Your search

Two experiments measured pigeons' choices between probabilistic reinforcers and certain but delayed reinforcers. In Experiment 1, a peck on a red key led to a 5-s delay and then a possible reinforcer (with a probability of .2). A peck on a green key led to a certain reinforcer after an adjusting delay. This delay was adjusted over trials so as to estimate an indifference point, or a duration at which the two alternatives were chosen about equally often. In all conditions, red houselights were present during the 5-s delay on reinforced trials with the probabilistic alternative, but the houselight colors on nonreinforced trials differed across conditions. Subjects showed a stronger preference for the probabilistic alternative when the houselights were a different color (white or blue) during the delay on nonreinforced trials than when they were red on both reinforced and nonreinforced trials. These results supported the hypothesis that the value or effectiveness of a probabilistic reinforcer is inversely related to the cumulative time per reinforcer spent in the presence of stimuli associated with the probabilistic alternative. Experiment 2 tested some quantitative versions of this hypothesis by varying the delay for the probabilistic alternative (either 0 s or 2 s) and the probability of reinforcement (from .1 to 1.0). The results were best described by an equation that took into account both the cumulative durations of stimuli associated with the probabilistic reinforcer and the variability in these durations from one reinforcer to the next.

Ten acquisition curves were obtained from each of 4 pigeons in a two‐choice discrete‐trial procedure. In each of these 10 conditions, the two response keys initially had equal probabilities of reinforcement, and subjects' choice responses were about equally divided between the two keys. Then the reinforcement probabilities were changed so that one key had a higher probability of reinforcement (the left key in half of the conditions and the right key in the other half), and in nearly every case the subjects developed a preference for this key. The rate of acquisition of preference for this key was faster when the ratio of the two reinforcement probabilities was higher. For instance, acquisition of preference was faster in conditions with reinforcement probabilities of .12 and .02 than in conditions with reinforcement probabilities of .40 and .30, even though the pairs of probabilities differed by .10 in both cases. These results were used to evaluate the predictions of some theories of transitional behavior in choice situations. A trial‐by‐trial analysis of individual responses and reinforcers suggested that reinforcement had both short‐term and long‐term effects on choice. The short‐term effect was an increased probability of returning to the same key on the one or two trials following a reinforcer. The long‐term effect was a gradual increase in the proportion of responses on the key with the higher probability of reinforcement, an increase that usually continued for several hundred trials. 1990 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

Students from the 5th, 8th, and 11th grades (55 male and 53 female) were asked to describe their ideal self-image. Analyses revealed a number of gender and developmental differences not found with other self-image measures. A greater proportion of females than males mentioned two of the categories related to family life: marriage and improving relations with their family of origin. Mentions of categories surrounding athletics were more prevalent among males. Grade level differences in the content of the ideal self-image reflected cognitive-developmental shifts away from concrete descriptors, changes in physical maturity and the heightened importance of peer relationships around adolescence, and the approach of developmental milestones. Fewer students mentioned physical appearance at higher grade levels. Mentions of athletic abilities and social acceptance peaked at the 8th grade, while mentions of college, marriage, and having children rose at higher grade levels. Differences in the content areas mentioned by average versus advanced track students appeared to reflect differences in both cognitive-developmental level and socialization experiences. © 1990 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

This experiment measured pigeons' choices between delayed reinforcers and fixed‐ratio schedules in which a force of approximately 0.48 N was needed to operate the response key. In ratio‐delay conditions, subjects chose between a fixed‐ratio schedule and an adjusting delay. The delay was increased or decreased several times a session in order to estimate an indifference point—a delay duration at which the two alternatives were chosen about equally often. Each ratio‐delay condition was followed by a delay‐delay condition in which subjects chose between the adjusting delay and a variable‐time schedule, with the components of this schedule selected to match the ratio completion times of the preceding ratio‐delay condition. The adjusting delays at the indifference point were longer when the alternative was a fixed‐ratio schedule than when it was a matched variable‐time schedule, which indicated a preference for the matched variable‐time schedules over the fixed‐ratio schedules. This preference increased in a nonlinear manner with increasing ratio size. This nonlinearity was inconsistent with a theory that states that indifference points for both time and ratio schedules can be predicted by multiplying the choice response‐reinforcer intervals of the two types of schedules by different multiplicative constants. Two other theories, which predict nonlinear increases in preference for the matched variable‐time schedules, are discussed. 1990 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior

To investigate emotion expression and personality relations, the authors coded infants' full-face and component positive and negative expressions during Episodes 4 through 8 of the strange situation procedure at age 18 months and obtained maternal ratings of the 5-factor model of personality when children were 3.5 years old. Full-face negative expression was directly related to Neuroticism and inversely related to Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. By contrast, component positive expression showed the exact opposite pattern of relations. Full-face positive expression was positively correlated with Extraversion and Openness to Experience. These findings indicate that full-face and component expressions may index different intensities of emotions. Emotion expression and personality relations were not mediated by the security of attachment continuum or the emotional reactivity dichotomy derived from the attachment subclassifications.

Approximately 60% of college students report sleep disturbances. Sleep disturbances, such as insomnia, negatively influence physical energy, cognitive resources, and affective states that might inhibit executive functioning. To better delineate the variables that alter the college student insomnia and executive functioning relationship we examined sleepiness, sleep debt, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology. We expected insomnia to predict executive dysfunction, with a stronger relationship observed at higher levels of the focal moderator (i.e., sleepiness, sleep debt, or ADHD symptoms). Undergraduate participants (n = 472) completed a cross-sectional survey assessing insomnia, state sleepiness, sleep debt, ADHD symptomatology (inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity), and executive dysfunction. Hierarchical linear regressions showed that poor sleep had a negative influence on executive function when college students also had high levels of impulsivity, state sleepiness, or sleep debt. These results partially support our expectations and further the academic sleep-related literature while providing insight for counselors, academic advisors, or other professionals working with college student populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

This study examined whether maternal ratings of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) obtained when children were 3.5 years would show theoretically coherent patterns of relations with a variety of behavioral referents in the laboratory at 5 years as well as with maternal and self-ratings of psychological functioning in adolescence. As expected, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were associated with measures of self-regulation at both ages as well as with an internal locus of control, but only Conscientiousness was associated with high academic performance. By contrast, Neuroticism was associated with measures of anxiety and Extraversion was associated with difficulty inhibiting behaviors at both ages. Openness to Experience was associated with sophisticated play behavior at 5 years and self-confidence in adolescence. Overall, this study yielded strong support for the predictive validity of the FFM with preschool age children and provided further evidence that there are striking continuities in personality from early childhood to adolescence. (c) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The McGurk effect, where an incongruent visual syllable influences identification of an auditory syllable, does not always occur, suggesting that perceivers sometimes fail to use relevant visual phonetic information. We tested whether another visual phonetic effect, which involves the influence of visual speaking rate on perceived voicing (Green & Miller, 1985), would occur in instances when the McGurk effect does not. In Experiment 1, we established this visual rate effect using auditory and visual stimuli matching in place of articulation, finding a shift in the voicing boundary along an auditory voice-onset-time continuum with fast versus slow visual speech tokens. In Experiment 2, we used auditory and visual stimuli differing in place of articulation and found a shift in the voicing boundary due to visual rate when the McGurk effect occurred and, more critically, when it did not. The latter finding indicates that phonetically relevant visual information is used in speech perception even when the McGurk effect does not occur, suggesting that the incidence of the McGurk effect underestimates the extent of audio-visual integration.

In Experiment 1 with rats, a left lever press led to a 5-s delay and then a possible reinforcer. A right lever press led to an adjusting delay and then a certain reinforcer. This delay was adjusted over trials to estimate an indifference point, or a delay at which the two alternatives were chosen about equally often. Indifference points increased as the probability of reinforcement for the left lever decreased. In some conditions with a 20% chance of food, a light above the left lever was lit during the 5-s delay on all trials, but in other conditions, the light was only lit on those trials that ended with food. Unlike previous results with pigeons, the presence or absence of the delay light on no-food trials had no effect on the rats' indifference points. In other conditions, the rats showed less preference for the 20% alternative when the time between trials was longer. In Experiment 2 with rats, fixed-interval schedules were used instead of simple delays, and the presence or absence of the fixed-interval requirement on no-food trials had no effect on the indifference points. In Experiment 3 with rats and Experiment 4 with pigeons, the animals chose between a fixed-ratio 8 schedule that led to food on 33% of the trials and an adjusting-ratio schedule with food on 100% of the trials. Surprisingly, the rats showed less preference for the 33% alternative in conditions in which the ratio requirement was omitted on no-food trials. For the pigeons, the presence or absence of the ratio requirement on no-food trials had little effect. The results suggest that there may be differences between rats and pigeons in how they respond in choice situations involving delayed and probabilistic reinforcers.

Experiments with pigeons and rats on concurrent-chains schedules examined a paradoxical effect reported by R. A. Preston and E. Fantino (1991). One schedule in the concurrent chain had a variable-interval (VI) 60-s initial link, and its terminal link was a 10-s delay to food. The other schedule had an initial link that ranged from VI 60 s to VI 2 s, and its terminal link was a 20-s delay to food. The paradoxical effect--a decrease in preference for the 20-s delay as its initial link was shortened--was found in some conditions but not in others. An analysis of response-reinforcer delays suggested that the paradoxical effect occurred in conditions in which responding on the short VI schedule almost always led to the 20-s delay, eliminating the possibility of switching to the alternative with the shorter delay. Copyright 2005 APA.

This study examined concept maps produced by personality psychology students as a function of different types of concept map instruction. The results indicated the number of quantitative items in the students' concept maps significantly increased from the pretest to the posttest, as would be expected over the course of an academic semester. More importantly, the type of instructions the students received at the pretest played a significant role in the number of cross links depicted in the maps at the posttest. I discuss the results in term of the utility of instruction type when using concept maps in social science courses.

This research on decision-making heuristics is similar to research on animal learning in at least two ways. First, optimality modeling has not proven to be very useful for either research area. Second, both of these research areas seek to find general principles (or heuristics) that are applicable to different species in different settings. However, the basic principles of classical and operant conditioning seem to be more uniform across species and situations, whereas decision-making heuristics can vary for different species and different situations, even for tasks with very similar characteristics.

In Experiment 1, pigeons responded on concurrent-chains schedules with equal variable-interval schedules as initial links and fixed delays to food as terminal links. One terminal-link delay was always three times as long as the other. As terminal-link delays increased, response percentages on the key with the shorter terminal link increased according to a curvilinear function. This result supported the predictions of the hyperbolic value-added model and the contextual-choice theory but not delay-reduction theory. In Experiment 2, the terminal links were always delays of 2 s and 12 s, followed by food, and the durations of the initial links varied across conditions. As initial-link durations increased, pigeons' response percentages on the key with the shorter terminal link decreased, but toward an asymptote greater than 50%, indicating a continued preference for the shorter terminal link with very long initial links. This result was more consistent with the predictions of the hyperbolic-value added model than with those of the contextual-choice model or of delay-reduction theory. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This study examined the relative importance of self-esteem, family cohesion, and support from friends in predicting depressed mood and anxiety in Japanese and American college students. Contrary to expectations, self-esteem was the strongest predictor of emotional distress in both groups of students. Nevertheless, consistent with predictions derived from Markus and Kitayama's theory of self-construals, family cohesion accounted for a significantly larger percentage of the variance in predicting emotional distress in Japan than in the United States. In both countries, the relations between support from friends and the measures of emotional distress were entirely mediated by self-esteem. However, among Japanese students, family cohesion accounted for additional significant variance in predicting the measures of emotional distress, even after controlling for self-esteem.

Phoneme identification with audiovisually discrepant stimuli is influenced by information in the visual signal (the McGurk effect). Additionally, lexical status affects identification of auditorily presented phonemes. The present study tested for lexical influences on the McGurk effect. Participants identified phonemes in audiovisually discrepant stimuli in which lexical status of the auditory component and of a visually influenced percept was independently varied. Visually influenced (McGurk) responses were more frequent when they formed a word and when the auditory signal was a nonword (Experiment 1). Lexical effects were larger for slow than for fast responses (Experiment 2), as with auditory speech, and were replicated with stimuli matched on physical properties (Experiment 3). These results are consistent with models in which lexical processing of speech is modality independent.

The purpose of this study was to shed further light on the intrapersonal and interpersonal correlates of shame- and guilt-proneness by examining their relations with self- and peer-ratings of the five-factor model (FFM) of personality. Shame- and guilt-proneness were assessed using a scenario-based and a checklist measure. Consistent with findings from previous research, the self-rating data yielded support for the view that shame-proneness may be associated with more maladaptive patterns than guilt-proneness. However, peer-ratings of personality failed to corroborate these findings. Both scenario-based and checklist measures of shame-proneness were associated with a tendency to underestimate one's Agreeableness relative to peer-ratings. Several possible interpretations of these findings are discussed in light of the extant research on personality judgment. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

The current study examined gender and identity status differences in late adolescents' possible selves. The intent of the study was to clarify conflicts between theory and research on gender differences in identity by investigating the content of participants' possible selves. Participants completed measures of identity and possible selves. The results indicated that there was a relationship between gender and the mean number of both feared and balanced interpersonally themed possible selves. The pattern of results is discussed in terms of prior findings regarding gender differences in both identity and possible selves. Suggestions for future research are also provided. (C) 2003 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Infants' expressions of discrete emotions were coded during the more stressful episodes (4 through 8) of the Strange Situation at 13 and 18 months. The data showed a significant decrease in full-face expressions (more complex configurations of movements) and a significant increase in component expressions (simpler and more constrained patterns of movements). The authors interpreted this trend as a developmental change toward more regulated and less intense emotions. Consistent with this view, the aggregate index of infants' full-face negative emotion expressions, interpreted as reflecting relatively unregulated intense emotions, correlated significantly with maternal ratings of difficult temperament. The authors discuss alternative interpretations of the findings in terms of changes in reactivity/arousability and the emerging capacity for self-regulation.