Contiguity and the outcome density bias in action-outcome contingency judgements

In cause-outcome contingency judgement tasks, judgements often reflect the actual contingency but are also influenced by the overall probability of the outcome, P(O). Action-outcome instrumental learning tasks can foster a pattern in which judgements of positive contingencies become less positive as P(O) increases. Variable contiguity between the action and the outcome may produce this bias. Experiment 1 recorded judgements of positive contingencies that were largely uninfluenced by P(O) using an immediate contiguity procedure. Experiment 2 directly compared variable versus constant contiguity. The predicted interaction between contiguity and P(O) was observed for positive contingencies. These results stress the sensitivity of the causal learning mechanism to temporal contiguity.     

FEMINIST PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SERVICE OF WOMEN: STAYING ENGAGED WITHOUT GETTING MARRIED

This article, based on the 2005 Society for the Psychology of Women Presidential Address, presents a definition of feminism and evaluates feminist psychology and its current challenges through that lens. The principal theme is the tension between feminist psychology's engagement with the discipline and its ability to critique and alter both the discipline and the world. The article includes an analysis of the original 52 demands presented by women activists to the APA's Council of Representatives in 1970. Those demands are evaluated both in terms of progress and lack of achievement, as well as in terms of the limitations of the professional women's movement reflected in those original demands. The lack of success in achieving demands associated with structural change is highlighted. A framework for future feminist work that might achieve transformational change is offered.     

How can obese weight controllers minimize weight gain during the high risk holiday season? By self-monitoring very consistently.

This study examined the efficacy of augmenting standard weekly cognitive-behavioral treatment for obesity with a self-monitoring intervention during the high risk holiday season. Fifty-seven participants in a long-term cognitive-behavioral treatment program were randomly assigned to self-monitoring intervention or comparison groups. During 2 holiday weeks (Christmas-New Years), the intervention group's treatment was supplemented with additional phone calls and daily mailings, all focused on self-monitoring. As hypothesized, the intervention group self-monitored more consistently and managed their weight better than the comparison group during the holidays. However, both groups struggled with weight management throughout the holidays. These findings support the critical role of self-monitoring in weight control and demonstrate the benefits of a low-cost intervention for assisting weight controllers during the holidays.     

Judgements of a 2 × 2 contingency table: Sequential processing and the learning curve

Shanks (1985) has used a video game to investigate how subjects estimate the effect of their behaviour in a task defined by a 2×2 contingency table. The subjects were able to distinguish positive and negative contingencies from zero contingencies. In addition, they showed a learning curve and a bias to rate zero contingencies with a high outcome density higher than low-density zero contingencies. He interpreted these data as being consistent with associative models derived from animal learning. In Experiment 1 we replicated these results using a task and instructions similar to his. In a second experiment we showed that the subjects' tendency to overestimate high-density zero contingencies did not arise because the “game” was so difficult that it interfered with processing the events. In this experiment subjects were given tables of the outcome frequencies that had been determined by the earlier subjects. These subjects were, if anything, less accurate in rating the zero contingencies. We point out several logical problems with Shanks's initial task. The task did not represent a true 2×2 contingency, and aspects of it were physically impossible. In Experiment 3 we modified the task to represent a true 2×2 contingency. Using this task, we found a similar pattern of results, except that there was no evidence of the learning curve predicted by the associative models. We conclude that there is little in our data to rule out a “rule-based” analysis of contingency judgements.