The debate between Simulation-Theory (ST) and Theory-Theory (TT) provides the dominant theoretical framework for research on "theory of mind" (ToM). Behavioural research has failed to provide clear methods for discriminating between these theories, but a number of recent studies have claimed that neuroimaging methods do allow key predictions of ST…

The author conceives of the human emotional system as being composed of three functions of motivational stimuli: (a) the attitudinal or emotional, (b) the reinforcing, and (c) the discriminative controlling function which the stimuli acquire. He defines and describes each of these functions and their effect on integrated learning principles. He…

Research developments in learning theory over the past fifty years have led to principles of behavior which have been shown in innumerable applied settings to be valuable in analyzing and modifying human behavior. When applied to flying training using simulators, these principles suggest that a significant contribution could be made in improving…

Experimentally examines reorganization, a fundamental component of William T. Powers' theory of mind based on the control theory of behavior. Attempts to model reorganization, focusing on improvements in performance with practice and how practice influences attention. Speculates how outputs from higher levels of the control hierarchy are involved…

Discusses the nature of control, examining how organisms as control systems sense or monitor the variable being controlled when responding to environmental changes. Argues that learning is the development of control in an attempt to fit the two phenomena central to traditional learning theory--conditioning and reinforcement--into the broader…

Examines the influences of behaviorist psychology on performance and instruction technologies. The basic assumptions of behaviorism are outlined, reinforcing contingencies are reviewed, conditioning is described, and such specific topics as stimulus control, behavior chaining, and successive approximation are discussed. (Author/JL)

Presents a study examining current network television newscasts to determine the extent to which "helplessness" models are depicted. Concludes that there is little variation between the networks and that, in some ways, the rendering of the story rather than the event itself produces the "helplessness" model. (JMF)

Psychological researchers should deal with the concrete stimulus-response principles of learning on which behavior is based, and study behaviors that are representative of real life behaviors. The present research strategy has come from two faulty ideas: first, a concern with underlying, inferred mental processes, rather than with actual tasks or…

The authors state that organizational development (OD) consultants are reluctant to rely upon instruments because this would diminish their sense of usefulness. They discuss 15 OD issues and conclude that OD instruments must be based on sound principles of behavior and sequenced in a planned way in order to implement organizational change and…

The paper proposes that when behavior change is the major target of an adult education program, the designer must consider three factors: (1) the four basic targets for behavior change efforts (behavior goals and plans, basic knowledge and skills needed for successful performance, physical environment, reinforcers of behavior); (2) individual…

Robert M. W. Travers's 1980 essay is the focal point of this paper. He argues that evaluation research requires a scientific taxonomy of human behavior and learning. Such a taxonomy must be experimentally based, mathematically expressed, theoretically sound, and predictive. He bases such criteria on the development of scientifically successful…

A discussion of the assumptions about the composition of intelligence which underlie preschool intervention efforts today offers theoretical evidence of a hierarchical arrangement of learning processes. International studies on cognitive development have concluded that the emergence of symbolic or conceptual thought occurs at a transitional age…

THIS TECHNICAL REPORT PRESENTS, IN SUBSTANCE, THE CONTENTS OF THE FIRST CHAPTER OF A BOOK IN PREPARATION DEALING WITH STANFORD UNIVERSITY EXPERIMENTS ON PARTICULAR ASPECTS OF THE LEARNING OF RUSSIAN BY AMERICANS WITH NO PREVIOUS EXPOSURE TO SLAVIC LANGUAGES. THE GENERAL AIM OF THE COMPLETED VOLUME WILL BE TO APPLY CERTAIN PRINCIPLES AND RESULTS OF…