Anthony E. Bourgeois

MULTIDIMENSIONAL LOCUS OF CONTROL AND VOLUNTARY CONTROL OF GSR

Much attention has been focused recently on the relationship between biofeedback and locus of control. Biofeedback refers to any technique using instrumentation to provide a person with instantaneous information on a bodily function, of which he is usually not aware, e.g., heartrate, GSR. Locus of control (Rotter, 1966) refers to the degree to which one sees reinforcements as contingent on his own behavior (inrernals) or determined by fate, chance, or powerful others (externals). Fotopoulos ( 1970) and Ray ( 1971) smdied the relationship between locus of control, biofeedback, and the ability to control heartrate. Using Rotrers I-E scale, they found that inrernals were able to incrme their heartrates significantly more than externals. However, one cannot ascertain from these results if internals were more successful because they believed in self-control or because they believed chance was not an important factor in their lives. Several investigators have presented evidence indicating that the I-E scale is not unidimensional and have suggested that to be a valid instrument, the I-E scale must undergo further refinements. Levenson (1973) has developed three independent scales which attempt to measure different aspects of locus of control+xpectancies of control by self (I scale), powerful others (P scale), and chance (C scale). The purpose of this smdy was to use the new multidimensional scales in order to understand more precisely the relationship berween personality and biofeedback and to examine this relationship in terms of a measure other than heartrate. It was predicted that only scores on the I scale (personal control) would be significantly related to ability to control ones GSR. During a regular class period, 100 male and female undergraduates enrolled in an introductory psychology course, were administered the three scales. Of this number, 30 volunteered to participate in the biofeedback sessions. Ss were provided with a definition of GSR and were instructed to try to lower their GSR responses over a 2-min. interval with visual feedback provided in the form of a display meter. This procedure was repeated five times interspersed with l-min. rest intervals. A Smelting Psychogalvanoscope was used. The scale scores of the 10 Ss who were best able to lower their GSR responses (mean change = -2.75 reaction unin) were compared with the scores of those 10 Ss who were least able to lower their GSR (mean change = +. 13 ) . As expected, results indicated that those Ss who were more successful at using biofeedback had significantly higher I (personal control) scale scores (M = 38.4) than those who could not make use of the biofeedback (M = 32.3, t = 2.61, p < .01). There was no relationship between ability to control GSR and scores on the P (powerful others) or the C (chance) scales. Thus, personality differences are related to biofeedback performance. Furthermore, only beliefs about self-control and not about chance or powerful others appear to be relevant to voluntary coorrol of autonomic functions.

The effects of oral cadmium exposure on passive avoidance performance in the adult rat

Step-down passive avoidance acquisition and 24 h retention performance were examined in adult rats given daily doses of either 0, 1, or 5 mg/kg cadmium (Cd) (as CdCl2) via the diet. Results indicated that subjects exposed to the 5 mg/kg Cd diet were less likely to step off a safe platform onto an electrified grid floor than controls. The 1 mg/kg subjects did not differ from controls on this acquisition task. None of the groups showed differential performances on a retention test administered 24 h after acquisition training. These results are discussed in terms of recent claims that Cd exposure enhances emotional reactivity in animals.

Group Cohesiveness, Mood Disturbance, and Stress in Female Basketball Players:

This investigation examined the relationship of group cohesion to mood disturbance, stress, and athletic performance in a female collegiate basketball team. Twenty players from a Division I college basketball team were administered a battery ofself-reportquestionnaires, including the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ), the Profile of Mood States (POMS), and the Social and Athletic Readjustment Rating Scale (SARRS). Significant results were observed in relation to the Group Integration-Task (GI-T) and Group Integration-Social (GI-S) subscales of the GEQ. Participants perceiving high GI-T were less depressed, less confused, and showed less total mood disturbance on the POMS. Individuals reporting high GI-S experienced less personal, academic, coaching, sport, and injury-related stress, and subjects scoring high on GI-T or GI-S subscales reported lower levels of total stress as measured by the SARRS.

Dietary administration of nickel: Effects on behavior and metallothionein levels ☆

Adult male rats were fed either 0, 10, or 20 mg Ni/kg body weight (as NiCl2) via a 10 g daily food ration. Following 14 days of exposure, animals were trained over a period of 61 days to lever press for food on a VI-2 operant training schedule while continuing to experience the indicated daily doses. Those rats treated with 20 mg/kg Ni lever pressed at a significantly lower rate than controls. Group 10 mg/kg subjects were not significantly different on this behavioral measure than control subjects. Atomic absorption spectrophotometric analysis revealed a dose/response accumulation of Ni in the kidney, but analyses of blood, bone, brain, hair, small intestine, liver, and testes did not show differential agent accumulations. Neither hepatic nor renal metallothionein levels were increased above control levels. These findings were discussed within the framework of other recent behavioral and biochemical studies of heavy metal toxicity.

The athletic coping skills inventory: relationship with impression management and self-deception aspects of socially desirable responding

Abstract Objectives: The primary objective was to document the relationship between the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) indices of impression management (IM) and self-deception (SDE) response styles and the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28) subscales. It was hypothesized that the ACSI-28 subscales would be significantly related to BIDR IM and SDE. Design: Cross-sectional. The relationship between ACSI-28 subscales and the BIDR was assessed using SAS Multiple Regression Analyses procedures. A combination of IM and SDE served as predictors of the ACSI-28 subscale outcome variables. Method: Undergraduate volunteers (n=468) completed a test booklet consisting of the BIDR and the ACSI-28. Results: The ACSI-28 was found to be relatively free of the more traditional IM response bias, however all ACSI-28 subscales were strongly affected by SDE bias. Conclusions: Additional studies are needed to determine whether self-deceptive responding is a source of psychometric confounding or is perhaps an adaptive psychological coping skill. It is suggested that both the IM and SDE constructs be considered in the design of sport psychology research involving self-report measures.

Behavioral effects of chronic lead exposure in the adult rat

Adult rats fed daily rations of laboratory chow laced with lead acetate, were tested for operant (schedule-controlled) responding and conditioned suppression. In Experiment 1, animals receiving 10 mg/kg lead showed significantly lower operant response rates (lever pressing) than controls. Conditioned suppression performance was not different between the two groups. During retraining that followed a 42 day no-training period, lead-treated subjects showed greater percent of prior baseline responding than controls. The groups were not different on a test for stimulus control or an appetitive resistance to extinction test. In Experiment 2, separate lead-treated groups were chronically exposed to either 10 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, or 1 mg/kg lead daily. Behavioral tests showed that while the lowest lead level (1 mg/kg) occasioned higher rates of operant lever pressing relative to controls, the highest level (10 mg/kg) again produced lower rates. On a retraining task administered after an interpolated 90 day no-training period, the two highest exposure groups were significantly above controls regarding percent of baseline responding and there was evidence that the 5 mg/kg group was significantly superior to controls in terms of absolute response rate. No differences in conditioned suppression or resistance to extinction were observed in the second experiment.

The Effects of Two Types of Exposure on Attitudes toward Aspects of Juvenile Delinquency

Four violent juvenile offenders from a local correctional facility spoke to a class of U.S. undergraduates studying abnormal psychology. Two weeks later, the students attended a tour sponsored by the correctional facility that had provided the speakers. The results of a semantic differential scale administered both before and after the talk and tour indicated that the students attitudes became significantly more positive for the 3 dimensions assessed by the scale: juvenile delinquent, state correctional facility for juvenile delinquents, and treatment staff for juvenile delinquents. The talk and the tour appeared to be equally effective in bringing about positive changes in the students attitudes.

Effects of acute trimethyltin exposure on appetitive acquisition and extinction performance in the adult rat

Adult male rats were given one intragastric infusion of either 7 mg/kg trimethyltin chloride (dose calculated as the base of trimethyltin [TMT]) or physiological saline. Twenty-one days after dosing, subjects from each condition were divided into two equal-sized groups and trained with either partial (PRF) or continuous (CRF) reinforcement in a straight alley maze. The acquisition phase of training, lasting 40 trials (4 trials/day), was followed by 20 trials of extinction training (4 trials/day). Analyses performed on total speed revealed that TMT-treated subjects performed at lower levels during acquisition than controls regardless of schedule condition. Also, the rate of resistance to extinction was significantly reduced for treated subjects compared with that of controls regardless of the training schedules used during acquisition. A partial reinforcement extinction effect was observed for both control and TMT-treated subjects, that is, independent of dose regimen; PRF training occasioned greater persistence during extinction than did CRF training. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for contemporary empirical and theoretical issues relating to TMT-induced hippocampal lesions.

Dietary alteration of somatic symptoms and regional brain electrical activity

This study reports the therapeutic effect and EEG correlates of a caffeine- and refined sucrose-free diet in a symptomatic woman

The effects of chronic cobalt exposure on behavior and metallothionein levels in the adult rat

Adult rats fed daily rations of laboratory chow laced with cobalt chloride were tested for operant (schedule-controlled) responding and conditioned suppression (CER). Animals exposed to 20 mg/kg Co, but not animals exposed to 5 mg/kg Co, lever pressed at a significantly slower rate than nontreated control subjects over the last 8 sessions of a 35 session operant training phase (1 session/day). Control and treatment subjects did not show significantly different CER performances. Nor were significant differences found on a test of mixed VI-2, DRO responding where subjects were required to lever press for reward during the first 15 min component and not lever press during the last 15 min component of the schedule. Testicular atrophy was evident among subjects exposed to 20 mg/kg Co. Atomic absorption spectrophotometric analyses revealed a dose-response effect regarding tissue accumulations of Co in blood, bone, brain, hair, small intestine, kidney, liver, and testes. Contrary to the biochemical pattern shown by some other heavy metals, prolonged Co exposure did not induce significant increases in metallothionein concentrations in the liver, kidney, or small intestine.