Arousal and T-maze choice behavior in mice: A convergent paradigm for neophobia constructs and optimal arousal theory

Three experiments investigating the effects of arousal on the T-maze choice behavior of inbred mouse strains are reported. In Experiment 1, CBA and NZB mice were administered unrewarded free choice alternation tests on 10 consecutive days under either No Shock, Shock Start (shocked in the start box), or Shock Choice (shocked at the choice point) treatment conditions. Both strain and treatment effects were observed: In the No-Shock condition, the nonreactive CBA strain alternated, but the reactive NZB strain did not. In the Shock Start condition the CBA strain showed only a suppressed alternation, while the NZB strain administered the same treatment perseverated. Both strains perseverated in the Shock Choice condition. In Experiment 2, NZB mice administered identical shocks in the start box and goal arms on both trials of five consecutive tests conducted once a day perseverated to the same goal arm in which they had been shocked on the first trial. In Experiment 3, NZB mice punished for perseverating (with shock continuation) and simultaneously reinforced for alternating (with shock termination) showed a “punishment paradox”; they perseverated despite the reinforcement contingencies. These results, which are congruent with the optimal arousal theory and several characteristics the theory shares with the emergent neophobia construct, support the contention that arousal mediates a symmetrical relationship between approach and avoidance along a novelty-familiarity continuum.     

Pastoral theologian of the year,William Barr Oglesby,Jr.

This article acknowledging and celebrating William Barr Oglesby, Jr. as Pastoral Theologian of the Year for 1983, was originally published inPastoral Psychology 32(1) in Fall, 1983. As a result of some errors that inadvertently modified both the tone and the meaning of the text, we are republishing this article here in its entirety.     

Psychology and the fall of Communism: The special case of (East) Germany

The fall of Communism is now universally agreed to be what the philosopher Hegel called a world historical event—one that few predicted but nearly everyone saw as inevitable after it happened. In the aftermath many lives—and worldviews—changed, not only, but also in the human sciences. These remarks attempt to address in a preliminary way both the impact of the fall of Communism on psychology in former East Germany (including changes in personnel and approach) and the ways in which these sciences were employed as resources for reflection on the Communist past as well as the transition to new social and political regimes.     

Status faking on the SVIB-M

A study and replication of students faking interest in high status occupations on the Strong Vocational Interest Blank for Men. In general, the faking was successful in shifting the specific target occupational scales and especially the occupational level scale. Other scales are affected, many with decisive upward or downward shifts. Demonstration is made of the extent to which the faking condition led to differences in the overall test results. Various aspects of the general problem of test faking are reviewed.     

Two temporal parameters of food postponement

Rats were trained to press a lever under schedules of food postponement. In the absence of lever presses, food was delivered periodically (food-food interval). Responses initiated a second interval (response-food interval) that was reset by each additional response. Performance was first studied at different response-food intervals with the food-food interval fixed at 30 or 60 sec, or 10 min. Response-food intervals were examined in ascending order and then recovery was studied at shorter intervals. Finally, the food-food interval was manipulated with response-food interval fixed at 30 sec. At food-food intervals of 30 and 60 sec, responding first increased and then decreased as the response-food interval increased. At the 10-min food-food interval, responding decreased with increasing response-food interval. In general, very low rates of responding occurred when the response-food interval was 60 sec or more and when it equalled or exceeded the food-food interval. However, responding was maintained in one animal when the food-food interval was decreased from 120 to 15 sec with the response-food interval at 30 sec. Results, in terms of several dependent variables, are compared with data on shock avoidance. Effects of response-independent and response-produced food and shock are discussed.     

The detection of visual intensity differences by pigeons

Pigeons were trained in a conditional discrimination procedure to discriminate between visual stimuli that varied in intensity. The magnitude of the intensity difference ranged from 0.80 to 0.05 logarithmic units. Psychometric functions were calculated from the data and the mean difference threshold for the 11 subjects was approximately 0.12 logarithmic units. A signal-detection analysis of the data suggested that stimuli that were below the calculated threshold were detectible to the subjects.     

Short-term visual memory and pattern masking

The results of two experiments involving the matching of unfamiliar, nameless shapes (Gibson forms) indicated that a visual representation of a brief (30-100 ms) stimulus survives in a Short-Term Visual Memory (STVM) for 6 s or more after the onset of a pattern mask. On the basis of these results a possible alternative to Sperling's (1967) model for short-term memory for visual stimuli was presented. In this model it is assumed that recognition processes occupy several hundred milliseconds and continue after the arrival of the mask using the information available in STVM.     

“Backward masking” of simple detection latencies

Simple detection latencies were determined with stimuli that comprised two successive flashes. The second flash either equaled or exceeded the first in luminance, duration, or both. When a low-luminance flash preceded either a low-or a high-luminance flash, the flashes summated, yielding latencies that were shorter than the latency for the first flash alone. In the limit, when the second flash was intense and followed the first by a short time, the latency for the paired flashes behaved as if it was determined by the second flash alone. This limit was analogous to the retroactive interference in studies of the neurophysiological concomitants of backward masking. However, the S in masking studies detects the first flash despite interference by the second, whereas the present S detected the onset of the stimulus light. The need for an analysis of the S’s response under masking is thus indicated.