Proactive interference and spontaneous alternation in rats

Two pairs of trials were given to naive rats in a T-maze. The first trial of a pair was forced to one arm, the second was free, and the delay between trials was 25 min. or 10 hr. Rats left in the maze for 15 sec. following the forced choice showed increased alternation on the second pair of trials at the 25-min. delay as compared with the 10-hr. delay. This was interpreted as due to a decline in alternation with delay on this pair of trials, together with an overall increase in alternation between the first and second pairs, and is consistent with the proactive interference theory of forgetting. Rats left in for 2 min. showed a decline in alternation with delay on the first pair of trials, but not on the second; this is inconsistent with the proactive interference theory.     

Book reviews

Animal Discrimination Learning. Edited by R. M. Gilbert and N. S. Sutherland. London: Academic Press. 1969. Pp. xvi + 501. 1358.

Luce, R. D. and Tukey, J. W. (1964). Simultaneous conjoint measurement: a new type of fundamental measurement. J. math. Psychol. I, 1-27.

Discrimination Learning. By D. A. Riley. Boston: Allyn and Bacon Inc. 1968. Pp. 172. Paperback 21s.

Annual Review of Psychology. Vol. 20. Palo Alto: Annual Reviews Inc. 1969. Pp. ix + 544. $9.00.

Cutaneous Sensation. By David Sinclair. London: Oxford University Press. 1967. Pp. xii + 306. 63s.

Modelling of Thinking and the Mind.. By N. M. Amosov. Translated by L. Finegold. New York: Spartan Books. London: Macmillan. 11967. Pp. xiii + 192.

The Mind of Mnemonist. By A. R. Luria. London: Jonathan Cape. 1969. Pp. xi + 160. 25s.

Determinants of Infant Behaviour IV. Edited by B. M. Foss. London: Methuen. 1969. Pp. 303. £3 10s.

Brain and Behaviour. Volumes 1-4. Edited by Karl Pribram. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd. 1969. Pp. 496 +573 + 523 + 524. 12s. 6d. per volume.     

Prior stimulation and the perception of causality

An attempt was made to discover whether, in conditions similar to those of Michotte, the number of causal responses given by subjects was influenced by stimulation during the period just before the main experiment. Time-intervals between the arrival of object A and the departure of object B were systematically varied within the range 60 to 390 msec. Those who had earlier been exposed to shorter time-intervals (60 to 210 msec.) gave fewer causal responses than those who had been exposed to longer ones (150 to 300 msec. and 240 to 390 msec.). A possible explanation is offered in terms of the modification of existing “schemata.”     

Counselor conditions for self-exploration of college students

This study was designed to determine whether the counselor-offered conditions of empathy, respect, and genuineness promoted self-exploration in clients reporting voluntarily to a university counseling center. Twenty-seven male and 27 female undergraduates comprised the sample of clients; nine male doctoral student interns comprised the counselors. Clients were assigned to an educational, vocational, or personal-social problem category. The instruments used were the Truax Depth of Self-Exploration Scale and the Carkhuff scales of counselor conditions. Significant relationships were found between empathy, respect, and genuineness, and self-exploration in each problem category for counseling center clients of both sexes.     

College Major Choice and Personal Adjustment

This investigation focused on the differences in reported personal adjustment problems between freshmen students who made a congruent college major choice and students who made an incongruent choice. Personal adjustment was defined operationally with the Mooney Problem Checklist. Congruent and incongruent college major choice groups were defined operationally using the Vocational Preference Inventory. In the analysis of variance of the adjustment scores, the interaction term involving congruence of major choice and sex and the test for the main effect of sex were not significant. The test for the main effect of congruence was found to be significant. Subjects who had made a congruent college major choice reported fewer personal adjustment problems when compared to subjects in the incongruent group.     

Awide range timing circuit with two independent controls

The timer described in this note is an example of how a small increase in engineering complexity can lead to a marked increase in user convenience and overall system accuracy.