Punishment of shock-induced aggression

Squirrel monkeys were restrained in a chair equipped with a tail-shock apparatus and a pneumatic bite hose located in front of the subject's face. An aggressive response was recorded when the monkey bit the hose. Initial sessions in which no shocks were delivered produced some biting. When biting during these sessions stabilized at a near-zero level, regularly scheduled shocks were delivered to the monkey's tail, causing a consistently higher rate of biting. After several sessions under these conditions, a punishment phase was introduced in which the previous shock conditions were maintained, and every bite was followed immediately by another, more intense shock. Biting under these conditions was suppressed to a near-zero level. When the punishment contingency was removed, biting increased. With one subject, two additional bite-contingent stimuli were examined: (1) a milder shock that, when made contingent upon hose biting, also suppressed that response, and (2) a contingent tone that had no obvious suppressing or facilitating effect. Individual differences among subjects were extreme, but the effect of bite-contingent shock was consistent. Observations of the subjects during the punishment sessions indicated the existence of certain side effects that resulted from the use of punishment to suppress shock-induced aggression.     

A note on mathematical models for learning

It is shown that a rational learning curve developed by Estes for paired associate learning is a special case of a more general function. The latter is the product of two functions and assumes that the discovery and fixation aspects of learning are independent. The indications are that the form of one of the functions has not been tested sharply by Estes in the paired associate learning setting.     

The Cooling-Out Function of the Junior College

The “disjuncture” between level of aspiration and means of accomplishing it can create serious difficulty for the person. The function of the 2-year college in helping the student to resolve this conflict has been described as a “cooling-out” process. Essentially, it involves a running evaluation of the student's capacities, and guidance in helping him to find the educational and vocational program for which he is best suited. Several ways of facilitating this process are presented. There is need for an integrated guidance program pervading the entire institution as well as the student's career at the institution.     

Interference with memory for lifted weight

An adaptation-level model for memory was tested by interpolating different weights between the standard and comparison weights. The results suggest that the model should be modified to account for the general tendency to use alternative categories of judgment with equal frequency. In terms of the modified model, memory for the standard shifts toward the value of the interfering stimulus, the magnitude of shift being proportional to the difference between the interfering stimulus and the value the memory would otherwise have had.