Attention in the pigeon: Differential effects of food-getting versus shock-avoidance procedures.

Trained male White Carneaux pigeons (N = 12) to depress a treadle in the presence of a compound stimulus consisting of a tone and a red house light (a) to avoid electric shock or (b) to obtain grain. Responding in the absence of the compound stimulus postponed its next occurrence. After performance had stabilized, the degree to which the compound and each element controlled treadle pressing was determined. Results show that in the appetitive test, many responses were made in the presence of the compound and the light alone, but very few were made to the tone alone. In the avoidance test, very few responses occurred in the presence of the light alone, an intermediate number to the tone alone, and most in the presence of the compound. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating order hypotheses within proximity matrices.

We discuss the task of evaluating conjectures of order within proximity matrices in connection with an inappropriate inference procedure proposed by Wakefield and Doughtie and subsequently adopted by other authors. This strategy is criticized and a different method based on randomization is proposed. An example from Holland's theory of personality types is used throughout this article for illustration. Finally, we develop the testing of two competing theoretical conjectures against a given proximity matrix as a natural extension of evaluating one such hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention and the perception of temporal order.

The effect of directing attention to a particular location in space has been widely examined in the study of human information processing. Current models assume that attention modulates the speed of information flow such that attended signals are transmitted more rapidly through the perceptual system than unattended signals. This assumption that attention modulates the speed of information flow was examined in the present research by having observers judge the temporal order of two visual stimuli while directing their attention towards one of the stimuli or away from both stimuli. In one experiment, attended stimuli were perceived with a shorter latency than unattended stimuli, supporting the assumption that attention influences the speed of information transmission in the visual system. The results of another experiment indicate that attention alters the temporal profile of the visual responses, such that visual responses at the attended location are more sharply tuned than responses at the unattended location. It is concluded that attention has two effects on visual responses: It affects the transmission speed of information in the visual system and it alters the temporal profile of the responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation of anxiety sensitivity to higher and lower order personality dimensions: Implications for the etiology of panic attacks.

The relation of anxiety sensitivity (AS) to personality dimensions has received little attention. In this study, 4 AS indexes were administered along with measures of personality, fears, and panic attacks to 220 undergraduates. At the higher order level, AS was positively correlated with negative emotionality (NE) but was largely unrelated to either positive emotionality or constraint. At the lower order level, AS was positively correlated with absorption and NE indexes. Most of these correlations were significant even among participants with no panic attack history. AS exhibited incremental validity above and beyond a number of personality variables, including absorption and trait anxiety, in the prediction of fears and panic attack history. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that a propensity toward immersion in sensory experiences is a diathesis for panic attacks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of rule-example order as a function of learner conceptual level.

To test D. E. Hunt's conceptual level matching model, the concept of "cognitive dissonance" was taught to 160 11th grade students, matched for sex and school class, but varying in conceptual level (cl). Each s was given the paragraph completion test. Treatments varied in structure from low (example only) to high (rule-example). It was predicted from the model that low cl ss would profit more from increased structure, while high cl ss would show less effect from treatment variations, but would tend to perform best in low structure. These predictions are clearly supported by a significant cl * treatment interaction and mean scores in the predicted pattern. (french summary) (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Birth order: Reconciling conflicting effects.

Secular trends in test scores are accurately predicted by trends in aggregate birth orders. The trend data contradict individual-difference analyses that show birth order as a poor predictor of individual test scores. This article demonstrates why the 2 formulations of the problem—the individually distributed birth order analysis and aggregate-pattern analysis—generate different results. A meaningful interpretation is given by the confluence model, a theory specifying the process whereby the intellectual environment modulates intellectual development. The authors introduce the concept of collective potentiation that specifies collective side effects of birth order. In contrast to genetic theories, the confluence model quantifies the differential environmental contributions to intellectual development of successive siblings, and it offers several well-confirmed derivations that genetic and other developmental theories cannot explain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpreting higher order interactions in log-linear analysis.

In the present article, I call for a change in focus in the log-linear analysis of multiway contingency tables. Up to this point, researchers have concentrated largely on procedures for finding the model that most adequately fits the observed data. In many cases, the best fitting model contains one or more complex, higher order interactions involving several variables. It is often desirable to understand the pattern of these interactions. In this article, I present a procedure for substantively interpreting such higher order interactions. This procedure is based on the analogy between log-linear analysis and the general linear model. An example taken from the occupational aspirations literature illustrates the application of the procedure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Higher order and lower order variables in the visual perception of relative pulling force.

In 7 experiments, undergraduates judged the force exerted by a videotaped standing puller, a computer-generated (stick-figure) puller, or a computer-generated inverted pendulum. Single and stepwise multiple regression analyses determined the kinematic variables exploited by the participants. Results show that (1) judgments correlated highly with force and improved with feedback; (2) judgements correlated more highly with lower order kinematic variables than with force itself; (3) participants different in the kinematic variables exploited; (5) participants changed over blocks of trials in the variables exploited; (6) some participants used compound kinematic variables; (7) the variables exploited depended on the type of feedback; and (8) judgments to upright puller, inverted pullers, and simple pendula showed the same qualitative patterns, Implications for theories of direct perception., directed perception, and heuristics are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress-response-dampening effects of alcohol: Attention as a mediator and moderator.

The present study sought to characterize alcohol's stress-response-dampening (SRD) effects on multiple measures of stress and whether these effects are mediated by reductions in sustained attention and, further, whether baseline levels of sustained attention moderate SRD. One hundred six men consumed either an alcohol (0.70 g/kg) or a placebo beverage prior to learning that they would deliver a self-disclosing speech. Structural equation models controlling for multiple baseline periods indicated that alcohol directly reduced self-reported anxiety and skin conductance levels in response to the stressor. Alcohol's effect on reducing heart rate response, in contrast, was indirect and mediated by effects on prestress baseline. As hypothesized, differences in sustained attention partially mediated the effects of alcohol on skin conductance (but not heart rate or self-reported anxiety) and served as a moderator of alcohol's effects on skin conductance response. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical links among alcohol consumption, specific cognitive abilities, and stress reactivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two presentation order effects.

Two distinct effects operate to produce changes in response accuracy with changes in stimulus presentation order: (a) Fechner's time-order errors (TOE), and (b) an assimilation or central-tendency effect. The present study questioned the extent to which L. Allan's (1977) model of TOE describes data collected with her roving standard technique and argues that these data do not reflect the effects commonly considered to be TOE. Results found with a roving standard design in duration comparison experiments with 6 undergraduates reflect primarily assimilation effects rather than TOE. (French summary) (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit learning of higher order sequences in middle age.

Previous studies have demonstrated age-related implicit learning of higher order sequences in coparisons of college-age and elderly adults (e.g., J. H. Howard & D. V. Howard, 1997). This study examined whether these age deficits begin in middle age. Results showed a reliable age-related deficit in pattern sensitivity in "older" compared with "younger" middle-aged people, and age reliably predicted sensitivity to the sequence by using both speed and accuracy measures. The results are consistent with an age-related decline in a generic cognitive resource as reflected in T. A. Salthouse's (1996) simultaneity mechanism of cognitive aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential apomorphine effects.

Among 18 male Wistar rats, .1 mg/kg of apomorphine increased, while 1 mg/kg decreased, tailflick latency relative to values obtained from saline-treated controls. It is suggested that such differential effects have bearing on the reported complex interaction between the dopamine and endorphin systems in the brain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Externalizing behavior and the higher order factors of the Big Five.

The comorbidity of various externalizing behaviors stems from a broad predisposition that is strongly genetically determined (R. F. Krueger, B. M. Hicks, C. J. Patrick, S. R. Carlson, W. G. Iacono, & M. McGue, 2002). This finding raises the question of how externalizing behavior is related to broad personality traits that have been identified in normal populations and that also have a genetic component. Using structural equation modeling, the authors applied a hierarchical personality model based on the Big Five and their two higher order factors, Stability (Neuroticism reversed, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) and Plasticity (Extraversion and Openness). Cognitive ability was included to separate variance in Openness associated with Extraversion (hypothesized to be positively related to externalizing behavior) from variance in Openness associated with cognitive ability (negatively related to externalizing behavior). This model was used to predict a latent externalizing behavior variable in an adolescent male sample (N = 140) assessed through self- and teacher reports. As hypothesized, externalizing behavior was characterized by low Stability, high Plasticity, and low cognitive ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Birth order effects: A reply to Breland.

Answers H. M. Breland's assertions concerning birth order effects in verbal achievement. It is argued that if birth order differences in intellectual functioning exist in childhood, they are very slight and exert at most minimal effects on adult functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Birth order effects: A reply to Schooler.

Replies to C. Schooler's (see record 1973-00727-001) criticisms regarding birth order studies by presenting evidence to support Breland's contention that birth order effects on verbal achievement do exist, and that these are not caused by either population biases or socioeconomic status differences. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol outcome expectancies: Scale construction and predictive utility in higher order confirmatory models.

The goals of this research were to develop a scale to measure alcohol outcome expectancies that incorporated important features suggested by previous research; to examine the psychometric properties of the instrument, with particular attention to item discrimination; and to examine the relationship of positive and negative expectancy to self-reported alcohol use. In Study 1, a preliminary expectancy scale was constructed; factor analysis showed 2 general constructs representing positive and negative consequences of drinking. In Study 2, the scale was refined through tests of item discrimination and was used to predict alcohol use using structural equation modeling. Although negative expectancy was significantly related to alcohol use, positive expectancy was a stronger predictor. These results are consistent with earlier work that proposed a general positive–negative expectancy distinction and suggest that positive expectancy is a more powerful motivator of drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The consequences of pairing questions: Context effects in personality measurement.

The effect of context on responses to questions has been a prominent focus in social and political survey research. However, little investigation of context effects has been done for the measurement of psychological constructs. A measure of anger experience and expression in development uses vignettes describing interpersonal situations that provoke varying degrees of anger and require respondents to indicate their affective and/or expressive response to the situation. In this study, the consequences of pairing the two questions for each vignette are investigated. Pairing the anger-experience and likelihood-of-expression questions changes the item's context. Item response theory analysis similar to that used to detect differential item functioning was performed. For some of the items, responding to a single or paired question affected the extremity of responses. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for personality measurement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing hypotheses on specific environmental causal effects on behavior.

There have been strong critiques of the notion that environmental influences can have an important effect on psychological functioning. The substance of these criticisms is considered in order to infer the methodological challenges that have to be met. Concepts of cause and of the testing of causal effects are discussed with a particular focus on the need to consider sample selection and the value (and limitations) of longitudinal data. The designs that may be used to test hypotheses on specific environmental risk mechanisms for psychopathology are discussed in relation to a range of adoption strategies, twin designs, various types of "natural experiments," migration designs, the study of secular change, and intervention designs. In each case, consideration is given to the need for samples that "pull-apart" variables that ordinarily go together, specific hypotheses on possible causal processes, and the specification and testing of key assumptions. It is concluded that environmental risk hypotheses can be (and have been) put to the test but that it is usually necessary to use a combination of research strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Advance organizers: Delay hypotheses.

Three experiments examined the utility of inserting a delay between the reading of an advance organizer and its related text. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that the insertion of a delay resulted in a more facilitative effect on readers' passage recall than reading the organizer and then immediately turning to the to-be-learned passage. Experiments 2 and 3 examined two competing hypotheses put forth to account for the facilitative effects of the delay. The results of both experiments supported an "accessibility" hypothesis based on the work of D. Dellarosa and L. E. Bourne (see record 1987-09369-001) but did not support a "rehearsal" hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)