Word frequency and age of acquisition as determiners of picture-naming latency

In multiple-regression analysis of picture-naming latencies from an experiment modelled on Oldfield and Wingfield's (1965), with 94 stimuli and 37 adult subjects, two word frequency measures had insignificant beta weights, while two measures estimating age at which the word was learned had highly significant weights. Objects whose names were learned early were named faster. This result may have important implications for the interpretation of studies using word frequency as a critical variable. It is suggested that word retrieval may be a one-stage process that depends upon the age at which a word was learned.     

Spatial-frequency specificity in visual masking

Visual masking between nonoverlapping gratings depends on the similarity of their spatial frequencies. In a metacontrast experiment, bar gratings of 6 and 12 cycles/deg were masked by flanking gratings of various spatial frequencies. For three observers, masking was greatest when the masking frequency was approximately equal to the masked frequency. The results are interpreted in terms of a theory of reciprocal inhibition among frequency-specific neural units.     

Seeing with the skin

A system for converting an optical image into a tactile display has been evaluated to see what promise it has as a visual substitution system. After surprisingly little training, Ss are able to recognize common objects and to describe their arrangement in three-dimensional space. When given control of the sensing and imaging device, a television camera, Ss quickly achieve external subjective localization of the percepts. Limitations of the system thus far appear to be more a function of display resolution than limitations of the skin as a receptor surface. The acquisition of skill with the device has been remarkably similar for blind and sighted Ss.     

Risk taking as a predictor of adolescent sexual activity and use of contraception

A hypothesis of high-risk behaviors associated with adolescent sexual activity and lack of contraceptive use was tested in a longitudinal random sample of both male and female youths. The data were part of the Rutgers Health and Human Development Project. 1380 subjects were ascertained by random telephone calling were given self-report questionnaires and personality profiles including the Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale, and Jackson's Personality Research Form in 1979 and 1981. Incidence of sexual activity and use of contraceptives increased with age from age 12-21. Cohort effects were apparent with use of some contraceptive methods. Of the variables indicating risk- taking, disinhibition, impulsivity and experience seeking, there were significant associations between sexual activity and disinhibition and experience seeking, for females. There were no significant associations between these variables and sexual activity in males. Contrary to the hypothesis, there were no relationships between either consistency of birth control use or reliability of the method used and behavioral indicators of risk-taking. Thus this 1st study in the field that included both males and females from the general population, as opposed to college students, found that sexually active adolescents were higher risk-takers than virgins, but no relationship between risk-taking and effectiveness of contraception was observed.     

Assessing treatability in mentally disordered offenders: A conceptual and methodological note

The assessment of treatability in mentally disordered offenders has rarely been addressed through empirical research, despite its frequent use in clinical and legal decision-making. We describe four necessary steps for establishing the requisite research base for treatability evaluations: (a) criterion specification, (b) the development of reliable measures, (c) the validation of these measures with treatment outcome data, and (d) the incorporation of environmental and base rate information.     

The Effect of Residence Hall Judicial Pollcies on Attitudes toward Rule-Violating Behaviors1

As part of a longitudinal study of legal socialization (N= 507), a subset of the sample (n= 87) was chosen for an exploratory naturalistic experiment of the effect of manipulated residence hall judicial policies on attitudes toward rule-violating behavior. Freshman students who directly participated in the functioning of their dormitory judicial system (n= 26) expressed attitudes less tolerant of rule-violating behaviors than did freshman students (n= 12) who had no control over how rules were enforced. Students in both of these experimental conditions expressed attitudes less tolerant of rule-violating behavior than did those (n= 49) living in two control dormitories operating under the usual university policies. While noting the problem of confounds inherent in naturalistic designs, the results are interpreted as suggesting that while the imposition of strict rules by an external authority can result in attitudinal compliance, a stronger effect can be achieved by fostering shared values through active student participation in the judicial system. The implications of these findings are interpreted within the context of control theory.     

Sensitivity to reinforcer duration in a self-control procedure

In a concurrent-chains procedure, pigeons' responses on left and right keys were followed by reinforcers of different durations at different delays following the choice responses. Three pairs of reinforcer delays were arranged in each session, and reinforcer durations were varied over conditions. In Experiment 1 reinforcer delays were unequal, and in Experiment 2 reinforcer delays were equal. In Experiment 1 preference reversal was demonstrated in that an immediate short reinforcer was chosen more frequently than a longer reinforcer delayed 6 s from the choice, whereas the longer reinforcer was chosen more frequently when delays to both reinforcers were lengthened. In both experiments, choice responding was more sensitive to variations in reinforcer duration at overall longer reinforcer delays than at overall shorter reinforcer delays, independently of whether fixed-interval or variable-interval schedules were arranged in the choice phase. We concluded that preference reversal results from a change in sensitivity of choice responding to ratios of reinforcer duration as the delays to both reinforcers are lengthened.