A computer-based measure of resultant achievement motivation

Three experiments were conducted to develop a computer-based measure of individual differences in resultant achievement motivation (RAM) on the basis of level-of-aspiration, achievement motivation, and dynamics-of-action theories. In Experiment 1, the number of atypical shifts and greater responsiveness to incentives on 21 trials with choices among easy, intermediate, and difficult levels of an achievement-oriented game were positively correlated and were found to differentiate the 62 subjects (31 men, 31 women) on the amount of time they spent at a nonachievement task (watching a color design) 1 week later. In Experiment 2, test-retest reliability was established with the use of 67 subjects (15 men, 52 women). Point and no-point trials were offered in blocks, with point trials first for half the subjects and no-point trials first for the other half. Reliability was higher for the atypical-shift measure than for the incentive-responsiveness measure and was higher when points were offered first. In Experiment 3, computer anxiety was manipulated by creating a simulated computer breakdown in the experimental condition. Fifty-nine subjects (13 men, 46 women) were randomly assigned to the experimental condition or to one of two control conditions (an interruption condition and a no-interruption condition). Subjects with low RAM, as demonstrated by a low number of typical shifts, took longer to choose the achievement-oriented task, as predicted by the dynamics-of-action theory. The difference was evident in all conditions and most striking in the computer-breakdown condition. A change of focus from atypical to typical shifts is discussed.     

Stimulus class membership established via stimulus-reinforcer relations

In an arbitrary matching-to-sample procedure, two mentally retarded subjects learned conditional discriminations with two sets of stimuli. Each set included a spoken name (N1 or N2), an object (O1 or O2), and a printed symbol (S1 or S2). One subject selected conditionally (a) O1 upon N1, and O2 upon N2, and (b) S1 upon O1, and S2 upon O2. The other subject selected conditionally (a) S1 upon N1, and S2 upon N2, and (b) O1 upon S1, and O2 upon S2. For both subjects, selections of O1 and S1 produced one type of food, F1; selections of O2 and S2 produced a different type of food, F2. Both subjects also learned identity-matching performances, selecting O1, O2, S1, S2, F1, and F2 conditionally upon those stimuli as samples; F1 followed selections of O1, S1, and F1; F2 followed selections of O2, S2, and F2. Matching performances consistent with stimulus class formation involving the names, objects, symbols, and foods were demonstrated on probe trials, even though these performances had not been taught explicitly. Next, new objects, X1 and X2, were presented on identity-matching trials, producing F1 and F2, respectively. Without further training, X1 was selected conditionally upon N1, S1, and O1, and X2 was selected upon N2, S2, and O2. When the contingencies were changed so that selections of X1 and X2 were now followed by F2 and F1, respectively, X2 was selected conditionally upon N1, S1, and O1, and X1 was selected upon N2, S2, and O2. Class membership of X1 and X2 had apparently changed. This study provides evidence that reinforcers may become members of stimulus classes, and that new stimuli may become class members through relations with reinforcers.     

Male liberation

This article on Liberation approaches the subject from the perspective ofmen. Women have taken the lead in trying to throw off the bondage of patriarchy. Men have, for the most part, been reactors to the evolving changes. The author feels that there is a more creative role for men to play, but first, we must become more conscious of the ways in which our privileged position oppresses us. The author documents this dynamic as well as points to some possible directions for men to move in their personal and professional lives. The priority on developing collegiality and inclusiveness in our professional associations gives this subject an important place in our thinking and decisionmaking.This paper was read at a workshop on male liberation at the National A.A.P.C. Convention in San Antonio, April 30,1982.     

Motivations for parenthood among young adult college students

Two hundred and sixty three young adult college students responded to openended questions assessing their specific intentions, motives, and plans for having children. The most commonly stated motives for childbearing reflected a strong interest in establishing an identity and social network. Financial, marital, and emotional stability were identified as important factors influencing the timing of parenthood. Several significant sex differences were found for both motives and the timing of parenthood. These findings are discussed in terms of changing social norms regarding parenthood and changing sex role expectations.Portions of this research were presented at the Eastern Regional Psychological Association Convention in New York, April 1986. This research was funded by a grant from Trenton State College, Committee for Faculty and Institutional Research and Sabbatical Leave.     

Individual differences and measures of aggression in laboratory studies

After inducing hostility toward a confederate by threatening subjects' self-esteem, subjects were then given the opportunity either to deliver shocks (Experiment 1) or to withhold rewards (Experiment 2) from their confederate. Physiological measures were taken prior to the hostility induction, shortly after the induction and, finally, after the opportunity to aggress. Measures of individual differences relating to aggressive behavior were also considered. While the experimental manipulation was the best predictor in the ‘withholding rewards’ condition, measures of dissipation-rumination tendencies and emotional vulnerability were the best predictors in the ‘shock administration’ condition. In both conditions, systolic blood pressure seemed to reflect differences in arousal as a function of the hostility induction procedure, while subjects in the withhold rewards procedure also showed a decrease in systolic pressure after having an opportunity to aggress toward the confederate. It was concluded that not only is the withholding of rewards a more ethically acceptable procedure than shock administration, but it is also more likely to reflect experimental rather than individual difference affects.     

Auditory-visual interaction and the timing of inputs

Summary The objective of this study was to analyze the structural properties of the respective inputs that are conducive to immediate auditory-visual cross-modal bias. The study was designed as an updated and extended replication of one by Thomas (1941). Subjects were presented with either auditory or visual target signals in several positions around the median plane, together with a competing signal, always in the other modality, 15° to the left or to the right of that plane. The task was to indicate whether the target signal came left or right of center. Target and competing signals were delivered according to three temporal configurations: continuously on for 4 s, or periodically interrupted at either a fast or a slow tempo, and all combinations of the three configurations were used. Judgements of the location of the auditory target signal were attracted toward the visual competing signal in all conditions but two, those with a periodic target signal and a continuous competing one. Conditions with the two signals in the same configuration yielded larger biases than those combining different configurations, confirming that synchronization of discordant inputs is a major condition of cross-modal interactions. The occurrence of significant bias in nonsynchronous conditions, on the other hand, suggests that another factor might be the attraction of localization responses by competing signals with salient temporal configurations, and that interruption might be one important source of saliency. Auditory biases of visual localization were, as usual, smaller than visual biases, but nevertheless reached significance in a majority of conditions, and were also influenced by timing in much the same way as the latter.This work was supported in part by the Belgian Fonds de la Recherche Fondamentale Collective (FRFC) under convention 2.4505.80. The first author is Chercheur qualifié of the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS). The results have already been reported at the Symposium on Perception, Action and Development, Brussels, January 1984     

PRIMARY ENCOPRESIS: EVALUATION AND TREATMENT

Cathartic and behavioral treatment procedures for eliminating diurnal and nocturnal primary encopresis were investigated using a multiple-baseline design across four children. The dependent and independent variables measured were appropriate bowel movements, soiling accidents, independent toiletings, and cathartic use. Over 177 reliability observations (home visits) were conducted. For two of the children, treatment with cathartics and child-time remedied their soiling accidents and increased their independent toiletings in 8 to 11 weeks. While the cathartics and child-time increased the rate of appropriate bowel movements, they did not eliminate the soiling accidents with the other two children. Independent toiletings for these two children were achieved after 32 to 39 weeks of treatment when punishment procedures (positive practice, time-out, and hourly toilet sits) were incorporated and the suppositories were faded systematically.     

Idiothetic inquiry and the toil of Sisyphus

In response to the article by Lamiell and Trierweiler (this issue), we examine the stated epistemological origins of idiothetic proposals for theory and research in personality We argue that the justification for those proposals as advanced by Lamiell and his colleagues is wholely insufficient in view of prior research on the consistency of behavior This assertion together with our identification of problems in scaling personality and personality consistencies lead us to conclude that the pursuit of the idiothetic method is both unwarranted and ineffectual