Auditory delayed matching in the bottlenose dolphin

A bottlenose dolphin, already highly proficient in two-choice auditory discriminations, was trained over a nine-day period on auditory delayed matching-to-sample and then tested on 346 unique matching problems, as a function of the delay between the sample and test sounds. Each problem used new sounds and was from five to 10 trials long, with the same sound used as the sample for all trials of a problem. At each trial, the sample was projected underwater for 2.5 sec, followed by a delay and then by a sequence of two 2.5-sec duration test sounds. One of the test sounds matched the sample and was randomly first or second in the sequence, and randomly appeared at either a left or right speaker. Responses to the locus of the matching test sound were reinforced. Over nine, varying-sized blocks of problems, the longest delay of a set of delays in a block was progressively increased from 15 sec initially to a final value of 120 sec. There was a progressive increase across the early blocks in the percentage of correct Trial 1 responses. A ceiling-level of 100% correct responses was then attained over the final six blocks, during which there were 169 successive Trial 1 responses bracketed by two Trial 1 errors (at 24- and 120-sec delays). Performance on trials beyond the first followed a similar trend. Finally, when the sample duration was decreased to 0.2 sec or less, matching performance on Trial 1 of new problems dropped to chance levels.     

Warned reaction times of sociopaths

A warned reaction time (RT) task was employed with eight male sociopaths and eight normal male Ss. A warning light appeared at a variable interval preceding a light to which the S responded with a key press. All Ss received both a regular and an irregular series with warning intervals of 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 sec. In the regular series, blocks of intervals were presented in an ascending order. In the irregular series each interval followed every other interval equally often. Sociopaths obtained reliably slower RTs than did control Ss, showing a constant decrement across all intervals in the two kinds of series.     

The “Flash” System: A Field Study of Altruism1

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an experimental automated highway-help system for stranded motorists (the Flash system). Direct and indirect helping behavior rates as a function of the race and sex of supposedly stranded drivers on the Flash-equipped highway were compared to helping rates on a comparable, non-Flash-equipped highway. The results indicated that the automated system produced (a) higher overall helping rates and (b) higher helping rates for white persons, with type of help (direct or indirect) interacting with confederate sex.     

Alcohol-induced conditioned aversion: genotypie specificity in mice (Mus musculus).

Acetaldehyde poisoning from ethanol ingestion may lead to aversion to ethanol among DBA mice but not among C57s, since the former are relatively deficient in aldehyde dehydrogenase activity. The present study paired ingestion of saccharin with a single intraperitoneal injection of one of four concentrations of ethanol for DBA/2J and C57BL/6J mice. Subjects were then given a two-bottle saccharin versus water preference test for 10 days. Substitution of saccharin for the taste of ethanol resulted in avoidance of saccharin with all concentrations of ethanol by DBAs but not by C57s, consistent with the conditioned taste aversion paradigm as a model for genetically mediated ethanol avoidance.     

Dropout--Mertonian or reproduction scheme?

This article reports on dropouts in four schools in Israel. Two main research questions were addressed: (1) Is it possible to identify a potential dropout through examination of his/her attitudes and competence before the actual act of leaving school? (2) Is there a difference between dropouts and persistent students in different educational settings (academic, vocational, agricultural, and comprehensive high schools)? Significant differences were found in the attitudes of persistent students and dropouts even before the act of dropping out occurred. In the vocational, comprehensive, and agricultural schools, the dropouts scored more positively on the self-estrangement, meaninglessness, and misfeasance scales. In the academic school, the dropouts scored positively on the anxiety scale. Results were interpreted in light of the Mertonian scheme of ends and means as well as the reproduction scheme. The Mertonian scheme was deemed more applicable.     

The will and the ways: development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope

Defining hope as a cognitive set that is composed of a reciprocally derived sense of successful (a) agency (goal-directed determination) and (b) pathways (planning of ways to meet goals), an individual-differences measure is developed. Studies demonstrate acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and the factor structure identifies the agency and pathways components of the Hope Scale. Convergent and discriminant validity are documented, along with evidence suggesting that Hope Scale scores augmented the prediction of goal-related activities and coping strategies beyond other self-report measures. Construct validational support is provided in regard to predicted goal-setting behaviors; moreover, the hypothesized goal appraisal processes that accompany the various levels of hope are corroborated.     

IS CONTEMPORARY MORAL THEORY FOUNDED ON A MISUNDERSTANDING?*

[Christianity] has enriched philosophy with far more definite and purer concepts than it had been able to furnish before; but which, once they are there, are freely assented to by Reason and are assumed as concepts to which it could well have come of itself and which it could and should have introduced…. Even the Holy One of the Gospel must first be compared with our ideal of moral perfection, before we can recognize him as such [Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgement , tr. Bernard; p. 410n and Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals , tr. Lewis White Beck; p. 30].