"Behavioral Effects of Chemicals in Drinking Water": Correction to Rotton, Tikofsky, and Feldman.

Reports an error in the original article by Rotton et al (Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol 67(2) Apr 1982, 230-238). It was erroneously stated that stock solutions contained 45 g/l and 225 g/l of sodium nitrate in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Actual levels were 10 times less (i.e , 4.5 and 22 5 g/l). (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1982-20688-001.) In Exp I, 42 Ss (mean age 30.4 yrs) tracked a moving target and monitored lights after receiving sublingual drops that contained either water, sodium nitrate (4.5, 45, 450, or 4,500 ppm), or sodium fluoride (.1, 1, 10, or 100 ppm). Dosage levels equaled, exceeded, or fell below those of municipal waters. In Exp II, 20 females performed this task after receiving sublingual drops of the same test substances in a repeated measures design; dosage levels equaled or exceeded levels found in municipal waters by 100 or 500 times. Neither type nor amount of chemical affected primary task performance; however, after receiving sublingual drops in Exp I, Ss paid less attention to lights on their right. In Exp II, Ss made more errors and had longer response latencies after they received moderate and very high concentrations of test substances. It is concluded that challenge testing is a safe but effective technique for provoking and studying reactions to chemicals when combined with a sensitive measure of sensorimotor performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral effects of chemicals in drinking water.

In Exp I, 42 Ss (mean age 30.4 yrs) tracked a moving target and monitored lights after receiving sublingual drops that contained either water, sodium nitrate (4.5, 45, 450, or 4,500 ppm), or sodium fluoride (.1, 1, 10, or 100 ppm). Dosage levels equaled, exceeded, or fell below those of municipal waters. In Exp II, 20 females performed this task after receiving sublingual drops of the same test substances in a repeated measures design; dosage levels equaled or exceeded levels found in municipal waters by 100 or 500 times. Neither type nor amount of chemical affected primary task performance; however, after receiving sublingual drops in Exp I, Ss paid less attention to lights on their right. In Exp II, Ss made more errors and had longer response latencies after they received moderate and very high concentrations of test substances. It is concluded that challenge testing is a safe but effective technique for provoking and studying reactions to chemicals when combined with a sensitive measure of sensorimotor performance. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anchoring, efficacy, and action: The influence of judgmental heuristics on self-efficacy judgments and behavior.

Two experiments addressed relations between judgmental processes and action by examining both the impact of the anchoring/adjustment heuristic on judgments of performance capabilities and the subsequent impact of these self-efficacy judgments on behavior. In Exp I, 62 undergraduates judged their capabilities for performance on a problem-solving task after exposure to ostensibly random anchor values representing either high or low levels of performance. Ss in a control condition received no anchor values. Anchoring biases strongly affected self-efficacy judgments. High-anchor Ss evidenced the highest judgments of their capabilities and low-anchor Ss the lowest judgments. Ss then performed the task. Differences in task persistence paralleled the differences in self-efficacy judgments, with high-anchor Ss displaying the highest level of task persistence. Exp II, with 23 high school students, replicated these results. In both studies, self-efficacy was predictive of both between-group differences and variations in performance within the anchoring conditions. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Variability is an operant.

In 6 experiments, a total of 7 pigeons were rewarded if their pattern of 8 pecks to left and right response keys during the current trial differed from the patterns in each of the last n trials. In Exps I and II, B. Schwartz's (1980, 1982a) negative findings (variability was not controlled by reinforcement) were compared with the present positive results. In Exp III, n was manipulated, and it was found that Ss generated highly variable patterns even when the current response sequence had to differ from each of the last 50 sequences. In Exp IV, the number of responses per trial was manipulated; variability increased with increasing responses per trial, indicating that the Ss were acting as quasi-random generators. In Exp V, it was shown that for high levels of variability to be engendered, reinforcement had to be contingent on response variability. In a yoked condition, where variability was permitted but not required, little response variability was observed. In Exp VI, stimulus control was demonstrated: Under red lights the Ss generated variable patterns, and under blue lights they repeated a particular fixed pattern. It is concluded that behavioral variability is an operant dimension of behavior controlled by contingent reinforcement. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Manipulating Subjective Expectancy Through Feedback: A Laboratory Study of the Expectancy-Performance Relationship": Correction to Janz.

Reports an error in the original article by Janz (Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol 67(4) Aug 1982, 480-485). On page 481 and 484, the numbers of subjects in some places were reported incorrectly. The corrections are provided. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1982-29612-001.) Investigated the form of the expectancy-performance relationship in a laboratory study of the performance of 132 undergraduates on a simple clerical task. As feedback after each of 8 trials, Ss were told that their performance was better, worse, or borderline. Ss recorded their subjective expectancies before each trial. Over all Ss, feedback condition had no impact on performance; but when 39 Ss whose reported expectancy did not match their assigned feedback were eliminated, a strong expectancy-performance relationship emerged. Ss having intermediate expectancy outperformed those whose expectancy was low or high. Examination of the nonbelievers supported the mediating role of cognitive variables in deciding how hard to work at this task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual specificity effects on word stem completion: Beyond transfer appropriate processing?

Explored the determinants of perceptual specificity effects (PSEs) in visual word-stem completion. 256 undergraduates participated in 4 experiments. In Exp 1, Ss completed a stem completion task after a number-search task in study-condition and -case phases. Ss were assessed for their awareness of the study-task relationship and compliance with instructions. In Exp 2, retrieval instructions and study task were manipulated within Ss and between 4 study-test blocks. Ss in Exp 3 completed study-test blocks with unintentional test instructions as in Exp 2. In Exp 4, retention interval, and study-task and -case were manipulated within the Ss. In Exp 1, PSEs on the stem completion task depended on perceptual encoding when Ss' awareness of the study-test relationship was limited. In Exps 2–4, these effects depended on semantic encoding. PSEs after short retention intervals were independent of encoding task. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Olfactory discrimination, reversal learning, and stimulus control in rats.

Conducted 3 experiments with a total of 21 Wistar rats. In Exp I Ss were trained to discriminate lights, tones, or odors and then given a series of discrimination reversals. Only Ss trained with odors showed positive transfer on the first reversal and acquisition of a reversal set. Other experiments demonstrated that (a) Ss preferentially attended to odors when presented in compound with lights or tones; (b) odors exerted more discriminative control than tones in tests using compound stimuli of competing sign; and (c) after pretraining on the positive stimulus, acquisition of an odor but not a light discrimination occurred with virtually no errors. These results demonstrate the importance of stimulus modality in the establishment of stimulus control and the need for more careful analysis of stimulus factors in cross-species comparisons of learning ability. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity and fairness of physical ability tests for predicting performance in craft jobs: Correction to Reilly, Zedeck, and Tenopyr.

Reports an error in the original article by Richard R. Reilly, Sheldon Zedeck, and Mary L. Tenopyr (Journal of Applied Psychology, 1979, Vol. 64, No. 3, pp. 262-274). In the Results section of Experiment 2 several results were reported incorrectly. The corrected results are provided. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1980-26872-001.) Problems relating to performance, accidents, and turnover in outdoor telephone craft jobs stimulated 2 experiments aimed at developing and validating a physical test battery. Based on job analysis results, a battery of 9 measures was administered to a sample of 128 Ss (83 males and 45 females) in Exp I. A 2-test battery (dynamic arm strength and reaction time), valid for predicting job task performance and turnover, was selected. Regression equations for males and females were not significantly different. Exp II included a sample of 210 Ss (132 males and 78 females). A 3-test battery consisting of a body density measure, a balance test, and a static strength test was selected based on relationships with training performance. No significant differences were found in the regression equations for males compared to females. The Exp II battery was also significantly related to field performance, training completion, and accidents and was valid for the Exp I criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Taste reactivity as a dependent measure of the rapid formation of conditioned taste aversion: A tool for the neural analysis of taste-visceral associations.

Investigated the ability of animals to form taste aversions following neural manipulations. In Exp 1, 10 rats received intraoral infusions of sucrose every 5 min starting immediately after the injection of LiCl. 12 controls were injected with NaCl. Oromotor and somatic taste reactivity behaviors were videotaped and analyzed. Lithium-injected Ss decreased their ingestive taste reactivity over time; aversive behavior increased. Controls maintained high levels of ingestive responding and demonstrated virtually no aversive behavior following sodium injection. Ss were tested several days later for a conditioned taste aversion (CTA). Rats previously injected with lithium demonstrated significantly more aversive behavior than controls. Exp 3 revealed that when similarly treated rats were tested for a CTA while in a lithium-induced state, difference in the ingestive behavior was observed. In Exp 2, naive rats were injected with NaCl or LiCl but did not receive their 1st sucrose infusion for 20 min. Ss also received infusions at 25 and 30 min postinjection. There were no differences in the task reactivity behavior displayed. Rats dramatically changed their oromotor responses to sucrose during the period following LiCl administration, provided the infusions started immediately after injection, a change attributable to associative processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of load stressors, cognitive complexity and Type A coronary prone behavior on visual-motor task performance.

In 2 experiments, 25 and 42 adult working males participated in a visual-motor task modeled on a video game. The game was designed to measure strategy, risk taking, errors committed, and overall task performance. Predictions of complexity theory for task performance were supported. In Exp II, Ss were divided into 4 subgroups on the basis of Type A (coronary prone) or Type B (noncoronary prone) behavior and on the basis of uni- vs multidimensional responding, as measured by an interview using the stems of the Sentence Completion Test. Type A behavior did not contribute to differences in visual-motor performance. More multidimensional Ss exceeded their unidimensional counterparts, especially in the application of strategy. The extension of complexity theory approaches to simpler tasks is discussed. It is noted that the frequently voiced assumptions of Type A individuals—that their behavior style tends to lead to higher performance levels—is not supported. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fornix lesions, plasma ACTH levels, and shuttle box avoidance in rats.

In Exp I, which used 90 male hooded rats as Ss, the consequences of fornix lesions (FLs) for partial acquisition, and performance at 3 postacquisition time intervals, of shuttlebox avoidance were tested. FL Ss achieved criterion performance more rapidly than controls. The performance of controls was depressed when they were tested 1 hr after acquisition ("Kamin effect"), but the performance of FL Ss was not impaired. The possibility that FLs altered plasma ACTH concentrations at the intervals after avoidance training used in Exp I was examined in Exp II (96 Ss). Plasma ACTH concentrations were elevated in FL Ss compared with unoperated and sham-operated controls, both immediately and 1 hr after avoidance training. Plasma ACTH levels were not elevated in FL Ss following either stress alone or 24 hrs after avoidance training. Results indicate that FLs cause elevated ACTH levels in rats after avoidance training that are responsible for elimination of the Kamin effect. In addition, data support the contention that enhanced acquisition of 2-way active avoidance by rats with FLs or hippocampal damage might be attributable to increased plasma ACTH levels. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectations for success on effort-determined tasks as a function of incentive and performance feedback.

Conducted 2 experiments to investigate an attributional analysis of the consequences of perceiving one's effort as stable, as opposed to unstable, on future performance expectancies. In Exp I, 32 male undergraduates were told that performance on the experimental tasks was purely effort determined; they expected a monetary incentive for good performance on half the tasks and received preprogrammed feedback that their performance was either variable or consistent. In Exp II, both 45 male and 51 female Ss believed the tasks were either effort or ability determined and received variable or consistent feedback; incentive was operationalized as the level of task interestingness. As predicted, Ss who believed performance was effort determined and received variable feedback had higher expectations for performance on a later task when its incentive value was high than when it was low. Ss receiving consistent feedback did not differ in their expectations, regardless of the incentive value of the task. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neural and behavioural effects of domoic acid, an amnesic shellfish toxin, in the rat.

Two experiments with 38 rats examined the neurotoxic effects of domoic acid. In Exp 1, iv injection of 0.5–2.0 mg/kg or intraventricular (ivc) injection of 0.04–0.08 μg of domoic acid caused seizures in the hippocampus, tonic-clonic convulsions, and death within a few days. Convulsions and ensuing death were prevented by diazepam. Ss pretreated with intraperitoneal/ly (ip) diazepam (5 mg/kg) tolerated an ivc dose of domoic acid of 0.4 μg, but showed a loss of pyramidal neurons mainly in the CA3, the CA4, and a part of the CA1 areas of the dorsal hippocampus. In Exp 2, learning of a radial maze task was severely impaired in naive Ss after ivc injection of domoic acid (and diazepam, ip). In Ss previously trained on the maze task, domoic acid interfered with relearning of the same task. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Timberlake, Wahl, and King.

Reports an error in the article, "Stimulus and Response Contingencies in the Misbehavior of Rats" by William Timberlake, Glenda Wahl, and Deborah King (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 1982, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 62-85). The abscissa of Figures 1, 2, 5, and 6 were incorrectly labeled. In each case, the word DAYS should replace the word TRIALS. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1982-20408-001.) Misbehavior by rats was produced in Exps I (16 Wistar female albino rats) and II (15 Sprague-Dawley female albino rats) by pairing a ball bearing with food or by requiring contact with the ball bearing for food (Exps IV, 6 Ss, and V, 11 Ss). Misbehavior occurred before and after eating the food pellet. The frequency, complexity, and duration of prepellet misbehavior was increased by delay of food until after the ball bearing exited (or was programmed to exit) and by requiring contact with the bearing to obtain food. Alternative goal-directed behaviors occurred in Pavlovian contingencies in which food was delivered before the bearing was programmed to exit. Postpellet misbehavior tended to occur when food was delivered before the bearing was programmed to exit and before S released the bearing. Omission of food delivery on contact reduced the duration, complexity, and frequency of misbehavior, although experienced Ss continued to contact (Exp III, 15 Ss). Misbehavior was affected by both stimulus- and response-reward contingencies but showed characteristic organization and topography under both types of contingency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Development of the concept of truth-functional negation": Correction to Kim.

Reports an error in "Development of the concept of truth-functional negation" by Kyung Kim (Developmental Psychology, 1985[May], Vol 21[3], 462-472). In the article, several key words were omitted from the last sentence of the Method section on page 464, column 2, third paragraph. The corrected sentence is included in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1985-25108-001.) Studied the development of the concept of truth-functional negation in 2 experiments, using 36 English-speaking children (aged 3-6 yrs) and 10 Korean-speaking children (aged 4-5 yrs) as Ss. In Exp I, English-speaking Ss were given a sentence-variation task in which the following 4 sentence types were used to describe 36 pictures of common items: true affirmative, false affirmative, true negative (TN), and false negative. The results show that a majority of Ss under 5 yrs had difficulty with negative sentences, particularly TN sentences, indicating a lack of explicit understanding of truth-functional negation as defined in logic. In Exp II, a cross-linguistic replication of Exp I was attempted with Korean-speaking Ss. Despite some cross-linguistic differences in the negation system, the Korean-speaking Ss showed essentially the same pattern of results, suggesting that the development in question proceeds within the general limit set by the general cognitive development. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predation: Separation of aggressive and hunger motivation by conditioned aversion.

Reports results of 2 experiments with a total of 50 male Long-Evans rats. In Exp I, Ss were given LiCl 15 min after ingesting mice or saccharin for either 1 day or 4 days. Intake of both substances dropped in the 1-trial groups but not in the 4-trial groups. In Exp II, Ss that received LiCl after killing mice they were not permitted to eat showed no changes in mouse killing. Ss permitted to feed on mice they had killed continued to kill but ate less after a single LiCl trial. Feeding and killing appear to be separable by this technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood, self-efficacy, and performance standards: Lower moods induce higher standards for performance.

Examined the effects of induced mood on personal standards for performance and judgments of one's performance capabilities, or self-efficacy judgments. Three experiments involving 208 undergraduates were conducted. In Exp 1, standards and self-efficacy judgments were assessed on common social and academic tasks. In Exp 2, these variables were assessed on 2 novel tasks. In both experiments, negative mood induced higher standards for performance. Induced mood had no effect on perceived self-efficacy. Negative mood Ss thus held minimal standards for performance that significantly exceeded the levels of performance they judged they actually could attain. Exp 3 provided support for the hypothesis that negative mood raises standards by lowering evaluations of prospective outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing of information in iconic memory: Differences between nonretarded and retarded subjects.

Compared iconic memory processes of 17 undergraduates and 18 retarded Ss (primarily aged 18–28 yrs; IQ 56–77) in 4 experiments. In Exp I, a partial report paradigm was used in which 6 retarded and 6 undergraduate Ss were presented 6 pictures under 4 intervals (0–500 msec). In Exp II, using 5 Ss in each group the same procedure as in Exp I was used but letters as well as pictures were included. Results show that although overall performance for retarded Ss was poor, they did better with letters than with pictures—a reverse of the finding with undergraduate Ss. In Exp III, 2 retarded Ss were given extended practice and incentive to perform well. Asymptote was reached in 10 days but never equaled performance of unpracticed undergraduates. In Exp IV, using 5 Ss in each group, information load was varied from 1 to 4 items, and a masking stimulus was used to interrupt processing following 6 intervals that lasted up to 250 msec. Results show that (1) there are quantitative differences between intelligence groups in iconic capacity; (2) retarded Ss process information more slowly, a difference that increases with increasing information load; and (3) there are substantive structural differences in iconic memory of retarded and nonretarded Ss. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bizarre imagery: The misremembered mnemonic.

Conducted 2 experiments with 56 undergraduates to measure the effects of bizarre imagery and image interaction on the brief and long-term memory of word pairs. Ss in Exp I performed an incidental learning task and were administered free- and cued-recall tests either 5 min or 1 wk after the task. Ss in Exp II received more intensive training in the learning task and completed 2 cued-recall tests in the same session and another cued-recall test 1 wk later. In both experiments, bizarre imagery did not improve memory more than plausible, interactive imagery. The degree of interaction in the image was a strong determinant of cued-recall performance at both retention intervals. Most Ss in Exp II believed that they had remembered more bizarre than plausible pairs, even though this was clearly not the case. Possible reasons for the acceptance of the notion that bizarre imagery improves memory are discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of sodium pentobarbital on vocal behavior.

This study investigated the effects of sodium pentobarbital on the voice, on a psychomoter task (differential visual reaction time) and on mood, as reported by the Ss on the Clyde Mood Scale. 2 oral dose levels and a placebo were given blind to 12 Ss in a Latin-square design. Care was taken to control the effects of social interaction. The rate of reading a standard, well-practiced paragraph was slowed in response to this drug, as were reaction times. Ss described themselves as less clear thinking, less energetic, and less aggressive after pentobarbital, but not more or less jittery, depressed, or friendly. Frequency spectrum analysis of the voice did not show consistent changes in voice quality in response to this drug. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)