Transfer of approach responding between punishment and frustrative nonreward sustained through continuous reinforcement

A block of continuously reinforced nonpunished trials was interpolated between acquisition of a runway response with either partial reinforcement or intermittent punishment and subsequent tests for resistance of that response to the suppressive effects of either extinction or continuous punishment. As previous investigations have shown, both the partial reinforcement effect (PRE) and the intermittent punishment effect (IPE) were sustained through the block of continuously reinforced nonpunished trials. Furthermore, the increased resistance to extinction following intermittent punishment and the increased resistance to punishment following partial reinforcement were also sustained through the interpolated continuous reinforcement. These results support a hypothesized similarity of punishment and frustrative nonreward and were interpreted in an extension of Amsel's conditioning model theory of the role of nonreinforcement in the PRE.     

The Bransford-Franks linear effect: Integration or artifact?

It was hypothesized that the Bransford-Franks linear effect is an artifact of the method of presentation of stimulus sentences and is unrelated to semantic processes. Ss were given sentences containing the same information in one of two ways. In a control condition, which was identical to the procedure used in earlier research, overlapping combinations of ideas were presented during learning and recognition; in an experimental condition, ideas were presented one at a time. Results demonstrated that one-idea sentences received significantly higher recognition confidence ratings in the experimental condition, thus supporting the artifact interpretation. It was proposed that Ss assign recognition confidence ratings based on the probability that a sentence containing a certain number of ideas could have occurred in acquisition.     

Testing message diffusion in harmonic logistic curves

The growth of a population of knowers of a message was studied to test a human interactance hypothesis. The conditions investigated involvedpeople interacting in time, with the population pairing off randomly (i.e., determined by many, small, different influences) and transferring an attribute (i.e., an all-or-none act) at either a steady rate or a waning rate, subsequent to the originating stimulus. The mathematical expressions for these pre-conditions were the differential equations for the linear logistic for steady acting and the harmonic logistic for waning acting. Variant forms of these curves were developed. Two exploratory experiments, or pretests, comprised launching a coffee slogan in a town and imitating a badge wearer in a boys' camp. Since the activity rate waned harmonically in both cases, the harmonic logistic fit best in both the town and the camp as expected by the hypothesis.A paper read before Section K sponsored by the Committee on Social Physics of the AAAS Conference in Boston, December 30, 1953. This research was supported in part by the United States Air Force under Contract AF 33(038)-27522, monitored by the Human Resources Research Institute (now, Officer Education Research Laboratory, Air Force Personnel and Training Research Center), Air Research and Development Command, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Permission is granted for reproduction, translation, publication and distribution in part and in whole by or for the United States Government.     

The Long-Term Effects of Operation Desert Storm on the Psychological Distress of U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard Veterans1

This study assessed factors related to the long-term psychological health of a sample of U.S. Army National Guard and Reserve Unit veterans who served during Operation Desert Storm (ODS). In the analysis, general distress symptom measures were obtained and comparisons made from soldiers who deployed to Germany, the Persian Gulf region, and throughout the United States, with soldiers who did not deploy. Elevated symptom levels were found for veterans of the Persian Gulf that could not be explained by variance attributed to demographics, or current life stress events. Reported exposure and the degree of current concern due to petrochemical fires in Kuwait were found to be significantly related to elevated symptom measures beyond the effect of combat-zone-related stresses. These findings suggest that a subset of Persian Gulf reserve veterans continue to have elevated levels of distress that are related to oil fire exposure.     

"Recipe for a Jury" Revisited: A Balance Theory Prediction

This study examined the relationship of three variables to verdict confidence in an experimental simulation of the jury deliberation process. The three variables were: sex of juror, verdict (guilty or innocent), and the similarity or dissimilarity between juror and confederate verdicts (congruence or incongruence). The subjects were 35 male and 37 female college students. They deliberated in groups containing a male confederate who role-played an obnoxious anti-White or anti-Black juror. Results indicated that before deliberation, male and guilt verdict jurors were more confident than females and innocent verdict jurors. After deliberation, however, sex differences in verdict confidence were absent while innocent verdicts jurors were more confident than guilt verdict jurors. Most important, as predicted from Heider's Balance Theory, males who deliberated with a confederate whose verdict was congruent with theirs' became less confident in their verdicts. Unexpectedly, females became more confident. The study's major hypothesis, then, that it may be advantageous for the defense to accept a juror who zealously advocates a guilty verdict, was only supported for males.     

Visual psychophysics on the APPLE II: Getting started

Several routines are described for psychophysical procedures on the APPLE II. Method of adjustment and PEST routines are presented within short demonstration programs. Techniques for synchronized presentation of images in tachistoscope and motion displays are given, as well as methods for saving graphics images for later recall.     

Pitfalls in Counseling Alcoholic Clients

Counseling alcoholic clients is a difficult problem for even the most seasoned counselor. Clients' abilities to use denial and manipulation demand a parallel counselor ability to identify dynamics properly, to deal with defenses, and to provide empathetic support while remaining emotionally noninvested. The unique dynamics of alcoholism demand that the counselor develop unique and innovative strategies within the counseling relation, literally to save the life of the client.     

Doing two things at once: The role of temporal compatibility

Performance in a periodically repeating keypress response was measured as a function of the relation between the response patterns required of the two hands. Compared to identical left- and right-hand responses, performance was degraded when the temporal periods of the left- and right-hand responses were not harmonically related. By contrast, performance was not degraded compared to the identical task control when the left- and right-hand responses had the same or harmonically related periods. These findings suggest a limitation in parallel generation of multiple time frames that is assumed to be associated with a late stage of central processing in which response commands are generated.