Time reallocation in a multiresponse environment: Effects of restricting response classes

Four adult male rats were each placed for three hours daily into an apparatus that provided individual compartments for six separate location-defined responses. The available responses consisted of: (1) the opportunity to turn off room lighting, producing darkness; (2) the opportunity to view a female rat; (3) the opportunity to turn off white noise; (4) the opportunity to drink; (5) the opportunity to eat; and (6) "other," representing time in the hallway between compartments. Each subject underwent a series of conditions characterized as an A-B-A-C-A design. Manipulations consisted of the removal of a low-probability response (darkness) and of a high-probability response (escape from noise) in a counter-balanced manner across subjects. The dependent measure for all subjects was the percentage of total session time spent in each compartment. Four predictive rules concerning the redistribution of behavior after response restriction were tested, including the constant-ratio rule, equal time redistribution, the most probable alternative, and the sequential-dependency rule. The results indicate no support for any of the four predictive rules and suggest that empirical assessment of restriction effects is necessary in reinforcement studies involving temporally extended responses.     

METAANALYSES OF VALIDITY STUDIES PUBLISHED BETWEEN 1964 AND 1982 AND THE INVESTIGATION OF STUDY CHARACTERISTICS

Review and metaanalyses of published validation studies for the years 1964-1982 of Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology were undertaken to examine the effect of (1) research design; (2) criterion used; (3) type of selection instrument used; (4) occupational group studies; and (5) predictor-criterion combination on the level of observed validity coefficients. Results indicate that concurrent validation designs produce validity coefficients roughly equivalent to those obtained in predictive validation designs and that both of these designs produce higher validity coefficients than does a predictive design which includes use of the selection instrument. Of the criteria examined, performance rating criteria generally produced lower validity coefficients than did the use of other more "objective" criteria. In comparing the validities of various types of predictors, it was found cognitive ability tests were not superior to other predictors such as assessment centers, work samples, and supervisory/peer evaluations as has been found in previous metaanalytic work. Personality measures were clearly less valid. Compared to previous validity generalization work, much unexplained variance in validity coefficients remained after corrections for differences in sample size. Finally, the studies reviewed were deficient for our purposes with respect to the data reported. Selection ratios, standard deviations, reliabilities, predictor and criterion intercorrelations were rarely and inconsistently reported. There are also many predictor-criterion relationships for which very few validation efforts have been undertaken.     

Sensory modalities in depth perception by golden hamsters

Golden hamsters are able to detect differences in the height of a platform from which they jump, as measured by their increasing latencies prior to jumping from increased elevations. This ability is very effective when optical information is available, but it is also present when hamsters jump in total darkness. A second experiment shows that, when hamsters are placed on a real physical cliff, they preferentially use tactile information over visual information to guide their choice of the side from which to descend. In a nonvisual setting, tactile stimulation is used in conjunction with other types of cues. Evidence is provided to suggest that these cues are of an acoustical nature.     

Striking EEG profiles from single episodes of glossolalia and transcendental meditation

Transient, focal, epileptic-like electrical changes in the temporal lobe, without convulsions, have been hypothesized to be primary correlates of religious experiences. Given these properties, direct measurement of these phenomena within the laboratory should be rare. However, two illustrated instances have been recorded. The first case involved the occurrence of a delta-wave-dominant electrical seizure for about 10 sec. from the temporal lobe only of a Transcendental Meditation teacher during a peak experience within a routine TM episode. The second case involved the occurrence of spikes within the temporal lobe only during protracted intermittent episodes of glossolalia by a member of a pentecostal sect . Neither subject had any psychiatric history. These observations are commensurate with the hypothesis that religious experiences are natural correlates of temporal lobe transients that can be detected by routine EEG measures.     

Obesity as a variable affecting performance on the rod and frame test

Apparent similarities between S. Schachter's stimulus binding construct and H. A. Witkin's construct of psychological differentiation, specifically field dependence, have been noted in the literature. The present study examined field dependence on the rod-and-frame test among 20 obese and 42 average-weight subjects. Obese subjects were more field-dependent than were average-weight subjects. Women were slightly more field-dependent than were men. The author concluded that obese persons are more field-dependent and speculated that the constructs may be describing similar phenomena.     

Discrimination of computer-synthesized speech

The effects of learning on the discrimination of computer-synthesized speech was assessed by presenting 100 computer-produced monosyllabic words to 2 groups of 15 adult subjects. One group's errors were corrected while the other group's errors were uncorrected. A comparison of errors on the first 50 vs the second 50 presentations showed significant improvement for corrected group only. It was concluded that the discrimination of computer-synthesized monosyllables can be improved with correction of errors but is still about 14% poorer than the discrimination of human speech.