Alexia without agraphia: An experimental case study

A 51-year-old right-handed male experienced reading difficulty and an upper right visual field cut after a head injury. The patient's letter naming was impaired and word naming was painstakingly slow. Words were decoded in a letter by letter sequence and performance varied directly with word length. Apart from his reading difficulties the patient was linguistically competent. He was sensitive to manipulations of word frequency and orthographic regularity. He wrote spontaneously and could identify the written counterpart to a spoken word with relative ease. Computerized axial tomography revealed damage to the posterior temporal-parietal region of the left hemisphere.     

Focus of attention,self-esteem,and the attribution of causality

An experiment was conducted to investigate how actors' attributions of causality are affected by their expectancy about the outcome of an action and their observation of the actual outcome while in a state of high or low objective self-awareness. In the presence or absence of a camera, subjects delivered therapeutic instructions which were expected to have a positive or a negative effect and which resulted in a positive or a negative effect on a supposedly phobic patient. Principal findings were that (1) attributions to self were greater under high objective self-awareness for positive relative to negative outcomes, (2) attributions to the patient were relatively great under high objective self-awareness when a positive outcome was expected but a negative outcome actually occurred. The results are discussed in terms of the joint role of focus of attention and self-esteem processes in the attribution of causality and in terms of their relationship to Duval and Wicklund's (1973) “focus of attention” attributional analysis.     

Classification and perceptual development: Exploring issues about integrality and differential sensitivity

Pre- and elementary-school children, 4 and 11 years of age, were given a classification task similar to those given in research testing an account that posits a developmental shift from integral to separable perception. The development of perceptual sensitivity and its role in determining similarity and dimensional classifications was assessed with the variables of predisposed and distinctiveness-based salience. The results indicated that the level of perceptual sensitivity to the dimensions in the task determined the frequency of types of classifications. Children in both age groups made both kinds of critical classifications as a function of predisposed and distinctiveness-based salience.     

The influence of incongruity and preexposure on the familiarity effect in visual selection of children

A consistent finding in the literature concerning visual selection is that Ss will spend more time viewing unfamiliar stimuli than stimuli with which they have been familiarized. In the present experiment, the relationship between the magnitude of this familiarity effect and the level of stimulus incongruity was examined and found to be monotonic and increasing. In addition, amount of stimulus preexposure had no significant effect on the magnitude of the familiarity effect. Furthermore, there was no overall difference in Ss' preference for familiar and unfamiliar stimuli. Results are interpreted as supporting a theory of visual selection based on information-conflict resolution.     

Interal locus of control as a value

Internal and external subjects, who previously filled out Rotter's (1966) I-E scale, were asked to score the I-E scale of “another student”. Subjects were exposed to “an other's” score of either 0, 5, 10, 16, or 23, and were asked to rate themselves and the “other” on an evaluative questionnaire. It was predicted that ratings of the “other” would increase in positivity to the extent the “other” scored as an internal. A reverse direction was predicted for an index of negative evaluations. The predictions were confirmed. The results suggest that internal locus of control is a societal value. The findings did not support either Hannah's (1973) hypothesis that internals are more responsive to a need for social approval, or Byrne's (1969) similarity hypothesis.     

Social inhibition as a function of observation and recording of performance

In order to compare the relative effects of observation of performance and recording of information about performance on social facilitation/inhibition, 256 college students solved three concept-attainment problems in an orthogonal design. The variables were (a) number of observers (an additional observer or the experimenter alone), (b) videorecording (yes or no), (c) audiorecording (yes or no), (d) task complexity (four, six, eight, or ten total attributes in the problems). Each of videotaping, filming, and audiotaping resulted in poorer performance than the control condition, with no differences between these three recording conditions. The presence of an additional observer had no effect on performance. Pulse measures indicated that the presence of an additional observer increased arousal, but covariance analysis indicated no association between differences in performance and arousal.     

Competition-cooperation as a mediator of locus of control and achievement

To test the hypothesis that internals will achieve more than externals in situations where competition is preeminent but not where cooperation is required, 300 children completed a digit-symbol task and a locus of control scale. Children were divided into internals and externals, placed in situations varying in competition and cooperation, and readministered the digit-symbol task. While the general hypothesis was supported, it was found that externals increased from their significantly low performance in the competitive situation to equal performance with internals in the cooperative situation. These findings are discussed in terms of their meaning for social learning theory and their relevance for the potential development of classroom teaching methods for increasing achievement behavior.     

Operant theory and methodology in infant vocal conditioning

The numerous mechanisms of behavior change in infant development are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Although it is agreed that elicitation and reinforcement both influence infant learning, the distinction between these two learning mechanisms was clarified in response to K. Bloom's (1984, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 38, 93-102) commentary. The theoretical and methodological assumptions of an functional analysis of infant behavior were made explicit in the context of the C. L. Poulson study (1983, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 36, 471-489). The rationale for the use of DRO schedules to control for elicitation effects of continuous reinforcement and the inadequacy of noncontingent schedules for this purpose were also discussed.     

Differential reinforcement of other-than-vocalization as a control procedure in the conditioning of infant vocalization rate

The purpose of the present study is to demonstrate reinforcement control over infant vocalization rates using a DRO schedule to control for elicitation of social stimulation. Mothers of four 2 1/2- to 3-month-old infants provided social reinforcement for their infants' vocalization under two schedules: continuous reinforcement (CRF) and differential reinforcement of other-than-vocalization (DRO). In a repeated-reversal single-subject experimental design, all four infants produced systematically higher vocalization rates during CRF, even though densities of social stimulation during DRO were equal to or greater than densities provided during CRF. Thus, whatever its elicitation value, social stimulation may reinforce infant vocalization rates.     

A comparison of the environments of day care centers and group day care homes for 3 year olds

Caregiver-child interaction and social participation were compared in community-based day care centers and group day care homes for three year olds. Use of group day care homes made it possible to control for group size and adult-child ratio. Day care homes were found to be more structured in terms of curriculum, and more flexible in terms of overall schedule and social-emotional climate. Adult child interaction was of higher quality during structured periods in day care homes. Social participation was of higher quality in day care homes. The adult-child interaction in both types of day care was impersonal and neutral in affective tone.     

Verbal-vocal integration as a function of sex and methodology

The process by which persons appear to combine content and intonation to form an impression of a speaker's friendliness may be a function of sex and the analytical techniques used to evaluate the models. Sixty subjects (half male, half female) from the campus population were asked to rate the content, tone, and total message of short sentences from male speakers. Analysis of variance and regression analysis were used to evaluate Linear, Multiplicative, Minimum, and Maximum models. Responses were essentially linear, although the multiplicative component was significant in some results, and the Minimum model received some support for males. More weight was given to tone than content, especially by females and for inconsistent messages. Idiographic analysis proved superior to normative analysis, and the ignored content method provided greater reliability and explanation than previously used filtered speech.     

Imitation and locus of control

This study dealt with the relationship between Locus of Control and imitation. Based on a review of the social influence literature, it was hypothesized that external individuals would imitate equally under a condition of model-reward and a condition of no model-reward. It was further hypothesized that internal subjects would demonstrate more imitation under a condition of model-reward than under the condition of no model-reward. Male college students were classified as internal or external on the basis of their scores on the Locus of Control Scale. Internals imitated a rewarded model significantly more than a nonrewarded model. Externals imitated both models equally and at a rate comparable to internals who observed a rewarded model. Subject ratings of model competence were also positively related to imitation among internals but not among externals. The results are interpreted as offering support for the general notion of the effect of observer characteristics on imitation.     

Extension of the taste-test analogue as an unobtrusive measure of preference for alcohol

The utility of the taste-test analogue for obtaining an unobtrusive measure of preference for alcohol was examined. Thirty-two male undergraduates participated in each of two taste-rating tasks. In each task. subjects were presented with two beakers containing beverages they were to rate. Although one container was labeled “Alcohol”, and the other was labeled “Orange Juice”, both actually contained only orange juice. Subjects rated the beverages differently on 52% of the dimensions for which ratings were completed. Furthermore, subjects estimated that they had consumed an average of over three ounces of alcohol in the combined taste tests. Wider use of the analogue preference test may have significant value in the study of the determinants of human alcohol drinking behavior.     

Block-design performance as a function of hue and race

The block-design subtest of the WISC was presented in two forms, the standard red/white and an alternative blue/yellow, to two groups of fourth- and fifth-grade children. Twenty black children and 20 white children performed the red/white task with no significant differences between their scores. Another 20 black and 20 white children performed the blue/yellow task showing a significant interracial difference. Within the group of black children there was also a significant difference between the red/white design scores and the blue/yellow design scores. It is proposed that genetically determined differences in the pigmentation of the fundus oculi account for these results.     

Second year treatment outcome of alcoholics treated by individualized behavior therapy: Results

Second year treatment outcome results are reported for 69 of 70 male alcoholics who, while hospitalized at Patton State Hospital, served as subjects in an experiment evaluating ‘Individualized Behavior Therapy (IBT)’ techniques. Subjects were initially assigned to either a controlled drinking or non-drinking (abstinence) treatment goal. and were then randomly assigned to either an experimental group receiving IBT or a control group receiving conventional state hospital treatment oriented towards abstinence. Previously reported results found that IBT subjects functioned significantly better than control subjects throughout the first year of follow-up. Second year follow-up results found that IBT subjects treated with a controlled drinking goal functioned significantly better than their respective control subjects on a variety of measures, including drinking behavior. Differences between IBT subjects treated with a non-drinking goal and their control subjects did not retain statistical significance during the second year of follow-up. Individual drinking profiles are presented for all subjects. Only subjects treated by IBT with a goal of controlled drinking engaged in a substantial amount of limited, non-problem drinking during the second year interval, and those subjects also had more abstinent days than subjects in any other group. The nature of adequate follow-up procedures and measures is discussed. Implications of these findings for alcoholism treatment are considered.     

Helping as a function of empathic responses and sociopathy

The present study reports two experiments which investigated helping as a function of empathic anxiety (anxiety in response to modeled distress) and individual differences in sociopathic tendencies. The first experiment concerned the effects of empathic anxiety, sociopathy, and perceived similarity/dissimilarity to a distressed person on helping. As predicted, subjects who experienced high levels of empathic anxiety helped more than subjects who experienced low levels of empathic anxiety. High sociopathic subjects experienced lower levels of empathic anxiety and helped less than did low sociopathic subjects. However, a path analysis disclosed that sociopathy's relationship to helping was not due to (or mediated by) empathic anxiety. The similarity manipulation did not influence empathic anxiety or helping. In the second experiment, subjects were classified as primary or secondary sociopaths (based on their levels of trait anxiety). As in the first experiment, empathic anxiety and sociopathy were significantly related to helping. Primary sociopaths displayed less empathic anxiety than secondary sociopaths, but the two groups did not differ in their willingness to help. Thus, in neither study could the sociopath's behavior be explained by empathic anxiety. The discussion concerned empathy as a mediational variable in helping and the role of personality variables in helping. A post hoc explanation of the sociopath's behavior, based on Schwartz' theory of the characteristics of helpers, was proposed.