When three is not always two against one: Coalitions in experimental three-person cooperative games

Four models of coalition formation are tested in a computer-controlled experiment in which three players negotiated to form coalitions in order to gain rewards for themselves. Formation of the grand coalition of all three players as well as any of the three possible 2-person coalitions is permitted. The results indicate that the grand coalition is the most likely to form, followed by the coalition between the two strongest players. The individually rational bargaining set model of coalition formation is supported over an egalitarian model, the Shapley value, and the coalitionally rational bargaining set model. Various measures of the progress of negotiations are introduced, examined, and discussed in an effort to provide an increased data base for the establishment of a behavioral theory of bargaining and coalition formation.     

Effects of metronome-conditioned relaxation,metronome-induced relaxation,and progressive muscle relaxation on insomnia

Although several controlled studies have indicated that relaxation can be effectively employed in the treatment of insomnia (Borkovec and Fowles, 1973; Steinmark and Borkovec. 1974; Haynes et al., 1974), the relaxation training procedures thus far utilized have typically necessitated several hours of therapist-client contact. The possibility of a more efficient relaxation procedure for treating insomniacs suggests an attractive alternative to the tense-relax instructions of progressive muscle relaxation (Jacobson, 1938). Brady (1973) has reported that the sound of a metronome set at 60 beats per min is inherently relaxing, and although he has only reported on the effects of the metronome when paired with verbally-induced relaxation (both general suggestions of relaxation and instructions to tense and relax successive muscle groups), he has successfully employed this technique in the treatment of borborygmi (rumbling noises in the abdomen) and essential hypertension (Brady, 1973; Brady, Luborsky and Kron, 1974). If the sound of the metronome alone, which would require minimal therapist-client contact, is sufficient to induce relaxation, the efficiency with which relaxation can be achieved in the treatment of insomnia, as well as other tension-related disorders. may be greatly enhanced.The present study was designed to assess the relaxation-inducing properties of (a) Brady's metronome-conditioned relaxation (metronome plus verbal relaxation instructions), (b) progressive muscle relaxation and (c) metronome-induced relaxation (the sound of a metronome alone) in the treatment of insomnia. In order to provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of relaxation techniques with a broader population than was sampled in previous investigations of this nature, this study included employed adults as well as college students in the subject pool. In addition to its implications for treating insomnia, this study was designed to yield an independent test of the hypothesis that a 60 beat per min metronome sound has the capacity by itself to induce relaxation.     

Remembrance of things parsed: Story structure and recall

An analysis of the underlying structure of simple stories is presented. It is claimed that this type of representation of stories is used to form schemata which guide encoding and retrieval. A type of tree structure containing basic units and their connections was found to be adequate to describe the structure of both single and multi-episode stories. The representation is outlined in the form of a grammar, consisting of rewrite rules defining the units and their relationships. Some transformational rules mapping underlying and surface structures are discussed. The adequacy of the analysis is first tested against Bartlett's protocols of “The War of the Ghosts.” Then a developmental study of recall is presented. It is concluded that both children and adults are sensitive to the structure of stories, although some differences were found. Finally, it is suggested that the schemata used to guide encoding and recall are related but not identical and that retrieval is dependent on the schemata operative at the time of recall.     

The human lateral lemniscus and its nuclei: The human auditory pathways: A quantitative study

Quantification of the human lateral lemniscus and its nuclei in 15 brains of patients without hearing impairment revealed these average values: Cross-sectional surface area of the bundle at the level of the nucleus of cranial nerve IV of 2.5 mm², fiber density of 77,000/mm²; 194,000 total fibers on each side; grouping of the nerve cells in three nuclei (olive remnant, ventral, and dorsal) the largest of which is the ventral; cell density in the olive remnant of 5009/mm³, in the ventral nucleus of 15,184/mm³, and 13,169 cells per mm³ in the dorsal nucleus; total cell populations in all nuclei of 20,063 on the left and 26,137 on the right; glial-neuronal index of 9.2; cell dimensions of 23.6 × 15.4 microns in the olive remnant and 21.2 × 12.2 in the other nuclei; combined nuclear volume of 1.91 mm³. Loss of neurons was not apparent in the aged brains but a significant reduction in counts of axons and in lemniscal bulk appeared in two of the older brains of the series (77 and 91 years).     

“Penis envy” and attitudes toward castration-like punishment of sexual aggression

Psychoanalytic hypotheses that relate the construct of “penis envy” to the enactment of castration responses toward sexual aggressors were examined by requiring females to evaluate an anthropological film that presented multilations of male genitals. High or low penis envy was determined from responses to Blacky Cartoon VI; the mutilations were presented as cultural rites de passage or as tribal punishments for sexual misconduct. Evaluations of the film showed that interactions predicted by psychoanalytic theory were obtained for subjects' approval of the mutilations, approval of their adoption in the United States, belief that other women should view the film, and desire to see the film again. The analog suggests that penis envy leads to the punishment of sexual aggression, and several psychoanalytic hypotheses for further experimentation on this construct are presented.     

The development of the category-recall relationship in the sorting-recall task

The relationship between categorical organization and recall for children in grades two, four, and six (ages 8, 10 and 12 years, respectively), and for adults was investigated using the sorting-recall procedure. Subjects sorted unrelated words on individual cards into either two, four, or six categories prior to output, and recall performance improved significantly as a function of increased numbers of sorting categories. The category-recall relationship was shown to be independent of the effects of subject-determined item exposure time in sorting. This result was taken as evidence for a basic structural property of memory (“chunking”) that does not vary as a function of age. We further speculated that the slopes of the category-recall function obtained in this study suggest a limit on the size of organizational units in young children's memory.