Adolescent Place Attachment, Social Capital, and Perceived Safety: A Comparison of 13 Countries

In adolescence, children become increasingly independent and autonomous, and spend more time in neighborhood settings away from home. During mid-to-late adolescence, youth often become more critical about the place they live. Their attachment to home and even community may decrease as they explore and develop new attachments to other specific places. The aim of this study is to understand how 15-year-old students from 13 countries perceive their local neighborhood area (place attachment, social capital and safety), and how these different community cognitions are interrelated. We hypothesize that their place attachment predicts safety, and that the relationship is mediated in part by social capital. Result show that, despite cross-cultural differences in neighborhood perceptions, the proposed theoretical model fits robustly across all 13 countries.     

Apparatus as milestones in the history of comparative psychology

Significant apparatus developments from the history of comparative psychology are reviewed, including the contemporary trend toward computer use in research with nonhuman animals. It is argued that milestone apparatus served not only to open new lines of inquiry but also to shape or delimit the nature of the answers that were obtained.     

Testing primates with joystick-based automated apparatus: Lessons from the Language Research Center’s Computerized Test System

Nonhuman primates provide useful models for studying a variety of medical, biological, and behavioral topics. Four years of joystick-based automated testing of monkeys using the Language Research Center’s Computerized Test System (LRC-CTS) are examined to derive hints and principle for comparable testing with other species-including humans. The results of multiple parametric studies are reviewed, and reliability data are presented to reveal the surprises and pitfalls associated with video-task testing of performance.     

A microcomputer-based laboratory for psychopathology research in rural settings

An Apple-based computer system for research use in rural mental health settings is described. Hardware and software modifications are detailed. Techniques to aid in the acceptance of psychopathology research programs in these rural settings are discussed.     

A computer-controlled language training system for investigating the language skills of young apes

A computer-controlled language training system was designed and constructed to enhance the objectivity and efficiency of inquiry into the language-relevant behaviors of apes. The system allows the S to gain control over the events of the 24-h day in direct correspondence with its competence in using a keyboard on which each key represents a word. Various incentives can be obtained through the selection and depression of appropriate keys in accordance with rules of sentence structure monitored by a computer. The system is flexible and allows for eventual conversation between man and ape, with the computer as the intermediary. A Teletype records all that transpires. Achievements of the chimpanzee S over the course of the first 8 months of the system’s operation attest to the worth of the system and training methods.     

Development of ear-asymmetry related to coding processes in memory in children

The purpose of this study was to determine if between-ear differences are related to short-term memory functions in 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old males and females. Using the “Proactive Release Technique” in conjunction with monaural verbal stimulation, a total of 288 children were tested. The independent variables were sex, grade level, group (experimental, control), ear (left, right) and trials (acquisition-recall). The dependent variable was free recall scores. The results indicated that children coded in short-term memory by means of taxonomic categories, and that proactive inhibition affects short-term memory functions differentially across age levels. The results further revealed that the observation of ear-asymmetry is dependent on gender differences and required short-term memory functions for verbal material.     

Summation in the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

In this research, we asked whether 2 chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) subjects could reliably sum across pairs of quantities to select the greater total. Subjects were allowed to choose between two trays of chocolates. Each tray contained two food wells. To select the tray containing the greater number of chocolates, it was necessary to sum the contents of the food wells on each tray. In experiments where food wells contained from zero to four chocolates, the chimpanzees chose the greater value of the summed wells on more than 90% of the trials. In the final experiment, the maximum number of chocolates assigned to a food well was increased to five. Choice of the tray containing the greater sum still remained above 90%. In all experiments, subjects reliably chose the greater sum, even though on many trials a food well on the "incorrect" tray held more chocolates than either single well on the "correct" tray. It was concluded that without any known ability to count, these chimpanzees used some process of summation to combine spatially separated quantities. Speculation regarding the basis for summation includes consideration of perceptual fusion of pairs of quantities and subitization.