An identifiable model of two-stage learning

An eleven-parameter model for two-stage learning is developed. The model's principal advantage over extant two-stage models is that its parameter space is completely identifiable, thereby eliminating the tedious procedure of locating acceptable identifying restrictions. Identifiability is achieved by defining the model over a slightly modified outcome space. Following the identifiability proof, the necessary statistical machinery for parameter estimation, goodness-of-fit analyses, and hypothesis testing is presented. These latter developments are illustrated with data from an adult cued recall experiment and a free recall experiment with elementary school children.     

Visual-field differences in picture-word interference

Picture-word interference refers to the fact that if a picture (i.e., line drawing) is presented centrally with a word superimposed, picture-naming latency is longer than if that same picture is presented alone. This phenomenon, like the Stroop phenomenon, seems to be strongly influenced by the nature of the to-be-ignored word. That is, if the word names a member of the picture's semantic category additional interference is observed; however, if the word is replaced by a phonetically unviable consonant string interference is reduced. In the present experiments these effects were examined in the situation where the picture-word stimuli were presented unilaterally in either the left or right visual field. For right-visual-field presentations, phonetic and semantic factors both influenced performance just as in central presentations. As such, these results can be satisfactorily explained in terms of response competition processes. However, the results for the left-visual-field presentations were quite different. Although substantial interference was observed for all types of stimuli, the amount of interference was essentially independent of the linguistic nature of the superimposed letter string. These results do not appear to be explainable in terms of response competition processes. Instead, it is suggested that the best way to explain these results is in terms of the perceptual capabilities of the right hemisphere.     

Extraversion,neuroticism, psychoticism and self-reported delinquency: Evidence from eight separate samples

Eight separate samples of high school and university students (Total N = 410) in Britain and Canada were used to test predictions from Eysenck's theory that delinquents should be high scorers on scales of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism. Self-report paper- and pencil-questionnaire measures of both personality and delinquency were administered under conditions that ensured anonymity. The evidence showed clear support for a relationship between high delinquency scores and high scores on both extraversion and psychoticism. These relationships held up across diverse samples and different ways of analyzing the data. No support was found for a relationship between delinquency scores and the dimension of neuroticism.     

Perceived qualifications,resource abundance,and resentment about deprivation

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that perceptions of being well qualified for a desired object will decrease individuals' resentment about deprivation when opportunities for obtaining the object are good (i.e., when the resource is abundant), but increase resentment when the resource is scarce. In the first experiment, unemployed nurses participated in a survey of the job situation for nurses. The initial questions in the survey were designed to manipulate respondents' perceptions of (a) their qualifications for employment, by affecting their perceived similarity to employed nurses (similar vs different), and (b) the job potential for unemployed nurses (improve vs worsen). In the second experiment, subjects competed over a number of trials with other participants for money that they had previously been promised. Some of the subjects had practiced the task ahead of time (qualified subjects), whereas others had not (unqualified subjects). In addition, the number of payments that were allegedly available was varied (many vs few). In both experiments, the manipulation of good qualifications reduced resentment when the resource was abundant, but did not significantly affect resentment when the resource was scarce. The implications of these results for understanding the determinants of resentment about deprivation are discussed.     

When what is said is important: A comparison of expert and attractive sources

Ninety-eight female subjects were presented with a statement made by an attractive or an expert source suggesting that people should sleep less than the usual eight hours. For approximately half of the subjects the source gave a simple statement of opinion, for the other half six separate supporting arguments were also presented. As predicted the manipulation of number of arguments provided had more influence on the effectiveness of the expert than the attractive source. Results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that quite different dynamics underly the persuasive power of attractive and expert individuals.     

Developmental considerations in the study of childhood depression

Although a great deal of research has been conducted examining biological and psychological factors related to adult depression, relatively little attention has been given to the study of depression in children. The purpose of the present article is to illustrate the importance of considering normal developmental processes in the study of childhood depression. Epidemiological data, diagnostic issues, and methods of assessment in childhood depression are discussed from a developmental perspective, and the role of developmental issues in both the manifestation of depression and its assessment is outlined. Four major theories of depression—biological, psychoanalytic, behavioral, and cognitive—are presented, and developmental issues are discussed in relation to each theory's formulation of the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of depression. Finally, alternative methodologies for the study of childhood depression are considered, and directions for future research, particularly for investigations examining the relationship between childhood and adult depression, are advanced.     

Effects of differential reinforcement and task difficulty on preschoolers' compliance with teacher instructions

Preschool children in day schools were given instructions to complete certain tasks. Four tasks were given of two types and two levels of difficulty. In each condition compliance with at most one instruction (one task) was reinforced. In two similar experiments, with six children, general results were: compliance with easy tasks was maintained without reinforcement when any task compliance was reinforced; compliance for hard tasks remained high only when that specific task was reinforced. Thus, generalization of compliance with instructions varied with task difficulty. The setting and procedure for both studies were designed to reduce possible coercive features of laboratory studies of generalized performance. Results show generalized performance can occur under naturalistic conditions. The effect of effort, as a response characteristic affecting generalized performance, is discussed.     

Left hemisphere selectivity for processing duration in normal subjects

The role of the left cerebral hemisphere for the discrimination of duration was examined in a group of normal subjects. Two tasks were presented: the first required a reaction-time response to the offset of monaural pulse sequences varying in interpulse duration, and the second required the discrimination of small differences in durations, within a delayed-comparison paradigm. In each task a right-ear advantage was obtained when the durations were 50 msec or less. No ear advantage was obtained for the larger durations of 67 to 120 msec. Since the perceptual distinctiveness of phonemes may be provided by durations approximating 50 msec, the nature of the relationship between the left hemisphere's role in temporal processing and speech processing may be elaborated.     

Young children's storage behavior in a memory-for-location task

Two experiments concerned with children's intentional preparation for future retrieval in a memory-for-location task are presented. In the first experiment, 3-, 5-, 7-, and 9-year-olds were instructed to store and subsequently retrieve an object on a large spatial display. All age groups, except the 3-year-olds, tended to store the object at distinctive locations and their retrieval performance was facilitated accordingly. The four age groups did not differ in the types of selections made in a nonmemory control task. The second experiment dealt with the effects of feedback and informational factors on strategy acquisition. Preschoolers were given experience at retrieving the object from distinctive and nondistinctive positions on the stimulus display. Later, when instructed to store the object by themselves, older preschoolers produced the distinctive-position storage strategy following a feedback procedure in which they directly observed the consequences of their retrieval selections. The strategy was adopted by younger preschoolers, but only when additional strategy and task information accompanied visual feedback. The use of external memory tasks with young children and factors affecting strategy acquisition and utilization are discussed.     

Imposed latencies,interruptions and dyadic interaction: Physiological response and interpersonal attraction

This study explored the impact of paralinguistic phenomena on interpersonal attraction and physiological measures during dyadic interaction. Conversations between undergraduate subjects and same-sex experimenters were either synchronous or asynchronous, with half the asynchronous conversations including imposed long latencies and the remainder frequent interruptions. Results showed that imposed latencies were associated with decreased positive attributions and greater physiological arousal, but interruptions had a moderately positive effect. The findings were discussed in terms of Chapple's theory of interaction, and their implications for psychotherapy and other interviews.     

Short-term memory in the pigeon with presentation time precisely controlled

Delayed matching-to-sample was studied in the pigeon using a procedure which precisely controlled the presentation time of the sample stimulus. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that (a) accuracy of matching increased as a negatively accelerated function of presentation time, (b) accuracy declined when an interstimulus interval was introduced between successive presentations of the sample stimulus, and (c) the rate at which accurate matching was restored after an interstimulus interval was greatest when the initial presentation of the sample was short and the interval was long. It was concluded that a theory of STM based on the growth and decay of trace strength could account adequately for all of these findings. Experiment 3 studied trace interaction by presenting two sample stimuli first in succession and then simultaneously for choice. Predictions from trace competition theory about the specific lengths of presentation of these stimuli at which choice of the second stimulus should be 50% or deviate systematically below 50% were not supported. It appears that a recency mechanism in addition to competition is necessary to explain trace interaction effects.     

Derogation of an innocent victim as a function of authoritarianism and involvement

Two studies are reported in which observers witnessed a peer (learner) receiving electric shock and where they did or did not play a role in her suffering (Involved vs Noninvolved conditions). It was found in both studies that while High authoritarians were more likely than Low authoritarians to derogate the learner in Involved conditions, the reverse was true in Noninvolved conditions. These significant interactions (p < .03, p < .01) were interpreted in terms of Low authoritarians derogating in order to preserve their belief in a “just world” and High authoritarians derogating in order to avoid self-blame.     

The effects of a discriminative cue and an incompatible activity on generalized imitation

Four noncompliant retardates were observed in a generalized imitation study. Two variables were studied: provision of a competing reinforced activity, and use of a cue to aid discrimination between reinforced and nonreinforced imitations. Both variables were found to increase the rate of discrimination between the two sets of stimuli. Greatest discrimination occurred when both cue and alternative task were present. Discrimination decreased when the variables were removed. Results are interpreted as implying that imitation of nonreinforced cues in generalized imitation procedures varies with the degree to which reinforcement is available for other activity, as well as with the complexity of the discrimination problem. These results help indicate conditions under which the generalized imitation effect may be observed in more naturalistic settings.     

Extraversion and reactions to cognitive inconsistency

Two studies are reported which test the hypothesis that extraverts are more tolerant of cognitive inconsistency than are introverts. The first study tested this prediction in the context of Heider's balance model. While degree of extraversion did not moderate reactions to imbalance, extraverts did show less aversion to interpersonal disagreement than introverts. When coupled with other recently published data this suggests that extraverts find arousing social situations less aversive than introverts. In support of the main hypothesis, the second experiment showed that extraverts changed their attitudes less than introverts as a result of writing an essay which was counter to their own attitude under conditions where they had high perceived freedom of choice.     

Establishing discriminative stimulus control within generalized oddity performance,without reinforcement

In two oddity learning studies with children, subjects were reinforced for oddity (or nonoddity) responding on line-tilt or dot numerosity problems. Interposed form and color problems were not reinforced. No instructions to make oddity choices were given. In Experiment I it was found that reinforcement for oddity or nonoddity responding on tilt and numerosity problems produced the corresponding tendency toward oddity or nonoddity performance on these problems and also on the nonreinforced form and color problems. These results show a generalized oddity phenomenon similar to generalized imitation. In Experiment II a third type of nonreinforced problem was presented in this same format: compound stimuli permitting either a color or a form solution. It was found that immediate prior training with nonreinforced form problems, interpolated among the reinforced tilt and numerosity problems, led to form-oddity choices in the compound problems. Similarily, color pretraining produced color-oddity choices. These results show that selective discriminative stimulus control can be obtained in oddity learning, without reinforcement for choices on either of the two dimensions involved.     

The purposes of laboratory experimentation and the virtues of deliberate artificiality

Critics of the laboratory experiment have maintained that artificiality (the intrusion into the experiment of “unrealistic” conditions) vitiates any possibility of generalizability beyond the confines of the laboratory. It is argued here that such artificiality in laboratory experimentation is a defect or flaw only within the context of verification and may be a distinct virtue in the context of discovery. Indeed it is argued that social psychological experiments may not be artificial enough when contrasted with the most fruitful experiments in the natural sciences. One purpose of an experiment may be to maximize artificiality deliberately so as to discover regularities that do not presently obtain under the “real” conditions outside the laboratory but which are capable of existing. When such observed laboratory regularities produce potentially beneficial outcomes, an attempt may be made to create the specific artificial laboratory conditions outside the laboratory to benefit mankind. This logic, exceedingly common in the natural sciences, has been virtually ignored in social psychology, even in the laboratory experiment, in favor of “realistic” reproduction of existing or reasonably plausible situations. Theoretical benefits of this additional modality of experimentation are illustrated by two recent developments in psychology.