Achievement motivation in relation to achievement-related recall,performance, and urine flow,a marker associated with release of vasopressin

Administration of the pituitary hormone, arginine vasopressin (AVP), enhances memory in animals and humans. Since AVP is the antidiuretic hormone, its release can be inferred from reductions in urine flow. Forty-six male adults recalled the contents of a complex story and then either were exposed to achievement arousal or were not. Significantly more of the subjects in the aroused than the nonaroused condition showed a decrease in urine flow, and the greater the decrease in urine flow among the achievement-aroused subjects, the better the recall of achievement-related story content 24 hours later. Subjects high inn Achievement, in the achievement-oriented condition, showed lower urine output at the outset of the second day and greater improvement in learning to unscramble words. Since lower urine output was also related to improvement in unscrambling words, achievement arousal may have released AVP which in turn may have facilitated achievement-related retention and performance.I am greatly indebted to Sean Connelly for assistance in carrying out this research and to Dr. Franklin Epstein of the Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, for helping me to understand how the kidney functions in producing urine.     

The time course of recognition of novel melodies

Seven experiments explored the time course of recognition of brief novel melodies. In a continuous-running-memory task, subjects recognized melodic transpositions following delays up to 2.0 min. The delays were either empty or filled with other melodies. Test items included exact transpositions (T), same-contour lures (SC) with altered pitch intervals, and different-contour lures (DC). DCs differed from Ts in the pattern of ups and downs of pitch. With this design, we assessed subjects’ discrimination of detailed changes in pitch intervals (T/SC discrimination) as well as their discrimination of contour changes (T/DC). We used both artificial and “real” melodies. Artificial melodies differed in conformity to a musical key, being tonal or atonal. After empty delays, T/DC discrimination was superior to T/SC discrimination. Surprisingly, after filled delays, T/SC discrimination was superior to T/DC. When only filled delays were tested, T/SC discrimination did not decline over the longest delays. T/DC performance declined more than did T/SC performance across both empty and filled delays. Tonality was an important factor only for T/SC discrimination after filled delays. T/DC performance was better with rhythmically intact folk melodies than with artificial isochronous melodies. Although T/SC performance improved over filled delays, it did not overtake T/DC performance. These results suggest that (1) contour and pitch-interval information make different contributions to recognition, with contour dominating performance after brief empty delays and pitch intervals dominating after longer filled delays; (2) a coherent tonality facilitates the encoding of pitch-interval patterns of melodies; and (3) the rich melodic—rhythmic contours of real melodies facilitate T/DC discrimination. These results are discussed in terms of automatic and controlled processing of melodic information.     

Color-based inhibition of return

The inhibition of return of visual attention based on stimulus color was examined in three experiments. In the first experiment, a discrete trial paradigm showed that subjects were slower to detect a color patch if the color matched that of a patch presented earlier in the same location. Experiment 2 showed that the inhibition only occurs if a neutral, nontarget distractor color is presented between presentation of the initial color cue and the subsequent target patch—explaining the previous failures to detect the phenomenon. Experiment 3 extended the results to a different combination of colors. Taken together, the results have important implications for the processing of stimulus attributes such as spatial location and color, and for the conditions necessary for producing inhibition of return.     

African American men's Gender Role Conflict: The significance of racial identity

This study examined the relationships between racial identity attitudes and gender role conflict in a sample of 95 African American men ages 23–80 years old. Participants completed the 1981 Black Racial Identity Attitude Scale by Parham and Helms and the 1986 Gender Role Conflict Scale by O'Neil, Helms, Gable, David, and Wrightsman. Results indicated that racial identity attitudes were differentially related to patterns of gender role conflict when racial identity is externally defined. However, an internally defined racial identity had no relationship to gender role conflict. Results are discussed in terms of the significance of racial identity for understanding African American men's conflict associated with traditional male gender role standards and expectations.     

The gap effect for eye and hand movements

A temporal gap between fixation point offset and stimulus onset typically yields shorter saccadic latencies to the stimulus than if the fixation stimulus remained on. Several researchers have explored the extent to which this gap also reduces latencies of other responses but have failed to find a gap effect isolated from general warning effects. Experiment 1, however, showed a robust gap effect for aimed hand movements (which required determination of a precise spatial location), regardless of whether the hand moved alone or was accompanied by a saccadic eye movement. Experiment 2 replicated this aimed hand gap effect and also showed a smaller effect for choice manual keypress responses (which required determination of the direction of response only). Experiment 3 showed no gap effect for simple manual keypress responses (which required no spatial determination). The results are consistent with an interpretation of the gap effect in terms of facilitation of spatially oriented responses.     

Tokens for stuttering

Four young stutterers were observed during 10 weekly sessions. Each session was divided into pretreatment, treatment, and posttreatment segments. Redeemable tokens were administered contingent upon stuttering behaviors in the treatment segment of the Experimental condition. In a Parallel Control condition, no tokens were administered during the entire session. The differences between the pretreatment and treatment segments were compared for the two conditions. Three subjects had dramatically fewer stuttering behaviors when tokens were being administered, while the fourth had more stuttering under the same condition. The subject whose stuttering increased had a history of therapy in which voluntary, “faked” stuttering had been called for, and the behaviors that increased were judged to be of this type. The decreases were interpreted as suggesting that the contingent tokens acted to countercondition the aversiveness of the stuttering experience, which reduced the anticipation of stuttering and hence the stuttering itself. The increase was felt to be simple reinforcement. The counterconditioning interpretation was borne out in two clinical applications in which money was presented contingent on stuttering behaviors judged to be aversive to the stutterer, and in which dramatically sudden, but long-lasting, improvement was seen.     

Promoting Energy Conservation in Master-Metered Apartments through Group Financial Incentives1

An energy conservation contest among four groups of apartments (44 to 70 units each) in a University of Colorado family housing complex was conducted February-April, 1977. The winning group in each of six 2-week contests won $80 to use however it determined. The program produced a drop of about 10% in use of natural gas during the first contest; energy savings were smaller but still statistically significant throughout the first 8 weeks. Over a 12-week period, savings averaged 6.6%. Some changes in energy-using behaviors were reported by residents surveyed at the contest's end; however, knowledge of contest results by residents was minimal. The results are compared to those of other contest and rebate programs, the practical problems of costs exceeding savings and inaccurate estimates of energy savings are discussed, and implications for future research are suggested.     

Development of clinical tests of vision: Initial data on two hyperacuity paradigms

Many basic psychophysical functions offer promise as clinical tests of vision. Here, we discuss problems that one encounters in the clinical setting, how one identifies a psychophysical test for potential clinical development, and an orderly approach to development of suitable test paradigms. Parameters are selected which are relatively insensitive to variables encountered in the field (clinic) in a normal population, but which are sensitive to changes in the response system being studied. Initial data on two hyperacuity tests are presented. These tests are adaptations of hyperacuity paradigms (Westheimer, 1979) to a clinical environment. This particular test set offers promise because it exhibits a unique threshold which is dependent upon neural data processing and is relatively independent of retinal image degradation.     

A simple technique for lateralizing visual input that allows prolonged viewing

A simplified technique is described for obtaining lateralization of visual input with prolonged viewing. This technique is based on the presence of constant normal lateral limits for horizontal rotation of the eyes with reference to the head. With head movement prevented by use of a standard bite bar, and the eyes rotated to the left and held at their lateral limit, the temporal half of the visual field of the left eye may be used for lateralized input to the right hemisphere or vice versa for input to the left hemisphere. Any form of visual stimuli or visually monitored task can be used if confined within one of the extreme temporal hemifields. In comparison to previous methods, this technique is technically simple, inexpensive, without significant risk or discomfort to the subject, readily applicable to normal and various brain-lesioned subjects, and permits prolonged in-depth viewing. An alternative version of this technique uses a stabilized spectacle frame fitted with adjustable central occluders set to allow vision through only one or both of the extreme temporal hemifields.