Variations in explicitly unpaired training are differentially effective in producing conditioned inhibition

To evaluate a contingency interpretation of conditioned inhibition (CI), rats were given “explicity unpaired” training in which the locus and duration of a CS within the inter-US (shock) interval were systematically manipulated for different groups. Summation and retardation tests in Experiment 1 indicated that stronger CI resulted from both a backward and a trace CS than from a midlocus CS of equal or greater duration. Complementing these findings, the same tests in Experiment 2 showed that, by comparison with novel-stimulus controls, CI developed to a trace CS but not to a mid-locus CS, nor to a trace CS that was accompanied by an immediate signal for the US. These findings argue against a contingency interpretation of CI and favor a contiguity interpretation stressing the short-term rehearsal of stimulus events. Such rehearsal of the US allows a backward CS, but not a mid-locus CS with an extended US-CS interval, to be discriminated as a signal for nonreinforcement, and thus to develop as a conditioned inhibitor. Similarly, excitatory conditioning to the memory trace of a CS allows the nominal trace CS to develop as a signal for nonreinforcement, and thus as a conditioned inhibitor, but not when its memory trace is overshadowed by another CS that immediately precedes the US. In short, the development of CI is facilitated when excitation is mediated by the memorial processing of either the US or a discrete CS for the US rather than by contextual cues.     

COVID-19 and pre-tenure counseling faculty: A collaborative autoethnographic investigation

Higher education faculty worldwide experienced heightened stressors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, from completing their professional roles and responsibilities virtually to balancing personal and professional stressors. Consequently, the pandemic created many adjustments for pre-tenure counseling faculty across research, teaching, and service. In response to this pandemic, we explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the personal and professional lives of four pre-tenure counseling faculty members. Accordingly, we used collaborative autoethnography to investigate our experiences and narratives as pre-tenure counseling faculty, which resulted in seven overarching themes. We discussed the implications for practice, advocacy, education, and faculty training.     

Visual backward masking as measured by voice reaction time

Instead of using percent correct identifications or detections as the dependent variable, latency in voicing the target stimulus was measured in a backward masking paradigm. Reaction time (RT) to target letters was reliably increased when they were simultaneously encircled by a black ring mask of a size found to produce masking using an identification or detection criterion. The masking function in terms of RT was typical in shape, a decreasing function of stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) over an interval of 150 msec. Since the target remained “on” when the mask appeared, the results are incompatible with an erasure interpretation of masking effects. Analyses of the variances of the RTs supported an interpretation of a progressive decrease in masking effects as SOA increased.     

Response latency,confidence, and ROCs in auditory signal detection

Response latencies were obtained from 10 Ss in auditory signal-detection experiments. The response latencies were inversely related to certainty that a signal was (or was not) presented. The S’s decision criterion was found to have an influence on response latency, which was consistent with the hypothesis that stimuli close to the current criterion elicit longer response latencies than stimuli more distant from the criterion. Comparisons among receiver operating characteristics derived from binary decisions, from the latencies of binary decisions, and from confidence ratings show that response latencies and binary decisions together yield more information about the stimulus than does the binary decision alone. However, the increment in information gained from the measurement of response latencies is in general (though not for every S) smaller than that gained by shifting from yes-no responses to a confidence-rating procedure.     

A circuit to permit an electronic drinkometer to operate during footshock

A circuit to permit an electronic drinkometer to operate during footshock is described. The circuit employs a diode matrix that allows all grid bars to be connected at one point to form one electrode of the drinkometer; it is isolated at another point so as not to shortcircuit the impressed footshock.     

A general rotation criterion and its use in orthogonal rotation

Measures of test parsimony and factor parsimony are defined. Minimizing their weighted sum produces a general rotation criterion for either oblique or orthogonal rotation. The quartimax, varimax and equamax criteria are special cases of the expression. Two new criteria are developed. One of these, the parsimax criterion, apparently gives excellent results. It is argued that one of the most important factors bearing on the choice of a rotation criterion for a particular problem is the amount of information available on the number of factors that should be rotated. This research was supported by the National Research Council of Canada research grant 291-13 to Dr. G. A. Ferguson.     

The effect of pressurized air in establishing discriminative response suppression in stump-tailed macaques

Pressurized air was repeatedly associated with one of two frequencies of flashing light during performance of a VI 30-sec positive reinforcement schedule by stump-tailed monkeys. As revealed by the relative suppression of bar presses to each of the two visual stimuli, the Ss learned to discriminate between the different flicker frequencies. However, they also showed signs of adapting to the airblast during the course of training, and its location had to be changed in order to maintain discriminative suppression.     

The effects of area and perimeter on detection rates

The detection of luminance increments in a homogeneously lighted field was studied as a function of the area and perimeter of the luminance increment. Sixteen targets representing all possible combinations of four values of area and four values of perimeter were foveally presented. Exposure durations were short (25 to 40 msec). Results of both an analysis of variance and linear discriminant analysis indicated that detection probability increases as area increases, but neither variations in perimeter nor perimeter-area combinations produced effects that were significant oyer the experiment as a whole. The linear discriminant analysis revealed individual differences in the effects of perimeter and area on detection probability. Results were contradictory to Kristofferson’s (1957) “element contribution theory” and gave only slight support to Hecht’s (Lamar, Hecht, Shlaer, & Hendley, 1947) “border-quantum theory.”