Range estimates of distant visual stimuli

Os made magnitude estimations of the range of visual targets located at physical distances from a few hundred yards or less to more than 5 miles. The targets were at different elevations in different experiments so that O’s gaze varied from 0 to 90 deg. The targets were presented against the empty sky or against water. The Os were stationary in most experiments, but were in motion in one. Results show that the psychophysical functions are power functions whose exponents range from ca. 1.25 to 0.8, depending on the angle of the target above the horizontal. Background texture or O motion had no effect.     

The visual acuity of the pigeon for distant targets

The acuity of six pigeons was measured in an apparatus that required the birds to make visual discriminations at a distance of 28.75 in. (73 cm) from the stimulus targets. The stimuli were black and white gratings of varying stripe width. A forced choice procedure was used, and both the Method of Constant Stimuli and a descending series technique determined the order of stimulus presentation. Thresholds, obtained by interpolating at the 25% error point on the psychometric functions, ranged from 1.16 to 4.0 min of arc. Thresholds measured in the same apparatus for two human observers were 0.79 and 0.82 min of arc. The descending series design produced lower per cent error rates at the widest stripe value, but otherwise there appeared to be no difference between psychophysical methods. Position preferences occurred in most of the birds; differential per cent error functions and differential latency functions to the two keys illustrate these. Retinal histology revealed shallow, centrally located foveae in the three pigeon breeds used.     

A comparison of two methods of measuring conditioned taste aversions

Two methods of measuring conditioned taste aversions were compared. Following adaptation to a daily 10-min water drinking schedule, rats were made ill with an injection of cyclophosphamide after presentation of a novel-tasting fluid. Three days after this treatment, Ss were tested by (1) measuring the amount of the novel fluid consumed on the continuing 10-min access schedule or (2) measuring their preference between plain water and the novel fluid. When the drinking behavior of the conditioned animals was compared with that of appropriate controls, the preference method proved to be the more sensitive.     

Effects of receptive language training on receptive and expressive language development

The effects of a six-month training program in receptive language on receptive and expressive language development were investigated. Developmentally retarded preschoolers were pretested and posttested on one standardized test of receptive language and two tests of expressive language. Both the training and control groups participated in a preschool program. In addition, the training group received a two-sequence training program: (1) reinforcement for matching responses to modeling cues and accompanying verbal requests, and (2) reinforcement for appropriate responses to verbal requests alone. The training group demonstrated a significant increase in appropriate responses to verbal request over base-rate performance after the training and also demonstrated a significantly improved posttest performance on one test of expressive language as compared to the control group.The authors wish to thank Mrs. Helen Huggins and the staff of the Aid to Retarded Children's Preschool Training Center, San Francisco, California, for their assistance in this study. A modified version of this paper was presented at the Gatlinburg Conference on Mental Retardation, March, 1974, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.     

Effects of chlorpromazine on appetitive and aversive components of a multiple schedule

A multiple schedule having both an appetitive and an avoidance component was maintained in two dogs to create a complex behavioral base line for observing the effects of chlorpromazine. Both soluble and “Spansule” chlorpromazine generated similar functions relating drug dose to measures of behavioral output. Although the dose ranges and the drugging procedures differed markedly for the different preparations of CPZ, the functions generated were comparable. There was no evidence that chlorpromazine had a differential depressing effect as a function of type of reinforcement. At low doses, rates of responding on the food-reinforced components increased slightly, whereas rates on the avoidance components remained relatively unchanged. At higher doses, both components showed an approximately equal depression of responding. These results are discussed with reference to some of the logical and experimental difficulties inherent in making comparisons across components of a multiple schedule and across schedules in general.     

Examination of efficacious,efficient, and socially valid error‐correction procedures to teach sight words and prepositions to children with autism spectrum disorder

Prior research shows that learners have idiosyncratic responses to error‐correction procedures during instruction. Thus, assessments that identify error‐correction strategies to include in instruction can aid practitioners in selecting individualized, efficacious, and efficient interventions. The current investigation conducted an assessment to compare 5 error‐correction procedures that have been evaluated in the extant literature and are common in instructional practice for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Results showed that the assessment identified efficacious and efficient error‐correction procedures for all participants, and 1 procedure was efficient for 4 of the 5 participants. To examine the social validity of error‐correction procedures, participants selected among efficacious and efficient interventions in a concurrent‐chains assessment. We discuss the results in relation to prior research on error‐correction procedures and current instructional practices for learners with ASD.     

Continuous Response Monitoring of Relative Time-to-Contact Judgments: Does Effective Information Change During an Approach Event?

In many previous studies of time-to-contact (TTC) judgments of approaching objects, a response was measured after observers viewed the entire event and was used to infer the informational basis for the judgment. Such measures primarily reflect the information used at the end of the approach event and may not reveal whether observers used different information at different times during the event. Evidence indicates that observers use multiple information sources and that the effectiveness of information varies with distance. We introduce a method in which observers continuously report which of 2 approaching objects would reach them first, throughout the approach. We identified the occurrence and time of response reversals. Most observers changed their relative TTC judgments during the event. The pattern of responses indicated that observers did not use tau early during the approach when objects were far and did not use optical size later when the objects were closer. Most observers relied on either optical size or optical expansion rate early during the approach and expansion rate later during the event, although there were individual differences. A single relative TTC judgment measured after observers view an approach event may not reflect judgments or their informational basis throughout the entire event.     

Do Children’s Attributions Mediate the Link Between Parental Conditional Regard and Child Depression and Emotion?

Both parental conditional regard for academics and depressogenic attributions are related to detrimental psychological outcomes for children. Here we examine associations among parental conditional negative regard, child depressogenic attributions, child depressive symptoms, and emotion reactivity in children between the ages of 8 and 12, as well as whether children’s self-reported and behavioral attributions for negative events mediate associations between parental conditional negative regard for academics with children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity. In Study 1 (N?=?108, M _age ?=?9.73, 50 male), children’s self-reported attributions for hypothetical events mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child depressive symptoms. In Study 2 (N?=?104, M _age ?=?10.28, 54 male), children attempted an impossible puzzle task while their skin conductance level was monitored, after which they completed an interview that was coded for spontaneous attributions for failure. Children’s spontaneous attributions mediated the link between parental conditional negative regard and child emotion reactivity, but not depressive symptoms. Findings suggest that children’s attributions may be a mechanism through which parental conditional negative regard is related to children’s depressive symptoms and emotion reactivity during a performance challenge. These results have implications for developmental models of depression risk and potential areas for clinical interventions with both children and their parents.