A comparison of verbal and tangible stimulus preference assessments

Tangible preference assessments were compared with verbal preference assessments for 6 individuals with mental retardation, behavior disorders, or both. In the tangible assessment, items were placed in front of the participant. In the verbal assessment, participants were asked, “Do you want X or Y?” and the items were not present. The two assessments yielded similar high‐preference items for 4 of the 6 participants. The verbal assessment was typically completed in less time than the tangible assessment.     

A perception-action coupling type of control in long jumping

The authors' goal was to identify the control mechanisms used by long jumpers (N = 6) to precisely position their foot at the board. In addition to the intertrial method usually used in previous research, an original method based on a trial-by-trial analysis was also implemented. If the approach to the board in long jumping encompasses two distinct sequences separated by a key step that marks the initiation of visual control, then a trial-by-trial analysis should reveal those sequences, regardless of the amount of adjustment: The step number at which regulation is initiated should be the same irrespective of the amount of adjustment. If, in contrast, a perception-action coupling mechanism operates, then the step number at which regulation is initiated should be a function of the amount of adjustment: A linear relation between those 2 variables should emerge. The results of the present study are compatible with continuous control mechanisms based on a perception-action coupling.     

The development of children's knowledge of attention and resource allocation in single and dual tasks

Developmental changes in kindergarten, 1st-, and 4th-grade children's knowledge about the variables that affect attention sharing and resource allocation were examined. Findings from the 2 experiments showed that kindergartners understood that person and strategy variables affect performance in attention-sharing tasks. However, knowledge of how task variables affect performance was not evident to them and was inconsistent for 1st and 4th graders. Children's knowledge about resource allocation revealed a different pattern and varied according to the dissimilarity of task demands in the attention-sharing task. In Experiment 1, in which the dual attention tasks were similar (i.e., visual detection), kindergarten and 1st-grade children did not differentiate performance in single and dual tasks. Fourth graders demonstrated knowledge that performance on a single task would be better than performance on the dual tasks for only 2 of the variables examined. In Experiment 2, in which the dual attention tasks were dissimilar (i.e., visual and auditory detection), kindergarten and 1st-grade children demonstrated knowledge that performance in the single task would be better than in the dual tasks for 1 of the task variables examined. However, 4th-grade children consistently gave higher ratings for performance on the single than on the dual attention tasks for all variables examined. These findings (a) underscore that children's meta-attention is not unitary and (b) demonstrate that children's knowledge about variables affecting attention sharing and resource allocation have different developmental pathways. Results show that knowledge about attention sharing and about the factors that influence the control of attention develops slowly and undergoes reorganization in middle childhood.     

External motivators of self-touching behavior

Previous research has shown that nonverbal self-touching behaviors can be induced by external motivators such as videos and literary passages about insects. This study investigated whether the number of self-touching behaviors differed between presentation of what was assumed to be an anxiety-inducing stimulus (listening to the reading of a passage about leeches and answering questions) or a nonanxiety-inducing stimulus (a passage about canaries). It also investigated whether there was a difference in frequency of self-touching when subjects were passively listening to passages or actively answering questions. The difference in frequency of self-touching between men and women was also observed. Over-all, subjects did not perform significantly more self-touching gestures during the anxiety-inducing stimulus than during the nonanxiety-inducing, as previous research had indicated. Subjects did touch themselves significantly more, however, while answering questions than while listening to the passage. Over-all, men performed significantly more self-touching behaviors than women. And, women touched themselves significantly more during the active anxiety-inducing cell than in any other condition.     

Influence of aerobic and stretching exercise on anxiety and sensation-seeking mood state

This study randomly assigned participants to either an aerobic, non-aerobic, or lecture group to assess whether one bout of exercise would alter mood state. Regardless of experimental condition, changes in mood state were found on the Sensation Seeking and Anxiety State Tests, where sensation-seeking scores increased and anxiety state decreased from pre- to posttest.     

Direction of human motor responses by men and women to aversive stimulation

The frequency of extensions and flexions of the arms of 12 men and 12 women (ages 20-30 years) responding to a neutral tone or to an electric shock was recorded. Subjects had to choose between pushing or pulling a lever upon receipt of an acoustic signal which was paired or unpaired with an electric shock. They were instructed to perform either long duration movements, allowing for on-line control of the execution, or short duration movements with prior specification of amplitude. Regardless of duration of movements, the aversive signal increased the frequency of extensions and intraindividual variability of choices of the men but decreased the frequency of extensions and intraindividual variability of choices of the women. These findings show that stimuli such as pain or fear automatically elicit patterns of terminal motor states corresponding to fight or flight, initiating processes of preparation of spatially oriented movements which are automatic and sex-typed and impair the use of the terminal cues for simultaneous preprogrammed voluntary movements.     

Manic-depressive tendencies and Jungian dimensions of personality in college students

In a sample of 39 students, manic tendencies were associated with sensing and judging scores, while depressive tendencies were not associated with the measures of personality.