In 2 experiments, the authors tested whether the classical modality effect--that is, the stronger recency effect for auditory items relative to visual items--can be extended to the spatial domain. An order reconstruction task was undertaken with four types of material: visual-spatial, auditory-spatial, visual-verbal, and auditory-verbal.…

Disclosing information, thoughts, and feelings about personal and meaningful topics (experimental disclosure) is purported to have various health and psychological consequences (e.g., J.W. Pennebaker, 1993). Although the results of 2 small meta-analyses (P. G. Frisina, J. C. Borod, & S. J. Lepore, 2004; J. M. Smyth, 1998) suggest that experimental…

Four studies examined whether Israeli 5-year-olds (N=88) and adults (N=48) drew inferences about psychological properties based on a character's social category, personality trait, or physical appearance trait. Study 1 revealed that while children drew inferences mostly by social category, adults did it by personality trait. Study 2 showed that…

It is proposed that nomethetic theories should be formulated in such a way to allow for an immediate individual-differences test. This approach of trying to bring individual differences into the mainstream of theory construction is elaborated in terms of guidelines that can be used in examining the intervening process, as well as a discussion of…

Describes a laboratory oriented psychology course developed for secondary students which explored, among other things, behaviorism, Freudian psychology and learning and cognition as developmental processes. (BR)

B. F. Skinner's influence on various applications of psychology in education has been greater than J. R. Kantor's, the founder of interbehaviorism. However, the field of education might benefit from a greater input of Kantorian, as opposed to Skinnerian, theory. Policymakers, administrators, and teachers have failed to totally adopt Skinner's…

These symposium papers discuss the instructional use of computers in psychology, with emphasis on computer-produced simulations. The first, by Rich Edwards, briefly outlines LABSIM, a general purpose system of FORTRAN programs which simulate data collection in more than a dozen experimental models in psychology and are designed to train students…

Recent research indicates that introductory psychology college students continue to be the primary source of subjects for psychological research. This extensive use of involuntary subjects in a required service subject pool raises numerous important questions for science and for educational and professional ethics. A general overview of research…

An experiment, which replicates an earlier study conducted in Sweden, was performed to study the effects of prior knowledge of relevant subject matter on reading comprehension and on memory. Fifty college students read one of two contrasting passages that presented two opposing points of view after they had recorded their beliefs about the subject…

Several different issues in the temporal coding of words were subjected to experimental analysis. Two experiments evaluated three response measures (recency judgments, position judgments, lag judgments) used to index temporal coding. Lag judgments were found to be of little use; subjects could make valid position and recency judgments without…

This report describes the experimental studies conducted to examine the role of mental structures in four different areas of research. The first area involves the structural analysis of isolable subsystems involved in visual and auditory pattern recognition. The second area involves the study of the encoding and retrieval of emotional or…

This paper is a draft for the American Psychological Association Symposium on the conditioning of verbal behavior and attitudes. The author presents the results of several studies he conducted in the classical conditioning of meaning and attitude. These studies attempt to control the measurement effects created by extraneous variables operating on…

This paper provides a brief and selective overview of several areas of behavior therapy, or applied experimental psychology with the usual concern for careful measurement, operationization of terms, and dispassionate examination of ideas which can be experimentally tested. The authors review the method of token reinforcement, with its subsequent…

Nine seventh- and eighth-grade students who had a history of poor math achievement were selected to participate in the study. Base rate data was gathered which indicated the percent of time the students were engaged in behaviors relevant to the assigned academic tasks. During treatment a clock buzzer apparatus was placed in the room, and the…