Looking time: Experimenter and instruction effects

A 2 by 3 factorial design was used to investigate the effects of the instructions and the presence of E on looking time. Two hundred thirty-nine college students viewed 30 colored stimuli of landscapes, single objects, and arrays of objects under three different sets of instructions, with E either present or absent while S viewed the stimuli. The results demonstrated that E’s presence depressed the time spent looking at the stimuli Evidence was also found suggesting that ambiguity in the typical instructions given Ss in looking-time experiments may result in artifactually long looking times. It was concluded that a more appropriate situation to investigate looking time would (1) utilize sham GSR instructions to reduce S’s uncertainty concerning the experiment’s purpose, and (2) arrange for E’s absence while S is viewing the stimuli     

Rate-dependent effects of drugs: modification by discriminative stimuli of the effects of amobarbital on schedule-controlled behavior

Food-deprived pigeons responded under a 10-min fixed-interval schedule of food presentation. During even-numbered minutes of the schedule, the discriminative stimuli were the same as those present when food was delivered. During odd-numbered minutes there was either a change in keylight color or a change in overhead illumination, either for the entire duration of the odd-numbered minutes, or for 3-sec after each response. Responding during even-numbered minutes showed the usual pattern of positive acceleration; responding during odd-numbered minutes was similarly graded, but rates were much lower. The response-rate-increasing effects of amobarbital were inversely related to control rates of responding for both even- and odd-numbered minutes. However, when the stimulus change during odd-numbered minutes was either keylight color or a change from a darkened to a brightly illuminated chamber, increases in responding were considerably less than predicted on the basis of the effects on responding during even-numbered minutes. When the stimulus change was from a darkened to a dimly illuminated chamber, control rates of responding changed little, but increases in responding during odd-numbered minutes after amobarbital were considerably greater, and of the approximate order expected on the basis of control rate.     

Behavioral discrimination of click intensity in cat

Avoidance conditioning procedures were used to train cats to discriminate intensity differences between successive clicks. The discriminative behavior was applied in a modified method of adjustment to determine a difference limen (DL) for click intensity. The obtained DLs were consistent within and between subjects, and averaged 4.4 db. This value is greater than previously reported intensity DLs for pure tones in cats.     

Frequency-selective detection at three signal amplitudes

Using the probe-signal method, frequency-response characteristics were obtained for four Os detecting signals nominally of only 1000Hz under three signal-amplitude conditions: E/N_o=10.0, 12.6, and 15.8. Detection of 1000-Hz signals decreased systematically with signal-amplitude decreases, but signals at 850 Hz and at 1150 Hz were detected at or near the chance level during all signal-amplitude conditions. From the detection performance data, the detectability was inferred for four probe-signal frequencies relative to that of 1000-Hz signals for each of the amplitude conditions. From the curvesofrelative detectability, hal[-detectability bandwidths were estimated. Neither the relative detectability curves nor the half-detectability bandwidths indicate any systematic change in the frequencyselectivebehavior of the auditory O across the signal amplitudes used.     

Satiation effects in the perception of single letters’

When single letters were presented for five flashes, with S making a clarity judgment after each exposure, initial potentiation and subsequent satiation effects were found. A processing task and complete prior knowledge led to an increased probability of a “clear” response on the first exposure and to an earlier onset of the satiation effect. The results are discussed in terms of the neural network model underlying this research.     

Calvinism and psychoanalysis: A comparative study

Summary Although the title of this essay suggests a comparison of psychoanalysis and Calvinism, I have chosen to compare primarily the two leaders of these movements. On many points they shared similar beliefs. Certain of these areas have been highlighted and discussed briefly: ascetic tendencies, work, religion, concepts of God and of man, actions as symptoms, and predestination and determinism.