Lateralization of an auditory signal in correlated noise and in uncorrelated noise as a function of signal frequency

Listeners lateralized a monaural signal presented against a continuous background of perfectly correlated noise (NO) or of uncorrelated noise (NU). Measures of signal detectability were also secured in separate tests. Psychometric functions (percent correct vs signal energy) were determined for each task. For a tonal signal of either low or high frequency, a listener requires only slightly greater signal energy (about 1 dB) in order to lateralize as well as he can detect when the noise is uncorrelated (NU). When the noise is perfectly correlated (NO), the slope of the psychometric function for lateralization depends upon signal frequency. With 250 Hz, the slope of the psychometric function for lateralization is much smaller than that for detection. With 1,000 Hz, the function for lateralization is steeper than that for 250 Hz, but the slope is still less than that of the function for detection for 1,000 Hz. With 2,000 Hz, the function for lateralization has about the same slope as that for detection.     

Metrics on spaces of finite trees

With the increasing popularity of hierarchical clustering methods in behavioral science, there is a need for ways of quantitatively comparing different tree structures on the same set of items. We employ lattice-theoretic methods to construct a variety of metrics on spaces of trees and to analyze their properties. Certain of these metrics are applied to data from Fillenbaum and Rapoport (1971) on the semantic structure of common English kin terms. This application shows that tree metrics can be used to select a componential analysis which is maximally consistent with an empirically derived set of trees.     

Defining reinforcess — A problem in communication for consultation in behavior modification

This paper reviews the respondent (Hull-Spence) and operant (Skinnerian) conditioning definitions of reinforcers and reinforcement and demonstrates the need to keep the systems separate when consulting about behavior modification. The two systems are shown to lead to different modification procedures.One important distinction between the systems is whether a reinforcer is simply associated with a response (respondent) or whether it must follow the response (operant). A second important distinction is the definition of negative reinforcement. In respondent conditioning, negative reinforcement entails presenting an aversive stimulus in association with the response and results in a decrease in response rate. In operant conditioning, negative reinforcement entails the removal of an aversive stimulus following a correct response, which results in an increase in response rate.     

Effects of metronome-conditioned relaxation,metronome-induced relaxation,and progressive muscle relaxation on insomnia

Although several controlled studies have indicated that relaxation can be effectively employed in the treatment of insomnia (Borkovec and Fowles, 1973; Steinmark and Borkovec. 1974; Haynes et al., 1974), the relaxation training procedures thus far utilized have typically necessitated several hours of therapist-client contact. The possibility of a more efficient relaxation procedure for treating insomniacs suggests an attractive alternative to the tense-relax instructions of progressive muscle relaxation (Jacobson, 1938). Brady (1973) has reported that the sound of a metronome set at 60 beats per min is inherently relaxing, and although he has only reported on the effects of the metronome when paired with verbally-induced relaxation (both general suggestions of relaxation and instructions to tense and relax successive muscle groups), he has successfully employed this technique in the treatment of borborygmi (rumbling noises in the abdomen) and essential hypertension (Brady, 1973; Brady, Luborsky and Kron, 1974). If the sound of the metronome alone, which would require minimal therapist-client contact, is sufficient to induce relaxation, the efficiency with which relaxation can be achieved in the treatment of insomnia, as well as other tension-related disorders. may be greatly enhanced.The present study was designed to assess the relaxation-inducing properties of (a) Brady's metronome-conditioned relaxation (metronome plus verbal relaxation instructions), (b) progressive muscle relaxation and (c) metronome-induced relaxation (the sound of a metronome alone) in the treatment of insomnia. In order to provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of relaxation techniques with a broader population than was sampled in previous investigations of this nature, this study included employed adults as well as college students in the subject pool. In addition to its implications for treating insomnia, this study was designed to yield an independent test of the hypothesis that a 60 beat per min metronome sound has the capacity by itself to induce relaxation.     

AN ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE MISPLACED PARENTAL SOCIAL CONTINGENCIES1

This study analyzed the training of a mother to modify five subclasses of her attention to her young child's noncompliance with instructions, and also displayed the changes in her child's behavior correlated with these events. Training in four subclasses consisted of teaching the mother to withhold various forms of social attention to her daughter's undesired behavior; training in the fifth subclass involved introduction of a brief room-timeout procedure for noncompliance. The effectiveness of the parent-training procedure, consisting of initial instructions and daily feedback, was demonstrated through a multiple-baseline design across the five subclasses of parent behavior. Sequential decreases in the first three subclasses of the mother's social attention to undesired child behavior resulted in incomplete improvements in some child responses; however, a decrease in the fourth subclass resulted in a significant increase in undesired child behavior. Complete remediation of all child behaviors was achieved following the training of a timeout procedure for noncompliance. Postchecks conducted up to 16 weeks later showed that these effects were durable.     

The classroom as a political microcosm: An observation

An atypical observation of aggressive behavior involving an entire elementary school class is presented, as well as the corrective measures taken. Tentative explanation is offered by means of a hypothesis of a relationship between national affairs and classroom behavior. The implications of such a relationship for assessment and intervention are discussed with a social-learning framework.     

Perceptibility of schematic face stimuli: Evidence for a perceptual Gestalt

The perceptibility of face, scrambled face, and single-feature stimuli was investigated in three experiments. Stimuli were presented tachistoscopically, followed by a visual noise mask and a forced-choice test of one of three features (eyes, nose, and mouth). In Experiment I, two processing strategies which have been proposed for word perception (involving expectancy and redundancy) were investigated for the stimuli employed here. In Experiments II and III, experimentally induced familiarity was studied for its effect on recognition and perception, and an immediate and delayed perceptual test was employed. Across all three experiments, perception of single-feature and face stimuli were consistently superior to scrambled faces; in Experiment III, differences between single features and faces were eliminated. The effects of perceptual expectancy, internal feature redundancy, familiarity, guessing biases, etc., were shown to be insufficient to account for the superiority of face to scrambled face stimuli. It was argued that the perceptibility of nonredundant features are enhanced when those features are aligned in a well-defined form class. The view that familiarity operates directly on recognitive processes but indirectly on perceptual ones was discussed.