APCOL: A programming system for computer-controlled psychology laboratories

The development of on-line computer systems can be facilitated by higher-level programming languages that are more powerful and easier to learn than machine-level Assembly languages. In general, it is not possible to speak ofa programming language without also describing the operating system and functional problem domain of the small computer system for which it is intended. This is because of the great variety in the architecture and configuration of small computers. However, it is possible to state more general requirements and design criteria for on-line computer languages in psychology. APCOL is an example of an integrated programming system. One of the important distinguishing features of the system is that it is implemented both on the small-scale laboratory computer and on a large general-purpose computer linked to the smaller machine via a high-speed communications network. This arrangement permits firsthand access to interactive program construction with immediate test of program function by using the on-line implementation as well as access to the text-editing and mass storage facilities of the large-scale machine.     

Establishing stimulus equivalences among retarded adolescents.

Two separate sets of stimuli were established as stimulus classes in a match-to-sample task by using each stimulus as both a sample and choice stimulus for every other member within that set. After classes were established, the subjects were taught to select one member of each class when an associated auditory stimulus was presented. After this training, three of six subjects were able to select the remaining members of each stimulus class in response to the appropriate auditory stimuli without direct training. The other three subjects also demonstrated transfer after additional members of each stimulus class were brought under the control of the auditory stimuli through direct training.     

Knowing not

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1V6 People often know rapidly and reliably that they do not know something. A review of contemporary theory reveals that the issue has not received much attention; moreover, the accounts available assume that recognition that one does not know something is achieved only by failure to establish that one does know it. A reaction time experiment assessed two aspects of knowing not, by asking people whether they knew common nouns well enough to use them in sentences and whether they had visited certain cities. The findings were that affirmations of negation were often more rapid than positive reports; hence, the account of knowing not as the complement of knowing that something is the case is not necessarily correct. We suggest that knowing not may be attained as rapidly as positive knowledge on the basis of ability to carry out analytical procedures.     

Attitudes toward women among female college students

Female college students' attitudes toward women were investigated to determine the effects of housing, class status, and general field of study, and to provide standardization and reliability data for the AWS scale. Spence and Helmreich's Attitudes Toward Women Scale was administered to a large sample of female college students in a coed, moderately sized, private, Eastern secular college. Results indicated that seniors tend to hold more liberal attitudes toward women than underclasswomen and students in Business and Education tend to hold more conservative attitudes toward women. Interaction effects were observed and reported. Type of housing was not related to attitudes toward women. The split-half reliability technique revealed a strong internal reliability of .92 for the AWS.