PUNISHMENT IN HUMAN CHOICE: DIRECT OR COMPETITIVE SUPPRESSION?

This investigation compared the predictions of two models describing the integration of reinforcement and punishment effects in operant choice. Deluty's (1976) competitive-suppression model (conceptually related to two-factor punishment theories) and de Villiers' (1980) direct-suppression model (conceptually related to one-factor punishment theories) have been tested previously in nonhumans but not at the individual level in humans. Mouse clicking by college students was maintained in a two-alternative concurrent schedule of variable-interval money reinforcement. Punishment consisted of variable-interval money losses. Experiment 1 verified that money loss was an effective punisher in this context. Experiment 2 consisted of qualitative model comparisons similar to those used in previous studies involving nonhumans. Following a no-punishment baseline, punishment was superimposed upon both response alternatives. Under schedule values for which the direct-suppression model, but not the competitive-suppression model, predicted distinct shifts from baseline performance, or vice versa, 12 of 14 individual-subject functions, generated by 7 subjects, supported the direct-suppression model. When the punishment models were converted to the form of the generalized matching law, least-squares linear regression fits for a direct-suppression model were superior to those of a competitive-suppression model for 6 of 7 subjects. In Experiment 3, a more thorough quantitative test of the modified models, fits for a direct-suppression model were superior in 11 of 13 cases. These results correspond well to those of investigations conducted with nonhumans and provide the first individual-subject evidence that a direct-suppression model, evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively, describes human punishment better than a competitive-suppression model. We discuss implications for developing better punishment models and future investigations of punishment in human choice.     

A ROLE FOR NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT OF RESPONSE OMISSION IN PUNISHMENT?

This experiment attempted to disentangle response-rate reductions controlled by the direct suppressive effects of a punisher from those due to negative reinforcement of response omission. Key-peck responding of pigeons was maintained by a conjoint variable-interval 3-min schedule of food presentation variable-interval 30-s schedule of response-dependent electric shock presentation. Omission of responses for 5, 10, or 30 s resulted in the possibility of canceling a scheduled shock. Response rates were a function of required pause duration, with lower rates occurring when longer periods of response omission were required for shock cancellation. These results show that, with several parameters of punishment held constant, response rates were controlled by the negative reinforcement contingency. Such a finding argues for renewed consideration of the role of negative reinforcement in punishment contingencies.     

KUZGUNCUK AS A VILLAGE OF MUTUAL RESPECT AND HARMONY: MYTH OR REALITY?

My research concentrates on the Jews of Istanbul and especially on the Kuzguncuk neighbourhood. My aim is to understand the changes within the social structure of the Jewish community of Turkey and its relationship with the dominant Muslim society. Different from other important Jewish neighbourhoods of Istanbul such as quarters in Balat, Haskoy and Galata-Pera district, Kuzguncuk is known as the “village of harmony” and a “place in which all religious and ethnic groups live in peace, harmony and mutual respect”. In this article, I try to answer the question of whether this is a myth or the real experience of Kuzguncuk. Whether a myth or a real experience, can it be a model for people “living together in peace and harmony”? I will also explore the situation of Jews after the foundation of the Turkish republic. In order to understand the changing structure of Jews of Kuzguncuk, I conducted interviews with seven actual and former residents of Kuzguncuk, who now live in Israel, Kuzguncuk and other districts of Istanbul.     

EFFECTS OF MORPHINE ON TEMPORAL DISCRIMINATION AND COLOR MATCHING: GENERAL DISRUPTION OF STIMULUS CONTROL OR SELECTIVE EFFECTS ON TIMING?

Discrepant effects of drugs on behavior maintained by temporal-discrimination procedures make conclusive statements about the neuropharmacological bases of timing difficult. The current experiment examined the possible contribution of a general, drug-induced disruption of stimulus control. Four pigeons responded on a three-component multiple schedule that included a fixed-interval 2-min, temporal discrimination, and color-matching component. Under control conditions, response rates and choice responses during the first two components showed evidence of control by time, and accuracy for color matching was high in the third component. Morphine administration flattened the distribution of fixed-interval responding and produced a general disruption of accuracy in the temporal-discrimination component, whereas accuracy in the color-matching component was relatively unaffected. Analysis of the psychophysical functions from the temporal-discrimination component indicated that morphine decreased accuracy of temporal discrimination by decreasing overall stimulus control, rather than by selectively affecting timing. These results suggest the importance of determining the neurophysiological bases of stimulus control as it relates to temporal discrimination.     

REWARD AND PUNISHMENT: A DETERMINANT IN FIGURE-GROUND PERCEPTION?

In a repetition of D. N. Jackson's experiment (1954) only half of 32 subjects reported previously rewarded profiles more often than punished ones. Post-experimental interviews suggest that the effect may depend upon whether or not the subject grasps the purpose of the experiment. Another alternative to the original interpretation, based on the concept of 'autism.', is that rewarded profiles are reported more frequently because they are learned better than the punished profiles. A second experiment supports the assumption that the one profile of a reversible pair which is learned most completely is also the one reported most frequently in the post-training series. The appropriateness of the experimental design for the study of figure-ground perception is questioned.     

MORPHINE TOLERANCE AS A FUNCTION OF RATIO SCHEDULE: RESPONSE REQUIREMENT OR UNIT PRICE?

Key pecking by 3 pigeons was maintained by a multiple fixed-ratio 10, fixed-ratio 30, fixed-ratio 90 schedule of food presentation. Components differed with respect to amount of reinforcement, such that the unit price was 10 responses per 1-s access to food. Acute administration of morphine, l-methadone, and cocaine dose-dependently decreased overall response rates in each of the components. When a rate decreasing dose of morphine was administered daily, tolerance, as measured by an increase in the dose that reduced response rates to 50% of control (i.e., the ED50 value), developed in each of the components; however, the degree of tolerance was smallest in the fixed-ratio 90 component (i.e., the ED50 value increased the least). When the l-methadone dose-effect curve was redetermined during the chronic morphine phase, the degree of cross-tolerance conferred to l-methadone was similar across components, suggesting that behavioral variables may not influence the degree of cross-tolerance between opioids. During the chronic phase, the cocaine dose-effect curve shifted to the right for 2 pigeons and to the left for 1 pigeon, which is consistent with predictions based on the lack of pharmacological similarity between morphine and cocaine. When the morphine, l-methadone, and cocaine dose-effect curves were redetermined after chronic morphine administration ended, the morphine and l-methadone ED50s replicated those obtained prior to chronic morphine administration. The morphine data suggest that the fixed-ratio value (i.e., the absolute output) determines the degree of tolerance and not the unit price.     

ATTRIBUTIONS FOR THE POORLY PERFORMING BLACKJACK DEALER: IN THE CARDS OR INABILITY?

This study examined the effects of task and supervisory experience on causal attributions and recommendations for corrective action following poor performance. One hundred twenty subjects employed in a casino reviewed an evaluation form describing the poor performance of a blackjack dealer in the casino. Subjects included first-and second-level supervisors with task and supervisory experience, dealers with task experience only, and employees with neither task nor supervisory experience. Subjects were told that the dealer being evaluated had 2, 6, or 12 months of task experience. Results indicate that task and supervisory experience did affect attributions to specific causal factors; however, the effects were not consistently in the predicted direction. Specifically, supervisors viewed lack of effort and poor supervision as more important and task difficulty as less important causes of poor performance than did dealers. Subjects without task experience viewed poor work conditions and task difficulty as stronger causes of poor performance than did dealers. Task experience of the ratee interacted with rater task experience such that dealers and controls differed in their attributions for employees with 12 months' experience but did not differ if the ratee had 2 or 6 months' experience. Causal attributions for an employee's poor performance were related to subsequent corrective recommendations.     

ESCAPE,AVOIDANCE, PUNISHMENT: WHERE DO WE STAND?

This paper reviews progress since the author's previous writings in three areas. In escape training, the preparatory-response explanation of bar holding still appears to be valid. In avoidance, the newer safety-signal version of two-factor theory has much to recommend it and readily incorporates Anger's conditioned aversive temporal stimuli formulation. Shock-density reduction is rejected as a substitute for two-factor theory. Finally, criticisms of the avoidance interpretation of punishment are answered and recent empirical data are cited in its support.     

CYBORG: MYTH OR REALITY?

Abstract. The idea of cyborg often is taken as a token for the distinction between human and machine having become irrelevant. In this essay I argue against that view. I critically analyze empirical arguments, theoretical reflections, and ultimate convictions that are supposed to support the idea. I show that empirical arguments at this time rather point in a different direction and that theoretical views behind it are at least questionable. I also show that the ultimate convictions presupposed deny basic tenets of traditional Christianity, while their claim to be based on science confuses scientific results with their interpretation on the basis of a naturalistic world‐view.     

PREFERENCE FOR A STIMULUS THAT FOLLOWS A RELATIVELY AVERSIVE EVENT: CONTRAST OR DELAY REDUCTION?

Several types of contrast effects have been identified including incentive contrast, anticipatory contrast, and behavioral contrast. Clement, Feltus, Kaiser, and Zentall (2000) proposed a type of contrast that appears to be different from these others and called it within-trial contrast. In this form of contrast the relative value of a reinforcer depends on the events that occur immediately prior to the reinforcer. Reinforcers that follow relatively aversive events are preferred over those that follow less aversive events. In many cases the delay reduction hypothesis proposed by Fantino (1969) also can account for such effects. The current experiments provide a direct test of the delay reduction and contrast hypotheses by manipulating the schedule of reinforcement while holding trial duration constant. In Experiment 1, preference for fixed-interval (FI) versus differential-reinforcement-of-other-behavior (DRO) schedules of reinforcement was assessed. Some pigeons preferred one schedule over the other while others demonstrated a position (side) preference. Thus, no systematic preference was found. In Experiment 2, a simultaneous color discrimination followed the FI or DRO schedule, and following training, preference was assessed by presenting the two positive stimuli simultaneously. Consistent with the contrast hypothesis, pigeons showed a significant preference for the positive stimulus that in training had followed their less preferred schedule.     

IS MY FEELING YOUR PAIN BAD FOR OTHERS? EMPATHY AS VIRTUE VERSUS EMPATHY AS FIXED TRAIT

The purpose of this article is to (1) critique the primary arguments given by Paul Bloom and Jesse Prinz against empathy, and (2) to argue instead that empathy is best understood as a virtue that plays an important but complicated role in the moral life. That it is a virtue does not mean that it always functions well, and empathy sometimes contributes to behavior that is partial and unfair. In some of their writings, both Bloom and Prinz endorse the view that empathy is a fixed trait, but there is little reason to think this, and the studies that they cite do not support this view. Further, a number of recent studies suggest the opposite: our empathic reactions are malleable and subject to environmental effects and learning. Although our capacities for cognitive and emotional empathy are clearly not sufficient for being moral, I argue that they are functionally necessary traits that, like other virtues, must be cultivated correctly.     

MALE ACCEPTANCE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS FOR WOMEN: THE RESULTS OF ALTRUISTIC OR EGOISTICAL MOTIVES?

It has been argued in the past that self-interest plays an important role in the reaction of men to affirmative action programs that are designed to promote women in non-traditional jobs. In the main, this hypothesis has received limited support apparently because the conception of self-interest was understood in terms of one's private well-being. It is clear, however, that self-interest also refers to group status or position in society. In this study self-interest was measured through the concept of collective relative deprivation. The effects of relative deprivation on behalf of others, and the procedure employed to implement affirmative action programs on men's attitudes toward these programs were also assessed. One hundred and forty-five male managers or professionals participated in the study. According to predictions, results show that collective relative deprivation and preferential treatment for women have negative effects on affirmative action attitudes. Findings are thus supportive of the broader conception of self-interest and relative deprivation arguments. Finally, the positive link between relative deprivation on behalf of others and affirmative action indicates that men who disapprove of sex inequalities support these programs. Il a été postulé que le ‘self-interest’ influence les réactions des hommes aux programmes d'action positive mis sur pied pour assurer une représentativité plus équitable des femmes dans les secteurs non-traditionnels d'emploi. Cette hypothèse n'a pas été confirmée en raison de la conception individualiste du ‘self-interest’. Le ‘self-interest’ réfère tout autant à la situation de l'individu qu'à celle de son groupe. Dans la présente étude, le ‘self-interest’ a été mesuré par le biais du concept de privation relative collective. Les effets de la privation relative pour autrui et de la procédure d'implantation des programmes d'action positive sur les attitudes des hommes face à l'action positive ont également été évalués. En tout, 145 cadres ou professionnels masculins ont participé à la présente étude. Les résultats confirment les hypothèses voulant que la privation relative collective et le traitement préférentiel ont des effets négatifs sur les attitudes aux programmes d'action positive, ce qui milite en faveur d'une conception élargie du ‘self-interest’. Finalement, le lien positif entre la privation relative autrui et l'action positive montre que les hommes qui sont défavorables aux inégalités de sexe favorisent les programmes.     

EFFECTS OF D‐AMPHETAMINE IN A TEMPORAL DISCRIMINATION PROCEDURE: SELECTIVE CHANGES IN TIMING OR RATE DEPENDENCY?

Two experiments evaluated rate dependency and a neuropharmacological model of timing as explanations of the effects of amphetamine on behavior under discriminative control by time. Four pigeons pecked keys during 60-trial sessions. On each trial, the houselight was lit for a particular duration (5 to 30 s), and then the key was lit for 30 s. In Experiment 1, the key could be lit either green or blue. If the key was lit green and the sample was 30 s, or if the key was lit blue and the sample was 5 s, pecks produced food on a variable-interval 20-s schedule. The rate of key pecking increased as a function of sample duration when the key was green and decreased as a function of sample duration when the key was blue. Acute d-amphetamine (0.1 to 3.0 mg/kg) decreased higher rates of key pecking and increased lower rates of key pecking as predicted by rate dependency, but did not shift the timing functions leftward (toward overestimation) as predicted by the neuropharmacological model. These results were replicated in Experiment 2, in which the key was lit only one color during sessions, indicating that the effects were not likely due to disruption of discriminative control by key color. These results are thus consistent with rate dependency but not with the predictions of the neuropharmacological model.     

SEARCHING FOR HOUSING AS A BATTERED WOMAN: DOES DISCRIMINATION AFFECT REPORTED AVAILABILITY OF A RENTAL UNIT?

Individual battered women have reported experiencing housing discrimination, but the extent of this problem has not been examined. This research used two experiments and a survey to determine if landlord discrimination could keep women from accessing rental units. In Study 1, a confederate asked 181 landlords about the availability of a rental unit in one of three living conditions (shelter, friends, no mention of current living conditions) and across two scenarios (does or does not have a child). Rental units were almost 10 times more likely to be available in the control condition compared to the shelter condition, χ²(1,  N  = 181) = 8.624,  p  = .003, and these results were not affected by whether or not the caller had a child, χ²(1,  N  = 181) = 0.214,  p  = .644. In Study 2, the confederate was employed and left a message on 92 landlords' answering machines in the same three living conditions. The hypothesized comparison between the shelter and the other two conditions combined was significant, χ²(1,  N  = 92) = 4.602,  p  = .032. Finally, in a telephone survey of 31 landlords, a substantial minority (23%) said they would not rent to a hypothetical battered woman. The results of our studies suggest that discrimination against battered women by landlords is a real problem that is likely contributing to the difficulties that women experience in finding safe and affordable long-term housing.