Primary Motivating Factor Research Articles

William Wycherley and the Comedy of Fear by John A. Vance

80 major upheavals of domestic politics, specifically the Restoration, topical assassination plots, the Exclusion Crisis , and the Glorious Revolution. Mr. Hughes, despite a characteristicelisionof thesis statement, rightly argues that ‘‘a principal subject of Restoration drama wastheRestorationitself.’’Intragedyand comedy, he traces the initial celebration of the restored monarchy and then, after Charles II had generated widespread disappointment and skepticism, the public’s admonitory response to his example. Ms. Munns sees a period of profound change that spurred intellectual inquiry capable of fostering a drama that reflected national unease and social instability. She posits political and cultural skepticism as the philosophical force behind the changing institutions of patriarchy, nature, and society and their reflection in contemporary drama. Ms. Owen’s point of departure is the Exclusion Crisis, which she considers a positive force in the change in comedy, the development of tragedy, and the rise of the sentimental. The cultural institutions represented in this volume are restricted to marriage, religion , and dramatic criticism. Pat Gill claims that the plots of Restorationdrama invariably ‘‘begin, develop, and end in concerns about gender, sexuality and marriage.’’Correlating the disorder of the family with the disorder of the state, she pinpoints the emergence of a new, egalitarian , and elegant model of marriage in the popular comedy of manners. Discussing religious controversy in theatrical representation, Michael Cordner juxtaposes Vanbrugh’s comic impiety and Collier’s anti-theatrical campaign to examine England’s rising obsession with public rather than private vice. In a fine coda, Robert Markley provides a synopsis of 300 years of Restoration dramatic criticism, but he hesitates to propose any final catalogue of the Restoration canon or to limit its ideological underpinnings. Ms. Fisk’s volume encourages readers to take up the ideological challenges of our time, to rethink assumptions, and to enlarge the scope of these plays, many of them egregiously undervalued in the academy and theatrical marketplace. Included are a chronology of historical and theatrical events, brief authorial biographies , a select Bibliography, and an index. Susan B. Iwanisziw Independent Scholar JOHN A. VANCE. William Wycherley and the Comedy of Fear. Newark: Delaware, 2000. Pp. 259. $43.50. Taking issue with the widely held belief that Wycherley is an ‘‘attacking’’ playwright, condemning people’s behavior and the larger society, Mr. Vance argues that Wycherley is a ‘‘thinking’’one. His plays do not expose, warn, or teach, but depict what he found exhilaratingand disturbing. Consequently, Wycherley is not a pessimist, but one with an attitude of ‘‘exuberant penetration.’’ Wycherley sees frustration, helplessness,impotence, and above all, fear, as the most profound of human desires and frailties; Wycherley ’s four plays, each getting one chapter, explore how fear acts as the primary motivating factor behind allhumanbehavior. The biggest problem with this study is the use of ‘‘Comedy of Fear.’’ The title suggests that Wycherley is writing in a particular (albeit arbitrary) subgenre of comedy, but Mr. Vance does not follow through with it. Prominent in the title, ‘‘fear’’ gets buried in the Introduction, and no firm definition of ‘‘comedy of fear’’is offered. Mr. Vance states that fear 81 motivates Wycherley’s plays. Fine, but does that statement alone denote a subgenre ? Perhaps fear and the conflicts that arise from it are at the heart of most Restoration comedies. How, then, is Wycherley different? Mr. Vance essentially makes two arguments : Wycherley’s ultimate goal is simply to depict what he sees happening around him, and all the action in his plays centers on the fears inherent in the characters . Mr. Vance does a better job discussing the first. His close readings are thorough—no nuance is too small for Mr. Vance, no piece of dialogue too minor— but the concept of fear often gets pushed aside in his analysis. At times, the connection is clear (Pinchwife is deathly afraid of being made a cuckold by his wife); at other times, we must draw our own conclusions. The fear as motivator argument lacks a forward thrust in the text, and often become buried in his detailed plot analyses. Disregarding the performances, Mr. Vance relies solely upon the printed text. Although many playwrights (Wycherley included) wrote for particular actors, as he knows, he nevertheless assesses the play as...

Esthetic Analysis of the Cervicofacial Region

For many patients the primary motivating factor for orthognathic surgery is improvement of their facial appearance. In order to achieve a satisfactory esthetic result and satisfy the patients' concerns, a systematic, thorough evaluation should be performed. Because the face is a complex anatomic unit, it is best to evaluate each distinct region of the face separately, taking care to relate the various parts to the whole. During this examination it is important that the patient be in natural head position with the lips in repose and the teeth lightly touching in a centric relationship. Direct measurements from the patient are always more accurate than those obtained from photographs or radiographs. The surgeon should keep in mind that the proper relationships between the various regions of the face are more important than specific angles or numbers.

Formation Screening to Minimize Permeability Impairment Associated With Acid Gas Or Sour Gas Injection/Disposal

Abstract High acid gas content streams, consisting primarily of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide or a combination of both are commonly generated as by-products of the sweetening process used to bring many produced gases and solution gases to pipeline specifications for sales and transport. Typically, sour gas has been extracted from acid gases through the use of Claus or other types of elemental sulphur reduction processes, the sulphur sold or stockpiled, and the residual carbon dioxide vented to atmosphere. With depressed prices for the commercial sale of sulphur and environmental concerns with the emission of large volumes of greenhouse gases, industry has shown considerable interest in the feasibility of re-injecting acid gas from sweetening processes, either back into the original producing formation, or into selected disposal zones which may consist of aquifers or previously depleted oil or gas zones. A major concern with the reinjection process is the potential for formation damage and reduced injectivity in the vicinity of the acid gas injection/disposal wells. This paper discusses screening criteria for reservoir selection for zones suitable for acid/sour gas re-injection or disposal, and highlights potential areas of concern for reduced injectivity. Such phenomena include acid gas induced formation dissolution, fines migration, precipitation and scale potential, oil or condensate banking and plugging, asphaltene and elemental sulphur deposition, hydrate plugging and multiphase flow associated with acid gas compression. Variations on acid gas injection schemes, such as concurrent contacting with produced water at elevated pressures and subsequent disposal of the sour water, will also be discussed and potential damage concerns highlighted. A variety of screening and laboratory tests and results will be presented which illustrate the various damage mechanisms outlined and provide a specific set of design criteria to evaluate the feasibility of an acid gas injection/disposal operation. Introduction Acid gases [gases which contain carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S)] are produced from many formations as either free gas or liberated solution gas from sour oils. These gases must be "sweetened" to selectively remove the acid gas components before the gas can be transported and sold for commercial use. A variety of sweetening processes are used to remove acid gas components (amine extraction being the most common). The sweetening process results in the production of acid gasfree "sales" gas, and a rich waste gas stream consisting of virtually pure CO2 and H2S (commonly referred to as concentrated acid gas). In the past, a variety of techniques have been used to handle acid gas streams, most of them primarily concerned with the reduction of the extremely toxic hydrogen sulphide to an inert/non-toxic reaction product. The most common technique is the Claus reaction process where the H2S gas in the acid gas stream is catalytically converted to elemental sulphur. This process was an economic one in the past, particularly in regimes of good sulphur commodity prices. Many operators deliberately attempted to exploit reservoirs containing high concentrations of H2S with sulphur recovery as the primary motivating factor.

Old Problems, New Approaches, and Optimizing Preferences: A Reply to Ham (1998)

This paper presents a criticism of Ham's (1998) Optimality Theoretic treatment of West Germanic gemination. Ham attempts to revise Murray and Vennemann's (M & V 1983) analysis in which all cases of gemination are motivated by the sonority profile at syllable contact in accordance with the Syllable Contact Law (SCL). Although Ham accepts the relevance of SCL, he claims that two additional constrains are required. I demonstrate, however, that neither constraint can be motivated for the grammar of West Germanic. Indeed, from a diachronic perspective the only function of the additional constraints is to serve as ad hoc diacritics. Accordingly, while Ham's analysis might be OT-coherent, it fails to translate into a explanatory account of West Germanic gemination. By contrast, I demonstrate that M & V's original account was correct in identifying the sonority profile at syllable contact as the primary motivating factor. The paper also touches on the issue of reranking and phonological change. In the absence of reference to general principles, reranking does not ‘explain’ diachronic change in any interesting way.

Are contact lens-associated problems a primary motivational factor for PRK patients?

The demographics and contact lens wearing history of two groups, each of 100 patients were examined, one grouphaving been assessed as suitable for photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) treatment but electing not to go ahead, the othergroup having proceeded with PRK treatment. Although only minor differences were found between the two groups in terms of demographics, the group that elected to be treated comprised a large number of contact lens-intolerant individuals. A breakdown is given of the contact lens-related reasons for opting to undergo PRK, emphasising the importance of the role of the contact lens practitioners in the preselection of patients for PRK.

National survey of emergency medicine resident moonlighting. SAEM Inservice Examination Survey Task Force.

To survey emergency medicine (EM) residents regarding moonlighting practices and perceptions for clarifying: 1) resident moonlighting remuneration; 2) any association of perceived educational debt with moonlighting income and hours; and 3) perceptions related to moonlighting (including motivations, impact on resident training, and potential medicolegal difficulties). A confidential, voluntary survey was administered to all allopathic EM residents in the United States. This written survey was provided to residents at their in-service examinations. Completed forms were anonymously returned by residents or local administrative staff to a central site where all identifiers were removed prior to mailing en mass to the investigators. Comparisons between groups were made using chi-square tests and correlations were assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Seventy-six percent (1,826/2,407) of the surveys were returned. There was a weak correlation (r = 0.11) between educational debt and moonlighting hours for residents in the second year and above, but no association of debt with moonlighting income. Most (88%) of the residents reported that their programs permitted moonlighting. Nearly half (49%) reported that they did moonlight in some way. Most (82%) thought moonlighting provided experience not available in the residency. Only 13 (2%) respondents stated they had been sued for malpractice while moonlighting. Most (66%) moonlighting respondents stated that they moonlighted for financial reasons, with educational debt the primary motivating factor. Of the moonlighting residents, 28% were unsure of their type of malpractice insurance coverage, and 9% had no coverage at all. Education about EM practice matters including the risks of moonlighting should begin early in residency, because moonlighting is widespread. Residents are vulnerable to medicolegal action while moonlighting and have insufficient knowledge of their malpractice insurance coverage. Although educational debt is perceived as a strong motivating factor for moonlighting, there is only a weak relationship between educational debt and moonlighting hours.

The role of international property in investment portfolios

The growth in global investment opportunities has seen increased interest in international property investment as an important element in a mixed‐asset portfolio and has generated key international property finance considerations. This survey of institutional investors in South‐East Asia examines the property investment and finance decision‐ making processes used in considering international property. Key issues to emerge from this survey are the desire for portfolio diversification as the primary motivating factor for international property investment and the high awareness of currency risk considerations. This high priority on the financial considerations of currency risk is in marked contrast to the findings of an earlier survey of UK/The Netherlands property investors.

Imageless truths: Shelley's poetic fictions

In Imageless Truths, Karen A. Weisman offers a new reading of Shelley's work in the context of the poet's changing constructions of poetic fictions. Shelley's understanding of language in general, and of the fictions and their rhetorical trope in particular, evolved throughout his career, and Weisman argues that it is in his self-consciousness over these transformations that we can find the primary motivating factor in the poet's philosophical and literary development. Weisman discerns in Shelley an ongoing quest for a mode of fiction-making that can accommodate both the poet's belief in a metaphysical ultimate and his anxiety over the implications of grounding poetic fictions too firmly in the details of everyday life. If Shelley's awareness of fictionality is a major element in the poetry, it is an awareness that comes with the troubled sense of the limits of fiction. Weisman contents that it is this persistent, double-edged anxiety that distinguishes Shelley from the other English Romantics. Her point is not intended to deny the validity or the continuing relevance of the deconstructionist perspective, nor the value of its various claims for Shelley; she is simply concerned that the instability of poetic fictions was eventually perceived as a given by Shelley, as the beginning premise which he acknowledged and then tried to move beyond. Imageless Truths will be of interest to students and scholars of English literature.

National Labour Organizations and European Integration: British Trade Unions and ‘1992’

The conversion of British trade unions to positive attitudes towards the European Community was a significant feature of British politics in the late 1980s. This article explains the origins of this policy shift and questions the received wisdom that short term opportunism was the primary motivating factor. The British trade union response to ‘1992’ was far from uniform and distinct factions can be identified within a policy coalition. The reasons for the durability and cohesiveness of this coalition are discussed along with the general shifts in thinking on the British Left and the developments in European integration which explain the general change of attitudes.

Strength of Shear Studs in Steel Deck on Composite Beams and Joists

Composite beam or joist and slab systems typically provide the most efficient design alternative in steel frame construction, and indeed it is one of these systems that make steel an economically attractive alternative to concrete framed structures. Composite beam specification requirements and design aids are given in the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Manual. The LRFD composite beam design procedure results in designs that are typically 10-15 percent more economical than those obtained using the AISC allowable stress design (ASD) procedure. The efficiency of composite beam design using LRFD procedures has, in the authors opinions, been the primary motivating factor for the use of the LRFD specification2 to date. The design strength and stiffness of composite beams depends on the shear connection behavior. The strength of the shear connectors may be reduced because of the influence of the steel deck geometry. An empirical expression for this reduction was developed by evaluating results of composite beam tests in which the deck ribs were oriented perpendicular to the steel beam.

Formula Companies and the Medical Profession-Reply

In Reply .—We thank Dr Newman for his comments, with which we have no major disagreement. It is true that physicians have benefited economically from the historic relationship between formula companies and physicians, and we implied that in our article. However, we cannot jump to the conclusion that this potential economic benefit was a primary motivating factor for our predecessors. As is usually the case, there are those who benefit economically from every humanitarian cause. We also agree with Dr Newman that take-home starter packages supplied by formula companies and distributed by hospital employees are a form of advertising, especially with accompanying toys and nursing bottles. Ironically, the vast majority of the information contained in these starter packets are guides to breastfeeding. The starter packet information also emphasizes that mothers should consult their physicians for advice on infant nutrition. A discussion of this form of advertising was inadvertently left out

Factors That Motivate Healthy Adults to Participate in Phase I Drug Trials

To determine the primary motivational factors for Phase I trial participation, this study tested the following hypotheses: the primary motivation for young and elderly volunteers to participate in their first Phase I trial is money; the primary reason young subjects participate in subsequent trials is money; the primary reason elderly volunteers participate in subsequent trials is social interaction; the primary reason healthy people do not participate in a second Phase I trial is schedule conflict. Twenty-eight young subjects (mean age 28 years) and 28 elderly subjects (mean age 72 years) were surveyed via a 15-item mailed questionnaire. Study results indicate that money is the primary reason young and elderly volunteers participate in their first drug study and the primary reason young volunteers participate in subsequent studies. Altruism is a primary motivator for elderly participation in more than one study and schedule conflicts are the main reason people do not participate in subsequent trials

Influences on intention to reduce dietary intake of fat and sugar

A theoretical understanding of factors influencing nutrition behavior can potentially enhance the effectiveness of educational strategy design. This cross-sectional study used the Ajzen and Fishbein theory of reasoned action to examine specific factors influencing intentions to reduce dietary intake of fat and sugar (“dieting”). A questionnaire was developed to measure belief, value and social influences on intention to reduce fat and sugar intake; the behavioral intention (BI) to reduce fat and sugar intake; and current self-reported fat and sugar restriction. The subjects were university health and non-health majors. Regression analysis revealed that both subjective norms and attitudes toward the behavior predicted the subject's intention to reduce fat and sugar intake. For health majors, the attitude toward the behavior was more influential in predicting BI; for the non-health majors, the subjective norm was more important. Those reporting current restriction of fat and sugar intake also had significantly more positive behavioral beliefs about health benefits than those not reporting restriction. Implications for the development of educational programs include the importance of identifying primary motivational factors (attitudes or social influences), and specific belief and value perceptions for intervention in targeted populations. Une bonne compréhension des facteurs influençant le comportement nutritionnel, peut potentiellement rehausser l èfficacité d’un plan éducationnel stratégique. Cette étude transversale est basée sur la théorie de l’action raisonnée proposée par AJZEN et FISHBEIN, qui vise à déterminer les facteurs spécifiques influençant la décision de réduire la consommation de matières grasses et de sucre. Un questionnaire a été élaboré de manière à mesurer les croyances, les valeurs ainsi que les influences sociales agissant sur la volonté de réduire l’ingestion de gras et de sucre dans l’alimentation, et mesurer également l’intention “behaviorale” (BI) de même que la restriction actuelle de matiéres grasses et de sucre déclarée par les participants. Les participants représentaient des étudiants universitaires dans le domaine de la santé ou en dehors des secteurs de la santé. Les analyses de régression ont révélé que les normes subjectives ainsi que les attitudes face au comportement avaient influencé le désir des participants de réduire leur consommation de matières grasses et de sucre. Chez les étudiants du domaine de la santé, les attitudes face au comportement ont le plus agi sur les intentions «behaviorales« de réduire la consommation de gras et de sucre tandis que les normes subjectives ont été plus révélatrices chez les autres. On a également observé un comportement beaucoup plus positif face à la santé chez les participants ayant déclaré avoir réduit considérablement leur consommation de matières grasses et de sucre. L’identification des facteurs de modification primaires (attitudes ou influences sociales), des croyances spécifiques et des perceptions face aux valeurs, est importante dans le développement de programmes éducatifs destinés aux populations cibles. La comprension teorica de los factores que inciden en las practicas de alimentacion tiene el potencial de mejorar la efectividad en el diseno de las estrategicas educa-tivas. El presente estudio empleo la teoria de Ajzen y Fishbein de accion razonada, para examinar factores specificos que incidieron en las intensiones de reducir la ingesta de grasa (lip-idos) y azucares de origen dietetico. La practica comunmente conocida como “hacer dieta.” Se elaboro un cuestionario para medir creencias, valores e influencias sociales sobre la intension de reducir el concumo de grasas y azucares; la intension de conducta (IC) para reducir el consumo de grasas y azucares; y el actual auto-reporte de reducir la ingesta de grasas y azucares. Los participantes fueron estudiantes universitarios de las areas de la salud y de otras areas no relacionadas con la salud. El analisis de regresion indico que las normas subjetivas y las actitudes fueron capaces de predecir la intension de los participantes para reducir su consumo de grasas y azucares. Los estudiantes en carreras de la salud, la actitude hacia la conducta fue mas determinante en predecir la IC; para los estudiantes de otras carreras, las normas subjetivas fueron mas importantes. Los que reportaron actualmente reducir el consumo de grasas y azucares tambien indicaron mayor creencia en los beneficios para la salud de las conductas positivas, que los participantes que no reportaron restringir su consumo. Esta diferencia fue estadisticamente significativa. Las directrices para el dessar-rollo de programas educativos incluyen la importancia de iden-tificar factores motivacionales de origen primario (actitudes or influencia social), asi como creencias especificas y percepciones sobre valores que son importantes para desarrollar interven-ciones con grupos especificos.

Unionization and Shareholder Interests

Drawing on agency theory, this study examines union-nonunion differences in the allocation of both firm profits and business risk to employees and shareholders. Using a sample of more than 1,000 large private sector firms, the authors find that over the period 1970–81 shareholders in unionized firms assumed less of the firm's business risk than shareholders in nonunion firms. This finding is interpreted as evidence that managers of unionized firms attempted to minimize agency costs by capitalizing on the incentive effects of risksharing. In addition, risk-adjusted returns to shareholders were lower in unionized firms than in nonunion firms. The authors view the relatively poor performance of union firms as a primary motivating factor behind the restructuring of the American industrial relations system during the period studied.

Islamic Fundamentalism: What It Really Is and Why It Frightens the West

ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM: _______ WHAT IT REALLY IS AND WHY IT FRIGHTENS THE WEST Shireen T. Hunter k3ince the Islamic revolution in Iran the West has viewed the phenomenon of Islamic fundamentalism as the greatest threat to its interests in the Muslim world, especially in the Middle East. The experiences of Iran and Lebanon stand as vivid evidence. Yet few observers in the West understand that the movement's threat does not derive from its Islamic or fundamentalist quality but from its militant and revolutionary nature, which is bent on changing the present balance of global economic and political power. Viewed in this way Islamic fundamentalism resembles other Third World militant movements, such as Nasserism, Ba'athism, Arab socialism, and other variants of socialist ideology. It also resembles the militant nonalignment movement and the forces that campaigned during the 1970s for a new international economic order. These groups are characterized by a similar worldview and understanding of the present international political system. Despite certain differences, all these mass movements share the following beliefs: (1) the present international system is bipolar and dominated by the two superpowers; (2) the superpowers and their allies exploit the Third World countries economically and dominate them politically and culturally; (3) the roots of the Third World's problems lie in the legacy of colonialism and neocolonialism; (4) Third World countries are economically, politically, and culturally dependent on the superpowers and their allies; (5) the superpowers and their allies perpetuate this state of Shireen T. Hunter is deputy director ofthe Middle East Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University. 189 190 SAIS REVIEW dependency by the intermediation of corrupt Third World elites; and (6) if the Third World's problems are to be solved, the corrupt ruling elites must be eliminated and indigenous means found to end the state of political, economic, and cultural dependence. The only difference between Islamic fundamentalism and other militant Third World movements is that the former, having sprung up in the Muslim world, is influenced by Islam and is expressed through Islamic symbolism. Yet this must not be mistaken for its primary motivating factor. In fact, many Islamic fundamentalists have absorbed popular Third World concepts ofthe international system, the role ofthe great powers, and the relationship between the Third World countries and the great powers. They are now expressing these concepts through Islamic symbols. The more secular among them often lapse into the use of common Third World terminology, such as colonialism, neocolonialism , dependency, self-reliance, and collective self-reliance. The Islamic fundamentalist movement shares another important trait with other Third World movements (including nationalist, anticolonial, and variants of socialist) in that it reflects a strong desire for independence and autonomy, including cultural autonomy. Animosity toward the West— which here does not exclude the Soviet Union—stems not from the fundamentalists' religious beliefs but from a perception that most of the Muslim world's problems derive from Western economic exploitation and political and cultural domination. The larger the extent of a great power's actual or perceived domination, the greater the fundamentalists' animosity toward it. From this perspective the United States is the principal source of evil, followed by the USSR. By contrast, the Western and Eastern Europeans are treated less harshly, despite their links with the superpowers and their own relatively superior power. The fundamentalists' goal is to end the Muslim world's state of dependency by eradicating Western and Soviet influence. This is the aspect of the movement that is ultimately threatening to Western interests. Yet the West has not paid enough attention to this aspect of the fundamentalist movement. Instead, relying on a series of misperceptions about the movement and the threat it poses, Western observers fall into the trap of simplistic, emotionally comforting interpretations or justifications . This will lead the West to ill-advised policies and jeopardize its relations with the Islamic world for a long time. Moreover, if the West does not correctly understand and come to terms with the fundamentalist movement, the challenges it poses will reemerge and confront the West in some other form in the future, even if the movement itself fails. One of the most pervasive misperceptions in the...

Becoming voluntarily childless: an exploratory study in a Scottish city.

Life history data were collected from 78 individuals who were partners in voluntarily childless marriages in order to identify some of the situations and motives informing the decision to remain childless. The respondents, who were volunteers contacted at family planning clinics in Scotland, were clustered in professional, intermediate, and skilled occupational groups and had been married for an average of 5 years. Avoidanceof the penalties of parenthood constituted the basis of motivation to remain childless for 39% of the women and 38% of the men in the sample, whereas protection of the rewards of childlessness was the primary motivating factor for 61% of women and 62% of male respondents. 27 of the 30 avoiders (90%) had never expected to become parents. Their wish to avoid parenthood was based on a dislike for children (6 respondents) or a view of parenthood as an unrewarding prospect (2 respondents), a loss of control over self and future (15) respondents), financial deprivation (2 respondents), or too heavy a responsibility (5 respondents). The 48 men and women who chose to protect the rewards of childlessness view childlessness as facilitating marital harmony (11 respondents), a condition for marriage (3 respondents), more fulfilling (14 respondents), a way of defending life-style routines (18 respondents), or a social and moral responsibility (2 respondents). The woman's career, an adequate standard of living, and spontaneous acton were the goals most often cited by study participants as having been made more accessible by childlessness. The findings of this study suggest that voluntary childlessness is not an expression of neurosis or immaturity; rather, it is a complex decision of which the benefits are considered to outweigh the costs of social nonconformity. It is tentatively concluded that the proportion of childless couples is likely to increase.

Display reinforcement in the Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens: aggressive motivation or curiosity?

Fish were tested in a runway T-maze apparatus. The experiments compared performance (measured by swimming speed and percent choice correct) to a variety of stimuli in the goal box. The stimulus that evoked the most vigorous aggressive display (a live conspecific) supported the highest level of performance; a stimulus that evoked no display (a marble) failed to sustain operant behavior. Stimuli that induced some aggression, but also some escape (live nondisplaying fish), supported performance at reduced levels. These results implicate aggression and not curiosity as the primary motivating factor. They also show that the responsiveness of the stimulus is a critical aspect of reinforcement and that the level of performance is determined by escape tendencies as well as aggression. It is proposed that failure of a stimulus to provide appropriate feedback constitutes an aversive event.

Asymmetry of Payoff Structure and Cooperative Behavior in the Prisoner's Dilemma Game

This study compares the effect of a standard symmetric Prisoner's Dilemma game and an asymmetric Prisoner's Dilemma game on choice behavior. The two types of Prisoner's Dilemma games were crossed with two sets of payoff matrices, thus generating four experimental conditions. It was predicted that subjects in the asymmetric game condition would manifest less cooperative behavior than subjects in the symmetric game condition. This effect would be due primarily to the significantly lower amount of cooperation for subjects assigned to the low potential reward position. The predicted outcomes were supported. It was concluded that concern with relative outcomes, and in particular concern with being surpassed by other, rather than maximization of own outcomes was the primary motivating factor underlying this finding.