Differential correlates of irrational belief

One hundred and ten students completed a battery which included Jones' Irrational Belief Test (IBT), and measures of subjective well-being, affect, alienation, personality, goal characteristics, and goat attainment. Correlations and canonical composites showed a general relationship between irrational beliefs and emotional difficulty, but the specific pattern differed for subgroups of IBT scales. Correlations supported the construct validity of IBT scales, but suggested they also reflect motives, conflicts, affects and personality characteristics. Interdependence of these processes was hypothesized and use of subscore composites rather than total IBT scores was suggested.     

Behavior under large values of the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedule

Pigeons pecked a key and rats pressed a lever for food reinforcement under large values of the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedule. Each subject was tested under 10 different schedule values ranging from 1 to 45 min and was exposed to each schedule value at least twice. The mean interresponse time and mean interreinforcement time increased with the schedule value according to power functions. Response-probability functions were computed for schedule values below 20 min and showed an increase in response probability as a function of time since the last response in most cases. Mean responses per reinforcer increased as a function of schedule value for the rats, but decreased as a function of schedule value for the pigeons. The proportion of responses with interresponse times shorter than 1 sec were an increasing function of schedule value for the pigeons, but did not vary as a function of schedule value for the rats.     

The effect of physical restraint on behavior under the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedule

Previous studies have identified and manipulated collateral behavior to assess the effect of collateral behavior on performance under the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) schedule. However, conclusions could not be applied to subjects not observed to engage in collateral behavior. The present study used a technique that prevented the occurrence of the types of collateral behavior typically observed in the pigeon. This technique did not require the identification of collateral behavior in the subjects. The exclusion of the types of collateral behavior typically observed in pigeons resulted in higher response rates and lower reinforcement rates under large DRL values but had no effect at lower DRL values. It was concluded that collateral behavior is necessary for low response rates and high reinforcement rates under large DRL values.     

A systems analysis of a campus community mental health facility: A preliminary investigation

Faced with increasing demand and relatively static resources, community mental health facilities need to evaluate their functions in terms of time, cost, and performance effectiveness. For this study, the technology of systems analysis was applied to the functions of a progressive university counseling center. The systems analysis provided a management and information flow analysis and a time and cost analysis, as well as a performance analysis. This study focused on the preliminary results of the time, cost, and performance analysis.Gratitude is extended to the remainder of the systems analysis team for their assistance in the project, as well as the staff of The University of Texas Counseling-Psychological Services Center for their cooperation. This project was partially funded by National Science Foundation grant GJ 509X3, by the Counseling-Psychological Services Center, and by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. Special acknowledgement is made of the support of Ronald M. Brown, Vice President for Student Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin. The systems analysis team included T. Bishop, C. Black, J. Byars, R. Byars, P. Caroom, J. Littlefield, A. Nutt, M. Rood, E. Salsbury, and C. Weinstein.     

The Relationship of Paper-and-Pencil Wellness Measures to Objective Physiological Indexes

College freshmen completed a paper-and-pencil wellness assessment instrument and a supplemental questionnaire and were given a number of physical tests including measures of body composition, cholesterol, blood pressure, and pulse rate. Analyses indicated there were no significant relationships between specific paper-and-pencil physical scores and specific objective physiological indicators but that when several wellness scores were considered simultaneously and general indicators of health were used, significant relationships did exist. There were also significant relationships between wellness scores and people's perceptions of their health. Limitations and implications of the results are discussed.     

Developing the theory of working memory

The theory of working memory was devised to explain the effects of a concurrent memory load in various experimental situations in terms of the operation of a central executive processor and a phonemic response buffer. It also explains the effects of phonemic similarity, articulatory suppression, word length, and unattended speech. Experiment 1 demonstrated that a concurrent memory load markedly reduced the phonemic similarity effect in immediate serial recall, which was taken to support the concept of a limited-capacity phonemic response buffer. A more detailed analysis of the results suggested that a concurrent memory load may affect the storage capacity of the central executive processor and the translation of orthographic stimuli into phonological representations, as well as the storage capacity of the phonemic response buffer. Experiment 2 showed that a concurrent free-recall task reduced the phonemic similarity effect in immediate serial recall, but only in the case of visually presented sequences of items. Moreover, unattended speech was found to have no effect upon performance in immediate free recall. These results were taken to imply that the phonemic response buffer contributes only to performance in cognitive tasks that require the accurate retention of serial-order information.