Sexual activity and satiety over an extended observation period in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

This study was designed to delineate the course of sexual satiation in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Fourteen male-female pairs were allowed to copulate freely for 24 hr under continuous observation. Copulations occurred predominantly during the first few hours and decreased in frequency thereafter. The mean number of ejaculations per pair was 5.6 (range, 2-9). Two thirds of the ejaculations occurred during the first 3 hr, and over 90% took place within the first 7 hr after the first intromission. No ejaculations were observed during the last 8 hr. These results suggest that male capacity to deliver ejaculations to a female is limited and that direct observations reveal a more limited capacity than observations made with time-lapse videotape.     

The cuing and priming of cognitive operations

The effect on performance of advance information about the specific cognitive operations to be performed on a stimulus was investigated in two experiments using cues (information useful and necessary for performance) and primes (information useful but not necessary for performance). In the first experiment, a cue presented prior to a digit stimulus indicated whether the digit was to be classified as odd or even, or low (less than 6) or high (greater than 5). Results showed that performance improved with increasing time between cue and digit and with practice. A stroop-like asymmetric interference of the low-high operation on the odd-even operation was also observed. In the second experiment, a prime that matched the cue, mismatched it, or was neutral was presented before the cue. Results showed facilitatory and inhibitory priming effects, as well as a distance effect based on the position of a digit relative to the boundary between 5 and 6. The results of both experiments were discussed in terms of a model based on relative processing speeds of the two relevant properties of the digits.     

The effects of rape myth pornography on women's attitudes and the mediating role of sex role stereotyping

This study tested several hypotheses regarding (1) the effects of reading pornography on women's self-esteem and attitudes about rape and interpersonal violence and (2) how these effects were mediated by subject's degree of sex role stereotyping (SRS). Women high and low in SRS read one of three sexually explicit stories portraying different combinations of a woman's consent (or no consent) and arousal (or no arousal) to forceful sexual activity. As predicted, all stories had some effect on attitudes. Differences attributable to the Consent and Arousal manipulations were minimal, but generally in the expected direction. Compared to not reading a story, reading any story generally led to changes in self-esteem and greater acceptance of rape myths and interpersonal violence. Also as predicted, high, compared to low, SRS subjects generally reported lower self-esteem and more tolerance of rape and other violence. Differences were also found in perceptions of sexual situations. Significant SRS by story interactions and other results related to the hypotheses are also discussed.     

Structural support for the perception of growth

Previous studies have shown that the effects of a particular class of geometric transformations, known as cardioidal strain, are perceived as growth when applied to a variety of animate and even inanimate objects. The current study demonstrates that the effects of these growth transformations are not completely independent of the object undergoing change, but depend critically on certain structural characteristics. When cardioidal strain is applied to a straight-line, right-angle, robotlike structure, there is no consistent effect on the age level of the figure. However, as the structural contours become more curved and less angular, the effects of this transformation are seen as increasingly more like growth. In contrast, the effects of a shear transformation are not perceived as growth on any of the profiles. These findings are examined in light of the critical physical properties that may be responsible for this notion of biological forms as well as their implications for our understanding of the information about events.     

WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ‘APPROPRIATE PSYCHOLOGY’ FOR THE DEVELOPING WORLD?

The impact of psychology on the developing world has begun to receive some attention, but there is a need for theoretical concepts in order to provide a framework for critical discussion. Using the concepts ‘dual perception’ and ‘parallel growth’ (Moghaddam and Taylor 1985) as a framework, the concept of ‘appropriate psychology’ is introduced to assess the transfer of psychology from the developed to the developing world. Six criteria for evaluating appropriateness are discussed: self-reliance, needs responsiveness, cultural compatability, institutional feasibility, economic suitability and political practicality.     

Spatial frequency comparisons of rotated gratings

Reaction time for determining if two square-wave gratings are the same or different is a bimodal function of the relative angular separation (RAS) between them. Response time peaks at 60° and 120° separation and drops siguificantly at approximately 90°, provided that the gratings being compared are of the same spatial frequency. This pattern of results is not in line with those previously reported for more complex figures, nor may it be attributed to any “oblique effect,” since the same function is obtained with the comparison gratings placed at different retinal orientations. One possible explanation is that orthogonally tuned orientation channels interact in a facilitatory fashion in the human visual system.     

Development and validation of the Eating Behavior Inventory

The Eating Behavior Inventory (EBI) is a self-report instrument for assessing behaviors that have been theoretically implicated in weight loss, e.g., self-monitoring of food intake and of weight, refusing offers of food, eating at only one place, shopping from a list, eating in response to emotions. Thirty items were constructed in the form of first-person statements, e.g., I eat in the middle of the night. Each item was to be rated with a 5-point scale according to how often it was true for the respondent. Items were scored such that higher scores always reflected more appropriate (theoretically facilitative of weight control) eating patterns. Validity of individual items and total score was assessed in four studies. Twenty-six of the original items appeared valid and were retained. The resulting total score demonstrated validity in these studies and in two cross-validational comparisons. Internal consistency as measured by split-half reliability and correlations of item scores with total score was acceptable. One month test-retest reliability of item and total scores was satisfactory. Clinical and research applications of the EBI are discussed.An early version of this article was presented at the Taos International Conference on Treatment of Addictive Behaviors, Taos, New Mexico, February 1979.