Conditioned suppression is an inverted-U function of footshock intensity

Most theories of associative learning assert that conditioned responding to a target cue is a monotonically increasing function of unconditioned-stimulus (US) intensity. In a lick suppression preparation with rats, a cue was paired with a 0.4-, 0.6-, 0.8-, 1.0-, 1.2-, or 1.4-mA footshock in Experiment 1a, and with a 0.3-, 0.8-, 1.3-, or 1.8-mA footshock in Experiment 1b. Subsequent suppression in response to the cue was an inverted-U function of the US intensity. In Experiment 2, we demonstrated that massive extinction of the training context and compound conditioning can each attenuate the response decrement caused by training with a high-intensity US. The sometimes-competing-retrieval model (Stout & Miller, Psychological Review 114:759–783, 2007) provides a better fit to these data than do several other models of associative learning.     

Modern poetry and a Kat called Krazy

This essay uses the nature of the genre of apologia as outlined by speech communication scholars as a framework to examine Richard Nixon's apology to the nation on the occasion of his resignation. Mr. Nixon conformed well to the requirements of the subgenre, explanation, but erred in areas not suggested in contemporary writings on apologia. The gravity of Nixon's misdeeds and the incongruity of his admission of guilt overshadowed the strategy of explanation which he employed to defend himself.     

Gifted underachievers

Research indicates that the cause for underachievement in gifted students is a combination of personal adjustment problems and limited programs in the school.     

A Method for Investigating College Student Peer Group Holding Power

The interaction of group prestige among groups, dissonance of new member attitudes with those of the established group, and homogeneity of established group attitudes, were dependent variables studied. Groupattrition rate was the independent variable. The data consisted of attitude scores, group prestige ranks, and attrition statistics. Analysis was by the method of partial correlations. College fraternity chapters (N = 19) were the subject groups. It was concluded that no differences exist on the dimensions posited, however, trends of results seemed to support the theoretical notions. The method utilized should be explored further.