Automated Portable Test (APT) System: Overview and prospects

The Automated Portable Test (APT) System is a notebook-sized, computer-based, human-performance and subjective-status assessment system. It is now being used in a wide range of environmental studies (e.g., simulator aftereffects, flight tests, drug effects, and hypoxia). Three questionnaires and 15 performance tests have been implemented, and the adaptation of 30 more tests is underway or is planned. The APT System is easily transportable, is inexpensive, and has the breadth of expansion options required for field and laboratory applications. The APT System is a powerful and expandable tool for human assessment in remote and unusual environments.     

Dual-Element Effects in Pigeons’ Matching-to-Sample with Temporal and Visual Stimuli

The present study examined whether the dual-element effect occurs when temporal and visual stimuli appear simultaneously in a zero-delayed, symbolic matching-to-sample task. Two groups of pigeons were first exposed to either a red or green sample stimulus, for either 30 s or 5 s. The sample was followed by the presentation of yellow and blue comparisons. For pigeons in one group, the duration of the sample was the relevant cue. Responses to the yellow comparison were reinforced if the sample was 30 s, and responses to the blue comparison were reinforced if the sample was 5 s. For the other group, sample duration was irrelevant. Responses to the yellow comparison were reinforced if the sample had been green and responses to the blue comparison were reinforced if the sample had been red. Both groups then learned a second matching task in which the sample and comparison stimuli were vertical and horizontal lines. Finally, matching performance was examined when the lines appeared together with the temporal or color elements. The results showed that the line matching task was acquired more slowly for pigeons that were first trained to attend to duration. More importantly, matching was reduced when the temporal and line elements appeared simultaneously, and the effects were similar to those obtained when visual elements are combined.

     

Dating infidelity: behaviors, reasons and consequences

Older adolescents were surveyed concerning three issues: behaviors which constitute infidelity in a dating relationship, reasons for a dating partner to be unfaithful, and reactions to a dating partner's infidelity. Responses from 247 participants indicated more similarities than differences between dating infidelity and extramarital affairs with regard to behaviors, causes, and consequences. Results are discussed in terms of similarities between dating and marital infidelity, and the rationale for professionals to interact with adolescents concerning the potential long-term consequences of dating infidelity.     

Perceptions of conventional war: late adolescents' views

Late adolescents' views concerning conventional war were assessed in order to better understand the thinking of today's youth and to compare their views with those of early adolescents previously reported in the literature. Three hundred ninety-nine college undergraduates from two universities were surveyed regarding conventional warfare in general and United States military involvement in Latin America specifically. Results suggest that attitudes toward war were related to sex, socioeconomic status, and political affiliation. Although two-thirds of the respondents believed wars were sometimes needed, there was little support for United States military involvement in Latin America and much skepticism of President Reagan's honesty on the issue. Overall, late adolescents' views were less positive and less extreme than were those of early adolescents.     

An interactional model of achievement motivation and fear of success

Over the past 20 years, research on Fear of Success (FOS) has generated many inconsistent and contradictory results. The thesis of this article is that misinterpretations of Horner's (Sex Differences in Achievement Motivation and Performance in Competitive and Non-Competitive Situations, unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan, 1968) theory are responsible for such findings. Therefore, Horner's theory regarding the motivational dynamics underlying the performance of males and females is reviewed and contrasted with later interpretations. Based on Horner's formulations, a model of FOS and achievement motivation is presented that both accommodates previous research and provides a framework for guiding future research. Empirical findings are presented that support the utility of this model.The author would like to thank JoAnne DiPlacido and Wendy Keller for serving as experimenters; Sheree Kohak, Dan Ozer, Henry Weinberg, Joseph Williams, and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.     

Adolescents' views of intimacy: distinguishing intimate from nonintimate relationships

Two hundred seventy-seven late adolescents were questioned regarding what they believed differentiated an intimate from a nonintimate relationship. Adolescents' responses supported Erickson's (1963) view of intimacy as being characterized by openness, sharing, and trust, with only minimal differences occurring between the sexes, and relative to current dating/relationship status. Their expressed views varied from Erickson's, however, as they included physical/sexual interaction as a critical component. An additional difference was the relatively few students who included self-abandonment and commitment as necessary elements of an intimate relationship. Explanations for these differences are presented.     

Development of an automated performance test system for environmental and behavioral toxicology studies

In developing a menu of computerized performance tests for repeated-measures applications the metric properties of selected tests have been examined. Factors of chief concern have been stability and reliability, as well as the practical issue of the length of time it takes to achieve high levels of both. In this study, these factors, as well as predictive validity, are examined. 25 subjects were tested repeatedly (10 sessions) with 11 tests previously identified as "good" candidates for repeated-measures research in paper-and-pencil (marker test) versions. The 11 tests were administered concurrently in their traditional paper-and-pencil modes and newly implemented microcomputer-based versions, along with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). Nine of the 11 microcomputer-based tests achieved stability. Reliabilities were generally high, with r greater than or equal to .77 for 3 min. of testing. Cross-correlations of microbased tests with traditional paper-and-pencil versions suggest equivalency between the test constructs in the different media. Correlations between six of the microbased subtests and the WAIS identified common variance, and these might comprise an efficient short (6 min.) battery of tests.     

The blaze of her splendors: Suggestions about revitalizing fallacy theory

Criticisms of fallacy theory have been lodged from many different directions. In this paper, I consider the classic criticism of incompleteness by DeMorgan, Finocchiaro's claim that fallacies probably exist only in the mind of the interpreter, McPeck's claim that fallacies are at best context-dependent and Paul's complaints about the teaching of fallacies. I seek not merely to defend fallacy theory against unfair criticisms but also to learn from the criticisms what can be done in order to make fallacy theory a viable theory of criticism. I argue that this will involve several changes: rethinking of the nature of fallacy; addressing some theoretical issues; and presenting fallacy theory in a more rigorous fashion. The paper concludes with reflections on how Quine's ontological advice about the resolution of ontological disputes might be applied to the issue of whether or not there are fallacies.