Socialization and career orientation among black and white college women

In a study of career orientation among black and white college women, support was found for hypotheses derived from postulates of Rotter's Social Learning Theory. Compared to whites, (1) blacks were less likely to expect the level of work involvement preferred; (2) blacks expected more employment; and (3) blacks were more likely to prefer less employment than they realistically expected. Antecedents of career expectation were categorized as internal, external, or neutral. As hypothesized, variables expressive of external control predicted level of career expectation among blacks, whereas variables expressive of internal control predicted high career expectations among whites.     

Cardiac orienting responses of 6- and 16-week-old infants

Since previous data suggested that the magnitude of orienting evidenced by cardiac deceleration increased over the first 16 weeks of life, 6- and 16-week-old infants were compared on various characteristics of orienting: habituation, dishabituation, and magnitude of deceleration to stimulus offset as well as to stimulus onset. Neither the change in stimulus following habituation trials nor the stimulus offset produced a large enough response to confidently evaluate age differences suggested by the data. Stimulus onset elicited a pronounced deceleration which for the two age groups was of equivalent magnitude on initial trials and declined similarly with stimulus repetition. It was suggested that similarity of the two age groups on these parameters was due to control of state within a narrow alert range, and that, in general, younger infants are less likely than older infants to show orienting when conditions for orienting are marginal.     

Inferential processes in the forced compliance situation: A Bayesian analysis

The attribution made by an observer (O) to an actor in the forced compliance situation was regarded as a probability revision process which can be described by a Bayesian inference model. Os' perceptions of the forced compliance situation were analyzed in terms of the input components into the Bayesian model: prior probabilities of the relevant attitudes and the diagnostic values of the behaviors which the actor may choose. In order to test propositions made by attribution theory about such perceptions (Kelley, 1967;Messick, 1971), Os viewed actors under conditions of Low Inducement (LI) and High Inducement (HI). Before observing the actor's decision, Os estimated the prior probabilities of the relevant attitudes and the conditional probabilities of compliance and refusal given each of the attitudes. After observing the actor's decision, Os estimated the posterior probabilities of the attitudes. As expected, in the LI condition, compared to the HI condition, compliance was seen as less probable and more diagnostic about the actor's attitudes, and the posterior probability of the corresponding attitude was higher. Contrary to expectations, within both conditions, compliance, compared to refusal, was seen as less diagnostic and more probable.     

Conditioned inhibition is not the symmetrical opposite of conditioned excitation: A test of the Rescorla-Wagner model

Rescorla and Wagner's (1972) linear associative model of learning predicts that a neutral stimulus will become weakly excitatory if it is paired with a conditioned inhibitor and the compound is not reinforced. If the inhibitor is not allowed to extinguish during these pairings, the model predicts that the neutral stimulus will become strongly excitatory. Rescorla (1971) has presented some evidence to support the former prediction of a weak effect. Experiment I tested the latter prediction of a strong effect using rats in a conditioned emotional response paradigm, and found no evidence that the pairings made the neutral stimulus excitatory. Experiment II replicated Rescorla's results, but showed that even on a relearning test the experimental group learned no faster than a novel stimulus control group.     

Evidence for a developmental shift in the basis for memory organization

Using a false recognition procedure, either with or without instructions to facilitate Synonym or Antonym encoding, 128 second- and sixth-grade boys and girls were tested. The results indicated that there were no grade or sex differences in generalization errors to synonyms or antonyms under neurtral learning instructions, but that facilitative instructions interacted with grade level. Under instructions to facilitate synonym encoding, second graders showed a marked increase in synonym errors. On the other hand, under instructions to facilitate antonym encoding, sixth graders showed an increase in antonym errors. In addition, association strength was directly related to the magnitude of the generalization errors in both grades. The results are discussed in terms of age-related shifts in the basis underlying the organization of verbal memories.     

The development of conceptual and rote recall skills among school age children

One hundred eighty children from Grades K, 5, and 9 performed a recall task within one of four instructional conditions: serial recall; standard free recall; labeling free recall; labeling cued recall. The task required that Ss view and recall items from three successively presented sets of categorized pieture stimuli. Controls were imposed upon the associatice relatedness of items within sets so as to minimize the occurrence of associative responding during recall. The clustering data showed that kindergarten and fifth grade children are able to use conceptual skills to effectively mediate recall, but fail to effect these skills on a spontaneous basis in free recall. The results were discussed in line with the hypothesis that young children fail to engage in planful cognitive activity in recall tasks.     

Speech acquisition in a nonverbal isolate child

The present study attempted to evaluate experimentally the relationship between two response classes: cooperative play and speech. One child was observed in a preschool free-play setting. Base rates of speech and play with peers indicated that the child never spoke to or played with peers during free-play periods. Base rates of teacher attention were observed to fluctuate directly with the child's isolate play. When differential attention and extinction operations were presented, removed and presented again, the frequency of cooperative play with peers increased, decreased and increased accordingly. Moderate fluctuations in verbal behavior also correlated with the presence and absence of the differential attention and extinction operations, even though the operations were applied only to cooperative play. The results suggest that some nonverbal isolate children may begin producing speech when play behaviors with peers are reinforced by teachers.     

Between-chains and within-chain speed gradients as functions of length

Two experiments examined between-chains and within-chain speed gradients as functions of length. The first, involving straight runways, revealed hyperbolic gradients within chains for each of three lengths, .61, 1.22, and 2.44 m. Between-chains comparisons showed a goal gradient effect confined to the start box segment and a long-chain depression effect in the last two segments. The second experiment, involving discrete-trial fixed-ratio bar-pressing schedules of FR(1 + 4), FR(1 + 8), and FR(1 + 16), showed goal gradient effects for starting speeds and for speeds across the first segment beyond start. Also, confounding effects apparent in the runway, of acceleration, deceleration, and long-chain depression, were diminished or absent in the bar-pressing situation.