DEC performance in the psychology laboratory

A survey of the On-Line Psychology DEC Users’ Group was taken to evaluate DEC’s performance in the psychology research laboratory. Data were obtained for 20 rating scale items and 7 open-ended items in five categories. On a 10-point scale, DEC averaged about 6 on purchasing procedures and documentation, about 4 on delivery time and maintenance service, and about 7 on product satisfaction. The open-ended items provided users’ explanations for the ratings and new hardware and software that users would like to see from DEC in the near future.     

Common Genetic but Specific Environmental Influences for Aggressive and Deceitful Behaviors in Preadolescent Males

Although both aggressive (AGG) and deceitful behaviors (DEC) are symptoms of childhood conduct problems, few studies have examined common vs. specific etiological influences. Early intervention is encouraged for conduct problems and findings from genetically informative studies can suggest whether interventions should focus on conduct problems in general or groupings of conduct problems more specifically. Twin model-fitting analyses were conducted on same and different teacher ratings of AGG and DEC for 872 9-year old male twin pairs. Common genetic influences were found to underlie the susceptibility for both AGG and DEC. The same teacher ratings resulted in somewhat higher heritability estimates than different teacher ratings. Results also indicated stronger environmental effects for DEC as compared with AGG, with a significant shared environmental component for same teachers and a substantial non-shared environmental component for different teachers. Our data suggest that AGG and DEC share risk genes and environmental factors may differentiate these two types of conduct problems. Characterizing these specific environmental factors may be useful when developing interventions.     

DEC users’ group report

DEC users discussed ways to improve communications among users, including the initiation of a newsletter. Also, new products of special interest to psychologists were described by the DEC representative present at the meeting.     

DEC vs. DEC-compatible hardware

In recent years, users of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) computers have been offered compatible products manufactured by other companies. This paper reviews the results of a survey concerning the purchase and use of non-DEC products; comments concerning advantages or disadvantages of buying DEC vs. non-DEC products are noted.     

Reevaluating the role of the medial prefrontal cortex in delay eyeblink conditioning

It has been proposed that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is not necessary for delay eyeblink conditioning (DEC). Here, we investigated the involvement of the mPFC in DEC with a soft or loud tone as the conditioned stimulus (CS) by using electrolytic lesions or muscimol inactivation of guinea pig mPFC. Interestingly, when a soft tone was used as a CS, electrolytic lesions of the mPFC significantly retarded acquisition of the conditioned response (CR), and muscimol infusions into mPFC distinctly inhibited the acquisition and expression of CR, but had no significant effect on consolidation of well-learned CR. In contrast, both electrolytic lesions and muscimol inactivation of mPFC produced no significant deficits in the CR when a loud tone was used as the CS, or in the unconditioned response (UR) when a soft or loud tone was used as the CS. These results demonstrate that the mPFC is essential for the DEC with the soft tone CS but not for the DEC with the loud tone CS.     

Emotional Connections and Dyadic Consciousness in Infant-Mother and Patient-Therapist Interactions: Commentary on Paper by Frank M. Lachmann

The emotional connection between patients and therapists and between developmental infants and researchers is argued to be a uniting basis for discussion of differences between therapists and researchers. Infant-mother research is seen as providing an understanding of the specificity of relationships and of the dyadic expansion of consciousness (DEC). DEC is hypothesized to be a mechanism of developmental change as well as a change process of therapy.     

APE: average potential evaluation software for the LAB-8 system

A paper-tape software system is described which allows the addition and/or subtraction of signal averaging data from the DEC advanced averager program. This pooled averaging data may be plotted, printed, or punched. A DEC LAB-8 system with 4K memory and high-speed reader/punch are required. Several examples of the application of the system to human evoked brain response data are presented, and the application of the system to other problems is discussed.     

Joint DEC and microprocessor users’ groups report

The results of a joint meeting of users of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) computers and various microprocessors are reported. The meeting included a review and a discussion of Unix and of recent hardware and software products from DEC.     

Standard and Short RoM Isokinetic Testing: Comparative Analysis in Identifying Submaximal Shoulder External Rotator Effort

An isokinetic-related parameter termed the difference between eccentric-concentric strength ratios at two distinct test velocities (DEC) based on 60° (standard) range of motion (RoM) has been proven to be highly efficient detecting feigned muscular efforts. This study aimed to verify whether a DEC derived from a much shorter test RoM (20°) was equally useful than a long RoM–derived one. Eighteen healthy men (32.4 ± 6.4 years old) took part in a study focusing on shoulder external rotation isokinetic strength. Participants performed a genuine shoulder external rotator maximal effort (eight pairs of concentric and eccentric contractions at high and low velocities at short and long RoM) and then instructed to feign maximal effort. Contraction velocities were adjusted accordingly by applying a 1:4 gradient and peak moments registered. Both condition DEC was then calculated by subtracting the eccentric and concentric strength ratios at low velocities from those at high velocities. DEC scores in the feigned effort were significantly higher than maximal effort ones in both conditions in men. It enabled the setting of specific cutoff levels for separating the efforts. Both approaches revealed a coincident sensitivity (78%) whereas short RoM showed an even higher specificity: 88% versus 78%. Thus, the short RoM protocol provides clinically acceptable detection power.     

1978 DEC user group report

The 1978 meeting of users/owners of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) computer equipment is discussed.     

1980 DEC users’ group report

The 1980 meeting of users/owners of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) computer equipment is discussed.     

Dec users’ group report: Fifth annual meeting of the National Conference on the Use of On-Line Computers in Psychology,November 5, 1975

The PDP-8, -11, and -12 Psychology Users’ Groups met jointly to discuss two topics. First, future computer applications were considered in terms of both hardware and software needs. Psychology users specified their needs and DEC representatives described the directions their R&D program is currently taking, and how it will meet many of those needs. Second, the group discussed communication problems among the users, and between the users and DEC. Suggestions were made for improved information exchange. With this goal, a new PDP-11 Users Group was formed and Jerry C. Forshee, Indiana University, was elected Chairman.     

A minicomputer method for generating dichotic word pairs

A computer method is described for generating dichotic word pairs. The Purdue Laboratory system is implemented with a DEC PDP-12 computer.     

MASTER/SLAVE: Interprocessor communications between PDP-8s

This paper describes an inexpensive, powerful, and easily learned interprocessor communication system for PDP-8 computers. When executed, the master machine exercises control over the slave using commands similar to DEC’s OS/8 copy program, FOTP.     

Laboratory control with a medium scale time-sharing system

A multilanguage, general purpose time-sharing system which supports a wide range of computing applications, including the control of an on-line, psychological research library, is described. ETSS (Experimental Time-Sharing System) is based on a medium scale DEC PDP-15.     

Microprocessor control and A/D data acquisition in classical conditioning

An Apple II/FIRST system has been developed to control classical conditioning experiments, collect analog data, and to extract dependent variable measures of conditioning. With our selection of the Apple II microprocessor and an added hardware floating-point processor, we have been able to establish independent computer systems for each of our three conditioning laboratories at a fraction of the cost of our DEC PDP-8/e (which was interfaced to only one of our laboratories). Moreover, our software system, FIRST, an interactive, high-level, dictionary-based language, is a programming and control system whose flexibility and ease of programming far exceeds that experienced with our DEC PDP-8/e system (Millenson, Kehoe, Tait, á Gormezano, 1973; Tait & Gormezano, 1974). In our judgment, the Apple II/FIRST system is of unprecedented efficiency and versatility for the control, data acquisition, and data analysis of analog responses in classical conditioning experiments.     

Interfacing the DEC LPS 11 to electromechanical laboratory apparatus

A hardware-software extension to the DEC LPS 11 facilitates interfacing the PDP 11 to external instruments. The hardware component consists of eight relay drivers and relays, four contact conditioners, and an interrupt pulse former. FORTRAN-callable RT-11 MACRO subroutines control the device, service interrupts, and transfer control to FORTRAN completion routines.     

VT125 graphics hardcopy on an epson MX-80 serial printer for RT-11 and TSX-Plus

A collection of computer programs is presented that allows the user of a DEC VT125 graphics terminal to generate hardcopy of REGIS graphics on an inexpensive Epson MX-80 serial matrix printer. These programs allow easy production of hardcopy graphics without the user’s having to purchase more expensive devices.     

Visual display in the multipurpose laboratory: The benefits of video scan-conversion

A visual display system, based upon the PEP-400 video scan-converter, is described. For a cost of about $5,600, including nine video monitors, a laboratory can provide flexible, computer-generated, alpha-meric, and graphic displays simultaneously to eight subjects. Some performance results are given, as is discussion of interfacing and software required for a DEC lab system.     

AVID: An intelligent CAI system for small computers

A computer-assisted instruction (CAI) system which includes facilities for interactive graphics and for limited natural language processing has been implemented on a DEC PDP-11 minicomputer. Lesson authoring aids permit inexperienced authors to create lessons with ease and permit transporting lessons to and from other systems. The system supports eight simultaneous independent users and provides facilities for student performance evaluation and record management.