A self-adjustment procedure for measuring the visual acuity of rhesus monkeys

A visual acuity testing procedure is described which uses a self-adjustment procedure combined with shock avoidance and punishment. The S adjusts the size of the gap opening in Landolt rings by pressing levers. Correct trials decrease the size of the gap opening and are followed by a tone; incorrect trials increase the size of the gap opening and are followed by shock. The number of correct and incorrect trials needed to change the gap-opening size can be varied.     

Visual imagery ability and the recognition of verbal and nonverbal stimuli.

High and low visual imagers, defined as such primarily on the basis of spatial manipulation test performance, were required to identify tachistoscopically-presented pictures, concrete words, and abstract words varying in familiarity. Two recognition paradigms were employed, recognition threshold and recognition latency. High imagers were faster in picture recognition under both paradigms when a nonverbal set or strategy was primed and when pictures were relatively unfamiliar in the threshold paradigm. No relationship was found between imagery ability and word recognition in the visual modality, nor was visual imagery ability related to the auditory recognition of verbal and nonverbal stimuli, such as words and environmental sounds. Commonalities between these findings and others in the imagery ability literature were noted.     

Assumptions underlying psychological testing

Tests purporting to reflect the learning aptitudes of school children differ much more than generally is recognized. However, error in assesing such learning aptitude inheres much more in the users of the tests than in the tests themselves. Assumptions fundamental to such assessment, or even testing, are considered. It is particularly important that the assessor, or tester, constantly be sensitive to the nature of the relationship between the psychological demands of test items or tests and the learning demands confronting the child. Even tests that generally are grossly or crudely used often can yield psychoeducationally meaninful information if their results are differentially perceived in terms of the light they throw on the psychological operations fundamental to learning, “process,” as contrasted with that thrown on the results of the functioning of such operations, “product.”     

Acute pain in a clinical setting: Effects of cognitive-behavioural skills training

The present study evaluated the efficacy of cognitive-behavioural skills training, patterned after stress-inoculation training, as a preventive intervention for the attenuation of acute clinical pain during a noxious X-ray procedure—the knee arthrogram. Thirty-six adult male outpatients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Skills Training. Attention-Placebo, and No-Treatment Control. An experimental pain test was administered before and after the interventions, as a generalization measure. Arthrogram pain was assessed by three dependent measures: patient's ratings, radiologist's ratings and videotape ratings completed by two‘blind’ raters. The results failed to support the efficacy of skills training for the attenuation of acute clinical pain, or its generalization to the experimental pain test. Although Skills Training subjects reported using significantly more coping strategies during the arthrogram. many subjects in the two control groups also reported using their own spontaneous strategies. Equivocal data were obtained on the role of ‘self-efficacy’ expectancies in mediating pain behaviour and experience. Experimental pain threshold but not pain tolerance was significantly related to acute clinical pain experienced during the arthrogram.     

The use of a sequenced questioning paradigm to facilitate associative fluency in preschoolers

The intent of the study was to investigate the extent to which free play vs. sequenced questioning conditions facilitated preschoolers' associative fluency. Twenty-four children (12 boys and 12 girls, $\text{x}$ age of 50.7 months) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: free play, questions, control, in the first two conditions, children interacted with randomly chosen conventional objects. Children in all conditions were asked for novel uses for the conventional objects. Children in the sequenced questioning condition generated significantly more novel responses than children in the other two conditions (p < .002). No significant difference was observed between the play and control conditions. Implications for pedagogy are discussed. Teachers should pose the sequence of questions so as to enable children to explore their hypotheses.     

The saliva priming effect,eating speed and the measurement of hunger

Volunteers were tested under two conditions, either just before or just after a meal. The aim of the investigation was to identify subjective, behavioural and physiological correlates of hunger. Subjective measures of hunger and expected enjoyment as well as speed of eating clearly differentiated the two conditions. Although the basal level of salivation did not change significantly, there was a clear differential priming effect after consuming a small amount of chocolate. The saliva priming effect was greater when subjects were hungry. Correlations between change scores suggest that two partially independent systems are activated by food deprivation which could be labelled ‘hunger-salivation’ and ‘enjoyment-speed of eating’.     

Four probability-preserving properties of inferences

Different inferences in probabilistic logics of conditionals preserve the probabilities of their premisses to different degrees. Some preserve certainty, some high probability, some positive probability, and some minimum probability. In the first case conclusions must have probability 1 when premisses have probability 1, though they might have probability 0 when their premisses have any lower probability. In the second case, roughly speaking, if premisses are highly probable though not certain then conclusions must also be highly probable. In the third case conclusions must have positive probability when premisses do, and in the last case conclusions must be at least as probable as their least probable premisses. Precise definitions and well known examples are given for each of these properties, characteristic principles are shown to be valid and complete for deriving conclusions of each of these kinds, and simple trivalent truthtable tests are described for determining which properties are possessed by any given inference. Brief comments are made on the application of these results to certain modal inferences such as Jones may own a car, and if he does he will have a driver's license. Therefore, he may have a driver's license.