TRAINING AND GENERALIZATION OF REACH-GRASP BEHAVIOR IN BLIND,RETARDED YOUNG CHILDREN

The effects of a graduated prompting treatment procedure were analyzed in three phases of an experiment on the training and generalization of reaching-grasp responding in 2- to 4-year-old blind, severely or profoundly retarded children. In Phase 1, we used a multiple-baseline across-subjects design to investigate the effectiveness of the treatment on midline reach-grasp responding. In Phase 2, we used a reversal design to investigate the effects of repeated implementations and withdrawals of the treatment. In both phases, generalization to right and left positions was measured. In Phase 3, in a multiple-baseline across-responses design, the treatment was implemented in right and left positions. Also in Phase 3, shift of stimulus control from toy-sound to verbal instructions was measured. The results showed that (a) the graduated prompting procedure was effective in training reach-grasp responding in all three children; (b) for one child, the effects were durable over repeated applications of the treatment procedure, but were not maintained during withdrawals; (c) for another child, the treatment procedure was effective in teaching reach-grasp responding in all three positions; and (d) for the same child, training of reach-grasp responding generalized to toys presented without sound, given only the verbal instruction.     

Infant sensitivity to figural coherence in biomechanical motions

Two experiments assessed infant sensitivity to figural coherence in point-light displays moving as if attached to the major joints of a walking person. Experiment 1 tested whether 3- and 5-month-old infants could discriminate between upright and inverted versions of the walker in both moving and static displays. Using an infant-control habituation paradigm, it was found that both ages discriminated the moving but not the static displays. Experiment 2 was designed to clarify whether or not structural invariants were extracted from these displays. The results revealed that (1) moving point-light displays with equivalent motions but different topographic relations were discriminated while (2) static versions were not, and (3) arrays that varied in the amount of motion present in different portions of the display were also not discriminated. These results are interpreted as indicating that young infants are sensitive to figural coherence in displays of biomechanical motion.     

幼儿不同情绪状态对其智力操作的影响

本实验结果显示:1)在16至18个月的婴儿中,愉快和痛苦情绪对其问题解决的操作有不同的影响。愉快组被试比痛苦组被试的操作效果明显优越;体现在“直接抓取”、“注视”和“顺利获得”三种操作策略中。2)愉快和痛苦两种情绪的不同强度与操作效果之间的相关是不同的。愉快组显示为一种曲线相关,即过高或过低的情绪唤醒不如适中的唤醒水平使操作效果达到最优。痛苦组显示为一种直线相关,即痛苦强度越大,操作效果越差。     

Feedback during exposure to inescapable shocks and subsequent shock-escape performance

In two experiments, we assessed the ability of a feedback stimulus during helplessness training to reduce the performance deficits common to inescapable shock. In each experiment, four groups of rats were exposed to either escapable shock (E), inescapable shock with a feedback stimulus following shock termination (Y-FS), inescapable shock with no feedback stimulus (Y-NFS), or no shock (N). The feedback stimulus eliminated the interference effects of inescapable shock when tested with an FR-3 lever press escape task (Experiment 1) or on an FR-1 task with a 3-s delay between the response and shock termination (Experiment 2). These results suggest that stress-induced biochemical changes may mediate the interference effects seen in inescapably shocked rats.     

A possible proximity effect on human grip strength

A double-blind experiment with 58 adults tested the hypothesis that proximity to sugar reduces human grip strength. An analysis of variance supported the hypothesis.     

A Mimetic Reading of the Passover

The use of sacrificial animal blood in the Hebrew Bible has generated much discussion. While various scholars have attempted to explain the significance of these blood rites, each of these attempts has proved problematic. The current paper employs mimetic theory to develop a more robust and plausible model for exploring biblical animal sacrifice. Using the Passover ritual as a model, I develop a model of sacrificial blood rites as pantomimes of mimetic violence. These pantomimes re-create a violent yet transformative crisis from the community's collective memory. Such rituals allow the community to enter into and re-experience the cleansing violence of a mimetic crisis, albeit in a more controlled manner. Through these pantomimes, the community attempts to appease the primitive sacred's blood lust and re-discover the divine blessing secured through the original crisis. This model may prove helpful when applied to more opaque examples of biblical blood manipulation.