Conditioning of a discriminative drug stimulus: Overshadowing and blocking like procedures

Interactions between a drug discriminative stimulus ( D , 17.5 mg/kg of pentobarbital vs. N , saline) and exteroceptive stimulus conditions (light vs. dark) were examined in a T-maze, shock-escape task using conditioning procedures pertaining to the phenomena of "overshadowing" and "blocking". From an operational point of view, in the "overshadowing" procedure the stimulus compound is introduced from the outset of the training, whereas in the "blocking" procedure the stimuli components are introduced sequentially. When the compound discriminations were established, dose-generalization tests with various doses of pentobarbital (range 5.6–17.5 mg/kg) as well as saline (1 ml/kg) were carried out under both elements (light and dark) of the exteroceptive stimulus dimension. Prior training with drug ( D vs. N ) neutralized the potential influence of the exteroceptive dimension (light vs. dark); conversely training with the exteroceptive stimuli prior to the drug training accentuated the control over behavior by the visual stimuli. Dose-generalization results intermediate to those described above were observed in the group trained to discriminate the stimulus compound ( D plus light vs. N plus dark) from the outset of training. It may therefore be concluded that exteroceptive stimuli can compete with interoceptive drug stimuli for associative strength in the procedure used. Thus, the formal similarities between drug discriminative stimuli and more conventionally studied exteroceptive, sensory signals are furthered by the data.     

Learning to use functional rules in inference tasks

Abstract.— Earlier studies have established that subjects perform less well in inference tasks with nonlinear rules than in tasks with linear rules, and that one source of the lower level of performance in nonlinear tasks is that the subjects cannot utilize a nonlinear rule as well as they utilize a linear rule. The three experiments in this paper investigate whether utilization of a nonlinear rule can be improved by training. The results show that there is some improvement with training, but the improvement could not be attributed to feedback, or to the learning of specific cue and criterion values. Cognitive feedback did not produce higher performance than ordinary outcome feedback.     

Note on the golden section

Abstract.— Lines of different lengths were offered to subjects. One half of ten lines were presented horizontally; the other vertically. It was found that two groups of subjects, graduate and undergraduate psychologists and art students at the average produced a ratio close to the ratio the "golden section", which is a controversy in aesthetics.     

The measurement of mood

Due to unfortunate choices of response scale and psychometric model earlier analyses of mood adjective check lists have given a confused and complex picture of the area. When an adequate response scale was applied and a simplex rather than a common factor analysis model was utilized it was found, in two empirical studies, that mood was possible to describe with a few bipolar factors. A theory is suggested where mood is seen as basically two-dimensional: one dimension being activity and the other pleasantness. More or less specific definitions of the content of experience with reference to the situation may then be used to define further dimensions, such as social orientation.     

Recognition memory for utterances in conversation

This study reports an experiment on incidental recognition memory for conversation. A number of people listened to a dyadic conversation and were tested immediately afterwards or four days later. The two people in the tape-recorded conversation did not know each other, nor did the audience know the two speaker-listeners on the tape. This design was used to further clarify the role of familiarity and personal participation for memory of conversational discourse. Gist memory was high in both conditions, with lower performance after four days. Surface memory could be verified, and the level of the variables used to index surface memory was about the same in both the immediate and delayed condition. With this study we have taken a step towards better understanding of the role of familiarity and participation in communicative events for memory of these events. Even in this "minimum" participation and familiarity study, we found some indications of verbatim memory.     

AUGUSTINE ON MORAL CONSCIENCE

There are widely differing accounts of Augustine's place in the early history of the notion of conscience. While some regard his contribution as groundbreaking, others consider that he only stressed interiority more than earlier authors. Starting with a contrast with Jerome, the present article aims at clarifying Augustine's specific contribution and the place of conscience in his moral thought.     

Differentiation and unification in perception and cognition

It has been suggested that the development of distinctions between perception and cognition depends upon the perspective and the level of analysis chosen. Similarly, the unification of perception and cognition may be achieved from other perspectives and when other levels of analyses are applied. The fruitfulness, and disadvantages, of diverse suggestions for differentation/unification of perception and cognition are discussed briefly.     

Response format and factor structure in mood adjective check lists

Abstract.— Different response formats designed for mood measurement were analyzed and compared. The interest was focused upon the effects of ( a ) symmetry versus asymmetry and ( b ) inclusion versus exclusion of a "cannot decide"-category on intercorrelation between variables and thus, factor structure. It was found that the proportions of positive and negative responses were equivalent in the symmetric format but also in the asymmetric if the "cannot decide"-category was included. Generally it was found that the asymmetric format with the "cannot decide"-category resulted in a drop of both positive and negative correlations. Data emanating from the different formats were factor analyzed and it was found that the symmetric format caused marked bipolar factors which absorbed more of common variance than those of the other formats. It was established that the symmetric format best reflected an external criterion concerning rated degree of dissimilarity between variables.     

The production and understanding of utterances in dyadic communication

Verbal communication in four dyads was analyzed with respect to syntactic form and cognitive and affective functions. Quantitative and qualitative methods were proposed to study these aspects of language behaviour. Utterances which conveyed a negative affective evaluation tended to be syntactically and cognitively complex. The cognitive and affective functions of a speaker's utterance tended to influence the syntactic quality of the listener's following utterance more than what the listener said in his own previous utterance. An investigation of the relationships between the personality characteristics flexibility, intelligence and verbal competence, and language variables suggested that flexible subjects often used utterances which expressed a positive evaluation. Furthermore, flexible subjects tended to influence the listener more by what they said than intelligent and verbally competent subjects did. It was concluded that this kind of functional analysis of language should be more adequate for psychological inquiry than in particular that of the transformational generative theory of language.