Behavioral science and the Nobel Prize: a history

The Nobel Prizes began a little over a century ago, established by the last will and testament of Alfred Nobel to recognize those individuals "who. shall have conferred the greatest benefits on mankind" (R. M. Friedman, 2001, p. 13). No social science prizes were established among the original five categories, consequently behavioral research has received little recognition. Using archival records from several locations, particularly the Nobel committee records from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which selects the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, this article provides a history of the scientists whose work was related to psychology and who won or lost the attempt for Nobel fame. It concludes with a discussion of the importance of behavioral science in the 21st century in the context of the subject domains of the Nobel Prizes.     

On being imitated: Effects on reward and reward value of the imitator

The effects of being imitated on the model's reward of imitating and nonimitating confederates and on the confederates' reward value were assessed. Forty-eight first graders served as subjects. It was found that more children showed a bias in giving reward to the imitating confederate than to the nonimitating confederate. This effect was particularly strong for children classified as having an internal locus of control. Second, no difference in confederates' reward value was obtained as measured by operantly conditioned responding on a marble-drop task.     

The reward probability index: design and validation of a scale measuring access to environmental reward

Behavioral models of depression implicate decreased response-contingent positive reinforcement (RCPR) as critical toward the development and maintenance of depression (Lewinsohn, 1974). Given the absence of a psychometrically sound self-report measure of RCPR, the Reward Probability Index (RPI) was developed to measure access to environmental reward and to approximate actual RCPR. In Study 1 (n = 269), exploratory factor analysis supported a 20-item two-factor model (Reward Probability, Environmental Suppressors) with strong internal consistency (α = .90). In Study 2 (n = 281), confirmatory factor analysis supported this two-factor structure and convergent validity was established through strong correlations between the RPI and measures of activity, avoidance, reinforcement, and depression (r = .65 to .81). Discriminant validity was supported via smaller correlations between the RPI and measures of social support and somatic anxiety (r = – .29 to – .40). Two-week test–retest reliability was strong (r = .69). In Study 3 (n = 33), controlling for depression symptoms, hierarchical regression supported the incremental validity of the RPI in predicting daily diary reports of environmental reward. The RPI represents a parsimonious, reliable, and valid measure that may facilitate understanding of the etiology of depression and its relationship to overt behaviors.     

The distracting effect of material reward: An alternative explanation for the superior performance of reward groups in probability learning

To determine whether the distraction effect associated with material rewards in discrimination learning can account for the superior performance of reward groups in probability learning, the performance of 144 school children (preschool, second, and fifth grades) on a two-choice successive discrimination task was compared under three reinforcement conditions (material reward, marker, and knowledge of results). The two events in the task had different frequencies of occurrence, as in probability learning, yet they appeared in a constant order to make 100% payoff possible. The subjects in the reward and marker groups learned the task more slowly, and the nonlearners among them used stereotyped alternation patterns to a greater degree than subjects in the knowledge-of-results condition. These findings suggest that a distracting effect of material reward is present in probability learning and may explain the superior performance of reward groups typically found in probability learning studies.     

The effect of informational stimuli on instrumental response rate: Signalling reward versus signalling the availability of reward

Rats were trained to press a lever for food on an interval schedule and were given a brief cue (0.5 sec) between the operative response and the reward (C condition). Some control subjects in Experiments 1, 2 and 4 were given their cue either following the end of the temporal interval during which reward had been unavailable (SD condition), or randomly with respect to food (R condition). Other control subjects in Experiments 2 and 4 received both the food-correlated cue and the temporal-interval stimulus (B condition). In all experiments, rate of responding was lowest for the C subjects and for B animals when the two cues were from different modalities. Food-correlated and temporal-interval cues did not interact, suggesting that a reward-correlated signal does not affect response rate simply by enhancing the salience of the temporal interval offset.     

应激的基本理论与难治性慢性胃炎

内源性,外源性应激因素都会对人体心理和神经内分泌系统造成影响,在同一应激因素下由于人格不同可能有不同的应激反应。过度的应激是导致心身疾病的重要原因。多教难治性慢性胃炎和医源性应激关系密切,对慢性胃炎和FD在处理上应作为一种痛去对症处理,不必过度强调抗Hp。医生在临床工作中,要注意规范言行,合理解释病情,避免医源性应激给...     

The role of response and reward in spatial memory

Two experiments were conducted to determine the role of the response and of reward in spatial working memory. Rats were initially trained on a four-arm maze to run to the end of each arm for a single pellet of food. On subsequent tests, rats were first placed at the end of one, two, or three arms. In Experiment 1, the arms on which the rat was placed (“placed arms”) had food which the rat was allowed to eat, whereas in Experiment 2 these placed arms did not have food. Following the placements the rat was allowed to choose among the four arms; only unplaced arms contained food. Two measures indicated that the response made a slight but reliable contribution to spatial memory. (a) When a rewarded arm was still available, choice accuracy after placements was less than choice accuracy on tests in which no placements had occurred; this difference diminished over test days. (b) When all four arms had been chosen once, the rats were more likely to go back to a placed arm rather than an unplaced arm. No influence of the presence or absence of food on the placed arms was found. These data demonstrate that the response of running down an arm, but not the reward outcome at the end, had a small influence on the memorability of a visit. Overall, above chance performance in the spatial working memory task was maintained without either running to the arm or obtaining food on it.     

Transfer between downshift in reward magnitude and continuous delay of reward

Two separate experiments were conducted to investigate transfer of persistence between delay and a downshift in reward magnitude. In the first experiment, experimental rats were initially downshifted in reward magnitude and later tested for persistence to continuous delay of large reward. It was found that these rats were more persistent to the effects of delay than control rats which did not receive prior experience with a downshift in reward magnitude. In the second experiment, experimental rats were first trained to receive large reward under delayed conditions and then tested for persistence to a downshift in reward magnitude. Compared to control rats which received no prior experience with delay, the experimental rats showed a significantly smaller negative contrast effect. The results were interpreted as supporting Amsel's theory of persistence as well as Capaldi's recent interpretation of contrast effects.     

Effects of reward and familiarity of reward agent on spontaneous play in preschoolers: a field study

A field experiment was conducted with preschool children to test the effect of rewards on a familiar, spontaneous play activity, in conditions as close as possible to the children's natural school context, and to examine the role of familiarity of the person who administered rewards. In three experimental conditions, children were rewarded either by their own teacher or by an unknown adult for playing with toys at the school playground and stayed with either the teacher or the unknown adult in the remaining part of reward sessions. Spontaneous play was significantly reduced by the reward relative to baseline levels and recovered after a 3-wk. interval. However, no difference due to familiarity/unfamiliarity of reward agent could be found. Results, discussed in terms of an incentive contrast hypothesis, attest to the generality and external validity of the undermining effects of rewards.     

诺贝尔医学奖与美国人的情结

通过对美国历年来获得诺贝尔医学奖项目和获奖者的分析,发现美国有获奖者多、原创性成果多、基础前沿研究成果多、出自一流科研机构的获奖者多的"四多"现状.美国的获奖历史和现状带给了我们许多哲学思考.     

诺贝尔医学奖与幽门螺杆菌

瑞典皇家科学院宣布了今年的化学、物理和医学诺贝尔奖获得者。获得医学奖的是两位澳大利亚科学家。他们因发现幽门螺杆菌而获奖。就幽门螺杆菌的实验研究过程和临床应用作一简介。     

诺贝尔医学奖与幽门螺杆菌

瑞典皇家科学院宣布了今年的化学、物理和医学诺贝尔奖获得者.获得医学奖的是两位澳大利亚科学家.他们因发现幽门螺杆菌而荻奖.就幽门螺杆菌的实验研究过程和临床应用作一简介.