In defence of iconic memory

According to a model of visual information-processing which originated with Sperling (1960), and which currently enjoys wide acceptance, the contents of brief alphanumeric displays are initially held in a high-capacity fast-decay visual-information store (“iconic memory”). Some of these items are subsequently transferred to a more durable form of storage; the remaining non-transferred items are lost. Observers can select which items are to be transferred on the basis of physical characteristics of the items (such as colour, location, size, shape or brightness).

This model has recently been attacked by Holding (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973), sometimes by claiming that iconic memory does not exist, and at other times by claiming that transfer from iconic memory cannot be selectively controlled by the observer. We argue in this paper that Holding's criticisms are incorrect, and that, even if they were correct, the experiment we report would not be open to objections he has raised concerning previous studies of iconic memory. Despite this, evidence fully supporting the orthodox model was obtained, and we therefore conclude that this model remains tenable.     

Differences Between Adolescents Who Seek Counseling and Those Who Do Not

It was hypothesized that students who seek counseling for occupational and educational planning would differ from those who do not seek counseling in terms of socioeconomic background, certain personality variables, vocational development, and relations with parents. A battery of tests and a questionnaire were given to 245 male students from McDowell County, West Virginia. Of this group, 93 had received counseling (designated as group C) and 152 had not received counseling (designated as group NC). Group C showed a higher socioeconomic background, more n Achievement, and more certainty in vocational planning. The two groups did not differ significantly in occupational aspiration, perception of occupational prestige, self-esteem, fear of failure, relations with parents, and certainty in educational planning.     

Classical conditioning of aggressive display in Siamese fighting fish

Unconditioned aggressive-display behavior elicited by the mirror image of a male Siamese Fighting Fish was brought under the control of a previously ineffective stimulus by classical conditioning. A stimulus light repeatedly paired with mirror presentation came to elicit the complex aggressive-behavior sequence. Relative rates of acquisition of four components of the display were compared. Fin erection and undulating movements were acquired most rapidly while gill-cover erection and frontal approach were acquired most slowly. A discriminative conditioning procedure revealed that the response was specifically elicited by the conditioned stimulus, and not a sensitization artifact.     

Visual-reinforcer color-and operant behavior in Siamese fighting fish

Male Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens) were conditioned to emit an operant response sequence reinforced by presentation of a model of a male Siamese Fighting Fish in aggressive display. Operant response rate varied as a function of the color of the model with respect to the color of the subject.     

Impact of Commitment Upon Performance of College Students

The retention, academic achievement, and change in college plans of students committed to a field of study as freshmen are compared with those who were not sure of their interest. A survey form administered to all the freshmen in the class of 1964, College of Agriculture, was readministered to all those still enrolled seven semesters later. The original hypothesis that the committed student was different from the uncommitted tended to be upheld. The committed student who was dedicated to the study of agriculture was more persistent in his interest in his chosen field; fewer committed students changed majors; fewer withdrew from college.     

Occupational Values of High School Students

Responses of high school students as freshmen and later as sophomores in this study support the belief that the characteristics of a vocation that are important to students may be internalized relatively early in life. There were differences between what girls and boys thought was important in an occupation; however, little difference was found between the group means of these students when freshmen and a year later when sophomores. Most students did not change occupational preference between the freshman and sophomore year. Students in the study as freshmen, but transferring out or withdrawing a year later, differed little in occupational values or in occupational choice from the sophomores. These findings agree only in part with work of other researchers in this field.     

Healing the betrayed: Issues in psychotherapy with child victims of trauma

Over the last few years there has been a tremendous upsurge of research on child victims of trauma. However, very little has been reported on the process of psychotherapy with traumatized children. The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of countertransference and the use of a treatment parameter that has been tried in several individual cases of victimized children and found to be of value.     

Downward comparison, prejudice, and evaluations of others: effects of self-esteem and threat

In two studies, we explored the effects of trait self-esteem and threats to the self-concept on evaluations of others. In Study 1, subjects high, moderate, and low in self-esteem received either success, failure, or no feedback on a test and later evaluated three pairs of targets: in-groups and out-groups based on a minimal intergroup manipulation, those who scored above average and those who scored below average on the test, and themselves and the average college student. Study 2 explored the effects of self-esteem and threat on in-group favoritism in a real-world setting, campus sororities. Together, the results of these studies indicate that individuals high in self-esteem, but not those low in self-esteem, respond to threats to the self-concept by derogating out-groups relative to the in-group when the group boundaries have evaluative implications.