Using animals for the training of physicians and surgeons

It is argued that cultural attitudes of a speciesist nature are background to the current practice of animal use in teaching medical students and residents. The scope of this activity is estimated, and educational theory is enlisted to suggest that many assumptions about the effectiveness of the practice are not valid. An assessment of one course used for ob-gyn training is presented. Since it is clear that animal suffering should be avoided when possible, the case is made that alternatives to animals may be used to replace animal use in much of current medical education. Medical educators should routinely question and offer adequate justification for any use of animals in medical education.     

Attitudinal and Normative Factors as Determinants of Gay Men's Intentions to Perform AIDS-Related Sexual Behaviors: A Multisite Analysis1

The purpose of this study was to test the applicability of the theory of reasoned action as a basis for understanding and predicting gay men's intentions to perform AIDS-related sexual behaviors. A total of 314 self-identified gay or bisexual men from Seattle, Denver, and Albany participated in the study. They were asked to indicate their intentions to perform 15 specific sexual behaviors chosen to represent different degrees of risk of contracting AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, they were asked to respond to items measuring the attitudinal and normative considerations regarding each behavior. As expected, the results showed that the gay men's intentions were significantly predicted by the two factors. More interesting, it was found that, although attitudes are consistently the more important determinants of intentions for all the respondents, the importance of normative considerations varies across cities. This difference in normative considerations is interpreted in light of the differences in the structure of the three gay communities. Implications for designing sample-specific intervention programs are discussed.     

Internet and the support of psychology education

The Computers in Teaching Initiative (CTI) Centre for Psychology has been promoting the use of computers in psychology education for the last 5 years. The advent of the Internet and ubiquitous access to the World-Wide Web has the potential to revolutionize the way the teaching and learning of psychology can be supported. This paper describes how we are using the Web to support psychology education through information dissemination, through the provision of teaching resources, and through facilities for communication.     

Coping Strategies,Substance Use,Sexual Activity,and HIV Sexual Risks in a Sample of Gay Male STD Patients1

The relationships of coping strategies with levels of substance use and sexual activity, and with HIV sexual risks, are examined in a sample of gay male STD clinic patients (n = 416). Previous research has suggested that use of problem-focused coping strategies should be negatively related to levels of substance use, levels of sexual activity, and HIV sexual risks; use of emotion-focused coping strategies should be positively related to these outcomes. It is argued that substance use and sexual activity clearly fit within a coping perspective, but that the HIV sexual risks/coping relationship is less clear. In multivariate analysis, the problem-focused strategy of advice seeking is negatively related to the number of types of drugs used and to the number of sexual partners; the problem-focused strategy of support seeking is negatively related to the number of days using drugs; and the use of emotion-focused strategies is positively related to the number of types of drugs used. Problem-focused coping strategies are less directly related to engaging in HIV sexual risks when measures of substance use and of sexual activity are included in the prediction; emotion-focused coping strategies are more stably related to HIV risk. Indirect effects of coping on HIV risk are also identified through the effects of coping on the number of types of drugs used, number of sex partners, and number of times having sex. It is proposed that the relationships between coping and levels of substance use and sexual activity reflect the use of these activities as ways of relieving strain, but that relationships between coping and HIV sexual risks involve less clearly understood direct and indirect relationships.     

Context extinction following conditioning with delayed reward enhances subsequent instrumental responding

In Experiment 1, delayed reward generated low response rates relative to immediate reward delivered with the same frequency. Lister rats exposed to delayed reward subsequently responded at a higher rate in extinction if they received nonreinforced exposure to the conditioning context after instrumental training and prior to test, compared with animals that received home cage exposure. In Experiment 2, a signaled delay of reinforcement resulted in higher rates than an unsignaled delay. Nonreinforced exposure to the conditioning context elevated response rate for subjects in the unsignaled condition relative to a home cage group, but had no effect on response rates for subjects that had received the signaled delay. In Experiment 3, following an unsignaled reinforcement delay, groups receiving either no event or signaled food in the context responded faster in extinction than groups receiving no context exposure or unsignaled food.     

Multivariate analysis of the interaction of person,situation and response variables in situation-specific interpersonal behavior

This study attempted to use multivariate statistical methodology to empirically derive and define person, situation and response variables which interact in determining situation-specific behavior of college students, and to clarify the nature of the interaction of those variables. A variant of principal components analysis was used to derive reliable dimensions of persons and situations underlying situation-specific self-reported response. These dimensions appeared to correspond to clusters of grossly similar situations. An attempt to define the derived dimensions using measures based on Murray needs did not provide clear-cut, quantitative definitions. The solution derived using the principal components procedure was found to have validity in terms of predicting overt behavior in a contrived situation. Results were interpreted as being supportive of the principal components technique as a method for deriving determinants of situation-specific behavior, but the need for new technology for defining those dimensions was commented upon.     

GENERALIZATION OF VERBAL CONDITIONING TO VERBAL AND NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR: GROUP THERAPY WITH CHRONIC PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS1

Twelve chronic hospitalized female patients received token reinforcement contingent on two separate classes of verbalizations: (a) positive statements about optional activities available in the hospital setting, and (b) positive statements about people. Cross-class generalization of reinforced verbal responses about activities to overt behavior was tested by actual participation in activities; within-class generalization of verbal responses about people to verbalizations in another stimulus setting was assessed in a structured interview situation. A multiple baseline design with contingency reversals was employed to demonstrate experimental control of both classes of verbalizations in the group sessions. Positive statements about activities generalized to actual participation in activities, while generalization of positive statements about people to verbalization in the extra-group setting did not occur.     

True intercorrelation among job components, time delay in rating, and rater intelligence as determinants of accuracy in performance ratings

Ninety subjects viewed one of three sets of videotapes which presented simulated work performances by five ratees. Subjects viewed videotapes where the true intercorrelation among the three job components was either high, moderate, or low. Half of the subjects completed ratings immediately after viewing all five ratees and again, 24 h later. The remaining subjects completed ratings only once, 24 h after viewing the videotapes. Rater intelligence was assessed via the Wesman Personnel Classification Test. Performance ratings for each ratee on each of the three job components were completed using a magnitude estimation scale. Subjects' ratings were compared to ratee true scores (based on objective worker output) to obtain four components of rater accuracy: elevation, differential elevation, stereotype accuracy, and differential accuracy as well as a measure of overall accuracy. Results indicated that subjects' ratings were more accurate with respect to overall accuracy and differential accuracy when the true intercorrelation among job components was high rather than low. Rater intelligence was significantly correlated with stereotype accuracy. In addition, rater intelligence was significantly related to overall accuracy, differential elevation, and elevation, but only when the true intercorrelation among job components was moderate or high. Also, there was a curvilinear component to the relationship between intelligence and both differential accuracy and stereotype accuracy such that the most intelligent raters tended to be less accurate than more moderately intelligent raters who were, in turn, more accurate than the least intelligent raters. Finally, subjects' immediate ratings were not more accurate than ratings provided by subjects who completed only delayed ratings. However, repeated measures analyses found that for subjects who completed both immediate and delayed ratings, delayed ratings were less accurate than immediate ratings with respect to overall accuracy, differential accuracy, and differential elevation.     

Factor analysis of the wisc-r and the wrat with a referral population

Scores on the WISC-R and the WRAT from a referral sample of 250 children, ages 6 through 11, were factor analyzed using a principal factor method with varimax rotation. Results offered support for interpretation of WISC-R scores in terms of Verbal and Performance scales, and for interpretation of WRAT scores as a separate achievement factor. The contention that achievement and intelligence tests measure identical constructs is challenged.