Rats and mice together: The predatory nature of the rat's mouse-killing response.

Distinguishes between predatory behavior and other types of behavior typically called aggressive (e.g., territorial fighting). Predatory behaviors are (a) usually interspecific, (b) related to eating, and (c) topographically distinct from other fighting behaviors. It is suggested that differences in response patterns offer a relatively simple way to distinguish predatory behaviors from other fighting behaviors. Studies of the rat's mouse-killing response are reviewed and compared with those of predatory animals according to the criteria listed above. It is concluded that the rat's mouse-killing response is predatory (i.e., a link in a behavioral chain that typically ends in eating). This definition is important for the consideration of future conditioning studies concerned with the modification of such behavior. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cesium chloride gradients of chromatin after treatment with micrococcal nuclease

Chronic administration of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for 5--8 weeks at 4 dose levels (2, 10, 20, 50mg/kg/day) or of pilocarpine (12.5, 25 mg/kg/day) for 3 weeks induced mouse-killing in 25--70% of previously "non-killer" rats of the Sprague-Dawley strain. The maximum percent of drug-induced mouse-killing depended on the daily dose and housing conditions, 20mg/kg/day THC and 25 mg/kg/day pilocarpine in single-housed rats being the most effective treatments. Drug-induced mouse-killing appeared to be a form of behavioral pathology, differing from the species-specific predatory response, when it first appeared. Concurrent assessment of locomotor and rearing activities showed dose-dependent depressant effects of THC and pilocarpine without evidence for tolerance. Different dose-dependencies and time courses suggest that changes in motor activities are not directly linked to the appearance of the killing behavior.     

Definitions and levels of analysis.

Presents concerns with the article by D. M. Buss et al (see record 1998-01669-001). The present author states his main concern as being the suggestion by Buss et al that S. J. Gould (see record 1992-11754-001) was inconsistent in his usage of the term "exaptation," and that his stated definitions seem to require these effects to be biological. Additionally, the author takes issue with the suggestion by Buss et al that Gould used the term to "cover novel but functionless uses or consequences of existing characteristics," and offers his own interpretation of Gould's research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of lesions in the amygdala, periamygdaloid cortex, and stria terminalis on aggressive behaviors in rats.

In 3 experiments, with a total of 113 male albino Sprague-Dawley rats, it was found that small lesions in the periamygdaloid cortex, cortical amygdaloid nucleus, or bed nuclei of the stria terminalis reduced or eliminated attacks and signs of dominance in fights which were generated by isolated housing and the omission of food reward. The same lesions had little or no effect on pain-induced or reflexive "fighting" or on mouse-killing. Small lesions in the lateral or central amygdaloid nuclei significantly inhibited pain-induced "aggression," but did not modify attack behavior or dominance in fights that occurred in situations not involving painful stimulation. These lesions also did not alter mouse-killing behavior. Results suggest that the periamygdaloid cortex and cortical amygdaloid nucleus, as well as the stria terminalis, may be part of a neural system which influences intraspecies aggression in male rats. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recommendations for training in the use of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).

Comments on the article by E. D. Rossini and R. J. Moretti (see record 1997-04849-016) regarding interpretation of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). The present author notes that issues of test validity, use of quantified scoring systems, and appropriate normative data when interpreting the TAT were ignored. The present author notes that one should not evade issues of validity by alluding to "self-conferred expert clinical judgment." It is also argued that because predictive methods have almost always been more accurate than or as accurate as clinicians, it is inappropriate to assert that such expertise is exactly what the master psychodiagnostician offers beyond actuarial personality evaluation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How Do Respondents Construe Ambiguous Response Formats of Affect Items?

Ambiguous response formats predict correlations from -.467 to -1 between opposite items, depending on whether the respondent's interpretation of the format is unipolar or bipolar. The authors present a procedure to investigate the proper interpretation in each case. It consists of applying nonparametric and parametric item response theory models (the Mokken and the graded response models) to pairs of opposite items in order to find the locations of the response options along the latent scale and, therefore, identify the response format construction. The authors tested this procedure on 4 samples (Ns=142-1,150) and 2 item pairs ("relaxed"-"tense" and "optimistic"-"pessimistic"). The results revealed that respondents constructed the formats as bipolar and supported the bipolarity of the item pairs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the necessity of alignment: Reply to Costello and Keane (2001).

In their article, "Testing two theories of conceptual combination: Alignment versus diagnosticity in the comprehension and production of combined concepts," F. J. Costello and M. T. Keane (see record 2000-14052-015) evaluate the role of alignment in the interpretation of noun–noun combinations. They found that participants were not strongly biased to prefer and produce interpretations with alignable differences. Instead, participants sometimes preferred and produced interpretations with nonalignable differences. These results are surprising given that most research has found advantages of alignable differences over nonalignable differences. Costello and Keane also found that feature diagnosticity better predicted their results, and they concluded that alignment does not play an important role in conceptual combination. However, drawing on recent work, the author of the present article gives an alternative interpretation of Costello and Keane's results, showing that alignment is crucial in conceptual combinations. The author also shows that the dual-process model accounts for their results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rats and mice together: The aggressive nature of mouse killing by rats.

Posits that the recent conclusion of M. O'Boyle (see record 1974-27246-001) that mouse killing by rats is predatory and distinct from aggression rests on inadequate logic and questionable interpretation. It is argued that mouse killing may represent a broader class of behaviors. To view the behavior narrowly as a model of predation may needlessly limit the scope of research on the phenomenon and its interpretation. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of neonatal handling on play behavior and fear towards a predator odor in juvenile rats (rattus norvegicus).

The effects of brief daily separation, also known as "handling," during the first 2 weeks of life on play behavior and fearfulness toward a predatory odor were assessed in juvenile rats. Handled rats were more playful than nonhandled control rats, and while handling had no effect on the direct response of these rats toward a predatory odor, handled rats did not exhibit a conditioned suppression of play when tested later in the same context where they had been exposed to the predatory odor. Handled rats were still wary of the environment in that they continued to show a heightened level of risk assessment behavior. These data suggest that early postnatal experiences may play a significant role in determining how an animal deals with predatory threats later in life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On worthwhile icons: Reply to Di Lollo and Haber.

Responds to R. N. Haber's (see record 1986-11000-001) and V. Di Lollo's (see record 1986-10993-001) comments on the study of a procedure to estimate the worth of an icon conducted by the present author et al (see record 1986-00309-001). In response to Haber, the author maintains that icons can be spatiotopic as well as retinotopic, knowledge of icons is necessary for designing video-display systems, and ecological validity should not be a criterion for the scientific investigation of some topics. Responding to Di Lollo, the author argues that this general model does not account for several salient aspects of data by the present author et al. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internet–depression link?

Comments on the article by R. Kraut et al (see record 1998-10886-001) regarding links between Internet use and depression. Rierdan expresses conceptual and analytic concerns about whether Kraut et al actually assessed depression in their study or whether they found a relationship between Internet use and "depression" as they assessed it. The author expresses concern regarding the range of scores for Kraut et al study participants on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and argues that the most valid interpretation of the scores is that the Ss in this study had low levels of distress. As a group, they were not depressed before or after the study. The author raises a second analytic issue regarding analytic techniques, arguing that effect sizes for the group were actually very small. The author suggests that the finding of an association between Internet use and distress has few implications for public policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on the use of the terms conditioning and reinforcement.

The "… term conditioning was originally used… to denote the behavioral fact that a stimulus inadequate for some response could become adequate by virtue of being combined one or more times with a stimulus adequate for the response… . The situation at present is as follows. Conditioning is being used as an all-covering account of both Pavlovian and Skinnerian learning which by all tokens are quite distinct—and even divergent—from each other methodologically, operationally, behaviorally, and functionally. And reinforcement, in its turn, wields four different meanings." The author claims that "… not only is such a mixing of terms in itself unjustified but in twenty years has hardly caught on beyond the reign of its immediate proponents." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes toward animal research.

Comments on the articles of S. Plous (see records 84-09797 and 84-20622) on attitudes toward the use of animals in psychological research. The present author attempts to dispel the common belief that "might is right." It is argued in response to other comments on Plous's article that concern for other people seems to go hand in hand with concern for oppressed groups and, hence, for animals as well. In addition, it is suggested in response to the argument that animals are useful to the extent that they resemble humans, psychologically or physiologically, that the very assumption that animals are like humans makes it hard to legitimize why we do to them that which we would not do to humans. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two many assumptions.

Responds to M. Kotkin and C. Daviet"s comments (see record 1999-15532-010) on the present author"s criticisms of the 1994 Consumer Reports study of consumers" views on mental health services (see record 1996-13324-001). Kotkin and Daviet suggested that the present author misrepresented the sampling procedure by using an incorrect percentage rate. The present author argues that both rates are literally correct given the different denominators used. He further comments that a convincing case could be made that neither figure gives a very helpful picture of the use of mental health professionals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The shifting definitions of acquiescence.

Asserts that the P.M. Bentler, D.N. Jackson, and S. Messick (see record 1972-21017-001) rebuttal is not responsive to the criticisms leveled earlier. The shifting over the years in the definition of acquiescence and in the kinds of evidence used to bolster the acquiescence interpretation is noted. In particular, it is noted tht highly specific and replicable evidence is required to support the presently advanced hypothesis that acceptance acquiescence importantly influences assessment procedures. The Bentler, et al., view that any evidence of response inconsistency is evidence for their "distinct species of acquiescence" is not accepted. (l8 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measures of psychological masculinity and femininity: A comment on Gaddy, Glass, and Arnkoff.

C. D. Gaddy et al (see record 1983-30152-001) studied the relationship between women's sex-role identity and career decisions. The ANDRO scales of the Personality Research Form were used to assess sex-role identity. This use of measures of psychological masculinity and femininity, which is not uncommon, is questioned by the present author in view of recent advances in the field. Basically, the assumption that scales labeled "masculine" and "feminine" are reliable and valid measures of sex roles, sex-role identity, sex-role orientation, or sex-role beliefs and behavior is viewed as untenable. Researchers are urged to consider extant measures of masculinity and femininity as assessing the socially desirable personality traits of instrumentality (self-assertion) and expressiveness (nurturance/interpersonal concern), respectively. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Illusory correlation and the MMPI controversy: Reply to some of the allusions and elusions in Block's and Edwards' commentaries.

In 1890 J. G. Frazer described magical thinking as a failure to distinguish between the concepts of similarity and contiguity on the one hand and the concept of causation on the other. Objects and events that resemble one another or have been in contact are thought to influence one another. The "illusory correlation" interpretation discussed in the present author's paper (see record 1978-20145-001) is a more recent version of Frazer's magical thinking hypothesis. Resemblance is not a good predictor of co-occurrence likelihood in the real world; nonetheless, objects and events that resemble one another are said to go together despite experience to the contrary. The illusory correlation interpretation is explicated with reference to A. L. Edwards's (see record 1978-20107-001) and J. Block's (see record 1978-20097-001) critiques. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the question of professional standards for computer-based test interpretation.

Comments on J. D. Matarazzo's (see record 1986-19878-001) discussion of computer-based test interpretation (CBTI) and R. D. Fowler and J. N. Butcher's (see record 1986-20446-001) response to Matarazzo. The call for the development of CBTI guidelines both by individuals with reservations about some CBTI programs (e.g., Matarazzo) and by those who are more positive about the present status of CBTI development (e.g., Fowler and Butcher) is emphasized. Matarazzo's reply to the author immediately follows this comment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A hand advantage in preparation of simple keypress responses: Reply to Reeve and Proctor (1984).

T. G. Reeve and R. W. Proctor (see record 1985-13655-001) challenged the present author's (see record 1982-27185-001) assumption of a same-hand advantage for precuing discrete finger responses. It is argued that the response set used by Reeve and Proctor in their experiment differed sufficiently from that used by the present author that their results cannot be used to draw conclusions about the preparation of the original responses. The assumption is supported by the results of a new experiment, with 36 undergraduates, that corrected a potential artifact in the original experiment but used a similar response set. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Cognitive-behavioral therapy in geriatric depression": Reply to Riskind, Beck, and Steer.

Responds to the challenge by J. H. Riskind et al (see record 1986-12531-001) to the interpretation by J. L. Steuer et al (see record 1984-21146-001) that changes observed on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in depressed geriatric patients treated with cognitive-behavioral (CB) group psychotherapy did not demonstrate superiority for CB therapy over a psychodynamic approach. Riskind et al proposed that somatic items on the other rating instruments used might not be valid in geriatric patients and thus might render those scales less sensitive. Reanalyses of the psychotherapy data and data from a placebo-controlled study of tricyclic antidepressants by the present 3rd author et al (see record 1983-21474-001) did not support this assertion. Somatic items proved to be sensitive to change in both studies. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)