The involvement of different subregions of the striatum in place and response learning was examined using a T-maze. Rats were given NMDA lesions of the dorsolateral striatum (DLS), anterior dorsomedial striatum (ADMS), posterior dorsomedial striatum (PDMS), or sham surgery. They were then trained to retrieve food from the west arm of the maze,…

Behavior analysts assume that private events like thinking and feeling have the same kinds of physical dimensions as other events in the world. They still claim, however, that private events can never be initiating causes of behavior. I point out that this position seems theoretically inconsistent, though exactly what qualifies as an initiating…

Combined activation of dopamine D1- and NMDA-glutamate receptors in the nucleus accumbens has been strongly implicated in instrumental learning, the process in which an individual learns that a specific action has a wanted outcome. To assess dopaminergic activity, we presented rats with two sessions (30 trials each) of a one-lever appetitive…

This document reports on a study that attempts to move beyond the polarization of labels and move toward a unity that transcends distinctions of gender and gender's embeddedness in the larger culture. While the traditional male model in studies of cognitive approaches has been challenged by feminist scholars, there is still some question of the…

Briefly explains Piaget's theory of intellectual development and its implications for teachers. (LS)

Eighty-eight males and females participated in one of three affect inducing conditions which involved reading neutral, depression, or elation statements. Subjects in the depression condition, in contrast to the elation group, reported themselves to be more depressed, anxious, and hostile, were less expansive in graphic expression and less likely…

This study undertook to reconcile the views of cognitive and behavioral learning theorists on the issue whether learning without awareness (LWA) is possible, and if so, the circumstances under which it occurs. In Study One, two reinforcement procedures were compared in a structured verbal conditioning task. Study Two was a replication of Study…

This discussion of transitive inferences (if A greater than B & B greater than C, then A greater thean C) emphasizes an information processing analysis of logical thought. The two basic factors considered in such an analysis are (1) the task environment, including its structure, demands, decisions required, and information given; and (2) the…

Little empirical research has been done on the subject of argumentation, especially in the area of refutation, or "disproof," even though some research on debate indicates that refutation constitutes a significant predictor of a team's success. A recent study investigated the effects of eight forms of refutation against five major categories of…

The aim of this project was to conceptualize and map cognitive processes and structural aspects, working mostly from video tapes of children in relatively natural clinical interviews, play and school situations (laboratory work, etc.). A conception of cognitive structure and an over-all perspective on cognitive functioning, which differ…

This study was designed to examine the effects of two factors on the delay behavior of six year old children, a large percentage of whom had not yet attained temporal operations. The subjects consisted of 60 black, first grade children from a lower class urban neighborhood school. The experimental design was a 2x3 factorial with the first factor…

The study paired-associate (PA) learning via the anticipation (ANT) and study-test (ST) procedures across second, third, fourth and fifth grades. Specifically, age differences in the rate of learning and examining PA learning according to the stage analyses were examined. Retention was also of interest: however, a ceiling effect negated the…

Discusses current learning theories, indicating that though many psychologists and ethologists now agree on using a mechanistic approach, some linguists doubt its adequacy. Implications of research on the mollusk "Aplasia" to understand the learning process are included. (JN)

Research deals with symbolic peer-modeling -- one child modeling another child's ideas. (Author/MB)