Pavlovian phenomena in conditioned acceleration—Stimulus summation

Four naive male rats were separately fear-conditioned to two stimuli (light and sound) by pairing these stimuli with shocks. During Sidman avoidance these unreinforced stimuli elicited increases in response rates (conditioned acceleration). In a multiple schedule with light-shock and sound-shock reinforcements in the first component, the rats were tested for summation effects in the second (avoidance) component by presenting the light twice, the sound twice and the compound twice. They were then extinguished by eliminating the shocks in the first component. The effects of compounding were evidenced by: (1) a sizeable and reliable amplitude increase to the compound stimulus during conditioning; (2) a smaller and less consistent decrease in latencies during conditioning in all four subjects; and (3) a greater resistance to extinction for the compound stimulus as measured by mean amplitudes for all four subjects and on six of seven extinction sessions. Latency data during extinction were inconclusive. An additional unexpected finding was what appeared to be a two-factor secondary extinction of the avoidance itself as a result of Pavlovian extinction. The responding in the first four minutes of avoidance was inhibited to such an extent that the number of shocks received during this period increased 700 per cent from the last three conditioning sessions to the first three extinction sessions.     

A call for a pluralist epistemological understanding in the assessment and evaluation of counselling

The authors outline and posit the futility of the 'paradigm war' between reductionistic/positivistic and phenomenological/naturalistic philosophies within counselling evaluation, pointing out that the notion of such competition is itself based on positivist thinking. They trace attempts at creating a 'truce' in the war based on strict demarcation of territory. They conclude that in the longer term more might be gained by accepting the veracity of both philosophies and creating a pluralist model which will be more fully equipped to evaluate the human process of counselling.     

Validation of the Micropat Battery

Micropat is a battery of computer-based aptitude tests designed to assess aspects of psychomotor coordination and information management. Initial research and development work on Micropat started in 1980 with the Army Air Corps and the tests were successfully validated against rotary wing pilot training outcome. In 1985, funding for the project was taken over by the Royal Navy (RN) with a view to improving selection for both RN Pilots and RN Observers. Validation of the main battery was carried out on Pilot and Observer trainees at Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), Dartmouth, UK. The paper outlines the development of the Micropat programme over the past decade, focusing on a number of key practical methodological issues. These include discussion of the task-based approach to test construction, the use made of the potential afforded by computer-based assessment and the problem of developing robust composite predictors from small samples. In particular, the relative merits of unit-weighted, rationally weighted and empirically weighted composite predictors are examined. Evidence for the validity of the tests is summarized. It is concluded that we are unlikely to improve substantially on the levels of prediction which were being obtained in the 1950s. Continual development and improvement in selection testing is needed simply to maintain levels of prediction as the demands of flying change. The new forms of test made possible by computer-based assessment technology provide the means of maintaining useful levels of prediction as flying training courses become longer and more complex.     

The Role of Computer-Based Test Interpretation (CBTI) in Occupational Assessment

The paper explores a range of issues relating to the design and use of computer-based test interpretation (CBTI) systems. It describes a number of dimensions along which CBTI systems vary and considers both the positive and negative implications of these for test users, for their clients and for test candidates. A distinction is drawn between systems that generate finished reports and those that generate questions or guidance for the user. The question of how the validity of narrative reports can be assessed is considered. A study on the discriminative validity of reports generated by the PREVUE ICES CBTI system is reported which shows clear differences between judgements made about true and bogus reports. It is concluded that there are two main issues to consider when evaluating a CBTI system: first, the validity of the information generated by it and, second, the ways in which that information is likely to be used.     

Rape — Relationships and Recovery

Rape—Relationships and Recovery is a group counseling model designed to intercede when crisis-oriented rape counseling ends. Major aspects of the model include (a) giving factual information and dispelling common myths surrounding rape; (b) recognizing and working through the grief process following rape; and (c) aiding the expression of the intrapersonal and interpersonal feelings that result from rape.     

Book reviews

Hamilton, Vernon and Veronon, Magdalen D. (Eds). The Development of Cognitive Processes. London and New York: Academic Press. 1976. Pp. 772. £21.00. ISBN 0 12 321750 4.

Miller, G. A, and Johnson-Laird, P. N. Language and Perception. Cambridge University Press. 1976. Pp. viii + 760. £12.50. ISBN 0 521 21242.

Neisser, U. Cognition and Reality. San Francisco: Freeman. 1976. pp. 230. Hardback $11.00; paperback $4.95. ISBN 0 7167 04781.

Norman, D. A. Memory and Attention. Second edition. New York: Wiley. 1976. Pp. 262. £8.45.

Hammond, K. R. and Joyce, C. R. B. (eds). Psychoactive Drugs and Social Judgment: Theory and Research. New York and London: Wiley. 1975. Pp. 278. £9.25. ISBN

Fodor, J. D. Semantics : Theories of Meaning in Generative Grammer. Sussex: Harvester Press. 1977. Pp. 225. £12.95. ISBN 0 85527 500 6.

Plomp, R. Aspects of Tone Sensation. London: Academic Press. 1976. Pp. id + 167. £6.50. ISBN 0 12 558350 8.

Fite, K. V. The Amphibian Visual System. London: Academic Press. 1977. Pp. 374. £20.95. ISBN 0 12 257450 8.

Eliot, J. and Salkind, N. J. Children's Spatial Development. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 1975. $23.50. Pp. 296. ISBN 0398 03210 6.

Wong, R. Motiviation : A Biobehavioral Analysis of consummatory Activities. London: Collier-Macmillan. 1976. Pp. 326. £ 4.95. ISBN 0 0242 9400 4.     

Selective exposure and dissonance after decisions

Well-known literature reviews from the 1960s question whether cognitive dissonance underlies experimental participants' selective exposure of themselves to consonant messages and avoidance of dissonant ones. A meta-analytic review of 16 studies published from 1956 to 1996 and involving 1,922 total participants shows that experimental tests consistently support the supposition that dissonance is associated with selective exposure (r = .22, p < .001). Statistical power exceeded .99. Advances in statistical methodology and increased attention to selecting appropriate tests of dissonance theory were essential to finally resolving this question.     

Hippocampal damage and exploratory preferences in rats: memory for objects, places, and contexts

Rats have a natural tendency to spend more time exploring novel objects than familiar objects, and this preference can be used as an index of object recognition. Rats also show an exploratory preference for objects in locations where they have not previously encountered objects (an index of place memory) and for familiar objects in contexts different from those in which the objects were originally encountered (an index of context memory). In this experiment, rats with cytotoxic lesions of the hippocampal formation were tested on all three versions of the novelty-preference paradigm, with a 5-min retention interval between the familiarization and test phases. Rats with sham lesions displayed a novelty preference on all three trial types, whereas the rats with hippocampal lesions displayed a novelty preference on Object trials but did not discriminate between the objects on Place trials or Context trials. The findings indicate that hippocampal damage impairs memory for contextual or spatial aspects of an experience, whereas memory for objects that were part of the same experience are left relatively intact.     

From goal motivation to goal progress: the mediating role of coping in the Self-Concordance Model

The present studies examined the mediating role of self-regulatory mechanisms in the relationship between goal motivation and goal progress in the Self-Concordance Model. First, a systematic review, using meta-analytical path analysis, supported the mediating role of effort and action planning in the positive association between autonomous goal motivation and goal progress. Second, results from two additional empirical studies, using structural equation modeling, lent credence to the mediating role of coping in the relationship between goal motivation and goal progress of university students. Autonomous goal motivation was positively associated with task-oriented coping, which predicted greater goal progress during midterm exams (Study 1, N=702) and at the end of the semester in a different sample (Study 2, N=167). Controlled goal motivation was associated with greater disengagement-oriented coping (Study 1 and Study 2) and lesser use of task-oriented coping (Study 2), which reduced goal progress. These results held up after controlling for perceived stress (Study 2). Our findings highlight the importance of coping in the "inception-to-attainment" goal process because autonomous goal motivation indirectly rather than directly predicts goal progress of university students through their usage of task-oriented coping.