Working memory for color in honeybees

Honeybees were tested in delayed conditional discrimination procedures (matching-to-sample and nonmatching-to-sample), using color stimuli presented on a video monitor. A small but reliable tendency to choose the color presented as the conditional cue was found, regardless of whether the contingencies reinforced or discouraged this tendency. The perseverative tendency occurred even with a delay of up to 1–2 min between the conditional cue and the choice. The tendency cannot be explained by changes in the associative value of the colors. Explanation of the results requires some form of working memory for color.     

The IDEA Model as a Best Practice for Effective Instructional Risk and Crisis Communication

This study presents the IDEA (internalization, distribution, explanation, action) model as an easy-to-use and situationally generalizable framework for quickly developing effective messages instructing people on how to protect themselves before and during high-risk events, crises, disasters, and other emergencies. The model consists of four elements: helping message recipients internalize the potential impact of the risk or crisis event, identifying appropriate channels and strategies for distributing the risk or crisis event messages, offering a brief and intelligible explanation of the nature of the risk or crisis, and providing specific self-protective action steps for people to take. The model may be used to design messages in any risk, crisis, or emergency context. Through a posttest-only quasi-experimental cross-sectional research experiment, this study measured the perceived message effectiveness, cognitive understanding, and behavioral intentions of those viewing a television news story about a crisis situation employing the IDEA model compared to those viewing a similar story replicating typical crisis event news stories delivered to general publics. This comparative examination revealed that the message designed according to the IDEA model was significantly more effective than the status quo message and resulted in greater behavioral intentions to engage in appropriate self-protective actions in the event of an acute risk or crisis situation. Strategies for implementing the model are also provided.     

Behavioral momentum and relapse of extinguished operant responding

Previous experiments on behavioral momentum have shown that relative resistance to extinction of operant behavior in the presence of a stimulus depends on the rate of reinforcement associated with that stimulus, even if some of those reinforcers occur independently of the behavior. We present three experiments examining whether the rate of reinforcement in the presence of a stimulus similarly modulates the relative relapse of operant behavior produced by reinstatement, resurgence, and renewal paradigms. During baseline conditions, pigeons responded for food reinforcement on variable-interval 120-sec schedules in alternating periods of exposure to two stimuli arranged by a multiple schedule. Additional response-independent food presentations were also delivered in the presence of one of the multiple-schedule stimuli. Consistent with previous research, baseline response rates were lower in the presence of the stimulus with the added response-independent reinforcement, and relative resistance to extinction was greater in the presence of that stimulus. In addition, following extinction, the relative relapse of responding produced by reinstatement, resurgence, and renewal paradigms was greater in the presence of the stimulus associated with the higher rate of reinforcement. We suggest that a model of extinction from behavioral momentum theory may be useful for understanding these results.     

The (mis)interpretation of teaching evaluations by college faculty and administrators

Student evaluations of teaching are ubiquitous and impactful on the careers of college teachers. However, there is limited empirical research documenting the accuracy of people’s efforts in interpreting teaching evaluations. The current research consisted of three studies documenting the effect of small mean differences in teaching evaluations on judgements about teachers. Differences in means small enough to be within the margin of error significantly impacted faculty members’ assignment of merit-based rewards (Study 1), department heads’ evaluation of teaching techniques (Study 2) and faculty members’ evaluation of specific teaching skills (Study 3). The results suggest that faculty and administrators do not apply appropriate statistical principles when evaluating teaching evaluations and instead use a general heuristic that higher evaluations are better.     

Modelling Facebook usage among university students in Thailand: the role of emotional attachment in an extended technology acceptance model

The aim of this study is to examine the factors that influenced the use of Facebook among university students. Using an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) with emotional attachment (EA) as an external variable, a sample of 498 students from a public-funded Thailand university were surveyed on their responses to five variables hypothesized to predict their actual use of Facebook. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling and the results showed that perceived usefulness (PU), attitude towards technology use (ATU), and EA had direct and significant influences on actual use, while perceived ease of use (PEU) was an indirect determinant of Facebook use. EA has direct and significant influences on all core variables in the TAM: PU; PEU; ATU; and actual use. Together, the PU, ATU, and EA explained 35.1% of the variance in students' usage of Facebook. Relatively, the variation in ATU and PU accounted by their determinants amounted to 55.5% and 50.2%, respectively.     

The benefits of multi-year research experiences: differences in novice and experienced students' reported gains from undergraduate research

This mixed-methods study explores differences in novice and experienced undergraduate students' perceptions of their cognitive, personal, and professional gains from engaging in scientific research. The study was conducted in four different undergraduate research (UR) programs at two research-extensive universities; three of these programs had a focus on the biosciences. Seventy-three entry-level and experienced student researchers participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews and completed the quantitative Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA) instrument. Interviews and surveys assessed students' developmental outcomes from engaging in UR. Experienced students reported distinct personal, professional, and cognitive outcomes relative to their novice peers, including a more sophisticated understanding of the process of scientific research. Students also described the trajectories by which they developed not only the intellectual skills necessary to advance in science, but also the behaviors and temperament necessary to be a scientist. The findings suggest that students benefit from multi-year UR experiences. Implications for UR program design, advising practices, and funding structures are discussed.     

Traditional vs. innovative uses of computers among mathematics pre-service teachers in Serbia

This study examined pre-service teachers’ intentions to use computers in traditional and innovative teaching practices in primary mathematics classrooms. It extended the technology acceptance model (TAM) by adding as external variables pre-service teachers’ experience with computers and their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK). Data collected from 226 participants revealed that the proposed model had a good fit for both traditional and innovative uses of computers. Structural equation modelling suggested that the established TAM variables, together with TPCK and experience, were significant determinants of pre-service teachers’ intentions to use computers in teaching mathematics at both levels. The most dominant determinant of behavioural intention was TPCK, followed by attitude. The proposed model explained 22.7% of the variance in the use of computers in traditional teaching practices and 27.6% of the variance in the use of computers in innovative teaching practices. The implications for mathematics teaching are discussed in the final section.