MACHINES, BRAINS, AND PERSONS

Abstract. This paper explores the suggestion that our conscious experience is embodied in, rather than interactive with, our brain activity, and that the distinctive brain correlate of conscious experience lies at the level of global functional organization. To speak of either brains or computers as thinking is categorically inept, but whether stochastic mechanisms using internal experimentation rather than rule-following to determine behavior could embody conscious agency is argued to be an open question, even in light of the Christian doctrine of man. Mechanistic brain science does nothing to discredit Christian experience in dialogue with God or the Christian hope of eternal life.     

Acquisition-test interactions between

The effects of changes in context on recognition memory were investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1 target items were embedded in congruous or incongruous sentence frames and then tested in the original, new congruous, or new incongruous contexts. Experiment 2 included a third encoding condition; targets were also embedded in abstract definitional sentences. Both experiments revealed a reliable crossover interaction between the initial encoding condition and the mode of the changed context. Congruous items were recognized better in new congruous contexts, whereas incongruous items were recognized better in new incongruous contexts. Recognition of definitional items was equally impaired by both context changes. The results suggest the importance of the symmetry between acquisition and test encoding dimensions. These experiments also point out the need to distinguish between different ways in which the concept “integration” is used in current research.     

Semantic facilitation and lexical access during sentence processing

An experiment was conducted testing predictions derived from context-dependent and context-independent models of lexical access. Four types of unambiguous test sentences were constructed. The direct object of each test sentence was preceded by a verb that was either semantically related or unrelated to it, and by an adjective that was semantically related or unrelated. Context-dependent models predict that the speed with which the object noun is retrieved from the mental lexicon will be faster when the verb and/or the adjective is semantically related; context-independent models predict no such facilitation. Forty-four subjects each heard 32 test sentences and were asked to monitor within the sentence for a word-initial target phoneme. The target phoneme occurred on the word following the object noun. Reaction times to detect the targets were obtained. According to context-dependent models, these times should be shorter when related words precede the object noun, and that is what was found. It was also observed that the facilitation effects due to the related verbs and adjectives were additive. Implications of these results were discussed.     

Incentives and Seat Belts: Changing a Resistant Behavior Through Extrinsic Motivation

Because previously-attempted methods of increasing automobile seat belt usage have proven to be either ineffective or unworkable, a series of field experiments was carried out to test a technique of behavior influence utilizing a modest, positive incentive. In three separate studies, seat belt use of 4,745 drivers was observed as they drove out of a parking lot, after receiving one of several safety reminder leaflets. Some versions of the leaflet offered a gift certificate to a certain proportion of drivers who wore seat belts; other versions offered no incentive. The results showed that an incentive, regardless of the probability of payoff, raised belt use from about 15% to nearly 40%. Implications for future research and applications are discussed.     

TRAINING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN TO RECRUIT NATURAL COMMUNITIES OF REINFORCEMENT1

Four normal and four deviant children aged four-to-six years were taught to judge the quality of their academic work in a preschool classroom, and to prompt or cue their teachers to comment about the quality of that work. When these skills did not generalize spontaneously to other teachers in concurrent natural situations, generalized responding was taught by the experimenter, in multiple-baseline design across subjects. This generalization programming enabled the children to contact a sometimes dormant, but readily available natural community of teacher praise and reinforcement, i.e., to recruit an increase in cued praise and schedules of praise for their good work. These behaviors may be important to young children who find themselves bereft of attention in classrooms.     

Validity of psychologists' identification of EMR students in the perspective of the California decertification experience

The Diana (Diana v. State Board of Education, Note 1) and the Larry P. (Larry P. v. Riles, Note 2) litigations led to decertification of thousands of California EMR students and their return to the regular program. Allegations, including those of biased testing, went largely uncontested in order that change in special education could result from court mandate, but the allegations left the psychologists in a libeled state. A study of cumulative records and psychologists files in 12 representative districts permitted a comparison of the EMR placement of those later decertified (D) with matched nondecertified (EMR). Other than a small mean difference in IQ at placement, nothing was found to support various allegations. Records showed no systematic differences betweeen D and EMR groups in pre-EMR reasons for referral nor in teacher marks, discnfirming beliefs in referral of higher functioning students for deportment rather than for academic failure. Districts permitted a mean of at least two years in regular placement before assessment, attesting to class failure rather than IQ as the initial and necessary basis for EMR identification (no D-EMR difference in this either). The data permit a conclusion that the work of the school psychologists in the EMR placement was professionally competent, given the guidelines in effect at the time.