Most directed forgetting in pigeons can be attributed to the absence of reinforcement on forget trials during training or to other procedural artifacts.

In research on directed forgetting in pigeons using delayed matching procedures, remember cues, presented in the delay interval between sample and comparisons, have been followed by comparisons (i.e., a memory test), whereas forget cues have been followed by one of a number of different sample-independent events. The source of directed forgetting in delayed matching to sample in pigeons was examined in a 2 x 2 design by independently manipulating whether or not forget-cue trials in training ended with reinforcement and whether or not forget-cue trials in training included a simultaneous discrimination (involving stimuli other than those used in the matching task). Results were consistent with the hypothesis that reinforced responding following forget cues is sufficient to eliminate performance deficits on forget-cue probe trials. Only when reinforcement was omitted on forget-cue trials in training (whether a discrimination was required or not) was there a decrement in accuracy on forget-cue probe trials. When reinforcement is present, however, the pattern of responding established during and following a forget cue in training may also play a role in the directed forgetting effect. These findings support the view that much of the evidence for directed forgetting using matching procedures may result from motivational and behavioral artifacts rather than the loss of memory.     

VISUAL IDENTITY MATCHING AND AUDITORY-VISUAL MATCHING: A PROCEDURAL NOTE

After preliminary computerized training on visual-visual identity matching, a 5-year-old boy with autism (Sam) was given visual-visual and auditory-visual matching-to-sample tests with new stimuli. He did well in matching dictated name samples to 20 pictures, 26 printed upper case letters, and 9 single-digit numbers. In matching the visual stimuli (pictures, letters, or numbers) to themselves, however, he did not perform well. We then increased the number of picture comparisons per trial from two to three. In tests after this three-comparison training, Sam correctly matched on 95% of the original 20-stimulus, four-comparison, identity-matching test trials. He went on to demonstrate accurate identity matching of the numbers, letters, and new pictures. In identity-matching tests on the table top, he performed poorly until the stimulus array was made to resemble the stimulus arrangement on the computer. These findings showed that seemingly small procedural changes can influence performance and demonstrated that successful auditory-visual matching does not guarantee proficiency in visual-visual identity matching.     

Behavior analysis and decision making

Behavior analysts have developed powerful methodologies to assess central phenomena in areas that have been dominated by cognitive psychologists. Advances in instructional control, stimulus equivalence, choice, rule-governed behavior, matching to sample, and verbal behavior are some of the tools that have been developed in the experimental analysis of behavior. Although the article focuses on the experimental analysis of reasoning, this is but one of the areas in which behavior analysts should have a greater impact on contemporary psychology.     

Reinforcer frequency and restricted stimulus control.

Stimulus control was evaluated in 3 individuals with moderate to severe mental retardation by delayed identity matching-to-sample procedures that presented either one or two discrete forms as sample stimuli on each trial. On pretests, accuracy scores on one-sample trials were uniformly high. On two-sample trials, the correct stimulus (i.e., the one that subsequently appeared in the comparison array) varied unpredictably, and accuracy scores were substantially lower, suggesting that both sample stimuli did not exert stimulus control on every trial. Subjects were then given training sessions with the one-sample task and with a new set of four stimuli. For two of the stimuli, correct matching responses were followed by reinforcers on a variable-ratio schedule that led to a high reinforcer rate. For the other two stimuli, correct responses were followed by reinforcers on a variable-ratio schedule that led to a substantially lower reinforcer rate. Results on two-sample tests that followed showed that (a) on trials in which comparison arrays consisted of one high reinforcer-rate and one low reinforcer-rate stimulus, subjects most often selected the high-rate stimulus; and (b) on trials in which the comparison arrays were either two high reinforcer-rate stimuli or two low reinforcer-rate stimuli and the samples were one high reinforcer- and one low reinforcer-rate stimulus, accuracy was higher on trials with the high-rate comparisons. These results indicate that the frequency of stimulus control by high reinforcer-rate samples was greater than that by low reinforcer-rate samples. Following more training with the one-sample task and reversed reinforcement schedules for all stimuli, the differences in stimulus control frequencies on two-sample tests also reversed. These results demonstrate experimental control by reinforcement contingencies of which of two sample stimuli controlled selections in the two-sample task. The procedures and results may prove to be relevant for understanding restricted stimulus control and stimulus overselectivity.     

Stimulus presentation order in receptive identification tasks: A systematic replication

Conflicting recommendations exist in the literature regarding the optimal order of stimulus presentation when teaching auditory–visual conditional discriminations. The present study examined the generality of a previously demonstrated advantage of presenting the auditory sample before visual comparisons (sample‐first condition) over the reverse sequence (comparison‐first condition). Participants were four typically developing 5‐ and 6‐year‐old boys. The procedures of Petursdottir and Aguilar (2016) were systematically replicated with the addition of a prompted error correction trial following each incorrect response. Overall, there were more instances of quicker mastery in the sample‐first condition (four of seven evaluations) than in the comparison‐first condition (two of seven evaluations). A comparison‐first advantage was associated with slower acquisition in both conditions than in the remaining evaluations, and an analysis of stimulus and position bias yielded tentative evidence for unwanted sources of stimulus control.     

Experiences in Close Relationships Revised Child version (ECR-RC): Psychometric evidence in support of a Security factor

Attachment refers to the innate tendency to form strong and close interpersonal bonds, from infancy through adulthood. Many different ways to assess attachment have been developed, one of them being the use of self-report questionnaires. The Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised is one of the most commonly used instruments to assess adult and late adolescent attachment. Recently, a new and brief child version of this instrument has been published, the 12-item ECR-RC short form. The purpose of the current study was threefold: (1) to test the factorial structure of this form in a sample of Italian adolescents, (2) to test the loadings overlap between the mother and the father forms, and (3) to investigate factors reliability. Using a sample of 961 adolescents (M_age = 14.25, SD_age = 1.57), a series of Confirmatory Factor Analyses were performed. The Avoidance – Anxiety structure was not supported, whereas a factor structure including Anxiety, Avoidance, and Security, had a very good fit. Item loadings on these factors were largely equal across mother and father, and internal reliability was high. The results of this study show that the ECR-RC short form is a quick and reliable way to assess attachment in early adolescents. This study also initiates the proposal of an ECR-RC Security factor, to be further validated in future studies.     

The distribution matters: two types of sample-size tasks

Different studies on how well people take sample size into account have found a wide range of solution rates. In a recent review, Sedlmeier and Gigerenzer (1997) suggested that a substantial part of the variation in results can be explained by the fact that experimenters have used two different types of sample-size tasks, one involving frequency distributions and the other sampling distributions. This suggestion rested on an analysis of studies that, with one exception, did not systematically manipulate type of distribution. In the research reported in this paper, well-known sample-size tasks were used to examine the hypothesis that frequency distribution versions of sample-size tasks yield higher solution rates than corresponding sampling distribution versions. In Study 1, a substantial difference between solution rates for the two types of task was found. Study 2 replicated this finding and ruled out an alternative explanation for it, namely, that the solution rate for sampling distribution tasks was lower because the information they contained was harder to extract than that in frequency distribution tasks. Finally, in Study 3 an attempt was made to reduce the gap between the solution rates for the two types of tasks by giving participants as many hints as possible for solving a sampling distribution task. Even with hints, the gap in performance remained. A new computational model of statistical reasoning specifies cognitive processes that might explain why people are better at solving frequency than sampling distribution tasks. Copyright© 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of prenatal adversity on externalizing behaviors at 24 months of age in a high-risk sample: Maternal sensitivity as a moderator

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of maternal sensitivity on the association between prenatal adversity and externalizing behaviors at 24 months of age in a diverse, high-risk sample. We hypothesized that among children with higher prenatal adversity, high maternal sensitivity would serve as a protective factor. Participants were 247 primarily low-income, diverse dyads. Results indicated a significant interaction effect of maternal sensitivity and prenatal adversity on externalizing problems. The association between prenatal adversity and externalizing behaviors was significant only among children who experienced low prenatal adversity, with higher maternal sensitivity associated with lower externalizing behaviors. These findings indicate that, in the absence of high prenatal risk, responsive and sensitive parenting can buffer children in an otherwise high-risk sample from the development of externalizing behaviors.     

Sample size requirements for estimating pearson, kendall and spearman correlations

Interval estimates of the Pearson, Kendall tau-a and Spearman correlations are reviewed and an improved standard error for the Spearman correlation is proposed. The sample size required to yield a confidence interval having the desired width is examined. A two-stage approximation to the sample size requirement is shown to give accurate results.     

Bayesian estimation of a multilevel IRT model using gibbs sampling

In this article, a two-level regression model is imposed on the ability parameters in an item response theory (IRT) model. The advantage of using latent rather than observed scores as dependent variables of a multilevel model is that it offers the possibility of separating the influence of item difficulty and ability level and modeling response variation and measurement error. Another advantage is that, contrary to observed scores, latent scores are test-independent, which offers the possibility of using results from different tests in one analysis where the parameters of the IRT model and the multilevel model can be concurrently estimated. The two-parameter normal ogive model is used for the IRT measurement model. It will be shown that the parameters of the two-parameter normal ogive model and the multilevel model can be estimated in a Bayesian framework using Gibbs sampling. Examples using simulated and real data are given.