Experimental Ss Research Articles

Response availability and extinction of conditioned suppression

After 7 days’ VI training for water reinforcement, 14 rats were given six (three per day) noise-shock pairings with lever retracted. Following a recovery day, Ss received two daily noise/no-shock presentations for 6 days with lever initially present only for control Ss. After 3 days, lever was returned for experimental Ss who displayed reliably more suppression on Extinction Days 4–6.

The role of blood glucose in activity related self-starvation

Rats in the experimental group lived in activity wheels on a 23-h deprivation schedule, while those in the control group lived in laboratory cages on the same feeding schedule. Blood-glucose determinations made on the 1st, 3rd, and 6th days of deprivation indicated that, while both groups were hypoglycemic on Days 1 and 2, by Day 6 the experimental Ss were still hypoglycemic, while control Ss’ blood-glucose levels approached normal ad lib levels. The results are in opposition to the hypothesis of glucocorticoid involvement in activity-related self-starvation.

Influencing the intelligence scores of retarded and nonretarded boys with clinical suggestion.

Abstract Retarded and nonretarded boys were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental Ss were given suggestions designed to facilitate rapport, induce physical relaxation, lower possible anxiety over past test performance, and establish motivation and a pre-test set of positive expectations. The PPVT was used before and after the intervention. The retarded experimental group made significantly greater change than the retarded control group. There was no significant difference in the amount of change achieved by the nonretarded experimental and nonretarded control groups. In an analysis of the intelligence-by-conditions interaction, it appeared that clinical suggestions were not any more effective for retarded boys than they were for nonretarded boys.

A DISCRIMINATION TASK WHICH INDUCES CONSERVATION OF NUMBER

A discrimination task was used to induce the acquisition of conservation of number. The task required the Ss to use the fact that a set which was shown to be equal in number to a standard set, but which had since been rearranged, could be used to select other sets which would match the standard in number. The sets from which the selection had to be made varied in both number and arrangement. 8 out of 12 experimental Ss attained conservation, compared with 1 out of 12 controls.

An objective measure of induced aggression.

The paper describes a method of objectively measuring induced aggression in college students. Those in the experimental (verbally threatened) group expressed aggression by sabotaging E's “research project.” The extent of aggression was measured by the number of Ss making errors and the total numbers of errors made by the experimental group as compared to the control group. More Ss in the experimental group made errors as compared to the control groups. Experimental Ss also made proportionately more errors.

Effect on priming on spontaneous recovery of verbal lists

Experimental Ss learned two paired-associate lists (A-B, A-C paradigm), then were tested for retention either immediately after List 2 learning (6 min. after List 1 learning) or 14 min. after List 2 (20 min. after List 1). In two conditions, a priming cue was introduced either into List 1 or into List 2 learning, and the cue was then carried over to the recall test. In a third condition there was no priming. As compared to Control Ss that learned only one list, both priming conditions showed spontaneous recovery, but not differentially so, in recall of List 1 responses from the immediate to the delayed retention tests. The no priming condition did not show spontaneous recovery. There was also an increase, over retention tests, in List 1 responses given first. The data appear to support the hypothesis that spontaneous recovery is due to dissipation of a generalized response set, and that priming may partly facilitate the dissipation.

A Structured Program of Teaching and Counseling for Conduct Problem Students in a Junior High School

Three groups of conduct problem students in three suburban junior high schools participated in sixteen sessions of a structured teaching and counseling program. Each session was conducted as a seminar in which the counselor led Ss in a discussion of some aspect of frustration and aggression theory in an attempt to induce Ss to relate the theoretical concepts to their own behavior. No significant differences were found between experimental and control Ss on a behavior rating scale, although there was a Treatments x Groups interaction for grade point average (GPA). DESPITE THE espousal of client-centered the ory by many school counselors, a large portion of counseling in the school system still remains very structured. This is the natural outcome of a num ber of factors. First, the didactic method of in struction is prevalent in most schools. Second, since the majority of school guidance counselors have emerged from school ranks (6), they have come to rely and have faith in a very direct and structured approach to their problem students. Very often they have not had an opportunity to develop nondirective techniques. Also the short age of counseling time has made lengthier non directive practices impractical. The present study employed a combination of pedagogical and counseling approaches aimed at altering the behavior of conduct problem students in junior high schools. Fifteen short papers based on Berkowitz's (1) modification of the Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mowrer and Sears (2) theory of frustration and aggression were taught in sem inars as a course in psychology. The ideas con tained in each seminar were then discussed by students who were asked to relate the material to their own lives.

The child's concept of proportionality: A re-examination

A partial replication and extension of Bruner and Kenney's (1966) study of the concept of proportionality was run with 5- and 7-year-old children. Experimental Ss were given preliminary training to facilitate their understanding of the task and their attention to the relevant cues. Training effectively altered the performance of both the 7- and 5-year-old E groups although only the older group was shown to possess the proportionality concept as measured by the criterion task. The results demonstrated the importance of avoiding verbal ambiguity in the investigation of nonverbal cognitive competence.

Facilitation of paired-associate learning by language context

Subjects learned associations between English words and unfamiliar items (CVC syllables). Control Ss used a traditional paired-associate method; experimental Ss received each pair in a sentence context appropriate for the English word. Learning was facilitated by the language context.

THE TRAINING OF CONSERVATION OF NUMBER IN YOUNG CHILDREN

An approach to the training of conservation of number through the presentation of a logical sequence of component concepts or steps was evaluated in a series of 3 experiments using 130 kindergarten children. The Ss were given individual instruction by Es. In addition, part of the instruction was presented by slightly older conserving peers who acted as assistant teachers. The experimental Ss showed significant growth in conservation while the control Ss showed no noticeable growth. The effects of the training were retained at 3 months and generalizability of these effects to conservation of discontinuous quantity was demonstrated. No sex differences were found and only slight differences were revealed in conservation learning between SES groups.

A test of the odor hypothesis using Mongolian gerbils and a random trials procedure

In a test of the odor hypothesis, two groups of Mongolian gerbils were given straight-alley trials, with a 50% schedule of reinforcement For the experimental group, all Ss received the same goal treatment, either reinforcement (R) or nonreinforcement (N), on a given trial For the control group, Ss were given either R or N treatments randomly within a given trial To eliminate intertrial carry-over of odor cues, the alley was cleaned with a damp sponge each time allSs in the experimental or control group completed a trial With this procedure, odor cues were informative only for the experimental group. Results substantiated the odor hypothesis in that experimental Ss ran relatively slower in the goal section on N than on R trials, whereas control Ss did not When the wipe-out procedure was discontinued, thereby confusing odor cues for the experimental group, differential goal latencies on R andN trials disappeared.

Awareness in verbal conditioning: objective assessment and automatic strengthening.

A Taffel-type verbal conditioning experiment was conducted in order to (a) explore the role of awareness as assessed by a newly developed objective instrument that is not open to the criticisms to which interview techniques have been subjected, and (b) determine whether exposure to different numbers of conditioning trials has an effect upon usage of the reinforced response class and awareness of contingencies. The results indicate that (a) only aware Ss manifest increments in performance, and (b) experimental Ss did not show differential levels of performance, not did increased proportions of Ss become aware as a result of exposure to increased amounts of conditioning and reinforcement. Implications of these results for psychological theory and methodology are discussed.

A set to establish equivalence relations in pre-school children

Sixty-four children, aged 3 1 2 –5 years , were given a single trial on a task demanding the association of categorically related nouns, presented in random order, to pictures representing human-beings, clothes, parts of the body, food, and tableware. They were allocated to one of three groups matched for age and low score, or to a group of higher age and score. Two of the three matched groups were trained for 10 trials on a task in which four categories (animals, furniture, vehicles, buildings) had to be differentiated. The same stimulus words were used in both training conditions, but in one case they were presented initially in categorically related clusters, while in the second condition presentation was invariably random. On transfer, Ss who had been trained with words presented in clusters showed a significant advantage over the other experimental Ss and both control groups. The results are interpreted as showing how conditions of training may modify a young child's natural style of response to a conceptual task and provide a shortcut for some part of his development of equivalence relations.

Susceptibility of an instrumental locomotor response to punishment of its generalized consummatory components: Effect of punishment locus

Following the establishment of strong approach behavior in a double runway, the generalized consummatory components (approach and licking) of this behavior were punished in a similar context by either a single contingent paw shock or by a single tongue shock. When retested in the runway the next day, a nonshocked control group showed an increase, while both shocked groups showed a decrease in speed in all segments of the double runway. The suppression effect was greatest in the goal areas and least in the start areas. Paw shock had a greater suppressive effect than tongue shock An implication for the study of the energizing function of fear was suggested. Albino rats served as the experimental Ss.

The Effects of Post-Trial Administration of Strychnine Upon Maze Learning

24 naive Sprague-Dawley rats with a mean age of 143 days were divided into four treatment groups according to type of training procedure and drug treatment used: massed control; massed experimental; spaced control; spaced experimental. All groups were run on a 12 choice-point elevated T-maze to a food reward and to a criterion of three successive errorless trials. Experimental Ss were given 1/5 Ld50 doses of strychnine sulphate after each day’s training session. Controls were given saline injections. Massed Ss received five trials per day, while spaced Ss ran only one trial per daily session. Analysis of the data indicated no significant drug effects and thus no enhancement of learning due to post-trial strychnine administration.

Self-punitive behavior in the rat: A free-operant demonstration

In an attempt to generalize alleyway findings to another stimulus situation, this experiment was designed to produce self-punitive behavior in an operant conditioning chamber using procedures which were, as nearly as possible, analogous to the alleyway problem. Rats were trained to press a lever on a fixed ratio (FR) schedule to terminate foot shock. After the pressing response had been conditioned to FR 12, Ss were randomly divided into experimental and control groups and an extinction test was given. Control Ss received no shock during extinction trials; experimental Ss received no shock unless they pressed the bar four times, at which time shock came on and continued until S pressed eight more times. Two measures, total number of responses during extinction, and total latencies for the first four responses, reflected the facilitative effect of punishment on responding. It was concluded that self-punitive behavior can be produced in the rat using a lever-pressing procedure.

Hypoxia and self-paced work.

9 soldiers were required to perform a fixed amount of work on a bicycle ergometer during each of 18 sessions. Ss were allowed to determine their own schedules of work and rest. Ss breathed air during the first 9 sessions (Training). During the second 9 sessions (Experimental) Ss breathed either 21, 14, or 12% O2. Results indicated that Ss paced themselves by stopping rather than changing their rate of pedaling. Training reduced the number of stops per session, while hypoxia had the opposite effect.

Effects of a stress-producing film on the test performance of adults.

Summary An exploratory study was conducted to ascertain the effects of a stress-producing film on the performance of Ss administered the Holtzman Inkblot Technique and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale immediately after viewing the film. Statistical analyses revealed no differentiation between experimental and control Ss on the Taylor, whereas five Holtzman variables successfully discriminated between the two groups, thereby demonstrating its ability to detect differences in state anxiety. The five Holtzman variables were: Popular, Movement, Barrier, Human and Hostility. In addition, correlational data between the Holtzman and the Taylor resulted in support of concurrent validity between the two measurements as regards trait anxiety.

RFT stability or failure to arouse?

Oltman (1964) reported that loud white noise delivered through earphones facilitated Rod-and-frame Test (RFT; series 3 ) performance for male Ss. Later replication of the above finding with 1 6 female Ss showed that 100-db noise produced an average increase in RFT accuracy of 1.65 and I 5 of 1 6 Ss showed improvement (personal communication). H e concluded that individual differences in field dependence may be due in part to differences in level of arousal, which in turn, affects breadth of attention.'' Olunan's findings suggest that stimuli associated with other sense modalities might also affect RFT performance in similar ways. In order to test the generality of the above finding for other sense modes, two experiments were performed in which vibratory stimulation, provided by a 60-cycle massage vibrator, was randomly applied to the shoulder musculature of each S during RFT (series 3 ) responding. In both experiments, 2 0 female introductory psychology students were randomly assigned to an experimental group and 2 0 to a control group. In the first experiment, both groups received three blocks of 8 RFT trials followed by 5 min. rest between blocks; however, the experimental group received 30 sec. of vibratory stimulation preceding each of the 8 trials of the second block. The control group did not receive vibration and spent the equivalent amount of time talking with E. All treatments were administered by the second author. Resulting means and standard deviations for each of the three blocks of 8 trials were: Experimental Ss ( 1 ) 3.17 and 3.13, ( 2 ) Vibration 3.18 and 3.12, ( 3 ) 3.06 and 2.19; Control Ss, ( 1 ) 2.66 and 2.22, ( 2 ) 2.84 and 2.18, ( 3 ) 2.43 and 1.75. The means and standard deviations clearly show that vibration did not affect RFT responding. Since 8 30-sec. applications of vibratory stimulation did not improve RFT performance, it was decided to use 4 min. of sustained vibration with different Ss in a second experiment. The experimental group received 8 trials in the RFT followed by 5 min. rest, 4 min. of sustained vibration, and 8 more RFT trials. The control group talked with E during the 4-min. [vibration control] period. Means and standard deviations were: Experimental Ss, Pre 3.07 and 2.27, Post 2.20 and 1.16; Control, Pre 2.34 and 3.25, Post 2.49 and 3.51. Of 20 Ss 1 2 who received vibration showed some improvement in RFT responding as did nine of 20 Ss in the control group. An analysis of covariance showed that vibration did not affect RFT performance. Failure of the present experiments to obtain results similar to Oltman's suggests that either physiological arousal was not involved in his observarions or that 60-cycle vibratory stimulation was not sufficiently arousing for Ss in this study. If the latter is the case, it would stand in contradiction to Ss' verbal reports. A number of Ss reported the vibrator to be unpleasant and distracting while a few reported blurred vision but none thought that vibration had affected their performance. As it turned out, Ss were correct in assuming that their performance did not change beyond the normal range of variation found in RFT responding. The present results may simply reflect the relative stability of RFT performance in spite of numerous attempts to alter it experimentally.

Effects of Positive Verbal Reinforcements on Interest Selections

An experimental investigation of the effect of consistent, positive, verbal reinforcement of selected interests of undergraduate, female students was conducted. Hypotheses concerning the immediate effects of conditioning treatments as well as effects of treatment on retention and delayed learning were formulated. Ss participated in a pretest, two interviews, a posttest and retest. Although only one group of experimental Ss evidenced significant conditioning, all six posttest and retest scores of experimental Ss showed a greater raw score gain than did control Ss. Because posttest and retest scores of a greater number of experimental Ss were at least 10 points above their operant scores after conditioning, it can be concluded that some individuals were susceptible to verbal conditioning of interests.