Psychopathy and punishment.

An experiment to test the hypothesis that psychopathy is associated with deficient passive avoidance learning under punishment. 75 High Pd and 75 Low Pd female undergraduates, equated for intelligence, learned a list of 10 nonsense syllables under 1 of 3 conditions of reinforcement: verbal reward, verbal punishment, and absence of comment by E. Punishment significantly retarded the learning of Low Pd Ss, but not that of High Pd Ss. No significant differences occurred under reward or neutral conditions. The hypothesis was considered confirmed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Septal ablation in the rat and bar pressing under appetitive and aversive control.

Assigned 6 male hooded rats with bilateral septal lesions and 3 Ss with bilateral cortical control lesions to bar-press in a successive discrimination (go, no-go) task. Over successive experimental conditions, responding was maintained by the following reinforcers: food, shock escape, shock avoidance, concurrent food reinforcement and shock avoidance, and, once again, food. Ss with septal lesions responded to the no-go stimulus at higher rates than did controls only under the simple food-reinforcement conditions. Results suggest that disinhibition of bar pressing following septal ablation in rats may occur with appetitive and not with aversive schedules of reinforcement. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of imitation in nonimitative, severely retarded children: Contribution of reinforcement and instruction.

Determined the relative contribution of instruction and reinforcement to the development of simple motoric imitation in 12 nonimitative, severely retarded children (CAs 9 yrs 5 mo to 20 yrs 2 mo). Reinforcement was varied across 3 conditions (contingent reinforcement, noncontingent reinforcement, and no reinforcement), and instructions were varied across 2 conditions (presence and absence). Two Ss were assigned to each of the conditions, and an ABAB experimental design was employed. Results indicate that the most effective procedures were those that contingently reinforced Ss for each correct imitation with or without instructions to imitate. Ss who received various combinations of noncontingent reinforcement and/or instructions did not show any consistent increase in their imitative behavior. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving the social skills of males in a maximum security psychiatric setting.

34 male patients (mean age 26 yrs) in a maximum security psychiatric hospital, selected on the basis of their low ratings on role-play situations, the Communication and Social Contact subscales of the MACC Behavior Adjustment Scale, and the Social Adjustment Rating Scale, were assigned to either social skills training (SST) or client-centered therapy (CCT) and were given either contingent or noncontingent reinforcement for social behavior. Ss in the SST condition received 10 wks of SST; Ss in the CCT condition participated in 2 90-min nondirective group psychotherapy sessions per week for 10 wks. Ss in all conditions showed dramatic improvements on the assessment battery when tested postintervention. Consistent with other studies of SST, Ss in the SST condition showed significant improvements in role-play measures of social skills during treatment, while Ss given CCT did not. However, there was no evidence of transfer of training onto the ward nor evidence that the effects persisted at 1-mo follow-up. Thus, the data question the application of SST in maximum security settings. (French abstract) (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suggested ("hypnotic") visual hallucinations: Experimental and phenomenological data.

Tested 74 female student nurses' responses to a pretreatment hallucination suggestion to see an object that was not present. Each S was then exposed to either hypnotic induction procedure or task motivational instructions, and was again tested on response to an equivalent posttreatment hallucination suggestion. Next, each S was assessed on the Barber Suggestibility Scale (BSS) and on a self-rating of hypnotic depth measure. Finally, Ss were interviewed individually by a "blind" E to determine their phenomenological experiences during the posttreatment hallucination suggestion. There were significant positive correlations between scores on the posttreatment hallucination suggestion and scores on the BSS, self-ratings of hypnotic depth, and pretreatment hallucination suggestion. Similar phenomenological experiences were reported by Ss tested under the hypnotic induction and task motivational treatments, and by Ss who reported that they "saw" and those who reported that they "vividly imagined" the suggested object. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of stimulation intensity on sociopathic avoidance learning.

On the basis of scores on standardized tests (e.g., the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale), 90 public offenders were selected to represent low, medium, and high levels of anxiety and low and high levels of sociopathy. Ss were exposed to an avoidance situation under either low, medium, or high levels of background auditory stimulation. The avoidance task allowed shock to be averted through appropriate active and passive avoidance responses in the presence of visually presented cues. Anxiety, sociopathy, and auditory stimulus intensity interacted in their effects on avoidance behavior. Primary sociopaths learned to avoid shock more effectively under conditions of higher auditory stimulus intensity, while avoidance behavior of control Ss was not affected by changes in the level of auditory stimulation. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Math anxiety: Relation with situational test anxiety, performance, physiological arousal, and math avoidance behavior.

Investigated the relation of mathematics anxiety to situationally assessed test anxiety, mathematics performance, physiological arousal, and mathematics avoidance behavior in 23 male and 40 female undergraduates. Ss completed the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale, the Mathematics Anxiety Scale, the Anxiety Toward Mathematics Scale, and the Test Anxiety Inventory prior to completing 3 mathematics tasks. During the tasks, heart rate, skin conductance level, skin fluctuations, and avoidance behavior were monitored. Ss also completed the Post-Task Questionnaire, a situational measure of test anxiety, worry, and emotionality. Results indicate that mathematics anxiety measures were more highly rated to each other than to test anxiety. Mathematics anxiety accounted for 14–23% of the variance in 2 tasks, whereas, ability accounted for 30–42%. Rarely, did anxiety add to the variance accounted for by ability. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of measures of adaptive behaviors in preschool children.

Compared 6 measures of adaptive behavior to determine which tests and items best discriminate between behavior problem and nonproblem preschool children. 11 nonproblem and 13 problem children, matched on age (4 yrs) and IQ (110–215), were compared on the following tests: the Minnesota Child Development Inventory, the Classroom Adjustment Rating Scale, the Ottawa School Behavior Survey, the AML (Acting out, Moodiness, Learning disorders) Behavior Rating Scale, the Teacher Rating Scale, and the Denver Developmental Screening Test. Problem Ss scored significantly lower than nonproblem Ss on all 6 measures. In addition, fine-motor items discriminated better than gross-motor, language, social, and behavioral items. The Minnesota Child Development Inventory items were the best discriminators, followed by items on the Ottawa School Behavior Survey and the Teacher Rating Scale. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generality of the interaction model of anxiety with respect to two social evaluation field studies.

Hypothesized that Ss high in social evaluation trait anxiety (TA) would experience significantly greater changes (i.e., between stress and nonstress conditions) in TA than Ss low in social evaluation TA. It was further predicted that for the noncongruent interpersonal, physical danger, ambiguous, and innocuous TA dimensions, TA changes experienced by Ss high and low in TA would not differ significantly. 26 high school students (Exp I) and 28 24–60 yr old middle management corporate executives (Exp II) were administered the S-R Inventory of General Trait Anxiousness, the Present Affect Reactions Questionnaire, and the Perception of Situations Rating form under stressful (examination situation [Exp I] and on-the-job situation oriented toward achievement and performance [Exp II]) and nonstressful conditions. While the predicted relationships between TA, state anxiety (SA), and situation stress were confirmed, results provide only moderate support for the interaction model of anxiety because Ss did not strongly endorse the initial assumption that the stressful situations would be perceived as primarily socially evaluative. The apparent discrepancy between situation perception and SA levels of Ss high and low in social evaluation TA is discussed in terms of differential responsiveness to trait-congruent situational elements within various TA groups. (French abstract) (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reinforcement versus species-specific defense reactions as determinants of avoidance barpressing.

In three experiments, rats whose escape and avoidance barpresses were reinforced by entering a safe floor in an otherwise shuttle conditioning arrangement (a shuttle barpress task) showed better learning than the rats that did not receive such reinforcement only when the shock intensity was very weak. Barpresses were found to have mostly nonfrontal topography and appeared not to be under the control of escape or avoidance contingency of reinforcement. Preavoidance training in which only frontal barpresses were allowed to terminate shock greatly facilitated avoidance responding and nullified the inverse effect of shock intensity. The findings were interpreted as indicating that innate defensive reactions play a more prominent role in avoidance behavior than reinforcement, but they do not appear to be as fixed and unmodifiable by learning as often suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of individual differences in field dependence as a factor in learning and memory.

A review of the literature relating individual differences in field dependence to learning and memory suggests the following conclusions: (a) Field-dependent Ss are dominated by the salient cues in concept attainment problems, whereas field-independent Ss sample more fully from the available cue set. (b) Field-dependent Ss tend to use "spectator" approaches to learning. Whereas field-independent Ss more often use "participant" approaches. (c) Field independence is related to frequency of dream recall. (d) Field dependence is related to the magnitude of stress effects on learning and memory. (e) Field independence is related to performance effectiveness under conditons of intrinsic motivation. (f) Field dependence is related to the effectiveness of negative reinforcement. (g) Incidental learning of social information is greater among field-dependent than among field-independent Ss. (5 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interaction of test anxiety and success-failure experiences in determining children's arithmetic performance.

Studied the effects of the motives to approach success and to avoid failure in 60 5th and 6th grade boys and girls of low, middle, and high levels of test anxiety (Test Anxiety Scale for Children and Lie Scale for Children). Ss performed addition problems under 1 of 2 conditions: a mixed condition involving two-thirds success and one-third failure under time pressure and a success only condition in which all problems attempted were completed. As predicted, high anxious Ss, when compared to less anxious Ss on response rate, errors, and cheating, showed markedly inferior performance in the mixed condition, but comparable and improved performance in the success only condition. Findings indicate that anxious children perform poorly due to motivational difficulties rather than to learning deficiencies, and that their abilities are systematically underestimated by many achievement and educational testing procedures. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Manipulation of avoidance behavior as a function of increased or decreased demand on repeated behavioral tests.

5 groups of 15 female undergraduates reporting fear of snakes participated in 2 behavioral avoidance tests employing a snake as the target object. 4 groups were first tested under low demand for approach and then under the same conditions or under 1 of 3 conditions of demand increase, mediated by instructions, mode of administration, or both. The 5th group was tested under high, then low demand. Ss first tested under low demand showed significantly more fear than those first tested under high demand. In addition, Ss in the demand-increase groups showed significant increases in approach at the 2nd behavior avoidance test, while Ss in the demand-decrease group showed a significant reduction in approach. Ss in the repeated-measure control group showed no significant changes. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic differences in avoidance learning by Rattus norvegicus: Escape/avoidance responding, sensitivity to electric shock, discrimination learning, and open-field behavior.

Studied the behaviors of Long-Evans rats selectively bred for either good (SHA line) or poor (SLA line) shuttle box avoidance learning. The results of Exp I indicated that the phenotypic difference in avoidance learning was not associated with differences in speed of escape or avoidance responding. Differences between the lines in frequency of intertrial responses (ITRs), which appeared during training but not during pretest, suggest that ITRs in Ss of the low-avoidance SLA line were more suppressed by electric shock than in Ss of the high-avoidance SHA line. This result suggests that SLA Ss may be more emotionally responsive than SHA Ss. Exp II demonstrated that the Ss of the 2 lines did not differ in absolute sensitivity to electric shock, and Exp III showed that the poor performance of the SLA line was not due to an inability to learn. Ss also provided evidence that the poor avoidance learning by SLA Ss was due to their emotional reactivity. Observations of open-field behavior in Exp IV were consistent with this hypothesis. It is concluded that the major consistent correlate of the phenotypic difference in avoidance learning was greater emotionality or emotional reactivity in SLA than in SHA Ss. (57 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Premorbid and symptomatic characteristics of schizophrenics from families with high and low levels of expressed emotion.

Measures of intrafamilial expressed emotion (EE) have been found to predict relapse in schizophrenic patients, but the relationship between EE and other prognostic indicators has not been fully determined. In the present study, 42 18–41 yr old recently episodic schizophrenic patients from high- and low-EE homes were contrasted on a battery of symptomatology and social adjustment measures (e.g., Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Hopkins Symptom Checklist), which were administered during the hospitalization period and shortly after discharge. In addition, because the high-EE designation is based on the presence of either parental criticism, emotional overinvolvement, or both attributes, Ss from high-EE subgroups were contrasted as well. Results indicate that high- and low-EE Ss were indiscriminable on measures of symptomatology and social adjustment. However, when the high-EE group was divided into subtypes, notable intergroup differences emerged: Ss from emotionally overinvolved families were characterized by poorer premorbid adjustment and greater residual symptomatology at discharge than Ss from critical families. The implications of these findings for the predictive utility of the EE construct and other prognostic indicators are discussed. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decisional analysis of the effects of limbic lesions on learning in monkeys.

Examined the hypothesis that behavior during discrimination learning and reversal is under control of 2 competing variables: the patterned cues to be discriminated and the noncontingent schedule of reinforcement. An experiment was conducted with 8 adolescent rhesus monkeys using a modified decision theoretic procedure. Results show that the 2 variables were operative and that noncontingent reinforcement produced a strong position bias against discriminating. This bias was quantitatively more easily overcome by normal Ss than by Ss with hippocampal-amygdala lesions though the strategy and tactics used were the same for both groups. It is concluded that the hippocampus and amygdala influence attention through mechanisms that regulate motivational bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chemical sympathectomy and two-way escape and avoidance learning in the rat.

Reports 6 studies with male hooded Wistar rats on the effects of 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenylethylamine (6-hydroxydopamine) on 2-way escape and avoidance learning. Ss were tested on either escape or avoidance learning at 80 days of age after chemical sympathectomy at birth or 40 or 80 days of age. Neonatal and chronic sympathectomy (at 40 days), but not acute sympathectomy (at 80 days), resulted in depressed escape learning. Avoidance learning was affected by neonatal sympathectomy and partially by acute sympathectomy. Results have implications for the role of the autonomic nervous system in escape-avoidance learning. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"When are social judgments made? Evidence for the spontaneousness of trait inferences": Correction to Winter and Uleman.

Reports an error in "When are social judgments made? Evidence for the spontaneousness of trait inferences" by Laraine Winter and James S. Uleman (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1984[Aug], Vol 47[2], 237-252). There are errors in the labeling of Figure 1 on p. 244. The ordinate percentages should be three times greater than indicated. In addition, the algebraic formula in the note for Table 2 on p. 245 is incorrect. The correct ordinate percentages and the correct algebraic formula are provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1985-01259-001.) Adapted E. Tulving and D. M. Thomson's (see record 2005-09647-002) encoding specificity paradigm for 2 recall experiments with 153 undergraduates to investigate whether Ss would make trait inferences without intentions or instructions at the encoding stage of processing behavioral information. Under memory instructions only, Ss read sentences describing people performing actions that implied traits. Later, Ss recalled each sentence under 1 of 3 cuing conditions: a dispositional cue (e.g., generous); a strong, nondispositional semantic associate to an important sentence word; or no cue. Results show that recall was best when cued by the disposition words. Ss were unaware of having made trait inferences. Interpreted in terms of encoding specificity, findings indicate that Ss unintentionally made trait inferences at encoding. It is suggested that attributions are made spontaneously, as part of the routine comprehension of social events. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fabrication of delusional thinking in normals.

Tested a learning model for paranoid development by requiring Ss in the laboratory to fabricate ideation under conditions approximating those thought to be conducive to actual clinical delusions. Measures used on the 92 male undergraduate Ss included the Parent Attitude Research Instrument, the Parent–Child Interaction Rating Scales, and the Adjective Check List. Ss proposed to be susceptible to paranoid ideation, that is, late-adolescent males who have adopted an open style of adapting to the aversive-maternal-control experience, demonstrated the proposed signs of delusional thinking in their belief systems. Ss were required to formulate a rationale for the view that they believed others held concerning them. The open-style group, relative to control groups, provided beliefs that were more extensive, less credible, more concerned with negative information, and, for the more extended beliefs, better integrated and more presumptive of outside social influence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)