Horace A. Page

The effects of blocking an instrumental avoidance response: fear reduction or enhancement?

Rats which were prevented (blocked) from making an instrumental avoidance response extinguished much more rapidly than non-blocked animals. In a subsequent test, however, passive avoidance of the former shock chamber was much greater in the blocked Ss. When no regular extinction trials were permitted, blocking (per se) reduced residual “fear” below the level present at the end of acquisition. Considered in terms of two-process learning theory, these data suggest a need for multiple indices of behavior change.

Autokinetic Enhancement as a Function of Flicker

The apparent movement of a stationary spot of light on a homogeneous background is perceived with shorter latency and greater spatial displacement when the spot is flickering than when fused. The enhancing effect of flicker is more pronounced for females than males. There is a significant difference in the latency of the apparent movement between the sexes. Response measures of latency and spatial displacement of autokinesis show a positive relationship.

Autokinetic movement as a function of light-dark-ratio (LDR)

Measures of median latency of autokinetic movement of an intermittent light source demonstrate significant differences as a function of sex and LDR. Women appear to be more resistant to autokinetic movement. Relatively longer periods of darkness (lowering the LDR) in the light source result in an enhancement of the autokinetic effect.

Autokinetic Effect as a Function of Intermittency of the Light Source

The latency of the autokinetic illusion was observed as it related to the rate of intermittency of the stimulus light. Rates of flicker from 2 to 10 cps were presented. Lowest latency was noted for the 10 cps condition. The function generated appears remarkably similar to that observed by Spigel (1963) with displacement as a dependent variable. Results are discussed in terms of the phenomenon of brightness enhancement and the effect of flicker on the perceived contour of the stimulus.

American College Test (ACT) Performance as a Function of Examinee Acceptance of Test

common theme in measurement literature equates face validity with public relations efforts designed to enhance the acceptability of the test in question (Anastasi, 1954; Cronbach, 1960a; Cureton, 1951). Mosier (1947) explicitly discussed &dquo;consumer acceptance&dquo; of the testing instrument as a type of face validity which he called &dquo;appearance.&dquo; Cronbach (1960b) suggests the possible negative effects of low face validity upon test performance. A general impression gained from the scant literature available is that face validity in any form is, at best, a tolerable test characteristic to be considered secondary to empirical validation. Although one may not deny the crucial role of empirical validity, the possibility that the examinee’s perception of the examination may affect his test performance, still exists. Goslin (1963) indicated that the effects of testing upon the examinee can have a bearing upon achievement by influencing self-confidence and self-perception. That these effects may be directly related to test performance seems to be a neglected issue. As Sarason (1959) pointed out, it is rather amazing that in a highly test-conscious American culture, few systematic studies of examinee attitudes toward tests exist. It would seem, then, that studies designed to describe examinee test attitudes and to investi-