Survival of the partial reinforcement extinction effect after contextual shifts

The effects of contextual shifts on the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE) were studied in autoshaping with rats. Experiment 1 established that the two contexts used subsequently were easily discriminable and equally salient. In Experiment 2, independent groups of rats received acquisition training under partial reinforcement (PRF) or continuous reinforcement (CRF). Significant PREEs were observed whether extinction occurred in the same or in a different context. In Experiment 3, after PRF or CRF acquisition training, each group received extinction of the same conditioned stimulus in both the same and different contexts. PREEs were observed under both conditions, although extinction was accelerated after a contextual shift. These results were discussed in relation to the role of mediational states in the PREE.     

Unwilling but not unable to control: Ego depletion increases effortful dishonesty with material rewards

Previous studies have found that ego depletion increases dishonesty. However, it remains unclear whether ego depletion makes participants unable to exert self‐control or unwilling to exert self‐control when it increases dishonesty. The present study aimed to clarify this. Based on the process model, ego depletion causes individuals to pay more attention to material rewards and increases the motivation to act on impulse. Therefore, it is possible that ego‐depleted participants are unwilling, rather than unable, to be honest. We conducted two experiments to examine this hypothesis. Results showed that ego depletion increased material‐based dishonesty even when the dishonest behavior was more complicated and effortful than was the honest behavior. However, participants were reluctant to cheat just for convenience, and ego depletion had no apparent effect on convenience‐based dishonesty without any material rewards. The theoretical implications and future directions of these results are discussed.     

想象重要他人对自我评价转移的影响

研究目的：本研究的目的是在中国文化背景下,考察想象不同的重要他人对于个体自我评价转移的影响,并探讨自尊在其中的调节作用。考虑到大学生年龄相当,拥有相似的角色经验,故本研究选用了大二女生作为被试。研究选择了三类重要他人：父母、同性朋友、异性朋友（包括男朋友）,由于每一类重要他人所对应的关系自我各不相同,所以研究编制了针对不同重要他人的自我评价特质词表,作为因变量测量的工具。 过程与方法：本研究设计了两个实验,实验中将用到录音机。实验一为单因素实验设计,在三个实验室同时展开,各个实验室的想象重要他人分别为父母、同性朋友、异性朋友。主试告知参与者,本实验将进行一项大学女生的想象力测试,首先聆听一段描写风景的散文录音,进行想象练习。然后请她们在头脑中想象一位指定的重要他人,比如想象重要他人的形象、语言、行为等特征,尽可能详细生动。想象结束,首先请被试回忆并填写刚才想象的主要内容。然后告诉被试,另一个课题组正在搜集有关“当代大学生自我形象”的资料,请她们帮忙填写《自我评价特质词表》,对自己的一些特质进行评价。最后,主试向参与者致谢并进行了解释。实验二的想象重要他人为同性朋友和男朋友,实验过程与实验一基本一致,在自我评价测量中采用了专门针对“同性朋友”和“男朋友”的量表,并在想象完成后填写自尊量表。 结果与结论：本研究所有统计检验的显著性水平在a<0.05的水平上进行。研究探讨了中国文化背景下大学女生的关系自我评价特质,发现其与西方文化背景下的关系自我评价特质显著不同。证明了想象重要他人影响个体自我评价的维度,并会产生自我评价转移的现象,没有发现自尊变量的调节作用。     

Differential effects of inactivation of the orbitofrontal cortex on strategy set-shifting and reversal learning

Different subregions of the rodent prefrontal cortex (PFC) mediate dissociable types of behavioral flexibility. For example, lesions of the medial or orbitofrontal (OFC) regions of the PFC impair extradimensional shifts and reversal learning, respectively, when novel stimuli are used during different phases of the task. In the present study, we assessed the effects of inactivation of the OFC on strategy set-shifting and reversal learning, using a maze based set-shifting task mediated by the medial PFC. Long–Evans rats were trained initially on a visual-cue discrimination to obtain food. On the subsequent day, rats had to shift to using a response strategy (e.g., always turn left). On Day 3 (reversal), rats were required to reverse the direction of their turn (e.g., always turn right). Infusions of the local anesthetic bupivacaine into the OFC did not impair initial visual discrimination learning, nor did it impair performance on the set-shift. In contrast, inactivation of the OFC did impair reversal learning; yet, these rats ceased using the previously acquired response rule as readily as controls. Instead, rats receiving OFC inactivations made a disproportionate number of erroneous arm entries towards the visual-cue, suggested that these animals reverted back to using the original visual-cue based strategy. These findings, in addition to previous data, further support the notion that the OFC and medial PFC play dissociable roles in reversal learning and set-shifting. Furthermore, the lack of effect of OFC inactivations on the set-shift indicates that this type of behavioral flexibility does not require cognitive operations related to reversal learning.     

中学生自我评价水平的发展及其与学业成绩之间的关系

目的：考察中学生自我评价的发展及其与学业成绩的关系。方法：使用About me问卷与长处和困难问卷（SDQ）来调查中学生的自我评价水平,选取语文、数学英语和总成绩作为学业成绩的指标,对自我评价和学业成绩进行了相关和回归分析。结果：（1）初中生的学业自我评价要好于高中生;（2）中学生自我评价的学业努力程度和学业能力与学业成绩间存在正相关,尤其是自我评价的学业能力对各种学业成绩的正向预测作用都较大。长处和困难方面只有总分对数学成绩的负向预测作用较大。结论：不同年级学生在自我评价的不同方面表现出不同特征,初二年级在学业自我评价和长处困难上的得分都较高;学业自我评价对学业成绩的预测作用较明显,本研究中发现对困难方面的自我评价与学业成绩间的关系较弱,但困难总分对于数学成绩有一定的负向预测作用。     

不同适应水平小学生自我描述与评价比较--关于小学生自我调节机制的一项研究

本研究选取发展良好与适应不良的三一五年级小学生为被试,以问卷形式调查他们对自我特征的评价。结果表明,两组被试自我描述在内容的丰富性和自我观察的程度上具有明显差异,他们的自我评价存在着内一外在价值倾向差异。本文通过分析这些结果之间的关联性．探讨了小学生积极的自我观察产生的条件。     

科研技术人员核心自我评价与工作倦怠、工作投入的结构方程分析

目的：探讨在中国文化背景下公司内技术部门人员核心自我评价是否包括集体自尊的维度及其与工作投入、工作倦怠的关系。方法：在人力资源部门人员的指导下,301名公司技术部门人员填写了工作倦怠量表（MBI—GS）、工作投入量表（UWES）、经典核心自我评价4个分量表、集体自尊量表以及核心自我评价集成量表（CSES）,并以密封信封方式提交。结果：（1）集体自尊对核心自我评价的载荷为0．68,是核心自我评价的重要因素。（2）加入集体自尊维度的核心自我评价对工作投入和工作倦怠路径系数分别达到了0．79和-0．54。（3）采用集成核心自我评价量表测量也支持了这一结果,对工作投入和工作倦怠各维度的回归系数均达到了显著水平。结论：集体自尊是中国文化背景下技术部人员的核心自我评价重要成分,且加入集体自尊维度的核心自我评价对工作投入和工作倦怠均有较好的预测作用。     

Fallacies, Blunders, and Dialogue Shifts: Walton‘s Contributions to the Fallacy Debate

The paper examines Waltons concept of fallacy as it develops throughthree stages of his work: from the early series of papers co-authored withJohn Woods; through a second phase of involvement with thepragma-dialectical perspective; and on to the final phase in which heoffers a distinct pragmatic theory that reaches beyond the perceived limitsof the pragma-dialectical account while still exhibiting a debt to thatperspective and the early investigations with Woods. It is observed how Waltons model of fallacy is established in distinction to its competitors,and its various problems and successes are discussed.     

Performance evaluation in subclinical depression: It looks like I did as poorly as I expected to

The study tested the hypothesis that subclinically depressed individuals' unduly negative performance evaluations reflect self-confirmatory processing: their performance evaluations are biased toward the confirmation of their negative success expectations. To test this hypothesis, 17 subclinically depressed and 47 nondepressed participants indicated their success expectations and their performance standards for an upcoming test of academic aptitude. After taking the test, they evaluated their test performance without explicit feedback about how well they had done. Three findings suggest that the less favorable performance evaluations of subclinically depressed participants were due to self-confirmatory processing: (a) success expectations covaried with performance evaluations, (b) depressed participants had less favorable success expectations, and (c) after statistically removing the effect of expectations on performance evaluations, depressed-nondepressed differences in performance evaluations were eliminated. There was no evidence that overly stringent standards accounted for the relatively negative performance evaluations of subclinically depressed participants.Portions of this article were presented at the Annual Convention of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, November 1996.     

THE EFFECTS OF A CHILD'S SELF-EVALUATION PROGRAM ON COMPLIANCE WITH PARENTAL INSTRUCTIONS IN THE HOME

A self-evaluation program was implemented with a kindergarten-aged boy in the home to increase compliance with parent instructions and decrease inappropriate verbal behavior. The self-evaluation package included the child's assessing the appropriateness of his behavior in 5-min intervals, receiving chips for positive self-evaluations, and exchanging chips for a reward following experimental sessions. In a reversal design, analyses were conducted of the effectiveness of the self-evaluation program, the requisite conditions for effective child behavior change with a self-evaluation approach, and the parent's efficiency in using the self-evaluation package. The self-evaluation procedures typically resulted in increased compliant behavior and decreased inappropriate behavior, although the effects generally weakened with time. Behavioral gains were greater and better maintained when the self-evaluation procedures were preceded by a phase of external evaluation via the mother than by baseline, suggesting that self-evaluation procedures may serve more to maintain the effects of external evaluation rather than to induce their own changes. The parent generally was efficient in implementing the procedures. Research and clinical implications for using self-evaluation procedures in a home setting are discussed.