Feeding inhibition produced by concurrent sucrose ingestion in gerbils and hamsters

The daily 1-h intake of solid diet, 7% sucrose solution, and water of gerbils and hamsters tested for a 15-day period was investigated. Results of Experiment 1 indicated that gerbils provided with sucrose solution in addition to Purina rat chow showed an inhibition of food intake relative to control gerbils not given access to sucrose solution. However, experimental animals did not differ from control animals in either body weight loss or total caloric intake. For Experiment 2, results indicated that hamsters provided with sucrose solution in addition to sunflower seeds did not differ in their daily 1-h intake of seeds from control hamsters that had access to sunflower seeds. In Experiment 3, gerbils were tested under the same conditions as those of Experiment 2, and results indicated that concurrent sucrose ingestion inhibited the intake of sunflower seeds. The implications of these species differences in reactions to the test conditions are discussed.     

Does delay of reinforcement produce durable persistence?

In a foru-phase experiment, phase I was runway training under four different reinforcement conditions: partial reinforcement (PRF), partial delayed reinforcement (PDR), constant delayed reinforcement (CDR), and consistent reinforcement (CRF). During phase 2 extinction, PRF and PDR groups did not differ; both groups were more persistent than group CDR, which was in turn superior to the CRF control. Phase 3 was CRF reacquisition for all groups. During phase 4 extinction, PRF group was more presistent than the other three groups which did not differ. A Pavlovian counter-conditioning hypothesis was proposed to account for the absence of durable persistence following PDR training.     

Matrix derivatives and its applications in statistics

The scalar values of differentials rather than symbolic derivatives are treated here. This approach simplifies the differential calculus in statistics because, often, the linear representations of differentials in statistics (1) are complicated, (2) depend on the bases used, (3) can be obtained by the scalar values on elements of a given basis, and (4) are not necessary for many problems of finding maxima and minima. Among others, a product rule is obtained in a very general and simple form. The results are applied to certain problems in multivariate statistical analysis that are useful to psychology and other behavioral sciences.     

Hyperreactivity, muricide, and intraspecific aggression in the rat produced by infusion of local anesthetic into the lateral septum or surrounding areas

Intracranial infusions of a local anesthetic (lidocaine, 2%) were made bilaterally (4 microliter over 20 min) through permanently implanted cannulas ending in the lateral septum or adjacent areas. Increases in irritability and reactivity to the experimenter, muricide, and intermale aggression were produced by injections into the lateral septum and the region ventral to it. The increases in reactivity and interanimal aggresion occurred in varying degrees and were independent of one another, but intermale aggression occurred only in animals showing muricide. The most effective site for eliciting the entire spectrum of aggressive behaviors was the region ventral to the anterior septum. The region ventral to the posterior septum (medial preoptic area, anterior hypothalamic area, straia terminalis) was unique in that it tended to produce a high incidence of muricide, with only modest increases in reactivity. The lateral septum was moderately effective in producing the entire range of aggressive behaviors. No changes in behavior were noted with infusions into the medial septum or th medial forebrain bundle/lateral preoptic area ventrolateral to the septum. It is suggested that the hyperreactivity and irritability may be relat to hyperdefensiveness and that muricide and intermale aggression are points on a continuum of interanimal aggressiveness.     

Durable partial reinforcement effects and social dominance in the rat

Following partial reinforcement (PRF) or consistent reinforcement (CRF) of an approach response in a straight runway and experimental extinction, rats were given the arena food-dominance test in Experiment 1 and both the arena test and the tunnel-dominance test in Experiment 2. PRF subjects were dominant in the tunnel test, but subordinate in the arena test, regardless of which dominance test was given first. These durable and pervasive effects of partial reinforcement training can be interpreted in terms of frustration theory.     

Sex differences in performance attribution and contingency judgment

In two studies, male and female subjects were given attribution measures before and after performance on a novel finger maze. Neither study revealed any sex differences in expectancy and anticipated attributions prior to maze performance. In Experiment 1, no sex differences in attributions were obtained regardless of whether the outcome was success or failure. In Experiment 2, where the outcome was made completely noncontingent on behavior, females had greater illusion of control as well as higher luck attribution. This paradoxical finding was interpreted as reflecting females' tendency to depend on external and internal attributions simultaneously.The data presented here are based on a larger research project on reinforcement contingencies and performance attributions supported by a research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.     

Group interpersonal skills training in a natural setting: an experimental study.

This study assessed effectiveness of group interpersonal skills training conducted in a natural setting with nonanalogue clients. Subjects (Ss) in a behavioral-training condition received 4 hr of instruction consisting of modeling, behavioral rehearsal, coaching, feedback and reinforcement. Training focused on positive and negative social responses and on initiating interactions, as well as reacting to interactions initiated by others. Subjects in a discussion-control condition engaged in focused discussion of interpersonal concerns but received no experiential practice. Within a pre-test-post-test control group design, subjective and objective measures were used to assess training effects. When compared to Ss involved in group discussion. Ss participating in group behavioral training revealed greater pre- to post-test changes on selfreported probability of engaging in selected interpersonal responses and on objective measures of eye contact, speech duration, positive affective responses, use of no-statements, compliance, refusals and requests for new behavior. Support for generalization of training is presented and methodological issues are discussed.     

Acculturation, peer relations, and delinquent behavior of Chinese-Canadian youth

Studies have reported that youth of Chinese descent in North America tend to have lower rates of delinquency. Some investigators have attributed this phenomenon to the restraining effects of Chinese culture. In this study, acculturation, peer relations, and delinquency were examined in a sample of Chinese-Canadian youth. The results revealed that adherence to Chinese culture was related to lower delinquency, whereas the opposite was true for North American acculturation. It was found that association with delinquent peers was positively related and attachment to peers negatively related to delinquency, as predicted by differential association and control theories, respectively. Moreover, acculturation was positively related to association with delinquent peers and attachment to peers. However, there was the unexpected finding that association with Chinese peers was positively related to delinquency. These seemingly contradictory findings demonstrate the dilemma experienced by Chinese youth in North America.     

Sex differences on the MMPI-2 substance abuse scales in psychiatric inpatients.

Sex differences on the MMPI-2 addiction scales (MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale-Revised, Addiction Acknowledgement Scale, Addiction Potential Scale) and their ability to distinguish between substance-abusing and nonabusing psychiatric inpatients were examined. Men obtained higher mean raw scores than women on the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale-Revised and the Addiction Acknowledgement Scale, and substance abusers scored higher on all three scales. Even relatively low cutoff scores, however, on the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale-Revised resulted in false negative rates of 37 to 39%. The results support the utility of the MMPI-2 substance abuse scales; however, lower cutoff scores should be used with women and within a psychiatric population.     

On A Semantic Interpretation Of Kant's Concept Of Number

What is central to the progression of a sequence is the idea of succession, which is fundamentally a temporal notion. In Kant's ontology numbers are not objects but rules (schemata) for representing the magnitude of a quantum. The magnitude of a discrete quantum 11...11 is determined by a counting procedure, an operation which can be understood as a mapping from the ordinals to the cardinals. All empirical models for numbers isomorphic to 11...11 must conform to the transcendental determination of time-order. Kant's transcendental model for number entails a procedural semantics in which the semantic value of the number-concept is defined in terms of temporal procedures. A number is constructible if and only if it can be schematized in a procedural form. This representability condition explains how an arbitrarily large number is representable and why Kant thinks that arithmetical statements are synthetic and not analytic.