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PubMed1995

Seasonal variation in human illumination exposure at two different latitudes.

The authors measured ambient illumination exposure in healthy volunteers in San Diego, California (latitude 32 degrees 43' N, n = 30), and Rochester, Minnesota (latitude 44 degrees 1' N, n = 24), during each of the four quarters of the year, which were centered on the solstices and equinoxes. Subjects wore photosensors on their wrists and lapels (or foreheads while in bed) 24 h per day for an average of 5-6 days per quarter. The maximum of the two illumination readings was stored each minute. Annual average time spent per day in outdoor illumination (> or = 1000 lux) was significantly higher in San Diego than it was in Rochester (p < .04). Daily durations of illumination at or exceeding thresholds of 1, 10, 100, 1000, and 10,000 lux were highly seasonal in the sample as a whole (p < .01 at 1 lux, p < .0001 at other thresholds). Seasonal variation in outdoor illumination was far more pronounced in Rochester than it was in San Diego (interaction p < .001) but remained significant in San Diego (p < or = .03). Seasonal variation in indoor illumination was generally similar in the two cities. The median Rochester subject experienced illumination > or = 1000 lux for 2 h 23 min per day during summer and 23 min per day during winter. The corresponding times in San Diego were 2 h 10 min and 1 h 20 min. Neither age nor gender predicted illumination duration at any level. Both season and geographic location strongly influenced human illumination exposure, and behavior (choice of indoor vs. outdoor environment) was the most important mediating factor.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

The lived experience of sacrificing something important.

The purposes of this research, using the Parse method, were to discover the structure of sacrificing something important and to expand the theory of human becoming. The core concepts of relinquishing the cherished, shifting preferred options, and fortifying affiliations were discovered during the process of extraction-synthesis using synopses of dialogues from 10 church parishioners. The structure, sacrificing something important is relinquishing the cherished while shifting preferred options amid fortifying affiliations is the central finding of this study, adding to the theory of human becoming, stimulating further research, and informing nurses about this universal lived experience of health.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Increasing our understanding of breast self-examination: women talk about cancer, the health care system, and being women.

The author engaged 13 women, aged 30 to 59, in a collaborative research project over several months to explore the meaning of breast self-examination (BSE) to them. Through a series of 11 group discussions, the women developed a critical consciousness of the commonality of their personal experiences in relation to BSE. Although these women valued BSE, their reluctance to perform it was influenced by their perceptions of breast cancer as a lethal disease, the perceived threat it posed to their femininity, and their ability to negotiate an increasingly medical and technological health care system. This study provides insight into the importance of the social environment and shared understandings in influencing women's individual behavioral choices for BSE. It also illustrates the particular value of collaborative health research.

Adult↗
PubMed2007

Children talking: emerging perspectives and experiences of cigarette smoking.

Despite efforts to prevent the onset of smoking, the rate among older children remains high. In this article, the authors report on a longitudinal, qualitative study of 11 to 16-year-old children describing children's construction of what it means to be a smoker, the reasons given for children smoking, and their views of smoking behavior. Findings indicate that children adopt broad interpretations of what constitutes smoking behavior; although they strongly disapprove of children who smoke, they are less disapproving of older children or adult smokers and are increasingly tolerant of smoking behavior as they get older. Children's disapproval of smoking acts as a protective mechanism against smoking for younger participants. Participants' broad interpretation of what it means to be a cigarette smoker, their association of smoking with adulthood, and their increasing tolerance of and exposure to smoking behavior as they move into adolescence appears to increase susceptibility to becoming cigarette smokers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Deinstitutionalization for older adults with severe mental retardation: results from Australia.

A deinstitutionalization research project in which residents from the largest institution in Queensland, Australia, were relocated after a government decision to close the center was described. Outcomes of relocation into community living for adults with severe mental retardation, many of whom were older (over 40 years) and had been institutionalized for much of their lives, was addressed within the Australian context. Results from the relocation and outcomes for people aged 20 to 39 years (n = 37), 40 to 59 years (n = 39), and over 60 years (n = 24) were described. Group results focused on adaptive and maladaptive behavior, choice-making, and objective life quality were discussed together with the implications for service provision.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Flying personal planes: modeling the airport choices of general aviation pilots using stated preference methodology.

This study employed stated preference (SP) models to determine why general aviation pilots choose to base and operate their aircraft at some airports and not others. Thirteen decision variables identified in pilot focus groups and in the general aviation literature were incorporated into a series of hypothetical choice tasks or scenarios. The scenarios were offered within a fractional factorial design to establish orthogonality and to preclude dominance in any combination of variables. Data from 113 pilots were analyzed for individual differences across pilots using conditional logit regression with and without controls. The results demonstrate that some airport attributes (e.g., full-range hospitality services, paved parallel taxiway, and specific types of runway lighting and landing aids) increase pilot utility. Heavy airport congestion and airport landing fees, on the other hand, decrease pilot utility. The importance of SP methodology as a vehicle for modeling choice behavior and as an input into the planning and prioritization process is discussed. Actual or potential applications include the development of structured decision-making instruments in the behavioral sciences and in human service programs.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1997

Framing of task performance strategies: effects on performance in a multiattribute dynamic decision making environment.

It is well documented that the way a static choice task is "framed" can dramatically alter choice behavior, often leading to observable preference reversals. This framing effect appears to result from perceived changes in the nature or location of a person's initial reference point, but it is not clear how framing effects might generalize to performance on dynamic decision making tasks that are characterized by high workload, time constraints, risk, or stress. A study was conducted to examine the hypothesis that framing can introduce affective components to the decision making process and can influence, either favorably (positive frame) or adversely (negative frame), the implementation and use of decision making strategies in dynamic high-workload environments. Results indicated that negative frame participants were significantly impaired in developing and employing a simple optimal decision strategy relative to a positive frame group. Discussion focuses on implications of these results for models of dynamic decision making.

Cognition↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Melioration and the transition from touch-typing training to everyday use.

Previous research shows that success in touch-typing training does not ensure its continuation into everyday use. It is postulated that an important contributor to this problem is melioration--that is, maximizing local rates of reinforcement. In the context of typing, melioration implies an intuitive tendency to choose typing strategies that lead to a better immediate performance level than that obtained by touchtyping. One such strategy is visually guided typing, in which the performer looks at the keys to locate their position. The present research describes a training approach that changes the reinforcement structure by increasing the attractiveness of looking at the screen while typing. This approach is implemented by using a secondary task that requires typists to respond to signals appearing on the screen. In an experiment that evaluated this solution, 22 students were given a touch-typing training course followed by a period in which they had to type their own homework. The results showed that under a modified reinforcement condition, the effect of melioration on touch-typing scores in the posttraining phase decreased. In addition, the experimental manipulation facilitated the acquisition and maintenance of the touch-typing skill. Actual or potential applications of this research include research in training, choice behavior, and human-computer interaction.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Effects of self-administered ethanol or water preloads on appetitive and consummatory behavior in the alcohol-preferring (P) rat.

OBJECTIVE: Ethanol intake control in the selected alcohol-preferring lines of rats appeared to have shifted in some lines for both increased ethanol seeking and increased consumption once ethanol was available. It was unknown whether a small preload of ethanol would alter either the seeking or the consumption in a selected line. This study examined this issue. METHOD: Alcohol-preferring (P) rats from Indiana University School of Medicine were initiated to drink ethanol using a sucrose-substitution procedure and a single daily limited-access trial. Following 30 responses on a lever, a sipper tube containing 10% ethanol extended into the operant chamber for 20 minutes. Self-administered ethanol and water preloads were tested prior to either a regular session or an extinction session. In extinction sessions, no access to the sipper tube occurred, and the number of responses occurring during 20 minutes was taken as a measure of ethanol seeking. RESULTS: The ethanol and water preloads had no effect on the following ethanol consumption at any time during the experiment. However, the first two ethanol preloads significantly reduced extinction responding, which did not recover to the levels observed prior to the preload tests. CONCLUSIONS: The data support the conclusion that ethanol seeking in the P rat can be influenced by environmental history, whereas consummatory behavior appears to be under more explicit genetic control. This gene-environment interaction suggests that, in the P rat, seeking behavior, initially set at higher levels than observed for nonselected lines, can be modified by certain environmental experiences.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Memory and perseveration on a win-stay, lose-shift task in rats exposed neonatally to alcohol.

OBJECTIVE: It is important to understand the relationship between perseverative responding resulting from perinatal exposure to alcohol and potential underlying causes, including attention, memory, or response-inhibition problems. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between perseveration and memory. METHOD: Rats exposed neonatally to 6 g/kg/day alcohol from postnatal day (PD) 4 through PD 9 using an artificial rearing technique (n = 8) were compared with an artificially reared gastrostomy control group (n = 8) and a suckle control group (n = 8). Activity levels were assessed from PD 18-21. Beginning on PD 45, subjects were deprived of food and responded for food on a two-lever win-stay, lose-shift task in which reinforcement probability was a function of reinforcement delivery on the previous trial. If reinforcement was delivered, only a response on the same lever (stay) was reinforced. If reinforcement was not delivered, only a response on the opposite lever (shift) was reinforced. Effective responding depended on subjects remembering whether a reinforcer was delivered on the preceding trial. The intertrial interval varied across conditions (5 seconds or 60 seconds). RESULTS: Alcohol-exposed rats showed increased activity during activity testing but did not differ from controls on win-stay, lose-shift accuracy. All groups showed a performance decrease at longer intertrial intervals. Alcohol-exposed rats showed increased lever pressing during the intertrial interval compared with suckle control rats but not with gastrostomy control rats. CONCLUSIONS: Choice behavior was comparable for all groups on the win-stay, lose-shift task, indicating that memory, as assessed by this task, was not differentially affected by alcohol exposure. Alcohol-exposed rats responded more during the intertrial interval compared with suckle controls, suggesting increased activity without increased response inhibition. The win-stay, lose-shift procedure is a potentially useful tool for separating simple activity level effects, memory-related effects, and response-inhibition effects. This study also highlights the need for additional research describing the relationship between perseverative responding and underlying mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1969

Choice and rate of reinforcement.

Pigeons' responses in the presence of two concurrently available (initial-link) stimuli produced one of two different (terminal-link) stimuli. The rate of reinforcement in the presence of one terminal-link stimulus was three times that of the other. Three different pairs of identical but independent variable-interval schedules controlled entry into the terminal links. When the intermediate pair was in effect, the pigeons distributed their (choice) responses in the presence of the concurrently available stimuli of the initial links in the same proportion as reinforcements were distributed in the mutually exclusive terminal links. This finding was consistent with those of earlier studies. When either the pair of larger or smaller variable-interval schedules was in effect, however, proportions of choice responses did not match proportions of reinforcements. In addition, matching was not obtained when entry into the terminal links was controlled by unequal variable-interval schedules. A formulation consistent with extant data states that choice behavior is dependent upon the amount of reduction in the expected time to primary reinforcement, as signified by entry into one terminal link, relative to the amount of reduction in expected time to reinforcement signified by entry into the other terminal link.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1970

Discrimination of auditory intensities by rats.

Rats were trained to press one of two keys when a standard intensity value of a 4.0-kHz sine tone (70 or 100 db re 2 x 10(-4) microbar) was presented from a centrally located loudspeaker. Pressing the other key was reinforced when comparison intensity values (as much as 30 db less than the standard value) were presented. The animals initiated tone presentations by breaking a light beam at the rear of the chamber. Correct choices produced brain-stimulation reinforcement, and errors produced a timeout. A procedure designed by Jenkins was used to partial out choice data under potential control of sequential cues in the stimulus series. When the standard-comparison intensity difference was varied, the rats showed similar psychometric functions despite wide differences in response bias (relative position preference). A signal detection analysis showed that response biases for individual animals remained fairly consistent during psychophysical testing. The trend of decreasing choice accuracy at small intensity differences was described by the cumulative normal probability function. The similarity of psychometric functions obtained with 70- and 100-db standards supported Weber's law. There was some evidence that response latencies were controlled by intensity differences even when choice behavior was undifferentiated.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Choice for signalled over unsignalled shock as a function of shock intensity.

Choice between a signalled shock schedule and an unsignalled one was examined at various shock intensities. Three rats were given the opportunity to change from the unsignalled schedule to the signalled one at intensity values between 0.15 mA and 1.0 mA. Steps were usually 0.15 mA and both ascending and descending series were given. For two other rats, shock intensity increased from 0.20 mA to 1.0 mA in 0.20-mA increments; for two additional rats, shock intensity was first 3.0 mA and was then reduced to 1.0 mA. Subjects tended to remain in the unsignalled schedule at the lower shock intensities, but spent most of each session under the signalled schedule at the higher intensities (1.0 mA and 3.0 mA). In addition, the time spent in the signalled schedule tended to vary systematically with shock intensity over at least part of the range of intensity values. It was concluded that the relationship between shock intensity and choice behavior is similar to the relationship between intensity and behavior in procedures involving avoidance, escape, and punishment.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1978

Effects on choice of reinforcement delay and conditioned reinforcement.

Pigeons chose between fixed-interval schedules of different durations presented in the terminal links of concurrent-chains schedules. The pair of schedules was always in the ratio of 2:1, but the absolute duration of the fixed intervals varied. In one set of conditions, the different terminal-link schedules were associated with different keylight stimuli (cued conditions). In a second set of conditions, the different terminal-link schedules were associated with the same stimulus (uncued conditions). Results from the cued conditions replicated previous findings that preference for the shorter fixed-interval schedule increased with fixed-interval duration. Preferences in the uncued conditions were lower than in the corresponding cued conditions but also increased with fixed-interval length. In addition, the degree of control under the uncued conditions was correlated with the extent to which the schedule during the terminal link was discriminated immediately upon entry into the terminal link. The pattern of results in both conditions was inconsistent with the notion that choice behavior matches relative immediacy of reinforcement. Reanalysis of previous evidence for matching (Chung and Herrnstein, 1967) showed that matching in fact did not occur, as the preferences of their subjects for the shorter of two delays also increased with the absolute size of the delays.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1980

Temporal discrimination and a free-operant psychophysical procedure.

Pigeons were presented a series of keylight time periods (separated by blackouts) during which two response keys were lit, one by blue light and the other either by orange or green. Blue-key responses changed the color on the other key. Orange-key responses sometimes produced food during the first half of a time period; green-key responses sometimes produced food during the second half. In three experiments, the probability of a green-key response increased as a function of elapsed time. Experiment 1 compared performance when the duration of the keylight periods was varied across a wide range. Discrimination of performance was similar across the range of durations. Experiment 2 varied both relative reinforcement rate and the local reinforcement rate for orange-key and green-key responses. These manipulations produced changes in response bias but not discrimination sensitivity. Experiment 3 varied the local temporal placement of reinforcers within time periods and demonstrated that choice behavior was affected by differential reinforcement at different points during the time periods. The results were consistent with previous research on duration discrimination that used psychophysical trials procedures.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Matching and maximizing with concurrent ratio-interval schedules.

Animals exposed to standard concurrent variable-ratio variable-interval schedules could maximize overall reinforcement rate if, in responding, they showed a strong response bias toward the variable-ratio schedule. Tests with the standard schedules have failed to find such a bias and have been widely cited as evidence against maximization as an explanation of animal choice behavior. However, those experiments were confounded in that the value of leisure (behavior other than the instrumental response) partially offsets the value of reinforcement. The present experiment provides another such test using a concurrent procedure in which the confounding effects of leisure were mostly eliminated while the critical aspects of the concurrent variable-ratio variable-interval contingency were maintained: Responding in one component advanced only its ratio schedule while responding in the other component advanced both ratio schedules. The bias toward the latter component predicted by maximization theory was found.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Choice in transition: A comparison of melioration and the kinetic model.

Transition-state choice behavior of pigeons was examined in two experiments designed to test predictions of melioration and the kinetic model. Both experiments began with an initial training condition during which subjects were maintained on concurrent variable-interval schedules. In Experiment 1, subjects were then exposed to concurrent variable-ratio schedules, whereas in Experiment 2, subjects were then exposed to concurrent extinction. Contrary to the predictions of melioration, but consistent with the kinetic model, acquisition of preference on concurrent variable-ratio schedules followed a negatively accelerated logistic trajectory, and preference remained stable in concurrent extinction. Predictions made by the kinetic model concerning rates of switching between alternatives were also supported.

Journal Article↗