Retention of conditioned inhibition in a bar-press suppression paradigm

In three experiments, the retention of conditioned inhibition in rats was examined over long intervals. Retention deficits of conditioned inhibition were found at 21 days, although conditioned excitation was relatively stable over time. This loss of conditioned inhibition was demonstrated using both the summation and the retardation of learning techniques in a bar-press suppression paradigm. Furthermore, retention differences were found between within-groups and between-groups generalization tests of conditioned inhibition, using the summation procedure. These differences were interpreted within a retrieval-oriented model of memory.     

Immediate memory for words from main and subordinate clauses at different age levels

A probe-latency task was used to assess accessibility to the words from the first and second clauses of four types of sentences. The sentences contained either independent clauses or main and subordinate clauses. The subjects were 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children, and adults. On sentences with no main-subordinate distinction, word recognition latencies were shorter for second clauses for all groups except 4-year-olds. On sentences with main and subordinate clauses systematically varied over position in the sentence, however, latencies were most often shorter for subordinate clauses, even when they occurred at the beginning of the sentence. The results indicate that a clause is not simply represented in abstract form rather than verbatim form once the complete clause has been heard, but instead the structural role of the clause, as well as other factors, influences accessibility to verbatim form. It is proposed that listeners frequently interpret an asserted main clause more readily than a subordinate clause. This comprehension strategy appears in different forms at different stages of development.This research was supported in part by NIMH Fellowship No. 1 FO2MH 57352-01 and in part by a Montclair State College Faculty Research Grant to the first author.     

Working with families: a psychoanalytic approach. Thoughts on the Conference Workshop

An account of the work done before, during and after the Workshop meetings is given, with emphasis on the method of working with clinical material through a psychoanalytical framework. Some of the leaders' concerns about using an experiential approach in teaching/learning groups are discussed.     

Components of the reaction time stroop-task

Summary The Stroop-phenomenon in its single-trial reaction-time version is analyzed in terms of Donders's additive-components approach. The complete set of component tasks forms an incomplete factorial design, and so, for resolving reaction times into their component parts multiple regression with dummy coding is used. The results of two independent experiments confirm the asymmetry of the incongruence effect in naming and reading, but contradict the redundancy hypothesis for congruent items. This finding is consistent with the linear approach which in Exp. 1 accounts for about 45%, and in Exp. 2 for about 30%, of total reaction-time variance. In a third experiment reaction times for the detection of colours/words and for congruence/incongruence are measured. These data confirm the estimation of both the basic constant and the assumed matching component in the first two experiments. Finally it is proposed that the data can be interpreted on the assumption that a matching process is responsible for the incongruence effect in naming. Reading interference does not normally occur because of faster processes or fewer stages in a parallel reading channel. Different strategies in coping with the Strooptask (reading vs inhibition) may explain differences between Exps. 1 and 2 and the absence of the redundancy effect from the data. The constraints on such assumptions in the context of reaction-time measurement are discussed.Parts of the data analyzed here were reported at the 18th Congress of Experimental Psychology in April 1976 at Bochum. K.P. Muthig, now at the Free University of Berlin, Dpt. 12, helped in the performance and analysis of the first and third experiments.I gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments of O. Neumann (Bochum) and of three anonymous reviewers of an earlier version of this paper.     

A head-mounted scene holder for eye movement research

An inexpensive head-mounted scene holder is described. In contrast to the usual biteboard/fixed-head approach, the present apparatus allows head movements without introducing substantial artifact. This enables eye movement investigations of brain-damaged or psychiatric subjects who often cannot maintain prolonged head immobility; also, the unit makes possible subjects’ verbal reports coincident with visual scanning.     

Effects of assertive training on three dimensions of assertiveness

The relative effectiveness of several components of an assertive training program in shaping assertive responses on three dimensions of assertiveness (refusal, investigatory, commendatory) was assessed. Thirty-two unassertive females were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups: coaching plus behavior rehearsal plus modeling, coaching plus behavior rehearsal, behavior rehearsal plus modeling, and placebo control. Five behavioral and three self-report inventories were used as dependent measures. Coaching plus behavior rehearsal appears to be the most essential treatment components. Training was effective in improving assertiveness on all three dimensions.     

ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS OF ESTABLISHING GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF BEHAVIORAL TECHNIQUES

Several guidelines surrounding the use of behavioral procedures have recently appeared, the best of which is that of the National Association of Retarded Citizens (NARC). Some issues and implications of the establishment of guidelines are briefly reviewed in the context of the NARC guidelines. Issues include the factual versus opinion bases for guidelines and the need to continue the development of explicit behavioral criteria for assessing staff competence. Implications for programs include the impact of guidelines on professional boundaries, administrative decision-making, and budgeting, together with the dangers of expanding the regulatory bureaucracy. Several miscellaneous impacts are noted, including a potential for curbing innovative behavioral technology.     

A controlled trial of the treatment of nocturnal enuresis in residential homes for children

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the practicability and efficacy of treating enuretic children in residential Children's Homes by means of the enuresis alarm. A control group design was employed with 19 and 20 subjects in the treatment and control groups respectively. Eighteen of the nineteen treatment group children achieved initial arrest of enuresis in a mean of 11.9 weeks of treatment (range 5–28 weeks). Over the initial 12-week period, the treatment group showed a statistically significant reduction in mean wetting frequency, both over time and in comparison with the control group. After a follow-up period of at least 20 months. 17 of the 19 children were known to be dry. The results of an independent evaluation are reported, and it is concluded that alarm treatment is as effective and practicable in Children's Homes as it is in family situations.