Effects of two procedures for varying information transmission on observing responses

Two experiments were conducted with pigeons to examine the effects of procedures that varied information transmission on observing responses. The basic procedure for Experiment I was one in which a trial terminated in either non-contingent reinforcement or timeout. Pecking during a trial produced either green (positive) or red (negative) keylights. If no pecking occurred no differential stimuli appeared. The probability of positive trials was either 0.25, 0.50, or 0.75. Observing response rates and relative frequencies of occurrence were highest when the probability of positive trials was 0.25 and lowest at 0.75. In Experiment II, a modified chain procedure was used in which responding produced either red or green lights. Reinforcement or timeout followed light onset by 15 sec. The correlation between the stimuli and the event at the end of the trial (reinforcement or timeout) was varied. Reinforcement followed green 100%, 90%, 70%, or 50% of the time that green occurred. Since the overall probability of reinforcement remained at 0.50, reinforcement followed red in either 0%, 10%, 30%, or 50% of the time that it occurred. The rate of responses that produced these stimuli varied as a function of the correlation. The greater the probability of reinforcement after green, the higher the response rate.     

Note on locus of control and academic achievement in institutionalized juvenile delinquents

The previously reported relationship between internal locus of control and academic achievement was explored with the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale for Children (Nowicki & Strickland, 1973) and seven measures of academic achievement in a random sample of 45 male residents of seven state learning centers for juvenile delinquents. Correlations between overall locus of control scores and all seven measures were significant, but with intelligence controlled in a partial correlation, locus of control scores were found to add little to the prediction of academic achievement from IQ scores alone. Discussion addressed possible explanations for the current findings in terms of the meaning of the scale for a nonnormal group and the effects of situations on responses of subjects.Appreciation is expressed to Mobile Psychiatric Clinic staff psychologists, to the U.S. General Accounting Office, and to Kingsbury Center, consultants, Washington, D.C., for their assistance in data collection.     

Short form and factor-analytic studies of the WISC-R with behavior problem children

Two analyses of the WISC-R protocols of 100 children referred for behavioral problems in school were conducted to study (a) the utility of a variety of WISC short forms and (b) the factor structure of the WISC-R. Although the correlations between short form and WISC-R IQs were highly significant, mean differences and a high percentage of IQ classification changes indicated that the short forms were not acceptable WISC-R substitutes. Different factor analyses consistently evidenced two factors, Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Organization, which corresponded perfectly to the Verbal and Performance.     

Analyses of changes in verbal behavior following a cognitive-behavioral treatment for impulsivity

Analyses were conducted to examine further the results of a cognitive-behavioral treatment for impulsivity in emotionally disturbed children (Kendall & Finch, 1978). The verbal behaviors of treated impulsive children, impulsive controls, and reflective children, recorded during MFF performance at pretreatment, posttreatment, and follow-up, were examined. The results indicated nonsignificant effects for several specific codes; however, the impulsive children that had received treatment evidenced a significant increase in total on-task verbal behavior at posttreatment. Discussion includes a consideration of these findings in regard to the efficacy of the cognitive-behavioral treatment and the need for research on the assessment of cognitive variables in children.This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (l F31 MH 05270-01) to the first author and from Virginia Mental Health Fund to the second author. Preparation of this report was also supported by a research grant from the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota (440-0160-4909-02). Thanks are extended to Donald MacEachern for his consultation on data analysis, to Steven D. Hollon and Terry F. Pechacek for consultation on computer analyses, and to Mary D. and Priscilla H. for coding the verbal data.     

Some effects of fixed-interval duration on response rate in a two-component chain schedule

In Exp. I three pigeons were trained on a two-component chain schedule. Responding on a 1-min variable-interval schedule in the initial component led to a sequence of two fixed-interval schedules in the terminal component. The rate of reinforcement in the terminal component was kept constant while the values of the two fixed intervals were varied. Three combinations of fixed-interval schedules were studied, FI 0.25, FI 1.75 (minutes) or FI 1.00, FI 1.00, or FI 1.75, FI 0.25. The rate for each subject declined in the initial component as the value of the first fixed interval was increased. Experiment II was conducted to assess the role of the second fixed-interval schedule in the terminal component in determining the rate of responding in the initial component. For each chain schedule the rate of responding in the initial component was determined both with and without the second of the sequence of fixed intervals. In all three cases the rate of responding in the initial component decreased when the second fixed interval was removed. Increasing the first fixed interval in Exp. I had a greater effect on variable-interval performance than did the removal of the second fixed interval in Exp. II.     

The mediating role of cultural coping behaviours on the relationships between academic stress and positive psychosocial well‐being outcomes

While culture's effect on the coping process has long been acknowledged in the stress‐coping literature conceptually, empirical evidence and attempts to discern the specific relationship between culture and coping remain very scarce. Against this backdrop, the present study applied the Cultural Transactional Theory (Chun, Moos, & Cronkite, 2006) to examine the mediating role of cultural coping behaviours (Collective, Engagement and Avoidance Coping) on the relationship between academic stress (AS) and two positive psychosocial well‐being outcome measures: Collective Self‐esteem (CSE) and Subjective Well‐being (SWB). Responses from a sample of undergraduate students in Canada (N = 328) were analysed to test a theory‐driven, hypothesised model of coping using structural equation modelling (SEM). As hypothesised, the SEM results showed that: (a) the proposed cultural coping model fit the data well; (b) Engagement Coping and Collective Coping partially mediated the association between AS and the outcomes and (c) the path relationships among the constructs were in the hypothesised directions. A set of preliminary exploratory analyses indicated that Collective Coping was most strongly endorsed by the African/Black and the Middle Eastern cultural groups as compared to other ethnic groups. Implications of the study's findings for future research and practice concerning culture, stress, and coping are discussed.     

Phoneme-based rehabilitation of anomia in aphasia

This study investigated the effects of phonologic treatment for anomia in aphasia. We proposed that if treatment were directed at the level of the phonologic processor, opportunities for naming via a phonological route, as opposed to a strictly whole word route, would be enhanced, thereby improving naming. The participants, ten people with anomia and aphasia due to left hemisphere stroke, received 96 h of phoneme based treatment in 12 weeks. To learn if treatment improved naming, a single-subject, repeated probe design with replication was employed. The primary outcome measure was confrontation naming. Secondary outcome measures included phonologic production, nonword repetition and discourse production. Results suggest a positive treatment effect (confrontation naming), improvements in phonologic production and nonword repetition, and generalization to discourse production. When tested 3 months after the completion of treatment the effects appeared to be maintained.     

PATERNAL AND MATERNAL REFLECTIVE FUNCTIONING IN THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PEEL CHILD HEALTH STUDY

While past research on the care of infants has been mostly with mothers, in recent times there has been a renewed attention to the father–infant relationship. This study examined differences between mother and father parental reflective functioning (PRF) or parental mentalizing; that is, the parental capacity to reason about their own and their children's behaviors by taking into consideration intentional mental states. Data were collected from 120 couples with a 1‐year‐old child who were participants in the West Australian Peel Child Health Study. Parental mentalizing was assessed using the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ; Luyten, Mayes, Nijssens, & Fonagy, 2017 ). Results showed that mother and father mentalizing with their children was independent and that mothers scored slightly higher levels of mentalizing than did fathers. Paternal mentalizing was weakly associated with family income and father education, and was more strongly associated with family functioning than with maternal mentalizing. Implications for theorizing on PRF and fatherhood more generally are discussed.     

Retention of Conditioned Inhibition Produced by Extinction

Rats in a flavor aversion procedure were used to examine the extent to which an extinguished CS can pass a retardation and summation test for conditioned inhibition after either a short or a long retention interval. Rats were given a single pairing of a flavored solution with LiCl, and then received a large number of CS-alone extinction trials. Following extinction, some subjects received a 3-week retention interval following extinction while others did not. Extinction produced evidence of conditioned inhibition on both tests when a short retention interval occurred following extinction. However, conditioned inhibition was attenuated by the long retention interval when assessed with a retardation test, but no effect of the long retention interval was observed when inhibition was evaluated with a summation test.