Stages of change and decisional balance for 12 problem behaviors.

Investigated the generalization of the transtheoretical model across 12 problem behaviors. The cross-sectional comparisons involved relationships between 2 key constructs of the model, the stages of change and decisional balance. The behaviors studied were smoking cessation, quitting cocaine, weight control, high-fat diets, adolescent delinquent behaviors, safer sex, condom use, sunscreen use, radon gas exposure, exercise acquisition, mammography screening, and physicians' preventive practices with smokers. Clear commonalities were observed across the 12 areas, including both the internal structure of the measures and the pattern of changes in decisional balance across stages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autominder: an intelligent cognitive orthotic system for people with memory impairment

The world’s population is aging at a phenomenal rate. Certain types of cognitive decline, in particular some forms of memory impairment, occur much more frequently in the elderly. This paper describes Autominder, a cognitive orthotic system intended to help older adults adapt to cognitive decline and continue the satisfactory performance of routine activities, thereby potentially enabling them to remain in their own homes longer. Autominder achieves this goal by providing adaptive, personalized reminders of (basic, instrumental, and extended) activities of daily living. Cognitive orthotic systems on the market today mainly provide alarms for prescribed activities at fixed times that are specified in advance. In contrast, Autominder uses a range of AI techniques to model an individual’s daily plans, observe and reason about the execution of those plans, and make decisions about whether and when it is most appropriate to issue reminders. Autominder is currently deployed on a mobile robot, and is being developed as part of the Initiative on Personal Robotic Assistants for the Elderly (the Nursebot project).     

The effect of test conditions on apparent smoke density from various materials

Four samples of thermoplastics and nine samples of wood were evaluated for smoke evolution in the Aminco-NBS smoke chamber under piloted (flaming) conditions, using two different types of pilot burners, and in the Arapahoe chamber. Product Safety Corporation     

Inferences of ability and effort: Evidence for two different processes.

In 2 experiments, 295 undergraduates judged either ability (given performance and effort information) or effort (given performance and ability information) where both the reliability and value of the given information varied. Ss made judgments of IQ (or study time) based on information about the effort a person expended in studying (or IQ), student's performance, or both. Individual differences were found in the judged relationship between ability and effort. Some judged ability and effort to be positively related, whereas others judged ability and effort to be negatively related. These groups also differed in the way information reliability influenced their judgments. The positive group showed effects that agree with either an averaging or correlational model: Higher reliability of one type of information was correlated with a lesser effect of the other type of information. For the negative group, an increase in the reliability of one type of information actually increased the effect of the other type of information, a result that is inconsistent with the averaging model. Both an expectancy-contrast model and a correlational model can account for the results of the negative group. The different effects of information reliability for the 2 groups can be interpreted as evidence of 2 different inference processes. Results show flexibility of human judgment strategies and the need for research considering variables that influence strategy use. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of pyrolysis temperature on relative toxicity of some plastics

The relative toxicity of the pyrolysis gases from some plastics can vary considerably, depending on the temperature at which the material is pyrolyzed and other test conditions. Because a large number of test conditions can exist at some particular place and time during a fire, depending on the type of fire, the differences illustrate the importance of selecting test conditions that are relevant to the particular fire environment.     

Modeling demand and supply interactions to forecast load growth for electricity distribution systems

Distribution systems such as the Rural Electric Cooperatives (RECs) in the U.S. obtain power largely through purchases. Supply is often guaranteed through long-term contracts, and prices may be less sensitive in the short run to increases in fuel costs. The development of a model to capture some of the unique features of the RECs cost structures is discussed. The use of such a model in forecasting the growth of the cooperatives is presented; three scenarios of alternative assumptions regarding the growth of fuel prices are analyzed. Based on these scenarios, it is concluded that the annual load growths of RECs will range between 3.6 and 5.9% to the year 2000.     

Pro-Leu-Gly-NH? serves as a conditioned stimulus in the acquisition of conditioned tolerance.

The effect of Pro-Leu-Gly-NH? (MIF) on the acquisition of tolerance to morphine-induced antinociception and its efficacy as a cue predictive of morphine administration was examined. Daily administration of MIF prior to morphine injection did not attenuate the acquisition of tolerance to the antinociceptive properties of morphine, as measured by the latency to hindpaw lick in a hot-plate test of analgesia. When the animals were tested 72 hrs later without MIF pretreatment, they appeared to lose tolerance, as indicated by longer latencies to paw lick. These data suggest that in some situations MIF may interfere with the acquisition of tolerance by acting as a cue that reliably predicts the antinociceptive properties of morphine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnocentrism and causal attribution in Southeast Asia.

Tested D. M. Taylor and V. Jaggi's (see record 1975-05049-001) hypothesis of ethnocentric attribution, which states that group members make internal attributions for the positive behavior of other ingroup members and external attributions for their negative behavior, while the reverse holds true for attributions to outgroup members. In Exp I, 34 Malay and 34 Chinese male Malaysan university students were asked to ascribe to internal or external causes the behavior of ingroup and outgroup members performing socially desirable or undesirable acts. The hypothesis was supported only for the Malays, whereas the Chinese favored the outgroup. These results were consistent with a limited analysis of auto- and heterostereotypes. Exp II, with 60 Singaporean male university students, revealed ingroup favoritism for the Malays once again, although the Chinese no longer favored the outgroup. These less extreme results mapped onto the stereotypes and mirrored the more multicultural environment in Singapore. Differences between the studies are discussed in terms of wider sociostructural and cultural influences that indicate that ethnocentric attribution is not a universal tendency. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Becoming famous without being recognized: Unconscious influences of memory produced by dividing attention.

The familiarity of names produced by their prior presentation can be misinterpreted as fame. We used this false fame effect to separately study the effects of divided attention on familiarity versus conscious recollection. In a first experiment, famous and nonfamous names were presented to be read under conditions of full vs. divided attention. Divided attention greatly reduced later recognition memory performance but had no effect on gains in familiarity as measured by fame judgments. In later experiments, we placed recognition memory and familiarity in opposition by presenting only nonfamous names to be read in the first phase. Recognizing a name as earlier read on the later fame test allowed Ss to be certain that it was nonfamous. Divided attention at study or during the fame test reduced list recognition performance but had no effect on familiarity. We conclude that conscious recollection is an attention-demanding act that is separate from assessing familiarity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)