Field studies of habituation: V. Evidence for a two-factor, dual-process system.

Recorded song was played in the field to mated pairs of white-crowned sparrows that were in breeding condition, and an extensive sample of the behaviors elicited was recorded. The patterning and type of stimulus varied for 4 groups: (1) 6 Ss received the same song for 8 trial blocks all on 1 day, (2) 4 Ss received a different song for 8 trial blocks all on 1 day, (3) 5 Ss received the same song for 8 trial blocks each conducted on a different day, and (4) 5 Ss received a different song on each of 8 days. The 1-day groups, in general, were more responsive than the 8-day groups, and those played a different song in each trial block were more responsive than those groups that were played the same song. The 8-day same song group had the greatest number of significant response decrements. Results support a theory employing 2 independent processes—habituation and sensitization—each of which is influenced by 2 factors—relative permanence and stimulus specificity. The substance of this revised 2-process theory is developed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reversal shift preferences in process and reactive schizophrenic, brain-damaged, and control group patients.

Compared process and reactive schizophrenic, brain-damaged, and normal control groups (n = 34 each) in frequency of reversal shifts in discrimination learning using the optional-shift paradigm. The main hypothesis that reactive schizophrenics, like normal adults, would show a stronger preference for reversal shifts than would process Ss was supported. Results show that significantly more reactive (68%) than process (44%) Ss made reversal shifts. Significantly more brain-damaged and reactive schizophrenic Ss showed reversal shift preferences when color was learned initially rather than form, while such initial concept preferences were not found in the process schizophrenic or normal control Ss. Previous findings in discrimination learning with pathological groups are discussed in the context of these findings. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of categorization and imagery on recognition and recall by process and reactive schizophrenics.

Imagery and categorization were orthogonally varied in an assessment of recognition and recall of 16 process schizophrenics (process group), 16 reactive schizophrenics (reactive group), and 16 controls (student group). Schizophrenic Ss were selected from the inpatient population at Bellevue Hospital, and "students" were volunteers who had all received a bachelor's degree. For all groups, recognition was uninfluenced by categorization but was directly related to imagery. For the student and reactive groups, recall was directly related both to categorization and to imagery. For the process group, however, neither variable influenced recall. In addition, the student group had higher intertrial repetition scores than the reactive group, which had higher scores than the process group. Taken together, findings suggest that the process schizophrenic's inabiity to retrieve information from memory is related to faulty mnemonic organization of to-be-remembered materials. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal abstracting ability and schizophrenia.

The Benjamin Proverbs Test was administered to 3 groups of 40 Ss each: reactive schizophrenics, process schizophrenics, and normal control Ss. Patients were rated for prognosis using the Premorbid subscale of the Phillips Prognostic Rating Scale. Ss were matched for education, vocabulary, age, and socioeconomic status of father. Proverbs were scored by 3 judges working independently. Highly significant differences were found among the 3 groups in ability to interpret proverbs. Process schizophrenics showed the greatest degree of impairment; reactive schizophrenics showed significant impairment, as compared to normal controls, but significantly less impairment than did process schizophrenics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Formal operations in reactive and process schizophrenics.

Administered E. S. Lunzer's Analogies Test (tapping formal operations) to 40 male process schizophrenics, 15 reactive schizophrenics, and 14 normal controls in a test of the hypothesis that reactive Ss demonstrate more formal operational capacities than process Ss and that normal Ss perform better than both schizophrenic groups. In selecting Ss, an attempt was made to control for age, sex, race, education, length of hospitalization, incidence of addiction problems, number of ECS treatments, and incidence of organic brain pathology. Analyses of variance and covariance supported the basic hypothesis even when differences in general vocabulary level were controlled. Piaget's theory is discussed as providing an explanatory framework for pathological as well as normal cognitive processes. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition of procedural skills from examples.

Three experiments were run in which Ss first memorized examples of input–output pairs and then generated the outputs for a series of new inputs by analogy to the original examples. Ss first performed these mappings by explicit analogy to an example, but with practice they learned to make these input–output mappings directly without reference to the examples. Ss sped up as a power function of practice over a day (Exp 1) or days (Exps 2 and 3). Ss developed a directional asymmetry such that they were slower to calculate the input from the output than the output from the input (whereas initially they had not been). Ss showed similar speed up in their ability to recall the original examples but did not show the same directional asymmetry. Initially, there was some transfer from practicing the procedure to recalling the examples, but this diminished over days. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of delayed auditory feedback on process and reactive schizophrenic subjects.

A group of 20 male process schizophrenic, 20 male reactive schizophrenic, and 20 normal Ss read a passage aloud under delayed auditory feedback. S grouping, length of hospitalization, age, education, reading speed, and audiometric variables were controlled. It was theorized that normal Ss would be most affected by delayed auditory feedback, followed by reactive and then process Ss. Results do not support this hypothesis; after covarying for control reading time, the effect of diagnostic group disappeared. However, post hoc analysis revealed a subgroup of process patients more influenced by delayed auditory feedback than all other Ss. They were older, had shorter hospitalization, more education, lower control reading times, and higher process-reactive scores than the remaining process Ss. These patients are thought to constitute an "intermediate" schizophrenic group in their social organization and psychotic symptomatology. Thus, it is speculated that delayed auditory feedback could tap interactions between sensory and social variables in certain subsets of the schizophrenic population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social comparison on facilitative self-control in young children.

Investigated the effects of social comparison upon 96 4- and 5-yr-old children's subsequent task perseveration, attention to task, and self-confidence. Ss, from a middle-class nursery school, were 6 pairs of boys and 6 pairs of girls for each of 4 experimental conditions. Ss in the negative social comparison condition attended less efficiently to, and expressed less confidence in, their ability to solve a difficult wooden-cube puzzle than did a control group of nonsocial comparison children. The length of task perseveration by Ss in the social comparison groups did not differ significantly, although the negative comparison group persisted as long or longer than the positive, equal, or nonsocial comparison groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediated generalization and the incubation effect as a function of manifest anxiety.

"Two groups of 45 Ss each were chosen on the basis of extreme scores on the MAS [Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale]. A conditioned PGR was first established by repeated pairings of a critical word (CS) with a raucous buzzer. Tests of mediated generalization were made following training, using as generalization stimuli, words to which the CS was associated as determined by free associations of a standardization group. In order to investigate the incubation effect the Ss were divided following training into three subgroups differing in the length of the rest interval between conclusion of training and the institution of extinction trials (immediate extinction, 10-min. interval, and 24-hr. interval). The results indicated heightened responsivity towards words associated with the CS, thus indicating that mediated generalization had taken place. It was also found that extreme MAS scores were directly related to the magnitude of mediated generalization responsivity." Level of manifest anxiety was found to be directly related to conditioning responsivity as well as to resistance to extinction. 20 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distancing after group success and failure: Basking in reflected glory and cutting off reflected failure.

Two image-maintenance processes by which people manipulate their association with others were tested: the tendency to bask in reflected glory as a means of increasing one's association with successful others and the tendency to cut off reflected failure as a means of decreasing one's association with unsuccessful others. 102 undergraduates were initially involved in a group task and were then assigned to 1 of 3 group-performance feedback conditions: failure, no information, or success. Self-report and behavioral (taking and wearing of team badges) dependent measures of distancing showed that Ss in the failure group manifested less association with their group than did Ss in the no-information feedback and success groups; there was a tendency on behavioral but not self-report measures for Ss in the success group to manifest more association with their group than for Ss in the no-information feedback group. Therefore, more support was found for the cutting-off-reflected-failure process than for the basking-in-reflected-glory process as an image-maintenance tactic. Because Ss truly identified with their group's relative sense of failure or success, it is suggested that it was this identification process that appeared to have driven Ss' distancing behaviors in relation to their groups. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensional analysis of "hypnotic" behavior.

110 female student nurses served as Ss. Those who had not previously participated in a hypnotism experiment were told simply to close their eyes for 5 min. and place themselves in hypnosis. These Ss were almost as responsive as a group of Ss who were exposed to a formal hypnotic-induction procedure on 4 dimensions of "hypnotic" behavior: (1) trancelike appearance (e.g., apparent limpness-relaxation); (2) responses to test suggestions to hallucinate, to be amnesic, etc.; (3) reports of unusual experiences such as reported "disappearance" of the body or body parts; and (4) testimony of having been hypnotized. An additional group of 50 controls who were told to close their eyes for 5 min. were generally less responsive than the place-yourself-in-hypnosis group and the hypnotic-indiction group on the dimension of hypnotic behavior. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Response to cutaneous pain in mental hospital patients.

Conducted an experiment to determine how warmth detection thresholds (WDTs), pain thresholds (PTs), and pain tolerance thresholds (PTOs) to radiant heat differed between groups of process schizophrenics (G2), reactive schizophrenics (G3), nonschizophrenic (G4), and normal (G1) S groups. 15 males from each of these categories served as Ss. The manipulated independent variable was skin temperature. The dependent variables were verbal reports of WDT, PT, PTO, and pupillary response. G1 and G3 Ss had significantly lower mean PTs and PTOs than G2 Ss. Significantly fewer G2 and G3 Ss than G1 and G4 Ss reported PT and PTO. The mean pupillary responses of G2 Ss were significantly smaller than those of G1 and G3 Ss at WDT, PT, and PTO. It is concluded that (a) chronic institutionalized psychiatric patients display weaker reactions to potentially harmful stimuli, and (b) a dissociation between autonomic and verbal responses may occur in process schizophrenics at higher than moderate levels of noxious stimulation. (43 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of cultural collectivism on reward allocation.

Two studies, with 224 American and 240 Chinese university students, tested the idea that the collectivism of a culture leads to different styles of reward allocation with in- and out-group members. The 1st study used an out-group situation, in which Ss were led to believe that they worked with a partner whom they would not meet, to obtain a group reward. The collectivistic Chinese Ss were found to follow the equity norm more closely in dividing the group reward than the individualistic American Ss when pressure of social evaluation was removed. In the 2nd study, Ss read a scenario in which an allocator worked with either an in- or out-group member. The allocator had either a low or high input and used either the equity or equality norm to divide a group reward. Compared with American Ss, Chinese Ss liked an allocator who divided the group reward equally with an in-group member more and regarded such an allocation as fairer. When Ss were asked to assume that they were the allocator and to hypothetically divide the reward, Chinese Ss followed the equity norm more closely than did American Ss when the recipient was an out-group member or when the Ss' input was low. However, when Ss' input was high and the recipient was an in-group member, Chinese Ss followed the equality norm more than did American Ss. Findings are discussed in terms of the desire for maintaining group solidarity in a collectivist culture. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Creativity and the need for novelty.

An experiment designed to demonstrate the reinforcing properties of associative novelty for creative Ss. 60 undergraduates were separated into high (HC) and low (LC) creativity groups on the basis of their scores on the Remote Associates Test. Ss were then presented with a series of pairs of words (each pair containing a noun and a nonnoun) and asked to choose the word they preferred. The choice of a noun was followed by a novel association to that noun. Nonnoun choices were followed by common associations. The HC group significantly increased and the LC group significantly decreased the frequency of their noun choices over the series of pairs. The results support the need for novelty hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk and resilience in early mental development.

Examined mental development scores for 2 groups of at-risk twins throughout their childhood, those classified as small for gestational age (SGA), and those twins falling below 1,750 g birthweight. The Ss were recruited as newborns—about 30 new pairs were added each year—and the total sample included 450 pairs of twins. Ss were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at age 24 mo and the WPPSI at age 6 yrs. Results show that the SGA Ss showed only a modest deficit in IQ scores as compared to the full twin Ss, and thus these small-for-date Ss did not appear to be at special risk. The Ss below 1,750 g, however, did show a very significant deficit in IQ scores throughout childhood. When the recovery patterns were examined for this group, upper SES Ss appeared to recover completely, whereas lower SES Ss remained significantly depressed. Mother's education was significantly related to recovery from 24 mo onward, which suggests that maternal intelligence plays a prominent role in determining the level of recovery. When monozygotic Ss of markedly unequal birth weight were compared, the twins who weighed less than 1,750 g attained the same level of IQ scores at 6 yrs as did their heavier co-twins. Among these genetic replicates, the initially powerful effects of low birth weight did not exert a long-term handicapping effect on mental development. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a theory of hypnotic behavior: Effects on suggestibility of defining the situation as hypnosis and defining response to suggestions as easy.

96 Ss participated in a 2 X 2 factorial experiment which was designed to assess the effects on suggestibility of: defining the situation as hypnosis or as control, and defining response to suggestions as easy or as difficult. The dependent variables consisted of responses to 8 standardized test suggestions (Barber Suggestibility Scale). Ss told "You are in the hypnosis group" were more responsive to suggestions than Ss told "You are in the control group." Ss told that it was easy to respond to test suggestions were more suggestible than Ss told that it was difficult. The suggestibility-enhancing effects of the independent variables were additive: the level of suggestibility was highest when the situation was defined as hypnosis and the test suggestions as easy; next highest when either the situation was defined as hypnosis or the suggestions as easy; and lowest when the situation was defined as control and the suggestions as difficult. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recovery of memory after posthypnotic amnesia

Notes that documentation of the reversibility of posthypnotic amnesia has been hampered by the correlation of hypnotizability with the initial level of response to amnesia suggestions. 691 college students were placed in groups differing in hypnotic susceptibility that could be matched for initial amnesia recall, thereby eliminating the ceiling effect. At virtually every point along the distribution of initial amnesia response, hypnotizable Ss were significantly better able than insusceptible Ss to recapture the previously blocked memories after the amnesia suggestion was lifted. Conversely, those Ss who showed reversibility of amnesia were more responsive overall to hypnosis than those who did not. It is concluded that reversibility is of value in distinguishing between amnesia and pseudoamnesia and between partial amnesia and nonamnesia. Furthermore, reversibility helps define posthypnotic amnesia as a process involving the disruption of retrieval processes in memory. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An attempt to reverse performance deficits associated with depression and experimentally induced helplessness.

The learned helplessness model of depression predicts that any effective treatment for reactive depression should also reverse performance deficits associated with experimentally induced helplessness, and vice versa. A study was conducted to test this prediction. Ss were 62 college students who were exposed to experimental manipulations designed to induce helplessness or who scored above a group mean on the Beck Depression Inventory. Depressed and helpless Ss were randomly assigned to 4 groups. The 2 treatment groups received either E. Velten's (1968) mood statements for the induction of elation or a set of simple anagrams to solve. The 2 remaining groups were exposed to no-treatment conditions. All Ss were tested for helplessness on a series of concept formation problems. Results fail to confirm the predictions of the learned helplessness model of depression. Although treatment was effective with helpless Ss, the performance of treated depressed Ss was not enhanced. Also, depressed Ss given anagrams performed more poorly than depressed Ss given mood statements. Several possible explanations for the findings are considered. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The potential for bicultural communication in a dyadic situation.

Studied cross-cultural communication with Canadian university students who identified themselves as French-speaking or English-speaking. Ss were divided into 36 French-English pairs (18 of which were tested in a French setting and 18 in an English setting) and 36 same-ethnic pairs. The pairs performed an experimental task under 1 of 3 instructional sets in which Ss were forced to communicate, communication was optional, or no communication set was provided. Each condition was followed by an unstructured period where Ss were free to communicate. Following the communication task, Ss completed a questionnaire which assessed their attitudes about communicating with their partner. Results were analyzed in terms of patterns of communication, content of communication, and languages used for communication. Findings suggest that effective cross-cultural communication is possible and that, at least in a dyadic situation, members of 2 ethnic groups are motivated to communicate. (French summary) (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increasing academic achievement by reinforcing direct academic performance and/or facilitative nonacademic responses.

Compared the effects of 3 intervention procedures in increasing academic achievement and levels of appropriate behavior for children with relatively low rates of appropriate behavior. Three groups of 16 Ss each were selected in pairs from regular primary-grade classrooms and 1 child from each pair was randomly assigned to the experimental group. Experimental Ss received treatment in an experimental class setting, while control Ss remained in the regular classroom. Group 1 Ss were reinforced for behaviors facilitative of academic performance, Group 2 for correct academic performance, and Group 3 for both. No significant treatment differences were found. However, there was a significant experimental-control group difference, favoring experimentals, for reading achievement, math achievement, and level of appropriate behavior. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)