Preference for less frequent shock under fixed-interval schedules of electric-shock presentation.

Lever pressing by 2 squirrel monkeys was maintained under fixed-interval 6-min and fixed-interval 2-min schedules of electric-shock presentation. Preference for these schedules was assessed during three experimental phases. In all phases, responses on one lever produced shock according to one or the other fixed-interval schedule, and responses on a second, changeover, lever switched between schedules. The opportunity to change over was presented during separate choice periods (during which the fixed-interval schedules did not operate) that followed the first through fourth shocks in each schedule. If no changeover occurred during those choice periods, a changeover automatically occurred following the fifth shock. In Phase I, durations of the choice periods were fixed. In Phase II, the choice periods equaled a proportion of their respective fixed interval. During Phase III (completed with 1 monkey) a response on the changeover lever during a given choice period reinstated the most recent fixed interval, and a failure to respond resulted in a changeover. During each of these phases, distinct preferences developed for the 6-min schedule. These results suggest that the maintenance of lever pressing by fixed-interval presentation of electric shock may not be an example of positive reinforcement, and that the response-maintaining characteristics of shock presentation may derive from other properties of the schedule.     

Differential effects of massage and heelstick procedures on transcutaneous oxygen tension in preterm neonates

The present study investigated the differential effects of heelsticks and tactile-kinesthetic massage on transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcPO₂) in preterm infants. The sample was comprised of 37 stabilized preterm neonates from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. During the heelstick procedure, TcPO₂ significantly declined an average of 14 mmHg. When compared to the tactile-kinesthetic massage, TcPO₂ levels during the heelstick (M = 39.8) were significantly lower than during the stimulation (M = 72.8). Mean TcPO₂ levels remained clinically safe during the four massage sessions evaluated. The TcPO₂ levels during kinesthetic stimulation were somewhat more varied, and movement and pressurization of the TcPO₂ electrode were investigated as possible artifactual explanations for this phenomenon. Overall, the findings indicate that social forms of touch such as tactile-kinesthetic massage do not appear to have a medically compromising effect on TcPO₂ in the preterm neonate. These findings are evaluated in relation to the “minimal touch” policy, and implications for future handling of the stabilized preterm neonate are discussed.     

Leader–follower risk orientation incongruence,intellectual stimulation,and creativity: A configurational approach

Prior work suggests that follower and leader risk orientation is positively associated with follower creativity. We suggest that this view is oversimplified and propose that follower creativity can be stimulated when leader and follower have diverging risk orientations. We, therefore, apply a configurational approach to creativity, evaluating varying combinations of leader and follower risk orientation on follower creativity. Across two field studies, we demonstrate that (a) follower creativity increases as leaders’ and followers’ risk orientations become more discrepant (i.e., incongruent); (b) follower creativity is higher when leader–follower dyads are congruent at moderate levels of risk orientation compared to congruence at the extremes (i.e., low and high levels); (c) follower‐experienced intellectual stimulation mediates the relationship between leader–follower risk orientation incongruence and congruence and follower creativity; and (d) that leader authority openness moderates the indirect effect of leader–follower risk orientation incongruence on creativity via follower‐experienced intellectual stimulation. Theoretical and practical implications specific to creativity and leader–follower relationships are discussed.     

The Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior at zero, fifty, and one hundred

The experimental content areas represented in JEAB in its first volume (1958) and 50 years later in Volume 87 are in many ways similar with regard to research on schedules of reinforcement, research with human subjects, and several other topics. Experimental analysis has not been displaced by quantitative analysis. Much less research on aversive control has been published in recent than in earlier years. Wishes for progress in the next 50 years include experiments on verbal behavior, the sources of novel behavior, and observing responses based on stimuli correlated with escape or avoidance.     

TRANSFER OF AVERSIVE RESPONDENT ELICITATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH EQUIVALENCE RELATIONS

The present study investigates the transfer of aversively conditioned respondent elicitation through equivalence classes, using skin conductance as the measure of conditioning. The first experiment is an attempt to replicate Experiment 1 in Dougher, Augustson, Markham, Greenway, and Wulfert (1994), with different temporal parameters in the aversive conditioning procedure employed. Match‐to‐sample procedures were used to teach 17 participants two 4‐member equivalence classes. Then, one member of one class was paired with electric shock and one member of the other class was presented without shock. The remaining stimuli from each class were presented in transfer tests. Unlike the findings in the original study, transfer of conditioning was not achieved. In Experiment 2, similar procedures were used with 30 participants, although several modifications were introduced (formation of five‐member classes, direct conditioning with several elements of each class, random sequences of stimulus presentation in transfer tests, reversal in aversive conditioning contingencies). More than 80% of participants who had shown differential conditioning also showed the transfer of function effect. Moreover, this effect was replicated within subjects for 3 participants. This is the first demonstration of the transfer of aversive respondent elicitation through stimulus equivalence classes with the presentation of transfer test trials in random order. The latter prevents the possibility that transfer effects are an artefact of transfer test presentation order.     

Assessment of Biopsychosocial Risk Factors for Medical Treatment: A Collaborative Approach

There is a growing body of evidence that psychosocial variables have a significant ability to predict the outcome of medical treatment procedures, especially when the procedure is performed to reduce pain. The study described in this paper serves as an illustration of the valuable role psychologists can play in dealing with the challenges of biopsychosocial assessment of patients who are candidates for medical treatments, especially elective, invasive procedures. Based on a convergent model of risk factors that can potentially influence outcomes from spinal surgery and spinal cord stimulation, exclusionary and cautionary risk factors were identified, and the BHI 2 and BBHI 2 tests were used to assess them. An estimate of the prevalence of these risk factors was calculated using data obtained from 1,254 patient and community subjects gathered from 106 sites in 36 US states. Standardized Cautionary Risk and Exclusionary Risk scores demonstrated a test-retest reliability of .85 to .91. Evidence of validity of these scores was also provided based on subjective and objective criteria, using multiple groups of patients and community subjects. Recommendations are made regarding how biopsychosocial assessments could be used in collaborative settings for presurgical candidates to identify risks that could compromise a patient’s ability to benefit from other medical treatments as well. Once identified, appropriate interventions could ameliorate these risks, or lead to the consideration of other treatments that are more likely to be effective. Methods of refining this approach for specific clinical applications are also discussed.     

时距估计中的重复刺激效应

Treisman及其同事最早发现人类对时距的判断很容易受到重复刺激的影响而发生扭曲或偏离,并认为时距估计中的重复刺激具有两种效应。着重介绍了时距估计中重复刺激效应产生的机制及其理论模型、重复刺激效应的影响因素。提出了时距估计中重复刺激效应未来研究中值得关注的几个主要问题。     

经颅直流电刺激技术在物质依赖治疗中的应用

物质依赖是一种慢性、复发性脑部疾病, 给个体及社会带来极大损害。研究发现, 经颅直流电刺激(transcranial direct current stimulation, tDCS)可以通过调节背外侧前额叶(dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, DLPFC)脑区的兴奋性降低物质依赖者的渴求, 并改善受损的认知功能。tDCS具有副作用小、操作简便、费用低廉等优点, 因此在物质依赖治疗领域应用前景广泛。未来应考虑确定最佳的刺激参数及刺激位置, 同时考虑物质依赖者的种类及个体差异, 与其他疗法结合使用, 并进一步深入探索tDCS治疗物质依赖的神经机制。