Devaluation of stimuli contingent on choice: evidence for conditioned reinforcement

Pigeons were presented a concurrent-chains schedule of reinforcement that had terminal links of equal duration. The initial links of the schedule were periodically interrupted by 15-s periods during which an extinction schedule was in effect. The extinction periods were presented on either a response-contingent or a noncontingent basis. Relative response rate for the left alternative decreased when the extinction periods were accompanied by the left terminal-link stimulus. Relative response rate for the right alternative decreased when the extinction periods were accompanied by the right terminal-link stimulus. Relative response rate varied inversely with the frequency of presentation of the extinction periods but was unaffected by presence versus absence of the response contingency in the schedule of extinction-period presentation. Furthermore, relative response rate was unaffected by presentation of extinction periods accompanied by a novel stimulus. When the extinction periods were presented after reinforcement in the left terminal link instead of as interruptions of the initial links, relative response rate for the left alternative was reduced if the postreinforcement extinction period was accompanied by the terminal-link stimulus for the left chain and reduced less if the extinction period was accompanied by the terminal-link stimulus for the right chain. The results demonstrate that the correlation between the terminal-link stimulus and extinction influenced the relative response rate in the initial link.     

Resistance to change produced by access to fixed-delay versus variable-delay terminal links

Pigeons' responding was reinforced on a multiple schedule consisting of two two-link chain schedules presented in regular alternation. Responding in initial links (always variable-interval 60-s) produced a key-color change and access to a terminal link. The terminal link for one chain provided food after a fixed delay (fixed-interval or fixed-time); the terminal link for the other provided food after a variable delay (variable-interval or variable-time). The average duration of the terminal-link schedules was varied across conditions, but in every condition the arithmetic mean of the variable-delay terminal-link schedule was equal to the duration of the fixed delay. Response rates were higher in the initial links of the chains with the variable-delay terminal links. Response-decreasing operations (satiation, extinction) were used after performances reached asymptote. Response rates maintained by access to variable-delay terminal links tended to be more resistant to change than were rates maintained by access to fixed-delay terminal links. These results are consistent with the preference for variable- over fixed-interval terminal links observed with concurrent-chains schedules, suggesting (1) that immediacy of reinforcement influences the conditioned reinforcing potency of access to a terminal link and (2) that choice in concurrent chains and resistance of responding to change may be manifestations of the same effect of reinforcement.     

Organic Unities

I defend the view that there are organic unities mainly by presenting examples of organic unities. I also defend the view against two objections. The first objection appeals to the notion of an evaluatively incomplete state of affairs. The second objection holds that the intrinsic value of a state of affairs can be different in different contexts. I argue that neither objection provides a compelling reason for rejecting these examples.     

平话心理科学向何处去

对心理学现状,要从课题的琐细,及屈从物理方法的独裁解放出来。建议群策群力,从战略的高度,进行战役性的研究,避免仓卒应付的遭遇战．要理论研究结合实际,从现实中发现漏洞以资利用。克服方法论中的诸多限制,比较机器人学的缺陷,重视意义的地位,采纳释义学的方法,打破“所谓”科学的梏制,以活跃心理学克服科学方法论的专制。     

肯定性“重要度“语义量词的多级估量模糊集模型建立及其应用

在人员选拔和心理素质评价研究中,需要通过被研究者在特定的问题、事件或情境上所作出的评价,来了解他们的心理活动特点。为了确保评价的可靠性,在量表设定上多采用自然语言的回答方式,如是或否,或极重要、很重要、较重要、稍重要等.等级性自然语言可表征人们评价事物的心理量,称语义量词.但这些语义量词不是一个数值,而是一个边界不确定的数量范围,难以作数量化分析,一直是心理测量方法学研究的重要课题。马谋超提出的模糊评判的“多级估量法”［‘l为等级性自然语言的数量化研究提供了重要的理论依据。优秀军事指挥员心理选拔与…     

An analytic comparison of Herrnstein's equations and a multivariate rate equation

Herrnstein's equations are approximations of the multivariate rate equation at ordinary rates of reinforcement and responding. The rate equation is the result of a linear system analysis of variable-interval performance. Rate equation matching is more comprehensive than ordinary matching because it predicts and specifies the nature of concurrent bias, and predicts a tendency toward undermatching, which is sometimes observed in concurrent situations. The rate equation contradicts one feature of Herrnstein's hyperbola, viz., the theoretically required constancy of k. According to the rate equation, Herrnstein's k should vary directly with parameters of reinforcement such as amount or immediacy. Because of this prediction, the rate equation asserts that the conceptual framework of matching does not apply to single alternative responding. The issue of the constancy of k provides empirical grounds for distinguishing between Herrnstein's account and a linear system analysis of single alternative variable-interval responding.     

The Perceptual Pathway: Tracing the Mechanisms of Political Value Transfer across Generations

The transfer of political values across generations is commonly understood as a two-step process. First, the child perceives the characteristics of the parent, thereby creating an image of what the parent is like. Second, the child is persuaded to adapt his or her own views to that image. Despite its theoretical dominance, the details of this perceptual pathway of parentalsocialization have rarely been examined empirically. A major Swedish socialization study offers unusually good opportunities to investigate how it actually operates. The results indicate that the perceptual pathway as a whole is of great but not universal significance, that perception is more important than persuasion because of its greater variability, and that the conditions regulating the former are distinct from those regulating the latter. One implication of the results is that studies of interpersonal influence based on a single source (e.g., the child alone) are likely to yield a very lopsided view of the socialization process.     

The Priority of “Liberty” or “Ping An ”: Two Different Cultural Value Priorities and Their Impacts

“Liberty” is a core, prior value of modern Western culture, and particularly of Anglo-American political and economic discourse. For more than a century, the US and other Western countries have been doing their utmost to promote the value of liberty around the world. However, different nations and cultures have different value priorities. Considering “liberty” as the essential, unassailable prior value is an Anglo-American cultural particularity without universal applicability. In China, “liberty” as a high value is a new idea imported from the West at the beginning of the modern era which never enjoyed a very important position in ancient China. Generally speaking, in Chinese culture, the value of “ping an,” with its connotations of peace, safety, equality, health, harmony, and tranquility, is obviously a prior value. Different value priorities have different impacts on culture. This paper tries to compare the American value priority of “liberty” with the Chinese value priority of “ping an,” while discussing their different historical backgrounds and cultural impacts. It argues that values and value priorities are neither absolute nor universal, but that they are rather historical, situational, and dynamic. Value priority in a society should be based on that society’s particular social reality and on the stage of development and the life requirements of its people, rather than on an outside imperative. In the era of globalization, different and even sometimes contradictory human values may actually mutually complement and counterbalance one another.     

小学生学习坚持性和学习投入在效能感、内在价值与学业成就关系中的中介作用*

采用学习坚持性问卷、自我效能感问卷、内在价值问卷和学习投入量表,对407名四、五年级小学生施测,并收集学生期中考试成绩作为客观指标,建立结构方程模型以考察学习坚持性和学习投入在自我效能感、内在价值与学业成就关系中的中介作用。结果发现:(1)学习坚持性与自我效能感、内在价值、学习投入、学业成就均显著正相关;(2)学习坚持性可以部分中介自我效能感与学习投入、内在价值与学习投入之间的相关;(3)学习坚持性通过学习投入的中介作用影响学业成就。