The effect of texture oil the magnitude of

The magnitude of simultaneous brightness contrast was measured while the coarseness of the textural overlay was varied. Remits from 10 Ss indicate that as the size of elements in the texture increases, the amount of obtained contrast decreases. An interpretation of these results in terms of the spread of lateral inhibitory effects is offered.     

Size contrast as a function of figural similarity

Size contrast occurs in numerous configurations where a test figure appears apparently larger when surrounded by small elements and apparently smaller when surrounded by large elements. Using the Ebbinghaus illusion, the magnitude of this effect is shown to vary as a function of apparent similarity between test and inducing element.     

Relative preference for external and self-controlled reinforcement in monkeys

Monkeys were tested for their relative preference for self-monitored and externally imposed systems of reinforcement. One monkey clearly preferred to self-reward his own performances. whereas a second monkey favored slightly the externally administered system but displayed a small gradual shift toward self-reward as the sessions progressed. Unlike previous findings. unmerited self-reward did not result in rapid discarding of self-imposed performance requirements. The level of work output and the interactive effects of multiple reinforcement control are possible operative factors in sustaining self-imposed contingencies long after punishment for unmerited self-reward has been discontinued.     

The dimensions of career and work orientation in college women

The purpose of this study was to clarify the meaning of the construct, career orientation. Fourteen presumed measures of career orientation as well as Super's Work Values Inventory were administered to college women. Analysis of the relationships among these variables identified two relatively independent clusters. The first cluster most closely approximated the usual definition of career orientation. Career-oriented women were found to be highly career motivated and perceived the career role as primary in their adult lives. The second cluster was called work orientation. This orientation characterized women with well-defined occupational aspirations who placed a high value on both the career role and marriage-family responsibilities in their future. Work-oriented women tended to choose traditionally feminine occupations in contrast to the career-oriented women whose aspirations included higher level and less traditional occupations.     

The effects of retention interval on preschool children's short-term memory of verbal items

The short-term recall of word-triads was tested, comparing retention over three types of intervals within 24 preschoolers. Retention was significantly lower in the 16 sec unfilled interval condition than in the immediate test condition. This result, predicted from preschoolers' rehearsal deficiency, differs from those obtained in previous adult and child studies. A filled interval condition, requiring irrelevant verbal activity during the 16 sec period, significantly reduced recall from that of the unfilled interval condition. Recognition of the word items on a subsequent recognition test was greater than chance and was not affected by interval condition. This suggests that the condition effects in short-term recall did not disrupt the long-term storage of the items.     

TRAINING GENERALIZED RECEPTIVE PREPOSITIONS IN RETARDED CHILDREN1

Three retarded children were trained, using prompting and reinforcement procedures, to respond correctly to three categories of prepositional requests: “put the___ next to the___”, “put the___under the___”, and “put the___on top of the___”. Training sessions were alternated with probe sessions throughout the study. During training, a child was trained to respond to one request (e.g., “put the doll next to the cup”); during probing, the child was tested for generalization of this training to untrained requests. Responses to untrained requests were never prompted nor reinforced. The results showed that, as requests from one category were trained, the children's responses to the untrained requests of that category became increasingly correct. As discriminations among two or more categories were trained, the children's responses to the untrained requests of those categories also became increasingly correct. Thus, the methods employed appear to be successful in training generalized receptive discrimination among prepositional categories and possibly can be utilized in training other generalized receptive language skills.     

Overpaid or Overworked? Cognitive and Behavioral Reactions to Inequitable Rewards1

Although early studies support the equity theory prediction that increasing rewards for task performance enhance the effort devoted to the task, these findings may be challenged on a number of counts. Social exchange theory suggests, for example, that when rewards exceed what is felt to be equitable, the recipient may increase his perception of task difficulty and his estimate of what is a fair return for his efforts. In this case, there should be little need to devote increased energy to task performance. The present study, conducted in both Italy and the United States, supports this reasoning. Compared with equitably rewarded subjects, those rewarded by either 40% or 80% over their estimate of what was fair, altered both their perceptions of task difficulty and of a fair return. No performance differences were found.     

Differentiation and decrement in the Mueller-Lyer illusion

Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that decrement of the Mueller-Lyer illusion with inspection is due to learning to differentiate the test element from the accessory lines. In one experiment, the test element is predifferentiated for the observer by means of configurational variations and in the other by restriction of attention. Although the initial magnitude of the illusion is found to be inversely proportional to the amount of predifferentiation, the slopes of the decrement curves are not affected.