A quantitative analysis of the responding maintained by interval schedules of reinforcement

Interval schedules of reinforcement maintained pigeons' key-pecking in six experiments. Each schedule was specified in terms of mean interval, which determined the maximum rate of reinforcement possible, and distribution of intervals, which ranged from many-valued (variable-interval) to single-valued (fixed-interval). In Exp. 1, the relative durations of a sequence of intervals from an arithmetic progression were held constant while the mean interval was varied. Rate of responding was a monotonically increasing, negatively accelerated function of rate of reinforcement over a range from 8.4 to 300 reinforcements per hour. The rate of responding also increased as time passed within the individual intervals of a given schedule. In Exp. 2 and 3, several variable-interval schedules made up of different sequences of intervals were examined. In each schedule, the rate of responding at a particular time within an interval was shown to depend at least in part on the local rate of reinforcement at that time, derived from a measure of the probability of reinforcement at that time and the proximity of potential reinforcements at other times. The functional relationship between rate of responding and rate of reinforcement at different times within the intervals of a single schedule was similar to that obtained across different schedules in Exp. 1. Experiments 4, 5, and 6 examined fixed-interval and two-valued (mixed fixed-interval fixed-interval) schedules, and demonstrated that reinforcement at one time in an interval had substantial effects on responding maintained at other times. It was concluded that the rate of responding maintained by a given interval schedule depends not on the overall rate of reinforcement provided but rather on the summation of different local effects of reinforcement at different times within intervals.     

Auditory overselectivity in autistic children

Autistic and normal children were trained to respond to a complex stimulus containing two auditory components. After the discrimination was acquired, the individual components were presented separately, allowing assessment of the extent to which the child's responding was controlled by one or both of the cues. The autistic children, unlike the normal children, provided evidence for stimulus overselectivity in that 6 of 8 autistic subjects responded to only one of the components. These results are consistent with those of previous studies which showed that when autistic children are presented with a complex visual or multiple-modality stimulus, they selectively respond to only one component of the complex. The present results extend the stimulus overselectivity hypothesis to the situation where all of the stimuli occur within the auditory modality. It is suggested that auditory overselectivity may partially account for autistic deficits in speech comprehension.     

A prepunched master deck for the computation of square roots on IBM electrical accounting equipment

This paper presents a prepunched deck of cards to enable the extraction of square roots on standard punch card tabulating equipment. Such a deck is valuable in constructing mathematical tables which involve square roots or in obtaining standard deviations in connection with computing correlation coefficients. By using a deck of reciprocals in conjunction with the deck for square roots, correlations may be solved completely on IBM equipment.The author wishes to acknowledge the help given on machine procedures by Wallace M. Taylor, 1st Lt. A.C., Wright Field, Ohio.     

Chewing Over In Vitro Meat: Animal Ethics,Cannibalism and Social Progress

Despite its potential for radically reducing the harm inflicted on nonhuman animals in the pursuit of food, there are a number of objections grounded in animal ethics to the development of in vitro meat. In this paper, I defend the possibility against three such concerns. I suggest that worries about reinforcing ideas of flesh as food and worries about the use of nonhuman animals in the production of in vitro meat can be overcome through appropriate safeguards and a fuller understanding of the interests that nonhuman animals actually possess. Worries about the technology reifying speciesist hierarchies of value are more troublesome, however. In response to this final challenge, I suggest that we should be open not just to the production of in vitro nonhuman flesh, but also in vitro human flesh. This leads to a consideration of the ethics of cannibalism. The paper ultimately defends the position that cannibalism simpliciter is not morally problematic, though a great many practices typically associated with it are. The consumption of in vitro human flesh, however, is able to avoid these problematic practices, and so should be considered permissible. I conclude that animal ethicists and vegans should be willing to cautiously embrace the production of in vitro flesh.     

Relational spirituality and depression among married couples in Antigua

The World Health Organization indicates depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. At the same time researchers have found religion/spirituality is inversely associated with depression. However, the mechanisms by which spirituality/religion impacts mental health have not been clearly identified particularly in non-western populations. Relational spirituality is a concept that focuses attention on the ways people relate to the sacred. This study examines whether different ways of relating to the sacred are implicated in levels of depression and whether marital partners affect each other’s level of relational spirituality and depression. Ninety-one (n?=?91) married heterosexual couples in the Caribbean Island of Antigua completed measures of relational spirituality and depression. Data were analysed using path analysis and through Actor Partner Interdependence Model methods. Results of the analysis showed wives’ and husbands’ depression scores covaried (COV?=?6.59, Pearson r?=?.28, p?β?=??.24, unstandardised B?=??3.23, se?=?1.30), and higher instability scores (β?=?.49, unstandardised B?=?5.46, se?=?.96). The husbands’ disappointment (β?=?.21, unstandardised B?=?2.17, se?=?.95) and instability (β?=?.54, unstandardised B?=?4.65, se?=?.72) were positively related to their depression scores. The results demonstrate relational spirituality is a useful framework for addressing depression in individuals as well as married couples.     

The Role of Avoidance in Complicated Grief: A Detailed Examination of the Grief-Related Avoidance Questionnaire (GRAQ) in a Large Sample of Individuals with Complicated Grief

Grief-related avoidance is a significant component of complicated grief, yet has rarely been formally measured in a validated fashion. Further, more work is needed to understand the impact of grief-related avoidance on symptom severity and functional impairment among individuals with complicated grief (CG). The Grief-Related Avoidance Questionnaire (GRAQ; Shear, Monk et al. 2007) was created to assess grief-related avoidance and the present analysis aimed to further develop this measure and construct by confirming the GRAQ’s psychometric properties and examining loss-related predictors of avoidance. In a sample of 393 adults with CG, we found the GRAQ had high internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.89 and good convergent validity. While the EFA results suggest that the GRAQ may be unidimensional, a 3-factor model generally corresponded with the findings by (Shear, Monk et al. 2007), which suggested the presence of 3 subscales. Loss-related variables age, relationship to the deceased, and cause of death were all significant predictors of GRAQ scores. Our findings support that among individuals with complicated grief, avoidance is common, measurable and an important contributor to impairment.