TEACHING GENERATIVE USE OF SENTENCE ANSWERS TO THREE FORMS OF QUESTIONS1

Three retarded and four economically disadvantaged children were taught, through modelling and reinforcement procedures, to produce complete sentences in response to three types of questions involving changes in verb inflections. To evaluate generalization of training, new but similar questions were periodically asked, answers to which were never modelled or reinforced. Modelling and reinforcement effectively taught correct sentence answers to training questions and produced new sentence answers to questions for which no specific training had been given.     

Skin conductance response conditioning with CS intensities equal to and greater than UCS intensity

With .2-sec bursts of white noise as both conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (UCS), conditioning of first-interval skin conductance responses was obtained when the intensity of the CS equaled and exceeded that of the UCS. There was no evidence that second-interval response conditioning occurred. Nonspecific response frequencies were also affected by the variations in stimulus intensity, this raising some question about typical controls employed in SCR conditioning. There was some evidence that second interval responses were suppressed by the intense CS values. It was concluded that the existence of simple conditioning with a CS/UCS intensity ratio equal to or greater than unity was contrary to the Pavlovian proposition that a CS must be biologically less salient than the UCS in order for conditioning to occur. It was noted, however, that the suppression of second-interval responses might indicate that anticipatory CRs which are not confounded with orienting reflexes are prevented from exhibiting a conditioning effect when a high CS/UCS intensity ratio is employed.     

Intersensory effects in the psychological refractory period

Two experiments examined reaction time (RT) to each of two stimulus events separated by short interstimulus intervals (1SI). The essential contrast was RT to the second visual signal, RT₂, in auditory-visual (A-V) vs visual-visual (V-V) sequences. With response, certain pairings in Experiment 1, an effect apparently demonstrating a single-channel process (Welford, 1952), was noted. RT₂ was generally faster for A-V as opposed to V-V sequences especially when Ss were uncertain as to the sequence that would occur. At 0-msec ISI, the RT₂ difference between sequences approached the RT! difference. More rapid RT₂ to A-V sequences was also observed with go vs no-go pairings in Experiment 2 when the initial event was a go signal. However, the RT difference disappeared upon error correction, making the RT₂ sequence difference of questionable relevance to the hypothetical single-channel process. RT₂ was more rapid following a null no-go signal when the no-go signal was contrasted with a visual as opposed to auditory go signal. The latter effect was independent of error and is consistent with channel-switching theory (Kristofferson, 1967).     

The effect of knowledge of results on learning and performance IV. the direction of the error in very simple skills

Re-examination of the data discussed in previous papers of this series shows a greater tendency toward “overshooting” when the time interval between trials, in some of the experiments, is short than when it is longer. The subject tends to make a bigger movement or exert more pressure with short intervals. This seems to be true with or without visual knowledge of results. On the other hand, with the experiments in which the task was to press a key for a given short interval, the effect was not conclusively shown.

A hypothesis is put forward to explain these results in terms of proprioceptive adaptation.     

Economic threat undermines the satisfaction of psychological needs for competence and autonomy

During times of macroeconomic instability, the prospect of personal financial deficiency becomes a pervasive concern. This research examined the psychological consequences of contemplating threatening economic futures. In two experiments, we tested whether economic threat undermined the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for competence and autonomy. In Experiment 1, Canadian university students primed with an economic threat (compared with a threat‐neutral topic) reported feeling less competent and autonomous. In Experiment 2, American adults primed with an economic threat reported less competence and autonomy compared to both those primed with (a) a noneconomic threat and (b) a threat‐neutral topic. Participants under economic threat also reported lower well‐being compared with threat‐neutral participants. This effect was mediated by self‐perceived competence and autonomy.