Response induction during the acquisition and maintenance of lever pressing with delayed reinforcement

The acquisition of lever pressing by rats and the occurrence of unreinforced presses at a location different from that of the reinforced response were studied using different delays of reinforcement. An experimental chamber containing seven identical adjoining levers was used. Only presses on the central (operative) lever produced food pellets. Groups of 3 rats were exposed to one of seven different tandem random-interval (RI) fixed-time (FT) schedules. The average RI duration was the complement of the FT duration such that their sum yielded a nominal 32-s interreinforcement interval on average. Response rate on the operative lever decreased as the FT value was lengthened. The spatial distribution of responses on the seven levers converged on the operative lever when the FT was 0 or 2 s and spread across the seven levers as the FT value was lengthened to 16 or 32 s. Presses on the seven levers were infrequent during the FT schedule. Both operative- and inoperative-lever pressing intertwined in repetitive patterns that were consistent within subjects but differed between subjects. These findings suggest that reinforcer delay determined the response-induction gradient.     

Aging and intraindividual variability in performance: analyses of response time distributions

It has been suggested that older adults are more variable in their performance because they are more prone to lapses of either attention or intention. In the present experiment, 9 young and 9 older adults each performed nearly 2000 trials of a same-different judgment task. As expected, older adults were slower and more variable than young adults. When the age-related difference in speed was taken into account, however, the older adults were, if anything, less variable than the young adults. When younger and older adults' RT distributions were analyzed using quantile-quantile plots and by fitting ex-Gaussian and Weibull functions, there was no consistent evidence that older adults' distributions were more skewed than young adults', as would be predicted by age-related increases in lapses of attention or intention. Importantly, there was a positive, linear relation between RT and intraindividual variability, and the same relation was observed both within subjects (practice increased speed and reduced variability) as well as between subjects (regardless of age, slower individuals were more variable). Thus, the present results suggest that there may be a general law governing the relation between average RT and variability, and that the greater performance variability of older adults primarily reflects their greater average RTs.     

A Hierarchical Framework for Modeling Speed and Accuracy on Test Items

Current modeling of response times on test items has been strongly influenced by the paradigm of experimental reaction-time research in psychology. For instance, some of the models have a parameter structure that was chosen to represent a speed-accuracy tradeoff, while others equate speed directly with response time. Also, several response-time models seem to be unclear as to the level of parametrization they represent. A hierarchical framework for modeling speed and accuracy on test items is presented as an alternative to these models. The framework allows a “plug-and-play approach” with alternative choices of models for the response and response-time distributions as well as the distributions of their parameters. Bayesian treatment of the framework with Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) computation facilitates the approach. Use of the framework is illustrated for the choice of a normal-ogive response model, a lognormal model for the response times, and multivariate normal models for their parameters with Gibbs sampling from the joint posterior distribution. This study received funding from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). The opinions and conclusions contained in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy and position of LSAC. The author is indebted to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for the data set in the empirical example and to Rinke H. Klein Entink for his computational assistance     

Item Randomized-Response Models for Measuring Noncompliance: Risk-Return Perceptions,Social Influences,and Self-Protective Responses

Randomized response (RR) is a well-known method for measuring sensitive behavior. Yet this method is not often applied because: (i) of its lower efficiency and the resulting need for larger sample sizes which make applications of RR costly; (ii) despite its privacy-protection mechanism the RR design may not be followed by every respondent; and (iii) the incorrect belief that RR yields estimates only of aggregate-level behavior but that these estimates cannot be linked to individual-level covariates. This paper addresses the efficiency problem by applying item randomized-response (IRR) models for the analysis of multivariate RR data. In these models, a person parameter is estimated based on multiple measures of a sensitive behavior under study which allow for more powerful analyses of individual differences than available from univariate RR data. Response behavior that does not follow the RR design is approached by introducing mixture components in the IRR models with one component consisting of respondents who answer truthfully and another component consisting of respondents who do not provide truthful responses. An analysis of data from two large-scale Dutch surveys conducted among recipients of invalidity insurance benefits shows that the willingness of a respondent to answer truthfully is related to the educational level of the respondents and the perceived clarity of the instructions. A person is more willing to comply when the expected benefits of noncompliance are minor and social control is strong. The authors are grateful to the reviewers whose suggestions helped to improve the clarity of the paper substantially. The authors also wish to thank the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment for making the reported data available. This research was supported in parts by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Foundation of Innovation.     

Discrete Choice Models for Ordinal Response Variables: A Generalization of the Stereotype Model

In this paper I present a class of discrete choice models for ordinal response variables based on a generalization of the stereotype model. The stereotype model can be derived and generalized as a random utility model for ordered alternatives. Random utility models can be specified to account for heteroscedastic and correlated utilities. In the case of the generalized stereotype model this includes category-specific random effects due to individual differences in response style. But unlike standard random utility models the generalized stereotype model is better suited for ordinal response variables and can be interpreted as a kind of unidimensional unfolding model. This paper discusses the specification, interpretation, identification, and estimation of generalized stereotype models. Two applications are provided for illustration. This paper benefited significantly from the comments and suggestions of the editor, associate editor, and three anonymous reviewers. It is dedicated to my late colleague, peer, and friend Bradley D. Crouch.     

Theoretical and research support for the Duluth Model: A reply to dutton and corvo

In a recent article, Dutton and Corvo denounce and reject the so-called Duluth Model of batterer intervention based on cognitive–behavioral counseling, reinforcement from the criminal justice system, and coordination of additional community services. They not only accuse it of being ineffective and detrimental to progress in the field, but assert that its supporters are merely acting out of ideological and activist motivations. These authors call for research-based treatment that is more psycho-therapeutic in nature, along with a diminished role of the criminal justice system and more attention to women's violence. The authors, however, are highly selective in the research they use to substantiate their position and apply their own activist biases to its interpretation. Their portrayal of the Duluth Model, and the fundamentals it represents, is a distorted caricature of its current conception. There is psychological theory and criminal justice research that support the Duluth Model and its utility. Moreover, developments in the field contradict the claims that the Duluth Model has an “iron-clad” hold that is impeding progress. The categorical condemnations in the Dutton and Corvo article shut-off needed dialogue and debate rather than further those developments.     

工作记忆在简单指数乘法等式判断中的作用

选择大学二年级数学系的学生作为被试,要求他们完成控制条件、语音任务、手动任务和随机间隔决策任务条件下的简单指数乘法等式判断任务,实验结果表明：（1）三种次级任务在真假等式判断的反应时上的干扰效应非常显著;（2）三种次级任务显著增加了假等式判断的错误率,但没有显著增加真等式判断的错误率。这说明,语音环路、视空间模板和反应选择成分参与简单指数乘法等式判断,而且真假等式判断具有不同的注意资源需求。     

Therapist response modes in the exploration stage: timing and effectiveness

In an investigation of the exploration stage of single counselling sessions with 26 anxious female volunteer clients and 13 female doctoral student therapists, no overall association was found between client narrative processing modes and subsequent therapist verbal response modes. There was evidence in a third of the sample for an association between therapist response modes and subsequent client narrative modes, such that clients used more internal than external or reflexive narrative processing modes when therapists used open questions about feelings and reflections of feelings. Client and therapist helpfulness ratings did not differ for different therapist response modes or client narrative process modes. Hence, overall results suggested that all four therapist response modes (open questions about thoughts, open questions about feelings, restatements, reflections of feelings) are effective during the exploration stage.     

从临床试验结果谈替比夫定的慢性乙型肝炎治疗路线图

“路线图”的概念根据以替比夫定为代表的核苷类药物治疗过程中HBVDNA下降的幅度与出现耐药性病毒突变明显相关的现象提出的。其核心内容是治疗后12周～24周的病毒学效应,对于预测和评估疗效具有重要意义。本文通过对“路线图”的概念、替比夫定“路线图”的临床试验依据及意义的介绍,阐明替比夫定治疗后12～24周的病毒学效应,对于预测和评估疗效具有重要意义;“路线图”对慢性乙型肝炎患者应用替比夫定治疗过程中调整治疗策略的指导意义,以规范临床治疗行为,规避耐药发生。     

受灾情况和复原力对地震灾区中小学生创伤后应激反应的影响

进行心理援助之前,对都江堰安龙镇某九年制学校学生进行受灾情况、复原力和创伤后应激反应的测查,目的在于探讨受灾情况和复原力对中小学生创伤后应激反应的独立和交互影响,并为心理援助活动提供参考。结果表明：（1）在震后一个半月之时,该校有32%的学生出现较严重的创伤后应激反应;（2）有亲人遇难的学生在闯入、回避、警觉以及创伤后应激反应的总分上均显著高于无亲人遇难的学生;（3）复原力中的积极认知和信任两个维度对降低学生创伤后应激反应有比较大的作用;（4）复原力中的社会支持维度能够缓冲亲人遇难带来的负向影响