The effects of overtraining and successive extinctions upon nictitating membrane conditioning in the rabbit

In Expt. I Group SAE (N = 16) received four successive acquisitions and extinctions of a classically conditioned nictitating membrane response while Group OTC (N = 8) received an equivalent amount of acquisition training followed by a single extinction session. Successive extinctions resulted in a decrease in resistance to extinction (Rn), but extended acquisition training had no significant effect. In Expt. II a total of 96 subjects participated in a factorial study of the effects of various amounts of overtraining at two different UCS intensities. When CR amplitude was asymptotic extended training had no significant effect upon Rn; when amplitude was below asymptote Rn was correspondingly reduced.     

Reinforcement contrast effects on the rewarding and aversive components of intracranial stimulation

Rats performing a free-operant locomotor response in a shuttlebox to initiate and then escape medial diencephalic stimulation were tested daily on a randomized sequence of three stimulation intensities. In spite of a 1-hr interval between stimulation intensity changes, substantial and graded reinforcement contrast effects were obtained. “Elation” effects were obtained both on the rewarding (latency to initiate) and the aversive (latency to escape) components of stimulation whereas “depression” effects were found only on the measure of reward.     

The effects of interpolated US alone (USa) presentations on classical nictitating membrane conditioning in rabbit(Oryctolagus cuniculus)

The nictitating membrane (NM) response of 36 rabbits was classically conditioned using a 1,000-Hz tone (CS) paired with circumorbital shock (US) at a 250-msec CS-US interval. Two experimental groups received additional presentations of the US given alone (USa), either 30 seconds (Group E30) or 60 seconds (Group E60) following each CS-US pairing, and their performance was compared to that of control Ss (Group C60) which never experienced USa. Presentations of USa resulted in significant and approximately equal performance decrements in both experimental groups relative to the C60 controls. However, no significant differences among the groups appeared during an extinction phase. The effects of USa presentations were discussed in terms of Papsdorf’s consolidation interpretation and Rescorla’s (1967) contingency theory of conditioning, and appeared to favor the latter view. Additional analyses led to the conclusions that (1) the increased amplitude of the NM UR on paired CS-US trials relative to USa trials can be attributed, at least in part, to the simple laws of the reflex, independent of the conditioning processper se, and (2) the partial reinforcement extinction effects previously reported by Leonard and Theios (1968) cannot be attributed solely to the presence of USa in their continuous reinforcement control Ss.     

Sex differences in attributions for the performance of women of a masculine task

Sex differences in the attributions of observers for the successful or unsuccessful behavior of a female actor performing a masculine task were studied. For the perceived causes of the outcome it was found that internal attributions were emphasized more for success than for failure. In addition, female observers attributed both types of outcome more to effort than did males. The nature of the outcome and the sex of the observer also affected the perceived personality traits of the actor. More positive traits were attributed to the successful than to the unsuccessful actor. The female observers attributed more instrumental traits to the actor than did the male observers. The results were discussed in terms of Jones and Davis's theory (1965) of correspondent inferences and the fact that competence was not viewed as being incompatible with femininity.     

Sex differences in same- and cross-sex supportive relationships

The current study focused on sex differences in same- and cross-sex supportive relationships. Subjects, 249 female and 103 male volunteers, completed a questionnaire designed to assess the nature and quality of supportive relationships. Four dimensions of relationships were examined: the relative frequency and patterning of interactions, closeness, diversity of interactions, and interpersonal perception. A 2×2 multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted with sex of subject as a randomized factor and sex of supporter as a repeated factor. Sixteen dependent variables measured the relationship dimensions. Results of the MANOVA suggested that there are differences between women and men in the qualities of their same- and cross-sex supportive relationships. In same-sex relationships, women have more contact when under stress; are closer; more satisfied with initiation, balance, and closeness; and perceive themselves as knowing the other and being known by the other more than do men. Women initiate more in cross-sex relationships, and want to give more than men do. Men describe cross-sex relationships as closer than women do. Both women and men want more frequent contact, closer relationships, and want to give more in cross-sex relationships than in same-sex ones. These and further results, and implications of the findings are discussed.Portions of this paper were presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., August 1986.     

Criterion-related validity of sex-restrictive and unisex interest scales: A comparison

This report describes two studies comparing the criterion-related validity of sex-balanced (“unisex”) interest inventory scales, i.e., scales designed such that the distributions of scores are similar for males and females, and traditional, sex-restrictive scales. Approximately 1600 college-bound high school seniors (Study 1) and 2000 college seniors (Study 2) completed both the ACT Interest Inventory (ACT-IV) and the new Unisex Edition of the ACT-IV (UNIACT), which contains sex-balanced items. In both studies, each participant was placed in one of six criterion groups based on the correspondence of expressed occupational choice (Study 1) and actual college major (Study 2) to Holland types. Comparable levels of criterion-related validity were obtained with the unisex scales, sex-restrictive scales, and with sex-balanced scores obtained by the traditional procedure of using same-sex norms. Study results and the results of previous research indicate that (a) psychometrically sound interest inventories can be constructed with sex-balanced items, and (b) counselors may use inventories which provide sex-balanced score reports without sacrificing validity.     

Group aversion by imaginal, vicarious and shared recipient-observer shocks

Sixty college students completed waiting control or alternative group aversion conditions, matched for severity and chronicity of nail-biting. Treatments spanned four sessions. Imaginai aversion (covert sensitization) clients visualized shocks to themselves. Vicarious aversion clients observed shocks to a trained model. A ‘hotseat’ format randomized a few actual shocks to each client with observing peers shocked on remaining trials. The predominant pattern of outcome and subjective impact results was as follows: Hotseat consistently best; vicarious typically second; imaginal usually third; controls worst. Clinical and conceptual issues are raised.     

The influence of the form of the question on the eyewitness testimony of preschool children

Thirty-two preschool children were questioned after viewing four short films. The form of the question (affirmative-negative, definite-indefinite article, some-any quantifier) was systematically varied in a counterbalanced design. The form of the question did not significantly affect answers to questions about entities actually present in the films; however, it did have significant effects on answers concerning entities which were not in the film. Questions such as Did you see the..., Did you see any..., and Didn't you see some... were answered yes more frequently than other question types. Thus young children are aware of the expectation conveyed by certain linguistic forms, such asthe. The results are discussed in the light of current models of constructive memory as well as their implications for accurate questioning of children.An earlier version of this article was delivered to the Stanford Child Language Research Forum, Stanford University, April 1976.     

Electroencephalographic and dichotic indices of cerebral laterality in stutterers

To test the hypothesis that stuttering is the product of faulty cerebral laterality four experiments were performed on each of five adult stutterers and five fluent speakers. These tests were: (1) dichotic listening with consonant-vowel pairs, (2) alpha recording over both hemispheres during the performance of cognitive tasks intended to engage preferentially the left or right hemispheres, (3) contingent negative variation with either an articulatory or bilaterally symmetrical response, and (4) readiness potential with the same responses. The results fail to disconfirm the null hypothesis regarding stutterers and their fluent peers. All subjects showed consistent patterns of cerebral laterality indicative of localization of speech function in the left hemisphere. Suggestions are made regarding a possible contribution of deficient sensorimotor integration in stuttering.