Research participation as a contract

In this article, I present a contractualist conception of human-participant research ethics, arguing that the most appropriate source of the rights and responsibilities of researcher and participant is the contractual understanding between them. This conception appears to explain many of the more fundamental ethical incidents of human-participant research. I argue that a system of contractual rights and responsibilities would allow a great deal of research that has often been felt to be ethically problematic, such as research involving deception, concealed research, and research on dependent populations. However, in defining the conditions under which such research should be permissible, my contractualist theory also makes it clear that there are limits -- and explains what those limits are -- to the propriety of such research.     

Cross-informant consistency in externalizing and internalizing problems in early adolescence

The concept of cross-informant consistency has long been a topic of interest for those involved in assessment of behavior problems in adolescence. The purpose of the present study was to replicate and expand the existing literature by including four informants (mother, father, teacher, and adolescent self-report) and examining correlations among them as well as differences between reporters on an absolute level of both internalizing and externalizing problems. Fifty-two young adolescents (ranging in age from 11 to 15 years) and their mothers, fathers, and social studies teachers participated in the study. The Conduct Disorder subscale, Socialized Aggression subscale, and Anxiety/Withdrawal subscale of the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist were used. Results indicated that teachers showed little agreement with other informants on conduct problems (teachers reporting fewer problems), while parents and adolescents showed significant agreement. Informants showed no agreement on the measure of covert problems (socialized aggression), and all reports showed agreement on internalizing problems (although teachers continued to report fewer problems). Implications for assessment of young adolescents are discussed.This research was supported, in part, by the William T. Grant Foundation and the University of Georgia's Institute for Behavior Research.     

Effect of rhythmic grouping on stream segregation

Three experiments investigated the role of temporal grouping on auditory stream segregation. For sounds that formed frequency streams (e.g., 400 Hz, 500 Hz, 1600 Hz, and 2000 Hz), the effect of rhythm was minimal. Temporal grouping did not affect judgments of stream segregation and did not affect difficulty of sequence identification. In contrast, for sounds that tended to form one coherent sequence (e.g., 750 Hz, 1500 Hz, 3000 Hz, and 6000 Hz), temporal grouping affected judgments of stream segregation as well as difficulty of identification. The temporal grouping could space the three lower or three higher pitch tones equally in time and this induced isochronous stream segregation. Subjects could not interleave the resulting streams, and identification became far more difficult. The role of rhythmic grouping is therefore contextual, depending on the relationships between the elements as well as the order of the elements.     

The Poggendorf illusion in stereoscopic space.

The stereoscopic depth separation between the bisecting rectangle and the oblique line of a Poggendorf configuration was manipulated by varying the direction and magnitude of disparity carried by the rectangle. Based upon data of 6 subjects, the magnitude of the illusion decreased with increasing depth separation regardless of the direction of disparity. Depth separation varied directly with disparity. These findings make plain that depth adjacency can operate symmetrically in stereoscopic space.     

Psychological Responses to the Threat of Nuclear War

We investigated the nature of psychological responses to the threat of nuclear war and the relationships between attitudes and behavior in three studies. The first was a quasi-experimental study of the effects of a film depiction of nuclear war on attitudes and behavior. Results suggested that exposure was mediated by a sense of control over political events, but that exposure itself had no significant effect on psychological responses to nuclear war. The second was an experimental investigation of the effects of efficacy enhancing, fear arousing, or informational tactics as well as individual differences on memory for relevant information and political activism on the issue of nuclear arms control. Results indicated that men exposed to the fear arousal tactic were less likely to take action than those exposed to information alone or efficacy enhancement, whereas women exposed to fear arousal were more likely to act. Gender differences are explained in terms of the socialization of male responses to fear, the "macho" response. Those who showed less denial were more likely to act, as were those who stated intentions to take action. The third study employed structural modeling to examine the relationships between attitudes and behavior. Results supported the Model of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) in showing that intentions to act mediated the relationship between attitudes and behavior on this issue.     

A comparison of 13-year-old boys with attention deficit and/or reading disorder on neuropsychological measures

This study compared 13 year-old-boys with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and/or reading disability (RD), and controls with neither disorder on a battery of verbal and nonverbal neuropsychological measures. The aim was to examine whether ADD was associated with a qualitatively distinct pattern of deficits compared with RD. None of the measures differentiated the boys with ADD-only from the controls; the only deficit associated with ADD was slightly lower IQ. RD, on the other hand, was associated with deficits in memory and verbal skills.The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit is supported by the Medical Research Council of New Zealand and involves several Departments of the University of Otago. Much of the data are gathered by voluntary workers from the Dunedin community.The authors are indebted to the many people who contributions make this ongoing study possible. We wish to acknowledge the advice and help of Dr. P. A. Silva, director of the Dunedin Unit, in preparing this report.     

The structure and correlates of self-reported symptoms in 11-year-old children

Self-reports of DSM-III symptomatology were obtained from 792 11-year-old children using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC). We report results concerning 13 subscales derived from the DISC. Factor-analysis of the subscales suggested a broad distinction between externalizing and internalizing disorder for boys' self-report. For girls, two separate internalizing factors representing anxiety and depression emerged. We also found sex differences in correlates of self-reported disorder. Finally, we examined agreement between child and parent and teacher reports. Overall, agreement was relatively low, although somewhat higher for child-parent than for child-teacher.The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit is supported by the Medical Research Council of New Zealand and the Departments of Education and Health, and involves several departments of the University of Otago. Much of the data are gathered by voluntary workers from the Dunedin community. The authors are indebted to the many people whose contributions make this ongoing study possible.     

Summation of response rates to discriminative stimuli associated with qualitatively different reinforcers

In Experiment I, a four-ply multiple schedule was used to study the effects on rate of responding in rats of food, water, and food and/or water reinforcement under different deprivation conditions. Food and water were associated separately with different stimuli, the combination of which was associated with food and water together, or with food or water randomly. Rates in the presence of the combined stimuli were consistently intermediate to the rates generated by the separate stimuli, a result seemingly incompatible with a "summation" hypothesis. Experiment II was a simplified systematic replication of Experiment I, verifying the major findings.