bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Massed versus Distributed Practice on Acquisition of Video Game Skill
Authors: Metalis Spero A.
Published: September 2011

This study investigated the effects of massed versus distributed practice on the learning of video-game-playing skill by 45 subjects of both sexes. The apparatus included an Apple II+ microcomputer system with gamepaddles and a commercial video game (Apple Brick-Out). Each subject played the video game 10 times in succession. However, the distributed practice subjects were given a newspaper to read for 2 min. between games. The elapsed time and the point score of each game were recorded on-line. To equate preexperimental between-subject differences in video-game-playing skill, the first game's performance scores (points) were subtracted from each of the other nine to yield change scores. The means of both indexes, computed across subjects for each of the nine game change scores, showed marked improvement for all subjects; however, the distributed practice group consistently showed more improvement. This study supports the previous findings and validates a technique for study of various effects on acquisition of motor skill.
Left-Handedness in Fencers: An Attentional Advantage?
Authors: Bisiacchi P. S. , Ripoll H. , Stein J. F. , Simonet P. , Azemar G.
Published: September 2011

The present research investigated the relationship between handedness and performance on an attentional task for 24 skilled subjects. It is well known that in some sports the percentage of left-handed people is higher than in the normal population, e.g., tennis and fencing. It is also true that the most highly skilled in these sports are usually left-handed. Is this due to some disorientation of right-handed people when they face a left-handed opponent or are there some differences in competence? To test the last hypothesis an attentional task was constructed. In this task the subjects had to orient or to divide their attention between the two hemifields. An advantage for the left hand in the left-handed fencers was found only for the unattended situation. The results are discussed in the light of some anatomical evidence for right-hemispheric control of attention.
Reading Chinese Text in Sequential Display Format: Effects of Display Size
Authors: Chen Hsuan-Chih
Published: September 2011

This study investigated comprehension of rapid, serial visual presentations of Chinese text. 10 passages in Chinese were presented as sequences of text segments, ranging from 1 to 13 characters in length, to a fixed location on a computer screen at rates of 230 and 460 characters per min. Subjects were better able to answer questions in slow than in fast display conditions. Comprehension was maximal for display sizes of about nine characters regardless of display rates. Implications for presenting Chinese text in this format are briefly discussed.
Communication and Type a Coronary-Prone Behavior: Preliminary Studies of Expressive and Instrumental Communication
Authors: Tardy Charles H. , Childs R. Joseph , Hampton Michael M.
Published: September 2011

This paper reports two studies of the expressive and instrumental characteristics of communication associated with the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern. Using Norton's communicators' style instrument to measure expressive behavior of college students, Study 1 with 50 men and 79 women showed that Type A persons are more dominant, contentious, precise, animated, and dramatic communicators than Type B persons. Study 2 with 48 men and 80 women yielded no differences in the use of persuasive strategies by Type A and Type B college undergraduates.
Relationship between Seriation, Transitivity, and Explicit Ordinal Number Comprehension
Authors: Kingma Johannes , Zumbo Bruno
Published: September 2011

In this study the predictive relationship between seriation, transitivity, and explicit knowledge of ordinal number, as measured with number-line comprehension tasks and the Number Facility test of Thurstone are reported. Subjects were 170 4- to 7-yr.-old children from kindergarten and primary school Grades 1 and 2. The transitivity and seriation tasks were administered at the beginning of the school year. One year later, the subjects were tested again on number-line comprehension and the Number Facility test. Two scoring criteria were employed for transitivity, judgment-only and judgment-plus-explanation. A strong relationship of .74 was found between seriation and number-line comprehension. Moderate relationships of, respectively, .48 and .47 were observed between transitivity (for both scoring criteria) and number-line comprehension. Seriation also showed the strongest predictive relation with the Number Facility test of .76. The predictive values of transitivity according to the judgment only criterion and transitivity judgment-plus-explanation on the Number Facility Test were, respectively, .50 and .60. In multiple regression analysis, no significant increase in the predictive value on number-line comprehension was observed for any combination of seriation and transitivity. However, the only significant increase in the predictive value on the Number Facility test of .81 was observed for the combination of seriation and transitivity according to the judgment-and-explanation criteria.
An Illusion of Reversed Direction in Hyperopes
Authors: Money K. E. , Cheung B. S. , Kirienko N. M.
Published: September 2011

If a subject who is sufficiently farsighted removes his corrective, positive, lenses and looks with one eye from a distance of one or a few meters, at a small lighted area such as the (continuously “on”) indicator light of an electric toothbrush, razor, or smoke detector, and if a small object such as a pin is then moved slowly from above to below the subject's eyes (in a plane close to the eye), the subject will perceive the object moving normally from above to below until it encroaches on his view of the lighted area. The object will then be seen to encroach first on the bottom of the lighted area, and as the object continues to move down it will be seen to be moving up across the lighted area, exiting the lighted area at the top. Similarly, an object moved in front of the eye from the subject's left to his right will be seen by the subject to traverse the lighted area in the reverse direction, right to left, even though the subject moves the object himself. Also, while the object is in front of the lighted area, it is perceived as an upside down silhouette having surprisingly dear and sharp edges, and it appears to be located on the lighted area rather than close to the eye where it really is.
Sequential-Simultaneous Analysis of Japanese Children's Performance on the Japanese McCarthy Scales
Authors: Ishikuma Toshinori , Moon Soo-Back , Kaufman Alan S.
Published: September 2011

This study explored the hypothesis that Japanese children perform significantly better on simultaneous processing than on sequential processing. The K-ABC served as the criterion of the two types of mental processing. Regression equations to predict Sequential and Simultaneous processing from McCarthy performance were derived from three validity studies of the K-ABC in which 123 American children were tested on both the McCarthy Scales and the K-ABC and were applied to Lynn's analysis of Japanese McCarthy standardization data. Results of these analyses supported the hypothesis that Japanese children show a preference for simultaneous processing across virtually the entire 2 1/2- to 8 1/2-yr. age range.
Copying, Reading, and Writing of Kana and Simple Forms by Japanese Preschoolers
Authors: Yamada Jun , Sasaki Miyuki , Motooka Naoko
Published: September 2011

42 Japanese preschoolers were administered tasks of copying, reading, and writing of Japanese kana (cursive syllabic letters) and simple forms. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine whether two kana-copying measures, speed and span, make significant contributions to children's reading and writing achievement after a conventional form-quality measure had been controlled. Analysis showed that speed or span accounts uniquely for a significant and sizable amount of the variance of reading and writing, suggesting that kana-copying is a good predictor of reading and writing for Japanese preschoolers.
The Need to Supplement Clinical with Experimental-Normal Studies of Hemispheric Asymmetry
Authors: Williams Stephen M.
Published: September 2011

It is argued that in spite of the methodological and interpretive problems with them, experiments on laterality in normal subjects must continue in view of other problems with direct neuroclinical investigations. A variety of such problems are listed, ranging from the relative paucity of the potential subject population to the difficulty in inferring normal function from damaged brains. The main justification for such studies must be the possible amelioration of the lot of brain-damaged patients and improvement of their treatment rather than scientific curiosity.
Correlations among the Group Embedded Figures Test, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Demographic Characteristics: A Business School Study
Authors: Corman Lawrence S. , Platt Richard G.
Published: September 2011

Prior studies have yielded estimates for relations between the Group Embedded Figures Test, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and demographic characteristics. This study presents findings for 107 men and 119 women enrolled in business school. Correlations between the Embedded Figures and Sensing-Intuition scale of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator were significant as were values of Judgment-Perception with both Sensing-Intuition and Thinking-Feeling. Scores on the two tests show these students perform differently from the normative population.
Escape Nightmares and Postescape Stressful Events
Authors: Cernovsky Zack Z.
Published: September 2011

Correlation matrix based on questionnaire item responses by 38 Czechoslovak refugees suggested that “escape nightmares” (recurrent nightmares about being back in the exhomeland, wanting to or trying to re-escape to the free world) are unrelated to postescape incidence of various stressful events (e.g., illness, job difficulties, financial problems). However, refugees who reported a greater number of the stressful events also reported a somewhat higher incidence of nightmares on themes other than escape from homeland ( r = .34).
Physiological and Psychological Responses to Exercise with an Induced Attentional Focus
Authors: Wrisberg Craig A. , Franks B. Don , Birdwell Marianne W. , High David M.
Published: September 2011

In this study techniques were employed to induce exercising subjects to focus attention on themselves or on an external event. A total of 20 adult subjects (10 men and 10 women) were familiarized with a treadmill exercise protocol and then on two subsequent occasions performed sub-maximal exercise followed by a run to exhaustion under attentional conditions of self-focus (watching themselves in a mirror while listening to their breathing) and external focus (watching and listening to a movie). The order of focus conditions was counterbalanced among subjects. Analysis of postexperimental responses from subjects indicated that the procedures used to induce each type of attentional focus were successful. However, physiological and psychological responses in the two focus conditions were not always uniform for men and women, particularly during light work when men tended to have higher heart rates and significantly lower Rated Perceived Exertion while women had lower heart rates and higher Rated Perceived Exertion under self-focused conditions than under externally focused conditions. Possible explanations for the incongruence of physiological and psychological responses of men and women to the two types of attentional focus are discussed.
Personality Characteristics of Individuals with Chronic Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Puente Antonio E.
Published: September 2011

MMPI profiles of 22 chronic arthritic patients were compared to 22 control pain (nonorganic) patients. While elevations were noted in the HS, D, and Hy scales for the rheumatoid patients, the over-all profiles differed from controls on the PA scale.
Displacement Effects Caused by Converging Lines and Dots
Authors: Radenhausen Russell A. , Tatz Sherman
Published: September 2011

Changes induced in orientation were examined under conditions of a dot or full-line version of a stimulus consisting of a test and inducing line. 44 subjects visually extended the test line to the surrounding circle on 11 trials and indicated their response by a mark on the circle. Magnitude of illusion was reduced by 54% for the dot version compared with the full-line form, but both produced an illusion significantly greater than zero. A significant practice effect was obtained with full lines but not with the dot form. Results are discussed in terms of lateral inhibition theory and related research.
A Simplified Version of the Method of Transitions
Authors: Masin Sergio Cesare
Published: September 2011

This paper proposes a simplification of the method of transitions, which is used for the determination of the individual points of subjective equality from data obtained by the methods of constant stimuli or of paired comparisons. It is suggested that the estimated probabilities of transitions should no longer be computed from the psychometric function derived from the normal distribution function that fits the obtained frequency distribution of transitions, instead they should be computed directly from the psychometric function that fits the obtained proportions of response. This new procedure makes the use of a previous cumbersome fitting algorithm unnecessary Experimental tests show that the simplified version of the method causes no substantial loss in information when the standard falls within the range of variable stimuli.
Relationship of Eye Color to Winning Horseshoe Pitching Contests
Authors: Beer John , Beer Joe
Published: September 2011

Light-eyed individuals perform some self-paced activities better while dark-eyed individuals perform reactive activities better. In horseshoe pitching contests there were, however, no differences on winning or losing between 21 light- and 25 dark-eyed men at a county fair.
Attention and Brain Damage: A Clinical Study of Response Latency under Various Degrees of Uncertainty
Authors: Wyns C. , Coyette F. , Bruyer R.
Published: September 2011

Wyns and Bruyer in 1988 proposed a visual attention test that is easy to use and sensitive both to the age of the subjects and the level of uncertainty about the response required. This test was designed as a fine gauge of attention deficits in brain-damaged subjects with poorly structured complaints. We present here a preliminary application of the test to a group of 48 such persons. Analysis of response accuracy indicated that 27 subjects were deficient in this respect. Of the 21 remaining subjects whose reaction times were analyzable, only one-third appeared as entirely normal.
Use of Factor Analysis in the Study of Alcohol-Induced Strategy Changes in Skilled Performance on a Soccer Test
Authors: Golby Jim
Published: September 2011

The present study was designed to examine how skilled behaviour changes under the effects of two doses of alcohol (0.5 gm/kg and 1 gm/kg). A battery of perceptual-motor reference tests, together with the criterion test of a soccer slalom were given a sample of 48 male volunteers to show how performance strategies changed across the different experimental conditions. Analysis indicated little change between effects of placebo and the lower dose but some change in the composition of performance between placebo and the 1 gm/kg dose. This finding supports further use of factor analysis in the study of skilled behaviour.
Effects of Eye Color on the Accuracy of Ball Throwing of Elementary School Children
Authors: Beer John , Fleming Paula
Published: September 2011

Light-eyed individuals generally perform better at self-paced activities while dark-eyed individuals perform better at reactive activities. In throwing a ball at a target there were no differences between light- and dark-eyed elementary school-age children. Boys hit the target more times than did girls, and older children in upper grades hit the target more often than did younger children in lower grades.
Perceptions of Health, Abilities, and Life Satisfaction among Very Old Adults
Authors: Gfellner Barbara M.
Published: September 2011

Retrospective, current, and prospective perceptions of health, functional abilities, and life satisfaction were examined in a sample of 40 adults 80 yr. of age and older. Perceptions of decline varied among these variables; correlations with objective measures of health and abilities varied in magnitude.
Children's Sleep Behavior Scale: Normative Data on 870 Children in Grades 1 to 6
Authors: Fisher B. E. , Pauley C. , McGuire K.
Published: September 2011

A 22-item Likert-type rating scale for parents was developed for screening a broad range of specific sleep-related behaviors of elementary school children. The prevalence of these behaviors was reported by parents for boys ( n = 459) and girls ( n = 411) in three age groups, less than 8.5 yr., between 8.5 and 11.5 yr, and greater than 11.5 yr. For all age groups, the most prevalent behaviors were restlessness, waking up at night, pleasant dreams, getting up to go to the bathroom, talking while asleep, and complaints about not being able to sleep, while the least frequent were rhythmical movements and crying while asleep. The self-reports suggest that many of the behaviors are underestimated in the literature. Some sex and age differences were found, but the number of siblings, birth order, change in family structure, and educational status of father and mother were unrelated to the sleep variables. Test-retest reliabilities of self-reports by these parents to individual items were adequate.
Forms Can Be Recognized from Dynamic Occlusion Alone
Authors: Stappers P. J.
Published: September 2011

Direct and indirect theories of perception differ on whether form perception depends on higher order invariants or on features in the retinal image. The present paper describes a demonstration that an object can be recognized through a higher order pattern (dynamic occlusion) without any of the object's features being displayed. Stimuli consist of computer simulations of black wireframe objects moving in front of, and occluding, a random layout of point lights on a black background. In this way, no single videoframe of the stimuli displays any of the object's features, and motion of the amodal object in front of the light points is necessary for the form to become visible. The forms can also be recognized when isoluminous colours are used for background and point lights. Finally, it is noted that, if the observer can actively control the motion of the object, e.g., by moving a computer mouse, recognition is enhanced as in Gibson's (1962) experiment on active touch.
Repetition Effect in Judgments of Grammaticality of Sentences: Examination with Ungrammatical Sentences
Authors: Nagata Hiroshi
Published: September 2011

Nagata (1988) found that repeated presentation of sentences made the criterion more stringent in judgments of grammaticality of both grammatical and ungrammatical sentences. Whether this finding was externally valid was examined here by using sentences of differing levels of ungrammaticality. In Exp. 1, 11 students judged the grammaticality of ungrammatical sentences twice, receiving a repetition treatment between the two judgments. The test items involving two levels of ungrammaticality were drawn from among the work of Kuno from 1973 to 1983. Judgments alter repetition became more stringent for both levels of ungrammaticality. 11 different students in Exp. 2 judged ungrammatical sentences embodying three types of Chomsky's 1965 rule violations. Results showed no shift in judgments after repetition for either of the three types of ungrammatical sentences. These findings indicate that Nagata's finding is of limited external validity. Discussion emphasized that susceptibility of sentential materials to the repetition treatment depends on the degree to which ungrammaticality is detectable and explainable.
Bizarre Imagery in Paired-Associate Learning: An Effective Mnemonic Aid with Mixed Context, Delayed Testing, and Self-Paced Conditions
Authors: Iaccino James F. , Sowa Stephen J.
Published: September 2011

Recent findings have indicated that bizarre imagery can be an effective mnemonic aid with delayed testing, a context of mixed materials, and an adequate stimulus presentation pace, so we hypothesized an interaction among these variables. Using a variation of the McDaniel and Einstein 1986 methodology, 40 undergraduates were each randomly presented three paired-associate lists (i.e., normal, bizarre, and mixed). The sentences within each list consisted of stimulus-response pairs of high-imagery nouns. 20 of these subjects participated in an immediate cued-recall condition for each list while the remaining ones were tested after a 1-wk. retention interval. Subjects were further subdivided depending on whether the presentation pace was forced or not. As predicted, a three-way interaction was found, with bizarre imagery benefiting immediate recall under a combined mixed context, self-paced condition; with delayed recall, however, context was the determining factor in performance (and not presentation pace).
The Cerebellar-Vestibular Predisposition to Anxiety Disorders
Authors: Levinson Harold N.
Published: September 2011

To test for a cerebellar-vestibular (CV) predisposition to anxiety disorder, 402 consecutively referred subjects with varying anxiety symptoms were separated into eight DSM-III—R diagnostic categories and evaluated for CV dysfunction, using neurological and electronystagmographic (ENG) examinations. Of the total sample, 94% evidenced CV-dysfunction on the basis of two or more abnormal neurological or ENG parameters per subject. All DSM-III—R diagnostic anxiety-disorder categories contained a high percentage of abnormal neurological and ENG parameters, regardless of the size of the subsample. Moreover, each DSM-III—R subsample of anxiety disorders contained additional coexisting symptoms of anxiety sufficient to overlap with and form the basis for diagnosis of most other DSM-III—R anxiety-disorder categories. Such findings suggested that anxiety disorders, regardless of surface descriptions and DSM-III—R category, have a common denominator with varying symptom-shaping mechanisms and that this denominator is significantly CV-based. Although the above findings do not justify cause and effect convictions, they have provided crucial insights leading to (1) a proposed functional classification based on underlying determining mechanisms rather than on descriptions of symptoms, (2) a possible relationship between anxiety and learning disorders, and (3) a new method of treating these disorders by means of CV-stabilizing medications in conjunction with traditional approaches. Needless to say, independent and controlled studies, including comparisons with “normal” persons, are required for both validation and elucidation of those specific determining vs compensatory mechanisms and related diagnostic parameters crucial for symptom formation.
Do What I Say, Not What I Do: Children's Reactions to Parents' Behavioral Inconsistencies
Authors: Alain Michel
Published: September 2011

The present study looked at others' reactions to dissonant behaviors in a domain particularly sensitive to such discrepancies, i.e., religious observances. We might often say we are Catholic/Protestant, etc. and educate our children as such but personally not practice religion. How do children react to such inconsistencies? In a study of 210 high school students we determined congruent/incongruent parents and extent of their children's worry or upset based on their answers to a questionnaire designed for this purpose. Apparently children are well aware of such inconsistencies and multivariate analyses of variance show that children of incongruent parents are significantly more troubled, more upset with their parents' behavioral incongruities than are children of congruent parents. Also of interest is that boys and girls reacted in the same manner and no interactions were found. It appears to be important for parents to be aware of the negative consequences their inconsistent behaviors have on their children.
Apparel Advertising Appeals as a Function of Apparel Classification: Trendy versus Classic
Authors: Davis Leslie L. , Lennon Sharron J.
Published: September 2011

It was predicted and found that apparel styling would affect evaluations of advertising appeals. Image-oriented advertising appeals were evaluated more favorably for apparel classified as “trendy” and quality/information-oriented advertising appeals were evaluated more favorably for apparel classified as “classic.”
Pupillary Responses in Recognizing Awareness in Persons with Profound Mental Retardation
Authors: Chaney Robert H. , Givens Carolyne A. , Aoki Melanie F. , Gombiner Michael L.
Published: September 2011

Pupil-size changes have been shown to indicate positive or negative reactions to several sensory and psychologic stimuli in normal persons. Whether this could be extended to mentally retarded patients who lack ability for verbal or motor behavior was tested by pupillary responses to several visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli. 24 institutionalized severely and profoundly retarded patients were examined by video camera in their usual environments rather than in a controlled laboratory setting. The videotapes were later projected onto a screen for pupil-size measurements. Pupils dilated with pleasant stimuli, including visualizing a familiar person, soft touch to the arm, music, and soft compliments. There was constriction with presenting an unfamiliar person, rough grasp of the arm, and abrasive noise and harsh commands. The findings demonstrate the existence of pupil reactivity in profoundly retarded persons and suggest such testing as a means of determining which elements of their environment are pleasing or aversive to them.
Sex Differences in Adults on a Test of Logical Reasoning
Authors: Morgan Antonia Bell
Published: September 2011

The Morgan Test of Logical Reasoning, which is entirely verbal in form, was given to 133 males and 35 females. All Ss were in their 20s and applicants for government employment. All had the BA or BS degree but no other, and none had had any training in formal logic. No significant difference was found between the mean scores of males and females on this test, nor between the distribution and variation of scores.
Effects of Metrazol, Carbon Disulfide, and Auditory Stimulation on an Extinguished Conditioned Response in Rats
Authors: Griffiths William J.
Published: September 2011

Rats ( N=80) were taught a conditioned avoidance response of the Miller type and were subsequently extinguished by lack of reinforcement. Following habit extinction selected animals were subjected to carbon disulfide inhalation, metrazol injection, or exposure to high frequency sound, and replaced in the modified Miller box. It was found that all agents used were effective in reinstating the extinguished response, but that the form of the recovered habit differed depending on the agent used to elicit recovery. It was suggested that the methodology employed in the study might prove useful in throwing light on bio-mechanisms involved in the acquisition of different types of habit.
Effect of ECS and Ether-ECS on Behavior in the Timidity Box
Authors: Stern John A. , McDonald David G. , Werboff Jack
Published: September 2011

Three groups of animals, a 15 ECS group (N of 9), a 15 ether-ECS group ( N of 11), and a control group ( N of 9) were exposed to a series of “timidity box” tests 27, 75, 110, and 163 days after last ECS. The “timidity box” was found to provide a sensitive measure of relatively long lasting emotional changes as a function of the series of 15 ECS. The ECS group proved to be more “timid” than the control group. The ether-ECS animals in this experiment exhibited minimal convulsions and evidenced changes in behavior similar to those seen by the ECS group. The degree of significance of differences tended to decrease as the post-ECS time increased, i. e., the “timid” behavior induced by ECS decreased as a function of time.
Factors in Perceptual Reorganization of Words
Authors: Winthrop Henry
Published: September 2011

Using 30 Ss and 10 words for which the total possible number of decompositions were obtained, factors most associated with success in finding valid decompositions were maximum number of available decompositions, length of the stimulus word, and S's IQ. The capacity to make visual and phonetic associations among decompositions also appeared to play a substantial but secondary role.
Reasoning as an Associative Process: II. “Direction” in Problem Solving as a Function of Prior Reinforcement of Relevant Responses
Authors: Judson Abe J. , Cofer Charles N. , Gelfand Sidney
Published: September 2011

Several studies are described in which relevant patterns of verbal associations, set up by learning in the first stage of the experiment, are shown to be associated with the frequencies of certain types of solution in the Maier two string and hat rack problems. It is also shown, in the case of a simple verbal problem, that problem solution requiring choice of members of a chain of free associations is affected by prior reinforcement of one member of the chain. These investigations are interpreted as giving support to and indicating the fruitfulness of a conception of set or direction in problem solving as consisting of complex response systems or habit families.
A Theory of Intimate Aggression
Authors: Bach George R.
Published: September 2011

Selected pairs of patients can be trained to use the described formula to evaluate their quarrels, and it can also be used to measure changes in the quality of fighting behavior as a result of therapeutic “Fight-training.”
Differences between Extraverts and Intraverts on a Button-Pressing Task
Authors: Howarth E.
Published: September 2011

A simple linear display consisting of five buttons was used to test an extravert, an intravert, and an intermediate group to see whether differences in over-all response rate or pattern appeared initially, and whether these were affected by satiation on a restricted portion of the display (two end buttons). It was found that no significant shift due to satiation occurred but that extraverts were the most responsive group both before and after satiation. This does not seem to agree with Eysenck's theory but an explanation has been suggested to the present writer by Dr. Eysenck.
Stimulus-Change versus Preference for Light
Authors: Lockard Robert B. , Lockard Joan S.
Published: September 2011

The classical procedure for demonstrating the reinforcing properties of stimulus-change for rats confounds the response-contingent change with the production of dim illumination. This experiment unconfounded the two by providing a response-contingent visual change without a change in the ambient illumination. This “pure” visual change was not reinforcing, whereas a response-contingent change from darkness to dim illumination—the classical procedure—was unambiguously reinforcing. Thus much research purporting to demonstrate reinforcement in rats by “visual change” can be reinterpreted as demonstrating that dim illumination is preferred over darkness.
Effect of Rearing Conditions on Exploratory Behavior
Authors: Neiberg Alan
Published: September 2011

To determine whether adult exploratory behavior is altered by rearing conditions, male rats were reared in white or black painted cages. Upon reaching adulthood, they were placed in a black start compartment and permitted to run to a white goal compartment with measures of starting and running speed recorded. The data suggest influence from rearing condition and secondary reinforcement.
Sex Differences in Verbal Operant Conditioning
Authors: Cieutat Victor J.
Published: September 2011

Two studies concerned effects of sex of Ss, sex of E, positive vs negative reinforcement (i.e., attention vs inattention), and time trends, on the conditioning and extinction of participation in structured and unstructured small group discussions. Previous results indicated reinforcement is effective only when administered by an E of the same sex as Ss. Present results did not support this expectation and also were not consistent with each other. Exp. I was partly consistent with expectation only when E was male; no conditioning was obtained by female Es. For Exp. II only the female E produced conditioning. Extinction effects in both experiments were inconsistent with expectation. In an earlier study (Cieutat, 1962) and in both Exps. I and II the same four factors were evaluated with some design modification, and were found to interact complexly and significantly ( p < .01, < .10, < .10, respectively). These interactions between sex of E, sex of Ss, reinforcement, and time, though significant in three independent evaluations, were so because of different trends in each case. These differences are discussed in terms of uncontrolled personality differences between Es and Ss.
Drive and Maturation Effects in the Development of Consummatory Behavior
Authors: Moll Richard P.
Published: September 2011

A total of 48 albino rats were observed over a 15-day period to determine the effects of drive level, maturation, and practice level on eating latency, amount of time during a 5-min. interval spent in eating, amount of food consumed, and rate of eating. In general, the effects of maturation and practice followed expected lines, with facilitation of consummatory behavior accompanying both maturational and experiential development. Although higher-drive Ss have shorter latencies and spend more time eating, they consume less food per unit of time spent in mastication than lower-drive Ss.
The Children's Reactive Curiosity Scale
Authors: Penney R. K. , McCann B.
Published: September 2011

The present study reports the description of and the normative data obtained with a scale of reactive curiosity (RC Scale) for use with Grade 4, 5, and 6 children. A 90-item RC Scale and a 10-item Lie Scale are described. The RC Scale's 2-wk. test-retest reliabilities ranged from .65 to .78 for the different sex by grade classifications. At all grade levels, girls scored higher than boys on the RC Scale. The lie scores yielded high test-retest reliabilities, and the intercorrelations between the RC Scale and the Lie Scale were not significant except for fifth grade girls (.20). Intercorrelations between scores on the RC Scale and IQs based on the California Test of Mental Maturity although low and positive were not significant. However, the RC scores of Grade 6 children were positively related to originality measures that were derived from a modified Unusual Uses Test.
Intertest Chances in Acquiescence
Authors: Langer Philip , McKain Charles W.
Published: September 2011

Seventy Ss at Utah State University were administered the Gough ACL and the Taylor MAS in counterbalanced order. Separate true and false scores were obtained for each test and were converted into proportions. Differences between these true proportions and false proportions were analyzed in a disproportionate multiple covariance design with the effects of sex and order of testing treated as deviations from the general mean. Estimates of variance due to set and content within each test were treated as covariants and employed as partial regression coefficients in the design. Results seemed to indicate that true and false responding are not parallel strategies, and that the former seems more content bound than the latter.
Multiple-Answer Items and Chance Success
Authors: Aiken Lewis R.
Published: September 2011

The use of a general formula, the solution to a special case of the classical occupancy problem, for estimating the probability of chance success on any one-to-one objective test item is reviewed. It is noted that it may on occasion be more appropriate to write items with more than one correct answer and that the chance success formula for this situation is the hypergeometric distribution.
Sexual Inadequacy: A Factor in Dissonance Reduction
Authors: Eisenman Russell , Coyle F. A.
Published: September 2011

Fifteen members of a college fraternity were ranked on the sexual adequacy-inadequacy dimension, then divided into two groups. One group was presented a positive statement concerning sexual behavior and the other a negative one. The 11 Ss ranked as most sexually inadequate were manipulated by the experimental conditions, while the 4 least inadequate were not. Findings seem consistent with prediction from Festinger's cognitive dissonance concept.
Performance in Training and an Achievement Effort Rating
Authors: Braunstein Daniel N. , Braunstein Harriet M. , Blumenfeld Warren S.
Published: September 2011

Ss who served in a variety of training experiments were rated by Es in terms of “how hard they tried to achieve on the experimental tasks.” Reliability of the paired comparison procedure was .63. The only strong positive relation with performance, however, was with errors in a single difficult experiment held at the beginning of the program. It is suggested that raters were rating passive “cooperation” instead of “achievement effort.”
Visual Illusion in Lengths of Words: A Firend is More than a Friend
Authors: Curtin Mary Ellen , Griffith Richard M.
Published: September 2011

Change of the sequence of letters within a word may change its apparent length. Systematic variation of letters demonstrated that the illusion may have multiple sources, any single unifying principle remaining undisclosed.
Courses of Misrecall over Long-Term Retention Intervals as Related to Strength of Pre-Experimental Habits of Word Association
Authors: Bilodeau Edward A. , Blick Kenneth A.
Published: September 2011

Following a proaction paradigm, 670 Ss were trained with two lists containing five of the secondary associates (R2) to Russell-Jenkins stimulus words, and were tested 2 min., 20 mm., 2 days, or 28 days later for retention of the second list. During recall, half of the Ss were administered the five stimulus words corresponding to the five R2 words of the second list (stimulated condition), and half did not receive the stimulus words (not-stimulated condition). The stimulus words were divisible into three categories, in effect varying the cultural associative probabilities at each retention interval. Altogether, there were 24 groups completing a 4 × 2 × 3 factorial design. The retention of R2s decreased with time and the effect of stimulation was to raise their level of production above groups not so stimulated. As R2s decreased with time, intrusions of R1s (primaries) and Ra-nS (sum of Ra to R n) became more numerous where the cultural probabilities suggested this ought to happen. After 28 days, Ss still showed strong evidence of the training exposure but performance was more like that of free-associating Ss than that of shorter retention groups. In the not-stimulated condition, intrusions from unidentified sources (classified as Remainder) were more numerous the longer the retention interval. Collectively, these data support the conclusion that the amount of proactive interference via specific pre-experimental word-word habits increases as a function of time. An item analysis suggested a monotonic pattern of rs for forgetting under stimulated conditions, but not under conditions of free recall. This was interpreted to mean that forgetting when stimulated was more a process of complication than simplification and resembles a process sometimes found in motor-skills retention. Other correlational analyses proved useful tools for describing forgetting; questions pertaining to the behavior of items were quite as intriguing as those about Ss. Also, more variance could be accounted for after long than short retention intervals.
Classification of Emotional Responses and their Relation to Dominance-Submission in Adult Beagle Dyads
Authors: Solarz Andrew K.
Published: September 2011

Ss were 298 10-yr.-old female beagles. The relationship of each dog's emotional response display toward a human stimulus was related to its dominance-submission status within a long term dyad. Emotional display was classified into four main categories, friendly, stay-behavior, wary, and aggressive. Forms of dyadic interaction were categorized into three main categories, dominant-submissive, combat, and parallel-possession. The parallel-possession category was related to a significantly greater frequency of displayed friendly responses while the combat category was related to a significantly greater frequency of displayed stay-behavior. Dominant and submissive dogs obtained an intermediate position on both emotions and did not differ from each other. A similar emotional response occurred in each of both dogs of a pair with greater than chance frequency; this held for both friendly and stay-behavior emotional displays. Explanatory hypotheses of “reinforced parallel approach” and “interpersonal avoidance” were offered.
Chance Expectancy, Sample Size, Replacement and Non-Replacement Sampling
Authors: Devries A. G.
Published: September 2011

This study investigates the influence of sample size, non-replacement and replacement sampling on the number of MMPI items which will reach significance levels of .05, .01, and .001 purely by chance. The results show that replacement sampling of a VA NP population gives a more stable sampling distribution than non-replacement sampling. Larger sized samples seem to have a somewhat greater number of mean chance occurrences than smaller sized samples. The common procedure of requiring that more than 19 items of a 373-item MMPI have to reach significance at the .05 level before a non-chance occurrence is accepted is a definite underestimation according to the upper range limits of chance significances found in this study for samples of size 30, 40, 50, 100, 150, and 200. The best solution for a decision whether or not findings are non-chance occurrences would be to use a more stringent level of significance than the .05 level and co use the upper range limits of chance significances found in this study for the appropriate sample size. It is likely that different populations have associated with them different numbers of items which will reach chance significance.
Hierarchical Cluster Analysis
Authors: Bridges Cecil C.
Published: September 2011

Hierarchical cluster analysis produces a unique set of nested categories or clusters by sequentially pairing variables, clusters, or variables and clusters. At each step, beginning with the correlation matrix, all clusters and unclustered variables are tried in all possible pairs, and that pair producing the highest average intercorrelation within the trial cluster is chosen as the new cluster. In contrast to other types of cluster analysis in which a single set of mutually exclusive and exhaustive clusters is formed, this technique proceeds sequentially from tighter, less inclusive clusters through larger more inclusive clusters and is continued until all variables are clustered in a single group. A graph, constructed like the taxonomic dendrogram of the biological systematist, shows the class-inclusive relations between clusters and the value of the clustering criterion associated with each.
Taste Preferences in the Virginia Opossum
Authors: Pressman Teresa G. , Doolittle John H.
Published: September 2011

Dietary intake of distilled water versus solutions of sodium chloride, sucrose, sodium saccharin, and quinine hydrochloride (QHCl) was studied in the Virginia opossum. The study utilized a paired-choice, 48-hr. continuous intake measure in which Ss, two male and two female opossums, could choose between distilled water and one of the other solutions. The procedure replicates the one used by Carpenter (1956), who compared these solutions for cats, rabbits, and hamsters, with the exception that distilled water rather than tap water was used as the control solution in the present experiment. Consistent with Carpenter's findings of significant species differences in taste preferences, the intakes of opossums did not mirror those of any of the species studied by Carpenter. One of the more notable findings was that opossums displayed a preference for low concentrations of QHCl.
Attitudes of Bantu Mine Workers toward a Communication Medium
Authors: Marais H. C.
Published: September 2011

An attempt was made to determine whether an especially planned company radio programme would be received more favourably by Bantu mine workers than the ordinary public radio programme. The content of the latter was more generally aimed, consisted mainly of music, and was in Sotho, the language of only part of the workers at this particular mine. The special programme was in Sotho, Xosa, Shangaan, and Fanakalo and included music, serials, news, talks on mining and religion. It was introduced in one compoud, while simultaneously the ordinary programme was relayed to a control compound. A 15-item attitude scale was used to compare the attitudes of samples of 100 Ss from each compound. The experimental group showed significantly more favourable attitudes toward their programme, as well as significantly smaller variance.
Multiple MMPI Profiles of Suicidal Persons
Authors: Devries Alcon G. , Shneidman Edwin S.
Published: September 2011

This study showed that changes in degree of suicidal syndrome were difficult to detect in MMPI profiles. Any changes which occurred were in terms of a person's own profile characteristics. Interperson profile changes did not decrease significantly with increases in suicidal intent. It was suggested that suicidal persons with different clinical syndromes have also different suicidal syndromes. This would indicate that the establishment of suicidal MMPI profile syndromes can best be accomplished if persons with homogeneous rather than the heterogeneous syndromes are grouped together for comparison purposes.
Degrees of Awareness and Intentions to Comply in Verbal Conditioning
Authors: Mondy Lewis W.
Published: September 2011

Relationships among degrees of awareness of expectations, intentions to comply, and verbal conditioning were investigated. Only aware Ss reporting intentions to comply with perceived experimental expectations conditioned. Awareness of expectations alone was found to be unrelated to conditioning. Analyses disclosed no relationship between degrees of awareness and intentions to comply, contrary to Orne's (1962) suggestion.
Effect of DL-Amphetamine on Open-Field Behaviors in the Rat
Authors: Jennings Wilmar A.
Published: September 2011

A group of rats injected with 4 mg/kg of DL-amphetamine was compared with a saline-injected group with respect to behavior in an open field. Both groups were equally food-deprived. The drug group, unlike the saline group, showed an absence of feeding, grooming, and freezing; however, the groups did not differ in the kind of exploratory behavior shown. It was concluded that the inhibitory effect of amphetamine on feeding might be viewed as part of a more general inhibition of non-exploratory behavior, as opposed to a phenomenon specific to feeding.
Standardized Interview Performance of Southern Elementary School Children
Authors: Dinoff Michael , Burkett Legay S. , Griffin John L. , Gilbert Jerrold I.
Published: September 2011

Early findings using a standardized interview with children clearly separate two racial groups although it is suggested that the race of the interviewer or the setting might have inhibited one group. Anticipated developmental trends were not consistent and may reflect the small sample ( ns = 7 to 11).
Affect Levels of Ten Special Forces Soldiers under Threat of Attack
Authors: Bourne Peter G. , Coli William M. , Datel William E.
Published: September 2011

Four administrations of the Weekly Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (W-MAACL) were obtained on 10 Special Forces “A” Team soldiers in South Viet Nam during a period of time when an enemy attack was anticipated. Results compared Anxiety, Depression, and Hostility levels. Both in terms of W-MAACL scores and participant observations, hostility was the dominant affect expressed.