M.T.S.: An adaptable microcomputer-based testing system

An Apple II + computer-based human testing system is described. The system, which was developed using the Pascal language, provides library units of low-level procedures to rapidly access a clock, collect responses, control video output, control a touch-sensitive monitor, and display high-resolution graphics. Built-in hardware and software checks provide a high degree of system reliability. Use of easily altered text files for control of trials within a task and inclusion of and ordering of tasks within a session allows the system to be readily adapted.     

Association learning and visual discrimination

The effect of learned stimulus associations on visual discrimination was measured in four experiments. The stimuli were visual shapes which had been scaled for similarity. Two shapes were selected as discriminanda, and each S was pretested and posttested for discrimination of these briefly presented simultaneous pairs of “same” and “different” shapes. During the training, each discriminandum was paired with another simultaneously presented associated shape on a paired-associate response-learning task. The two associated shapes were very similar, intermediate in similarity, or very dissimilar. There was more improvement in posttest discrimination following training with dissimilar associates. We conclude that learned stimulus associations affect visual discrimination.     

Analysis of certified public accounting subgroup and accounting student personality traits using the California Psychological Inventory

Samples of 56 male certified public accounting firm employees and 24 male accounting undergraduate students were given the CPI to test for subgroup differences in personality traits. The samples were also compared with eight occupational groups reported in the CPI manual. A statistical analysis of CPI scale mean score differences indicates a dichotomy of the accounting sample with the older accountants more conservative, conforming and restrictive than the younger accountants.     

Parallel visual processing: Constant same-different decision latency with two to fourteen shapes

Fourteen Os were shown 2, 5, 8, 11, or 14 geometric shapes at a 200-msec exposure. The maximum visual extent was the same for all numbers of shapes. The stimulus conditions were: all shapes identical, 1 shape different from the rest, and, for 5 to 14 shapes, 3 shapes different (4 shapes in all). The number of shapes, the condition, and the shapes used varied randomly through the sequence of 160 exposures. Decision latency to correct same or different response was independent of the number of shapes presented. Correct same and three-different decisions were faster than one-different decisions, but with two shapes different decisions were faster than same. The results suggest that same-different decisions are made with information processed in parallel from many stimuli     

Contextual Effects in Judgments of Crimes,Criminals, and the Purposes of Sentencing1

Content analyses of crime coverage in the news media (e.g., Graber, 1980) consistently demonstrate the overrepresentation of crimes of violence. It was hypothesized that in addition to direct effects upon members of the public (e.g., leading people to overestimate the number of violent crimes) this would also have several indirect effects. Reading about crimes of high seriousness might lead the public to (a) view other offenses more seriously, (b) regard other offenders more negatively, (c) punish other offenders more severely, and (d) emphasize the importance of retribution as a sentencing goal. Two experiments were conducted, using 90 members of the general public as subjects, to test these hypotheses. In Experiment I, subjects first read a news story about a crime that was of high, medium, or low seriousness. Later they rated an unrelated offender and offense more negatively, and were more punitive in their sentences, if the earlier offense had been very serious. There was equivocal support for the hypothesis that changes in punitiveness are caused by subjects shifting to a punishment-oriented sentencing strategy. Rather, it would appear that harsher penalties resulted from changes in perceptions of offense seriousness. These findings are discussed, as are future research directions.