THE INFLUENCE OF AUDITORY STIMULUS INTENSITY ON APPARENT DURATION

B erglund , B., B erglund , U., E kman , G. & F rankenhaeuser , M. The influence of auditory stimulus intensity on apparent duration. Scand J. Psychol ., 1969, 10 21–26.— apparent duration of an auditory signal of 1000 C/S was measured by the method of magnitude estimation. Ten different stimulus intensities ranging from 57 to 104 dB were used in combination with three different durations: 50, 250, and 500 msec. The results showed that the apparent duration of the signal grew as a logarithmic function of stimulus intensity. These results are consistent with the hypothesis relating apparent duration to activation level as well as with results of similar experiments involving electrical and vibrotactile stimulation.     

THE INFLUENCE OF INTENSITY AND DURATION OF ELECTRICAL STIMULATION ON SUBJECTIVE VARIABLES

The unpleasantness and subjective duration of an A.C. current of 50 c/sec applied to two fingers was scaled by subjects using the method of magnitude estimation. Stimulation was varied with regard to both intensity and duration. It was found that (1) unpleasantness increased logarithmically with stimulus duration, (2) unpleasantness was a power function, with the exponent 1.5, of stimulus intensity, (3) subjective duration was essentially linearly related to stimulus duration, and (4) subjective duration increased logarithmically with intensity of stimulation.     

STIMULUS CONTROL IN THE CLASSROOM AS A FUNCTION OF THE BEHAVIOR REINFORCED

Eight fifth- and sixth-grade children with behavior problems performed in a classroom under three conditions: (1) unreinforced baseline, (2) reinforcement for being on task, and (3) reinforcement for the accuracy and rate of math problems solved. The teacher was absent for a portion of the class session under each of these conditions. In the teacher's absence, on-task behavior declined markedly and disruption markedly increased, regardless of the reinforcement condition in operation. In addition, the teacher's absence resulted in fewer problems attempted and decreased accuracy. However, the extent to which the children became disruptive was reduced and the number of problems attempted increased when reinforcement was contingent on academic accuracy and rate, instead of being contingent on being on task. The results suggest that by providing contingencies for the products of a child's classroom activities, rather than for being on task, the child will become more independent of the teacher's presence, and more under the control of the academic materials.     

CHANGES IN TEST CHARACTERISTICS AS A FUNCTION OF LEARNING OF THE OBJECT-TASK

M ikkonen V. Changes in test characteristics as a function of learning of the object-task. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1972, 13 , 306–313.—Two verbal learning experiments, one consisting of six free recall trials, the other of six recognitions, are analysed as performance tests in order to follow the changes in test characteristics with increasing mean performance. In general, the items in the tasks form more consistent tests with greater degree of learning; coefficient alpha as a measure of reliability improves from the level of 0.02–0.50 to that of 0.70–0.85. Internal consistency can further be increased by item selection especially at low levels of performance. Practical implications of the results are discussed and a few recommendations presented.     

NOTE ON THE SYSTEMATIC ERROR OF ESTIMATION AS A FUNCTION OF STIMULUS MAGNITUDE

On the basis of a discussion of Weber's law the prediction was made that the systematic errors of estimation are linear functions of stimulus magnitude. As a special case it is suggested that the size of a geometrical illusion generally is a linear function of the size of the illusion figure. The result of an experiment with Oppel's illusion is in agreement with this prediction.—During successive estimations practice did not decrease the amount of illusion.     

CHROMATIC ROD AND CONE ACTIVITIES AS A FUNCTION OF THE PHOTOCHROMATIC INTERVAL

S tabbll , B. & S tabell , U. Chromatic rod and cone activities as a function of the photochromatic interval. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1969, 10,215– 219.—The Sco topic contrast color dominated for longer periods and at higher intensities the larger the magnitude of the photochromatic interval, indicating that the relative responsiveness of the chromatic rod to the chromatic cone activity increases as a function of the photochromatic interval.     

THE PROPERTIES OF DISTRIBUTIONS OF MAGNITUDE ESTIMATES OF LOUDNESS AND SOFTNESS

JOHN, I. D. The properties of distributions of magnitude estimates of loudness and softness. Scand. J. Psychol. 1971, 12, 261–270.–Distributions of magnitude estimations (MEs) of loudness and softness made by ten Ss to ten repetitions of ten stimuli were examined. Skew and relative variability of the distributions of MEs of individuals Ss was inconsistent with hypotheses advanced by Stevens & Guirao (1962) and Eisler (1962). The results were interpreted as consisted with Eriksen & Hake's (1957) subjective standard hypothesis, and a tendency to use large numbers with relatively greater consistency than smaller numbers. A reciprocal relationship was not found between MEs of loudness and softness.     

PREDICTIVE EFFICIENCY AS A FUNCTION OF AMOUNT OF INFORMATION

The effect of changing the amount of information on judges' predictive efficiency in a clinical prediction task was studied. Thirty judges predicted 30 students' average achievement scores on the basis of different amount of test data. One group of judges had information about the intercorrelations among the tests and the ecologkal validity of the tests. Another group of judges had only informahion about which tests were used. The predictive efficiency was not a monotonically increasing function of amount of test data. The most marked result was that the relative predictive efficiency decreased from four to six tests in both groups.     

ELECTRODERMAL RESPONSES AS A FUNCTION OF QUANTIFIED THREAT

N iemelá , P. Electrodermal responses as a function of quantified threat. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1969, 10 , 19–56.—Threat was quantified by means of a 20 sec anticipation condition where the subject knew the exact time for the expected shock in advance, as well as the exact probability of receiving a shock. The probabilities used where 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00. The electrodermal responses (the amplitude of the skin resistance response, the amplitude of the skin potential response, and the number of electrodermal responses) during the anticipation period were found to vary systematically as functions of the probability of shock, and as functions of the time elapsed from the beginning of the experiment.     

THE FUNCTION OF FUTURE ORIENTATION AS A DETERMINANT OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN STEP-PATH THEORY OF ACTION

Step-path theory of action is used to conceptualize future orientation (FO) as anticipated path characteristics and to derive its function. Study 1 finds that stories written to FO sentences are significantly higher on n Achievement when referring to a young person, while stories written to past orientation sentences tend toward higher scores when referring to an old person. Study 2 finds that extremes on chronological age tend to accentuate these trends. Study 3 supports the “multiplicative rule” for the combination of subjective probabilities of success (Ps) along a contingent path for group data. Individual data show that the predicted accentuation of achievement motivation is mediated by a decrease in path length for nonmultipliers of Ps (time FO), and by an increase in path length for multipliers of Ps (task FO). Path Ps also influences the effects of time and task FO.     

POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF BANDING AS A FUNCTION OF TEST RELIABILITY

Cascio, Outtz, Zedeck, and Goldstein (1991) described the application of a number of test score banding procedures in personnel selection. Equations are developed illustrating the relationship between the width of test score bands and test reliability. When reliability is moderate to low, bands are likely to be larger than the standard deviation of the test, and are likely to include a large proportion of the applicant pool. The relationships between band widths and the differences between higher scoring and lower scoring groups are also examined. When the band is smaller than the differences between groups (which may happen when highly reliable tests are used), banding may not by itself prove effective as a means of reducing the adverse impact of tests, even when banding systems that maximize opportunities for members of the lower scoring group are used.     

PERCEIVED INTENSITY OF ODOR AS A FUNCTION OF TIME OF ADAPTATION

The perceived intensity of odor under conditions of constant stimulation with hydrogen sulphide was investigated in two experiments. A two-step scaling method, involving cross-modality matching and numerical scaling of the matching continuum, was used for measuring intensity of odor. Perceptual intensity was found to decrease exponentially with increase of time of stimulation. Preliminary data concerning the subsequent recovery phase were also obtained.     

MULTIPLE TREATMENT INTERFERENCE IN THE ALTERNATING TREATMENTS DESIGN AS A FUNCTION OF THE INTERCOMPONENT INTERVAL LENGTH

In experimental designs requiring the administration of more than one treatment to the same subject(s), the effect of one treatment may be influenced by the effect of another treatment (Campbell & Stanley, 1963), a phenomenon known as multiple treatment interference. We conducted two studies in which multiple treatment interference in an alternating treatments design was shown to be a function of the length of the intercomponent interval (ICI) separating treatment conditions. In the first study, we evaluated the effects of four different treatments on the mouthing of a severely retarded boy. Under a 1-min ICI no consistent differential responding to treatment was obtained. Differential responding emerged when the ICI was increased from 1 min to 120 min, thus suggesting multiple treatment interference in the lack of differential responding under a 1-min changeover interval. Functional control of the nondifferential and differential responding as a function of the ICI length was replicated in a reversal phase. In the second study, we compared two treatment procedures for the disruptive noncompliant behavior of a moderately retarded boy. Multiple treatment interference (i.e., the lack of differential responding) occurred with the 1-min intercomponent interval. An increase to a 120-min ICI again resulted in differential responding. A replication of multiple treatment interference by a reversal to a short interval phase was not achieved in the second subject. Results of this study support much of the basic literature on discrimination and multiple treatment interference. Major findings of this study are twofold: Multiple treatment interference can depend on the length of the changeover interval between treatments and multiple treatment interference can take the form of a lack of differential responding to various treatments. Implications for future research are discussed.     

CHANGES IN LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR AS A FUNCTION OF VERACITY

In this experiment 20 subjects were placed in a situation designed to elicit a number of truthful and untruthful statements. Differences in these statements were examined by the SLCA III and LEXIC programs to find variables that discriminate between truth-tellers and liars. The results indicate that when lying, individuals use fewer words, and, as a consequence, fewer unique words with larger type-token ratios and smaller perceptual-cognitive activity measures, use fewer past tense verb forms, and that males tend to use a greater number of indicative mood sentences and fewer subjunctive mood sentences. When used in a discriminant function equation, 14 of the SLCA III and LEXIC variables were able to provide an adequate level of classification for the veracity of the subjects' statements.     

BINOCULAR RIVALRY AS A FUNCTION OF INCONGRUITY IN MEANING

This is the third of a series of three papers dealing with semantics of facial expressions. The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether the ratings of two stimulus inputs on semantic differential scales would predict the experience of binocular rivalry. The stimuli used were five full-face photographs of a man expressing different emotions. These stimuli were rated on the semantic differential and all possible pairs of these stimuli were used as stereograms. It was hypothesized that semantically incongruous stimulus inputs would lead to binocular rivalry and that congruous ones would lead to an absence of rivalry. The hypothesis was supported.     

FREE RECALL OF REPEATED WORDS AS A FUNCTION OF INTRALIST VARIABILITY

von W right J. M. Free recall of repeated words as a function of intralist variability. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1972, 13 , 39–42.—Five "critical" words were repeated 4 times each in constant positions within lists of 80 items. The number of different filler words, and the order of the repeated filler words, was varied between lists. In free recall tests total recall was approximately constant, but the recall of the critical words was significantly better the greater the variation in the intralist context of these words, especially the greater the number of different filler words. The results are interpreted in terms of the encoding variability hypothesis.     

RETENTION OF OPINION CHANGE AS A FUNCTION OF DIFFERENTIAL SOURCE CREDIBILITY

Maintien des changements d'opinion en fonction du crédit de la source. Etude interculturelle. l'étude a porté sur 517 étudiants de collège, au Liban, au Brésil, en Inde, en Rhodésie et à Hong Kong, à qui on a demandé quel crédit ils attribuaient à des sources valorisées, peu valorisées ou majoritaires. Les sources à haut crédit produisent des changements d'opinion plus marqués que les sources à faible crédit ou majoritaires. Après quatre semaines, cependant, cette différence disparaît: le changement d'opinion s'affaiblit pour tous les groupes, quelle que soit la source, mais le changement d'opinion attribuable aux sources à fort crédit est celui qui s'affaiblit le plus. Aucun effet d'assoupissement (sleeper effect) n'est observé chez les sujets qui ont été confrontés à l'opinion de sources à faible crédit. Le crédit accordé à une source semble comporter à la fois des aspects généraux et des aspects spécifiques. Dans une certaine mesure, le crédit semble être un attribut “ généralisé” : les groupes sociaux qui ont des connaissances générales et un degré d'instruction plus élevé tendent à être perçus comme des sources dignes de confiance, quel que soit le probleme dont il s'agit. d'autre part, il semble exister une interaction entre crédit et nature du probléme en cause : pour certains problèmes particuliers, ce sont les individus ou les groupes qui sont perçus comme possédant des connaissances spécialisées, auxquels on fait confiance.     

THE MODIFICATION AND GENERALIZATION OF VOICE LOUDNESS IN A FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD RETARDED GIRL1

A fifteen-year-old severely disturbed girl was treated for aphonia. Because of the extent of her withdrawal, the subject was conditioned in a laboratory setting and received tokens for speaking loudly enough to operate a voice-operated relay. Conditioning at first consisted of saying 100 monosyllabic words, with the possibility of reinforcement on each word. Later, the subject was required to say a polysyllabic word, and finally, five or six words per token. The subject was shaped to speak with normal loudness in the laboratory, and generalization to a reading situation in the laboratory was measured and observed to occur, at first for a few minutes, and later for a longer period. Generalization to a reading situation in the classroom did not occur, but the subject's voice loudness also increased in the classroom when several new reinforcement contingencies were put into effect there.