Differential Conditioning Based on a Difference in the Predictability of Reinforcement

A Pavlovian procedure containing a set of several alternative reliable trial stimuli and a set of several alternative unreliable trial stimuli was used to determine if reliability of outcome, per se, would differentially condition additional trial stimuli that either preceded or followed those original trial stimuli in a serial conditioning paradigm. The reinforcing effectiveness of the antecedent stimuli themselves was later tested in a higher-order conditioning design. It was found that different rates could be established to the different antecedent stimuli in the absence of a difference in the probability of reinforcement. Further, stimuli paired with those antecedent stimuli in the higher-order conditioning test also exhibited a difference in rate. It was concluded that a combination of a stimulus that is always followed by food and another that is never followed by food are, in net, a more effective reinforcer than a common stimulus that has the same overall probability of reinforcement but which is followed by both outcomes.     

Revisiting the learning-without-awareness question in human pavlovian autonomic conditioning: Focus on extinction in a dichotic listening paradigm

Numerous studies have indicated that, consistent with current “cognitive” accounts of information processing, human Pavlovian autonomic discrimination acquisition cannot occur without awareness of the CS-US relationship. However, extinction studies have suggested that awareness is not necessary, findings that, in information-processing terms, have been explained by assuming that the processing by the extinction stage is parallel (automatic) rather than serial (controlled). This explanation was tested in an 80-subject study. The first, acquisition phase was a standard semantic differential conditioning arrangement with a 96-db white noise as US, and a “long” CS-US interval of 8 s, with ten trials each of CS+ (paired with US) and CS− (unpaired) trials. In extinction (USs omitted), in order to obtain non-autonomic indices of processing and thereby test the information-processing account of “unaware” autonomic conditioning during extinction, a dichotic listening task was implemented, with the CSs presented in the unattended channel (ear), while the subject had to perform a semantic differential reaction task in an attended-to channel (other ear). In early extinction, the electrodermal response occurring at an interval of 9–15 s after CS onset (i.e., following placement of the US during acquisition) and the finger-pulse-volume response occurring at an interval of 4–11 s after CS onset both showed reliable conditioning, but reaction-time and subjective-report data for the recognized critical words indicated serial rather than parallel processing of the CSs during extinction.     

Cross-national variations in violence

This study tries to explain why modernization is positively associated with property offenses, while it is negatively correlated with violent offences. The explanation is based on sociobiology and on the distinction between r and K evolutionary strategies. It is argued that modern societies are more likely to benefit from channeling their aggressive drive to the relatively less serious property crimes. Another derivative from the same theoretical argument is the hypothesis that in modern societies lethal aggression would be directed toward the self (resulting in suicide) rather than toward others (a behavior which would lead to homicide).     

连续创业情境下自恋人格与关键创业行为变化机理

优化行为是提升创业质量的关键。创业行为的显著特征是与环境的动态匹配, 因此研究需从关注行为本身转向追踪行为动态变化。基于行为受人格、认知和环境共同影响的理论判断, 重点考察创业者自恋人格对行为变化及其效果的影响机制, 构建以“自恋-行为变化-绩效”为主线的理论模型。融合创业理论与人格心理学中相关知识, 以解构关键创业行为变化的要素为切入点, 考察自恋人格如何与经验交互影响行为变化, 探索在不同认知状态和环境背景下, 行为变化的效果差异, 建构行为变化优化模型。旨在深化和丰富创业行为和创业心理研究, 指导创业教育实践, 对创业者提升决策能力有重要意义。     

Hemispatial neglect and serial order in verbal working memory

Working memory refers to our ability to actively maintain and process a limited amount of information during a brief period of time. Often, not only the information itself but also its serial order is crucial for good task performance. It was recently proposed that serial order is grounded in spatial cognition. Here, we compared performance of a group of right hemisphere-damaged patients with hemispatial neglect to healthy controls in verbal working memory tasks. Participants memorized sequences of consonants at span level and had to judge whether a target consonant belonged to the memorized sequence (item task) or whether a pair of consonants were presented in the same order as in the memorized sequence (order task). In line with this idea that serial order is grounded in spatial cognition, we found that neglect patients made significantly more errors in the order task than in the item task compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, this deficit seemed functionally related to neglect severity and was more frequently observed following right posterior brain damage. Interestingly, this specific impairment for serial order in verbal working memory was not lateralized. We advance the hypotheses of a potential contribution to the deficit of serial order in neglect patients of either or both (1) reduced spatial working memory capacity that enables to keep track of the spatial codes that provide memorized items with a positional context, (2) a spatial compression of these codes in the intact representational space.     

Post-homicidal behaviors of intrafamilial crime authors in France: An archival study

IntroductionConfessions in criminal cases range between 42 and 57%, all crimes considered. However, there is no data specifically on confessions regarding intrafamilial homicides, despite the fact that this subtype of homicide accounts for 30–40% of all homicides.ObjectiveThe purpose of the present research aims to establish the links between the sociodemographic characteristics of the perpetrators of intrafamilial murder, and their behavior and interaction with the criminal justice system after that they committed the crime (e.g., self-denunciation and confession).MethodAll cases of domestic homicide over a period of eleven years and judged in a single court of assize were analyzed (N = 44). Data regarding the type of homicide (conjugal, parricide, filicide, familicide), the sociodemographic profile of the perpetrator (sex, age, family situation, occupation, educational level) and their behaviour pre-, during- and post- the homicide were collected and analyzed.ResultsThe common intrafamilial murderer is a 36 years old man belonging to a disadvantaged socio-professional group, mostly without judicial antecedent. Moreover, confession rate is above 98% (including 41% spontaneous denunciations by the perpetrators themselves).Discussion and conclusionThis research supports earlier work on the profiles of family crime perpetrators. However, perpetrators of intrafamilial homicides confess more often than perpetrators of all other types of homicide. The results are discussed in terms of cognitive and emotional mechanisms. Suggestions for the use of such insights by investigative services are proposed.     

The Hebb repetition effect as a laboratory analogue of novel word learning

The present study tests the hypothesis that a common ordering mechanism underlies both short-term serial recall of verbal materials and the acquisition of novel long-term lexical representations, using the Hebb repetition effect. In the first experiment, participants recalled visually presented nonsense syllables following a typical Hebb effect learning protocol. Replicating the Hebb repetition effect, we observed improved recall for repeated sequences of syllables. In the second experiment, the same participants performed an auditory lexical decision task, which included nonwords that were constructed from the syllables used in the first experiment. We observed inhibited rejection of nonwords that were composed of the repeated Hebb sequences, compared to nonwords that were built from nonrepeated filler sequences. This suggests that a long-term phonological lexical representation developed during Hebb learning. Accordingly, the relation between immediate serial recall and word learning is made explicit by arguing that the Hebb repetition effect is a laboratory analogue of naturalistic vocabulary acquisition.     

Number perseveration in healthy subjects: Does prolonged stimulus exposure influence performance on a serial addition task?

Perseverative behavior characterizes mainly patients with severe psychopathology, but it can also be observed in healthy individuals. The aim of the reported experiment was to investigate a serial addition task that elicits strong perseverative behavior in normal subjects by examining the significance of perseveration in the final step of this addition task (Gardner, 1971) as a function of time availability. The classical serial addition task, which was used in the experiment, consisted of 4 consecutive digit decreases in the added numbers following a constant digit (1,000 + 40 + 1,000 + 30 + 1,000 + 20 + 1,000 + 10) and required an additive calculation. The main questions were how and if color and time variations could influence perseverative responses in this task and whether memory performance and relevant mathematical knowledge of the participants could have an effect on responses. The sample of subjects participating in the experiment consisted of 300 healthy university students (112 male, 188 female) ranging from 17 to 40 years of age. They were divided in 5 groups of 60 subjects each. A memory digit span and spatial test were administered and relevant scores were taken for each subject of the 5 groups. Obtained results suggest the presence of a strong perseverative error in the final step of the presentation of digits for the large majority of subjects and for all 5 conditions. It seems that time and color changes and the memory span of the participants have no detectable effect on performance on this specific serial addition task.