Punishment Conditions Research Articles

SCHEDULE INTERACTIONS INVOLVING PUNISHMENT WITH PIGEONS AND HUMANS

The principal aim of the present experiments was to assess whether punishment increased or decreased the rate of unpunished behavior (contrast and induction, respectively) for which reinforcement rate was held constant, with physical and nonphysical punishers (electric shock and response cost), pigeon and human subjects, signaled and unsignaled components (multiple and mixed schedules), and the presence or absence of a blackout period between components. Across the three experiments there were 20 punishment conditions. Induction was found in nine of those, less consistent response‐rate reduction was found in three, contrast was found in four, and in four there was no change in responding from conditions without punishment. Contrast occurred consistently only with multiple schedules during the first exposure to electric‐shock punishment. Induction and no change, however, were found with every combination of the independent variables studied. Four conclusions regarding the interactions between punished and unpunished responding emerged from the present results: (a) Both contrast and induction occurred with the reinforcement rate held constant and a blackout between components, (b) induction was more common than contrast, (c) contrast occurred only in the presence of a stimulus different from that correlated with the punisher, and (d) contrast diminished with prolonged exposure to punishment. None of the current theoretical accounts of punishment contrast can explain the present results.

The influence of reward/punishment and personality pupil attainment

Hypotheses (inferred from Gray, 1970) were tested that under reward conditions, Extrovert (E)+ subjects will achieve better than E− subjects and Neurotic (N)+ subjects will achieve better than N− subjects, while under punishment conditions, E− subjects will achieve better than E+ subjects and N− subjects will achieve better than N+ subjects. Three secondary school classrooms were identified in which the teacher in mathematics was predominantly rewarding, offered a balance of reward and punishment or was predominantly punishing. The pupils in these classes were 82 boys in their 14th year. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire: Junior Version was administered. Individual scores for E and N were ascertained. All boys were administered the Profile of Mathematical Skills: Level 2 (France, 1979). After 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 school days, parallel arithmetic tests were administered. Inspection of the resulting graphs of mathematics progress indicated that the hypotheses were not confirmed, which made further statistical analysis inappropriate. However, issues arose in conducting the research that suggested improvements over an earlier study (McCord & Wakefield, 1981). Difficulties encountered in the present research are described and suggestions are made for improvements to future research in this area.

Presidents and the Prospective Year: Comment

Previous articleNext article No AccessPresidents and the Prospective Year: CommentMichael B. MacKuen, Robert S. Erikson, and James A. StimsonMichael B. MacKuen Search for more articles by this author , Robert S. Erikson Search for more articles by this author , and James A. Stimson Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Politics Volume 58, Number 3Aug., 1996 Sponsored by the Southern Political Science Association Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/2960445 Views: 8Total views on this site Citations: 25Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1996 University of Texas PressPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Mark Boukes, Alyt Damstra, Rens Vliegenthart Media Effects Across Time and Subject: How News Coverage Affects Two Out of Four Attributes of Consumer Confidence, Communication Research 48, no.33 (Aug 2019): 454–476.https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650219870087Kathleen Donovan, Paul M. Kellstedt, Ellen M. Key, Matthew J. Lebo Motivated Reasoning, Public Opinion, and Presidential Approval, Political Behavior 42, no.44 (Feb 2019): 1201–1221.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-019-09539-8Iain Hardie, Ailsa Henderson, Charlotte Rommerskirchen The Impact of Treasury Yields on US Presidential Approval, 1960–2010, New Political Economy 25, no.66 (Nov 2019): 1022–1040.https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2019.1680962Delia N. Acevedo, Carlie Fogleman, Joseph Daniel Ura Peasants and Bankers: Education, Consumer Sentiment, and Presidential Approval, Presidential Studies Quarterly 47, no.22 (May 2017): 230–244.https://doi.org/10.1111/psq.12365Orlando J. Pérez The Basis of Support for Hugo Chávez: Measuring the Determinants of Presidential Job Approval in Venezuela, The Latin Americanist 57, no.22 (Jul 2013): 59–84.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1557-203X.2013.01193.xTomasz Piotr Wisniewski, Geoffrey Lightfoot, Simon Lilley Speculating on presidential success: exploring the link between the price–earnings ratio and approval ratings, Journal of Economics and Finance 36, no.11 (Nov 2009): 106–122.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12197-009-9116-0Roy Elis, D. Sunshine Hillygus, Norman Nie The dynamics of candidate evaluations and vote choice in 2008: looking to the past or future?, Electoral Studies 29, no.44 (Dec 2010): 582–593.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2010.04.005Nathalie Giger Do voters punish the government for welfare state retrenchment? A comparative study of electoral costs associated with social policy, Comparative European Politics 8, no.44 (Oct 2010): 415–443.https://doi.org/10.1057/cep.2009.4Klaus Armingeon, Nathalie Giger Conditional Punishment: A Comparative Analysis of the Electoral Consequences of Welfare State Retrenchment in OECD Nations, 1980–2003, West European Politics 31, no.33 (Apr 2008): 558–580.https://doi.org/10.1080/01402380801939834Sean Carey, Matthew J. Lebo Election Cycles and the Economic Voter, Political Research Quarterly 59, no.44 (Jul 2016): 543–556.https://doi.org/10.1177/106591290605900404Suzanna De Boef, Paul M. Kellstedt The Political (and Economic) Origins of Consumer Confidence, American Journal of Political Science 48, no.44 (Oct 2004): 633–649.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0092-5853.2004.00092.xPaul Gronke, Brian Newman FDR to Clinton, Mueller to?: A Field Essay on Presidential Approval, Political Research Quarterly 56, no.44 (Jul 2016): 501–512.https://doi.org/10.1177/106591290305600411Thomas J. Rudolph Who's Responsible for the Economy? The Formation and Consequences of Responsibility Attributions, American Journal of Political Science 47, no.44 (Oct 2003): 698–713.https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-5907.00049JEFFREY E. COHEN, JOHN A. HAMMAN The Polls: Can Presidential Rhetoric Affect the Public's Economic Perceptions?, Presidential Studies Quarterly 33, no.22 (Jun 2003): 408–422.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5705.2003.tb00037.xNikolai Mikhailov, Richard G. Niemi, David L. Weimer Application of Theil group logit methods to district-level vote shares: tests of prospective and retrospective voting in the 1991, 1993, and 1997 Polish elections, Electoral Studies 21, no.44 (Dec 2002): 631–648.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-3794(01)00040-3Brian Newman Bill Clinton's Approval Ratings: The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same, Political Research Quarterly 55, no.44 (Jul 2016): 781–804.https://doi.org/10.1177/106591290205500403THOMAS J. RUDOLPH The Economic Sources of Congressional Approval, Legislative Studies Quarterly 27, no.44 (Jan 2011): 577–599.https://doi.org/10.3162/036298002X200738 Timothy T. Hellwig Interdependence, Government Constraints, and Economic Voting, The Journal of Politics 63, no.44 (Oct 2015): 1141–1162.https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-3816.00104Han Dorussen, Michaell Taylor The political context of issue-priority voting: coalitions and economic voting in the Netherlands, 1970–1999, Electoral Studies 20, no.33 (Sep 2001): 399–426.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-3794(00)00026-3 Richard Nadeau , and Michael S. Lewis-Beck National Economic Voting in U.S. Presidential Elections, The Journal of Politics 63, no.11 (Oct 2015): 159–181.https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-3816.00063Richard Nadeau, Richard G. Niemi, Timothy Amato Elite economic forecasts, economic news, mass economic expectations, and voting intentions in great britain, European Journal of Political Research 38, no.11 (Aug 2000): 135–170.https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.00530George A. Krause Testing for the Strong Form of Rational Expectations with Heterogeneously Informed Agents, Political Analysis 8, no.33 (Jan 2017): 285–305.https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.pan.a029817 Richard Nadeau , Richard G. Niemi , David P.Fan, and Timothy Amato Elite Economic Forecasts, Economic News, Mass Economic Judgments, and Presidential Approval, The Journal of Politics 61, no.11 (Oct 2015): 109–135.https://doi.org/10.2307/2647777Harold D. Clarke, Marianne C. Stewart, Paul F. Whiteley New Models for New Labour: The Political Economy of Labour Party Support, January 1992–April 1997, American Political Science Review 92, no.33 (Aug 2014): 559–575.https://doi.org/10.2307/2585481Harold D. Clarke, Marianne C. Stewart, Paul Whiteley Political change and party choice: Voting in the 1997 general election, British Elections & Parties Review 8, no.11 (Nov 2007): 9–34.https://doi.org/10.1080/13689889808413003

NATURAL IMPLEMENTATION WITH A SIMPLE PUNISHMENT

In addition to the natural requirement in mechanism design proposed by Saijo, Tatarmitani, and Yamato (1995a), we introduce the simple punishment condition that requires the same feasible punishment whenever all participants simultaneously become potential deviators. First, we fulkly characterize the class of social choice correspondences (SCC's) implemented naturally with the simple punishment condition. finally, the Walarasian correspondence and the individually rationla and efficient correspomdence ar enaturally implementable by using the initial endowment as a simple punishment in the case of at least three participants.

Molar and Molecular Contingencies and Effects of Punishment in a Human Self-Control Paradigm

An attempt was made to establish a human self-control paradigm where impulsive response binges produced a greater reinforcement density at the molecular, or short term, level but where self-control responses produced a greater reinforcer density at the molar, or long term, level. Humans earned points by pressing two buttons. Pressing one of the buttons, the impulsive choice, produced 2 points over 1 s. Pressing the other button, the self-controlled choice, produced 10 points over 1 s after a delay of 19 s. In Experiment 1, subjects made 30 choices in a delay condition and 30 choices in the no delay condition. In the delay condition reinforcement of an impulsive response was followed by a 19-s postreinforcer delay that made trial durations equal for both impulsive and self-control choices. In the no delay condition there were no postreinforcer delays following impulsive choices. However, there was a wait period after every 10 trials equal to 19 s times the number of impulsive choices on the previous 10 trials. Thus, in the no delay condition at molecular level, impulsive responding produced a reinforcement density that was greater than the reinforcement density produced by self-controlled responding. However, because of the wait periods, at the molar level self-control responding produced the greatest density of reinforcement. In the delay condition self-controlled responding produced the greatest density of reinforcement at both the molar and molecular levels. Subjects exposed to the no delay condition first responded impulsively during the no delay condition but in a self-controlled fashion during the delay condition. Subjects who received the delay condition first were self-controlled during the delay condition and maintained self-controlled responding during the no delay condition. In Experiment 2 the no delay paradigm was used for 60 trials with punishment and no punishment conditions. In the punishment condition, which occurred either during the first or final 30 trials, following an impulsive response, “NO!” would appear on the screen concurrent with a 0.5-s, 92-db tone. Subjects who experienced the no punishment condition first tended to be impulsive during the no punishment phase but became self-controlled during the punishment condition. Subjects exposed to punishment in the first 30 trials were self-controlled during punishment and maintained self-controlled responding during the no punishment condition. These results suggest that once preference for self-control is developed, self-control responding may be maintained even when impulsive responding produces a greater density of reinforcement at the molecular level.

Personality and reinforcement: An exploration using a maze-learning task

A computerized maze learning task was investigated under control, reward and punishment, provided by differing financial reinforcement contingencies. The relationships between speed crossing the maze and anxiety and impulsivity personality traits were explored. Anxiety is hypothesized to reflect a behavioural inhibition system active in punishing environments; and impulsivity, to reflect an activation system active in rewarding environments. Of the measures of impulsivity taken, only one—venturesomeness from the I 7—was associated significantly with increased maze crossing speed; this was found particularly in the reward condition and in males. Several anxiety variables were associated with (near-)significant decreases in maze crossing speed in the punishment condition, and in the reward condition during continued testing after maze learning. The coexistence of anxiety and impulsivity correlations, particularly in reward, confirmed predictions that nominal ‘punishment’ and ‘reward’ conditions may activate both systems simultaneously. In punishment, prior to successful maze learning, significant anxiety correlations were limited to males, but after maze learning they were confined to females. Neuroticism and extraversion correlated with performance equally well in males; in females the correlation with extraversion was weak. These sex effects are ascribed to differing sources of motivation and to differing properties of EPQ-extraversion for males and females.

Contrasting Models of Appraisal Judgments for Positive and Negative Purposes Using Policy Modeling

This article incorporates the areas of measurement and performance appraisal in an attempt to better represent the performance evaluation process. The technique called Policy Modeling was used to examine the effects of positive versus negative perceived purpose on the performance appraisals of work study students. Both group and individual analyses were performed to determine the subjective values of the attributes used to describe workers, the relative importance of each attribute in the evaluation and the interpretation of different rating scales. Most raters′ appraisals were generally best represented by a configural averaging strategy, although the nature of the configural adjustment differed under conditions of reward and punishment. The applicability of policy modeling as a vehicle for performance appraisals are discussed.

Behavioral inhibition and test anxiety: An empirical investigation of Gray's theory

Gray's theory that behavioral inhibition and anxiety reflect activation of the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) was examined in high and low test anxious (TA) subjects. A computerized go/no go discrimination task was employed to assess tendencies for responding to obtain reward versus responding to avoid punishment or non-reward. Consistent with Gray's theory, increased behavioral inhibition was observed in high TA subjects. In addition, increased behavioral inhibition was found in the condition which involved punishment as compared to the condition which involved non-reward for incorrect responses. TA group differences were greater in the non-reward condition than in the punishment condition. This finding suggests that the punishment condition was highly aversive and masked group differences. High TA subjects responded as if the BIS was activated in both conditions, whereas low TA subjects responded as if the BIS was activated only in the punishment condition. Consistent with Gray's theory, over-sensitivity of the BIS was viewed as a propensity for increased sensitivity to stimuli signaling punishment or non-reward, resulting in behavioral inhibition.

Slave Society in the Danish West Indies: St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix.

1 Empire without dominion - the Danish West Indies, 1671-1848: early colonization of St Thomas Dutch cultural and commercial hegemony in St Thomas and St John Danish settlement and English influences in St Croix language, amelioration and national identity the economics of foriegn domination foreign domination and internal security slaves and intermal security deepened difficulties and challenges in the 19th century. 2 doom of the Almighty - slaveowning ideology: the sanctions of ancient law economic expediency the curse of Ham the civilizing mission sin and salvation racial arguments the emergence of anti-slavery ideology. 3 Part and parcel of - slaves and the law in the 18th century: Gardelin's Code of 1733 Frederik V's Reglement of 1755 subsequent concessions Lindemann's Draft of 1783 abolition, amelioration and the law. 4 The rural milieu - slavery on the plantations: roots plantation labour housing food and clothing the world the slaves made family, kinship and demographic survival. 5 the urban milieu - slavery in Christiansted, Frederiksted and Charlotte Amalie: domestics, hucksters, artisans conditions of life urban-rural interaction communal interaction social control crime and punishment. 6 oasis of humanity - independent slave activity: God mammon dances and other diversions cultural creation. 7 Maritime maroons - grand maronage: early patterns legilsation and diplomacy new routes to freedom strategies. 8 An intermediate sort of - the emergence and growth of the freedman population: manumission accumulation of wealth population size and growth restrictive legislation gender and demographic concerns social control. 9 rights and privileges of rational creatures - the Freedman Petition of 1816: white attitudes interaction with slaves internal differentiation challenging inequality the Petition of 1816 after 1816. 10 Strangers within the gate - emigre freedmen in the 19th century: origins white fears emigres and the freedman community the census of 1831. 11 Religion and enlightenment - education, amelioration and the road to abolition: early attempts at slave education effects of metropolitan humanitarianism Von Scholten's initiatives metropolitan and local opposition the 1846 Ordinance. 12 The victor vanquished - emancipation and its aftermath: the court martial the trial evidence - prolegomenon to revolt violence manque 2-3 July 1848 attitudes to the future - race and class property destruction - 4-5 July 1848 women differential responses.

Slave Society in the Danish West Indies: St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix

1 Empire without dominion - the Danish West Indies, 1671-1848: early colonization of St Thomas Dutch cultural and commercial hegemony in St Thomas and St John Danish settlement and English influences in St Croix language, amelioration and national identity the economics of foriegn domination foreign domination and internal security slaves and intermal security deepened difficulties and challenges in the 19th century. 2 doom of the Almighty - slaveowning ideology: the sanctions of ancient law economic expediency the curse of Ham the civilizing mission sin and salvation racial arguments the emergence of anti-slavery ideology. 3 Part and parcel of - slaves and the law in the 18th century: Gardelin's Code of 1733 Frederik V's Reglement of 1755 subsequent concessions Lindemann's Draft of 1783 abolition, amelioration and the law. 4 The rural milieu - slavery on the plantations: roots plantation labour housing food and clothing the world the slaves made family, kinship and demographic survival. 5 the urban milieu - slavery in Christiansted, Frederiksted and Charlotte Amalie: domestics, hucksters, artisans conditions of life urban-rural interaction communal interaction social control crime and punishment. 6 oasis of humanity - independent slave activity: God mammon dances and other diversions cultural creation. 7 Maritime maroons - grand maronage: early patterns legilsation and diplomacy new routes to freedom strategies. 8 An intermediate sort of - the emergence and growth of the freedman population: manumission accumulation of wealth population size and growth restrictive legislation gender and demographic concerns social control. 9 rights and privileges of rational creatures - the Freedman Petition of 1816: white attitudes interaction with slaves internal differentiation challenging inequality the Petition of 1816 after 1816. 10 Strangers within the gate - emigre freedmen in the 19th century: origins white fears emigres and the freedman community the census of 1831. 11 Religion and enlightenment - education, amelioration and the road to abolition: early attempts at slave education effects of metropolitan humanitarianism Von Scholten's initiatives metropolitan and local opposition the 1846 Ordinance. 12 The victor vanquished - emancipation and its aftermath: the court martial the trial evidence - prolegomenon to revolt violence manque 2-3 July 1848 attitudes to the future - race and class property destruction - 4-5 July 1848 women differential responses.

Evidence for Simultaneous Excitatory and Inhibitory Associations in the Explicitly Unpaired Procedure

These experiments examined the associative status of a 10-s CS (white noise) which, during Pavlovian conditioning, singly alternated with the US (footshock) in an explicitly unpaired fashion, with either a short (55 s) or with a long (420 s) intertrial interval. Results from conditioned punishment summation tests showed that following 8 sessions of conditioning (7 CSs and 7 USs in each session) the explicitly unpaired CS functioned as a conditioned excitor (Experiments 1-3), relative to the CS-only control, if the intertrial interval was short but not if that interval was long (Experiment 1). The excitatory property of the explicitly unpaired CS was still evident following a lengthy retention interval (28 days) during which rats remained in their home cage (Experiment 3). The explicitly unpaired CS functioned as a conditioned inhibitor if it had undergone extinction, after extinction of the contextual cues of the conditioning context (Experiment 2). Finally, the explicitly unpaired CS was also a conditioned inhibitor after only the contextual cues of the conditioning chamber were extinguished (Experiment 3). This latter finding was taken as evidence that under conditions of limited conditioning and when the CS and US trials are closely spaced, either excitatory CS-context and context-US associations or context-CS and CS-US associations, or all of these, were formed. These associations imbued the CS with enough excitation to not only obscure conditioned inhibition but to make the CS a net excitor.

Reversibility of single-incentive selective associations.

Rats were trained to press a lever in the presence of a tone-light compound stimulus and not to press in its absence. In each of two experiments, schedules were designed to make the compound a conditioned punisher for one group and a conditioned reinforcer for the other. In Experiment 1, one group's responding produced food in the presence of the compound but not in its absence. The other group's responding terminated the compound stimulus, and food was presented only in its absence. When tone and light were later presented separately, light controlled more responding than did tone in the former group, but tone gained substantial control in the latter. The same effects were also observed within subjects when the training schedules were switched over groups. In Experiment 2, two groups avoided shock in the presence of the compound stimulus. In the absence of the compound, one group was not shocked, and the other received both response-independent and response-produced shock. When tone and light were presented separately, the former group's responding was mainly controlled by tone, but the latter group's responding was almost exclusively controlled by light. These effects were also observed within subjects when the training schedules were switched over groups. Thus, these single-incentive selective association effects (appetitive in Experiment 1 and aversive in Experiment 2) were completely reversible. The schedules in which the compound should have been a conditioned reinforcer consistently produced visual control, and auditory control increased when the compound should have become a conditioned punisher. Currently accepted accounts of selective associations based on affinities between shock and auditory stimuli and between food and visual stimuli (i.e., stimulus-reinforcer interactions) do not adequately address these results. The contingencies of reinforcement most recently associated with the compound and with its absence, rather than the nature of the reinforcer, determined whether auditory or visual stimulus control developed.

The Social Implications of Punishing Unethical Behavior: Observers' Cognitive and Affective Reactions

This experiment investigated how punishment of varying severity (no punishment, appropriate punishment, and harsh punishment) in response to unethical organizational behavior influenced observers' outcome expectancies, justice evaluations, and emotional responses. Results suggested that only the harshest disciplinary response influenced outcome expectancies. In addition, observers' justice evaluations and emotional responses were generally most positive in the harshest vicarious punishment condition. Implications for future research and management practice are discussed.

FG 7142 selectively decreases nonpunished responding, but has no anxiogenic effects on time allocation in a conflict schedule.

Previous work (Thomas et al. 1990) showed that an anxiolytic benzodiazepine increased the time allocated to responding in a conflict situation (where responses were both food-reinforced and shock-punished) versus a nonpunishment situation. The present experiment tested whether a benzodiazepine-receptor inverse agonist (FG 7142, 1-30 mg/kg) would have the opposite effect (i.e., decrease time spent responding in a punishment situation). Chain pulls determined whether a rat's lever presses were reinforced on 1) a lean variable-interval schedule, or 2) a richer variable-interval schedule in which responding also produced shock intermittently. FG 7142 dose-dependently decreased nonpunished lever responding, but did not affect punished responding. The drug nonselectively decreased chain pulling (the schedule-switching response). Like chlordiazepoxide, FG 7142 increased the time spent in the punishment component, showing that not all effects of benzodiazepine-receptor agonists and inverse agonists are opposite. These results are inconsistent with expectations that anxiogenic actions of FG 7142 should 1) decrease punished responding; 2) increase the rate of responses that terminate the punishment condition; and 3) decrease time spent in the punishment component. Rather, nonsuppressed responding seems most sensitive to decreases by FG 7142.

Proof-reading performance of extraverts and neurotics under punishment and reward conditions

Individuals who are more sensitive to punishment cues are thought to inhibit behavior in the presence of these stimuli. Individuals who are more sensitive to reward cues are thought to activate behavior in the presence of these latter stimuli. However, the present argument is that punishment-sensitive individuals may not necessarily inhibit behavior, but may sometimes activate behavior in order to avoid the potential negative consequences signaled by the presence of punishment cues. This behavioral activation will be less intense when punishment-sensitive individuals are in the presence of reward cues. Reward-sensitive individuals will activate behavior when in the presence of reward cues, but less so when in the presence of punishment cues. Subjects were asked to do their best on a proof-reading task under either reward (opportunity to win a dollar) or punishment (threat of losing a dollar) conditions. Predictions were generally supported for punishment-sensitive individuals, but not for reward-sensitive individuals. Predictions regarding differential emotional reactions being dependent on personality, punishment/reward cues and on feedback regarding performance on the proof-reading task were not confirmed. Findings are discussed with respect to the asymmetry of the data and in terms of future research.

Negative Correlation between the Response Rate and the Response Duration during Punishment Condition in Rats

In order to investigate whether the response duration covaries with varying of the response rate, we trained four rats to press each of two levers on a variety of concurrent variable-interval schedules of reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement condition consisted of five schedules of reinforcement using food. When the response rates fell within a given range on each of reinforcemcnt schedule, a punishment schedule using an electric shock was added to that reinforcement schedule. Five different schedules combining reinforcement and punishment comprised the punishment condition. We employed the local response rate which refers to the number of responses per minute on each lever, and the response duration which refers to the mean duration that rat pressed down the lever.The results indicated that only in the punishment condition, the response duration negaitively correlated with the response rate. These results implied that the response rate alone does not entirely describe the response strength in the punshment condition. We further discussed validity of the suppression ratio. We suggest that both temporal behavioral measures and traditional response rates are necessary for precise description of the behavioral suppression.

Lead attenuates the antipunishment effects of ethanol

Adult male rats were exposed to a diet containing no added chemicals, or a diet containing 500 ppm added lead (as lead acetate), for 70 days. On Day 71 (training day), after 24 h of water deprivation, all animals were placed in a test apparatus and permitted to make 220 licks for a 5.5 percent (v/v) sucrose in water solution. On Day 72 (test day), all animals received conditioned punishment training where electric shock was delivered to the tongue following every 20 licks of the sucrose and water solution. Prior to commencing punishment training on Day 72, half the animals for the control diet condition (Group Control-Diet-Saline), and half the animals for the lead diet condition (Group Lead-Diet-Saline), received IP injections of saline. Conversely, the remaining half of the animals (Groups Control-Diet-Ethanol and Lead-Diet-Ethanol) received IP injections of 1.5 g/kg ethanol. The results of the conditioned punishment test revealed that animals exposed to a control diet and administered ethanol (Group Control-Diet-Ethanol) engaged in more punished licking and received more shocks than their lead-treated counterparts (Group Lead-Diet-Ethanol). Both of the groups exhibited more punished licking and received more shocks than either of the groups that received saline injections. The possibility that lead contamination may reduce the pharmacologic impact of ethanol is noted.

Strain differences in rats with respect to speed of conflict resolution

Speed of conflict resolution was studied in a conditioned punishment paradigm in a Skinner box and a straight runway. In both experimental situations speed of conflict resolution was defined as the latency to gain food during an approach-avoidance conflict. In the Skinner box Tryon Maze Bright rats were faster in speed of conflict resolution than Tryon Maze Dull rats, and Roman Low Avoidance rats were faster than Roman High Avoidance rats. In the runway situation, Wistar Kyoto rats were faster in solving the conflict than randomly bred Wistar Wu rats and Brown Norway rats were faster than Wistar Wu rats. Differences between the strains in speed of conflict resolution could not be consistently explained from strain differences in approach or avoidance behavior, measured separately. It is, therefore, suggested that speed of conflict resolution is a unique parameter.

The Measurement of Principled Morality by the Kohlberg Moral Dilemma Questionnaire

The four stages preceding the postconventional level in the Kohlberg (1958, 1971, 1976) system of moral development are described as involving moral judgments that conform to external conditions of punishment, reward, social expectation, and conformity to the law. No special level of self-control seems necessary to behave in keeping with these conditions of external reinforcement. In contrast, the two stages of postconventional (principled) mortality involve defiance of majority opinion and defiance of the law--actions that would seem to require greater self-control. This study was concerned with whether postconventional moral reasoning, as measured by the Kohlberg Moral Dilemma Questionnaire (MDQ), can be associated with higher self-control. If so, prediction of principled moral behavior from the MDQ would be based not only on postconventional moral reasoning but bolstered by the necessary level of self-control as well. College students who came the closest to postconventional moral reasoning showed better self-control than college students who were more conventional or preconventional in their moral judgments. These results support the validity of the MDQ for predicting principled moral behavior.

Additive Effects of Certainty, Severity, and Celerity of Punishment on Judgments of Crime Deterrence Scale Value1

The certainty and severity of punishment for crimes are commonly given credence as determinants of deterrence value, whereas celerity of punishment is not. Moreover, data are sparse and divided on the question of how certainty and severity components combine algebraically. Two experiments inspected the effects of certainty, severity and celerity of hypothetical punishments on judged deterrence value, and the form of their factorial combination. Judged deterrence scale values were obtained for eight hypothetical conditions of punishment for serious crimes. These conditions of punishment consisted of orthogonal combinations of two levels each of certainty, severity, and celerity and were administered to independent subjects. Strong effects of certainty and severity and moderate effects of celerity were found, and there were no interactions among the three variables. Thus, celerity is pertinent to judged deterrence value, and the three components of punishment clearly combine additively rather than multiplicatively. It is argued that despite the empirical results, certainty, severity, and celerity must, however, ultimately be showp to combine according to a multiplying rule. The Discussion centers largely on an analysis and justification for that argument.