The effect of the instrumental training contingency on susceptibility to reinforcer devaluation

Two experiments investigated performance of instrumental lever pressing by rats following post-conditioning devaluation of the sucrose reinforcer produced by establishing an aversion to it. In Experiment I rats responded less in an extinction test after being averted from the sucrose following training on a ratio schedule, but not following an equivalent amount of training on an interval schedule. This was true even though the devalued sucrose would not act as an effective reinforcer on either the ratio or interval schedule. Experiment II provided a further investigation of the insensitivity of interval responding to reinforcer devaluation by comparing test performance under simple extinction with responding when the devalued reinforcer was presented on either a response-contingent or non-contingent schedule during the test. Once again simple extinction performance was unaffected by prior reinforcer devaluation. Furthermore, neither non-contingent nor contingent presentations of the devalued reinforcer significantly depressed responding below the level seen in the extinction condition. Ratio, but not interval performance appears to be controlled by knowledge about the instrumental contingency that encodes specific properties of the training reinforcer.     

TO TEACH IS TO LEARN: OVERCOMING TOKENISM WITH MENTORS

Active mentors, persons who are not simply role models, have been shown to facilitate and enhance career growth, yet the token role of women entering traditionally masculine professions was shown to inhibit sponsorships. An analysis of a sample of exit interviews from the first women cadets to graduate from West Point revealed that the marginal peer acceptance of tokens within a competitive, somewhat constrained atmosphere discouraged the development of these sponsorships. If women plan to play sustained roles in the professions, they must actively sponsor other women. A first step in this process is to be aware of the situational pressures, noted in the present paper, that are directed against sponsorships within a token group.     

FEMINISM AS A CORRELATE OF SELF-ESTEEM, SELF-ACCEPTANCE, AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AMONG LESBIANS

In this study it was hypothesized that, among lesbians, agreement with feminist ideology and participation in feminist activities would correlate positively with self-esteem, self-acceptance, and social support. Demographic variables were also examined as correlates. Respondents were contacted through 11 lesbian, gay, and feminist organizations and establishments and asked to complete a research questionnaire. Onehundred-twenty-three usable questionnaires were returned. Age and current involvement in a lesbian relationship were significantly related to self-esteem, self-acceptance, and social support. Participation in feminist activities also correlated with self-acceptance. The results give tentative, but important, information useful in understanding the correlates of self-esteem and support among lesbians.     

Beliefs About Psychological Services Among Guatemalan College Students

This mixed-methods study identified the help-seeking attitudes of Guatemalan college students. A random sample of 248 students across 2 universities responded to a cultural adaptation of the Beliefs About Psychological Services (BAPS; Ægisdóttir & Gerstein, 2009) survey. The directors of both universities and a subsample of participants were also interviewed. Quantitative findings demonstrated low levels of stigma and positive help-seeking attitudes among students. Qualitative findings indicated that psychological services were limited, financially out of reach, or failed to address students’ gender-specific concerns. Recommendations to address these challenges are presented. Este estudio de métodos mixtos identificó las actitudes de búsqueda de ayuda de estudiantes universitarios guatemaltecos. Una muestra aleatoria de 248 estudiantes de dos universidades respondió a una adaptación cultural de la encuesta Creencias sobre Servicios Psicológicos (BAPS, por sus siglas en inglés; Ægisdóttir & Gerstein, 2009). También se entrevistó a los directores de ambas universidades y a una submuestra de participantes. Los hallazgos cuantitativos demostraron bajos niveles de estigma y actitudes de búsqueda de ayuda positivas entre los estudiantes. Los hallazgos cualitativos indicaron que los servicios psicológicos eran limitados, no eran lo bastante asequibles o no abordaban las preocupaciones relativas al sexo de los estudiantes. Se presentan recomendaciones para abordar estos desafíos.