How to teach a pigeon to maximize overall reinforcement rate

In two experiments deviations from matching earned higher overall reinforcement rates than did matching. In Experiment 1 response proportions were calculated over a 360-response moving average, updated with each response. Response proportions that differed from the nominal reinforcement proportions, by a criterion that was gradually increased, were eligible for reinforcement. Response proportions that did not differ from matching were not eligible for reinforcement. When the deviation requirement was relatively small, the contingency proved to be effective. However, there was a limit as to how far response proportions could be pushed from matching. Consequently, when the deviation requirement was large, overall reinforcement rate decreased and pecking was eventually extinguished. In Experiment 2 a discriminative stimulus was added to the procedure. The houselight was correlated with the relationship between response proportions and the nominal (programmed) reinforcement proportions. When the difference between response and reinforcement proportions met the deviation requirement, the light was white and responses were eligible for reinforcement. When the difference between response and reinforcement proportions failed to exceed the deviation requirement, the light was blue and responses were not eligible for reinforcement. With the addition of the light, it proved to be possible to shape deviations from matching without any apparent limit. Thus, in Experiment 2 overall reinforcement rate predicted choice proportions and relative reinforcement rate did not. In contrast, in previous experiments on the relationship between matching and overall reinforcement maximization, relative reinforcement rate was usually the better predictor of responding. The results show that whether overall or relative reinforcement rate better predicts choice proportions may in part be determined by stimulus conditions.     

Delayed matching-to-sample performance: Effects of relative reinforcer frequency and of signaled versus unsignaled reinforcer magnitudes

Six pigeons were trained on a delayed red-green matching-to-sample task that arranged four delays within sessions. Matching responses intermittently produced either 1.5-s access to food or 4.5-s access to food, and nonmatching responses produced either 1.5-s or 4.5-s blackout. Two phases were conducted: a signaled phase in which the reinforcer magnitudes (small and large) were signaled by houselights (positioned either on the left or right of the chamber), and an unsignaled phase in which there was no correlation between reinforcer magnitude and houselight position. In both phases, the relative frequency with which red and green matching responses produced food was varied across five values. Both matching accuracy and the sensitivity of performance to the distribution of reinforcers for matching responses decreased with increasing delays in both phases. In addition, accuracy and reinforcer sensitivity were significantly lower on signaled small-reinforcer trials compared with accuracy and sensitivity values on signaled large-reinforcer trials and on both types of unsignaled trials. These results are discussed in the context of research on both nonhuman animal and human memory.     

Ratio size and cocaine concentration effects on oral cocaine-reinforced behavior.

Monkeys were given a choice between cocaine solutions and water under concurrent fixed-ratio reinforcement schedules. The operant response was spout contact. Six rhesus monkeys served as subjects. The cocaine concentration was varied from 0.0125 to 0.8 mg/ml, and the fixed-ratio value was varied from 8 to 128. Cocaine maintained higher response rates than did water over a wide range of conditions. Response rate and number of cocaine deliveries per session were inverted U-shaped functions of concentration. These functions were shifted to the right as the fixed ratio was increased. The number of cocaine deliveries was more persistent as fixed-ratio value was increased when the unit dose was larger rather than smaller. Cocaine consumption was analyzed as a function of unit price (fixed-ratio value divided by cocaine concentration), and unit price accounted for between 77% and 92% of the variance in cocaine consumption for individual monkeys. The current data support the claim that a drug's reinforcing effects increase directly with dose and underscore the need to gather parametric data when examining the effects of experimental manipulations on a drug-reinforced baseline.     

Depression Treatment by Non‐Mental‐Health Providers: Incremental Evidence for the Effectiveness of Listening Visits

Maternal depression is a prevalent public health problem, particularly for low‐income mothers of young children. Intervention development efforts, which often focus on surmounting instrumental barriers to care, have not successfully engaged and retained women in treatment. Task‐sharing approaches like Listening Visits (LV) could overcome key instrumental and psychological barriers by leveraging the access of trusted, community caregivers to deliver treatment. A recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) demonstrated the efficacy of LV delivered by non‐mental‐health providers as compared to usual care. The present report presents results from a follow‐up phase of that RCT during which participants who had completed LV were followed for an additional 8 weeks and completed measures of depression and quality of life. In addition, participants who were initially randomized to the wait‐list control group received LV and were assessed. Treatment gains previously observed in participants completing LV were enhanced during the 8‐week follow‐up period. Participants receiving LV during the follow‐up period experienced significant improvement in depressive symptoms. Results demonstrate the sustainability of LV delivered by non‐mental‐health providers, and provide preliminary evidence for the replicability of this approach in a sample of predominately low‐income pregnant women and mothers of young children.     

相对剥夺感与社会适应方式：中介效应和调节效应

以6175名17岁以上的个体为被试, 采用四种自编问卷考察了相对剥夺感对创新和反叛这两种社会适应方式的影响, 归因方式在其中的中介作用和调节作用, 同时还考察了反叛在相对剥夺感和创新关系中的调节作用。结果发现：①相对剥夺感对创新和反叛具有正向预测作用, 相对剥夺感越高, 创新和反叛的程度越强烈; ②归因方式对相对剥夺感和创新的关系起部分中介作用, 对相对剥夺感和反叛的关系起部分中介作用; ③归因方式在相对剥夺感和反叛的关系中起调节作用, 能增强相对剥夺感和反叛之间的关系; ④在下层阶层中, 反叛在相对剥夺感和创新的关系中起调节作用, 能减弱相对剥夺感和创新之间的关系。综上所述可以认为, 相对剥夺感对社会适应方式具有正向预测作用; 归因方式对相对剥夺感与社会适应方式的关系起部分中介作用; 在弱势群体阶层中, 反叛能减弱相对剥夺感对创新的直接影响。     

心理负荷对元记忆监测准确性及偏差的影响

以汉字再认任务为载体, 采用两因素被试内设计, 考察任务所导致的心理负荷水平, 以及学习判断(JOL)和信心判断(JOC)两种监测方式, 对元记忆监测效果的影响。对监测效果的衡量分别使用了相对准确性, 绝对准确性, 以及判断偏差三种指标。结果发现, 个体在任务过程中的心理负荷水平会影响其对任务解决过程的监测准确性:心理负荷水平越高, 元记忆监测的准确性越低。心理负荷水平还会影响元记忆监测的判断偏差:心理负荷处于中等偏低水平时, 监测不容易出现偏差;心理负荷处于中等偏高水平时, 个体表现出过高自信;但当心理负荷达到较高水平后, 判断偏差消失;随着心理负荷水平继续增大, 个体又表现出过低自信。     

超文本与线性文本中元理解判断的比较

通过实验考查超文本和线性文本情境中元理解判断的异同。采用2×3的混合设计,让被试先阅读文章,然后完成元理解判断任务。结果说明,文本组织结构对细节题成绩预测和推理题成绩预测的判断值具有调节作用,超文本的非线性结构降低了元理解判断的相对准确性。     

Burnout and depressive symptoms are not primarily linked to perceived organizational problems

In this 257-participant study (76% female; mean age: 44.84), we examined two ideas that are widespread among burnout researchers: (a) the idea that burnout is primarily related to occupational-level factors; and (b) the idea that burnout should be considered a sentinel indicator in research on negative occupational outcomes. We investigated the links between burnout and a series of generic and work-related variables, namely, depressive symptoms, neuroticism, extraversion, effort-reward imbalance in the job [ERI], social support at work (SSW), and turnover intention. Burnout was assessed with the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure, depressive symptoms with the PHQ-9, neuroticism and extraversion with the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, ERI with the 10-item version of the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire, SSW with the Job Content Questionnaire, and turnover intention with a dedicated 3-item measure. Correlation, multiple regression, and relative weight analyses were conducted. Burnout was not found to be more strongly linked to organizational and work-contextualized variables than to personality traits. In addition, turnover intention was not associated to a greater extent with burnout than with ERI. Burnout and depressive symptoms were highly correlated and exhibited overlapping nomological networks. Overall, our findings question the way burnout has been generally conceived.