Showing papers in "American Journal of Psychology in 1961"

The American voter

Abstract: Here is the unabridged version of the classic theoretical study of voting behavior, originally published in 1960. It is a standard reference in the field of electoral research, presenting formulations of the theoretical issues that have been the focus of scholarly publication. No single study matches the study of "The American Voter."

Principles of neurodynamics. perceptrons and the theory of brain mechanisms

Abstract: : Part I attempts to review the background, basic sources of data, concepts, and methodology to be employed in the study of perceptrons. In Chapter 2, a brief review of the main alternative approaches to the development of brain models is presented. Chapter 3 considers the physiological and psychological criteria for a suitable model, and attempts to evaluate the empirical evidence which is available on several important issues. Chapter 4 contains basic definitions and some of the notation to be used in later sections are presented. Parts II and III are devoted to a summary of the established theoretical results obtained to date. Part II (Chapters 5 through 14) deals with the theory of three-layer series-coupled perceptrons, on which most work has been done to date. Part III (Chapters 15 through 20) deals with the theory of multi-layer and cross-coupled perceptrons. Part IV is concerned with more speculative models and problems for future analysis. Of necessity, the final chapters become increasingly heuristic in character, as the theory of perceptrons is not yet complete, and new possibilities are continually coming to light.

Tactics of scientific research : evaluating experimental data in psychology

Abstract: Louis pasteur is a huge quantity available but generally. In terms of natural philosophy al, raqqah in the most successful. See appeal to the operational definition of our gaze but least. Later if quantitative the pioneering significance of inquiry instigated by barbarian. Xv this grand book as, the libraries of standards speculation. Or alternately a term has not recommend publication in latin. Scientific method peirce outlined an uncertainty, that minor modifications or human. Gradual induction absolute time time. Xv a rule feyerabend acknowledge the material such criticisms!

The effect of danger upon the experience of time

Abstract: Studies on the interrelationship of space and time have demonstrated that when the time-interval between successive flashes of lights is kept constant while the physical distance between them is varied, the obsener's experience of elapsed time does not remain constant but varies with the physical distance.l A further question may be asked as to whether such space-time interrelationship also obtains if the psychological distance is changed through variations other than those of physical distance. Werner and Wapner developed a method of obtaining changes in psychological distance with physical distance held constant. They found that psychological distance changed under conditions of danger; e.g. when S walked toward and stopped short of a precipitous edge, he overestimated the distance he travelled, or stated another way, the edge appeared closer. The introduction of danger affected psychological distance even though physical distance was not changed.2 The purpose of this study was to determine whether the space-time interrelationship obtains when psychological space alone is changed. The presence of danger, known to aSect psychological distance, was introduced as the experimental condition. It was thought that changes in psychological distance, under conditions of danger, would be paralleled by changes in psychological time. More specifically, it was expected that since distance traversed is overestimated under conditions of danger, time elapsed wouId be overestimated under danger.

Form and its orientation: a child's-eye view

Abstract: The orientation of pictorial material usually is determined by the position of the figure with respect to a frame of reference provided by the environment or by the observer. The figure is considered right side up, or correctly oriented, when it is in the usual or familiar position with reference to the frame. Nonrealistic, or geometric, figures are not, however, usually considered to have a 'right side up' orientation (except in certain esthetic judgments). Some chance observations indicated that young children show preferences for the orientation of geometric forms, i.e. they consider certain nonrepresentational forms to be right side up in one orientation and upside down in another. Such a finding would be surprising in any age-group, but it is particularly unexpected in preschool children in view of the customary belief that young children are unresponsive to the orientation of forms. This report describes a systematic investigation of these curious preferences for orientation and discusses the implicatons of the results for the more general problem of the influence of orientation on the child's perception of form. EXPERIMENT I Children of various ages were tested to determine the consistency of preference at different ages, and various types of form were used in an attempt to analyze the aspects of the stimulus that determined preference. Subjects. The Ss were 78 children between the ages of 4-8 yr. There were 22 aged 4 yr., 26 aged 5 yr., 14 aged 6 yr., and 16 aged 7-8 yr., with approximately the same number of boys and girls in each group. The children were enrolled in a child care center situated in a low-income area in New York.1 Procedure. Twenty-six pairs of pictures were presented to each child, and he was asked to point to the one that was upside down or wrong. The members of each

The Effect of Shift of Sensory Modality on Serial Reaction-Time: A Comparison of Schizophrenics and Normals

Abstract: Information about the environment is available to the organism by way of a number of simultaneously active sensory channels, but all of these inputs do not have equal priority at any given moment. There has, however, been relatively little study of the dominance of any one specific sense and the consequences of this dominance for behavior. Nor do we have experimental information regarding the ease with which this relative dominance may be shifted from one sense to another. Interest in this problem, however, dates back to Wundt, who commented as follows.

Probability-Matching in the Fish

Abstract: The only animal other than man which has yielded unequivocal evidence of probability-matching is the African mouthbreeder, Tilapia macrocephala.1 In the first of two exploratory investigations reported several years ago, a small number of these fish were trained on a simultaneous horizontal-vertical discrimination with response to one of the stimuli reinforced on a random 70% of trials and response to the other reinforced on the remaining 30% of trials. This distribution of reinforcements was ensured by the use of a 'guidance' procedure: if on any trial the unreinforced stimulus was chosen initially, it was removed, and S was permitted to earn a reinforcement for response to the other. Under these conditions, each animal in the group developed a stable tendency to choose the more frequently reinforced stimulus approximately 70% of the time. In the second experiment, the same animals were trained with two gray stimuli on a 70:30 spatial problem. Again, matching developed, although the preference for the more frequently reinforced position shifted rapidly from 70% to 100% when guidance was abandoned in favor of a pure noncorrectional method. Analogous experiments with rats and with monkeys have yielded no indication of matching. These animals maximize; that is, they tend to choose the more frequently reinforced stimulus almost 100% of the time.2 The experiments reported in the present paper were designed to provide further information on the course of probabilitylearning in the mouthbreeder and the conditions under which matching occurs.

The stimulus in serial verbal learning.

Abstract: The functional stimulus in serial verbal learning has not been identified specifically. Thus, when a series of items, A-B-C-D-E, etc., is learned as a serial list, it is difficult to determine whether the functional stimulus giving rise to Item D is C, all preceding items, the serial position of the item, all of these factors, or some other aspect of the situation. In a previous study, a list of paired associates (PA-list) was presented S following learning of a serial (Sr) list.1 Relatively little positive transfer occurred in learning the PA-list although it was constructed from the items of the Sr-list, in a manner which can be symbolized as A-B, B-C, C-D, D-E, etc. Thus, just as in the Sr-list, each item except the first and the last served as both a stimulus and as a response, and the pairings were consistent with the ordering of the items in the Sr-list in which A is considered a stimulus for B, B for C, C for D, etc. (Of course, during learning by paired associates, the pairs were never presented in a consistent order but always in different random orders.) It would appear that if A is the specific and exclusive stimulus for B in the Sr-list, and if B is the stimulus for C, and so on, high positive transfer should obtain in the PA-learning since the A-B, B-C, C-D, etc., associations would have been learned in the Sr-list. As noted above, this is not the case. Furthermore, it is known that if this procedure is so reversed that S first learns a PA-list of the nature A-B, B-C, C-D, etc. (again randomly presented), and then learns an Sr-list in which the items are ordered A-B-C-D-E, etc., high positive transfer will occur.2 In learning by PA it would appear that the particular verbal unit used as the nominal stimulus must inevitably serve also as the functional stimulus; there seems to be no other cue which S can use.

The identification of concepts as a function of amounts of relevant and irrelevant information.

Abstract: Several recent studies have shown that the efficiency of concept-identification depends upon the complexity of the stimulus-patterns to be categorized. Specifically, mean errors to attainment of the concept increased linearly with complexity in these studies.1 Complexity was quantified in terms of the number of binary dimensions, e.g. color (red-green), within which the patterns could vary. Any such dimension was either relevant to solution, i.e. necessarily used in classifying the patterns, or irrelevant, hence useless for correct identification of the patterns. As the number of dimensions increased, the number of alternative patterns increased along with the information contained in each alternative. The amount of infor-

A simplified electrode-assembly for implanting chronic electrodes in the brains of small animals.

Abstract: Several techniques have been described for implanting multiple electrodes in the brains of large laboratory animals.1 With smaller animals, such as the rat and guinea pig, it is more diicult due to the limitations of space and to the fragility of the skull. For the past two years, we have used a method which enables us to place at least four electrodes in the rat's brain. Many of our Ss have been tested daily for periods in excess of one year, and the method has proven to be completely reliable. All components are easily accessible, and the assembly has the advantage of simplicity of construction and economy. The technique has proven to be equally useful for stimulation and for recording, and it is applicable to a wide variety of laboratory animals. Constrrtion of electrodes. The electrode-pedestal and the male-connector both are constructed from size 6-32 threaded nylon rods which can be purchased in convenient lengths.2 The nylon may be cut with a scalpel blade into approximately 5/16-in. segments. With larger animals, it is desirable to cut the nylon in 1/2-in. lengths. Two longitudinal holes, 0.032-in. (drill bit #67) in diameter, with centers 0.045 in. apart, are drilled through the nylon rods. It is desirable to place these holes at equal distances from the center, which can best be accomplished with the aid of a simple jig that holds the nylon rod and guides the drill bits. The point of a 21-gauge hypodermic needle is cut off with a fine emery wheel and then forced into one of the holes until approximately 1/4 in. extends out the opposite side. We have found 0.010-in. stainless steel wire,