Copulatory behavior of Syrian golden hamsters in a one-male two-female test situation

Eighteen male hamsters each completed two tests of copulatory behavior: one with one female present and one with two females. Males displayed only relatively small, quantitative alterations of their typical copulatory pattern in the two-female vs. the one-female situation. All males mated with both females. Shifts between females tended to occur at predictable times-particularly after ejaculations and those long intromissions that did not immediately precede ejaculations. When mating in the two-female situation, males sired more offspring than with one female. Females in the two-female situation received less copulatory stimulation than in the one-female situation, but there were no detectable deleterious effects of this reduced stimulation on reproduction. Should copulation occur between one male and two females in the natural habitat, it would appear to be of reproductive advantage to the male, with no detriment to the female.     

Differential conditionability: Reinforcing grooming in golden hamsters

Differential conditionability is the empirical finding that not all responses are equally amenable to the same conditioning paradigm. One phenomenon associated with the conditioning of grooming behavior (a difficult-to-condition response) is a decrease in its average duration when followed by food reinforcement. The first experiment investigated this phenomenon by reinforcing golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) with food for grooming or open rearing (a readily conditionable response) under three duration-dependent reinforcement schedules. The obtained data showed that different densities of food delivery had no differential effects on the average durations of grooming responses, indicating that the decreases were not the result of reinforcement-produced interruption. In the second experiment, golden hamsters were reinforced with food for grooming or for open rearing or received free food, under three interval reinforcement schedules. This experiment demonstrated that decreases in the average duration of grooming are independent of grooming behavior’s resistance to conditioning. Furthermore, although duration-dependent reinforcement schedules are largely ineffective in conditioning grooming behavior, interval schedules are shown to be quite effective in increasing rates of grooming.     

Copulatory behavior and nest building behavior of wild house mice (Mus musculus)

Learning & Behavior - The copulatory behavior and nest building behavior of wild house mice (Mus musculus) were examined in an attempt to study the effects of domestication on these behaviors....     

全民健身视角下的空巢老人体育健身活动的组织与开展

空巢老人是一个特殊的社会弱势群体,在物质生活、精神层面以及生活环境等诸多方面,都需要给予充分的关爱与保障,尤其是在健康素质方面,更需要给予高度的重视。基于此,本文以全民健身运动为研究视角,运用文献综述法对组织与开展空巢老人体育健身活动的意义及途径,进行阐述与探讨,旨在于为提升空巢老人的健康素质水平提供必要的借鉴与参考。     

The role of exploratory experience in a shortcut task by golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus)

The aim of this experiment was to examine the role of exploratory experience on the ability to take a shortcut. In the first phase, two subspaces, X and Y, each consisting of two baited tables related by a runway, were separately explored by hamsters. In the second phase, the experimental group explored a connecting pathway between X and Y. The animals were finally submitted to a shortcut test during 2 days: in this test, in order to go from X to Y, they could choose between the longer familiar pathway and two shorter new pathways. In comparison with a control group, which did not undergo the second phase, the experimental group displayed a significant preference for the shortcut that did not cross the linking path with which they had had experience or either of the two distant portions whose linkage the animals had experienced. These results suggest that, in this simple situation, additional experience of a linking element between two separated subspaces has a beneficial effect on the setting up of spatial relationships between them, and perhaps on the representation of the whole situation.     

Concurrent-chain performance in transition: Effects of terminal-link duration and individual reinforcers

Pigeons responded on concurrent-chain schedules with variable-interval initial links and equal delays as terminal links. The terminal-link delays were 1 sec in some conditions and 20 sec in other conditions. The percentages of reinforcers delivered for responses on the left key were 10%, 30%, 70%, or 90%, and this percentage was switched every five to nine sessions. The rate of change in the pigeons’ response percentages after a switch was the same whether the terminal-link delays were 1 sec or 20 sec. Analysis of the effects of individual reinforcers showed that after a response on one key had been reinforced, response percentages on that key were higher for at least the next 100 responses. Small effects of individual reinforcers were evident after eight or nine additional reinforcers had been delivered. The effects of individual reinforcers were about equally large during times of transition and during periods in which overall response percentages were relatively stable.     

The organization and temporal properties of appetitive behavior in rats

In the presence and absence of an externalinterfood clock stimulus (a sequence of flashing lights), rats showed a multimodal behavior pattern during successive quarters of interfood intervals (IFI) ranging from 12 to 192 sec. Responses near the feeder peaked before and just after food presentations, whereas locomotion remote from the feeder peaked toward the middle of the IFI. The temporal patterns of nosing in the feeder and remote locomotion were scalar (the time at which a response peaked in the IFI was proportional to the IFI length), whereas the patterns of postfood feeder-directed behavior, rearing, and pawgrooming were time bound (peaking at a fixed time after food, regardless of IFI length). Responses varied in their control by the external clock stimulus. During the last half of the IFI, rats nosed in the feeder more with an external clock, but only at intermediate IFIs. During the first quarter of the IFI, rats pawgroomed more with an external clock, but only at the longest IFI. The general sequence of responses during the interfood clock was consistent with the view that food delivery engages an organized sequence of search states that are expressed through a variety of responses.     

The organization of exploratory behavior in Down syndrome and nondelayed infants

The exploratory behaviors of a sample of 11 infants with Down syndrome and 11 nondelayed infants, matched on Bayley mental raw scores and gender, were analyzed. Transitional probabilities and z scores were computed for each possible behavior change as well as frequencies of each behavior. The analyses revealed significant differences in how the 2 samples distribute their exploratory activities. The significant transitional probabilities among the 6 behavioral states revealed a pattern of similarities and differences. In general, both groups of infants organized their exploratory activities in a similar manner. However, there were differences that appeared to depend on the level of exploratory sophistication. The results are discussed in the context of the similarities and differences between the samples.     

A study of exploratory behavior as an index of spatial knowledge in hamsters

This experiment investigated the role of exploration in the formation of maps of the environment. The effects of spatial rearrangement of four familiar objects in an open field on subsequent exploratory behavior were studied in hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). During two exploratory sessions, four groups of subjects were exposed to objects in a particular spatial relation to each other and to a distal pattern. During a testing session, the control group was exposed to the same situation as during the first two sessions, and the three experimental groups were exposed to various object rearrangements. The hamsters in the experimental groups, but not those in the control group, renewed their exploration of the objects during the testing session, as measured by the number of contacts with the objects and the time spent investigating them. Further analyses of the nature of the reinvestigated objects (i.e., displaced or nondisplaced) support the hypothesis that, through exploration, a long-lasting representation of the environment is built up on the basis of the topological relations among the objects, the overall geometric structure provided by the arrangement of the objects, and the relations between the objects and extra-apparatus landmarks.     

Student commitment and school organization in relation to on-task behavior and achievement

Three experiments considered student commitment to school, IQ, and school organization type in relation to student task behavior and to school achievement. The first two correlational studies indicated the relationship between student commitment and student task behavior; the third study used student task behavior, student commitment, IQ, and school organization to predict achievement. This prediction equation was quite robust with a final R² = .85. School achievement is predicted by intelligence and academic time on task in traditionally structured schools, and by intelligence and student commitment in open structured schools. Increasing the amount of teacher directed time would increase achievement in traditional schools, but decrease achievement in open schools.     

年轻组工干部更应把好生活作风建设这个关口

随着干部“四化”的推进以及《党政领导干部职务任期暂行规定》的推行,组工干部年轻化趋势明显,年轻组工干部比例日渐提高。对于年轻组工干部来说,由于年龄轻,任职时间短,而且主要精力从事基础性工作,思想和领导等方面作风展示相对较少,其生活作风很大程度上反映了干部本人的作风建设情况以及所在部门的作风水平,生活作风建设在年轻组工干部作风建设中具有关口性作用。     

Experience with the reinforcer and the preference for earned rather than free reinforcers in rats

Manipulating experience with the reinforcer, through either home cage presentations of Noyes pellets or availability of the free reinforcer immediately prior to testing, attenuated the preference for earned as opposed to free reinforcers. Similarly, changing the reinforcer to one of a different flavor at testing increased the preference for the noncontingent reinforcer. These results are consistent with an interpretation of earned reinforcer preference which emphasizes the role of the reinforcer as a discriminative signal for further instrumental responding. It is suggested that the tendency to perform instrumental responses for reinforcers when free reinforcers are available can be explained in terms of traditional learning processes.     

Feathers in the nest: Establishing a supportive environment for women researchers

This paper discusses research examining the attitudes and behaviours of researching women in academia and considers the effect of these factors on successful researching outcomes. The results of this exploratory research highlight in particular, a number of interesting environmental influencers which contribute to enhancing successful work outcomes for academic women researchers. Specifically, personal factors such as, marital status, partner support, age, cultural background and level of organisation (in life) coupled with, research defined factors such as incentive for conducting the research and the existence of research partnerships and/or groups are identified as significant performance influencers. These dimensions appear to facilitate the level of research productivity for women academics based on key performance indicators such as journal/conference paper submissions and successful research funding applications. The potential benefits of this exploratory research are that any correlation between specific self-supporting attitudes or behaviours of successful women academics and effective research outcomes could provide important clues to both emerging and continuing researchers for career development and promotion.     

Control of pecking response form in the pigeon: Topography of ingestive behaviors and conditioned keypecks with food and water reinforcers

In Experiment 1, the form of keypecks produced in an autoshaping procedure with food or water reinforcers was compared with that of eating and drinking responses. Because the responses involve a number of different effector systems, several elements of response form were measured, including peck force and duration, gape, and eye closure. Gape was the only measure to reliably distinguish between both ingestive responses and between conditioned keypecks reinforced with food or water. With either reinforcer, keypecks had greater force than did ingestive behaviors. In Experiment 2, a transition between two forms of keypeck was produced by manipulating deprivation and reinforcer conditions. Some measures appeared to vary in a dichotomous manner between two discrete response forms; gape showed a gradual and continuous change involving the production of intermediate forms of the response. It was concluded that the control of conditioned response form involves theconstruction of the response from movements produced by several effector systems, each with potentially different sources of control.     

Social organization and the maintenance of aggressive behavior in community-housed male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens)

The waning of aggressive behavior in two groups of community-housed maleBetta was studied by observing incidences of display and fighting behaviors. In Experiment 1, observations were made during the establishment of a community, while it was maintained at a stable size, and during systematic removal of the dominant (alpha) males. Experiment 2 investigated the aggressive interactions of males in a stable-sized population, maintained for a period of 10 weeks. The results indicate that prolonged periods of constant conspecific exposure do not necessarily result in a significant attenuation of display behaviors. The data further indicate that the social organization (as determined from aggressive interactions) appears to be one in which the top- and bottom-ranking males are clearly defined. It is suggested that the maintenance of aggressive behavior among community-housed maleBetta may well be related to their social position.     

A divine surprise: The golden mean and the round-oil error

This article deals with an example of the systematic round-off error that can be encountered in numerical computations. The example is based on the recursion relation used for calculating higher powers of the golden mean. In the process, the link between the golden mean and the Fibonacci sequence also becomes apparent.     

Effects of varying sucrose reinforcers and amobarbital sodium on positive contrast in rats

The effect of quantity and quality of reinforcement on performance change following a shift to uniform high reward was studied in four groups of rats. Twenty or 200 licks of a 5% or 20% sucrose solution constituted the four incentive conditions. Two additional subject groups were run in the high (20%–200 licks) and low (5%-20 licks) reward conditions to determine how amobarbital sodium, an emotional depressant, influences incentive shift performance. All six groups received 60 preshift runway trials (6/day), followed by 30 high reward trials. Twenty-four extinction trials contrasted drugged and normal performance relating to high and low reward Postshift positive contrast appeared in all nondrugged groups. An emotional base for positive contrast is considered.     

黑盾胡蜂蜂巢的解剖观察

黑盾胡蜂是一种胡蜂科的社会性昆虫.在福建东北部于8月下旬解剖该蜂蜂巢,研究表明:巢中仅有1只后蜂(雌蜂),职蜂多达285只,雄蜂尚未出现;直径20cm的蜂巢中有4个巢脾,共有巢房1622个,其中蛹496房占30.58%,幼虫479房占29.53%,卵647房占39.89%,8月份该蜂产卵量大,正处于繁殖高峰期;幼虫具叩头求哺行为和反哺行为,最后一次蜕皮时脱去尾部丝质带成为未龄幼虫.黑盾胡峰个体增殖和群体增殖呈现有规律的年周期性变化.     

The golden rule and the ten commandments of teleteaching: harnessing the power of technology in education

Few will disagree that teleteaching or teaching using computers and telecommunications technology is becoming increasingly popular among educators. There is much more uncertainty, however, about whether technology is as effective a mode of teaching as its proponents claim. This hesitation in endorsing technology is undoubtedly a result of the inconclusive results of teaching experiments using technology with out an adequate pedagogical base. This paper proposes guidelines for the effective use of technology. These may help the educator to avoid frustrating and stultifying practices that may prejudice the educator and student against using a rich educational resource. While the golden rule urges a two-way constructivist approach to teaching, the ten commandments draw the educator's attention to issues of access, hardware and software selection, learner and teacher preparedness for technology, and human factors in the use of technology