Donald Redfield Griffin (1915-2003).

Presents an obituary for Donald Redfield Griffin, who passed away on November 7, 2003. Dr. Griffin was noted for rigorous research in animal behavior, founding the field of cognitive ethology and suggesting that animals have subjective feelings and conscious thoughts that are amenable to scientific study. Dr. Griffin demonstrated that bats emit high-frequency sounds with which they can locate objects as small as flying insects and coined the term echolocation, and he conducted extensive studies of the manner in which birds orient toward home. Many scientists were influenced by him and showed great respect for this remarkable scientist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extensions To Standard Hold Time Calculations

The paper extends existing methods of calculating the hold time for a fire extinguishing gas in an enclosure to cover mechanical HVAC systems and wide descending interfaces, and compares the wide descending interface model's predictions with some experimental data. A simple approximation to the measured wide descending interface gives conservative hold time predictions, while the sharp descending interface model used in current standards gives optimistic predictions.     

Samuel Fernberger's rejected doctoral dissertation: A neglected resource for the history of ape research in America.

I summarize a never-completed 1911 doctoral dissertation on ape behavior by Samuel Fernberger of the University of Pennsylvania. Included are observations on many behavioral patterns including sensory and perceptual function, learning, memory, attention, imagination, personality, and emotion in an orangutan and two chimpanzees. There are examples of behavior resembling insight, conscience, tool use and imitation. Language comprehension was good but speech production was minimal. The document appears to contradict a brief published article on the project by William Furness in that punishment was frequently used. The document is important for understanding Fernberger's early career, for anticipations of later research, and for understanding the status of ape research at the time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Female regulation and choice in the copulatory behavior of montane voles (Microtus montanus).

To study female choice of mating partners in montane voles, a male was tethered at each end of an elongate chamber, and an estrous female was allowed to move betweeen the 2 males and a neutral area. In Exp I, using 16 females and 32 males, females with a choice of 2 gonadally intact males copulated preferentially with 1 of them. Preferred males were more effective than nonpreferred males at gaining intromission and had more thrusts per intromission. In Exp II, with 10 females, 10 castrated males, and 10 sham-operated males, females spent more time with and mated preferentially with intact rather than castrated males. It is therefore suggested that the opportunity to copulate is reinforcing for female voles and that they display distinct preferences, correlated with copulatory stimulation, for some partners. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Louis D. Cohen (1912-2000).

Memorializes Louis D. Cohen, known for his work as the founding chair of the Department of Clinical Psychology of the University of Florida. This program was the first nationally accredited program in the country within a health center setting. Cohen extended the vision of clinical application well beyond the office practice model and became one of the fathers of the community psychology approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frank A. Beach’s unpublished textbook on comparative psychology.

At his death in 1988, Frank A. Beach left unpublished a textbook in comparative psychology that he had written in the late 1950s. In it, Beach contrasted comparative behavioral science, as he viewed it, with both ethology and classical human-oriented psychology. He provided a solid background of zoological principles and focused on orienting attitudes. Beach emphasized a functionalist approach to behavior, stressing the role of behavior in the natural lives of animals. It is argued that much of comparative psychology has developed along the lines that Beach advocated at that time but that that development may have been much smoother had the textbook been published. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative psychology and ethology: A reassessment.

According to the received view of the history of ethology and comparative psychology, ethology developed as the study of insects, fish, and birds in the field and comparative psychology as the study of rats learning mazes in the laboratory; there was little contact between them throughout the century. This view does not withstand close analysis. Throughout the century, comparative psychology, as differentiated from other approaches within animal psychology, has been closer to the ethological approach than generally has been acknowledged. There have been repeated contacts and mutual influences. Although different in some respects, comparative psychology and ethology share many characteristics and much of their histories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Nancy Innis (1941-2004).

Presents an obituary for Nancy Innis (1941-2004), who passed away on August 17, 2004. Dr. Innis was notable for her idealism and devotion to experimental psychology. Her first experimental paper focused on the "frustration effect," and her doctoral dissertation examined pigeons' ability to track a changing sequence of intervals. Dr. Innis had an interest in comparative psychology and was active in the International Society for Comparative Psychology; additionally she served on several journal editorial boards and was a member of countless psychological associations. Nancy Innis was a true scientist, interested in finding the truth, not a careerist, interested in becoming famous. In remembrance, a tree will be planted on the University of Western Ontario campus, and a fund will be established to support a prize awarded yearly to the student who writes the best essay in her history of psychology course. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tests of preferences of young deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi) for siblings versus nonsiblings.

Three experiments were conducted to test the performance of young deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi) in associating preferentially with siblings versus nonsiblings. In Experiment 1, neither males nor females preferred caged siblings versus nonsiblings. In Experiment 2, with full contact permitted, nonsibling males were in contact as much as were sibling males. In Experiment 3, with pairs of littermate pairs permitted full contact, there was no significant differential association. Although discrimination and preferences related to kinship have been demonstrated in some species, they cannot be assumed to be universal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the evolution of divisions.

The American Psychological Association (APA) recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its divisional structure. The development of the divisions during that period is summarized in this article. The author traces the proliferation of divisions and considers such developments as changing names of divisions, membership, proliferation within divisions, the administration of divisions, meeting programs, publications, and the problems faced by divisions. Divisions have become an integral part of the APA governance structure and provide a primary means of identification for many APA members. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)