Pain-elicited aggression in the squirrel monkey: An implicit avoidance contingency

Squirrel monkeys were given either forward pairings of a bite-tube CS and shock US or backward pairings of these stimuli. Backward pairings produced stronger control of biting by the bite tube alone than did forward pairings. In a second experiment, subjects received backward pairings of US and CS with either a fixed ITI or a random ITI. Conditioned biting was obtained only when trials were presented with a fixed ITI. The magnitude of unconditioned biting was also significantly greater with the fixed ITI. It was argued that these results demonstrate that conditioning in this situation depends upon the degree to which biting predicts a relatively long shock-free period. When trials occur randomly in time, biting predicts no definite shock-free period; hence, it is not learned.     

Portraying science in the classroom: The manifestation of scientists' beliefs in classroom practice

If the goals of science education reform are to be realized, science instruction must change across the academic spectrum, including at the collegiate level. This study examines the beliefs and teaching practices of three scientists as they designed and implemented an integrated science course for nonmajors that was designed to emphasize the nature of science. Our results indicated that, like public school teachers, scientists' beliefs about the nature of science are manifested in their enactment of curriculum—although this manifestation is clearly not a straightforward or simplistic one. Personal beliefs about the nature of science can differ from those of the course, thus resulting in an enactment that differs from original conceptions. Even when personal beliefs match those of the course, sophisticated understandings of the nature of science are not enough to ensure the straightforward translation of beliefs into practice. Mitigating factors included limited pedagogical content knowledge, difficulty in achieving integration of the scientific disciplines, and lack of opportunity and scaffolding to forge true consensus between the participating scientists. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 669–691, 2003     

Domestic Adaptations of Europe: A Comparative Study of the Debates on EU Enlargement and a Common Constitution in the German and French Quality Press

The article investigates why a specific European issue is debatedin one country but disregarded in another, and why issues aredebated differently in different European countries. To understandthis national filtering, expectations are formulated as to howspecific policy traditions and issue-specific conflict constellationswithin a country are reflected in media debates. A systematiccontent analysis of the debates on EU enlargement and a commonconstitution for the years 2000–2002 in the German andFrench quality press reveals considerable variation in issuesalience, actors’ prominence and actors’ responsibilityattributions between and within the countries. This variationcan be seen to be connected with different policy traditionsand conflict constellations. The study seeks to go beyond merelydescribing variations in media coverage across Europe and systematicallyuses cross-national and cross-issue comparative research tounderstand this variation. Received for publication October 19, 2006. Accepted for publication April 5, 2007.     

Aversive, appetitive and flavour avoidance responses in the presence of contextual cues

Appetitive, aversive and avoidance responses to a flavoured solution in distinct contexts were examined. Rats placed in either a white or black box were given access to saccharin. Consumption was followed by an injection of a toxin in one but not the other box. Rats showed more aversive responses in anticipation of and during the presentation of saccharin in the box paired with the toxin than in the box paired with vehicle. The reverse was true for appetitive responses. The acquisition of conditioned avoidance paralleled the acquisition of aversive and appetitive responses. These findings demonstrate that the toxin does not have to overlap exposure to contextual cues to produce conditioned aversive responses, that the aversive and appetitive responses to a flavour can be modulated by visually distinct environments that predict the toxin, and that conditioned avoidance and conditioned aversions develop simultaneously during acquisition. Thus, environmental cues can modulate anticipatory nausea and may prove helpful in the control of nausea in clinical settings.     

Evaluation of bidirectional interstimulus interval (ISI) shift in auditory delay eye-blink conditioning in healthy humans

Delay eye-blink conditioning is an associative learning task that can be utilized to probe the functional integrity of the cerebellum and related neural circuits. Typically, a single interstimulus interval (ISI) is utilized, and the amplitude of the conditioned response (CR) is the primary dependent variable. To study the timing of the CR, an ISI shift can be introduced (e.g., shifting the ISI from 350 to 850 ms). In each phase, a conditioned stimulus (e.g., a 400- or 900-ms tone) coterminates with a 50-ms corneal air puff unconditioned stimulus. The ability of a subject to adjust the CR to the changing ISI constitutes a critical timing shift. The feasibility of this procedure was examined in healthy human participants (N = 58) using a bidirectional ISI shift procedure while cortical event-related brain potentials were measured. CR acquisition was faster and the responses better timed when a short ISI was used. After the ISI shift, additional training was necessary to allow asymptotic responding at the new ISI. Interestingly, auditory event-related potentials to the CR were not associated with conditioning measures at either ISI.     

Assessing Model Fit: Caveats and Recommendations for Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling

Despite the limitations of overgeneralizing cutoff values for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; e.g., Marsh, Hau, & Wen, 2004), they are still often employed as golden rules for assessing factorial validity in sport and exercise psychology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the appropriateness of using the CFA approach with these cutoff values for typical multidimensional measures. Furthermore, we ought to examine how a model could be respecified to achieve acceptable fit and explored whether exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) provides a more appropriate assessment of model fit. Six multidimensional measures commonly used in sport and exercise psychology research were examined using CFA and ESEM. Despite demonstrating good validity in previous research, all eight failed to meet the cutoff values proposed by Hu and Bentler. ESEM improved model fit in all measures. In conclusion, we suggest that model misfit in this study demonstrates the problem with interpreting cutoff values rigidly. Furthermore, we recommend ESEM as a preferred approach to examining model fit in multidimensional measures.     

Effects of previous lateral ankle sprain and taping on the latency of the peroneus longus

The latency of the peroneus longus may be a key factor in the prevention of lateral ankle sprains (LASs). In addition, ankle taping is often applied to help prevent LASs. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a previous LAS and ankle taping on the latency of the peroneus longus after an inversion perturbation. Twenty-six participants, including 13 participants with no previous history of a LAS and 13 participants with a history of a single LAS completed the testing. Ankle taping was applied in a closed basket weave technique on one of the two testing days. The latency of the peroneus longus was determined by the onset of muscle activity exceeding 10 SD from baseline activity, after initiation of the 25° inversion perturbation. A significant main effect (p < 0.05) was present for the ankle support condition, with ankle taping causing a significant reduction in latency of the peroneus longus (65.04 ± 10.81 to 57.70 ± 9.39 ms). There was no difference (p>0.05) in latency between the injury groups. Ankle taping, immediately after application, reduces the latency of the peroneus longus among participants with and without a history of a LAS.