Psychology Commons^™

The Effectiveness Of Two Classes Of Verbal Reinforcement On The Performance Of Second-, Fifth-, And Eighth-Grade Children, Douglas D. Settles

Student Work

The effects of two classes of verbal reinforcers, correctness and social, were examined among 108 second-, fifth-, and eighthgrade, middle-class children. The effectiveness of verbal reinforcement. was measured by a change in the S's response preference on a marble-sorting task. Results of the study were (a) that there were no initial age differences in the magnitude or direction of the baserate responses, (b) that correctness reinforcement was more rewarding across all levels of age than social approval, (c) that for eighth-grade Ss, correctness reinforcers were significantly more rewarding than either social or no reinforcement, and (d) that a post hoc …

The Electrophysiological Correlates Of Learning In The Developing Kitten, A. Derick Dalhouse

Student Work

The objectives of this experiment were (a) to study the development of classical conditioning in the kitten using light as the conditioned stimulus (CS) , shock as the unconditioned stimulus (US), and leg flexion as the conditioned response; (b) to investigate physiological correlates of learning during the development of classical conditioning such as visual evoked responses (VER), visual following (VF), electrocardiogram (EKG), and galvanic skin response (GSR); and (c) to ascertain the relationship, during development, between physiological and behavioral changes associated with conditioning.

Four kittens were exposed to two classical conditioning paradigms. Two Ss received a continuous 10 sec. light …

Favorability As Influenced By Frequency Of Exposure To Black And White College Seniors, Michael R. Baum

Student Work

Zajonc's (1968) "mere exposure" effect was replicated by measuring change in favorability toward black and white college seniors. Following a preexperimental selection of the five most neutral slides for each race by sex category, 40 experimental and 40 control group subjects rated ten black and ten white slides on a pre- and a posttest. The experimental treatment consisted of ten exposure sequences of the 20 slides, whereas the control group performed an inverted alphabet printing task. A repeated measures analysis of variance, conducted on the subjects, favorability ratings for both the pre- and the posttests, supported the hypothesis that a …

Favorability As A Function Of Exposure, Race, And Initial Affective Rating, Kenneth W. Nikels

Student Work

Zajonc (1968) proposed that repeated exposure to a stimulus is a sufficient condition for the enhancement of an attitude toward it. The "mere exposure" hypothesis is of such generality that it has many far-reaching implications, one of which is the consequences of biracial experiences. Integration of schools, housing, and employment all seem to be partially based upon Zajonc's hypothesis, as are Black Studies courses and Black media exposure. The underlying assumption of each of these examples is, in part, that biracial exposure will produce more favorable racial attitudes.

Group Discussion Versus Persuasive Speech In Changing Behavior, George J. Sullivan

Student Work

There has been much research concerning attitude change, but few studies examining concomitant changes in behavior. Those studies that have studied behavioral changes have produced inconsistent results The present study was directed at exploring the relationship between different methods of changing behavior. Forty-six undergraduate students were assigned to either a control, persuasive speech, general discussion, or problem-solving discussion conditions. Experimental conditions were measured by two dependent variables: the number of volunteers (behavioral intention) and appearance at a meeting the following day (overt behavior). With regard to behavioral intentions, persuasive speech did not differ from controls; both types of discussion were …

Haptic Perception Of The Mueller-Lyer Illusion By The Blind, James G. Patterson

Student Work

This study measured the extent to which the following four groups of Ss experienced the Mueller-L yer illusion: a group of ten congenital blind, ten Ss blinded in adulthood, ten sighted blindfolded Ss presented the illusion haptically, and ten sighted Ss presented the illusion visually. All of the groups experienced the illusion to a significant extent. The extent of illusion in the sighted haptic group was significantly less than that in each of the other groups, p < . 025 in each case. None of the other pairs of means w ere significantly different. Thus the results show that the blind do experience the Mueller-Lyer illusion similarly to the sighted, but the extent of illusion is much less for the sighted blindfolded. A positional memory hypothesis was presented to account for these results. It proposes that the blind have learned to remember the haptic location of objects in their environment but that the sighted have not developed this skill to the same degree.

A Test Of The "Contiguity" And "Generalized Imitation" Theories Of Social Modeling Processes, Gerald R. Adams

Student Work

Imitative behavior was studied using 36 kindergarten children who were either reinforced or not reinforced for imitative behavior prior to observing a male model exhibit aggressive behaviors. The children were tested for imitative aggressive behaviors in an 8-minute freeplay situation using a five category rating scale. The results revealed that the reinforced group emitted significantly more physical, verbal, and nonimitative aggression than the nonreinforced group. A second test examined the retention of the model's aggressive behavior under an incentive condition. The incentive condition diminished the initial differences found in the first test, revealing a nonsignificant difference between the reinforced and …

The Effects Of Visual Feedback And Level Of Aggression On The Application Of Noxious Stimuli, Gary W. Rawson

Student Work

Sixty-four male undergraduate students who were enrolled in an introductory psychology course were used as subjects to determine the effect which visual feedback and level of aggression have on the application of a noxious stimulus to another human being. Equal numbers of high and low aggressive Ss, based on Edwards Personal Preference Schedule scores, were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups, defined by type of visual feedback. The Ss were permitted to select the intensity and duration of hypothetical electric shock which they could apply to a male confederate as punishment for supposedly incorrect responses in a learning …

Changing Attitudes By Means Of Classical Conditioning, Larry R. Smeltzer

Student Work

As knowledge of attitude change processes has grown, a wide variety of theoretical analyses have been developed to integrate portions of this knowledge and to guide further research. Many theorists argue that attitude change and formation in the "real world" are produced by the fundamental mechanisms of classical conditioning (Kiesler, Collins, and Miller, 1969) but little research has been done to support such a theory.

Effects Of Prior Experience Of One Group Member On The Performance Of The Wheel Network, Mark Hinterthuer

Student Work

The present study investigated the effects of prior experience of one group member on the performance of the wheel network. Groups participating in the experiment included four experimental groups and a control group. The four experimental groups included combinations of centrally or peripherally trained Ss transferred to a central or peripheral position in naive wheel networks. Dependent variables were measured in four categories: time, number of messages, number of errors, and individual ratings on a post-communication questionnaire. The position occupied by the experienced Ss during training had no apparent effect on their transfer group,s performance. The network position of the …

Effects Of Relevant And Irrelevant Characteristics Of Leaders In A Communication Network, Janet Ann Scheetz

Student Work

The present study involved groups of four Ss participating in a communication network, problem-solving task. Groups were assigned to one of the two treatments involving an irrelevant leader characteristic, race, and one of two treatments involving a relevant leader characteristic, efficiency. Race was varied by informing some groups that their leader was White while the other groups were informed that their leader was Negro. Efficiency was defined by an efficiency index, which, through a script followed by a confederate leader, produced either a high or low degree of efficiency. Race of the leader had a non significant impact on all …