Limbic networks and associative learning: II. Entorhinal contributions to spontaneous alternation, passive avoidance, and taste aversion learning

The hippocampus plays an important role in learning and memory, but the precise nature of that involvement remains uncertain. Transection of the perforant path, a primary input pathway to the hippocampus, has been shown to produce changes in reaction to novelty and acquisition of active avoidance; the nature and magnitude of these changes vary with lateral or medial perforant path damage. In a series of experiments on adult rats, the role of these pathways in spontaneous alternation, exploration, acquisition and extinction of conditioned responses, passive avoidance, and conditioned taste aversion was investigated. Lateral transection reduced exploration while medial transection facilitated acquisition of an active avoidance response; no effects were observed on any other measure. Results are discussed in terms of what perforant path damage might reveal regarding the interactions of the hippocampus with other brain regions.     

HOLOMOVEMENT METAPHYSICS AND THEOLOGY

Abstract. The holomovement metaphysics of David Bohm emphasizes connections and continuous change. Two general movements through space-time extend Bohm's ideas. One is that the universe was nonlocal when it started but increases in locality. (With nonlocality, two simultaneous but distant events affect each other.) The other is the opposite movement or evolution toward increasingly complex systems exhibiting internal connections and a type of nonlocality. This metaphysics produces a theology when the holomovement is a model for God. Several topics follow, including global nonlocality, God as creator, God's transcendence and immanence, and God as personal. This theology shows promise but needs further development.     

The Situational Specificity of Validities: Correcting for Statistical Artifacts Does Not Always Reduce the Trans-Situational Variability of Correlation Coefficients

Validity generalization research suggests that much of the variability in validity coefficients is due to statistical artifacts, such as sampling error. Correcting for these artifacts usually reduces the trans-situational variability in validity coefficients, but the reverse can happen. Conditions under which corrections for statistical artifacts can increase the variability in validity coefficients are described, examples of meta-analyses reporting larger corrected than observed variance in validity are cited, and implications for the situational specificity of validity coefficients are discussed. In general, the true variability in validity coefficients based on large samples is often larger than the observed variability in test validities.     

A ToolBook computer program to develop course objectives and assessment measures

College courses are generally developed because of current fashion in the field and/or student and faculty interest in some topic without reference to departmental or programmatic goals. Current calls and needs for accountability in higher education demand a more organized approach. A computer program, ToolBook 1.53, which provides information to the instructor about systematic development of courses and assessment of student outcomes, is described. The program supports the construction of outcome-oriented learning objectives and corresponding assessment techniques. Instructors who used this program to learn about how to construct such objectives showed an increase in knowledge and evaluated the program positively. Using the information provided in this program leads to an integrated approach to course design and development in which course objectives are linked to the college mission statement through departmental or program objectives.     

THE TRANSMITTER-PERSISTENCE EFFECT:

Abstract— In four studies, Boninger, Brock, Cook, Cruder, and Romer (1990) found thai altitude change following exposure to a persuasive message persisted longer if recipients were expecting to have to transmit the message to someone else. The present experiment demonstrated thai this effect obtains only if the people preparing to transmit, as was the case in the studies of Boninger et a!., are denied the opportunity to do so. It is argued, then, that the findings of Boninger et at. may be attributable to a tendency toward thought perseveration triggered hy the failure to complete the transmission task, rather than being a consequence of the preparation to transmit per se.     

Optimism,perceived control over stress,and coping

To examine the ability of the expectancy-based personality dimensions dispositional optimism and perceived control over stress to predict the ways in which people characteristically attempt to cope with stress, 420 undergraduate students completed the Life Orientation Test (LOT; Scheier and Carver, 1985), a measure of perceived control over stress, and the dispositional version of the COPE Inventory (Carver, Scheier and Weintraub, 1989). The results revealed a modest but reliable positive correlation between optimism and the perceived control measure. Principal-components analysis of the COPE revealed a factor structure which was generally in accord with prior research. Optimism was positively correlated with active coping and positive reinterpretation, and negatively correlated with focusing on and venting of emotion. Perceived control over stress was negatively correlated with behavioural disengagement. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

ETHNICITY,ABILITY, ASPIRATIONS AND SOCIAL STATUS ATTAINMENT

In this study longitudinal data were used to examine relationships among children's intellectual ability, adolescents' aspirations and young adults' social-status attainment. The sample included 21-year-old Australians from Anglo-Australian, Greek and Southern Italian families. Regression surfaces were constructed from hierarchical models that examined possible linear, interaction and curvilinear associations among the variables. Typically, the findings indicated that in each ethnic group adolescents' aspirations had moderate to strong associations with status attainment. For Anglo-Australian and Greek young adults the relationships between ability and attainment were, in general, mediated by adolescents' aspirations. In contrast, for Southern Italians, ability continued to be associated with the educational and occupational attainment of the young adults.     

The role of perceptions of political tactics in predicting turnover from behavioral intentions

The role of behavioral intentions in predicting turnover has received considerable attention in recent years. The purpose of the present study was to examine the potential moderating impact of a person's perceptions of political tactics (PPT) on the relationship between turnover intentions and voluntary turnover. The research sample consisted of 404 white-collar employees working for a textile manufacturing firm. Logistic regression indicated support for the hypothesized moderator effect. Results suggested that turnover intentions were less predictive of turnover for individuals who perceived political tactics to be useful in attaining organizational success as compared to those who perceived them not to be useful. Future research suggestions are provided.