dim-yellow samples on a central key, a five-peck response requirement to either sample, a constant 1.5-s delay, and the presentation of comparison stimuli composed of red on the left key and green on the right key or vice versa. Green-key responses were occasionally reinforced following the dimmer-yellow sample, and red-key responses were occasionally reinforced following the brighter-yellow sample. Reinforcer delivery was controlled such that the distribution of reinforcers across both comparison-stimulus color and comparison-stimulus location could be varied systematically and independently across conditions. Matching accuracy was high throughout. The ratio of left to right side-key responses increased as the ratio of left to right reinforcers increased, the ratio of red to green responses increased as the ratio of red to green reinforcers increased, and there was no interaction between these variables. However, side-key biases were more sensitive to the distribution of reinforcers across key location than were comparison-color biases to the distribution of reinforcers across key color. An extension of Davison and Tustin's (1978) model of DMTS performance fit the data well, but the results were also consistent with an alternative theory of conditional discrimination performance (Jones, 2003) that calls for a conceptually distinct quantitative model.