Who talks? The social psychology of illness support groups

More Americans try to change their health behaviors through self-help than through all other forms of professionally designed programs. Mutual support groups, involving little or no cost to participants, have a powerful effect on mental and physical health, yet little is known about patterns of support group participation in health care. What kinds of illness experiences prompt patients to seek each other's company? In an effort to observe social comparison processes with real-world relevance, support group participation was measured for 20 disease categories in 4 metropolitan areas (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas) and on 2 on-line forums. Support seeking was highest for diseases viewed as stigmatizing (e.g., AIDS, alcoholism, breast and prostate cancer) and was lowest for less embarrassing but equally devastating disorders, such as heart disease. The authors discuss implications for social comparison theory and its applications in health care.     

Concurrent-chain performance: Effects of absolute and relative terminal-link entry frequency

Six pigeons were trained in a concurrent-chain procedure with constant variable-interval 6-s variable-interval 12-s terminal links. Five groups of conditions were arranged. Within a group of conditions, the duration of one initial-link schedule was held constant and the duration of the other initial link was varied. The duration of the varied initial link was always longer than, or equal to, the constant initial-link duration. The duration of the shorter initial link was varied across groups of conditions from 5 s to 70 s. The data from each group were well described by the generalized matching law. Sensitivity (a) to the terminal-link entry ratio increased as the shorter initial-link duration increased, but appeared to reach an asymptote at shorter initial-link durations greater than 32 s. Terminal-link bias did not change with changes in shorter initial-link duration for the response-allocation data, but showed a small increase with increasing shorter initial-link duration for the time-allocation data.     

Residence time in concurrent foraging with fixed times to prey arrival

Five pigeons were trained in a concurrent foraging procedure in which reinforcers were occasionally available after fixed times in two discriminated patches. In Part 1 of the experiment, the fixed times summed to 10 s, and were individually varied between 1 and 9 s over five conditions, with the probability of a reinforcer being delivered at the fixed times always .5. In Part 2, both fixed times were 5 s, and the probabilities of food delivery were varied over conditions, always summing to 1.0. In Parts 3 and 4, one fixed time was kept constant (Part 3, 3 s; Part 4, 7 s) while the other fixed time was varied from 1 s to 15 s. Median residence times in both patches increased with increases in the food-arrival times in either patch, but increased considerably more strongly in the patch in which the arrival time was increased. However, when arrival times were very different in the two patches, residence time in the longer arrival-time patch often decreased. Patch residence also increased with increasing probability of reinforcement, but again tended to fall when one probability was much larger than the other. A detailed analysis of residence times showed that these comprised two distributions, one around a shorter mode that remained constant with changes in arrival times, and one around a longer mode that monotonically increased with increasing arrival time. The frequency of shorter residence times appeared to be controlled by the probability of, and arrival time of, reinforcers in the alternative patch. The frequency of longer residence times was controlled directly by the arrival time of reinforcers in a patch, but not by the probability of reinforcers in a patch. The environmental variables that control both staying in a patch and exiting from a patch need to be understood in the study both of timing processes and of foraging.     

Perceptions of Chicano/Latino Students Who Have Dropped Out of School

Chicano/Latino drop out was investigated in a qualitative study, conducting focus group interviews with Chicano/Latinos who had dropped out of high school. Participant responses revealed themes of alienation and discrimination in the school setting. The roles of school counselors as multicultural advocates and community-family-school liaisons are discussed.     

Performance on variable-interval schedules arranged singly and concurrently

Extensive parametric data were obtained from pigeons responding on variable-interval schedules arranged on three, two, and one response keys. Number of responses on the keys, the time spent responding on the keys, and the number of reinforcements obtained on the keys were measured. Response rates on each key were an increasing function of the reinforcement rate on that key, and an inverse function of the reinforcement rate on the other keys. In terms of preference, both response and time-allocation ratios undermatched ratios of obtained reinforcements, and the degree of undermatching was consistent both within, and between, two- and three-schedule data. When absolute response-rate data were analyzed according to Herrnstein's (1970) quantitative account, obtained values of assumed constants were not consistent either within or between conditions. However, a power-function modification of Herrnstein's account fitted the data well and provided similar exponent values to those obtained for the undermatching of preference ratios.     

Preference for fixed-interval schedules: effects of unequal initial links

Six homing pigeons were trained on concurrent chain schedules in which the terminal links were fixed-interval schedules of 5 sec or 15 sec. One initial-link schedule was always VI 27-sec; the other was varied over conditions from VI 27-sec to VI 181-sec. Preference measured in the initial links varied as a joint function of the initial- and terminal-link schedules. When the initial links were varied with constant, but unequal, terminal links, the slope of the function relating the logarithm of the initial-link response ratio to the logarithm of the terminal-link entry ratio differed from that obtained with equal terminal links. This result indicates that biases attributable to the terminal-link schedules were not constant. The rate of change of preference, or degree of undermatching, in the initial links depended on whether the shorter initial link led to the shorter or the longer terminal link. These results raise the question of whether bias and undermatching in concurrent schedule performance are independent measures.     

Preference for qualitatively different reinforcers

Three pigeons were studied under two-key concurrent variable-interval schedules with food as the reinforcer on one key and ectostriatal brain stimulation as the reinforcer on the other. Brain-stimulation parameters were kept constant while the rate of food reinforcement availability was varied. The results showed that qualitatively different reinforcers could be handled in the same theoretical framework that applies when choice is between different rates, immediacies, and amounts of a single reinforcer.     

Performance in concurrent interval schedules: a systematic replication

Five pigeons were trained on a variety of concurrent interval schedules that arranged reinforcements at either fixed or variable times after the last reinforcement. Two measures were obtained: the number of responses on each schedule, and the time spent responding on each schedule. Ratios of response rates on the two schedules did not equal ratios of reinforcement rates when both schedules were variable nor when one was variable and the other fixed. Ratios of times spent responding approximately equalled ratios of reinforcement rates when both schedules were variable, but did not do so when one was fixed.     

Sensitivity of time allocation to concurrent-schedule reinforcement

Four pigeons were trained on concurrent variable-interval schedules programmed on a center response key, with access to those schedules controlled by responses on left or right side keys. Two procedures were used. In one, the pigeon was given limited access, in that each side-key response produced 3-s access to a center-key schedule, and in the other procedure, access was unlimited. Data were analyzed using the generalized matching law. Comparison of sensitivities to reinforcement of interchangeover time for both procedures showed them to be of similar magnitude. Response sensitivities were also similar in magnitude for both procedures. From the limited-access procedure a second time measure that was available, switched-in time, was relatively uncontaminated by time spent emitting behavior other than key pecking. Sensitivities to reinforcement for the switched-in time measure were always smaller than interchangeover-time sensitivities for either procedure, and were approximately equal to response sensitivities for the limited-access procedure. Two other access times (5 and 7.5 s) were studied to validate the choice of 3 s as the main access time. These results indicate that when time spent emitting other behavior is excluded from interchangeover time, time and response sensitivities will be approximately equal.