Choice for signaled over unsignaled shock as a function of signal length.

Subjects chose between signaled and unsignaled shock conditions while signal length was varied between .5 and 2.0 seconds in steps of .5 seconds in both ascending and descending series. Preference for the signaled condition failed to develop initially for five of six subjects when signals were .5 or 1.0 seconds but became strong for all subjects when signals were 2.0 seconds (ascending series). Preference declined when signals were shortened, but for most subjects this decline was small (descending series). Since discriminable shock-free periods were present in the signaled condition at all signal lengths, these results suggest that safety may not be a sufficient condition for preference to develop for signaled shock.     

Chained schedules of avoidance: Reinforcement within and by avoidance situations

Four rats were exposed to chained schedules with variable-cycle avoidance in both links. Responding in the initial link cancelled shocks scheduled once per minute and, according to a conjoint fixed-ratio schedule, produced a terminal link where scheduled shock rates varied from 0 to 8 shocks per minute in different conditions of the experiment. Response rates in the terminal link increased as a function of the scheduled shock rate. Response rates in the initial link, on the other hand, decreased as a function of the shock rate actually received (rather than scheduled) in the terminal link. While consistent with other studies of aversive control, these results differ from those obtained in chained schedules of positive reinforcement in that increases in reinforcement within the terminal link of the chain did not systematically increase the reinforcing value of that link.     

Avoidance based on shock intensity reduction with no change in shock probability

Rats were trained on a free-operant avoidance procedure in which shock intensity was controlled by interresponse time. Shocks were random at a density of about 10 shocks per minute. Shock probability was response independent. As long as interresponse times remained less than the limit in effect, any shocks received were at the lower of two intensities (0.75 mA). Whenever interresponse times exceeded the limit, any shocks received were at the higher intensity (1.6 mA). The initial limit of 15 seconds was decreased in 3-second steps to either 6 or 3 seconds. All animals lever pressed to avoid higher intensity shock. As the interresponse time limit was reduced, the response rate during the lower intensity shock and the proportion of brief interresponse times increased. Substantial warmup effects were evident, particularly at the shorter interresponse-time limits. Shock intensity reduction without change in shock probability was effective in the acquisition and maintenance of avoidance responding, as well as in differentiation of interresponse times. This research suggests limitations on the generality of a safety signal interpretation of avoidance conditioning.     

Matching in concurrent variable-interval avoidance schedules

After pretraining with multiple variable-interval avoidance schedules, two rats were exposed to a series of concurrent variable-interval avoidance schedules. Responses on two levers cancelled delivery of electric shocks arranged according to two independent variable-interval schedules. The ratio of responses and time spent on the two levers approximately matched the ratio of shocks avoided on each. Matching to the number of shocks received was not obtained. Concurrent variable-interval avoidance can therefore be added to the group of positive and negative reinforcement schedules that can be expressed in the quantitative framework of the matching law.     

Psychometric Evaluation of an Alternate Scoring for the Remote Associates Test

The Remote Associates Test (RAT; Mednick, 1962; Mednick & Mednick, 1967) is a commonly employed test of creative convergent thinking. The RAT is scored with a dichotomous scoring, scoring correct answers as 1 and all other answers as 0. Based on recent research into the information processing underlying RAT performance, we argued that the dichotomous scoring may lead to a loss of potentially relevant information. Thus, we proposed an alternate scoring based on semantic similarity between the answer given by the participant and the correct solution using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA; Landauer & Dumais, 1997). We evaluate the psychometric properties of the alternate LSA scoring and found evidence of construct validity for the LSA scoring which was comparable to findings for the standard scoring, but not better as we would have expected. Thus, our expectations that LSA-based scoring of the RAT counteracts potential information loss were not met. However, LSA based scorings appear to be a promising alternative for hardly solvable RAT items. We conducted additional analyses comparing different RAT item types with regard to their validity as well as evaluating the information uniquely contained in the LSA scoring. Implications of all finding for existing research using RAT items are discussed.     

Maintenance of responding by squirrel monkeys under a concurrent shock-postponement, fixed-interval shock-presentation schedule.

A chain-pulling response was initially developed under a shock-postponement (avoidance) schedule with two squirrel monkeys. Few responses occurred on a lever where responding initially had no scheduled consequence or, subsequently, when a 3-minute fixed-interval shock-presentation schedule was concurrently arranged for lever responses. Appropriate rates and patterns of lever responding developed and were later maintained under the fixed-interval 3-minute shock-presentation schedule alone when the chain and shock-postponement schedule were removed. When both the shock-postponement and shock-presentation schedules were again simultaneously in effect, steady rates of chain pulling were maintained by the shock-postponement schedule and positively accelerated rates and patterns were maintained on the lever by the shock-presentation schedule. Response rates under both schedules were directly related to shock intensity. A history of exposure to a shock-postponement schedule, even though with a topographically different response and manipulandum, was sufficient for the development and eventual maintenance of responding by the presentation of shock. Further, differential performances can be maintained simultaneously by the presentation and postponement of electric shock.     

语义距离与创造性思维关系的元分析

自然语言处理的发展为探究语义距离与创造性思维的关系提供了可靠且有效的研究方法。近些年关于两者之间关系的研究逐渐增多,但研究结论并不一致。本研究基于创造力联想理论及扩散激活模型,通过元分析的方法探讨了语义距离与创造性思维的整体关系,并且分析了以往研究结论不一致的原因。本文经过文献检索和筛选后获得14项研究,提取r值作为效应值(共53个效应值,4729个独立样本),并使用随机效应模型进行了元分析。结果显示：语义距离与创造性思维存在中等程度的正相关(r=0.379, 95%CI [0.300, 0.452]);二者的相关强度受到被试年龄和创造性思维不同测量指标的调节。研究结果表明语义距离与创造性思维关系密切,同时解释了以往研究结论不一致的原因。上述结果不仅能为更深入地探讨创造性思维的认知神经机制提供新的研究视角和理论解释,而且有助于更全面地理解语义距离与创造性思维二者的关系及其边界条件,为更好地解释、预测和提升创造力提供科学依据和重要启示。     

Relative durations of conditioned stimulus and intertrial interval in conditioned suppression.

The effects of the relative durations of the conditional stimulus and the intertrial interval on bar pressing during a conditioned-suppression procedure were examined as a function of two additional variables--type of operant baseline schedule and rate of shock presentation. In Experiment 1, response suppression was compared across components of a multiple fixed-ratio, random-ratio, fixed-interval, random-interval schedule, at relative conditioned-stimulus/intertrial-interval durations of 1/1, 1/4, and 1/9. In Experiment 2, relative conditioned-stimulus/intertrial-interval duration (1/5, 3/3, or 5/1) was manipulated across groups, while shock frequency (2, 6, or 10 shocks/hr) was manipulated within groups. In both experiments, suppression during the signal was virtually complete at all relative durations. Responding was also suppressed during the intertrial interval, but that suppression varied as a function of experimental manipulations. In Experiment 1, intertrial-interval response rates were higher when relative signal duration was 1/9 than when it was 1/1, although both relative signal duration and shock frequency, which covaried, could have contributed to the difference. In Experiment 2, the patterning of response rates between successive shocks was affected by relative duration, absolute rates during the intertrial interval varied as a function of shock frequency, and differences between suppression during the signal and suppression during the intertrial interval were affected by both relative duration and shock frequency. The data support an analysis based upon relationships between shock-correlated and intertrial-interval stimuli and, as assessed by the relative-delay-to-reinforcement metric, are comparable to results that have been reported from experiments using similar manipulations under the autoshaping paradigm.     

父母自主支持、心理控制与初中生创意自我效能的关系:学业情绪的中介作用

为了探索父母自主支持、心理控制与初中生创意自我效能的关系,以及学业情绪的中介作用,采用整群抽样法,使用父母自主支持问卷、父母心理控制问卷、学生创意自我效能量表和青少年学业情绪问卷,对512名初中生进行调查。结果表明：（1）初中生低唤醒的学业情绪——放松和厌倦在父母自主支持和创意自我效能之间的中介作用显著;初中生高唤醒的学业情绪——高兴和焦虑在父母自主支持和创意自我效能之间的中介作用不显著;（2）四种学业情绪（高兴、放松、焦虑和厌倦）在父母心理控制和初中生创意自我效能之间的中介作用不显著。研究结果说明充分的父母自主支持能增加初中生的积极学业情绪,进而提升其创意自我效能。     

Openness to Experience,Ethical Leadership,and Innovative Work Behavior

Drawing on trait activation theory, we examine ethical leadership as a boundary condition on the relationship between openness to experience and innovative work behavior. We collected data from 291 subordinates and 51 supervisors to test our theoretical model. Our results suggest that openness to experience was positively related to innovative work behavior. Furthermore, this relationship was only significant when ethical leadership was perceived high as compared to low. Our research contributes to the literatures on innovative work behavior and ethical leadership.