We conducted three experiments to reproduce and extend Perone and Courtney's (1992) study of pausing at the beginning of fixed-ratio schedules. In a multiple schedule with unequal amounts of food across two components, they found that pigeons paused longest in the component associated with the smaller amount of food (the lean component), but only…

Two experiments were designed to replicate and extend previous findings on the transformation of avoidance response functions in accordance with the relational frames of Same and Opposite. Participants were first exposed to non-arbitrary and arbitrary relational training and testing. Next, during avoidance conditioning, one stimulus from the…

One current conceptualization of attention subdivides it into functions of alerting, orienting, and executive control. Alerting describes the function of tonically maintaining the alert state and phasically responding to a warning signal. Automatic and voluntary orienting are involved in the selection of information among multiple sensory inputs.…

The effects of different types and amounts of environmental stimuli (visual and auditory) on microswitch use and behavioral states of three individuals with profound multiple impairments were examined. The individual's switch use and behavioral states were measured under three setting conditions: natural stimuli (typical visual and auditory…

Three studies analyzed stimulus feedback and the concept of control with three children and two adults having autism. The first study explored feedback from spinning tops, while the second and third emphasized control of various stimuli including spinning tops. Results indicate that autistic individuals' common interest in spinning tops is…

Subjects focused attention on actual or imagined stimuli while recording intruding thoughts by pressing a button. Results showed that an internal locus of control was related to fewer intrusions than an external. Actual stimuli resulted in fewer intrusions than imagined stimuli. (Author/BEF)

Surveyed college student (N=34) and general public (N=48) smokers regarding frequency, onset age, and daily situations associated with their habit. Results indicated no differences in either sample for responses according to sex, and correlations between smoking rate and onset age or years of smoking were not significant. (LLL)

Effects of passive environmental conditions (quiet, radio, and television) and manipulable objects (no toys, toys, toys plus staff interaction) on stereotypic behaviors of four institutionalized mentally retarded adults with high rates of stereotypic behavior were evaluated. (Author)

To examine whether a person's actions are more important in determining impressions of personality than are self-descriptions, subjects in two separate studies viewed two videotapes, one depicting a stimulus person's self-description and the other depicting that person's behavior in a conversation. Subjects rated the stimulus person on several…