Specifying factors in radiation risk perception

This is a study of risk perception and a test of a model of perceived risk. A scale measuring fear was factor analyzed and the resulting five fear factors were related to a large number of risk dimensions, both personal and general. Fear was only rather weakly related to perceived risk. Furthermore, perceived risk of two ionizing radiation hazards (nuclear power, X-rays) were investigated in more detail. These risk ratings were modelled on the basis of attitude, risk sensitivity, specific perceived risk of radiation, trust and an extended version of the traditional Psychometric Model, enhanced by the introduction of a factor of Tampering with Nature. It was found that risk perception could be well explained with this approach and the importance of Tampering with Nature, as well as specific perceived risk, were stressed.     

Conditioned ethanol aversion in rats induced by voluntary wheel running,forced swimming,and electric shock: An implication for aversion therapy of alcoholism

This study was planned to demonstrate rats’ acquisition of aversion to ethanol solution consumed before voluntary running, forced swimming, or electric shock delivery. Wistar rats under water deprivation were allotted to four groups of eight rats each, and all rats were allowed to drink 5% ethanol solution for 15 min. Immediately after the ethanol drinking, rats of Group Run were put into the individual running wheels for 15 min, those of Group Swim were put into the individual swimming pools for 15 min, those of Group Shock received electric shocks for 15 min (15 0.45-mA shocks of 0.7s with the intershock interval of 1 min) in the individual small chambers, and those of Group Control were directly returned back to the home cages. This procedure was repeated for six days, followed by a two-day choice test of ethanol aversion where a bottle containing 5% ethanol solution and a bottle of tap water were simultaneously presented for 15 min. In the test, Groups Run, Swim, and Shock drank ethanol solution significantly less than tap water, while Group Control drank both fluids equally. The effects of running, swimming, and shock were equivalent. The successful demonstration of acquired ethanol aversion induced by exercise (running and swimming) or shock in rats suggests an avenue for clinical application of exercise and shock treatments for human alcoholics, though there are many issues to be resolved before the practical use.     

An evaluation of the Tripartite Influence Model of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance with adolescent girls

The Tripartite Influence Model of body image and eating disturbance proposes that three formative influences (peer, parents, and media) affect body image and eating problems through two mediational mechanisms: internalization of the thin-ideal and appearance comparison processes. The current study evaluated this model in a sample of 325 sixth through eighth grade girls. Simple path analyses indicated that internalization and comparison fully mediated the relationship between parental influence and body dissatisfaction and partially mediated the relationship between peer influence and body dissatisfaction. Additionally, internalization and comparison partially mediated the relationship between media influence and body dissatisfaction. Six a priori SEM models based on the full Tripartite Influence Model were also evaluated. A resulting model was found to be an adequate fit to the data, supporting the viability of the Tripartite Model as a useful framework for understanding processes that may predispose young women to develop body image disturbances and eating dysfunction.     

Possible olfaction-based mechanisms in human kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance

Three studies explored kin recognition through olfaction. In Study I, adults (N=22) were tested for ability to identify the odors of themselves; their mother; their father; a sister; a brother; a familiar, unrelated individual; and a stranger. Acquaintances were identified as accurately as biological kin, implicating an association mechanism. However, biological kin were often confused, implicating phenotypic matching. Same-sex kin were confused more than opposite-sex kin, but mainly when same-sex kin had odors of similar intensity. Study II implicated phenotypic matching. Mothers (N=18) could identify their biological children but not their stepchildren. The preadolescent children (N=37) identified their full siblings but not half-siblings or stepsiblings. Thus, olfactory cues may help mediate favoritism of blood relatives. In Study III, mutual olfactory aversion occurred only in the father-daughter and brother-sister nuclear family relationships. Recognition occurred between opposite-sex siblings but not same-sex siblings. Thus, olfaction may help mediate the development of incest avoidance during childhood (the Westermarck effect).     

Facilitation of Sodium Aversion Learning in Sodium-Deprived Rats

Two experiments with rats explored the effects of sodium deprivation induced by furosemide injections upon acquisition of taste aversion to sodium chloride (NaCl). In Experiment 1, rats under either sodium deprivation or a balanced nutrition condition were given access to a limited amount of NaCl solution prior to poisoning. When all rats were tested under sodium repletion, the previously sodium-deprived rats consumed less NaCl than did the nondeprived rats. This finding was replicated in Experiment 2A in which ingestion of a compound solution of NaCl and hydrochloric acid (HCl) was followed by poisoning. Consumption of HCl, however, showed the opposite pattern: the sodium-deprived rats drank more HCl than did the nondeprived rats, a result that was replicated in Experiment 2B. These results suggest that sodium deprivation strengthens the salience of NaCl, thereby facilitating acquisition of aversion to this taste and strongly overshadowing that to a simultaneously presented taste.     

Drug discrimination using a conditioned taste-aversion paradigm in rhesus monkeys.

The development of drug discrimination was assessed in rhesus monkeys using the conditioned taste-aversion paradigm. Monkeys were initially trained to respond under a fixed-ratio 30-response schedule of food-pellet delivery to assess the rate-decreasing effects of alprazolam (0.03 to 3 mg/kg, i.m., 60 min presession). Alprazolam decreased responding at doses greater than 0.1 mg/kg. Discriminative stimulus effects of alprazolam were then assessed by giving 0.03 mg/kg before sessions in which 1.8 mEq/kg lithium chloride was given immediately after the session (alprazolam/lithium session). On intervening days, saline was given before and after the session (saline/saline session). Rates of responding decreased over successive alprazolam/lithium sessions and also during the saline/saline session that immediately followed an alprazolam/lithium session. During subsequent saline/saline sessions, rates of responding returned to levels near baseline rates within two to four sessions. The discriminative stimulus effects of alprazolam were then assessed by giving 0.1 mg/kg before sessions in which 1 mg/kg d-amphetamine was given immediately after the session (alprazolam/d-amphetamine session). Rates of responding decreased during subsequent alprazolam/d-amphetamine sessions in drug-experienced monkeys, but did not decrease during intervening saline/saline sessions. These findings demonstrate that drug stimuli associated with postsession drug injections can rapidly develop control over behavior and suggest that similar methods be explored in the assessment of drug discrimination.     

Food choice in rats (Rattus norvegicus): the effect of exposure to a poisoned conspecific

Three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of exposure to a poisoned conspecific on subsequent food aversion in rats. In Experiment 1A, rats that had been aversively conditioned to a cocoa-flavored food were exposed to a poisoned conspecific that had eaten the same food. On the subsequent choice test, the animals increased their aversion to that food. These results were reconfirmed in Experiment 1B, in which a cinnamon-flavored food was used as the stimulus. In Experiment 2, subjects were first exposed to a poisoned conspecific and then conditioned to the food which the conspecific had eaten. On the test, they showed no sign of increased aversion to that food.     

味觉厌恶性条件反射与条件反射性免疫抑制的研究

以环磷酰胺的注射为非条件刺激（ＵＣＳ）,糖精水的摄入为条件刺激（ＣＳ）,并以血白细胞和淋巴细胞数量及脾淋巴细胞的转化反应为免疫指标,糖精水的饮用量为行为指标,通过改变条件刺激与非条件刺激结合的次数来观察条件反射性厌恶行为与条件反射性免疫抑制的反应。结果表明不管是一次性的还是两次性的ＣＳ－ＵＣＳ结合训练都能使动物明显地建立起味觉厌恶性条件反射,然而条件反射性免疫抑制只在两次性ＣＳ－ＵＣＳ结合训练后才     

Ambiguity seeking in multi-attribute decisions: Effects of optimism and message framing

This paper investigates the influence of message framing and personality variables on preferences over ambiguity in the context of multi-attribute decision scenarios. Undergraduate subjects responded to scenarios in which one of two medical treatments was associated with ambiguous probabilities of treatment effects. Probabilities were either positively or negatively framed. Subjects indicated their degree of preference for one treatment over the other. Subjects' optimism, trait anxiety, health locus of control, need for cognitive structure, and current mood were measured. In two separate studies, subjects preferred ambiguity when probabilities were positively framed, and were neutral toward ambiguity when probabilities were negatively framed. Also, in both studies the preference for ambiguity in positively framed scenarios was greater for more optimistic subjects. The unexpected finding of ambiguity seeking may be associated with the use of different decision strategies in multi-attribute versus single-attribute decisions.     

Gender differences in optimism,loss aversion and attitudes towards risk

Systematic differences in the attitudes of men and women towards risk is well established. In this paper, we investigate the joint role of two prominent psychological characteristics in explaining this difference. Our starting point is that risk assessments can be thought of, in general terms, to combine beliefs about the probability of negative outcomes occurring with a subjective valuation of how painful that negative outcome would be. Exploiting large-scale panel data from the United Kingdom, we find that gender differences in financial optimism and financial loss aversion – the stronger psychological response to monetary losses than monetary gains – explain a substantial proportion of the parallel gender difference in willingness to take risks. This result prevails even after controlling for the Big Five personality traits, suggesting that the prominent psychological characteristics capture different aspects of behaviour than the Big Five.