The effects of alternatives on the salience of reward allocation norms

In a dyadic bargaining situation there is considerable evidence that the alternative outcomes of the bargainers (if they cannot reach agreement) have important effects on bargaining outcomes. Under the assumption that situational factors affect the nature of the relation between the alternatives of the bargainers and bargaining outcomes, the effects of two factors were assessed: the relative size of the reward to be negotiated (excess of prize minus alternatives) and the magnitude of the difference in the alternatives of the two bargainers. Using college students as subjects, the predictions of two models were also contrasted: the equal excess model and Shapley-w. The relative size of the prize did not have a significant effect on the accuracy of the two models, but the magnitude of the difference in alternatives had marked effects. The results also suggest that the Shapley-w model may be more accurate when the bargainers are relatively inexperienced and cooperatively oriented, whereas the equal excess model may be more accurate when the bargainers are relatively sophisticated and competitively oriented.     

Reversible operations in the balance scale task

The development of two types of reversible operations was examined in three tasks involving a two-armed balance scale. The first type of reversible operation, compensation between dimensions, was shown to undergo considerable development between eighth grade and college. Even eighth graders were inconsistent in applying compensation to those versions of the balance scale task that required it. Some subjects, primarily preschoolers, used the given information in a way that was the opposite of that required for correct answers, a result that has been reported for other tasks requiring compensation. A second type of reversible operation, termed “correspondence of patterns”, was also tested and it was tentatively concluded that the responses of the modal college student are not fully reversible in this sense. This finding is also similar to results obtained in judgments of time, speed, and distance and in social judgment studies with college students.     

Autocorrelation of choice-reaction times.

A choice-reaction (CR) task requires that the subject estimate, raking the warning signal or his response on the preceding trial as a reference point, the time when the reaction stimulus is due, so that he can begin deciding on his response at an appropriate time. This paper presents a model for the reproduction of temporal intervals, with particular emphasis on the sequential statistics of a series of such reproductions. When this model is concatenated with the sequential probability ratio test model for 2CRT, it provides a quantitative account of the pattern of autocorrelation found in a series of RTs. There is no corresponding autocorrelation in the incidence of errors, however, because after an error the subject systematically adjusts the epoch at which he begins sampling as a precaution against a further error. These post-error adjustments can readily be incorporated into the model. The ideas presented enable several different CR phenomena to be related, and they have implications for the relation between speed and accuracy, for the form of empirical distributions of RTs, and for the effects of temporal uncertainty.     

A critical comparison of two random-walk models for two-choice reaction time

Two random-walk models for two-choice reaction time, being the sequential probability ratio test model initially suggested by Stone and the relative judgment theory recently proposed by Link, are here compared. The comparison shows the precise mathematical relation between the models, the predictions they have in common, and two points at which they differ. Three experiments concerned with the effect of stimulus probability on two-choice reaction time are examined with respect to three predictions from the models. In this three-way comparison the two models are more like each other than either is to the data; a greater variety of phenomena is revealed than either model can at present accommodate.     

Behavioral treatment of obsessive-compulsive neurosis

Three chronic and severe obsessive-compulsive neurotics were treated with behavioral intervention strategies and psychotropic medication. The effects of treatment were evaluated in three separate experiments with single case experimental designs. The results suggest that response prevention was effective in reducing ritualistic behavior while the effects of flooding and antidepressant medication added little to outcome. The results also suggest that strategies aimed only at reducing compulsive behavior per se are insufficient in eliminating other associated difficulties (e.g., depressive symptoms, interpersonal problems) and that a comprehensive approach to treatment is needed.     

Required relaxation: a method of inhibiting agitative-disruptive behavior of retardates

Institutionalized retardates frequently exhibit agitative-disruptive behavior. Recent experiments have shown that overcorrective training in specific types of behavior can inhibit inappropriate behavior. A procedure was developed in which overcorrective practice in relaxation was given to each of eight adult retardates for their disruptions. The agitated resident was required to spend a fixed period of time in relaxation in his own bed upon each occurrence of agitation. This overcorrective relaxation resulted in a rapid, enduring and almost complete reduction in such behavior as self-injury, threats, physical aggression, screaming, crying, cursing and tantrums. Ward attendants strongly preferred the required relaxation procedure to the time-out technique and other inhibition procedures they had used. The procedure appears to be about as effective as alternative techniques and to have the advantages of ease of implementation and acceptability by ward staff and retardates as a ‘reasonable’ reaction to agitation.     

Spatial variables and the feature-positive effect

Pigeons were trained in discriminations where S+ and S? shared common visual elements but were distinguished by the presence or absence of a visual feature. When S+ contained the distinctive feature (the feature-positive condition), the pigeons rapidly learned to withold responses to S?: The learning rate was not markedly affected by changes in the relative size of the feature and the common element. When S? contained the distinctive feature (the feature-negative condition), the pigeons learned to withhold responses to S? more rapidly when the feature was large relative to the common element than when the feature was small relative to the common element. This effect was observed when the stimuli were present at the locus of response and when the stimuli were remote from the locus of response. To explain these results, and the results of generalization tests, it was proposed that the effectiveness of the feature in suppressing responding to the common element during feature-negative training depended on the relative size of the feature and the common element.