Information transmission with a multifinger tactual display

In this work, the tactual information transmission capabilities of a tactual display designed to provide stimulation along a continuum from kinesthetic movements to cutaneous vibrations are assessed. The display is capable of delivering arbitrary waveforms to three digits (thumb, index, and middle finger) within an amplitude range from absolute detection threshold to about 50 dB sensation level and a frequency range from dc to above 300 Hz. Stimulus sets were designed at each of three signal durations (125, 250, and 500 msec) by combining salient attributes, such as frequency (further divided into low, middle, and high regions), amplitude, direction of motion, and finger location. Estimated static information transfer (IT) was 6.5 bits at 500 mseC., 6.4 bits at 250 mseC., and 5.6 bits at 125 msec. Estimates of IT rate were derived from identification experiments in which the subject’s task was to identify the middle stimulus in a sequence of three stimuli randomly selected from a given stimulus set. On the basis of the extrapolations from these IT measurements to continuous streams, the IT rate was estimated to be about 12 bits/seC., which is roughly the same as that achieved by Tadoma users in tactual speech communication.     

Alexander Lowen: An Energetic Man

Alexander Lowen, a prominent psychotherapist, discusses his personal and professional development, as well as the evolution of bioenergetic analysis.     

Gist another panacea? Or just the illusion of inclusion

In this article, we call for a formal approach to modeling the development of reasoning. We discuss the need to operationalize the nature of encoding and processing. These problems are reviewed in the context of fuzzy-trace theory with particular emphasis on class-inclusion reasoning experiments. We argue that salience manipulations (perceptual or linguistic) give the illusion of inclusion by promoting subclass-subclass comparisons. We present an alternate, mathematical model of class-inclusion reasoning in which memory and reasoning parameters are estimated and integrated in a skills analysis of performance. We conclude that without similar formal modeling efforts, the nature of children's reasoning will remain elusive.     

Effects of repetition of mental operations on memory for occurrence and origin

In two experiments, subjects read or generated items at both encoding and retrieval. At test, they were required to decide whether or not the targets were presented initially (recognition), and if so, whether they were initially read or generated (judgments of origin). Recognition for items that were initially generated was enhanced if they were once again generated at test in the same context, but not if they were generated at test without context. These results confirm that memory for occurrence is facilitated by repetition of the initial encoding operations at retrieval. Generating at test resulted in an increase in "generate" responses both for items that were initially generated and for items that were initially read. Overall, there was a decrease in the accuracy of origin discriminations. It is suggested that, when subjects generate at test, they are likely to mistakenly attribute these just-performed operations to be part of the memory trace for that item.     

The role of individual bargaining behavior in the pay setting process: A pilot study

A model of initial salary detemination for professional and managerial employees is developed. That part of the model which concentrates on the role of employee salary negotiation behaviors and attitudes was investigated using a sample of 117 individuals. Significant variance in salary bargaining attitudes and behaviors was found; attitudinal and demographic differences between negotiators and non-negotiators were determined. Additionally, negotiating behavior was found to be positively related to salary, but only slightly related to salary growth.     

Rule learning in children: Multiple-set training and intermediate-size transposition

Two experiments were conducted in which the subjects were trained to choose the middle-size stimulus in either a single stimulus set or in each of two nonoverlapping stimulus sets. Following criterion, each subject was presented with a series of 12 test trials involving a new stimulus set. In Experiment 1, kindergarten children tended to choose the middle-size test stimulus if the test set consisted of stimuli intermediate in size to the stimuli in the smaller and larger training sets. When the test stimuli were all larger than any of the training stimuli, the probability of choosing the middle-size stimulus increased as the distance between the two training sets increased. Three groups of children participated in Experiment 2: a kindergarten group, a first-grade group, and a first-grade group that experienced middle-size training a year earlier. The distance between training sets and two training procedures affected the three groups in a similar manner during acquisition, but several interactions were obtained during the test. The findings were discussed in terms of the Lane and Rabinowitz (D. M. Lane & F. M. Rabinowitz, Child Development, 1977, 48, 412–426) rule based theory of intermediate-size transposition and suggestions were made as to how children acquire the concept of middle.     

TASK DIFFICULTY AND ABERRANT BEHAVIOR IN SEVERELY HANDICAPPED STUDENTS

The influence of task difficulty on aberrant behavior was investigated with three severely handicapped students. Noticeably higher rates of problem behavior occurred in demand compared to no-demand conditions. In addition, there were higher rates of problem behaviors on difficult versus easy tasks. Both these findings were validated with visual discrimination and perceptual motor tasks. An errorless learning procedure effectively minimized errors and aberrant behavior in visual discrimination tasks but not in perceptual motor tasks. It was conceptualized that aberrant behavior was maintained by negative reinforcement contingencies. Difficult tasks were aversive to the children, who emitted aberrant responses to escape or avoid such tasks. By contrast, conditions in which no demands were made, easy tasks, and, in visual discrimination learning, errorless tasks, were less aversive and resulted in little or no problem behavior. Implications for reducing maladaptive behaviors through curricular modifications are discussed and contrasted to more traditional consequence manipulation approaches.     

The school psychologist as behavioral ecologist

Some psychologists involved in the implementation of applied behavioral psychology in educational systems must increasingly attend to the ecological impact of such interventions. An ecological orientation emphasizing system-like interdependencies among environment, organism, and behavior suggests several substantial additions to conventional role functions of behavioral school psychologists. Such functions involve taking an active part in evaluating and assessing second-order consequences of behavioral interventions. Recommendations for functional and procedural changes are provided within this framework.