Symmetry and transitivity of conditional relations in monkeys (Cebus apella) and pigeons (Columba livia)

In Experiment 1 six monkeys were tested with discriminative relations that were backward relative to their training in a 0-second conditional (“symbolic”) matching procedure. Although there was some indication of backward associations, the evidence was generally weak, and statistical evaluations did not reach conventional significance levels. Unlike children, who show backward associations to the point of symmetry, monkeys and pigeons display at best only weak and transient backward associations. In Experiment 2 associative transitivity was assessed across two sets of conditional matching tasks. All four monkeys tested demonstrated strong transitivity. In contrast, in Experiment 3 there was no evidence of transitivity in three pigeons tested under conditions closely comparable to those of Experiment 2. These results may identify some key features of interspecies differences and contribute to analyses of serial learning in animals.     

Flicker fusion frequency and organic syndrome in alcoholics

Flicker fusion frequencies of 48 healthy controls and of 35 alcoholics were measured to detect possible associations between flicker fusion and signs of nonspecific brain damage, the aim of the study. FFF was statistically significantly lower in patients addicted to alcohol than in healthy subjects. Lower flicker fusion frequencies were associated with the severeness of organic psychosis as rated psychopathologically. The hypothesis that addiction to alcohol is a sign of diffuse, nonspecific, organic brain damage was discussed.     

Interactive effects of noise with illumination and age on activity of rats

Locomotor activity of male, albino rats (25, 90, and 200 days old at the start of the experiment) was measured in conditions of light and dark. Continuous and pulsed noises of 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 dB were presented under each illumination condition. While noise intensity altered activity of all age groups, it interacted with illumination and age, resulting in different sensory-dependent patterns of activity in each age group. The results are interpreted in terms of arousal theory and potential functional development of CNS structures regulating the effects of ambient sensory input on behavior.     

Physical training and personality factors as predictors of marathon time and training injury

On the basis of surveys completed by 105 male participants in a popular marathon, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the variables contributing significantly to the prediction of final time. Overall prediction was successful, with R = .896, and training pace was the most important factor in the equation, speedier workouts being associated with faster marathon times. Final time was also related positively to best 10-km race time in the previous 12 mo. and repression-sensitization (faster runners being more sensitized), and negatively to maximum number of training miles in a single week, number of previous marathons completed, and number of days of training lost through illness or injury. Contrary to expectations, locus of control was not related to final time. Only 27% of the runners had lost training time through injury, but a discriminant analysis showed that, compared to those who had avoided this problem, the injured were younger, rested less, ran less in the week prior to the marathon, ran a slightly longer long run but ran it earlier before the race, and ran fewer runs of 20 miles or more. It is suggested that researchers should study the repression-sensitization variable and investigate injury in runners preparing for a marathon.     

Antidepressant treatment of children: clinical relapse is unrelated to tricyclic plasma concentrations

Plasma concentrations of imipramine and amitriptyline and their desmethylated metabolites were measured in 20 children being treated for major depressive illness 2 wk. and 5 to 10 wk. after achieving drug dosages of 2.25 mg/kg body weight. At 2 wk. all children had exhibited clinical improvement, but by 10 wk. 4 of the 10 children treated with imipramine and 5 of the 10 children treated with amitriptyline had experienced clinical relapse of depressive symptoms. Tricyclic antidepressant plasma concentrations and ratios were comparable in the subgroups of children who maintained their clinical improvement and those who relapsed. There was no evidence of a systematic decline in plasma tricyclic antidepressant concentrations in those children who relapsed.     

Effects of ball color on horizontal perimetry detection

The subjects were 16 college students assessed as having normal, uncorrected visual abilities. Each subject responded to the appearance of each of five variously colored ball sections as they were introduced into the subjects' visual field. Analysis indicated that colors with luminance values greater than 70 CD/M2 (black, blue, green) were detected further in the horizontal peripheral plane than were colors possessing values less than 36 CD/M2 (red, purple).     

Field dependence as a limiting factor in solving a complex learning problem

Subjects in a prior study of complex learning often experienced difficulty in mastering the task because of an apparent reluctance to release one perceptual field and reconstrue the task on a higher cognitive level. It was hypothesized that were this the correct explanation, the faster learners would be more field independent on a measure of field dependence, since independence has been defined in terms of ease in releasing one's attention from the immediate perceptual field. This hypothesis was tested with 22 undergraduate subjects for whom Group Embedded Figures Test scores were correlated with the number of trials to completion on the complex learning task. A moderate but significant correlation supported the hypothesis.     

Physical exercise, social background, and the well-being of older adult women

28 older women participating in an exercise program were compared to 30 older women not participating in an exercise program on two behavioral measures. There were no significant main effects for participation-nonparticipation in an exercise program. Significant main effects were found, however, for each of three social variables.     

Multifactorial assessment of reading disability: identifying the best predictors

A multifactorial diagnostic assessment battery was evaluated using data obtained from 105 reading-disabled children and their matched controls (total N = 210). A stepwise discriminant function analysis selected five nonreading measures from among 16 as the best diagnostic predictors of reading disability. These measures included WISC-R Information and Digit Span, self-reported family histories of reading problems, and tests of symbol-processing speed and letter fluency.