Experimental analysis of individual differences and personality

In psychological studies individual differences that result in variability in data and thus mask the effects under investigation have been reduced or eliminated in two ways: (1) through the use of large numbers of subjects and statistical manipulations, or (2) through extensive and controlled studies of individual subjects. The latter, behavior-analytic, method is scientifically better because it permits identification of the variables that result in individual differences. This paper advocates the direct study of individual differences and personality rather than indirect study through experimental control procedures. Some data are presented showing that individual differences in response patterns have orderly characteristics. Extension of the experimental analysis of behavior to the study of individual differences and personality is likely to be important both scientifically and for the future growth of behavior analysis.     

A yoked-chamber comparison of concurrent and multiple schedules

Pigeons were exposed to alternative pairs of variable-interval schedules correlated with red and green lights on one key (the food key). In one experimental chamber, responses on a white key (the changeover key) changed the color of the food key and initiated a 2-sec changeover delay. Pigeons in a second chamber obtained food by pecking on a colored key whenever the pigeons in the first (concurrent) chamber had obtained food for a peck on that key color. There was no changeover key in the second (multiple) chamber: changeover responses in the first chamber alternated the schedules and colors in both chambers. The pigeons in both chambers emitted the same proportion of responses on each of the variable-interval schedules, and mastered discrimination reversals at the same rate. The pigeons differed only in their absolute response rates, which were greater under the concurrent schedules. In a second experiment, changes in key color occurred automatically, with different proportions of time allocated to the two variable-interval schedules. Matching of relative response frequency to relative reinforcement frequency was affected by the relative amounts of time in each component, by rate of changeovers, and by manipulations of the variable-interval scheduling.     

关于作为自在目的的人的概念

“那末,我说,人以及一般说来每个有理性者都是作为目的存在着,而绝不能仅仅被当作手段。”这是康德的一个足以自豪的诊断。如果康德没有从这个情绪上有利的地位倒退到用一种非常令人不满的推论去代替证明,那末我们由于对这个论断的崇高意义怀有某种模糊的感情,可能会倾向于对它表示同情。康德写道:“人以及一切有理性者是自在目的这个原理,不是靠我的观察或者经验     

华严宗思想略論

一华严宗以闡揚《华严經》而得名。《华严經》譯于东晋义熙年中(約五世纪初年),当时由佛陀跋陀罗譯出60卷本。早在80卷本之前东汉末年三国以来已先后譯出过《华严经》的有关部分佛教經典。60卷本譯出后,曾有許多僧人講述傳播《华严經》,但沒有华严宗。《华严經》是后期印度佛教中“有宗”这一派的重要經典之一。佛教各种大部头的經典都是先有短篇的宗教故事或长詩(偈頌),經过佛教徒多年的講授和补充最后才編成为一部大書的?痘辖洝肪褪且徊孔芗啤Ｔ凇痘暇分熬陀性S多短篇,或卷数较少的零星譯本。     

A review of patient outcomes in pharmacological studies from the psychiatric literature, 1966–1993

A literature search was conducted on studies of new drugs used with patients with schizophrenia reported by U.S. and non-U.S. researchers from 1966–1993, yielding 41 U.S., and a total of 24 other non-U.S. studies, among them 11 British studies. Results of the U.S. and non-U.S. studies were pooled separately and compared. Among several comparable conditions discussed, the lack of any data on suicides in the U.S. studies was observed. For a second statistical analysis of suicide rates ‘person-years’ were calculated to adjust for differing washout durations. The results obtained include findings that the percentage of patients relapsing in U.S. studies was slightly lower (37.9%) than in non-U.S. studies (46%); the percentage of patients dropping out in U.S. studies (10.5%) was higher than in non-U.S. studies (7.6%); known location of dropout patients in U.S. studies was 1.7%, compared to 2.6% in non-U.S. studies. The most interesting finding was that no suicides were reported in U.S. studies, compared to 0.6% of patients reported in British studies. Some U.S. studies used ‘challenge doses’, such as amphetamines or L-dopa; no non-U.S. studies reported their use. Compared to U.S. studies, those by non-U.S., and particularly British, researchers appeared to report adverse events in their studies. ‘Challenge’ drugs were not used; suicides were reported. It is estimated that the probability that no patients suicided who participated in the U.S. is small—one in 500.