Free-operant comparisons of wild and domestic Norway rats.

Wild and domestic rats (Rattus norvegicus) were compared on nondifferential appetitive variable interval responding, discrimination, and discrimination reversal procedures. The effects of strain, sex, deprivation, preexperimental handling, and sessions on response rate were examined. Performances during the 60 days of variable interval training showed prolonged increases over that period for all strain-sex groupings, with domestic subjects responding at higher rates than wild. Males also tended to respond at higher rates than females. During the discrimination procedure wild subjects showed more resistance to extinction than did the domestic subjects, although these differences generally diminished after the 30 days of training. During the discrimination reversal procedure domestic subjects reversed their responding pattern more readily than did the wild subjects, and domestic females reached criterion significantly sooner than domestic males. The effects of deprivation and handling were not significant during the experimental procedures.     

Looking as a Measure of Attraction1

Byrne's reinforcement theory of attraction is almost exclusively based upon studies that use the Interpersonal Judgment Scale (IJS) as their measure of attraction. The present study used Byrne's general experimental procedure but employed an unobtrusive “looking” measure of attraction as well as the more familiar IJS measure. The degree of attitude similarity between women subjects and a female stranger was not significantly related to the IJS measure of attraction but was significantly related to the proportion of looking time measure (p < .01). This was true for both subjects who verbalized and did not verbalize awareness of the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent measures of the study.     

EMPLOYMENT SERVICES FOR YOUTH

Youth unemployment has remained a social and economic problem for over a quarter of a century. Experience in the U.S. Employment Service and in schools and other agencies in the community indicates that special advocates, i.e., youth employment specialists, are needed to work with youth and employers if young people are to get their full share of the job opportunities and are to achieve maximum utilization of their talents as new entrants into the labor market.     

A demonstration of auto-shaping with monkeys

The Brown-Jenkins auto-shaping procedure for pigeons was found applicable to monkeys. Repeated pairings of lighted keys with reinforcement generated key-pressing behavior. The animals rapidly learned a simultaneous light-dark discrimination. The topographies of key-pressing and magazine behavior differed; the food tray was not illuminated.