Interaction of fear effects with habit strength

Four groups of rats received 0, 3, 6 or 9 days of overtraining after having reached stable performance on a continuous reinforcement bar pressing schedule. Half the subjects in each group had previously been designated emotionally reactive or non-reactive in terms of defecation rates in an open-field test. Following training, there were four test days in which bar pressing in each group was examined in the presence or absence of white noise. The major findings were that, in both the reactive and non-reactive groups, white noise produced a fear reaction which significantly depressed bar pressing at low levels of habit strength while having an energizing effect at higher levels. The results were interpreted as supporting Bardach's (1960) hypothesis that anxiety introduced early in practice is more disruptive than when introduced late in practice.     

The symmetrical maze: An automated closed-field test series for rats

An automated “intelligence” test for rats is described. Supporting data indicate that this maze-problem series is sensitive to hypothyroidism-induced learning deficit and sex differences. Comparisons between this new problem set and the Rabinovitch-Rosvold (1951) closed-field tests are presented with respect to difficulty, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability.     

Book reviews

Encyclopaedia of Linguistics, Information and Control. Edited by A. R. Meetham with the assistance of R. A. Hudson. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 1969. Pp. xiv + 718. 300s.

The Biological Basis of Personality. By H. J. Eysenck. Springfield: Thomas. 1968. Pp. xv + 399. $18.50.

Scientific Basis of Dvug Dependence. Biological Council Symposium. Edited by H. Steinberg. London: Churchill. 1969. Pp. 429. 100s.

Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology, Vol. 2. Edited by John P. Hill. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 1969. Pp. viii + 172.

Memory and Attention: an introduction to human information processes. By Donald A. Norman. Chichester, Sussex: John Wiley. 1969. Pp. ix + 201. 84s. (cloth); 44s. (paper). Verbal Learning and Memory: selected readings. By Leo Postman and Geoffrey Keppel. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. 1969. Pp. 501. 12s.

Handbuch der Kinderheilkunde. Edited by H. Opitz and F. Schmidt. Rand VIII/I: Neurologie-Psychologic-Psychiatrie. Redigiert von F. Schmidt und H. Asperger. Berlin: Springer Verlag. Pp. 1060. Price DM385, S96.25.

Digital Computing. By R. S. Lehman and D. E. Bailey. London: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 1969. Pp. xxiv + 303. 79s.

Real-Time Computers. By W. R. Uttal. New York: Harper & Row. 1968. Pp. xiv + 338. 93s.     

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN HONG KONG

With the rapid development of cross-cultural psychology, there is a need to provide international centres for research, which can become main focal points for cross-cultural research in specific geographic regions. The development of the Department of Psychology at the University of Hong Kong is being carried out with this broader context in view. In addition to offering excellent university facilities for psychological research, Hong Kong is also centrally located in relation to other Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Philippines Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia, none of which is more than 1500 miles from Hong Kong. The purpose of this paper is therefore to describe the departmental facilities for cross-cultural research in Hong Kong, departmental teaching, psychological research in Hong Kong, and finally the potential of Hong Kong as a natural laboratory for research in a multi-cultural, multilingual, traditional-modern context.     

ECOLOGY AND SOCIALIZATION AS FACTORS IN FIGURAL ASSIMILATION AND THE RESOLUTION OF BINOCULAR RIVALRY1

L'étude des facteurs culturels en matière de perception et L'étude des facteurs culturels en matière de personnalité ont été, jusqu' à présent, relativement séparées. L'A. propose un modèle qui permet d'intégrer les deux domaines en faisant L'hypothèse d'une relation indirecte entre L'ecologie et les réponses perceptives et d'une relation directe qui correspondrait à celle mise en évidence par les études de laboratoires classiques entre fréquence de L'expérience passée et réponse perceptive. Pour valider le modèle, L'A. utilise les données de deux expériences qui ont été réalisées avec des sujets Temne et Esquimaux et qui portent L'une sur la reproduction de figures ambiguës présentées au tachistoscope et L'autre sur la résolution de rivalités binoculaires.     

Pupil Personnel Services in the Elementary School

Student personnel services for the elementary school utilizing counselor, social worker, and psychologist are discussed with respect to their overlapping and unique skills. As a solution to the manpower shortage, a program for multidisciplinary training of paraprofessionals is suggested.     

College Major Choice and Personal Adjustment

This investigation focused on the differences in reported personal adjustment problems between freshmen students who made a congruent college major choice and students who made an incongruent choice. Personal adjustment was defined operationally with the Mooney Problem Checklist. Congruent and incongruent college major choice groups were defined operationally using the Vocational Preference Inventory. In the analysis of variance of the adjustment scores, the interaction term involving congruence of major choice and sex and the test for the main effect of sex were not significant. The test for the main effect of congruence was found to be significant. Subjects who had made a congruent college major choice reported fewer personal adjustment problems when compared to subjects in the incongruent group.