Effects of acute administration of nicotine and lobeline on agonistic encounters in male mice

The effects of acute administration of two nicotinic ligands, (‐)‐nicotine and (‐)‐lobeline were examined on isolation‐induced aggression in mice. Individually housed male mice confronted anosmic “standard opponents” in a neutral arena 10 min after drug administration. Encounters were videotaped and evaluated using an ethologically based analysis facilitating estimation of time allocated to 11 broad behavioral categories. Nicotine did not have significant effects on threat or attack but significantly diminished time allocated to digging. The lowest dose of lobeline significantly diminished attack and induced a slight increase of immobility without significantly diminishing other behaviors with motor components. The intermediate and highest dose of lobeline reduced time allocated to all behaviors with motor components. It is concluded that these two nicotinic agonists produce different behavioral profiles during agonistic encounters in mice but that this test may not facilitate assessing the impact of such drugs on irritability. Aggr. Behav. 26:376–385, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Learning a procedural task: effectiveness of multimedia presentations

Three experiments investigated the effectiveness of presenting procedural information through different media and their combinations. Experiment 1 examined the effectiveness of text, line drawings, text and line drawings, video. and video stills for learning a first aid task. The results showed an advantage of text and line drawings and of the video presentation over the other three conditions for both bandaging performance and answering questions about the task. Experiment 2 showed that the beneficial effect of the combination of text and pictures could not be accounted for simply in terms of a dual coding explanation. Rather, the effectiveness of the media and their combinations was influenced by the extent to which they conveyed action information. Finally, Experiment 3 showed no evidence of a contiguity effect: text and pictures were as effective when presented together on the same screen as when they were presented separately. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Disorders of Eating in the Elderly

The most common eating disorder in the elderly in both community and hospital settings is food refusal. This may lead to weight loss and malnutrition with all the adverse consequences on independence and function. The management of disorders of eating in the elderly is a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, requiring the combined skills of the medical and nursing staff. The causes are often multifactorial and require careful and repeated assessment of the patient's social, psychological, and medical history. Approach to treatment involves these factors, as well as ethical and cultural considerations. Eating is the most basic biological drive for survival in nature. In human societies there are additional cultural and social aspects that may override this instinct, as in the case of hunger strikes for political motives. In the elderly, food is one of the major sources of possible pleasure and it is the challenge for health providers to try and give this enjoyment to their patients for as long as possible.     

Hippocampal Theta Oscillations and Classical Conditioning

Studies are reviewed that support a hypothesized role for hippocampal theta oscillations in the neural plasticity underlying behavioral learning. Begun in Richard F. Thompson's laboratory in the 1970s, these experiments have documented a relationship between free-running 3- to 7-Hz hippocampal slow waves (theta) and rates of acquisition in rabbit classical nictitating membrane (NM) conditioning. Lesion and drug manipulations of septohippocampal projections have affected NM and jaw movement conditioning in ways consistent with a theta-related brain state being an important modulator of behavioral acquisition. These findings provide essential empirical support for the recently developed neurobiological and computational models that posit an important role for rhythmic oscillations (such as theta) in cellular plasticity and behavioral learning.     

The combination of explicit and implicit learning processes in task control

Summary Two experiments look at the combination of explicit and implicit learning processes on a single task. Subjects are required to control the rate of sugar output in a small sugar production factory while maintaining cordial relations with the union. Experiment 1 investigates whether subjects can learn to control this task, which relies on their knowing about both salient and nonsalient relationships. It looks at how performance on the task relates to explicit verbalisable knowledge (as assessed by written questionnaire). Experiment 2 considers alternative ways of tapping the more implicit aspects of subjects' knowledge.     

Semantics of Ownership: A Free-Recall Study of Property

Adult Canadians (N = 120) evaluated criteria of ownership by two tasks. The first was listing exemplars of things owned and things not owned and then rating applicability of criteria to exemplars. The second was judging the strength of criteria as general arguments for ownership. Cluster analysis suggested that free-recall exemplars of property were selected by four principal types of criteria: (a) control criteria (POSSESSION, ASSERTION, TERRITORIALITY) referring to the regulation of social access to the property, (b) attachment criteria (FAMILIARITY, KNOWLEDGE, AESTHETICS, UTILITY) expressing the psychological proximity of the owner to the property, (c) consumer criteria (PURCHASE, HISTORY, DESIRE) reflecting important purchases, and (d) special-acquisitions criteria (GIFT, CRAFTING). By the judgement task, only means-of-acquisition criteria (PURCHASE, CRAFTING, GIFT) were valued as strong arguments for ownership.

     

Type A behavior, age, and psychological well-being

We investigated psychological well-being among Type A and B individuals across the age span. We hypothesized that the hard-driving, achievement-oriented lifestyle exhibited by Type As would be adaptive in younger age groups, but would lead to lower well-being in later life because of increased limitations on the range and level of one's activities. By contrast, the more relaxed, easygoing style of the Type B matches better the slower pace of old age, but is not as conducive to success in younger age groups. Thus we expected older Type Bs more than younger Type Bs to exhibit greater well-being. Results confirmed these hypotheses, but indicated that psychological differences may be mediated in part by differences in physical well-being. Furthermore, experience with life events, and the structure and function of social networks, may contribute to the differences in well-being.     

Relinquishment of control and the type A behavior pattern: the role of performance evaluation

We investigated the role of information processing in the control relinquishment decisions of Type As and Bs. Pairs of subjects worked independently on a task and received feedback indicating that their partner had performed at a comparable or superior level. On a second task, subjects combined their efforts and made decisions concerning who would work on different parts of that task. One third of the subjects made this decision before completing an evaluation of the initial performances. Another third completed the evaluation without knowing that they would subsequently make a control decision. The final third of the subjects completed their evaluations knowing that a control decision would follow. Results indicated that when the evaluations were completed last, or when the evaluations were completed first but without knowledge of the impending decision, Type As relinquished less control to a superior partner than did Type Bs. When the evaluations were completed with knowledge of an impending control decision, Type As and Bs did not differ in their decisions. These results suggest that under certain conditions, Type As use an automatic or mindless decision style with potentially maladaptive consequences.     

TOWARDS A UNIVERSAL PSYCHOLOGY OF COGNITIVE COMPETENCE

A position of cultural relativism is outlined and employed in an examination of variations in folk conceptions and psychologists' conceptions of cognitive competence in a variety of cultures. At the same time it is proposed that pan-cultural characteristics of cognitive competence must also be sought. A framework for exploring both the local and the universal features of cognitive functioning is presented as a guide for future research, and as a test of current formulations.     

On the relationship between task performance and associated verbalizable knowledge

Three experiments explore the relationship between performance on a cognitive task and the explicit or reportable knowledge associated with that performance (assessed here by written post-task questionnaire). They examine how this relationship is affected by task experience, verbal instruction and concurrent verbalization. It is shown that practice significantly improves ability to control semi-complex computer-implemented systems but has no effect on the ability to answer related questions. In contrast, verbal instruction significantly improves ability to answer questions but has no effect on control performance. Verbal instruction combined with concurrent verbalization does lead to a significant improvement in control scores. Verbalization alone, however, has no effect on task performance or question answering.