On-line computers in psychology: A laboratory course for advanced psychology majors

This course is structured as a series of increasingly difficult projects which involve students in all aspects of using computers for experimentation. Projects range from programming simple experiments utilizing monitor displays and keyboard responses to the use of hardware interfaces to connect complex peripherals. Students not only design and develop their projects, but also engage in data collection and analysis. The course provides experience with hardware and software as well as the intricacies of debugging the resulting project.     

Design and organization in a computerized psychology laboratory

This paper presents six; principles of laboratory organization and design. These six principles are an outgrowth of the past 7 years’ experience in the Mathematical Models Laboratory of the Psychology Department at Indiana University. Each of the six principles is formally stated and then followed by explanation and examples.     

An on-line psychology laboratory for teaching and research

This paper describes a PDP-15 timesharing system in which on-line experimentation and an undergraduate laboratory course co-exist with many other users. Design features include precise stimulus and response timing, easy experiment programming, easy system access, and 15 or more simultaneous users. Students can be both experimenters and subjects in realistic, variable course modules.     

Conflicting approaches: operant psychology arrives at a primate laboratory

During a brief period, from 1955 to 1957, behavior analysts, primarily Charles Ferster, Roger Kelleher, and John Falk, conducted research on chimpanzees at the Yerkes Laboratories of Primate Biology in Orange Park, Florida. This was a time of conflict between operant conditioners and more traditional experimental psychologists at the national level, and there was a similar conflict at the local level in Orange Park. The principal overt issues concerned the use of deprivation procedures, the apparatus utilized, and the naming of animals, although more fundamental differences probably set the occasion for the disputes. The conflicts in Orange Park can be seen as a microcosm of the broader conflicts that occurred during a period when the operant approach was being extended and applied more broadly than before.     

全国宗教工作会议在京举行

由中共中央、国务院召开的全国宗教工作会议12月10日至12日在北京举行。中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席江泽民在会上发表重要讲话。他强调,宗教工作是党和国家工作中的重要组成部分,在党和国家事业发展的大局中有着重要的地位。新     

Integrating a computer component into the student psychology laboratory: Problems and prospects

This paper presents some commonly occurring problems associated with integrating a computer component into student psychology laboratories. Implementation of a computer component requires consideration of differences among students, objectives and teaching style of the instructor, course level and content, and courseware to be used. These factors are examined with respect to how they can affect the success of an attempt to use computers in the instructional laboratory.     

The use of muroid rodents in the psychology laboratory

The rodent superfamily Muroidea represents a group of animals with much potential for comparative behavioral study as they are readily acquired, easy to maintain, and exist with sufficient ecological and behavioral diversity to enhance the likelihood of significant results. The superfamily includes Old World rodents, gerbils, hamsters, and a considerable variety of New World rats, mice, and voles which inhabit all 48 adjacent United States. Potential uses of muroid rodents, their taxonomy, and their husbandry are described with particular reference to the 28 species that have been maintained in the author’s laboratory. Although research on muroid behavior is just beginning, available data already support the proposed utility of these animals in behavioral research.     

Low-cost laboratory computing: Microcomputers in British psychology departments

Over 25% of the 80 British psychology departments use microcomputers. This paper summarizes the types of processor, level of system integration, applications, and problems of these users. The Motorola 6800 is by far the most popular processor, but there is a growing number of Z-80 users. Useful microcomputers have been developed from chips, single-board evaluation kits, hobby products, and manufacturers’ development systems. Applications include front-end processing, networking, and stand-alone uses for data logging, process control, and the development of intelligent laboratory tasks. Emphasis is placed on the need to match system packaging and support facilities to the application.     

B. F. Skinner, 1926-1928: From literature to psychology

In the two years between graduation from college and enrolling in graduate school, B. F. Skinner tried to initiate a literary career, failed at the task, and chose psychology as a field for graduate study. In this article we examine his literary background for sources and themes specifically relevant to choosing psychology, and provide an interpretive framework of considerations that seem more generally relevant to understanding his failure as a creative writer and his subsequent career choice.     

The Radio Shack color computer in the experimental psychology laboratory: An evaluation

The Radio Shack color computer is examined from the viewpoint of capabilities needed to program, time, control, and acquire data from typical cognitive psychology experiments. Its capabilities are compared with those of the alternative inexpensive microcomputers discussed in an earlier article (Reed, 1980). The paper also includes a 6809 assembly language routine that permits the measurement of reaction times in video horizontal scan (HS = 4/63 msec) units without hardware modifications and an RSCC BASIC program for unbiased conversion of HS units to milliseconds.     

An experimental psychology laboratory system for the Apple II microcomputer

A system for on-line control of experiments is described that uses the Apple II microcomputer and requires no knowledge of programming. This system, APT, is used to construct test files, randomize stimulus order, and conduct experiments. Construction of an experiment is very easy through use of an interactive program. APT provides powerful options for controlling stimulus duration, feedback, and response type. Programs are available to conduct either a sequence of tests without any experimenter present or a single experiment. Over 200 subjects, ranging from 18 to 86 years of age, have completed a battery of cognitive and abilities tests using the system.