The war propensity of international systems

The conjecture that international system structure determines war propensity has met with mixed results in past theory in political science. This question is reexamined within the context of a dynamic model of inter-nation hostile behavior. System structure is defined in terms of the degrees of grievance, fear, etc., among nations and also in terms of the qualitative patterns of hostile behavior that are possible. Propensity for war is measured in terms of the likelihood of progress to war within a given class of hostile behaviors. Then the dynamic model is used to analyze in detail and interpret the relationship between system structure and war propensity.The research reported here is a part of a program supported by the National Science Foundation under grant SES 8400877.     

A computer-controlled laboratory for studying infant event perception

An integrated software package for testing infants in a habituation procedure is described. The software is written for an Apple II computer with a minimum of 64K of memory. Additional interface cards are required for timing responses and displaying dynamic stimuli. The software is divided into four independent modules: (1) Configure Experiment allows the experimenter to design a specific experiment. (2) Run Experiment controls the running of a previously configured habituation experiment. (3) Calculate Reliability allows a second observer to score the subject for the purpose of computing reliability. (4) Data Summary and Formatting provides a summary of the results and allows the user to flexibly format the data for reading by various statistical packages.     

Predicting cognitive control from preschool to late adolescence and young adulthood

In this longitudinal study, the proportion of time preschoolers directed their attention away from rewarding stimuli during a delay-of-gratification task was positively associated with efficiency (greater speed without reduced accuracy) at responding to targets in a go/no-go task more than 10 years later. The overall findings suggest that preschoolers' ability to effectively direct their attention away from tempting aspects of the rewards in a delay-of-gratification task may be a developmental precursor for the ability to perform inhibitory tasks such as the go/no-go task years later. Because performance on the go/no-go task has previously been characterized as involving activation of fronto-striatal regions, the present findings also suggest that performance in the delay-of-gratification task may serve as an early marker of individual differences in the functional integrity of this circuitry.     

Reexamining personal, social, and cultural influences on compliance behavior in the United States, Poland, and Hong Kong

Researchers have extended the literature on strategies of gaining compliance with a request to incorporate cultural variations into the analytic framework. In the present investigation, the authors sought to go beyond previous studies of the factors increasing compliance rates by reexamining how researchers conceptualize and measure personal, social, and cultural influences on compliance behavior in the United States, Poland, and Hong Kong. The authors found that different levels of compliance were affected by culture, principles of influence, and the individual's personal orientation of idiocentrism/allocentrism (I/A). In the present study, the authors extended previous cross-cultural work by decomposing the I/A into 2 separate individual difference variables: normative perceptions and evaluative perceptions. The interaction of person and situation on compliance showed the power of situational demands and the strength of different aspects of personal collectivism. Different patterns of compliance at the culture level revealed the importance of culture in shaping this behavioral tendency. Thus, the authors' integration of personal, social, and cultural influences provided an interactive model to help researchers explain compliance more comprehensively.     

Do automatic reactions elicited by thoughts of romantic partner, mother, and self relate to adult romantic attachment?

Three studies tested the expectation that automatic reactions elicited by the mental representation of one's current romantic partner, mother, and self relate to adult romantic attachment. Adult romantic attachment was assessed using multiple measures, and individual differences in automatic reactions were assessed by the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Studies 1 and 2 showed that automatic reactions elicited by thoughts of current romantic partner, but not by thoughts of self, were related to adult romantic attachment assessed at a specific (i.e., within one's current romantic relationship) and general level (i.e., across all romantic relationships). The pattern of results was stronger among individuals identified as attachment-schematic. Studies 2 and 3 showed that automatic reactions elicited by thoughts of one's mother were related to adult romantic attachment assessed at a general level. In all three studies, results did not differ depending on how adult romantic attachment was conceptualized (four styles vs. two dimensions).     

Effect of client-centred therapy on the coping strategies of sexually harassed students in tertiary institutions in Taraba State,Nigeria

This study examined the effects of client-centred therapy (CCT) on the coping strategies of sexually harassed students in tertiary institutions in Taraba State, Nigeria. It also looked for any gender differences in the effect of CCT on the coping strategies of sexually harassed students. We employed a quasi-experimental and pretest–post-test design with control group. The statistical population comprised 250 students who had experienced sexual harassment in tertiary institutions, of which 20 students were selected using convenience sampling. The students who had been sexually harassed were then randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group subsequently underwent six 60-min sessions of CCT, while the control group received placebo treatment on drug abuse. The research tools included a sexual harassment battery (SHB). Inferential statistics of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyse the data. Cronbach's alpha produced a reliability coefficient of 0.79 for the SHB. The following findings were recorded: (i) client-centred therapy effectively increased the coping strategies of students and (ii) there was no significant mean difference between male and female students in the effectiveness of CCT on coping strategies.     

Multiple Memory Processes Following Training That a Food Is Inedible in Aplysia

In many organisms, memory after training can be separated into a number of processes. We now report that separable memory processes are also initiated by a training procedure affecting Aplysia feeding behavior, a model system for examining the neural mechanisms underlying the regulation of a complex behavior. Four distinct memory process were identified: (1) a very short-term memory that declines within 15 min, (2) a short-term memory that persists for 0.5–1.0 hr, (3) an intermediate-term memory, observed 4 hr after training, and (4) a long-term memory that is seen only after a 12- to 24-hr delay. The four memory processes can be distinguished by the different training procedures that are required to elicit them. A single 5-min training session is sufficient to elicit the very short-term memory. However, a longer training session that continues until the animal stops responding to food is needed to elicit short-term memory. Intermediate-term memory is observed only after a spaced training procedure (three 5-min training sessions separated by 30-min intervals). A single 5-min training session that does not cause either short-term or intermediate-term memory is sufficient to induce long-term memory, indicating that short- and long-term memory are independent, parallel processes. Short- and long-term memory can also be separated by the effects of a post-training experience. Long-term, but not short-term, memory can be attenuated by cooling animals immediately after training. Cooling before the training does not affect either the training or the subsequent short- or long-term memory.