Optimal Stimulation Level Research Articles

Cortical activation patterns in functional magnetic resonance images following monaural pure tone stimulation

AbstractTo investigate cross‐projection of pure tone stimulation, optimal stimulation level and cross‐talk effect, we examined the auditory processing of monaural pure‐tone stimuli using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We examined fMRI responses to monaural pure tones (1 kHz, 95 or 115 dB SPL) in 11 subjects with normal hearing and 4 patients with with profound unilateral deafness. Group analysis showed bilateral cortical activation in primary auditory and auditory association regions at 115 dB SPL. The activation was strong and mostly contralateral. At 95 dB SPl, only 2 of 11 subjects showed weak cortical activation. No activated area in the auditory cortex was observed in subjects with profound unilateral deafness in response to monaural stimulation of the deaf ear. The results supported the cross‐projection of pure tone stimulation. Pure tone with 115 dB SPL was needed to obtain intense and stable activation without cross‐talk using conventional boxcar model.

School stress, teachers’ abusive behaviors, and children’s coping strategies

Objective: This paper presents the research study on school stress and the coping strategies children use in public schools in Poland. The main goals were to identify and investigate: (1) school stress components, its frequency and intensity, (2) its psychological and temperamental correlates and consequences, (3) students’ coping strategies. Method: A field-correlative design was applied to test 271 students, between the ages of 13 and 14, using six questionnaires. School stressors and children’s coping strategies were identified and analyzed on two separate questionnaires with open-ended questions. School stress scale investigated the frequency of stress components and the intensity of stress. Anxiety level was measured by standardized, Polish version of STAIC. Temperamental characteristics were tested by the standardized questionnaire STI-R/4. Results: The most frequent stressors were teachers’ abusive behaviors in the classroom teaching and assessment. Students’ coping strategies, and their school results, were determined by the intensity of school stress, anxiety, and temperamental characteristic. Conclusions: This study demonstrated teachers’ psychological abuse as an important component of children’s school stress. An over-abundant by the abuse, stress and anxiety subjects regulate their optimal level of stimulation and activation by using survival-coping strategies, destructive for their school achievements, and well-being.

Optimal pregnancy outcome in a minimal-stimulation in vitro fertilization program

Objective: We sought to provide a cost-beneficial approach to in vitro fertilization for infertile patients who could not afford the standard treatment with in vitro fertilization and to determine the optimal level of minimal ovarian stimulation to achieve acceptable pregnancy rates. Study Design: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 216 patients who underwent "minimal stimulation" in vitro fertilization between January 1994 and December 1998. During the first half of this study, various minimal ovarian stimulation protocols were performed in our private, free-standing center for in vitro fertilization. More recently, more ovarian stimulation, including a 4-day protocol featuring gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist flare (ultrashort flare), was used. Clinical pregnancy outcome, multiple gestation, complications, and maternal age were compared between the first and second halves of this study. Results: The average ages of patients in the first half (phase 1) and the second half (phase 2) were similar, 32.4 ± 0.3 versus 32.6 ± 0.3 years, respectively. An average of 3.5 oocytes per retrieval was obtained in phase 1 versus 5.9 oocytes in phase 2. Failure to retrieve oocytes occurred in 3% of all cases. The mean number of embryos transferred per patient was 2.0 in phase 1 versus 2.4 in phase 2. In phase 1, 16.1% of patients failed to have viable embryos for transfer, in comparison with 9.7% in phase 2. The overall clinical pregnancy rate per retrieval was 16.9% in phase 1 versus 36.6% in phase 2. Multiple gestation occurred in 5.0% of clinical pregnancies in phase 1 but increased to 33% in phase 2, with 9 sets of twins and 6 sets of triplets. The implantation rate was 9.3% for phase 1 versus 23.3% for phase 2. The clinical pregnancy rates per retrieval for phase 2 patients were 41.6% in women ≤34 years old and 25.6% for those ≥35 years old. No case of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome was noted. Conclusions: Minimal ovarian stimulation in the setting of in vitro fertilization offers a cost-beneficial alternative to standard treatment with in vitro fertilization in infertile patients who are <35 years old and in women <40 years old who have adequate oocyte reserve. More stimulation improves outcome. Minimalstimulation in vitro fertilization provides an alternative for those patients who cannot afford standard in vitro fertilization or who are concerned with exposure to high dosages of fertility medications. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2000;183:309-15.)

Homeostasis and consumer behavior across cultures

The focus of this paper is the process of homeostasis by which the body seeks to regulate its internal environment. In particular, we present a global model for a set of consumer behaviors that may vary across cultures as a direct response to the intensity and duration of sunlight and experienced temperature. This process creates physical and psychological needs, so that changes in sunlight and temperature may be reflected in various behaviors. We integrate research findings from the neural sciences and psychology to generate testable predictions of relevance to the marketing literature. These hypotheses predict how the physical environment motivates variations in the consumption of different types of products, and how mood, expressed affect, and related affective behaviors may vary across cultures. We also consider how variations in sunlight and temperature may affect consumer behaviors related to consumers' optimal stimulation levels. We conclude by discussing the implications of a physiological model on the debate of global convergence in consumer behavior.

Task-Unrelated Image and Thought Frequency during Chronic Auditory Sensory Deprivation: A Laboratory Study with the Severely Hearing-Impaired

Earlier studies have reported an inverse relationship between information load and internally generated stimulation in the form of task-unrelated images and thoughts (TUITs). It was hypothesized, based on these studies and several theories of optimal stimulation levels, that auditory deprivation, as chronically experienced by the severely hearing-impaired, would result in more frequent TUITs. TUITs were reported, shortly after they occurred, while the participant was engaged in a visual sustained attention task. Both intentional and spontaneous TUITs were recorded. The hearing-impaired participants ( n = 15, 20 to 26 years old) all had experienced severe or profound auditory loss prior to the age for normal acquisition of language. As hypothesized, the severely hearing-impaired participants had significantly, p &lt; .05, more TUITs than normal-hearing participants ( n = 17, 18 to 30 years old).

The Impact of Context on Variety Seeking in Product Choices

One reason consumers seek variety in product choices is to satisfy a need for stimulation. It is suggested that consumers may try to achieve an optimal level of stimulation by balancing the stimulation sought from product choice with the stimulation available from the choice context. Two laboratory experiments are conducted that show that causing changes in the choice context (thus increasing stimulation) decreases the amount of variety seeking subjects exhibit in product choices. Specifically, the results of the experiments suggest that consumers' needs for stimulation may be met by providing variety in a different product category or in other aspects of the choice context. A limiting condition to this finding is also examined. If positive affect is induced along with stimulation, then the reduction in variety-seeking behavior is mitigated.

An Investigation into the Construct Validity of the Arousal Seeking Tendency Scale, Version Ii

The internal psychometric properties and the criterion-related validity of a popular measure for assessing a person's optimal stimulation level (OSL), the 32-item Arousal Seeking Tendency Scale, version II (AST-I1), were investigated. Using data from samples of undergraduate business students (n = 519) and undergraduate students in hotel, restaurant, and institutional management (n = 320), it was found that AST-II had a single-factor structure with adequate internal psychometric properties and high reliability. Criterion-related validity was assessed with data from the undergraduate business students and was found to be high. Correlations with other measures of OSL, measures of related constructs, and consequences of OSL were all significant and were mostly above .40, whereas the responses to the AST-II items did not appear to be contaminated by social desirability bias. Two reduced versions of the scale exhibited improved internal properties but lower criterion-related validity.

Optimal Stimulation Level

The effectiveness of the selection process used by organizations to recruit new sales personnel is depcndent on know- ing what qualities to look for in a recruit. One popular approach in screening sales personnel has been the use of personality tests. This article proposes, in addition, the concept of Optimal Stimulation Level as a discriminating variable in the seleclion process. Accord- ing to this view, recruits characterized as high sensation seekers are thought of as having a higher probability of success in sales perfor- mance than low sensation seekcrs. An empirical study which dealt with sales personnel from four major real estate agencies was con- ducted to ascertain correlations between levels of sensation seeking and sales performance. Evidcnce from the study confirms that OSL correlates positively with sales performance. Based on these results, the concept of Optimal Stimulation Level provides a useful discrimi- nating tool in the selection of sales personnel. Variations in the level of sensation seeking can easily be measured through a number of available standardized inventories such as the Zuckerman's General Sensation Seeking Scale (GSSS).

Optimal stimulation level: Evidence relating to the role of OSL in predicting sales personnel performance

Optimal stimulation level: Evidence relating to the role of OSL in predicting sales personnel performance

THE CURVILINEAR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEMAND LEVEL AND PERFORMANCE IN AN ORGANIZATIONAL FIELD SETTING

Summary.-A curvilinear relationship was posited between job demand and job performance and was tested in a two-year organizational field study involving male youth counselon placed in seven different demand levels. Over the course of the study, these on-call counselors worked in most levels. Composite aggregations of individual self-reported racings of variations in che job-demand levels were derived. Support for the hypothesized curvilinear relationship was found. Possible implications of the resulcs are discussed. The theoretical and empirical basis for the proposed curvilinear relationship between job-demand level and various outcome (e.g., performance) measures dates back over 100 years. Initially, interest involved examination of and emotional states. However, neither philosophers nor researchers have succeeded in compiling a satisfactory definition of (Cofer, 1972). At best, there is a relative consensus that emotion refers to some manner or form of arousal of the individual, so arousal now is widely accepted as a substitute for the general emotional state of the individual. Wundt (1904) carried some of the earlier formulations of philosophers into the experimental laboratory. Through the use of introspection, he formulated the optimal level of stimulation as the quantitative relationship now commonly known as the curvilinear or inverted-U relationshp. Yerkes and Dodson (1908) applied Wundt's construct to learning and formulated a law that involved not only the intensity of stimulation (arousal) but also the complexity (demand level) of the learned behavior. The curvilinear relationship has been illustrated regularly (Duffy, 1941, 1962; Stennett, 1957; Anderson, 1776) in laboratory situations. Studies (Duffy, 1962; Lindsley, 1951; Zuckerman, 1979) typically suggest that there is a level of arousal (demand level) which is optimal in terms of various outcome measures (performance). Further, this optimal level is an intermediate one lying between the poles of drowsiness and extreme excitement (Cofer, 1972). For all their success in the laboratory, researchers have provided little empirical evidence of this curvilinear relationship in organizational field settings. It is not, however, unreasonable to expect that this relationship would

Preliminary trials of a sound-activated device to reduce crushing of piglets by sows

The device, marketed under the trade name ELARM, consisted of two microphones mounted on the frame of farrowing crates at piglet level, electronic circuitry that analyzed the sound and a belt with electrodes that was placed on the heart girth of the sow. When a squeal with appropriate characteristics was detected by the circuitry, a shock was automatically administered to the sow via the electrodes. Five litters equipped with ELARM were continuously observed until 36 h post-farrowing for each of two replications. When an appropriate shock was administered, either automatically by ELARM or when triggered by people, sows showed an immediate increase in responsiveness to squealing piglets. ELARM was observed to save 0.5 piglets per litter, though more piglets may have been saved because of to the increased responsiveness and caution displayed by the sows. The sows received an average of one shock each, stimulated by the squeal of piglets fighting, and one triggered by people rescuing piglets being lain upon. Only once was a sow shocked as a result of extraneous noise. The device has the potential to make a reduction in piglets crushed, especially in facilities where crushing is considered a major problem. However, its use could also cause a potential animal welfare problem if people utilizing it are not conscientious in their adjustment of the unit to an optimal level of stimulation that minimizes both unwarranted shocks and the amount of shock delivered.

Sensation seeking and music preferences

A Musical Preference Scale was devised from factor analyses of preference ratings for established categories of music based on divisions in the recording industry in the U.S.A. The scales of the Sensation Seeking Scale form V were correlated with rated likings of each of the categories derived from the factor analysis. Total Sensation Seeking correlated positively with liking for all types of rock music and negatively with liking for bland, soundtrack music. In addition to a liking of rock music, those having high scores of the Thrill and Adventure Seeking and Experience Seeking subscales liked folk and classical music. High scorers on the Disinhibition subscale liked rock and disliked religious and soundtrack music. The results are consistent with the theory that high sensation seekers have a high optimal level of stimulation and thus tolerate and like high intensity and/or complexity in music, and stimulation in general.

Optimal Stimulation Level-Exploratory Behavior Models

Empirical and theoretical ambiguities in Raju's general framework for explaining consumer exploratory behavior are examined with two alternative Optimal Stimulation Level (OSL) models. Results from two replicated studies using causal modeling suggest that OSL does not act as a mediating construct.

Moderator variables for the relationship between life change and disorders.

The correlation between life change events and occurrence of disorders was investigated with the use of moderator variable measures of Jungian types, health locus of control, and optimal stimulation level. One hundred and twenty-four graduate and undergraduate men and women at Oregon College of Education were Ss. The following levels of moderator variables produced significant correlations: Introvert, Thinking, Feeling, Judgment, rational functions, and external health locus of control. The suggested rationale for integrating these findings is that high correlations between life change events and occurrence of disorders result from low levels of awareness and limited choices, accompanied by high degrees of conditionability.

Responses to Urban Stimuli: A Balanced Approach

A good deal of recent psychological research on urban behavior has been generated by Milgram's overload model. This model suggests that high levels of urban stimulation overload people, and have negative effects on their perception of the city and responses to others. This paper proposes a more “balanced” approach to urban stimulation which derives largely from the work of Berlyne &amp; Wohlwill. Drawing upon theory and research on optimal level of stimulation and adaptation level, it is proposed that stimuli which are intense, complex and/or novel may lead to positive as well as negative effects; and that this may vary across persons or over time A preliminary research study is presented that confirms the importance of urban complexity as an organizing variable; and suggestions for future research and urban application are offered.

Prediction of college drug use from personality and inner experience.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which subjects comprising substance use criterion groups (nonusers, alcohol only users, marijuana only users, polydrug users) could be differentiated on the basis of theoretically relevant personality and inner experience constructs. The test battery included variable from the domains of needs, daydreaming and mental style, optimal level of stimulation, and locus of control. Separate stepwise discriminant analyses were computed for males and females in order to predict drug-use pattern. The analyses were replicated, and the best set of predictor variables was used to predict classifications in different samples. The results indicate that it is possible to differentiate among the criterion groups in a statistically reliable manner on the basis of well-conceived assessment instruments with an accuracy of 60 to 65%. The consistency of the obtained discriminant results across four different samples suggests that rather than seeking some superordinate personality trait to differentiate substance users from nonusers, a general cluster of variables which may be described under the rubric "hang loose ethic" will best separate the groups.

Reasons for drug and alcohol use by college students.

Interest in examining more precisely the relationship between specific motives for drug and alcohol use and personality prompted the undertaking of this study. By means of a series of canonical correlation analyses, patterns of self-attributed reasons for drug and alcohol use were interrelated to a battery of individual difference variables drawn from the domains of personality needs, daydreaming and mental style, optimal level of stimulation, and locus of control. The findings indicate that drug and alcohol use are linked to individual differences in a more complex way than is typically studied.

Evaluation of effect of acetylsalicylic acid using electrical stimulation on the forefinger of healthy volunteers.

1 In order to determine the optimal level of electrical stimulation, the degree of pain sensitivity produced by electrical stimulation on the volar side of terminal phalange of the right forefinger was studied in 22 male and female volunteers between the ages of 20 and 27 years. 2 A stimulation frequency of 400 Hz, width of 0.1 ms and electrical potential of 55 V was found to be optimal for study fo analgesics. 3 The effect of acetylsalicylic acid was studied in 40 healthy male volunteers between the ages of 20 and 25 years. Electrical stimulation was applied for 5 s under a single-blind method at a frequency of 400 Hz, width of 0.1 ms and electrical potential of 25, 35 and 55 V. Placebo, 250 mg, 500 mg and 1 000 mg of acetylsalicyclic acid were administered orally under double-blind method conditions. 4 As a result of this study, it was found that acetslsalicylic acid in a dose of 500 and 1 000 mg, was effective in relieving pain with statistically significant differences from a placebo.

Optimal Stimulation Level and the Adoption Decision Process

Following the Klonglan-Coward model, adoption decisions are viewed as following evaluation, a cognitive stage in the decision process, or trial, an overt purchase act. Operationalizing a person's optimal stimulation level with Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale, hypotheses linking stimulation needs and the tendency to base an adoption decision on evaluation or trial are supported by data from a sample survey of adult females.

The sensation seeker and anxiety reactivity: Relationships between the sensation‐seeking scales and the activity preferences questionnaire

The five scales of the Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scale and Lykken's Activity Preference Questionnaire were administered to 83 male and female college students to test the hypothesis that there is an inverse relationship between sensation seeking and anxiety reactivity. The data were intercorrelated separately for males and females. Results were, in general, consistent with expectations: individuals high in optimal level of stimulation are low in anxiety reactivity in situations that involve physical danger and in situations related to social fears or embarrassment. This relationship was found for most of the dimensions of sensation seeking for males, but was confined to specific subscales for females.