Surface form and the spacing effect

Deficient processing theories of the spacing effect attribute poor recall of massed-repeated items to a failure to process one or both of the presentations fully. An implication of this approach is that anything that increases the probability that a repetition will receive full processing, or conversely, anything that decreases the probability that the item will be recognized as a repetition, should improve memorability of the item. The present set of experiments tested this prediction by manipulating the surface structure of repeated sentences. On the basis of previous research, it was assumed that memory for surface structure of sentences decays rapidly, and hence can contribute to initial identification of repetitions only at short spacings. Because this manipulation should hinder recognition of repetitions as repetitions, it was expected to induce full processing of massed repetitions, and thus facilitate recall of these items. This prediction was supported. When sentences were repeated verbatim (Experiment 1) or by the same speaker (Experiment 2), the typical spacing effect was obtained. However, when the surface structure or speaker changed at time of repetition, massed repetitions were recalled nearly as well (Experiment 1) or as well (Experiment 2) as their spaced counterparts.     

Parents' teaching strategies with their children: The effects of parental and child status variables

The intent of the study was to examine the effects of parental (mother and father) and child (gender and communicative status) status variables on the teaching strategies used by parents in a paper-folding task. The linguistic and nonverbal strategies of 120 parent-child groupings were analyzed during paper-folding tasks. Parents' strategies were coded according cognitive demand and directiveness. Results indicated that strategies varied as a function of children's communicative status. Parents were less directive and more demanding of nonhandicapped children compared to handicapped children. Parents' strategies seemed to be determined by children's ability to sustain discourse. Results are discussed in terms of Vygotsky's notion of the zone of proximal development.This research was partially supported by a grant from the U.S. Office of Education, Office of Special Education (Grant No. G007902000) to I. Sigel and A. McGillicuddy-DeLisi at Educational Testing Service, Princeton, and from the Biomedical Research Support Grant Program, Division of Research Resources, N.I.H. (Grant No. BRSG 507RR07025-17) to the first two authors. We acknowledge the helpful comments of two anonymous reviewers.     

Continuous monitoring of human contingency judgment across trials

Recent evidence suggests that people are sensitive to the degree of contingency between their actions and ensuing outcomes, but little is known about the way in which such contingency judgments develop as more and more information about the contingency is provided. Three experiments examined this issue in the context of a video game. In Experiment 1, it was found that contingency judgments follow growth functions: When the contingency was positive, judgments increased toward a positive asymptote, and when the contingency was negative, judgments decreased toward a negative asymptote. When the contingency was zero, judgments themselves remained close to zero but were biased by the overall frequency with which the outcome occurred. In Experiment 2, it was shown that the growth function was not the result of the anchoring of early judgments at the zero point. The bias in judgments when the contingency is zero was investigated in Experiment 3. The results are discussed in terms of rule-based analyses and contemporary theories of conditioning.     

Differential ethanol olfactory experiences affect ethanol ingestion in preweanlings but not in older rats

Preweanling (21 days old) and adult (60-80 days old) rats were exposed to ethanol odor either paired with the early stages of apomorphine-induced toxicosis, paired with the recovery from toxicosis, or unpaired with the induction of distress. Twenty four hours later, ethanol preferences were measured in a spatial olfactory test (ethanol vs lemon odor) or a drinking test (5.6% v/v ethanol vs 0.25% w/v citric acid solutions). During the olfactory test both young and adult rats expressed substantial ethanol odor aversions when previously exposed to this odor paired with toxicosis. However, changes in ethanol intake became apparent only in preweanling subjects. Preweanlings which received the ethanol odor paired with illness drank significantly less of the ethanol solution relative to controls, while subjects experiencing the odor paired with recovery from distress significantly increased their consumption of the ethanol solution. These prior aversive and appetitive olfactory experiences had no effect upon ethanol intake in adult rats. These results implicate both an ontogenetic and a sensorial factor in the regulation of ethanol intake.     

Suppression of corticosterone synthesis alters the behavior of hippocampally lesioned rats

The suppression of corticosterone synthesis with metyrapone (25 mg/kg) reduced the hyperactivity and altered the exploratory activity of hippocampally lesioned animals (HPC) in the open field to the level of cortical and sham controls (Experiment 1). In a second experiment, corticosterone (600 micrograms/kg) pretreatment 2 h, but not 1 h, before metyrapone partially restored the hyperactivity of HPC animals that had been decreased by the corticosteroid-suppressant drug. Alterations in exploratory behavior induced by metyrapone were also prevented by corticosterone pretreatment. The results suggest that the suppression of corticosterone in hippocampally lesioned animals produces a normalization of behavior that can be prevented by pretreatment with corticosterone.     

Effects of social isolation in adulthood on odor preferences and urine-marking in male rats

Male rats isolated for 60 days in adulthood spent less time investigating odors of females and urine-marked less over these odors than did males kept in groups of three. Isolated males did not differ from grouped males in their responses to odors of unfamiliar males or their own odors. After social experience the isolated males showed an increase in urine-marking but no change in odor preferences. Individual housing therefore appears to alter olfactory communication in the same way that it does other social behaviors and these changes may be mediated by the same mechanisms.     

Indiscriminate mothering as a contextual factor in aggressive-oppositional child behavior: “Damned if you do and damned if you don’t”

Fifty-two mother-child dyads took part in a parent training program to modify coercive, antisocial child behavior. Prior to intervention, scores on 14 measures of mother-child interaction and on an index of maternal community contacts (known as insularity) were obtained for each dyad. This index was used to divide the sample into two groups (noninsular) n=21; insular n=31). The interactional measures were then compared between the groups. Insular mothers were more aversive and indiscriminate than noninsular mothers in their use of aversive behavior toward their children, while their children were more aversive than noninsular children, especially in response to aversive maternal behavior. It was concluded that research and therapeutic work with deviant families should focus not only on immediate family interactions but also on the extrafamily environment in which these interactions take place.The research data reported in this paper were generated with support of Grant No. R01-1068-58 from the National Institute of Mental Health, Crime and Delinquency Section. The first author conducted the research while supported by a grant from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Swiss National Fund for Scientific Research.     

Qualitative influences on the perception of movement: An experimental study

One of the most puzzling features of “hyperactivity” in children is the importance of activity itself. Generalized overactivity has not been found to be a valid diagnostic marker. Could some qualitative features of activity be important determinants of the perceived quantity of activity? The analogue study reported here derives from a social-psychological hypothesis that anything that makes a behavior more noticeable or distracting can create an illusion of increased movement. Subjects performed a simple cognitive task while watching short films of adult actors. Two variables were manipulated: (a) The sound level was either loud or quiet, and (b) instructions to subjects were varied so that the behaviors shown were perceived as either appropriate or inappropriate. Results strongly supported the hypothesis. Loudness and contextual inappropriateness made the films more distracting, produced higher ratings of the amount of movement observed, and led to more negative evaluations of the behaviors seen. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed.     

Conceptual,methodological, and clinical issues in cognitive-behavioral assessment

This article reviews cognitive-behavioral assessment principles and procedures. The functions of such assessments are noted, and issues and advances in cognitive assessment are discussed. The need for integrated cognitive, behavioral, and affective assessments is then explored. Finally, conceptual methodological, and clinical issues in the integration of assessments and study of reciprocal determinants are presented.Preparation of this paper was supported in part by a General Research Board Faculty Research Award from the University of Maryland. The author would like to thank Steve Graham, Donald Meichenbaum, Barbara Keogh, and Bernice Wong for their feedback during the preparation of this paper.