The processing of deviant information in prediction and evaluation

Analyses of information integration and of retention were used to examine the processing of deviant information in prediction and evaluation tasks. Sets of test scores were presented serially for a group of hypothetical students, and subjects were asked to evaluate the performance of each student or predict each student’s performance on a comprehensive final exam. An averaging model with greater weight for the more recent scores than for the earlier scores was supported for both types of task, but the recency was more pronounced in the prediction task. Weighting of deviant scores differed in the prediction and evaluation tasks. Significant discounting (underweighting) of deviant scores was obtained only in the prediction task, The ability to recall deviant scores on uncued tests of retention was higher in the prediction task than in the evaluation task. Prediction of future performance based on inconsistent measures of past performance thus appears to be an active process involving the discovery and discounting of unrepresentative information.     

Continuation of auditory frequency gradients across temporal breaks: The auditory Poggendorff

An auditory analog of the visual Poggendorff figure was constructed on the assumption that selected temporal variables in audition have parallels with selected spatial variables in vision. As with the visual Poggendorff, the extent of underestimation within the auditory analog is directly related to the slope of the signal and to the magnitude of the temporal gap being bridged. Some of the conditions which limit the existence region of the auditory Poggendorff are determined.     

Discrimination of restrictions in sequentially-encoded auditory displays: Block designs

Sequential constraints, in the form represented by equal frequencies within blocks, were imposed upon finite-state statistical generators. The sequences were encoded in the form of interval-coded pulse trains and were transduced to sound by earphones. In discrimination tests, interval thresholds between the finite states provided a measure of the relative discriminability between different sequential constraints. These thresholds are shown to be quantitatively related to the difference in uncertainty in specification of the sequences. To a first approximation: Equal interstate interval thresholds are associated with equal differences in uncertainty.     

Risk status of adolescent children of problem-drinking parents

These studies assessed the risk status of children of untreated alcoholics. In Study 1, a cross-sectional survey of 208 high school students identified 18% as having serious concern about their parents' drinking. In Study 2, 32 children of problem-drinking parents and 39 others who participated in self-help groups were surveyed. Children of problem-drinking parents were more at risk of depression, low self-esteem, and heavy drinking than their peers in the general high school population. Within self-help groups, however, children's symptomatology was not related to their parents' drinking status. The results support the need for preventive intervention for children of problem-drinking parents and for developing strategies for improving the participation rate of such children in the intervention programs that are available.     

Concepts of health and illness: different constructs or variations on a theme?

Although health and illness concepts are thought to be important mediators of health and illness behaviors, little work has been done examining health concepts, and no research has examined the two conceptual structures simultaneously. This study examined concepts of health and illness in 218 adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 years. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that concepts of health and illness are not opposite ends of a single health dimension, but reflect different and overlapping constructs. The degree of overlap varied as a function of age, with health concepts showing less emphasis on "the absence of illness" with greater maturity. The results suggest that models of health behavior that focus on illness avoidance neglect many components of health salient to lay persons.     

Rule-governed behavior and sensitivity to changing consequences of responding

Humans were presented with a task that required moving a light through a matrix. Button presses could produce light movements according to a multiple fixed-ratio 18/differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate 6-s schedule, with components alternating every 2 min. Moving the light through the maze earned points worth chances on money prizes. In Experiment 1 four conditions were assessed through between-subject comparisons: minimal instructions, instructions to press rapidly, instructions to press slowly, and instructions that sometimes rapid responding would work while at other times a slow rate would work best. Subjects responded in three successive sessions of 32 min each. The results suggested that instructions affected the nature of the contact made with the programmed consequences and thus subsequent performance. In some cases, responding seemed to result from added contingencies introduced by stating rules. In Experiment 2 the relative contribution of these two effects was assessed by presenting and then withdrawing two lights that had been paired with two specific instructions: “Go Fast” or “Go Slow.” There were three conditions. In one condition, only the Go Fast light was on; in a second, only the Go Slow light was on; and in a third, the lights alternated each minute. In each condition, half the subjects had all instruction lights turned off after the first session. The results once again showed an effect of instructions on contact with the programmed consequences. However, responding sometimes continued in a manner consistent with added contingencies for rule-following even when the programmed consequences had been contacted and would have controlled a different type of responding in the absence of instructions. The relevance of added contingencies for rule-following in determining the effects of explicitly programmed consequences is emphasized.