Visual observing behavior in the squirrel monkey

Ten squirrel monkeys were tested to determine whether visual observing behavior could be measured using a technique developed for rhesus monkeys. The Ss engaged in visual observation of a set of projected color slides of other squirrel monkeys to an extent comparable with visual observation by rhesus monkeys. Significant differences in both mean cumulative viewing time and mean frequency of visual observing were found for the different visual incentive conditions used. Previous reports of a low level of visual attention by squirrel monkeys were not confirmed.     

Within-group relationships and lack of social enhancement during object manipulation in captive Goffin’s cockatoos (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cacatua goffiniana</Emphasis>)

Different types of social relationships can influence individual learning strategies in structured groups of animals. Studies on a number of avian species have suggested that local and/or stimulus enhancement are important ingredients of the respective species’ exploration modes. Our aim was to identify the role of enhancement during object manipulation in different social contexts. We used focal observations to identify a linear dominance hierarchy as well as affiliative relationships between individuals in a group of 14 Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana, formerly goffini). Thereafter, in an unrewarded object choice task, several pairs of subjects were tested for a possible influence of social enhancement (local vs. stimulus) in three conditions: dominance, affiliation, and kinship. Our results suggest strong individual biases. Whereas previous studies on ravens and kea had indicated that enhancement in a non-food-related task was influenced by the social relationship between a demonstrator and an observer (affiliated – nonaffiliated), we found no such effects in our study group. In this context, Goffin’s cockatoos’ object learning seems to take place more on an individual level, despite their generally high motivation to manipulate nonfood items.     

Dominance relationships in femaleHerotilapia multispinosa (Pisces: Cichlidae)

Agonistic interactions between all possible pairings of 10 adult female rainbow cichlids (Herotilapia multispinosa) were observed in three round-robin tournaments. Specific behaviors and color patterns were found to characterize winning and losing fish. The outcomes of agonistic encounters were used to construct a hypothetical dominance hierarchy. This hierarchy was consistent over the three tournaments in that (1) the order of animals in the hierarchy remained relatively unchanged and (2) the relationship between the members of a particular dyad tended to remain stable. The latter was especially true for fish of widely different dominance rank.     

Eye movements of stumptailed monkeys during discrimination learning: VTE revisited

Eye movements of stumptailed monkeys were measured during learning of a pattern discrimination problem. Amount of scanning (shifts in visual fixation from one pattern to the other) increased once learning began and reached a maximum either at about the point that frequency of correct responses reached asymptote or just after that. These results, taken together with earlier findings on vicarious trial and error and operant observing behavior, suggest that this is the characteristic pattern of change in frequency of observing during visual discrimination learning. A change in information processing strategy is proposed as one explanation for these results. Duration of the last fixation on a discriminative stimulus during a trial showed similar, though not identical, changes with practice. The decrease in duration of the last fixation following learning contrasts with results of prior studies involving more complex tasks, and supports our conclusion that the duration of the last fixation is particularly sensitive to the cognitive processing requirements of the discriminative task.     

The effect of nonreinforced stimulus exposure on the strength of a conditioned taste aversion as a function of retention interval: Do latent inhibition and extinction involve a shared process?

Two experiments examined the effects of nonreinforced flavor exposure on the strength of a conditioned taste aversion. Rats were conditioned by pairing maple flavor with LiC1. Prior to or subsequent to this pairing, some animals received nonreinforced exposure to either maple or saccharin. In separate subjects, preference for maple was tested 1 or 21 days after the last training episode. In the first experiment, the nonreinforced stimulus exposure occurred before conditioning (latent inhibition, or LI, procedure); in the second experiment, the nonreinforced exposure occurred after conditioning (extinction, or EXT, training). In both experiments, nonreinforced exposure to maple or saccharin reduced the magnitude of a conditioned maple aversion when testing occurred soon after conditioning. When testing was delayed, however, the attenuation due to nonreinforced saccharin exposure dissipated, both with the LI procedure and with EXT. In contrast, the nonreinforced exposure to maple was found to attenuate conditioned reactions at both short and long retention intervals. The release from generalized LI and spontaneous recovery following generalized EXT training are discussed in terms of retrieval processing. The possibility that the same mechanism may underlie LI and EXT is considered.     

The relationship between language dominance and pre-reading skills in young bilingual children in Egypt

This study explored the relationship among pre-reading skills, language proficiency, and visual perceptual abilities in 150 children who had been exposed to both English and Arabic (mean age 70 months). Information regarding language proficiency was gathered indirectly through reports from teachers and parents and directly through children’s test performance. Consequently, the children were divided into three language dominance groups: stronger in Arabic, stronger in English, or equally strong in both English and Arabic. The main aim of this study was to determine whether the pre-literacy skills (visual processing skills, phonological processes, and orthographic knowledge) differed across the three groups and were correlated with langauge dominance. No significant relationships were found between language dominance and tasks that pertained to phonological awareness skills, which may support the notion of the transfer of phonological processing skills between languages. Visual processing and visual memory skills did not differ across language groups, a finding which was expected, as these functions do not directly pertain to language dominance. However, overall the groups did better on the English orthographic task than on the Arabic orthography, perhaps because they found Arabic print more visually confusing and demanding than English.     

Variations of two temporal parameters in observing response procedures

Temporal parameters were varied in two different observing response procedures. In Experiment I, concurrent variable-interval chain schedules were employed. Responding on one key led to either a stimulus correlated with reinforcement or a stimulus correlated with time-out. Responding on the other key led to a stimulus which ended either in reinforcement or time-out. The duration of the delay to reinforcement or time-out was varied, the delays for all three stimuli always remaining equal in a given phase. It was found that the longer the delay, the greater the preference for the observing response. In Experiment II a procedure was employed in which birds pecked during a “trial” to produce stimuli correlated with reinforcement or time-out at the end of the trial. The duration of the trial ending in time out was varied while the positive trial duration remained constant. It was found that the longer the duration of the negative trial, the greater the strength of observing responses. The results were interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that the value of a positive stimulus is a function of time spent in stimuli correlated with nonreinforcement.

     

Pigeons’ short-term memory for temporal and visual stimuli in delayed matching-to-sample

In the present experiment, we compared directly pigeons’ short-term memory of temporal and visual stimuli in a delayed matching-to-sample task. The sample stimuli consisted of red and green lights presented for 5 and 30 sec, followed by a retention interval and blue and yellow comparisons. For subjects in the visual group, duration was irrelevant and the color of the sample was the conditional cue. For animals in the temporal group, color was irrelevant and duration of the sample was the conditional stimulus. The results showed that acquisition of the matching task was faster and accuracy was higher in the visual than in the temporal group. More importantly, memory of either sample generally declined at a similar rate when the duration of the retention interval was increased and when the intertrial interval was reduced. Taken together, the results indicate that with 1–8-sec retention intervals, short-term memory for temporal stimuli is similar to that found with color-visual samples. The findings are discussed in terms of retrospective and prospective processing.     

Effect of angle stimulation during development on adult discrimination ability in rats

Hooded rats were reared in very restricted environments with angular, curved, or white-field stimulation. The extent of transfer from this exposure was assessed in adulthood by testing subjects for (a) learning ability in form, brightness, and pattern discrimination tasks, and (b) exploration and activity differences in an open field. The angle-reared group performed better than the other two rearing groups in all three discrimination tasks. Moreover, the curved and white-field groups were equivalent. These learning differences did not appear to result from differences in (a) exploration or activity or (b) dependence on kinesthetic cues. The results demonstrated that one type of early visual stimulation produced transfer to discrimination tasks that varied in difficulty and in degree of relevancy to the rearing forms. This effect was related to the results and interpretations from previous form-rearing studies. Three interpretations were proposed for this transfer and for the advantage of angular vs. curved stimulation.     

Effects of component training and subsequent sequencing of stimuli on shuttlebox avoidance responding of rats

The serial presentation of two different CSs, with each stimulus having an 8-sec duration (S1₈/S2₈), consistently has resulted in most of the shuttlebox avoidance responses being recorded to the S2 component. Experiment 1 attempted to attenuate this serial CS, delayed-response effect by conditioning the separate components of a serial CS prior to ordering them sequentially. Ten component-training trials were administered, with subjects receiving CS-US pairing to S1 only, S2 only, or to both S1 and S2 presented on separate trials. Two CS durations (8 or 16 sec) during this phase also were compared. Subjects were then given 100 avoidance test trials using the standard serial procedure. The 10 best avoidance responders in each group were selected for analysis. Shorter avoidance latencies were obtained only for subjects receiving component conditioning to S1. CS duration was not a factor in establishing the shorter latencies. Component conditioning to S2 resulted in increasing the total avoidances. Experiment 2 increased the number of component-training trials and the generality of the findings by using a different strain of rats and by extending the testing phase of the study so that all subjects could be included in the analysis. Comparable results were obtained. The theoretical implications of these data were discussed.     

Cerebral laterality effects in the dual processing of prose

The degree to which the concreteness of prose material presented in an auditory fashion would interact with learners' lateral preference under different right hemispheric presentation conditions was investigated with 96 normal adults. Forty-eight subjects with consistent right preference patterns and a like number of bilateral individuals were either instructed to image, given a visual-spatial interference task, or given no instructions before listening to passages which differed in abstractness. As predicted across conditions, learners recalled a significantly greater number of ideas when the passage was concrete. Importantly, the abstractness was found to interact with subjects' inferred cerebral dominance. Whereas instructions to image and visual interference had little significant effect on mixed dominant subjects, for more consistently lateralized subjects imagery instructions increased and right-hemispheric interference decreased concrete recall. The results were interpreted in terms of visual and verbal encoding concomitant with cerebral lateralization.     

Classical conditioning in paramecia

SingleParamecium caudatum were conditioned by pairing ac-generated electric shock (US) with a vibratory stimulus (CS) produced by an auditory speaker. Naive paramecia subjected to shock reliably exhibited a backwards jerk and axial spinning similar to the avoiding reaction described by Jennings in 1904. Such responses did not occur initially to CS alone, but increasingly appeared during the CS period preceding shock pairing (delayed conditioning paradigm). Control subjects given the CS and UCS at the same intervals, but explicitly unpaired, did not show a sustained increase of responses to the CS alone. Short-term memory was demonstrated by subjects first conditioned and then presented CS alone during extinction. These subjects were readily reconditioned. Paramecia trained and stored for 24 h showed reliable memory savings as compared to stored control subjects. Other paramecia were differentially conditioned by training with two CSs. Following the recommendations of Rescorla (1967), a procedure was designed for truly random presentation of the CS and UCS as an additional control for pseudoconditioning. Single paramecia were conditioned with intervals between CSs randomly ranging from 8 to 32 sec. Control subjects received the same number of CSs and UCSs, which were administered independently and randomly during the same total session duration. Thus, CS and UCS were occasionally paired for control subjects. The responses to CS in the conditioned group were anticipatory conditional responses due to the pairing contingency and not wholly due to pseudoconditioning.     

Hemispheres’ Modes of Cognitive Functions in a Finnish School: grades and behaviour

This research investigated the relationship between cognitive mode of functions, school grades, behaviour problems, untidiness and impulsiveness. Right ear dominance was not significant compared to the left ear dominance in music. Music was significant when subjects were left ear (right hemisphere) dominants (REAHD) and right eye (left hemisphere) dominants (LEYHD) had better grades compared to all left eye (right hemisphere) dominants at the 0.016<0.05 level. But also (REAHD)‐(LEYHD) had even better grades when compared to left eye and left ear dominance (right hemisphere) T‐test 0.001, and also with left ear hemisphere and right eye dominance 0.024 < 0.05. Mathematics and language were not statistically significant with SOLAT and conjugated lateral eye‐movement. The OKKIE questionnaire (untidiness, impulsiveness and behaviour problems) on the whole was not statistically significant, but the right hemisphere dominants were the only ones who scored the highest in many questions from the OKKIE questionnaire in behaviour problems and impulsiv‐ity either with SOLAT or lateral eye‐movement test from the 0.0569 to 0.0900 level, and thinking loud was significant to the 0.05 level. When the subjects were regrouped — left with SOLAT and right with conjugated lateral eye‐movement, and right with SOLAT and integrated with conjugated lateral eye‐movement — the mean scores were meaningful in religion and music. In technical/manual work, they had the worst mean scores compared to other combinations.     

What’s in a Name: Differential labelling of plant and animal photographs in two nationally syndicated elementary science textbook series

This study investigated plant and animal photographs in elementary science textbooks to discern whether there were disparities in the number of plant and animal photographs or in how those photographs were labelled. We examined the Life Science sections of two nationally syndicated (USA) textbook series. For each text, we identified the photographs with plant and/or animal content and evaluated them for two features: (1) the subject of the photograph, and (2) the specificity of the label (name) provided. We found that photographs with animal subjects were more numerous than those with plant subjects; they also represented a greater diversity of animals and had a higher instance of repetition than did plant photographs. We also found a significant naming disparity: animal photographs were three times more likely to be provided with a specific label (common name) than were plant photographs. Not only were plant photographs less likely to be provided with a specific name for the plant (e.g. orchid or dandelion), but also they were commonly identified only by the name for a plant part (such as flower or leaf) or life‐form (e.g. tree or shrub). To address the disparity revealed by this study, and to encourage student interest in and knowledge about plants, we recommend that educators go beyond textbooks to expose students to a diversity of named plants, and present plants as distinct organisms rather than as a collection of parts.     

Discourses of Linguistic dominance: A Historical Consideration of French Language Ideology

The paper offers a historical perspective on the linguistic and cultural imperialism embedded in the struggle to maintain French as a leading international language. France was the nation-state where the ideology of national language was first clearly formulated and directly extended to overseas colonies. This shows the close relationship between linguistic nationalism and imperialism. It was believed that French was the language of universal human reason and had the power to civilize people who spoke it. This myth of the "clarté française" and the "mission civilisatrice" had a strong influence on various kinds of metalinguistic discourses that created the taken-for-granted representation of French as dominant language. It is the essential strategy of language dominance to establish the hierarchy of languages as if it were natural order of things. When French was obliged to yield the status of international language to English, there emerged the ideology of "Francophonie" which tried to defend its privilege against the monopoly of English, but the same ideology is also directed against minorities' claims for their own linguistic human right. It could be said that these discourses form a recursive prototype of language dominance whose variations are to be found in other shapes almost all over the world.     

Discourses of Linguistic dominance: A Historical Consideration of French Language Ideology

The paper offers a historical perspective on the linguistic and cultural imperialism embedded in the struggle to maintain French as a leading international language. France was the nation-state where the ideology of national language was first clearly formulated and directly extended to overseas colonies. This shows the close relationship between linguistic nationalism and imperialism. It was believed that French was the language of universal human reason and had the power to civilize people who spoke it. This myth of the "clarté française" and the "mission civilisatrice" had a strong influence on various kinds of metalinguistic discourses that created the taken-for-granted representation of French as dominant language. It is the essential strategy of language dominance to establish the hierarchy of languages as if it were natural order of things. When French was obliged to yield the status of international language to English, there emerged the ideology of "Francophonie" which tried to defend its privilege against the monopoly of English, but the same ideology is also directed against minorities' claims for their own linguistic human right. It could be said that these discourses form a recursive prototype of language dominance whose variations are to be found in other shapes almost all over the world.     

诱导对空间顿悟问题解决影响的眼动研究

以空间顿悟问题四点、九点问题为实验材料,采用学习——测试的实验范式,探讨诱导对顿悟问题解决的影响。结果发现:与无诱导组被试相比,诱导组被试问题解决的成绩更好;与动态的视觉诱导相比,静态视觉强诱导条件下被试问题解决的成绩更好。突出解决问题关键特殊成分的诱导,不但激活了被试头脑中原型,而且还给被试提供了一个具身的物理机制,促发顿悟解答的感知模拟。     

The effects of isolation rearing on exploration in the rat

The hypothesis that isolation rearing enhances exploration was tested in two settings which varied the extent to which exploratory behavior would be affected by competing hyperactivity. Experiment 1 measured exploration as contact of a discrete novel stimulus, in terms of bout frequency and duration. Locomotor activity was measured by photocell beam interruption. Isolation-reared rats were hyperactive, showed an increased incidence of exploratory bouts but no differences in duration of exploratory behavior, compared with group-reared controls. Experiment 2 measured, independently, locomotor activity and the preference for a novel environment over a familiar one. Isolation-reared rats, whether male or female, showed enhanced novelty preference compared with controls. No significant differences were found in locomotor activity. The results are discussed in terms of the hyperactivity of isolates interfering with investigative behavior by response incompatibility.     

The effect of modality on long-term recognition memory

Two experiments examined the effects of visual and auditory modes of input on long-term memory. In Experiment 1, 40 subjects learned a 40-word list presented in a blocked or random fashion. In the blocked conditions learners were presented half the nouns in one modality followed by the remaining 20 words in the other modality (See-Hear or Hear-See). Subjects in random conditions also received half the list in each modality, but the presentation was random (Mixed or Mixed Reverse). Following a 6-min delay, subjects completed an 80-item visual recognition test. Analysis of these data showed significantly (p < .05) greater recognition of words presented visually than those presented auditorily. Experiment 2 was designed to test the hypothesis that learners may visualize a “literal copy” of the stimulus item by controlling for the extent to which the recognition measure offered a visual cue. Two groups of 40 subjects were examined using the same procedure used in Experiment 1, with the exception that one group received a visual recognition test while the other was tested auditorily. These data showed that the lack of a visual cue hindered the recognition of visually presented words, while it had little effect on stimuli presented auditorily. The results of these experiments were interpreted as support for the hypothesis that physical characteristics of a stimulus may persist in memory well beyond immediate memory intervals. Subjects were seen to make modality-specific decisions by testing long-term memory for the presence or absence of a visual memory trace.     

Vocalization correlated with self-induced changes in visual-auditory contact between mated Japanese quail

The emission of location calls, when visual separation and acoustical attenuation are caused by the animal’s own movements, is analyzed in this study. An animal could emit location calls at a fixed rate regardless of visual contact, but functional and energetic considerations suggest that location calls should occur infrequently when animals are in close visual contact. The results show that two calls, the staccato call and the cricket call, occur a greater proportion of the time when male and female Japanese quail are separated. The growl, a vocalization occurring in agonistic situations, was emitted more frequently when the animals were in close visual contact.