Conditioned demand and professional response

This article draws attention to two basic features of British higher education which may influence the workability of certain Leverhulme proposals. These are vertical integration and professionalism. It is suggested that a consideration of these is crucial given the nature of the Leverhulme strategy. Many of the Leverhulme proposals are grounded in assumptions about the behaviour of institutions and actors in British higher education. An examination of vertical integration and professionalism in the system indicates that such assumptions may be unfounded. The discussion focuses both on how the proposals themselves are shaped by the professionalism of British higher education, and on how the feasibility of the proposals may be affected by the system's vertical integration and professionalism. Both the basic proposals of Leverhulme as a whole as well as of the monographs on access, teachers and learning, and institutional change are examined. In concluding it is noted that the treatment of vertical integration and professionalism provide policy makers and reformers with important levers of control to grasp in the future.The author is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar with the Comparative Higher Education Research Group at the UCLA Graduate School of Education.     

Habituation of infants' cardiac response to speech stimuli

In an attempt to explore the relation between the amount of variability in a stimulus and rate of habituation to that stimulus, 4 groups of infants 4 1/2--5 1/2 months of age were presented with repeated speech stimuli which were synthesized exemplars of [baba], natural exemplars of [baba] or [kaba], or novel syllables of each trial. Infants' cardiac responses to the auditory stimuli were recorded, and the number of trials to a proportional criterion of habituation of the heart-rate decelerative response was determined. Infants were found to habituate most rapidly to the synthesized [baba] stimulus which remained constant across trials and least rapidly to the speech syllables which changed from trial to trial.     

Effects of an aversive CS+ and CS− under deprivation upon successive classical appetitive and aversive conditioning

Rabbits under high or moderate water deprivation received in Stage 1 either paired (CS+), unpaired (CS?), or no-tone/shock presentations, with the pairings being appropriate for nictitating membrane conditioning. In Stage 2, all groups were given paired tone and water deliveries for jaw-movement conditioning, while, in Stage 3, all group received the tone and shock paired together for membrane conditioning. In Stage 2, the previously established aversive CS+ suppressed jaw-movement conditioning under high deprivation, and membrane CR decrements were directly related to deprivation. Also in Stage 2, the aversive CS? raised jaw-movement conditioning under moderate deprivation. In Stage 3, membrane CR performance immediately returned in the aversive CS+ group. For the other groups, conditioning was faster under high, relative to moderate, deprivation; however, the initial membrane CR occurrence required more trials if unpaired presentations were used in Stage 1. These results suggest that CSs can acquire both opponent-process and associative effects expressed according to the prevailing training conditions.     

Behavioral variability as a function of response topography and reinforcement contingency

Long-Evans rats were reinforced for generating variable sequences of responses on two operanda. The current sequence of four left and right responses was required to differ from each of the previous five sequences. Variability under thisvary schedule was compared with that under ayoke control schedule where reinforcement was independent of the sequences. Three different response topographies were compared: two levers were pressed in one case, two keys pushed in another, and two wires pulled in a third. Both reinforcement contingency (vary vs. yoke) and response topography (leverpress, key push, and wire pull) significantly influenced sequence variability. As is the case for operant dimensions, behavioral variability is jointly controlled by reinforcement contingency and response topography.     

Backward conditioning to a CS following an expected vs. a surprising UCS

Rabbits were trained in eyelid conditioning with a “backward” arrangement of unconditioned stimulus (UCS) followed by conditioned stimulus (CS). When such a CS was tested alone it was observed to produce substantial conditioned responding if the UCS had been arranged to be “surprising” during the backward pairings, but not if it had been arranged to be “expected.” The comparisons were made in a within-subjects design where the surprisingness of the UCS on the different pairing occasions was manipulated by preceding the UCS by discriminative CSs which were otherwise either never followed by the UCS (CS?) or consistently followed by the UCS (CS+). The results may have implications for the nonmonotonic course of responding seen during backward conditioning, as a UCS is at first surprising, but then expected on the basis of contextual cues.     

Behavioral contrast and type of reward: Role of elicited response topography

Groups of pigeons were exposed to multiple variable-interval variable-interval and multiple variable-interval extinction schedules of either food or water reinforcement for keypecking. Discriminative stimuli associated with component schedules were located either on the operant key or on a second “signal” key. When the stimuli were projected on the operant key, positive contrast appeared during discrimination conditions with either food or water as the reinforcer. When the stimuli were projected on the signal key, overall responding to the operant and signal keys showed contrast with food, but negative induction with water as the reinforcer. In the latter condition, the signal for the variable-interval shcedule of water reinforcement elicited a variety of water-related behavior, only some of which was directed at the signal. Thus, the type of reward and location of discriminative stimuli interacted to determine the presence or absence of behavioral contrast effects. In large part, these results support and extend the autoshaping view of contrast.     

Second-order conditioning of the rabbit’s nictitating membrane response as a function of the CS2-CS1 and CS1-US intervals

Three experiments investigated conditioning of the rabbit’s nictitating membrane response (NMR) in a second-order conditioning procedure which intermixed first-order trials (CS1-US) and second-order trials (CS2-CS1) from the outset of training. Experiment 1 provided a controlled demonstration that substantial levels of second-order conditioning can be obtained with the NMR preparation. Experiment 2 showed that the level of CR acquisition to CS2 was an inverse function of the CS2-CS1 interval over the values of 400, 800, and 2,400 msec. Experiment 3 found that CR acquisition to CS2 and CS1 in second-order conditioning varied in a parallel fashion across CS1-US intervals. Similarly, Experiment 3A found that the level of CR acquisition to the two components of a serial compound (CSA-CSB-US) varied in a parallel fashion as a function of the CSB-US interval. The results of the CS2-CS1 and CS1-US interval manipulations were all predictable from the known CS-US interval effects in NMR conditioning with a single CS. The present results are discussed with regard to their implications for accounts of serial compound conditioning and second-order conditioning.     

Classical conditioning of jaw movements in the pigeon: Acquisition and response topography

Previous studies have shown (1) that the form of the pigeon’s conditioned keypecking response resembles that of its ingestive pecking response, (2) that both ingestive and conditioned pecking in the pigeon are compound responses, including both transport (neck-movement) and gape (jaw-movement) components, and (3) that during operant conditioning or autoshaping of pecking behavior, the gape component comes under the associative control of the CS. In the present study, the gape component was experimentally isolated and a classical conditioning paradigm (water US) was used to bring jaw movements under the control of a CS (light). The results indicate that the topography of the jaw-movement CR is very similar to, though more variable than, that of the UR. They are consistent with the hypothesis that reported similarities in the form of ingestive and conditioned pecking responses reflect, in part, classical conditioning of the gape component.     

The overshadowing of background stimuli by an informative CS in aversive Pavlovian conditioning with rats

Two experiments investigated the capacity of a nominal CS to overshadow background stimuli. Rats received CS-shock pairings in one compartment of a double-compartment apparatus. After training, the shock compartment was re-presented but in the absence of both the CS and shock, and overshadowing was assessed by measuring the rats’ latency to enter the compartment. In the first experiment, predictive values of temporal cues provided by CS onset and CS offset were manipulated. Rats readily entered the shock compartment, provided shock onset had previously been predicted by CS onset or CS offset. This indicates that background cues in the shock compartment had acquired little associative strength during training. In contrast, rats avoided the shock compartment under every condition in which shock onset had not previously been predicted by either CS onset or CS offset. In the second experiment, a precise temporal cue provided by CS onset was dissociated from other factors arising from CS-shock contiguity. It was found that rats’ reactions to the shock compartment after training was governed by both temporal and contiguity factors. The results are relevant to theories which state that conditioning is a function of a competitive relationship between stimuli present in an animal’s environment during training.     

Alternaria toxin-induced resistance against rose aphids and olfactory response of aphids to toxin-induced volatiles of rose plants

The search for active toxins for managing weeds or plant diseases is believed to be a promising avenue of investigation. However, the effects of Alternaria toxins on insects have just begun to be investigated. Bioactivities of toxins from four strains of Alternaria alternata on Rosa chinensis and rose aphid Macrosiphum rosivorum were tested in the present study. At a concentration of 50.0 μg/ml, the crude extract (toxin) of strain 7484 was found not to be harmful to rose plants with excised leaf-puncture method (P≥0.079), and rose plants showed enhanced resistance to rose aphids when this Alternaria toxin was sprayed on the plants (P≤0.001). However, this toxin caused no detrimental effects on aphids in insecticidal bioassay at a concentration of 10.0 to 160.0 μg/ml (P≥0.096). Therefore, the Alternaria toxin had significantly induced the resistance of rose plants against rose aphids, demonstrating that the resistance mechanism triggered by the Alternaria toxin in the rose plant may also be used by the plant to defend itself against insects. Further bioassays aimed to discover the olfactory responses of aphids to the toxin-induced volatiles of host plants. The aphids were significantly more attracted to both volatiles emitted and collected from control rose plants than to both volatiles emitted and collected from the toxin-treated rose plants (P≤0.014). This result showed that the toxin-induced resistance related to the volatile changes of host plants.     

Developmental trajectories of behavioral inhibition from infancy to age seven: The role of genetic and environmental risk for psychopathology

The present study leveraged data from a longitudinal adoption study of 361 families recruited between 2003 and 2010 in the United States. We investigated how psychopathology symptoms in birth parents (BP; M_age = 24.1 years; 50.5–62.9% completed high school) and adoptive parents (AP; M_age = 37.8 years; 80.9% completed college; 94% mother–father couples) influenced children's behavioral inhibition (BI) trajectories. We used latent growth models of observed BI at 18 and 27 months, and 4.5 and 7 years in a sample of adopted children (Female = 42%, White = 57%, Black = 11%, Multi-racial = 21%, Latinx = 9%). BI generally decreased over time, yet there was substantial variability in these trajectories. Neither BP nor AP psychopathology symptoms independently predicted systematic differences in BI trajectories. Instead, we found that AP internalizing symptoms moderated the effects of BP psychopathology on trajectories of BI, indicating a gene by environment interaction.     

Verbal and behavioral cues: creating an autonomy-supportive classroom

A teacher network was formed at an Australian university in order to better promote interdisciplinary student learning on the complex social-environmental problem of climate change. Rather than leaving it to students to piece together disciplinary responses, eight teaching academics collaborated on the task of exposing students to different types of knowledge in a way that was more than the summing of disciplinary parts. With a part-time network facilitator providing cohesion, network members were able to teach into each other's classes, and share material and student activities across a range of units that included business, zoology, marine science, geography and education. Participants reported that the most positive aspects of the project were the collegiality and support for teaching innovation provided by peers. However, participants also reported being time-poor and overworked. Maintaining the collaboration beyond the initial one year project proved difficult because without funding for the network facilitator, participants were unable to dedicate the time required to meet and collaborate on shared activities. In order to strengthen teacher collaboration in a university whose administrative structures are predominantly discipline-based, there is need for recognition of the benefits of interdisciplinary learning to be matched by recognition of the need for financial and other resources to support collaborative teaching initiatives.     

Conditioned inhibitory effects of discriminated Pavlovian training with food in rats depend on interactions of search modes, related repertoires, and response measures

Like other accounts of conditioned inhibition, behavior systems predicts (and Experiment 1 shows) that during summation and retardation tests, presentation of a negative conditioned stimulus (a CS−) created by discriminative Pavlovian food conditioning will interfere with a focal search response, such as nosing in the feeder. Unlike most other views, behavior systems predicts (and Experiment 2 shows) that the same CS− can potentiate a general search response, like attending to a moving artificial prey stimulus. Contacting the prey stimulus in extinction increased over baseline when a CS- but not a CS Novel preceded it. Experiment 3 showed this effect was not due to unconditioned qualities of the CS−. It appears that the effects of a discriminative CS-depend on the interaction of the training contingency with search modes related to the unconditioned stimulus (US), their perceptual-motor repertoires and environmental support, and the choice of response measure.     

Effects of response options on the mathematics performance of secondary students with emotional or behavioral disorders

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effects of three response options (traditional responding, response cards, and response systems) on the mathematics performance, participation, and time on-task of secondary students with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD). A three-way crossover design was utilized to evaluate the efficacy of response options in secondary mathematics classrooms. Thirty-three students with EBD attending an urban high school and their teachers served as participants. Results indicated that the use of response cards (white boards) or response systems (ActivResponders) significantly increased students’ mathematics performance, participation, and time on-task when compared to traditional responding. Further, the use of response cards resulted in significant increases in performance and response accuracy over the increases found when using response systems. Social validity data indicated that students and teachers felt they benefited from the use of response cards and systems. Limitations, discussions, and implications for practice and future research are presented.     

具有年龄结构的霍乱传染病模型的最优控制

建立了具有年龄结构的SIR霍乱传染病模型,基于微分方程给出基本再生数R0的计算方法,利用最优控制理论,对幼年个体施加控制,使染病者个体的数量最小化,并限制染病者和易感染者之间的转化,最后给出数值例子。     

A student team approach to teaching adolescents with special emotional and behavioral needs

Teams-Games-Tournament (TGT), an instructional technique involving student teams and learning games, is proposed as an alternative classroom structure for children with special needs. TGT and individualized instruction were compared in a school for adolescents of normal intelligence experiencing problems with human relationships and academic tasks. Students were randomly assigned to treatments. A five-category behavioral observation scale recorded student interaction and task behavior. In addition, students responded to a five-item sociometric instrument. The results confirmed hypotheses that TGT would exceed individualized instruction on students' attraction to one another, frequency of peer tutoring, and percent of time on task. A five-month followup showed former TGT students distributed among six new classes to be still interacting with their peers both on and off task more than control students.     

Reading with vocabulary intervention: evaluation of an instruction for children with poor response to reading intervention

Interventions combining phonically based reading instruction with phonological training are generally effective for children with reading (decoding) difficulties. However, a minority of children respond poorly to such interventions. This study explored the characteristics of children who showed poor response to reading intervention and aimed to improve their literacy and language skills via a new theoretically motivated intervention. Twelve 8‐year‐old treatment poor responders with severe and persisting reading difficulties participated. A 9‐week reading intervention incorporating reading, phonological and vocabulary training was implemented. Before the intervention began the children showed almost no progress over 6 months of regular classroom education, on measures of oral language and literacy. Over the intervention period improvements were made on measures of reading, phonological awareness and language skills, which were maintained 6 months later. Although the intervention was effective, it should be noted that most children remained poor readers and require ongoing remediation.     

Patterns of response to an approaches to studying inventory across contrasting groups and contexts

The development of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) is reported, which incorporates a revised version of the Approaches to Studying Inventory. This questionnaire was completed by three separate samples; 1284 mainly first-year students from six British universities, 466 first-year students from a Scottish technological university; and 219 students from a ‘historically disadvantaged” South African university. Analyses of these data were designed to explore the patterns of response found in sub-groups which varied in terms of their levels of attainment and contexts. Maximum likelihood analysis of the largest sample confirmed the expected three factors of deep, surface apathetic, and strategic approaches to studying, and almost identical patterns were also found in the other two samples, and in students having contrasting levels of attainment. There were, however, some interesting minor differences in the South African sample. K-means relocation cluster analysis was then carried out on the largest sample and produced clusters with generally coherent patterns of response. However, one persistent low attainment cluster showed unexpected, dissonant patterns of response, combining moderately high scores on the sub-scales of both deep and surface apathetic approaches, associated with low scores on the strategic approach.     

Exploring environmental identity and behavioral change in an Environmental Science course

This ethnographic study at a public high school in the Northeastern United States investigates the process of change in students’ environmental identity and proenvironmental behaviors during an Environmental Science course. The study explores how sociocultural factors, such as students’ background, social interactions, and classroom structures, impact the environmental identity and behavior of students. In this investigation, the identity theory of emotion of Stryker (2004) from the field of sociology is utilized in the interpretation of students’ reactions to classroom experiences as they proceed through the Environmental Science course. The participants in this study are an Environmental Science teacher and the 10–12th grade students in her Environmental Science elective course. The researcher collected data for a period of six months, attending class on a daily basis. Data was collected through participant observation, videotaping, interviews, and cogenerative dialogues. The results of this study inform science educators by illuminating important elements, such as students’ emotional responses to activities in class, conflicting elements of students’ identities, and students’ openness and willingness to critically reflect upon new information, which contribute to whether a student is likely to change their views towards the environment and pro-environmental behaviors.