The manual version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is the most frequently used neuropsychological instrument for differentiating normal from populations with frontal-lobe impairments. A number of computerized versions have become available, and their ability to accurately detect frontal-lobe dysfunction is based on the assumption of equivalence with the standard manual version. Accordingly, comparisons of the distribution properties of central tendency, variability, and shape between the manual version with four computerized versions of the WCST were performed (n = 22 per condition). None of the computerized versions were found to be equivalent to the manual version on all assessment measures. Given the discrepancies between the manual and computerized versions, it is concluded that the norms provided for the standard manual presentation method should not be used for the computerized versions, and for continued use of the computerized versions, new norms for computer versions need to be established. Thus, clinicians and experimenters must use caution when basing conclusions on scores from computer versions of the WCST.
A free-operant avoidance schedule was used to establish and maintain foot-treadle responding by two Homing, one White King, and two Carneaux pigeons. In the absence of responding, the interval between shocks equaled 10 sec. Each time a treadle response occurred the shock was postponed for 32 sec. Pigeons appear to learn the treadle response more quickly and use it to avoid shock more successfully than do rats bar pressing on similar schedules. The treadle response becomes highly stereotyped and interresponse time distributions obtained from terminal behavior appear very similar to data obtained from rats. It is concluded that the difficulty in training pigeons to avoid electric shock is not in establishing avoidance behavior but in attempting to evaluate such behavior with the key-peck response.Several years ago, the senior author attempted to train pigeons to avoid unsignaled shocks by key pecking. While some avoidance pecking was shaped, the response rapidly dropped out and was replaced by wing flapping and jumping against the panel containing the keys. While generally ineffective, these responses did occasionally result in key operations, and the wing-flapping and jumping behaviors were maintained. Recently, the difficulty of training escape and avoidance in pigeons has been brought to our attention in the literature (Dinsmoor, 1968). Hoffman and Fleshler (1959) attempted to train pigeons to terminate shock by pecking a key. After repeated failure to condition key pecking in the escape situation, the investigators re-defined the escape response and made termination of shock contingent on head lifting. Using the head-lifting response, they were able to condition escape behavior easily in their pigeons. Hoffman and Fleshler also reported some success at obtaining discriminated avoidance behavior in one bird, although some 3500 toneshock pairings were required before the bird learned to avoid 80%, of the scheduled shocks. Rachlin and Hineline (1967) reported considerable difficulty in training pigeons to peck keys to escape a pulsing shock.
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