More on millisecond timing and tachistoscope applications for the IBM PC

This paper describes a method of establishing time intervals at a precision of better than 1 msec, using QuickBASIC 4.0, for running real time experiments on an IBM PC without an 8087 coprocessor. This method is far superior to the TIMER function provided by BASIC, which has a precision of only 110 msec. Also described is an assembly language subroutine that corrects a problem in QuickBASIC 3.0 and QuickBASIC 4.0 to allow proper switching between screens in the CGA text mode for use of the PC as a tachistoscope. A tachistoscope program listing shows how to use the screen subroutine and how to establish intertriai intervals and record reaction times using the timing subroutines.     

The moral reasoning of juvenile delinquents: A meta-analysis

To test the hypothesized immaturity of juvenile delinquents' moral reasoning, the results of 15 studies of the moral reasoning of juvenile delinquents were integrated quantitatively using meta-analysis. Hedges and Olkin (1985) methods were used to (a) compute effect sizes, (b) test the homogeneity of the obtained effect sizes, and (c) test the statistical significance of the pooled mean effect size. The results supported the hypothesis that the moral reasoning of juvenile delinquents is immature. It was concluded that several other issues are in need of investigation.     

Operate your own World-Wide Web server

Although many researchers wishing to use the World-Wide Web for academic purposes rely on centralized Web services, they should be aware that it is neither expensive nor difficult to operate their own server. Doing so provides research-related benefits such as complete control over their host name and documents provided, the guaranteed ability to execute common gateway interface and server-side include programs, immediate access to their collected data, and the ability to better control who participates in their experiments. This paper surveys Web-server software features likely to be of interest to psychologists and conceptually summarizes their operation and use. The basic steps required to set up a Web server on popular microcomputers are reviewed, and security issues concerning Web-server operation are discussed. An accompanying resource Web page can assist users in setting up their own servers.     

Grammatical determinants of ambiguous pronoun resolution

Crawley et al. (1990) argue for the primacy of a subject assignment strategy for pronoun assignment during reading, and against the notion of parallel function (Sheldon, 1974). However, most of their items deviated from parallel structure, and none included subject pronouns. In four experiments with subject and nonsubject pronouns, strong parallel function effects emerge when a potential antecedent has the same syntactic role as the pronoun and when the two clauses have the same attachment site and constituent structure. Attachment nonparallelism causes the greatest ambiguity, while the other types lead to more subject assignment overall, although there is always an overlaid parallel function effect. These observations support a model of pronoun assignment according to which potential antecedents are checked for morphological, syntactic and semantic feature matches with the pronoun, and priming/reactivation of syntactic structure across clauses facilitates parallel assignment.This research was supported in part by research grant 410-89-0395 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. A preliminary version of the paper was presented at the 1992 meetings of the Canadian Linguistic Association in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. I would like to thank Elizabeth Cowper, Keren Rice, Rosemary Stevenson, and an anonymous reviewer for their comments.     

A comparison of Canadian and Israeli separation and divorce

A nonrandom sample of 86 cases of Israel separation and divorce cases is compared with a Canadian sample of 369 having this experience. Impacts of sex-role changes, jobs and careers, children and sexuality are compared in these two national cases which exhibit many similarities and many differences. Sex-role conflicts were more frequent in Israel as were violence in separation and divorce in the Israeli sample. Adultery, though problematic in both cases, was frequently cited as a cause of divorce. Social-structural restraints and freedoms in each case are discussed as well as historical-cultural differences that help explain differing expectations and outcomes in both Israel and Canada.     

Lithium-mediated disruptions of latent inhibition: Overshadowing by the unconditioned stimulus in flavor conditioning

In a series of experiments, the ability of a single lithium preexposure to disrupt CS effectiveness was assessed using a latent inhibition procedure. Lithium preexposure administered proximal (90 min) to a saccharin familiarization trial reduced latent inhibition whereas a similar administration more distal (360 min) to flavor familiarization failed to do so. Additional experiments demonstrated that this socalled “US overshadowing” effect was not attributable to sensitization (Experiment 2), excitatory backward conditioning (Experiment 3), or state dependency (Experiment 4). The implications of US overshadowing for proximal US-preexposure effects are discussed.     

Drug-preexposure effects in flavor-aversion learning: associative interference by conditioned environmental stimuli

Previous research has documented that exposure to a drug reduces the ability of the drug to support subsequent flavor-aversion learning. The four experiments reported here examined the hypothesis that this drug-preexposure effect is due to associative interference from environmental stimuli associated with the drug effects during preexposure. When distinctive environmental stimuli (confinement in a black compartment) were present during drug preexposure, these stimuli significantly disrupted subsequent flavor-aversion learning. Furthermore, flavor conditioning was not significantly disrupted when drug preexposure occurred in the absence of salient environmental stimuli or when the previously conditioned environmental stimuli were extinguished prior to flavor conditioning. It is significant, and in contrast to other published research, that flavor conditioning was not disrupted when the distinctive cues paired with the drug during preexposure were absent at the time of the flavor-drug pairing. These results are thus consistent with results from conventional studies of stimulus blocking and suggest that associative processes can play a major role in the drug-preexposure effect.     

Fantasy as a medium for the reduction of trait versus state aggression

In the first phase of an experiment reducing hostility through fantasy, 203 first and second-year high school students completed a daydreaming scale, Rotter ISB, and a sociometric scale designed to ascertain which of their peers behave aggressively. The students of the upper and lower quarters of the daydreaming scale were classified as high and low fantasy, and as aggressive or nonaggressive subjects. The second phase, two weeks later, consisted of 94 subjects forming three groups: a trait aggressive group, a nonaggressive control group, and a group of nonaggressive subjects experimentally manipulated for aggression. Half of the subjects composed stories to four high-cue aggressive TAT cards; the other half read neutral stories. All the subjects then again completed the Rotter ISB which was scored for aggression. Analysis of covariance of the scores indicated that a reduction in hostility occurred only for the group experimentally aroused to aggression in the TAT condition. The scores of the trait-aggressive subjects, tested in a before-after analysis, showed an increase in their hostility level. Fantasy capacity did not influence the scores.     

Application of social identity theory in group therapy with stigmatized adults.

Social identity theory was applied in group therapy for adults with mild mental retardation. Social identity theory suggests that social group membership, also called collective identity, has an impact on self-esteem. Individuals will try to maintain self-esteem by viewing their social groups positively. This may not be possible for individuals who are members of a stigmatized group. However, it may be possible to enhance self-esteem by broadening one's awareness of collective identity. Furthermore, being able to positively view other individuals who are co-members of one's own stigmatized group can also have positive consequences for self-esteem. A clinical vignette demonstrates this process in group therapy. Results are discussed as being applicable to members of various stigmatized groups.