Developmental patterns in priming and familiarity in explicit recollection

Developmental trajectories of two classes of human memory, implicit and explicit memory, appear to diverge. We examined how developmental differences in perceptual and conceptual priming, two types of implicit memory, coincide with differences between familiarity and recollective responses on explicit memory tests that employ the Remember/Know paradigm ( Tulving, 1985 ). Both types of priming were characterized by developmental invariance in 52 children and adolescents ages 8-19 years. Contrary to Komatsu, Naito, and Fuke (1996) results, few age-group differences in perceptual priming were observed following a levels-of-processing encoding manipulation. In contrast, age group differences were found for "Remember" but not "Know" responses. Neither levels of awareness nor strategies influenced priming. Adult levels of performance appear earlier in development on perceptual and conceptual priming tests compared to explicit memory tests. Similar developmental dissociations exist between explicit and implicit memory performance as between "Remember" and "Know" recollective responses.     

The generality of selective observing

Four rats obtained food pellets by poking a key and 5-s presentations of the discriminative stimuli by pressing a lever. Every 1 or 2 min, the prevailing schedule of reinforcement for key poking alternated between rich (either variable-interval [VI] 30 s or VI 60 s) and lean (either VI 240 s, VI 480 s, or extinction) components. While the key was dark (mixed-schedule stimulus), no exteroceptive stimulus indicated the prevailing schedule. A lever press (i.e., an observing response), however, illuminated the key for 5 s with either a steady light (S+), signaling the rich reinforcement schedule, or a blinking light (S-), signaling the lean reinforcement schedule. One goal was to determine whether rats would engage in selective observing (i.e., a pattern of responding that maintains contact with S+ and decreases contact with S-). Such a pattern was found, in that a 5-s presentation of S+ was followed relatively quickly by another observing response (which likely produced another 5-s period of S+), whereas exposure to S- resulted in extended breaks from observing. Additional conditions demonstrated that the rate of observing remained high when lever presses were effective only when the rich reinforcement schedule was in effect (S+ only condition), but decreased to a low level when lever presses were effective only during the lean reinforcement component (S- only condition) or when lever presses had no effect (in removing the mixed stimulus or presenting the multiple-schedule stimuli). These findings are consistent with relativistic conceptualizations of conditioned reinforcement and extend the generality of selective observing to procedures in which the experimenter controls the duration of stimulus presentations, the schedule components both offer intermittent food reinforcement, and rats serve as subjects.     

Response rate viewed as engagement bouts: resistance to extinction

Rats obtained food pellets by nose poking a lighted key, the illumination of which alternated every 50 s during a session between blinking and steady, signaling either a relatively rich (60 per hour) or relatively lean (15 per hour) rate of reinforcement. During one training condition, all the reinforcers in the presence of the rich-reinforcement signal were response dependent (i.e., a variable-interval schedule); during another condition only 25% were response dependent (i.e., a variable-time schedule operated concurrently with a variable-interval schedule). An extinction session followed each training block. For both kinds of training schedule, and consistent with prior results, response rate was more resistant to extinction in the presence of the rich-reinforcement signal than in the presence of the lean-reinforcement signal. Analysis of interresponse-time distributions from baseline showed that differential resistance to extinction was not related to baseline differences in the rate of initiating response bouts or in the length of bouts. Also, bout-initiation rate (like response rate) was most resistant to extinction in the presence of the rich-reinforcement signal. These results support the proposal of behavioral momentum theory (e.g., Nevin & Grace, 2000) that resistance to extinction in the presence of a discriminative stimulus is determined more by the stimulus-reinforcer (Pavlovian) than by the stimulus-response-reinforcer (operant) contingency.     

Applications of gene targeting technology to mental retardation and developmental disability research

The human and mouse genome projects elucidated the sequence and position map of innumerous genes expressed in the central nervous system (CNS), advancing our ability to manipulate these sequences and create models to investigate regulation of gene expression and function. In this article, we reviewed gene targeting methodologies with emphasis on applications to CNS development and neurodevelopmental disorders.     

Response rate viewed as engagement bouts: effects of relative reinforcement and schedule type.

The rate of a reinforced response is conceptualized as a composite of engagement bouts (visits) and responding during visits. Part I of this paper describes a method for estimating the rate of visit initiations and the average number of responses per visit from log survivor plots: the proportion) of interresponse times (IRTs) longer than some elapsed time (log scale) plotted as a function of elapsed time. In Part 2 the method is applied to IRT distributions from rats that obtained food pellets by nose poking a lighted key under various multiple schedules of reinforcement. As expected, total response rate increased as a function of (a) increasing the rate of reinforcement (i.e., variable-interval [VI] 4 min vs. VI 1 mi), (b) increasing the amount of the reinforcer (one food pellet vs. four pellets), (c) increasing the percentage of reinforcers that were contingent on nose poking (25% vs. 100%), and (d) requiring additional responses after the end of the VI schedule (i.e., adding a tandem variable-ratio [VR] 9 requirement). The first three of these variables (relative reinforcement) increased the visit-initiation rate. The tandem VR, in contrast, increased the number of responses per visit. Thus, variables that have similar effects on total response rate can be differentiated based on their effects on the componemts of response rate.     

The Conjunction Fallacy: A Derived Stimulus Relations Conceptualization and Demonstration Experiment

The Psychological Record - The conjunction fallacy (CF) comes about when the occurrence of two events is rated as more likely than either in isolation. A typical participant in a CF study is...     

The Irrationality of Physicalism

This paper argues, not that physicalism is wrong, but that it is irrational. The paper defines standards of rationality, both metaphysical and epistemological, that physicalism necessarily inherits from science. Then it assesses physicalist efforts to naturalize consciousness in light of these. It concludes that physicalism allows its metaphysics to outrun its epistemology, in defiance of applicable standards, revealing a fundamental incoherence in the doctrine. The paper also briefly reviews other naturalization programs, to claim that physicalism, unlike the sciences, hasn’t proved fruitful.     

Genetic Counseling Supervisors’ Self-Efficacy for Select Clinical Supervision Competencies

Supervision is a primary instructional vehicle for genetic counseling student clinical training. Approximately two-thirds of genetic counselors report teaching and education roles, which include supervisory roles. Recently, Eubanks Higgins and colleagues published the first comprehensive list of empirically-derived genetic counseling supervisor competencies. Studies have yet to evaluate whether supervisors possess these competencies and whether their competencies differ as a function of experience. This study investigated three research questions: (1) What are genetic counselor supervisors’ perceptions of their capabilities (self-efficacy) for a select group of supervisor competencies?, (2) Are there differences in self-efficacy as a function of their supervision experience or their genetic counseling experience, and 3) What training methods do they use and prefer to develop supervision skills? One-hundred thirty-one genetic counselor supervisors completed an anonymous online survey assessing demographics, self-efficacy (self-perceived capability) for 12 goal setting and 16 feedback competencies (Scale: 0–100), competencies that are personally challenging, and supervision training experiences and preferences (open-ended). A MANOVA revealed significant positive effects of supervision experience but not genetic counseling experience on participants’ self-efficacy. Although mean self-efficacy ratings were high (>83.7), participant comments revealed several challenging competencies (e.g., incorporating student’s report of feedback from previous supervisors into goal setting, and providing feedback about student behavior rather than personal traits). Commonly preferred supervision training methods included consultation with colleagues, peer discussion, and workshops/seminars.     

‘The Nowness of Everything’: A mindfulness-based approach to psychotherapy

Current levels of mental distress are of great concern to those of us working in the therapeutic setting. Many people today are discontented and unhappy with their lives. Success fails to bring fulfilment and with alienation from self and others, an inner numbness can become established. When working with troubled individuals or participants of groups, I believe by remaining with a mindfulness-based here-and-now approach, levels of depression, anxiety, narcissistic conceit and acquisitiveness become diminished. At the same time, I feel peace of mind increases when in-the-moment experiences are the focus of attention. It would seem that a mindful approach which involves circumventing client history and concentrating on current feelings and experiences can effectively facilitate psychic change. This paper considers some of the literature of mindfulness, in an attempt to validate my observations and determine if there is a satisfactory evidence base for a mindfulness-based psychotherapeutic approach to the ills of contemporary life.