MANIPULATION OF POTENTIAL PUNISHMENT PARAMETERS IN THE TREATMENT OF SELF-INJURY1

The self-injurious behavior (SIB) of a blind, profoundly retarded male was observed within a field setting as multiple forms of punishment were applied. The effects of hair-tug punishment were first systematically examined, then hair-tug and electric shock punishment were administered in varing ratios (of punishment deliveries per SIB response) supplemented by continuous restraint contingencies and made contingent on recurrent antecedents of SIB cycles. Treatments were applied over six months of consecutive daily sessions ranging from 30 min to 8 hr duration. Posttreatment followup observations were taken 12, 24, and 34 months after treatment. Partial suppression was produced as a direct function of hair-tug punishment in the initial phase. A generally progressive decrement was produced on already lowered SIB rates with the succeeding components of the treatment package. Extended periods of total SIB suppression occurred as punishment was rendered contingent on antecedent components of each SIB response cycle. Followup observations of nearly 3 yr duration indicated total suppression generalized over all settings in which the subject functioned. The findings were related to the contrasting limits prevailing in most reports of punishment-based SIB suppression.     

Effects on responding of mixed and multiple schedules of signalled and unsignalled response-dependent electric-shock delivery

Responding in two rats was maintained under mixed and multiple variable-interval 35-sec variable-interval 35-sec food delivery schedules. Similar rates and patterns of responding occurred in each component of the two schedules. Mixed and multiple variable-interval 65-sec variable-interval 65-sec schedules of response-dependent shock delivery were super-imposed on the mixed and multiple baseline food schedules, respectively. In one component, a 5-sec stimulus was presented on the average of once every 65 sec. Offset of the stimulus arranged that the next response would produce shock. In the other component, no stimulus was presented during the 5-sec period. The mixed schedule of signalled and unsignalled dependent shock delivery yielded similar degrees of response suppression in each component, but the multiple schedule of shock delivery revealed differential degrees of response suppression. Considerably more suppression occurred in the component not associated with the preshock stimulus, thus implicating the discriminative functions of the correlated stimulus.     

INDUSTRIAL SAFETY HAZARD REDUCTION THROUGH PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK

A “feedback package” system, designed to prevent occupational accidents and to fit directly into the normal operations of an industrial organization, was analyzed. Eighteen hazardous conditions in six production departments were assessed during seven observation sessions over a 12-week period, plus four follow-up observations over 4 months. The “feedback package” was presented in multiple baseline fashion, across subjects (department supervisors). It consisted of presenting the supervisor with copies of observational data, accompanied by a note which congratulated good practices and suggested ways for improving safety conditions, along with occasional comments from a senior executive. The results indicated that during the feedback phase, hazard rates were lower and less variable than during the baseline phase. Baseline data were highly variable with peaks ranging from 20 to 55 hazards per department. Following intervention, hazard frequencies dropped by 60%, averaged across departments, with decreases ranging from 29% to 88%. During treatment, data stabilized, with the highest frequency reaching 33. A modified feedback system was implemented by the organization following termination of the study, validating the assumption that such a system would tend to maintain.     

LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS IN SPEEDING AND ACCIDENTS IN CANADA AND ISRAEL: A BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

We assessed the effects of posted feedback and warning ticket programs on speeding and accidents in two cities. In Experiment 1, speeding feedback signs were effective even when 10 were used in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and reductions in speeding were associated with reductions in accidents. The effectiveness of the signs was correlated with the number of intersections and residences within 0.5 km beyond them, and the signs had no effect on untreated streets. In Experiment 2, posted feedback and a warning program reduced speeding and accidents on 14 streets in Haifa, Israel.     

Implicit achievement motive limits the impact of task difficulty on effort-related cardiovascular response

In contrast to the motive literature, motivational intensity theory predicts that the implicit achievement motive (nAch) should only exert an indirect impact on effort by limiting the impact of task difficulty. To contrast these two views, sixty-eight participants with a low or high nAch performed an easy or difficult arithmetic task. Effort was assessed using cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP). Supporting motivational intensity theory’s view, PEP response was low in both easy-task conditions but stronger in the high-nAch group than in the low-nAch group in the difficult task. These findings suggest that nAch exerts an indirect effect on effort investment by setting the maximally justified effort instead of directly determining the amount of effort that is invested to satisfy the motive.     

The relation between rumination and temporal features of emotion intensity

Intensity profiles of emotional experience over time have been found to differ primarily in explosiveness (i.e. whether the profile has a steep vs. a gentle start) and accumulation (i.e. whether intensity increases over time vs. goes back to baseline). However, the determinants of these temporal features remain poorly understood. In two studies, we examined whether emotion regulation strategies are predictive of the degree of explosiveness and accumulation of negative emotional episodes. Participants were asked to draw profiles reflecting changes in the intensity of emotions elicited either by negative social feedback in the lab (Study 1) or by negative events in daily life (Study 2). In addition, trait (Study 1 & 2), and state (Study 2) usage of a set of emotion regulation strategies was assessed. Multilevel analyses revealed that trait rumination (especially the brooding component) was positively associated with emotion accumulation (Study 1 & 2). State rumination was also positively associated with emotion accumulation and, to a lesser extent, with emotion explosiveness (Study 2). These results provide support for emotion regulation theories, which hypothesise that rumination is a central mechanism underlying the maintenance of negative emotions.     

负性情绪强度对双加工再认提取的影响

双加工理论认为再认提取存在回想和熟悉性两种认知加工过程。本研究采用修正的“记得/知道”范式,考察不同强度的负性情绪对这两种再认提取过程的影响。结果发现：（1）在记得反应上不同负性情绪强度的材料呈现出以下模式：高度负性 > 中度负性 > 轻度负性 > 中性;（2）在知道反应上,不同负性情绪强度的材料呈现出以下模式：中性 > 轻度负性 > 中度负性 > 高度负性。这些结果表明,不同强度的负性材料对情绪记忆的影响表现为两条途径：依赖于回想的再认随着负性情绪强度的增加而逐步提高,另外一个依赖于熟悉性的再认随着负性情绪强度的增加而逐步降低。     

传统与改良鼻内镜下鼻骨复位术的病例对照研究

比较传统与改良鼻内镜下鼻骨复位术两种手术方式,探讨改良鼻内镜下鼻骨复位术的可行性与优势所在。局部麻醉下分别采用传统与改良鼻内镜下鼻骨复位术对闭合性单纯鼻骨骨折及部分合并鼻中隔骨折的患者进行复位后,比较两种手术方式患者的复位效果、术中出血、术后不适及住院时间。改良鼻内镜下鼻骨复位术较传统鼻内镜下鼻骨复位具有麻醉效果好、鼻...     

怎样看待和认识休克

哲学素质在现代医学实践中具有重要意义,它不仅是医务工作者的思维武器,更是了解医学前沿和解决医学难题的钥匙。本文就以休克这一临床上常见的危急重症为例,探讨休克发生发展过程中的哲学因素,旨在阐明自觉运用马克思主义哲学的思辨观来指导休克的诊疗过程实属必要,对医生及患者都大有益处。     

Effects of unit formation on the perception of a changing sound

The effects of subunit formation on adult listeners' ability to notice changes in a continuous spectral gradient of sound were studied. Results of this experiment support the idea that the auditory system processes information differently within a unit, and that this processing does not occur unless the perceptual system detects unit boundaries. In this experiment, silences were inserted into a continuously changing sound to cause the formation of short units. Listeners noticed the change earlier in conditions with silences inserted than in to conditions where the transition was either unbroken or broken by loud noise bursts. Results are discussed in terms of two processes, one that accentuates stimulus properties present at moments of onset and offset, and a second that uses onsets and offsets to signal the beginnings and ends of units and reduces the change perceived within units.