A model is presented that demonstrates that a random response to external constraint can produce results similar to those predicted by more complex models. Behavior that appears rational, optimal, or adaptive may truly be a random response to external constraint. Predictions based on this model may provide appropriate null hypotheses. (SLD)

In this study designed to compare the relative pacifying properties of horizontal and vertical rocking, 13 infants (mean age--58 days) were each tested on two subsequent days. The rocking device was a cradle that could be manipulated to produce side-to-side rocking similar to a commercial cradle or up-and-down rocking. In its up-and-down mode, the…

Subjects were 46 undergraduates attending a major West Coast university who self-monitored their study behavior for four weeks under one of four conditions: (1) expectation of reactivity; (2) cumulative charting, (3) combined expectation and charting; and (4) control group (given no expectation or cumulative chart). Although definitive conclusions…