Perceived difficulty,energization, and the magnitude of goal valence

This paper examines the proposition that the mobilization of energy and consequent magnitude of valence of a potential outcome (e.g., goal) is a function of what the individual perceives can and must be done in order to attain or avoid the outcome. An outcome that is difficult to attain or avoid requires a relatively high level of energization and will be relatively attractive, if positive, or unpleasant, if negative. Outcomes that are easy or impossible to attain or avoid require little or no energization and will be relatively low in attractiveness, if positive, or low in unpleasantness, if negative. This formulation was supported by four experiments that demonstrated (a) attractiveness of a goal is a nonmonotonic function of perceived difficulty of attaining it; (b) unpleasantness of a potential negative outcome is a nonmonotonic function of perceived difficulty of avoiding it; (c) the nonmonotonic effect of perceived difficulty on goal attractiveness disappears once instrumental behavior has been completed; and (d) the nonmonotonic effect of perceived difficulty on unpleasantness of a potential negative outcome occurs in immediate but not distant anticipation of initiating instrumental behavior. Alternative explanations, theoretical problems, and implications are discussed.     

A microprocessor control system and solid state interface for controlling electrophysiological studies of conditioning

This paper describes a microprocessor control system and solid state interface for controlling the apparatus in combined behavioral-electrophysiological studies of conditioning. The computer program, which is designed to control classical conditioning of the rabbit’s nictitating membrane response, provides the flexibility to control all conditioning parameters (e.g., interstimulus and intertrial intervals, trial type, and sequence of trial types) with only minor modifications. The system is free from artifacts that can distort electrophysiological recordings and can easily be modified to accommodate other behavioral paradigms in which electrophysiological responses are recorded.     

Peer reinforcement control of classroom problem behavior

Peer and teacher interactions with five "disruptive" children were studied in an elementary school classroom. The intent of the study was to analyze experimentally peer reinforcement control of the disruptive children's problem behaviors. Social attention provided by all peers was found to be directed exclusively to the problem behaviors during baseline. Following baseline, several manipulations of selected peer social attention demonstrated the reinforcement function of this stimulus class.     

The role of attention in the disinhibition of displacement activities

A mechanism for the disinhibition of displacement activities is proposed, by which a factor arising from non-reward causes attention to be switched to irrelevant aspects of the stimulus situation. In addition to evidence already extant, three lines of evidence are presented for the case of displacement pecking in the Barbary dove: (1) partially rewarded doves learn more about incidental aspects of a discrimination situation than consistently rewarded doves; (2) partially rewarded doves respond more readily to irrelevant stimuli than consistently rewarded doves; (3) doves which take longest to extinguish a simple approach response, also spend most time displacement pecking.     

Two models of group behavior in the solution of eureka-type problems

A study by Shaw (7) some twenty years ago is frequently cited by social scientists to support the generalization that groups are superior to individuals in problem-solving. Shaw suggests that personal interaction within the group is responsible for the superior performance of groups. This article re-examines her data in the light of two models which propose that the difference in quality of solution between group and individual performance is solely a matter of ability. It is shown that Shaw's data may be considered to have been an outcome of behavior postulated by the models. Since Shaw's observations relate to a special population and to special kinds of problems, the proposed models may not be appropriate under differing experimental conditions. In fact, Lorgeet al. (4) have indicated that experimental demonstration of the superiority of groups over individuals in problem-solving depends not only on the kind of group but also on the kind of problem to be solved. In addition, the diversity of transfer of training for groups and for individuals is considered.Supported in part by the Office of Naval Research under Contract N6 onr 266 (21) and the Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center under Contract AF 18(600)-341.     

World Assumptions Following Disaster1

This study assessed the beliefs and cognitions of bus-train collision survivors, 7 years following the accident. The sample consisted of 389 young adults who were adolescents at the time of the disaster. The sample was composed of 4 groups who differed in their levels of exposure to traumatic stress. Results indicated that (a) exposure to the traumatic accident was implicated in challenging survivors' beliefs about the benevolence of the world. Justice and luck were also associated with posttraumatic psychiatric and functional impairment; (b) the level of exposure had a direct bearing on dependent variables; and (c) cognitive schemata were associated with psychiatric symptomatology and problems in functioning, reflecting the coexistence of diverse traumatic sequelae. Theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

Isolating the effects of symbolic distance,and semantic congruity in comparative judgments: An additive-factors analysis

The time needed to compare two symbols increases as the cognitive distance between them on the relevant dimension increases (symbolic distance effect). Furthermore, when subjects are told to choose either the larger or the smaller of two stimuli, the response time is shorter if the instruction is congruent with the overall size of the stimuli (semantic congruity effect). Three experiments were conducted to determine the locus of these effects in terms of a sequence of processing stages. The developmental aspects of these effects were also evaluated, as the subjects were from kindergarten, first grade, third grade, fifth grade, and college. By varying the visual quality of the stimulus in each experiment, it was determined that the distance effect resides in a comparison stage, whereas the congruity effect is an encoding phenomenon. Both distance and congruity effects were present at all grade levels, but they decreased in magnitude as grade increased. The results were interpreted relative to recent models of comparative judgments.