On the failure of transfer of control from separately conducted Pavlovian conditioning to free-operant avoidance conditioning in rats

In Experiment 1, presentation of a tone previously correlated with foot shock produced an increase in the rate of rats' foot-shock avoidance responding, while presentation of a tone previously correlated with tail shock had no reliable effect on the rate of foot-shock avoidance responding. In Experiment 2, a tone correlated with tail shock elicited heart-rate conditioned responses, but had no reliable effect on the rate of subsequent foot-shock avoidance responding. In Experiment 3, presentation of a tone previously correlated with foot shock, and a tone previously correlated with tail shock in separate groups produced increases in the rate of tail-shock avoidance responding. In Experiment 4, a tone correlated with tail shock in one setting accelerated tail-shock avoidance responding in a second setting. Interaction between US and negative reinforcer modifiability by skeletal responding may contribute to the pattern of results obtained.     

Cognitive correlates of map-reading ability

The performance of ROTC students on the Relief Format Assessment Test (RFAT) was regressed on psychometric variables and a measure of hemisphericity. Contrary to expectation, it was found that measures of visual-spatial ability and hemisphericity were not good predictors of map-reading ability, whereas the Extended Range Vocabulary and Mathematical Aptitude Tests were significant predictors. Factor analysis of the RFAT indicated the existence of two factors, one tentatively associated with terrain analysis and the other with altitude estimation. Mathematical Aptitude along with Form Board predicted performance on the altitude estimation factor, whereas Extended Range Vocabulary along with Similarities and Institution predicted performance on the terrain analysis factor. These results suggest that at least for our subjects, the solution of map-reading problems is primarily dependent upon verbal-analytic and to a lesser extent upon visual-spatial ability.     

The effects of instructional variables on young children's organization and free recall

The relationship between verbal instruction and children's free recall was examined. Sixty first-grade children (mean age 84 months) were trained to categorize pictures of common objects. Half were given organizational instructions emphasizing categorization, and half were given instructions emphasizing the individual objects. Similarly, half were given detailed verbal instructions and encouraged to listen, and half were taught using a question type format that encouraged participation. Immediately and after a 2- to 3-week delay, children who were shown an organizational strategy categorized the materials during study and attained higher recall scores than children who were shown a specific strategy. After the 2- to 3-week delay, children in the explanation groups out-performed children in the question-asking groups. The child's competence as measured by intelligence and performance in school did not contribute to amount recalled when subjects were given instructions emphasizing the general strategy. However, children of high competence benefited more from specific training by recalling more items than did children of low competence. These findings point to the importance of instructional variables in studying changes in children's processing capabilities.     

A study of the relationship between individual differences in nonverbal expressiveness and factors of personality and social interaction

Some theoretical and applied implications of individual differences in nonverbal expressiveness were investigated in a medical setting. In Study I, the abilities of 21 physicians to express different emotions through voice tone were assessed and related to physician personality and to actual patient ratings of the physician. Study II replicated Study I using visual as well as vocal cues (i.e., videotapes) of a new sample of physicians, and added a study of physician greetings. It was found that: (1) Aspects of expressive ability were reliably correlated with a cluster of personality traits, thus supporting the notion that nonverbal affective style may be a window to inner dispositions; and (2) expressive ability was related to patient satisfaction with the interpersonal manner of their physicians and to the judged likeability of the physician's greeting, thus providing evidence for the importance of this ability for social interaction.     

Selective processing in encoding and memory: an analysis of resource allocation by kindergarten children.

This study investigated the extent to which kindergarten children (mean age 5.8 years) allocate their processing resources selectively to the relevant components of a visual array. On each trial the child was presented with an array containing either one, two, or four items, and a verbal cue designating either one, two, or four of these items as relevant. For different groups of children the cue occurred either before or after the stimulus array, in order to investigate the stages of processing at which kindergarteners are able to initiate selection. The results indicated that kindergarteners are able to exert considerable control over the allocation of resources during the initial perceptual processing of a visual stimulus, but they have only limited ability to initiate such selective allocation in memory, after initial encoding has taken place.     

Spatial coding and oblique discrimination by children

Children from five to eight years of age learned to discriminate between mirrorimage oblique lines more readily when cards bearing the obliques were presented vertically than when they were presented horizontally. The difference in performance between the vertical and horizontal planes could not be accounted for by differences in either the external visual context or the availability of asymmetrical body information (e.g., left vs right hand). The superiority of the vertical plane was attributed to the congruence of objective, bodily, and retinal vertical axes for the vertical, but not the horizontal plane, It was concluded, on this basis, that at least part of children's difficulty discriminating between mirror-image obliques is due to their difficulty establishing the internalized vertical axis necessary for the left-right spatial coding of the obliques.     

Self-esteem,race, and job satisfaction

The present study investigated relationships between self-esteem (SE) and job satisfaction among black and white employees. The sample consisted of 523 (45% black) employees of a large, urban school system. There was a positive relationship between SE and job satisfaction for members of both racial groups. In addition, the correlation between need satisfaction and job satisfaction was stronger for high SE persons than for low SE persons. The relationships between two social reference variables (the perceived satisfaction of other employees and improved standard of living) and job satisfaction were, as predicted, stronger for low SE whites than for high SE whites. Among blacks, however, the social reference variables were strongly related to job satisfaction regardless of level of SE.     

A study of spelling in aphasia

To secure systematic information on spelling abilities following damage to the dominant hemisphere, a test probing performance in three modalities of response was administered to a group of aphasic patients. Except for a predictable deficit among anterior aphasics in oral spelling, anterior and posterior aphasics exhibited comparable performances on the measures of spelling. However, anterior and posterior aphasics differed from one another on the kinds of words they most accurately spelled, the errors they were prone to make, and certain strategies which they characteristically adopted. These results suggest two alternative approaches to spelling: one approach, common in posterior aphasics, entails choosing letter combinations on the basis of their customary sounds; a second approach, common among anterior aphasics, appears to rely on a partially preserved image of the word's appearance.     

Gestural impairment and gestural ability in aphasia: A review

Studies of gestural ability in aphasic subjects have found impairment of gestural expression and comprehension, with a close relationship between severity of aphasia and degree of gestural impairment. A few investigators have correlated gestural ability with specific language functions or subcategories of aphasia. Reading appears to correlate better with gestural recognition than does auditory comprehension. Despite the general findings of gestural impairment in aphasia, successes have been reported with gestural training including artificial language techniques, pantomime, Amerind, and American Sign Language. Future studies of gestural therapy in aphasia should examine specific language deficits in order to identify those aphasic individuals who can benefit from gestural training.