Showing papers by "University of Kansas published in 1968"

Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis

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Effects of teacher attention on study behavior.

Abstract: The effects of contingent teacher attention on study behavior were investigated. Individual rates of study were recorded for one first-grade and five third-grade pupils who had high rates of disruptive or dawdling behavior. A reinforcement period (in which teacher attention followed study behavior and non-study behaviors were ignored) resulted in sharply increased study rates. A brief reversal of the contingency (attention occurred only after periods of non-study behavior) again produced low rates of study. Reinstatement of teacher attention as reinforcement for study once again markedly increased study behavior. Follow-up observations indicated that the higher study rates were maintained after the formal program terminated.

The effects and side effects of punishing the autistic behaviors of a deviant child

Abstract: Timeout procedures in the home and extinction and reinforcement of incompatible behaviors in the laboratory failed to eliminate the disruptive and dangerous climbing behavior of a deviant child. Punishment with electric shock was used to eliminate this behavior in the laboratory and then in the home. The effects were reversible and were restricted to specific stimulus conditions. A less severe form of punishment was used to eliminate the child's autistic rocking. Other behaviors of the subject were continuously measured in the laboratory to determine the side effects of punishment. No suppression of other behaviors correlated with punishment was noted. However, the rate of some behaviors increased when punishment was used to eliminate deviant behaviors, but these increases were, primarily, desirable.

Establishing use of descriptive adjectives in the spontaneous speech of disadvantaged preschool children

Abstract: From observer records, a count was made for each child, in a group of disadvantaged children in an experimental preschool, of usage and acquisition of descriptive adjectives, with and without noun referents. Procedures were sought which would effectively modify the low rates of adjective-noun combinations in the everyday language of all the children. Time in school, intermittent teacher praise, and social and intellectual stimulation were not effective in changing the low rates of using adjectives of size and shape. Group teaching effectively increased rates of using color- and number-noun combinations in the group-teaching situation, but was ineffective in changing rates of usage in the children's “spontaneous” vocabularies. By operating directly on the children's language in the free-play situation, making access to preschool materials contingent upon use of a color-noun combination, significant increases in such usage were effected in the spontaneous vocabularies of all the children. Preschool materials apparently functioned as powerful reinforcers. Though traditional teaching procedures were effective in generating adjective-noun combinations in that restricted situation, it was only through application of environmental contingencies that color names as descriptive adjectives were effectively and durably established in all the children's spontaneous vocabularies.

Achievement Place: token reinforcement procedures in a home-style rehabilitation setting for “pre-delinquent” boys

Abstract: Token reinforcement procedures were designed to modify the behavior of “pre-delinquent” boys residing in a community-based, home-style rehabilitation setting. Points (the tokens) were redeemable for various privileges such as visiting their families, watching TV, and riding bicycles. Points were given by the house-parents contingent upon specified appropriate behavior and taken away for specified inappropriate behavior. The frequencies of aggressive statements and poor grammar decreased while tidiness, punctuality, and amount of homework completed increased. It was concluded that a token reinforcement procedure, entirely dependent upon back-up reinforcers naturally available in a home-style treatment setting, could contribute to an effective and economical rehabilitation program for pre-delinquents.

Developing correspondence between the non-verbal and verbal behavior of preschool children.

Abstract: Correspondence was developed between children's non-verbal and verbal behavior such that their non-verbal behavior could be altered simply by reinforcing related verbal behavior. Two groups of six children each were given food snack at the end of the day: for reporting use of a specific preschool material during free play (procedure A); and then only for reports of use which corresponded to actual use of that material earlier that day (procedure B). Initially, procedure A alone had little or no effect on the children's use of materials. Procedure B resulted in all of the children in one group actually using a specific material, and after repeating procedures A and B with this group across a series of different materials, procedure A alone was sufficient to significantly increase use of a specific material. Correspondence between verbal and non-verbal behavior was produced such that, in this group of 4-yr-old disadvantaged Negro children, "saying" controlled "doing" 22 or more hours later. In the second group, procedure B initially did not increase the use of a specific material; rather, the children's reports decreased so as to correspond to the intermittent use of the material. It appeared from subsequent procedures with this group that maintenance of a high level of reporting was crucial to the saying-then-doing correspondence seen in the first group.

Tests for Hierarchical Structure in Random Data Sets

Abstract: The degree of fit of phenograms (constructed using UPGMA cluster analysis) to similarity matrices based on random data was examined using the cophenetic correlation coefficient. Approximate critical bounds were established for testing for the presence of hierarchic structure in one's data. Sokal's taxonomic distance coefficient was shown to be more sensitive than the product-moment correlation coefficient to differences in the multivariate structure of the sampled distributions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of fit of phenograms to similarity matrices based on random data (both multivariate normal and uniform distributions were used). The degree of fit was measured using the cophenetic correlation coefficient (Sokal and Rohlf, 1962). It is of interest to develop a standard for comparsion with actual numerical taxonomic results in order to formulate a test criterion to indicate whether one has sufficient evidence to indicate that the phenetic relationships present in one's data are hierarchic (rather than simply what could be expected from a random sample of a single homogeneous population).

An experimental analysis of linguistic development: the productive use of the plural morpheme

Abstract: Operant conditioning procedures were used to establish a generative use of the plural morpheme in the speech of a severely retarded girl During training trials, reinforcement was presented contingent upon correct imitation of singular and plural verbalizations by the experimenter, in response to objects presented to the subject singly and in pairs A generative productive plural usage resulted, the girl correctly labeling new objects in the singular or plural without further direct training relevant to those objects After establishing the singular/plural usage, the contingencies were reversed (reinforcement of plural responses to single objects, and vice-versa) This produced a corresponding reversal of response by the child The original usage was then recovered by returning to the previous contingencies A second experiment analyzed certain error responses occurring during the first experiment, and further probed the generative nature of the subject's plural usage It was found that errors were somewhat more likely to occur in the pluralization of words ending in vowels than of words ending in consonants Furthermore, several words whose plurals had been learned according to the reversed plural rule, when examined later during reinforcement of normal plural usage, were found then to exemplify the normal rule being reinforced, yet without direct training

Instructing beginning teachers in reinforcement procedures which improve classroom control.

Abstract: Systematic reinforcement procedures were used to increase study behavior in the classrooms of three beginning teachers experiencing problems of classroom control. Classroom study rates were recorded during a baseline period. During subsequent experimental periods, the teachers changed one or more reinforcement contingencies (teacher attention, length of between-period break, a classroom game) to bring about increased study rates and concomitant reductions in disruptive behaviors. A brief reversal period, in which these contingencies were discontinued, again produced low rates of study. Reinstatement of the contingencies resulted once again in marked increases in study behaviors.

Effect of contingent and non-contingent social reinforcement on the cooperative play of a preschool child.

Abstract: The effect of adult social reinforcement on the cooperative play of a five-year old girl in a preschool setting was assessed under two conditions: (1) presented randomly throughout the school day, and (2) presented contingent on cooperative play. Only in the latter condition was a significant change in cooperative play observed.

Collateral social development accompanying reinforcement of outdoor play in a preschool child

Abstract: A 3-yr-old preschool girl with deficits in both motor and social repertoires was socially reinforced by teachers for use of outdoor play equipment, as a contribution to her motor skills and as a tactic to produce increased social contact with other children. Her use of outdoor play equipment, and various examples of her social interaction with both teachers and children were scored in the course of experimental development and analysis of her rate of equipment use. Equipment use increased greatly under the social reinforcement contingency; certain desirable examples of social interaction with other children showed a collateral development; other examples of adult-oriented development remained constant; and one class of undesirable baby-like behavior decreased markedly. Thus, the study provided a picture of what other behavior changes may take place in the course of behavior modification aimed at a single response class.

The Influencing Role of the Child in Family Decision Making

Abstract: The role of the child as an influencer of consumer decisions was investigated by studying the interaction between mother and child. Purchase behavior by the mother of a child's preferred packaged c...

The Exact Distribution of a Structural Coefficient Estimator

Abstract: The distribution studied is that of an estimator of a structural parameter appearing in a system of linear simultaneous equations. The relationship between the bias and the true parameter value is analysed and the bias is tabulated for selected values of the parameters of the distribution. It is also shown that the estimator possesses finite moments up to order v where v is the number of overidentifying restrictions and that the estimator converges to the true parameter value as one of the parameters of the distribution (not the sample size) increases indefinitely.

Method of Multiple Reference Frames Applied to the Analysis of Symmetrical Induction Machinery

Abstract: A method of analyzing the constant-speed performance of a symmetrical induction machine with applied stator phase voltages of any periodic form is presented Symmetrical components are not used in this analysis Instead, it is shown that by employing a series of reference frames, dc circuit theory may be used to determine the performance of induction machines Since phasor and complex impedance concepts are not incorporated, the theory of multiple reference frames permits a convenient and simple method of analyzing steady-state modes of unbalanced or nonsinusoidal operation which have heretofore been limited to analysis by the method of symmetrical components Also, this method establishes a rigorous approach to the analysis of constant-speed electrical transients of induction machinery

Applying “grouf” contingencies to the classroom study behavior of preschool children1

Abstract: A group of 12 children were enrolled in a preschool class. During the first experimental stage they participated in special events contingent on token earning. Tokens were acquired by engaging in a variety of study behaviors. After a level of study behavior was established under this contingency, the special events were provided noncontingently. Study behavior declined throughout the noncontingent stage. Reestablishing the original contingencies produced an immediate return to the initial level of study behavior. Noncontingent special events reduced the amount of independent study, group participation, and cooperative study. The study behavior of each child was altered in the same direction, though differences in the magnitude of effects from child to child were observed.

Citrate-cleavage enzyme, 'malic' enzyme and certain dehydrogenases in embryonic and growing chicks.

Abstract: The activities of several enzymes possibly implicated in lipogenesis were measured in the soluble fraction of homogenates of liver and adipose tissue of embryonic and growing chicks. The activities of adipose-tissue enzymes showed little or no change. The activities of hepatic hexose monophosphate-shunt dehydrogenases, malate dehydrogenase, 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde dehydrogenase and NAD-linked α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase also showed little or no change. Isocitrate dehydrogenase activity in liver rose to a peak on the day of hatching and fell to half the peak value during the next 12 days, where it remained to 26 days after hatching. The activities of ‘malic’ enzyme and citrate-cleavage enzyme showed very low stable values in embryonic liver and remarkable rises during the early part of the post-hatching period. An 85-fold increase in the activity of ‘malic’ enzyme activity was completed in 7 days and a 15-fold increase in that of citrate-cleavage enzyme in 5 days. The activities then attained were maintained up to 26 days after hatching. 2. The increases in the activities of hepatic citrate-cleavage enzyme and ‘malic’ enzyme occurred simultaneously with a marked increase in lipogenesis, suggesting a relationship of these enzymes to lipogenesis in chick liver. By contrast, activity of the hexose monophosphate-shunt dehydrogenases does not appear to be thus associated.

Mitotic patterns in the optic tectum of the chick during normal development and after early removal of the optic vesicle.

Abstract: The number of mitotic figures in the optic tectum of the chick increases from just over 20, 000 on the fourth day of incubation (stages 25 and 26) to a peak of approximately 45, 000 on the fifth and sixth days (stages 28 and 29). Thereafter, the number declines sharply to about 10, 000 and 2, 000 on the eighth and ninth days respectively and to as few as 100 and 18 on the eleventh and twelfth days. The dividing cells are not uniformly distributed throughout the tectum but show a clear rostral to caudal gradient such that at every stage the number of mitoses in the caudal half of the tectum exceeds that in its rostral half. In addition the number of mitotic figures in the ventrolateral half of the tectum exceeds that in its dorsomedial half between the fourth and seventh days of incubation, but this pattern is reversed during the last few days of mitotic activity. The process of cell proliferation in the optic tectum appears to be completely independent of the developing eye since there is no significant change in either the total number of mitotic figures in the tectum, or in their spatial distribution, after complete removal of the optic vesicle towards the end of the second day of incubation.

Vocal Fry as a Phonational Register

Abstract: The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that vocal fry is a separate phonational register: specifically, whether or not the range of fundamental frequencies associated with vocal fr...

The Relative Sensitivity of Diatoms, Snails, and Fish to Twenty Common Constituents of Industrial Wastes

Abstract: (1968). The Relative Sensitivity of Diatoms, Snails, and Fish to Twenty Common Constituents of Industrial Wastes. The Progressive Fish-Culturist: Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 137-140.

The effect of starvation and starvation followed by feeding on enzyme activity and the metabolism of [U-14C]glucose in liver from growing chicks.

Abstract: 1. The conversion of [U-14C]glucose into carbon dioxide, cholesterol and fatty acids in liver slices and the activities of `malic' enzyme, citrate-cleavage enzyme, NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase and hexose monophosphate-shunt dehydrogenases in the soluble fraction of homogenates of liver were measured in chicks that were starved or starved then fed. 2. In newly hatched chicks the incorporation of [U-14C]glucose and the activity of `malic' enzyme did not increase unless the birds were fed. The response to feeding of [U-14C]glucose incorporation into fatty acids increased as the starved chicks grew older. 3. Citrate-cleavage enzyme activity increased slowly even when the newly hatched chicks were unfed. On feeding, citrate-cleavage enzyme activity increased at a much faster rate. 4. In normally fed 20-day-old chicks starvation decreased the incorporation of [U-14C]glucose into all three end products and depressed the activities of malic'enzymeandcitrate−c≤ava≥enzyme.Re−feed∈g∈creasedalloftheseprocesses→∥a∥lorhigher−than−∥a∥l≤vels.5.In⊥h≠wlyˆchedand20−day−oldχcks⋆vation∈creasedtheactivityofisocitratedehydro≥naseandfeed∈gorre−feed∈gdecreasedit.6.Veryli≤chan≥∈hexosemonophospˆe−shuntdehydro≥naseactivitywasobserveddur∈gthediηrymanipa––tions.7.Therest–s∈dicatetˆ∈creased⊂strate∂ivery→theliveristhepr∈cipalstiμlus→the∈creasedrateofglucosemηbolismobserved∈≠wlyˆchedχcks.Therest–salsosug≥sttˆchan≥s∈theactivitiesofmalic′enzymeandcitrate-c≤ava≥enzyme.Re-feed∈g∈creasedalloftheseprocesses→∥a∥lorhigher-than-∥a∥l≤vels.5.In⊥h≠wlyc^hedand20-day-oldχcks⋆vation∈creasedtheactivityofisocitratedehydro≥naseandfeed∈gorre-feed∈gdecreasedit.6.Veryli≤chan≥∈hexosemonophospe^-shuntdehydro≥naseactivitywasobserveddur∈gthediηrymanipations.7.Therests∈dicatet∈^creased⊂strate∂ivery→theliveristhepr∈cipalstiμlus→the∈creasedrateofglucosemηbolismobserved∈≠wlyc^hedχcks.Therestsalsosug≥sttc^han≥s∈theactivitiesofmalic' enzyme and citrate-cleavage enzyme are secondary to an increased flow of metabolites through the glucose-to-fatty acid pathway and that the dehydrogenases of the hexose monophosphate shunt play a minor role in NADPH production for fatty acid synthesis.

Mechanism of Caffeine Enhancement of Mutations Induced by Sublethal Ultraviolet Dosages

Abstract: Certain chemical compounds increase mutation frequency of Escherichia coli B/r significantly when used in conjunction with nonlethal ultraviolet (UV) dosages. Studies were done to elucidate the mechanism of this enhancing mutational effect. Dark survival curves showed that 500 μg of caffeine per ml in the postirradiation medium markedly decreased survival to 60 ergs/mm2 of UV in strain B/r. Caffeine did not markedly decrease survival to UV in strain B/r WP-2 hcr−. At least 90% of the mutations induced to streptomycin resistance by UV and 85% of those induced by UV with caffeine could be photoreversed. Experiments with thymine analogues suggested that thymine dimerization at the streptomycin locus was the primary premutational photoproduct induced by sublethal UV dosages. Caffeine did not interfere with the photoreversal of induced mutants, indicating that it probably does not bind to the photoreactivating enzyme or to a UV-induced lesion in the DNA. Addition of DNA or irradiated DNA with 500 μg of caffeine per ml resulted in no loss of the caffeine activity. The excision of UV-induced thymine-containing dimers from E. coli B/r T− was investigated in the presence and absence of caffeine. Our results indicated that caffeine prevents excision of thymine dimers, presumably by binding to the excising enzyme. This binding results in an impairment of repair, which produces the increase in mutant numbers.

Conversion of [U−14C]glucose into carbon dioxide, glycogen, cholesterol and fatty acids in liver slices from embryonic and growing chicks

Abstract: Incorporation of [U-(14)C]glucose into carbon dioxide, glycogen, cholesterol and fatty acids and of (3)H(2)O into cholesterol and fatty acids was measured in liver slices from embryos and growing chicks. During the embryonic period, rates of incorporation were low and stable for all pathways. Fatty acid synthesis and glucose oxidation increased promptly when the chicks were fed, reaching plateau levels within 6 days. Cholesterol and glycogen synthesis increased only slightly when the birds were fed. After 5 and 11 days respectively, cholesterol and glycogen synthesis began to increase rapidly. The rate of glucose oxidation in liver slices from 4-week-old chicks was 20-fold greater than in slices of embryonic liver; glycogen, cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis had increased approximately 100-, 300- and 1000-fold respectively. The increase in the metabolism of [U-(14)C]glucose that occurred after hatching was probably due to the change from a high-fat non-carbohydrate diet (yolk) to a high-carbohydrate low-fat diet (mash).

Origin and early evolution of marsupials.

Abstract: Today marsupials inhabit the Australian region and most of the New World, their range extending as far north as Canada and reaching southward almost to Tierra del Fuego. Until a few year ago the fossil record of marsupials contained evidence of only a small number of genera from European Tertiary strata; a dozen or so from North American Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits; and a larger number from South America, some from the Tertiary resembling modern Australian marsupials. Only a few fossils of pre-Pleistocene age were known from Australia and marsupials were-and still are-unknown in the fossil record of continental Asia and Africa. The area of origin of the Marsupialia and the times and routes by which marsupials moved between North America, Australia, and Europe were matters of speculation. The intriguing zoogeographic problems were not the only reason for focusing scientific attention on the Marsupialia. Recent marsupials exhibit a variety of structures and systems suggesting inheritance with little change from the earliest mammals. The fossil record available 20 years ago did not contain any evidence directly documenting the origin and interrelations of marsupials and placentals. It only sug-

Formation and maintenance of corpora lutea in laboratory animals.

Abstract: Literature on corpus luteum (CL) function in laboratory animals is reviewed. A more complete picture of luteal activity emerges when measurements of CL size and weight histochemical studies of CL enzyme and lipid content and chemical studies of the progesterone content in ovarian vein blood are evaluated in combination rather than alone. The interaction of estrogen and presumably luteinizing hormone (LH) with luteotrophic hormones is essential for optimal luteal function. The synergistic action of prolactin with estrogen is well exemplified in the rat. Estrogen secretion may be inherent in the CL or may be produced by the follicular apparatus or interstitium. One of the best criteria for determining the luteotrophic activity of any hormone is the ability of the hormone to maintain pregnancy in hypophysectomized animals before the onset of placental hormone production. Nonetheless the direct action of hormones on the uterus must always be considered. In the rat prolactin appears to be the primary luteotrophic hormone prolactin and LH seem to be essential to the luteotrophic process in the mouse and prolactin with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) are the primary luteotrophic hormones in the hamster. In the rat and mouse the placenta is essential in maintaining CL growth and progesterone secretion during the later half of pregnancy while the placenta and pituitary are critical in the hamster. The same hormone(s) can be both luteotrophic and luteolytic. For example prolactin can be luteolytic and LH can synergize with prolactin in the luteotrophic process. The luteolytic effect of a substance is influenced by the state of activity of the luteotrophic process and the reactivity of the CL. The uterus exerts a major influence on the luteolytic process in several species. Generally the luteotrophic process may be either unstable or an inherently limited duration or regulated by a system that is unstable or ephemeral. The luteolytic process however may be a constant feature of the CL environment or it may be influenced by progesterone.