Structural complexity as a determinant of serial pattern learning

A new methodology extends the study of serial pattern learning to nonhuman organisms by constructing patterns using elements that are both familiar and motivationally meaningful to animals. Two experiments examine the ability of rats to anticipate various quantities of food as measured by running times in a runway when the quantities occur in a serial order. In Experiment 1, a serial monotonic pattern (14-7-3-1-0 food pellets) produced more rapid learning and more accurate anticipation of the various quantities (“tracking”) than a serial nonmonotonic pattern (14-1-3-7-0 food pellets), particularly with respect to the final 0-pellet element. In Experiment 2, the same monotonic pattern generated faster learning and more accurate anticipation of pattern elements than a weakly monotonic pattern (14-5-5-1-0 pellets). Associative explanations including simple excitatory or inhibitory effects, temporal anticipation, reinforcement contrast, and the number and discriminability of pairwise associations are not adequate to account for the data. Rather, the formally defined structural complexity of each pattern adequately predicts its relative difficulty.     

A comparison of operant licking and lever pressing in the rat

Two groups of rats were trained on a signaled, free-operant, avoidance procedure to lick or to lever press in order to avoid shock while water-deprived or satiated and, in the case of licking, while ingesting deionized water, isotonic saline, or 10% sucrose. The most effective avoidance licking occurred while the rats were water-deprived and ingesting 10% sucrose. Water deprivation level had no effect on lever pressing for shock avoidance. Two other groups of rats were operantly conditioned to lick or to lever press for food pellets while waterdeprived or satiated and, in the case of licking, while ingesting deionized water or 10% sucrose. The most effective licking for food reinforcement occurred while the rats were water-deprived and ingesting 10% sucrose. Water deprivation level had no effect on lever pressing for food reinforcement. The data indicated that effective operant licking must be supported by factors related to water regulation and taste palatability.     

Neutralizing sexist titles in Holland's Self-Directed Search: What difference does it make?

Sex-role stereotyping in the linguistic structure of Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS) was examined. A revised SDS was constructed involving the removal of all masculine-toned terminology from the items and test-taking instructions, as well as the affixing of the letters M/F and F/M to all occupational titles and terms commonly perceived as gender specific. Subjects were 266 lower division female students at a large state university; 133 subjects completed the standard SDS and 133 completed the revised form. Following SDS assessment, subjects rated their inventory with respect to perceived sexual equality. Comparison variables included: daydreams, occupations' scores, summary codes, and subsequent occupational choices. Occupational choices at each stage of the assessment process were classified as nontraditional or traditional choices for women. Results indicated that across all indices derived from the standard and revised versions of the SDS, there were no significant differences in these subjects' performance. The subjects did perceive the two inventories differently, with subjects completing the standard SDS viewing it as slightly less equitable.     

Why does memory span increase with age?

Ordered recall of auditory digits was obtained from children of 4, 7, 9, and 11 years of age. Lists had one of three types of sound pattern: melody, prosody, or monotone. For each sound pattern condition, half the lists were temporally grouped. Effects of sound pattern were minor, and not obviously age-specific. Profound effects of temporal grouping and clear-cut primacy effects appeared for all age groups and all conditions. These results render less plausible the popular hypothesis that the increase of memory span with age is due to the emergence of active strategies. It is suggested that the development of span may be due to an increase in the ease with which children can identify the individual items and encode information about their order.     

Peripheral information extraction: A developmental examination of reading processes

Three experiments examining the information extraction processes are presented. In Experiments I and II, adults and children were presented paragraphs to read and search for specified targets, respectively. Two types of typographical (spatial) manipulations were used: case of the letters within the paragraphs was as normally experienced, or in alternating upper and lower case letters. Spacing between words was either as normal, filled with a neutral symbol, or absent. The response measures were reading and search speed in words per minute. Sensitivity to case (word shape) and space (word boundary) increased as a function of experience and was different for reading compared with search. In Experiment III subjects were asked to judge whether briefly presented pairs of letters were the same or different. Retinal (spatial) location was varied from trial to trial; dependent measure was reaction time. Results showed a developmental progression in response time with complex interactions. Theoretical interpretations of these data are discussed in support of the initial stage of Hochberg's peripheral to cognitive search guidance model.     

Situational factors affecting the weighting of predictor components in the Fishbein model

The Fishbein regression model (B ≈ BI ≈ (Aact)w₀ + (NBs)w₁) is designed to predict behavior (B) from attitudes (Aact) and normative beliefs (NBs). Using a variation of theAjzen and Fishbein (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1970,6, 466–487) method, potential limitations of the model were investigated. It was found that certain situational factors were capable of altering the nature of the model significantly. Aact carried a nonsignificant regression weight when the participant had had no prior direct experience with the act and carried a significant weight when the participant had had experience with the act. NB carried a nonsignificant weight under competitive motivational set conditions and a significant weight under cooperative set conditions. These findings raise the question of the generality of the Fishbein model, since different prediction models were required by different situational conditions. The hypothesized association between attitude and behavior appears to be dependent on prior experience with the behavior, while the association between norms and behavior seems to be dependent on consistency between personal motivation and perceived social expectations.     

Contralateral interference and ear advantages for identification of three-element patterns

Recent experience with attempts to test relatively simple patterns such as three-tone sequences in a traditional dichotic-listening paradigm indicates that when such sequences are used for both target and contralateral interference, performance tends to be low in both ears and not useful for measuring or comparing ear advantages in various target conditions. It is reported that tests with a variety of sounds presented contralaterally to three-element patterns show that several such sounds can (1) allow performance in at least one ear to remain above floor values, (2) result in performance in at least one ear that is below ceiling, and (3) reveal ear advantages that are similar in direction and magnitude to those seen with the traditional dichotic paradigm.     

“Liturgy emerges from a wound”

Serious academic reflection and scholarship on the Fresh Expressions of Church (FXoC) movement in the United Kingdom is developing significantly, but there exists almost no such work in South Africa. What has been produced deals with scholars reflecting on their experiences of Fresh Expressions in the United Kingdom (Ian Nell and Rudolph Grobler, “An Exploration of Fresh Expressions as Missional Church: Some Practical-Theological Perspectives,” NGTT DEEL 55:3–4 (2017), 747–68). This is an unfortunate situation. While there has been a generous response by many churches, there has been little interest, by and large, from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA). FXoC is, then, an under-researched entity in South Africa. This article, part of a larger study, seeks to ask questions about how liturgy might develop from below in a new ecclesial community of marginalized people.     

Synchrony in mother-infant vocal interactions revealed through timed event sequences

This report extends a previous cross-cultural study of synchrony in mother-infant vocal interactions (Bornstein et al., 2015) to immigrant samples. Immigrant dyads from three cultures of origin (Japan, South Korea, South America) living in the same culture of destination (the United States) were compared to nonmigrant dyads in those same cultures of origin and to nonmigrant European American dyads living in the same culture of destination (the United States). This article highlights an underutilized analysis to assess synchrony in mother-infant interaction and extends cross-cultural research on mother-infant vocal interaction. Timing of onsets and offsets of maternal speech to infants and infant nondistress vocalizations were coded separately from 50-min recorded naturalistic observations of mothers and infants. Odds ratios were computed to analyze synchrony in mother-infant vocal interactions. Synchrony was analyzed in three ways -- contingency of timed event sequences, mean differences in contingency by acculturation level and within dyads, and coordination of responsiveness within dyads. Immigrant mothers were contingently responsive to their infants’ vocalizations, but only Korean immigrant infants were contingently responsive to their mothers’ vocalizations. For the Japanese and South American comparisons, immigrant mothers were more contingently responsive than their infants (but not robustly so for South American immigrants). For the Korean comparison, mean differences in contingent responsiveness were found among acculturation groups (culture of origin, immigrant, culture of destination), but not between mothers and infants. Immigrant dyads’ mean levels of responsiveness did not differ. Immigrant mothers’ and infants’ levels of responsiveness were coordinated. Strengths and flexibility of the timed event sequential analytic approach to assessing synchrony in mother-infant interactions are discussed, particularly for culturally diverse samples.     

Stigma towards psychosis: Cross‐cultural differences in prejudice,stereotypes, and discrimination in White British and South Asians

Public stigma towards people with mental health problems has been demonstrated in Western societies. Little is known about non‐Western cultures and whether cultures differ in their perceptions of people with mental health problems. Aim of this study was to examine cultural differences in prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination towards people with psychosis. Participants were from White British and South Asian backgrounds (N = 128, aged 16–20 years) recruited from two schools and colleges in the United Kingdom. They completed a cross‐sectional survey on affective, cognitive, and behavioural dimensions of stigma. Results revealed significant cultural differences on all three stigma dimensions. South Asians attributed higher anger (prejudice) and dangerousness (stereotypes) to people with psychosis than White British. They also reported lower willingness to help, greater avoidance, and higher endorsement of segregation (discrimination). The effects of ethnic group on helping intentions, avoidance, and segregation endorsement were mediated by anger and by dangerousness. Understanding cultural differences in stigma towards psychosis will be important for designing stigma interventions as well as treatments for people with different cultural backgrounds.