Transfer of compounds and components in the discriminative learning of retardates

The discriminative learning and transfer of compound and component problems were assessed in retarded subjects at two levels of intelligence. It was found that brighter subjects (MA = 10 years) found the component problems relatively easier than the compound problems to a greater extent than did the less developed subjects (MA = 5 years). The learning of compound solutions was shown to transfer positively to other compound problems and negatively to component problems. Component solutions were found to transfer positively to other component solutions and negatively to compound solutions. These dimensional transfer effects were interpreted to mean that both compound and component solutions were mediated and conceptual in nature. The developmental differences in relative usages of compound and component aspects of stimuli were viewed as the result of differences in direction of attention rather than of differences in complexity of processing.     

Persistence of response prevention effects following retraining of escape behavior

This study evaluated the effects of response prevention procedures on the extinction of escape behavior following the reinstatement of shock-escape training prior to the start of extinction. Female hooded rats were assigned to four groups (N = 10) in a factorial design which orthogonally combined response prevention or pseudo-prevention procedures with escape retraining or no retraining procedures. Results showed that prevention reliably impaired shock-escape behavior on early retraining trials; but this effect dissipated completely by the end of retraining. In extinction, prevention reliably facilitated the extinction of escape behavior relative to that of pseudo-prevention controls; but the degree of facilitation was reliably attenuated by retraining procedures. These findings were related to the competing response interpretation of prevention effects.     

Early discrimination among small object collections

Two studies are presented which examine the young child's ability to discriminate between two small object collections on the basis of numerosity and to maintain that discrimination across changes in number-related cues. A transfer procedure and counting tasks were also included. In Study 1, 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds were reinforced for choosing either a two- or three-item array when length-density cues were manipulated across two training phases of 20 trials each. Training was followed by a transfer task in which one- and four-item arrays were displayed. Most 2-year-olds were able to learn the discrimination while at the same time displaying little quantitative ability. Further, their transfer responses were transpositional in nature. In Study 2, 2-year-olds were given a similar discrimination task in which numerosity was contrasted simultaneously with length-density and area-brightness cues. Again, most children learned the discrimination and transferred that learning on the basis of relational cues.     

II. The comparability of the WISC-R and WAIS among 16-year-old EMR children

Thirty 16-year-old EMR children were administered the WAIS and WISC-R in counterbalance order to determine the comparability of the two assessment instruments. The WAIS was found to yield significantly higher Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores. The comparisons of corresponding subtests indicate that all WAIS subtests were significantly higher than the WISC-R except Picture Completion. Correlations between corresponding WAIS and WISC-R IQ scales and subtests, however, were significant. The results suggest differences between the two instruments among children of subnormal intelligence, thus presenting the possibility that a child may be differentially classified based on the selection of the intelligence test.     

I. Validity of WISC-R factor scores in predicting achievement and attention for four sociocultural groups

The predictive validity of WISC-R factor scores was examined with samples from the four sociocultural groups of Anglo, Black, Chicano, and native American Papago. The Full Scale IQ and Verbal Comprehension (VC) factor scores were significantly better predictors of achievement as measured by teacher ratings and the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The Perceptual Organization and Freedom from Distractibility (FD) factor scores were also significantly related to achievement, but at a lower level than Full Scale and VC. The correlations of the WISC-R and achievement measures were nearly the same for three of the four groups (exception was native American Papago). The relationship of the FD factor score to ratings of attention was statistically significant, but relatively low. Cautions in interpreting FD as a measure of attention were recommended due to overlap of distributions and low proportion of variance in attention accounted for by FD.     

An adjusted measure of achievement motivation for males and females and effects of future orientation on level of performance

An adjusted measure of achievement motivation was devised with the combined use of the Mehrabian Achievement Scale (Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1968, 28, 493–502) and the Mandler and Sarason (Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1952, 47, 166–173) Test Anxiety Questionnaire. Contingent instructions, in which Ss were told success on a test was necessary to qualify for opportunities to succeed on subsequent tests, were contrasted to performance in equivalent noncontingent situations and relative to adjusted achievement motivation for both male and female subjects. In noncontingent situations Ss were told performance on any one test did not affect their opportunity to take subsequent tests. Support was obtained for the use of the above mentioned scales as a predictor of performance for both sexes but not for the Mehrabian by itself. Both male and female Ss high in achievement motivation consistently scored significantly higher than Ss low in achievement motivation in all conditions. The expected interactions between treatments and motive groups were not found but t tests between extreme motive groups within conditions revealed significant differences in the expected directions. These results do not provide statistically reliable support to the elaborated theory of achievement motivation.     

Effects of instructions, biofeedback, reward, and cognitive mediation on the control of heart rate and the application of that control in a stressful situation

Subjects in Phase 1 of this experiment were (a) instructed to try to either increase or decrease their heart rate, (b) with or without the use of biofeedback, and (c) with or without the promise of money for successful performance, whereas no-treatment subjects were given no instructions, no biofeedback, and no promise of reward. Results indicated that (a) when simply instructed to do so, subjects could increase but not decrease their heart rates relative to no treatment controls, (b) the promise of money for good performance aided subjects in increasing but not decreasing heart rate, and (c) biofeedback did not aid subjects in either increasing or decreasing heart rate. Various cognitive strategies employed by subjects in controlling their heart rates are discussed.In Phase 2, subjects in a stress condition were told that they would receive a series of painful electric shocks, whereas subjects in a no stress condition were not told about shocks. All subjects were instructed to try to decrease their heart rates during the “shock” period. Heart rate and self report data revealed that (a) the manipulation was successful in increasing stress, and (b) previous training in decreasing heart rate, with or without biofeedback, did not aid subjects in decreasing their heart rates in the face of the stress.     

Dispositional inference from effects of actions: Effects chosen and effects forgone

One hundred and forty-six subjects made comparative judgments as to which of two hypothetical actors they were most confident possessed a choice-related trait, and which was most extreme on that trait dimension. Each actor was portrayed as making a choice from a set of actions; the choice sets varied independently in the number of effects eliminated by the choice and in the number of effects remaining after choice. Results confirmed Jones and Davis' (1965) hypothesis that correspondence would be inversely related to the number of effects remaining after choice. In addition, correspondence was directly related to number of effects eliminated by the choice when effects remaining did not differ. When given both sources of information, subjects preferred to use information from effects remaining.     

Discriminative vocal conditioning in rhesus monkeys: Evidence for volitional control?

Both emotional and volitional systems are invoked in explaining the control of human vocalizations, but vocal behavior of nonhuman primates is often believed to be totally under emotional control. Monkeys' poor performance on conditioning tasks, especially discriminative conditioning of vocalization (DCV), has been cited as evidence against volitional control. In Experiment 1, rhesus monkeys failed a DCV task in which food was given for vocalizations emitted during an arbitrary visual stimulus, but in Experiment 2, monkeys showed clear discriminative performance when an otherwise comparable shock-avoidance DCV procedure was used. This evidence that monkeys possess some degree of volitional control has implications for the relation between animal vocalizations and the origin of human speech.     

Picture memory: How the action schema affects retention

When an action scene is viewed, an action schema guides the formation of an episodic representation. Within episodic memory, items of high relevance to the theme of the action schema are represented in a prototypical form closely connected to the action theme. In contrast, items of low relevance are represented in detail but their representation is unconnected to that of the action. The action schema is used as a retrieval framework for both recalling and recognizing whether or not an item was depicted in a scene (i.e., item presence), but is not used for recognition of figurative detail (i.e., item appearance). Four experiments confirmed these hypotheses. Children, aged 7- and 9-years, and adults organized pictured scenes around themes from action schemata. The appearance of high relevant items was recognized poorly, while their presence was recalled well. Memory for the presence of high relevant items surpassed that for low relevant items even when recognition of item names was assessed. Conversely, the appearance of low relevant items was recognized accurately, but memory for their presence was difficult to retrieve.     

Sex differences in realization of individual potential for achievement

Data from 4035 participants in Project TALENT were analyzed to examine the extent to which known sex differences in achievement held up when early potential for achievement was contolled. Original TALENT data, consisting of information on socioeconomic background, cognitive abilities, and educational and occupational aspirations, were collected in 1960 when members of the study sample were in Grade 9. Follow-up surveys measuring participants' educational and occupational attainment were conducted at 1, 5, and 11 years after the date of participants' expected graduation from high school. Women had higher high school grades and scored higher on a composite of academic ability tests taken in Grade 9 than did men. However, by 11 years after high school, men had acquired more education and were earning more money on the job. Sex differences in realization of achievement potential were found across all socioeconomic levels. At least part of the reason behind women's relative failure to translate potential into achievement may lie in the greater conflict, for women, between the roles of spouse/parent and the roles of student/worker: variables measuring the onset, duration, and extent of family-related commitments were more strongly related to female than to male realization of potential. Sex differences in achievement grew larger between the 5- and 11-year follow-ups as a greater proportion of women in the study sample became wives and mothers. The widening of the sex gap in achievement during this period was particularly pronounced among the subgroup of individuals who were in the top quartile of potential in Grade 9.     

First-grade boys' responses to a new task following noncontingent feedback

Sixty-four first-grade boys trained on a two-choice discrimination task received positive feedback either contingent upon their correct responses or in the same amount but noncontingently. Each child was then asked to choose between two alternate ways of accumulating pennies. He could solve problems and earn pennies for correct responses to a contingent task, or he could collect pennies at the same rate by remaining passive. The purpose of this research was to determine if the usual effects of noncontingent feedback would transfer from a simple training procedure to a different contingent task. It was found that the total amount of time spent at the passive alternative did not differ between training conditions. However, a significantly greater number of noncontingently trained children did choose the passive alternative early during testing; these children either gave all of their time to the passive alternative or, very shortly after attempting the task, switched to the passive response. When the noncontingently trained children did choose to work actively during testing, their performance reflected ineffective problem-solving strategies. These results suggest that even when conditions change, experience with prior noncontingent feedback disrupts the ability to utilize contingent information.