Kenneth B. Melvin

A Scale to Measure Attitudes toward Prisoners

The construction and validation of the Attitudes toward Prisoners (ATP) scale are described. Factor analysis resulted in a 36-item Likert scale with the items correlating at least .47 with a general factor. The ATP scale possesses moderate to high split-half (r= .84 to .92) and test-retest (r= .82) reliability. No evidence of response distortion was found. A number of comparisons between selected groups provided considerable evidence of validity. Groups of prisoners, as well as persons engaged in prisoner rehabilitation or prison reform, scored highest on the scale. Intermediate-scoring groups consisted of students, a community sample, and correctional officers. As predicted, the group with lowest average ATP scores consisted of law enforcement officers.

Rating Class Participation: The Prof/Peer Method

To reduce the subjectivity of class participation grades, a method was devised that combined forced-distribution peer ratings with professor grades. In seven seminar courses, correlations between professor and peer ratings ranged from .83 to .90. Course/teacher evaluations were high and the prof/peer technique was generally perceived as a fair way to evaluate participation.

A scale for measuring attitude toward cheating

A “study guide technique” that successfully detected cheating in college students is described. Also, details of the construction of an attitude toward cheating (ATC) scale are presented. The ATC scale was found to have adequate reliability. Preliminary evidence of scale validity was provided by (1) a correlation of −.30 between ATC scores and cheating on the study guide and (2) a more negative attitude toward cheating (as measured by the ATC scale) exhibited by faculty than by students.

Facilitative effects of punishment on aggressive behavior in the Siamese fighting fish

Male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) were reinforced for swimming through an aperture by a mirror presentation which released an innate aggressive display. Moderately intense shock-punishment of the operant response increased the vigor of the display and, temporarily, the rates of the operant response. Gradual decreases in rate within and across nonpunished sessions reflected short-term and long-term habituation to the mirror image.

EFFECTS OF DURATION AND DELAY OF SHOCK ON SELF-PUNITIVE BEHAVIOR IN THE RAT

Rats were given shock-escape training in a 4-ft. runway, then divided into 4 groups of 9 Ss each. During extinction, shock was present in the 4-ft. alley, the first 1-ft. segment, or the last 1-ft. segment for 3 groups, but was never present in the start box. A control group received no shock. In general, punished Ss ran faster and longer than non-shocked Ss. The more immediate the punishment, the more vigorous and sustained was the punished act. The immediate 1-ft. shock led to very high resistance to extinction, indicating that an intermediate shock duration may yield optimal facilitation.

Vicious circle behavior as a function of delay of punishment

Rats were given shock-escape training in a 4 ft runway, then divided into 3 groups of 10 Ss each. During extinction one group received 1 ft of shock immediately after leaving the start box, a second group was shocked in the last 1 ft section of the alley, and a control group was never shocked. The immediate-shock group was found to be more resistant to extinction, followed successively by the delayed-shock group and the no-shock group.

Habituation of responses of quail (Colinus virginianus) to a hawk (Buteo swainsoni): Measurement through an ‘innate suppression’ technique

Abstract Following training on a variable interval 2-min reinforcement schedule, bobwhite quail were shown a hawk or a pigeon twice daily for 4 days, then shifted to presentations of the other stimulus for 3 days. Ten-sec presentations of the perched hawk initially released a strong freezing response, thus suppressing key-pecking. The pigeon presentations led to significantly less suppression, but tended to reduce the effect of initial hawk presentations. Habituation to the live hawk was rapid; no recovery of the freezing response was observed. These results point out the modifiability of this type of innate behaviour.

Image-Induced Aggressive Display: Reinforcement in the Paradise Fish

A mirror presentation and the ensuing species-specific aggressive display served to reinforce the response of swimming through an aperture in paradise fish. Learning and extinction curves were shown with this type of reinforcement; however, non-contingent mirror presentations did not maintain performance. A declining trend in operant swimming performance with repeated image/display reinforcements reflected some habituation of the display.

The effects of bonus tokens upon productivity in a remedial classroom for behaviorally disturbed children

The effects of no token, constant tokens, and bonus tokens upon classroomproductivity in a remedial program for behaviorally disturbed children was investigated. A constant level of token reinforcement was sufficient to maintain, but not increase, performance. A dramatic increase in productivity was associated with bonus tokens. The performance of subjects originally intended as a no-token group deteriorated so markedly that it became necessary to institute a token system.

Imprinting of Bobwhite Quail to a Hawk

An attempt was made to imprint 18 Bobwhite Quail chicks 8–20 hours old to a Sparrow Hawk, using a Hess-type circular runway. Seven quail were strongly imprinted to this avian predator.