Fixed-ratio pausing: Joint effects of past reinforcer magnitude and stimuli correlated with upcoming magnitude

Pigeons responded on fixed-ratio schedules ending in small or large reinforcers (grain presentations of different duration) interspersed within each session. In mixed-schedule conditions, the response key was lit with a single color throughout the session, and pausing was directly related to the past reinforcer (longer pauses after large reinforcers than after small ones). In multiple-schedule conditions, different colors accompanied the ratios ending in small and large reinforcers, and pausing was affected by the upcoming reinforcer as well as the past one. Pauses were shorter before large reinforcers than before small ones, but they continued to be longer after large reinforcers than after small ones. The influence of the past reinforcer was modulated by the magnitude of the upcoming reinforcer; in the presence of the stimulus before the small reinforcer, the effect of the past reinforcer was enhanced relative to its effect in the stimulus before the large reinforcer. These results show that pausing between ratios is jointly determined by two competing factors: past conditions of reinforcement and stimuli correlated with upcoming conditions.     

Discriminability between alternatives in a switching-key concurrent schedule

Six pigeons were trained to discriminate between two intensities of white light in a symbolic matching-to-sample procedure. These stimuli were then used to signal which schedule was available on the main key in a switching-key concurrent schedule. The concurrent schedules led to a symbolic matching-to-sample phase in which the subject identified the concurrent schedule to which it last responded before a reinforcer could be obtained. The concurrent schedules were varied across conditions. Discriminability, measured during the symbolic matching-to-sample performance, was high throughout and did not differ across the two procedures. Performance in the concurrent schedules was like that typically obtained using these schedules. Delays were then arranged between completion of the concurrent schedules and presentations of the symbolic matching-to-sample phase. A series of conditions with an intervening delay of 10 s showed that both concurrent-schedule performance and symbolic matching-to-sample performance were affected by the delay in a similar way; that is, choice responding was closer to indifference.     

The relationship between attitude,assertiveness and condom use

The Australian study investigated condom-specific assertiveness and condom use as a means of prevention infection from sexually transmitted diseases. 211 men participated including 83 homosexual men (aged 19-62 years) and 128 heterosexual men (aged 17-49) who completed a questionnaire that comprised demographic details such as age, monogamy, and sexual activity as well as attitudinal and assertiveness measures. General assertiveness was measured by the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS) which had been widely used across a wide range of social situations. Assertiveness relating specifically to situations involving condoms was measured by the Condom Assertiveness Scale (CAS). Intention to use condoms was positively related to favorable attitudes, which were related to condom-specific assertiveness for both groups. For the heterosexual men only, general social assertiveness was negatively related to attitudes toward condoms. For both groups, the condom-specific measure of assertiveness was positively correlated with attitudes toward condoms. Condom-specific assertiveness was positively related to general social assertiveness as measured by the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule for the homosexual, but not for the heterosexual men. The negative relationship between general assertiveness and attitude to condoms among the heterosexual men implies that the risk reducing behavior of condom use did not seem to accord with the perceptions of masculinity and social assertiveness among heterosexual men. Thus, female partners of such heterosexual men exhibiting negative attitudes toward condom use combined with assertiveness would have to overcome resistance to insist on the use of condoms. Recently some advertising campaigns have been directed at women. The promotion of condom use among heterosexual men has to deal with the perceptions of condom use as unmasculine behavior.     

心身问题与心灵哲学

第9届维特根斯坦国际专题讨论会的主题是心灵哲学(philosophy of mind,或译心智哲学)和心理学哲学。详细地讨论过的问题包括:心身问题、心灵哲学的传统问题和心理学哲学。 1.心身问题什么是心身问题?“心灵”(mind)一词有多种非常不同的用法,这一事实导致了现代讨论中的某种混乱。对这个词,我们至少可以区分出五种不同的用法,因此心身问题至少有五种意义。 (1)我们可以象笛卡儿使用“mens”一词那样使用“心灵”一词,让它指称具有心理属性的东西,亦即指称那种能思想,能感知,能相信和能欲求的东西。在这种情况下,我们通常是用“心灵”这个词意指“人”这个词所意指的东西,因而该词表示的就是你和我这样一些实     

库恩的可否证性模式

库恩和拉卡托斯都不同意把理论的评价看作是理论的可证实性或理论的可否证性这一传统观点。他们的批判分为两个题目:首先,一种科学理论并非只能凭经验的结果来检验;其次,人们不会在没有现成可替代的理论时就摈弃一种理论。在拉卡托斯的术语里,要么被接受,要么被摈弃的是理论的研究纲领而不仅仅是理论本身。进一步说,某一特定的范式或研究纲领的摈弃并不就是简单地被取代,一种替代范式在另一种范式或研究纲领被摈弃之前必须发生效用。最近,人们对拉卡托斯夸大第二点进行了批判。F.M.亚克罗德认为,在科学史上有一些情况是,一项研究被简单地摈弃了,而且的确是被合理地摈弃了,尽管还没有替代者。在本文中,我     

甘岑的自然演绎演算

迄今为止,我们所主要讨论的逻辑演算,即用公理方法处理的狭谓词演算,标志着把数学方法运用于逻辑获得了显著的成功。这种演算的形式上的简易是令人称道的,从纯粹数学的观点看,它可以同公理化的射影几何及抽象群论这一类数学观念的完满体现的学科相媲美。此外,作为应用于研究演绎系     

新的多重智力观

人们可以轻易地测出高度,但智力却没有这样简单.这主要是因为人们具有多重智力,而不是简单的一种智力.总的来讲,我已区分了七种形式的智力.在现代社会得到高度评价的两种智力是语言和逻辑数理(Logical-mathematic)能力.当人们认为某人聪明时,往往是指这两种能力.因为个体有了语言和逻辑数理能力,就能在那些所谓测量智力的测验上获得好分数.     

空间能力研究的历史背景

定义空间能力的方式多种多样,致使我们难以将其含义精确地归结为某一术语。有些学者广义地把空间能力描述为在那些非语言信息加工中的个体差异,而另一些学者则狭义地把它描述为在完成空间测验中的个体差异,由于用以研究空间能力的方法和测量的不同,定义问题变得更为复杂。本文将对空间能力的测量作一简要概述,尽管它类似于因素分析方法学的历史,但由于关系到空间能力的定义,因而,重点在于研究的结果而不在于因素分析方法学的历史本身。     

判断和选择中的认知错觉

人类的错误为研究人类智能的结构和功能提供了有价值的资料。对于记忆的研究多是建立在遗忘的基础上,对知觉的研究常常基于识别力衰退,对于语言和思维的研究已经揭示了失言。关于人类错误的研究格外重要,因为它表明了人类智力的某些局限,它时常暴露出隐藏在人们行为之下的规律和机制,它常常提示出可以改善人们表现的方式。错觉是一种特殊的错误,它特别令人困惑,因为人们造成的这种错误始终具有迷惑力,甚至当人们已彻底认识到这是一种错误时亦然。例如,我们会感到在图1中右边的线     

共产主义实验在苏联

1.斯大林个人扭曲了的共产主义意识形态“斯大林主义”,是苏联官方理论家从不使用的一个术语。而且,它一般也并没有被人们广泛地当作马克思-列宁主义来运用。有时候,斯大林主义被误解为是马列主义的一种扩大或发展。实际上,斯大林主义倒可以看作是从马列主义中派生出来并且背离了马列主义的,它(直到1953年斯大林去世时