Three experiments on classical differential conditioning of the human skin conductance response to elemental and compound stimuli are reported. Subjects in Experiment 1 received both positive and negative patterning training, followed by either positive or negative patterning transfer tests on new stimuli. In positive patterning, a compound of two stimuli is reinforced and its elements are nonreinforced. In negative patterning, the elements are reinforced and the compound is nonreinforced. Subjects in Experiments 2 and 3 received either positive or negative patterning during training, followed by transfer tests on new stimuli. In Experiment 2, the transfer series began with new elements, after which their compound was presented; in Experiment 3, the new compound was presented first in the transfer series, and then the separate elements were administered. All three experiments provided evidence of the acquisition of positive patterning, while negative patterning was found only in Experiments 2 and 3. Positive patterning transferred to new stimuli, indicating that it was not attributable solely to summation of subthreshold excitation conditioned to the elements on reinforced compound trials. This finding, coupled with the negative patterning found in Experiments 2 and 3, provided support for the unique cue hypothesis. It was concluded that the assumed unique cue constituted a learned "rule," and that the actual elemental stimuli were neither perceptually nor otherwise modified during the conditioning process.This report describes three studies of positive and negative patterning in human classical skin conductance response (SCR) conditioning. These studies attempted to determine whether the reinforcement rules involved in the acquisition of positive and negative patterning would transfer to new stimuli. Positive patterning involves a differentiation between a reinforced compound stimulus and its separately nonreinforced elements, while negative patterning involves a differentiation between a nonreinforced compound and its separately reinforced elements. The results of the present research were also expected to have relevance for current theoretical analyses of Pavlovian conditioning with elemental and compound stimuli.Theories of Pavlovian conditioning, with infrequent exceptions (e.g., Pearce, 1987;Pearce & Wilson, 1990), have treated compound stimuli in an atomistic fashion. This atomistic approach assumes that responding to a compound reflects summation of the separate associative strengths of the compound's constituent elements (MackOur thanks are extended to Helmut Kleinschmitt, Regina Rettenbach, and Jorg Wolter for assistance in conducting the experiment. We also thank V. M. LoLordo and two anonymous reviewers for valuable commentary and criticism. Address correspondence concerning this article to Harald Lachnit,
An item response theory (IRT) analysis was used to identify unique cultural response patterns by comparing single-culture groups with a multicultural composite. A survey designed to measure attitudes toward mental health was administered in their native languages to American, German, and French working, retired, and student teachers. Item characteristic curves (ICCs) for each national group were compared with ICCs generated by a composite reference containing all three cultural groups, thus providing an omnicultural reference point. Items that exhibited differential item functioning (DIP), that is, items with dissimilar ICCs for the composite reference and focal groups, were indicative of unique cultural response patterns to the attitude survey items. The advantages and disadvantages of this method in an IRT analysis are discussed.
The measurement equivalence of an English-language version of the Trier Personality Inventory (TPI) was evaluated, using statistical methods based on item response theory (IRT) to identity items that displayed differential item functioning (DIF). In Study 1, the TPI was administered to 295 American and 213 West German subjects. From among the 120 items tested, 11 DIF items were detected. A follow-up study using a new sample of 203 Americans was conducted to replicate the original study and to evaluate the post hoc explanation that translation error was the source of DIF for one item. DIF was replicated for 6 of the 11 DIF items found in Study 1, and DIF was eliminated for one item by retranslation. Overall, there was significant agreement between the DIF indexes found in Studies I and 2 for all 120 items analyzed. Some problems in replicating significant indexes of DIF are discussed.
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