Making life easier with effort: Basic findings and applied research on response effort

Early basic research showed that increases in required response effort (or force) produced effects that resembled those produced by punishment. A recent study by Alling and Poling determined some subtle differences between the two behavior-change strategies, but also confirmed that increasing required effort is an effective response-reduction procedure with enduring effects. In this paper we summarize basic research on response effort and explore the role of effort in diverse applied areas including deceleration of aberrant behavior, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oral habits, health care appointment keeping, littering, indexes of functional disability, and problem solving. We conclude that renewed interest in response effort as an independent variable is justified because of its potent effects and because the political constraints imposed on punishment- and reinforcement-based procedures have yet to be imposed on procedures that entail manipulations of response effort.     

Don't get stuck in the mother: regression in analysis

This paper was part of an afternoon workshop on regression. It re views the author's recollections of her own analysis and clinical work with the purpose of discovering the sources of her own ideas on regression. Two specific forms of regression are then delineated – negative therapeutic reaction as described by Rosenfeld and 'umbilical transference' as a possible future development.     

Jeopardy Not Bonus Status for African American Women in the Work Force: Why Does the Myth of Advantage Persist?

African American women in the United States have a long history of employment outside of their homes. Their experiences are unique from other groups of majority and minority men and women due to the interaction of race, gender, and class. Despite long-standing and continuing struggles against discrimination, harassment, low pay, tokenism, and stereotypes, a myth that African American women enjoy a bonus or advantaged status in the work force has developed and persisted. In this article, Black women's work force experiences are examined from a social constructionist framework, misperceptions of Black women are critiqued, explanations are developed that explain the unique status of African American women and recommendations are proposed to eradicate the discrimination and marginal status that Black women have endured in the work force.     

May the force be with you

This paper is a critical assessment of argumentum ad baculum, or appeal to force. Its principal contention is that, contrary to common opinion, there is no general fallacy of ad baculum. Most real-life ad baculums are, in fact, fairly strong. A basic logical form for reconstructed ad baculums is proposed, and a number of heterodoxical conclusions are also advanced and argued for. They include that ad baculum is not necessarily a prudential argument, that ad baculum need not involve force, violence, or threats, and that one can argue ad baculum to oneself. The starting point of the paper, however, is a critical evaluation of three ad baculums from the exercise sets of Irving Copi's well-known Introduction to Logic.     

Confirmation of linear system theory prediction: Rate of change of Herrnstein's kappa as a function of response-force requirement

Four human subjects worked on all combinations of five variable-interval schedules and five reinforcer magnitudes (¢/reinforcer) in each of two phases of the experiment. In one phase the force requirement on the operandum was low (1 or 11 N) and in the other it was high (25 or 146 N). Estimates of Herrnstein's κ were obtained at each reinforcer magnitude. The results were: (1) response rate was more sensitive to changes in reinforcement rate at the high than at the low force requirement, (2) κ increased from the beginning to the end of the magnitude range for all subjects at both force requirements, (3) the reciprocal of κ was a linear function of the reciprocal of reinforcer magnitude for seven of the eight data sets, and (4) the rate of change of κ was greater at the high than at the low force requirement by an order of magnitude or more. The second and third findings confirm predictions made by linear system theory, and replicate the results of an earlier experiment (McDowell & Wood, 1984). The fourth finding confirms a further prediction of the theory and supports the theory's interpretation of conflicting data on the constancy of Herrnstein's κ.     

Procedural learning across the lifespan: A systematic review with implications for atypical development

This systematic review aimed to investigate procedural learning across the lifespan in typical and atypical development. Procedural learning is essential for the development of everyday skills, including language and communication skills. Although procedural learning efficiency has been extensively studied, there is no consensus yet on potential procedural learning changes during development and ageing. Currently, three conflicting models regarding this trajectory exist: (1) a model of age invariance; (2a) a model with a peak in young adulthood; and (2b) a model with a plateau in childhood followed by a decline. The aims of this study were (1) to investigate this debate on procedural learning across the lifespan by systematically reviewing evidence for each model from studies using the serial reaction time task; and (2) to review procedural learning in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI), two developmental disorders characterized by deficits in communication skills, in the light of these models. Our findings on typical development strongly support a model of age-related changes (Model 2a or 2b) and show that mixed findings regarding the developmental trajectory during childhood can be explained by methodological differences across studies. Applying these conclusions to systematic reviews of studies of ASD and SLI makes it clear that there is a strong need for the inclusion of multiple age groups in these clinical studies to model procedural learning in atypical development. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed. Future research should focus on the role of declarative learning in both typical and atypical development.     

Bimanual Lifting: Do Fingertip Forces Work Independently or Interactively?

Bimanual coordination is a commonplace activity, but the consequences of using both hands simultaneously are not well understood. The authors examined fingertip forces across 4 experiments in which participants undertook a range of bimanual tasks. They first measured fingertip forces during simultaneous lifts of 2 identical objects, noting that individuals held the objects with more force bimanually than unimanually. They then varied the mass of the objects held by each hand, noting that when both hands lifted together performance was equivalent to unimanual lifts. The authors next measured one hand's static grip force while the other hand lifted an object. They found a gradual reduction of grip force throughout the trial, but once again no evidence of one hand influencing the other. In the final experiment the authors tested whether tapping with one hand could influence the static grip force of its counterpart. Although the authors found no changes in static grip force as a direct consequence of the other hand's actions, they found clear differences from one task to the other, suggesting an effect of task instruction. Overall, these results suggest that fingertip forces are largely independent between hands in a bimanual lifting context, but are sensitive to different task requirements.     

Intraindividual reaction time variability predicts prospective memory failures in older adults

This study investigated the relationship between intraindividual variability (IIV) in reaction time and prospective memory errors in older adults using data from the Zurich Longitudinal Study of Cognitive Aging (n = 336 individuals aged 66–81 years). The results indicated that increased IIV measured from independent tasks was associated with a greater proportion of prospective memory errors. These significant findings were not influenced by age and did not vary according to prospective memory cue type. Variability is thought to reflect fluctuations in attentional and executive control and these attentional processes may also impact on prospective memory through failure to detect the target cue. The findings suggest, therefore, that measures of variability may have some potential in the identification of older persons who are more vulnerable to everyday errors such as prospective memory failures.     

X线碘对比剂过敏试验的价值

讨论当前X线碘对比剂过敏试验存在的争议和问题,并提出修改意见,以明确指导临床正确使用,规避医疗风险,保障患者安全。针对碘对比剂有关过敏试验的相关文件规定及部分产品说明书的相关内容进行深入解读,对碘过敏试验是否应进行及其试验方法进行讨论并提出修改建议。根据我国现行卫生行政法规要求,目前碘对比剂应进行碘过敏试验。建议相关政...     

Emotional reactions to scandals: When does moral character make a difference?

A scandal can evoke public outrage when it is widely publicized and involves an individual who is perceived to have a high level of cultural representativeness. Two experiments showed that when the scandalous target's moral character was highlighted, emotional responses towards the target were least negative when the scandal was widely circulated and when the target was seen as a representative of his culture. These results suggest that when a cultural symbol is implicated in a widely‐circulated scandal, the negative emotions directed towards the scandalous individual can be alleviated when the public remains confident in his or her commitment to morality.