Comparing computer‐based training and lecture formats to teach visual analysis of baseline‐treatment graphs

Accurate analysis of data is vital to the validation of interventions. As such, there has been a recent increase in studies evaluating visual analysis training procedures. However, past investigations have not evaluated direct and indirect visual analysis training methods with matched instructional content that was systematically designed. Furthermore, training has rarely included assessment of generalization and maintenance of visual analysis skills. The purpose of the current dissertation study was to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of (a) computer‐based training, (b) lecture formats with and (c) without the opportunity to pause, and (d) a no‐training group to teach visual analysis of AB graphs to university students. To make these formats directly comparable, the instructional content was equated by ensuring information and examples were identical across the three training procedures. Eighty‐three students were randomly assigned to one of the four groups. Results showed that all three training formats produced increases in accurate responding compared to the no‐training group. Visual analysis skills generalized to novel graphs and maintained approximately 2 weeks following all trainings. These results suggest that structured approaches that are carefully designed to train visual analysis are effective and lead to gains that generalize and maintain in the absence of training.     

Do wild raccoons (Procyon lotor) use tools?

Animal Cognition - Being able to make and use tools was once considered to be an evolutionary hallmark of our species, but has since been documented in other animals. However, for reasons that...     

The Miranda Warnings and the Deaf Suspect

Administration of the Miranda Warnings to deaf suspects poses many legal issues. If police officers, judges, attorneys and psychologists are unaware of these, evidence obtained as a consequence of deaf suspects waiving their Miranda Rights may be inadmissible in court. These issues include the importance of videotaping the police interview, the use of sign language interpreters, the determination of the deaf defendant's reading level and communication capacity, the limitations of lipreading, and other psycholinguistic factors. Recommendations are offered to aid in determining whether a deaf suspect is capable of understanding the Miranda Warnings and how these warnings should be administered.     

Scale sensitivity in the multiplicative AHP and SMART

We consider first a variant of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with a one-parametric class of geometric scales to quantify human comparative judgement and with a multiplicative structure: logarithmic regression to calculate the impact scores of the alternatives at the first evaluation level and a geometric-mean aggregation rule to calculate the final scores at the second level. We demonstrate that the rank order of the impact scores and final scores is scale-independent. Finally we show that the multiplicative AHP is an exponential version of the simple multi-attribute rating technique (SMART). In fact, the multiplicative AHP is concerned with ratios of intervals on the dimension of desirability, whereas SMART analyses differences in the corresponding orders of magnitude.     

Effects of prior agonistic experience on risk assessment and approach behavior evoked by familiar or unfamiliar conspecific odors

Risk assessment and appetitive behaviors in response to familiar and unfamiliar conspecific odors were measured in mice rendered dominant or subordinate by a series of resident-intruder encounters. Subordinate mice showed elevated levels of risk assessment in response to the odors of both familiar dominant and unfamiliar males. These behaviors were almost totally absent among dominant males exposed to familiar subordinate or unfamiliar male odors. Subordinate mice showed a marginally significant elevation in latencies to approach familiar, but not unfamiliar, dominant odors. Dominant and subordinate mice spent comparable amounts of time in the cage area containing familiar antagonist odors, however, and the durations of subordinates were mildly elevated, rather than decreased, when unfamiliar conspecific odors were present. There were no group differences in any of the appetitive behaviors. These findings suggest that apparent preferences for conspecific odors may arise from quantitatively and/or qualitatively differing emotional states. The inclusion of risk assessment measures is suggested to be a useful adjunct for studies of olfactory preference/rejection. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.