A HULLIAN CONSTANT AS AN INDEX OF INTELLIGENCE: TWO EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATIONS

Following Clark Hull, it is widely considered that the asymptote of the learning curve represents motivational factors, but that rate of approach to asymptote ('i') represents associational factors. The suggestion that i may be a measure of intelligence was tested empirically in two studies. An initial exploratory study yielded a positive correlation between i and IQ. A more rigorous replication did not. The results are discussed briefly.     

Measuring violence on television

Television violence has been measured in numerous studies. However the amounts reported vary considerably depending on the definitions provided of violence and the sampling periods adopted. Studies that have followed the methodology of Gerbner are more easily compared and point to rates of around 5-6 violents acts per hour on prime time television in most countries. The rate of violence on British television is considerably lower than this and evidence points to a recent decline. However, traditional content analyses are limited and provide little understanding of television as a narrative art.     

A ROWS is a ROSE: Spelling,sound, and reading

Skilled readers generally are assumed to make little or no use of words’ phonological features in visual word identification. Contrary to this assumption, college students’ performance in the present reading experiments showed large effects of stimulus word phonology. In Experiments 1 and 2, these subjects produced larger false positive error rates in a semantic categorization task when they responded to stimulus foils that were homophonic to category exemplars (e.g., ROWS for the category A FLOWER) than when they responded to spelling control foils. Additionally, in Experiment 2, this homophony effect was found under brief-exposure pattern-masking conditions, a result consistent with the possibility that phonology is an early source of constraint in word identification. Subjects did, however, correctly reject most homophone foils in Experiments 1 and 2. Experiment 3 investigated the source of this ability. The results of Experiment 3 suggest that subjects detected homophone impostors, such as ROWS, by verifying target foil spellings against their knowledge of the correct spellings of category exemplars, such as ROSE.     

Disorders of attention in school children: recent results of classification, diagnosis and pedagogic-psychologic perspectives for intervention

Attention disorders in school children are a frequently occurring phenomenon in the work of clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. The new approach (DSM III) emphasizes the role of attention deficit with/without hyperactivity in contrast to the Hyperkinetics syndrome (ICD 9) and offers an alternative interpretation. Based on experimental results and clinical observation, the following characteristic features of this class of disturbances are accentuated. A deficient central activation (probably related to "weakness" of central norepinephrine and the locus for stimulant drug action), an inadequate inhibitory control function, and a (secondary) disturbance of perceptive and logic processing strategies. A method of cognitive-behavioural intervention is offered which may be applied separately of in connection with drug treatment.     

A revised model of learned helesspleness in humans1

The present paper presents a revised model of learned helplessness in humans. The conditions under which performance deficits (helplessness) or enhanced performance (facilitation) will result from exposure to objective noncontingency are defined by a number of variables that have been shown to have an impact on human helplessness. The reformulated model specifies the operation of moderating variables as they affect a number of relationships: that between objective noncontingency and the perception of noncontingency; that between the perception of noncontingency and the future expectancy of response-reinforcement independence; and finally that between the expectancy of response-reinforcement independence and the behavirol deficits associated with learned helplessness. It is argued that exposure to noncontingency can affect both the value of future reward and the perceived probability of obtaining it. Performance deficits or enhanced performance will result from the perception of noncontingency depending on the nature of this double-edged effect of exposure to noncontingent delivery of reward.     

Influence of marihuana on storage and retrieval processe in memory

Following presentation and immediate free recall testing of 10 20-word lists, 48 Ss were divided into two groups, one of which received an oral dose of marihuana extract calibrated to 20 mg of Δ¹-THC and one of which received placebo. One hour later, all Ss were administered delayed recall, recognition, and order tests on the first set of words. Presentation of another set of 10 lists followed, and there were immediate recall and delayed recall, recognition, and order tests on these words. Performance of drug and placebo Ss did not differ significantly for any of the first delayed tests. However, the performance of drug Ss was poorer than that of placebo Ss on immediate recall, delayed recall, and delayed recognition of the second set of lists. We concluded that retrieval of information relevant to the occurrence or nonocurrence of an event was not affected by marihuana intoxication. Storage difficulties probably account for memory deficits due to the drug, and these difficulties appear to occur in the process of transferring information from short-term to long-term memory.     

Maternal Attitudes and the Non-Achievement Syndrome

This study investigated the relationship between the mother-child relationship and academic achievement. The population consisted of 45 male achievers and underachievers from a local suburban high school and their mothers. The nature of the mother-child relationship was measured by the Mother—Child Relationship Evaluation. Generally it was found that mothers of achievers were more accepting of their children than were mothers of underachievers. Further, achievers and underachievers differed in the ability to perceive accurately the maternal attitudes. These findings were interpreted in terms of the etiology of underachievement as described by Roth and Meyersburg in the Non-Achievement Syndrome. These dynamics involve maternal rejection and the attempts of the underachiever to maintain a dependent relationship with the parents, and the avoidance of adolescent independence via underachievement.     

The Non-Achievement Syndrome,Group Therapy,and Achievement Change

174 selected failing students at Illinois Institute of Technology were provided group counseling as a condition of their remaining in school. The assumption of the psychodynamics of the non-achievement syndrome was made regarding these students and a group counseling approach (NAS therapy) derived from an approach delineated by Roth and Meyersburg seemed appropriate and was utilized. 52 male subjects in this population were randomly selected for study as were 52 probationary, noncounseled males who were used as a comparison group. The results indicated that the counseled group increased their GPA's significantly and that these changes held over time. The GPA's of the comparison group did not increase significantly. The differences were attributable to the counseling experience.     

Book reviews

Kundalni and the Physical World. Mary Scott. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1983 Paperback 274 pp £5.95

Seasons of the Spirit. Readings Through the Christian Year, selected and edited by George Every, Richard Harries and Kallisto's Ware, London, S.P.C.K., 1984 £7.50

Are Religious Cults Dangerous?. Carol Coulter Mercier Press Dublin and Cork 1984 ISBN 0–85342–722–4 (H/B) £4.50

The Making of a Moonie. Choice or Brainwashing?. Eileen Barker. Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1984 ISBN 0–631–13246–5 (H/B) £12