A change of context can enhance performance of an aversive but not of an appetitive conditioned response

In four experiments rats received pairings of one auditory CS and mild shock in one context and of a second auditory CS and shock in a second context. When tested with one of these CSs in the context in which it had never been experienced, they consistently showed enhanced levels of suppression. In one of these experiments, suppression was measured over 15-sec intervals throughout a 90-sec long CS. A change of context resulted in an increased level of suppression at all points throughout the CS, a finding which does not encourage the belief that it was due to an increase in unconditioned suppression at the onset of the CS. Another experiment provided equally little support for an alternative account in terms of increased arousal. The results therefore suggest that a change of context can increase the level of conditioned suppression elicited by a CS paired with mild shock. Two final experiments employing the same CSs and contexts, however, found no evidence that a change of context had any effect at all on the performance of an appetitively conditioned response.     

A dissociation between one-trial overshadowing and the effect of a distractor on habituation

Rats drank a novel vinegar flavour and were subsequently tested either for habituation of neophobia to vinegar or for the conditioning of an aversion to vinegar when it was followed 4 hr later by an injection of lithium chloride. If they drank a sucrose distractor immediately after their first vinegar trial, habituation of neophobia was disrupted but conditioning was not. Sucrose consumed 3.5 hr after the initial vinegar trial, on the other hand, had less of an effect on habituation, but did disrupt conditioning. An incidental finding, replicated in two subsequent experiments, was that the immediate sucrose distractor had no effect on habituation when animals were tested 48 hr after their initial habituation trial. We interpret these results to suggest that distractors affect habituation by a process of generalization decrement but overshadow conditioning through a process of associative competition.     

Reversal learning in octopus vulgaris lamarck with and without irrelevant cues

Three groups of eight octopuses each were trained on a brightness discrimination and its reversal. Within each group half the animals were overtrained on the original problem and half were not. For Group I the discrimination was a simple one, for the other two groups irrelevant cues were introduced (for Group II position and for Group III orientation).

It was found that the overtrained animals learnt the reversal significantly faster than the non-overtrained only where irrelevant cues were present (i.e. only in Groups II and III). The results are discussed in relation to various theories of discrimination reversal.     

The role of mathematical skill in sex differences on Raven’s Matrices

This study replicated a previously reported male advantage on certain items of Raven’s Matrices and found no sex differences in performance on other items. We refer to the latter as analytic (1) items and the former as analytic (2) items. Reasons for the male advantage were investigated by correlating scores obtained by male and female high school students on analytic (1) and analytic (2) items with their scores on tests of spatial, verbal and mathematical ability. There were no sex differences in the magnitude of the correlations between scores on analytic (2) items and the two spatial and verbal tests. In contrast, males but not females showed a significantly higher correlation of maths with analytic (2) than with analytic (1). The results suggest the Raven’s Matrices may engage different, more specific cognitive processes in males and more general cognitive processes in females.     

Illness representations in patients with multimorbid long-term conditions: qualitative study

Most research on illness representations explores how patients view single conditions, but many patients report more than one long-term condition (known as multimorbidity). It is not known how multimorbidity impacts on patient illness representations. This exploratory qualitative study examined patients' representations of multimorbid long-term conditions and sought to assess how models of illness representation might need modification in the presence of multimorbidity. We explored two major issues: (1) the impact of multimorbidity on patient representations of their individual conditions and (2) the representation of multimorbidity itself. Twenty eight adults with at least two long-term conditions (mean of 4) were interviewed. The presence of multimorbidity impacted on patient illness representations in relation to the dimensions of identity, perceived cause, coherence and consequences. Representations of multimorbidity itself concerned representations of the burden of medication and perceived priorities among conditions and synergies and antagonisms between conditions and their management. The results have implications for the measurement of multimorbidity (through scales such as the Illness Perception Questionnaire) and the use of illness representations in the design and delivery of interventions to improve health behaviour and outcomes of patients with multiple long-term conditions.     

Stress management and exercise training in chronic stable angina pectoris

Abstract

Patients suffering from chronic stable angina pectoris were allocated to one of four conditions: stress management training, exercise training, combined stress management and exercise, or waiting list control. Patients undertook an exercise tolerance test before and after intervention, and at follow-up assessment eight weeks later. They also kept a daily diary of the frequency, duration and intensity of all angina episodes, and recorded the amount of medication taken, for the week preceding and the week following intervention, as well as for the eighth week of follow-up. Patients who undertook the combined stress management and exercise programme faired best. They showed sustained gains in achieved workload on the exercise tolerance test at no cost in terms of ischaemia, as measured by ST-segment depression. They also registered less frequent angina attacks following intervention than the exercise only and waiting list control patients, and reported reduced reliance on medication; the latter benefit was sustained at follow-up. These clinical dividends invite further study of combined stress management and exercise training in angina pectoris.     

Book reviews

GRAY, J. A. Elements of a Two-Process Theory of Learning. London: Academic Press. 1975. Pp. 423. £6.60.

STOCKBRIDGE, H. C. W. Behaviour and the Physical Environment :Case Studies in Psychology and Ergonomics. London: Batsford. 1975. Pp. 191. £7.50.

CRYSTAL, D. The English Tone of Voice-Essays in Intonation, Prosody and Paralanguage. London: Edward Arnold. 1975. Pp. 198. £3.75.

MCFARLAND, D. J. (Ed.). Motivational Control Systems Analysis. London and New York: Academic Press. 1974. Pp. xii + 523. £11.00.

IVERSEN, S. D. and IVERSEN, L. L. Behavioral Pharmacology. New York and London: Oxford University Press. 1975. Pp. xiv + 310. £2.75.

LEVITT, R. A. Psychopharmacology. A Biological Approach. New York: Wiley. 1975. Pp. x + 502. £9.45.

DOWNS, R. M. and STEA, D. (Eds). Image and Environment. Chicago: Aldine. 1973. (London: Arnold). Pp. xxii + 439. £6.75.

MACCOBY, E. E. and JACKLIN, C. N. The Psychology of Sex Differences. London: Oxford University Press. 1975. Pp. 634. £7.00.

MASSARO, D. W. (Ed.). Understanding Language. New York: Academic Press. 1975. PP. 438. £7.90.

HILGARD, E. R., ATKINSON, R. C., and ATKINSON, R. L. Introduction to Psychology. Sixth Edition. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1975. Pp. 658. £8.10.