Agrammatic aphasic subjects' comprehension of subject and object extracted Wh questions

This study attempted to replicate the unusual wh question comprehension pattern of Hickok and Avrutin's (1996) subjects who showed an expected subject/object extraction asymmetry for which NP questions, but not for who questions. We also examined comprehension of what and which one questions, which are similar to who and which NP questions, respectively, and we examined passivized wh questions in order to test predictions of Grodzinsky's (1995) restrictive theory of trace deletion, the Trace-Based Account (TBA). Results, using both a figurine manipulation task and a picture pointing task, showed that only one of four agrammatic (Broca's) aphasic subjects showed the pattern reported by Hickok and Avrutin and that this pattern extended to comprehension of what and which one questions. One of the subjects showed subject/object asymmetry for all wh questions tested, as would be predicted by the original trace deletion hypothesis (Grodzinsky, 1984), and two subjects showed neither pattern. None of our subjects demonstrated ability to comprehend passivized wh questions as predicted by the TBA. We discuss our findings in terms of the lack of homogeneity of wh question comprehension among individuals with agrammatic aphasia and we explore alternatives to the syntactic explanation for differences between who and which NP question comprehension advanced by Hickok and Avrutin.     

A minicomputer program for control and data acquisition in classical conditioning

A 4K PDP-8/E computer program package has been developed to control classical conditioning procedures, to collect response data, and to extract statistical summeries. In contrast with other existing behavioral control languages geared to digital data typical of discrete operant analyses, this program distinguishes itself by its ability to retrieve and analyze the analog data arising from phasic response systems such as the rabbit’s nictitating membrane. By means of a question-and-answer Teletype conversation with the E, the program establishes trial sequence and trial spacing parameters; CS and US duration, probability, and interstimulus interval; intertrial interval fractionation for recording intertrial response frequencies; and session length. Various versions of the program exist to compute statistical properties of the analog response data, to dump detailed trial-by-trial topographies, and to attach instrumental contingencies to subtle features of the real-time analog responding.     

A minicomputer program for stimulus control and analog data for discrete trial paradigms in biological preparations: Classical conditioning

The application of computer technology to classical conditioning requires: control software that will repeatedly generate stimulus events, and analog-to-digital (A/D) recording capabilities for the resolution of analog data from phasic response systems (e.g., nictitating membrane extension, leg flexion). An earlier software package implemented on a 4K PDP-8/E (Millenson, Kehoe, Tait, & Gormezano, 1973) successfully met these requirements. However, the program’s capabilities were restricted to the presentation of only two unique stimuli with a maximum of 4 sec duration, and data reduction in only uniphasic response systems. The present program, employing the same hardware, relaxed these previous constraints and extended the range of data analysis through the revamping of the interactive assembler, operating system, and on-line data processing routines.     

The pavlovian analysis of instrumental conditioning

An account was given of the development within the Russian literature of a uniprocess formulation of classical and instrumental conditioning, known as the bidirectional conditioning hypothesis. The hypothesis purports to offer a single set of Pavlovian principles to account for both paradigms, based upon a neural model which assumes that bidirectional (forward and backward) connections are formed in both classical and instrumental conditioning situations. In instrumental conditioning, the bidirectional connections are hypothesized to be simply more complex than those in classical conditioning, and any differences in empirical functions are presumed to lie not in difference in mechanism, but in the strength of the forward and backward connections. Although bidirectional connections are assumed to develop in instrumental conditioning, the experimental investigation of the bidirectional conditioning hypothesis has been essentially restricted to the classical conditioning operations of pairing two CSs (sensory preconditioning training), a US followed by a CS (backward conditioning training) and two USs. However, the paradigm involving the pairing of two USs, because of theoretical and analytical considerations, is the one most commonly employed by Russian investigators. The results of an initial experiment involving the pairing of two USs, and reference to the results of a more extensive investigation, leads us to tentatively question the validity of the bidirectional conditioning account of instrumental conditioning.     

Visual impairment, verbal humor, and conservation

Through a cerebral hemispheric specialization model, I speculated that the reported discrepancy between visually impaired children's competency in language development and lags in cognition may be explained by the use of visual-spatial measurements of cognition. The performance of 51 visually impaired and 51 sighted children, ages 7 to 15 years, on a task of joke comprehension and conservation of weight scores was analyzed. I hypothesized that the ability to comprehend verbal humor would reflect the function of the left hemisphere of the brain and the ability to perform a Piagetian visual-spatial task would reflect the function of the right hemisphere. The findings indicate that although age and IQ contributed significantly to predicting joke comprehension, the ability to conserve did not have a unique contribution. In conclusion, I suggest that the cerebral hemispheric specialization model be considered when investigating language and cognition of visually impaired children.     

Quality of Life in Heart Transplant Candidates

Research on quality of life with heart transplant patients is complicated by the physical and psychological variables associated with heart failure. This study examined quality of life with several instruments in order to sample more general and more idiosyncratic aspects of quality of life in this particular patient population. We also examined the relationship between various aspects of quality of life and several psychosocial variables, including sensitivity to social desirability effects. The quality of life measures used in this study were found to be significantly correlated with each other and with measures of psychological distress. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Sexual assault and stranger aggression on a candian university campus

There is a severe lack of knowledge about sexual assault on Canadian college campuses. This exploratory study of 259 Canadian undergraduate women (mostly white, of British or European heritage, with about half from families of total incomes of over Can $50,000) provides evidence that although Canada generally has a lower crime rate than the United States, sexual aggression against women does not seem to be lower. Further, there is an extraordinary victimization rate for the stranger sexual advances that are legal or barely illegal, but which form a major component of women's fear. Most surveyed women have in the past year been victimized by uncomfortable stranger aggression in public places, while approximately one-third of those who date reported at least one episode of physical, verbal, or psychological sexual coercion. Close to 25% of the women said they had sexual intercourse when they did not want to during the past year.An earlier and substantially different version of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Pittsburgh, March 1992.