Background: More than 66% of American adults are overweight or obese. Sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) are a primary source of added calories and may promote weight gain.
Methods: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board. A random sample of college students provided informed consent before completing an electronic survey that included questions to determine participants’ demographics, self-reported height, weight, physical activity level, total beverage intake, health perceptions, and factors affecting beverage choices. Beverage kcals and intake were determined using the validated BEVQ15 Beverage Questionnaire.
Results: Participants (N=103) were 19.6+/-1.9 years of age with a healthy mean BMI of 23.3+/-3.7. Almost 70% (n=48) had a healthy BMI, ~25% (n=17) were overweight, 6% (n=4) were obese, ~81% (n=83) reported that they were lightly to very active, and 5% (n=5) reported that they were sedentary. Average beverage kcals/day (BKD) was 180.8+/-156.2 and ranged from 0-795 BKD. Among participants (n=75) that completed the BevQ15, 33% (n=26) consumed <100 BKD, 47% (n=35) consumed 100-<300 BKD, and 19% (n=14) consumed > 300 BKD. Normal BMI participants consumed 191 BKD, overweight participants consumed 204 BKD and obese participants consumed 69 beverage BKD. There was no significant correlation between BMI and BKD. Three primary factors which contributed to beverage choices were taste, quenching thirst, and health reported by 54% (n=55), 46% (n=47) and 44% (n=45), respectively. The factors health and calorie content were correlated (r=.23, p<0.05).
Conclusion: Participants had an average healthy BMI and were active. No significant correlations were detected between BMI and BKD. Obese participants consumed fewer BKD than healthy and overweight participants. This lower BKD contribution may be a method used to lose weight. Although calorie content was less frequently cited as a primary factor of beverage choices, participants that identified health as a determining factor were more likely to consider calorie content.

Background: Americans’ choice in caffeinated beverages, consumption amounts, and frequency of consumption varies depending on factors like age, demographics, education level, and social status. Caffeine has shown to increase energy, alertness, attentiveness, and sociability. Research shows that the amount of caffeine consumed by adolescents has increased 70% in the past 30 years.
Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the onset of coffee consumption, amount of current coffee consumption, and personal well-being. It was hypothesized that an earlier onset of coffee consumption would have a positive correlation to increased coffee consumption and a negative effect on personal well-being later in life.
Methods/Design: An online survey was administered to college students, age 18-24. Participants were recruited via social media. The survey assessed participants’ history of coffee consumption, current coffee consumption, and perception of impact on appetite, mental status, mood, sleep patterns, and overall health. Data was entered into SPSS after survey responses were collected.
Results: Upon surveying participants (N=95), there were strong positive correlations (p<0.01) between the onset of coffee consumption, amount consumed at onset, and current consumption level. Notably, onset of coffee consumption was likely to occur during significant academic years, such as the first year of college (15.8%, n=15) and first year of high school (13.7%, n=13). Approximately 67% (n=64) reported consuming 1-2 cups/day at onset of consumption. Additionally, 52.6% (n=50) report that coffee consumption benefits their overall mood, while 41.1% (n=39) claim it has no effect on overall health and well-being.
Conclusions: The onset of coffee consumption is commonly seen in times of change, such as significant academic years. Consequently, participants also agreed that caffeine consumption benefits their mood above other qualities surveyed. Further research relating to other types of caffeinated beverages and foods would provide more conclusive results about onset and wellbeing.

Background: Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic condition that affects the body’s ability to use energy in food. Diabetes impacts more than 170 million people worldwide. Previous research suggests that people with diabetes report feeling stigmatized and that there is a lack of understanding by the public.
Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the level of diabetes knowledge among college students and their perception of people with diabetes. It was hypothesized that there is a lack of diabetes education among this group and that they would have an overall negative perception of people with diabetes.
Methods: An online survey was developed which assessed participants’ knowledge of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes and stigmas associated with the condition. Participants were recruited via email and social media. Data was analyzed using SPSS.
Results: Upon surveying participants (N=126), the majority reported knowing someone with Type 1 (63%; n=78) and/or Type 2 Diabetes (53%; n=67). Knowledge of someone with diabetes was strongly correlated with overall diabetes knowledge (p≤0.01). Approximately 63% (n=78) of respondents believe there is a stigma associated with diabetes. Reasons for the stigma include lack of diabetes education (63%; n=78) and negative portrayal of diabetes in the media (52%; n=65). There was a strong correlation (p≤0.01) between diabetes knowledge and whether or not respondents had a negative perception of people with diabetes.
Conclusions: Though the respondents reported that a stigma exists, a low percentage of respondents reported having negative perceptions of people with diabetes. This finding may be attributed to the large number of participants who knew people with diabetes, number of participants in health related majors, or those who had taken a college-level nutrition course. Future research could mitigate these variables by excluding participants in health-related majors or those who have had extensive education on the subject.

Background: Much of the research associated with eating patterns of adolescents or young adults has been related to genetics, weight gain associated with parental influence of food selection, and children’s food choices relative to their parent’s desires. There is little research conducted on children’s perceptions of their parent’s food choices and how those beliefs correlate to their own dietary choices later in life.
Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether parents’ perceptions of food had an effect on their children’s eating behaviors later in life. The hypothesis was that the food-related behaviors and beliefs of the parents strongly influence the child’s future dietary choices and lifelong relationship with food.
Methods: An online survey was developed that consisted of questions regarding student’s perceptions of their parents’ dietary choices and their own current dietary choices and beliefs. Researchers recruited participants via email and social media. Data was analyzed using SPSS.
Results: Among survey participants (N=158) there was a significant correlation (p<0.01) between the parent’s past eating behaviors and child’s current eating behaviors for several dietary patterns, including vegan, low carbohydrate, calorie counting and gluten free. Approximately 42% (n=66) of respondents reported that they were made aware of their weight at a young age. There was a strong correlation (p<0.01) between parents discussing weight and discouraging attempts to try new foods.
Conclusions: There was a significant correlation between the way that children view diet and nutrition and how their parents view diet and nutrition, as perceived by the children. Parents’ specific eating behaviors and discussions about weight also correlate with their children’s current eating behaviors and awareness of weight, although they may not currently live together. For more conclusive results, future research on the subject should also include data regarding parents’ perspective of their own food choices and beliefs.

Rat Parvovirus is found in rat liver and can infect and cause changes in tumor cells. When tumor cells are infected, the cells can revert back to benign or uncancerous cells. We describe and analyze a mathematical model of infected and noninfected tumor cells when introduced to the parvovirus. Using nonlinear analysis, we find the conditions for cure of the tumor.

Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a virus that commonly causes lower respiratory tract infections throughout childhood and infancy. Most people who contract the virus recover within a short period of time, but it can cause respiratory illness, hospitalization, and even death within infants and the elderly. Agents that can effectively combat RSV are still not available for widespread clinical use, but one of the targets being investigated is PC786, a novel inhaled L-protein polymerase inhibitor. Using data from previous publications, we created models of the relationship between volume of PC786 and viral load in patients with RSV to try to determine how to best model the action of this drug.

We are modeling the effect of the Hill coefficient on the volume of a tumor. This is to test drugs that may bind to multiple receptors and compare them to each other. We are using Python and used 4 main parameters and one equation. We modeled the Volume and the Dose Response Curves as well as the Emax and Ic50. We used the different positive Hill Coefficients and studied the effect on dose and carrying capacity.

Non-invasive temperature sensing is necessary for the analysis of biological processes occurring in the human body including cellular enzyme activity, protein expression, and ion regulation. Considering that a variety of such biological processes occur at the microscopic scale, a novel mechanism allowing for the detection of the temperature changes in microscopic environments is desired. One-dimensional graphene quantum dots can serve as agents for such detection: they are promising non-invasive probes that because of their 2-5 nm size and optical sensitivity to temperature change enable sub-cellular resolution imaging. Both biocompatible bottom-up synthesized nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots and quantum dots produced from reduced graphene oxide via top-down approach exhibit temperature-induced fluorescence variations. This response observed for the first time is utilized for deterministic temperature sensing in bulk suspension as well as inside mammalian cells. Distinctive quenching of quantum dot fluorescence by up to 19.8 % is observed, in a temperature range from 25℃ to 49℃, in aqueous solution, while the intensity is restored to the original values as the temperature decreases back to 25℃. A similar trend is observed in vitro in HeLa cells as the cellular temperature is increased from 25℃ to 41℃. Our findings suggest that the temperature-dependent fluorescence quenching of bottom-up and top-down-synthesized graphene quantum dots can serve as non-invasive reversible deterministic mechanism for temperature sensing in microscopic sub-cellular biological environments.

New anti-cancer drugs are constantly being developed and tested. Effectiveness of these drugs is currently assessed by measuring the reduction in number of cancer cells cultured in experiments as a function of the applied drug dose. These measurements determine the drug dose needed to achieve half of the maximum reduction in cells (IC50) and the maximum effect of the drug (εmax). However, the technique that measures values of IC50 and εmax depends on the time chosen to make the measurements. We have developed a method to analyze the growth of cancer cells in different concentrations of drugs that will provide estimates of both parameters that are independent of measurement time. Here, we computationally simulated the growth of cancer cells according to a logarithmic model, adding different levels of noise. And, we found the error in IC50 and εmax as a function of the level of noise. Development of this new technique will lead to more consistent measurement of the efficacy of known and novel anti-cancer therapies.

High-power laser excitation systems are critical in observing and studying nanomaterials and their optoelectronic properties on a single specie level. These systems enable inducing fluorescence and observing emission microscopically from individual flakes and or molecules. As the fluorescence of nanomaterials is often excitation dependent, multiple laser with different frequencies are needed to probe their optical properties. In this work we construct such multi-laser setup to use for a microscopy system to enable imaging nanocarbons: flakes of functional derivatives of graphene, carbon nanotubes, and graphene quantum dots.
The system is composed of four lasers of varying wavelength: blue at 450 nm, green at 532 nm, red at 637 nm, and near-infrared (NIR) at 808 nm. An additional near-infrared laser at 980 nm is included for special applications with deep NIR imaging. These lasers were set up to be turned on and off remotely and traverse through a system of dichroic and regular mirrors and a periscope coupled to a fluorescence microscope. A neutral density filter wheel designed and set up in the light path enables altering the intensity of the lasers leading to optimized fluorescence and imaging. The resulting laser set up allowed effective imaging of graphene oxide flakes, graphene quantum dots, and carbon nanotubes both on a microscope slide and in biological cells and tissues.

The goal of this project was to engineer complexes of antibiotics and nanomaterials that address gram negative bacteria more efficiently than antibiotics alone. The gram-negative class of bacteria has two cell membranes, as opposed to the gram-positive class which has only one; this second membrane poses an additional challenge for antibiotic cell entry. Theoretically, the amphiphilic nanomaterials may aid the antibiotics by assisting them through both membranes and masking their entry. A number of nanomaterials were tested including graphene quantum dots, single-walled carbon nanotubes, and graphene oxide, and antibiotics including Penicillin, Methicillin, Amoxicillin, Norfloxacin and Linezolid were tested as well. Carbon nanotubes were supplemented with polyethylene-glycol coating agent, while water-soluble GQDs and graphene oxide were used as synthesized in our laboratory. The complex of the antibiotic Norfloxacin and Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) was selected as the most efficacious. It allowed killing of the gram-negative bacteria E. Coli at moderate concentrations significantly more efficiently than unaccompanied Norfloxacin. Its colocalization with bacteria was verified via high quantum yield (over 62%) intrinsic fluorescence of GQDs in the visible. This may lead to substantial improvement of antibacterial techniques against gram negative bacteria, increase in antibiotic efficacy, and potentially the recycling of antibiotics to which bacteria exhibit resistance.

Terror management theory is a theory that proposes mortality salience, or the awareness of the inevitability of death, is a motivating factor for maintaining faith in cultural worldviews and personal growth in value and self-esteem. Following mortality salience, people are more likely to interact with others and express satisfaction in relationships. Meaning in life (MIL) research is interested in examining the purpose and significance one feels in relation to their personal lives. Research has found that high MIL is associated with increased feelings of social connectedness and sense of belonging. (Baumeister & Vohs, 2002) The present research examined the link between mortality concerns, relationship MIL, and satisfaction/commitment within people’s romantic partners. In the research 369 participants ranging from ages 17-43 were asked to complete a lexical decision task that could be filled with death or neutral related words. Participants also completed a 5- item measure of relationship-specific MIL. Finally, participants completed a measure recording their relationship satisfaction. It was hypothesized that increased death awareness would lead to greater pursuit in MIL in people’s relationship with their romantic partner. The results showed that people with elevated DTA also have higher scores on relationship specific meaning in life. That is, higher DTA was related to greater search for meaning from relationships. This, in turn, was related to increased relationship satisfaction and commitment scores.

From the perspective of terror management theory, reminders of death are problematic because they lead individuals to defend their cultural beliefs. Given that police officers are trained to see persons and situations as potentially dangerous (i.e., naturally occurring mortality salience), this may result in greater acceptance of the use of force. The current study examined police officers’ reactions to arrest vignettes and fear of death. Results suggest that increased death awareness predicted greater use of unnecessary force. These effects held while controlling for several individual differences that have previously been shown to influence use of force. These findings suggests that death concerns play an important role in how police officers respond to crime.

How does one decide to act? In humans, the “decision” to initiate a behavior can occur several seconds before an action is undertaken and can even occur without conscious awareness. Here we explore whether we can predict when a nonhuman animal is going to engage in a self-initiated behavior.
Singing in songbirds is a learned behavior that is passed down from one generation to the next via imitative learning. Birds initiate song in response to the presentation of a female bird (directed) or spontaneously when in isolation from other birds (undirected). The production of song requires the control of respiratory, vocal organ, and upper vocal tract motor systems; these diverse motor systems are controlled by the activation of precise neural networks within specific areas of the songbird brain. Although much is known about the neuromuscular control of song, the neural and peripheral mechanisms underlying song initiation and termination have received less attention. Here we explore in two songbird species whether song initiation and termination can be predicted by measuring changes in respiratory patterns prior to, during, and after song. We quantified changes in respiratory rate and amplitude, as well as changes in time spent in the inspiratory versus expiratory cycle to determine whether specific features of respiration were tied to onset or offset of song. Measurements of respiratory patterns were undertaken in zebra finches (Taeniopyggia guttata) and Bengalese finches (Lonchura striata var. domestica). Preliminary data suggest that respiratory patterns change predictably within the last second prior to when a bird initiates song. Following song, there is clear evidence of respiratory changes due singing-related exertion. Our findings illustrate that the occurrence of self-initiated behaviors can be predicted by exploring peripheral song motor control up to one second prior to the onset of the behavior. These results illustrate that the decision to act can be predicted by changes in peripheral motor systems which likely serve as preparatory activity for the upcoming motor action.

Moral injury is the psychological or spiritual consequence of acting (or failing to act) in a manner that is inconsistent with one’s moral code (Litz et al., 2009; Shay, 1994). The goal of this research was to test a spiritual resilience training program on those with moral injury and their perceived stress and growth. We administered a survey of 21 psychologically validated scales to veterans before the training sessions and one week apart after they ended. Specifically, we were interested in seeing how those who completed a one-week training program would respond to measures of perceived stress, post-traumatic growth, and moral injury, as compared to a control group that did not complete the training. Those who completed the training went through a program of group discussion, journal activities, art therapy, and individual reflection. We found that veterans who completed the program had higher ratings of: post-traumatic growth, relating to others, and sense of spirituality. There were no differences in self-reported perceived stress. The results of the current study could provide more insight into how the training program works and if the program assists veterans in acclimating to life after possible traumatic events during deployment.

Past research in evolutionary psychology has found that women experience shifts in their mate preferences during ovulation - the few days in a month in which conception is possible. Specifically, ovulating women show an increased preference towards men with greater levels of masculinity, facial symmetry, and creative ability. These traits are thought to be indicators of a high-quality mate, and as such women are thought to be attuned to these traits when conception is possible. To extend this research, we sought to examine whether this effect was driven by changes in women’s abilities to detect subtle differences in these traits. To do so, we tested women’s ability to discriminate between mating related stimuli, including slight changes in facial symmetry and masculinity, gait masculinity, and creativity, at both ovulation and a low fertility point in their ovulatory cycles. We are collecting a sample of 240 women – 120 who are taking hormonal contraceptives, and 120 who are naturally cycling. We predict that ovulating, natural cycling women will be better able to detect subtle differences in mating related stimuli compared to naturally cycling, low fertility women, as well as those women taking hormonal contraceptives. Preliminary results will reveal if ovulating women are better able to detect these differences and if they are more attuned to the quality of potential mates.

One of the main hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is dramatic cognitive decline, including memory loss. Because of this, AD research continually seeks new ways to study the cognitive health of animal models of AD. Researchers have assessed cognitive deficits in AD mice through a variety of behavioral paradigms. The purpose of the present study is to assess if mice with AD-like markers display cognitive deficits in an additional behavioral paradigm, the Novel Object Placement (NOP) task. Animals are allowed to explore two identical objects in a testing arena for three sessions of five minutes. In a fourth session, one of the objects is moved to a different spot in the arena. Animals with intact cognition spend more time exploring the object in the novel location than the object in its original location, as mice naturally display a preference for novelty. Pilot data from our lab demonstrates that experimentally naïve animals complete the task successfully. The animals used in this study are 5xFAD transgenic mice, nontransgenic mice, and nontransgenic mice administered LPS. 5xFAD mice have genetic mutations that result in the production of a protein, amyloid beta, that is seen in human AD, and is often associated with cognitive deficits. Additionally, our lab has previously demonstrated that nontransgenic mice administered seven consecutive days of LPS, a bacterial mimetic, also produce amyloid beta. To investigate if both of these mice display deficits in NOP, we gave nontransgenic 5-6 month-old mice seven days of either LPS or saline injections, and we gave 5xFAD animals saline injections. For the next three days following the 7th injection, the animals were placed into the testing arena with identical objects in adjacent corners of the arena and allowed to explore. Four hours after the third training session, one of the objects was moved to a new location in the arena, and animals were placed back into the arena for the testing session. The dependent variable was the percentage of total object exploration time spent exploring the object in the novel location. There were no significant differences between the nontransgenic animals that received LPS or saline. However, the 5xFAD animals spent significantly less time exploring the novel object compared to the nontransgenic animals, indicating impairment identifying the novel object location. Therefore, at 5-6 months of age, the 5xFAD mice demonstrated cognitive deficits in the NOP task. Further research will explore at what age these cognitive deficits emerge and the extent to which various AD markers are correlated with the deficits.

In an effort to improve academic achievement, we examined the effects of meaning in life (MIL) on grade performance. Prior research has found that MIL is associated with better adjustment to stressful life events. Fall semester freshmen in general psychology courses were asked to complete measures of MIL and academic adjustment. At the end of the semester, their final grades from general psychology courses were collected from the Registrars’ office. The results revealed that higher meaning presence persons reported experiencing better academic adjustment to college. Higher adjustment was associated with increased end of the semester final grades in general psychology . No effects emerged in response to meaning search. These findings suggest that the presence of MIL in early college life could have important implications for academic well-being and achievement.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive form of dementia marked by decline in cognitive functioning and memory loss due to protein abnormalities in the brain. One early cognitive deficit seen in AD is a contextual acquisition deficit. However, evidence suggests that deficits in contextual extinction learning may present earlier than acquisition deficits. Extinction is a type of learning process by which the brain acquires information inconsistent with information it had previously learned, and gradually begins to accept this new information instead of the old. As psychological stress has been linked with increased Alzheimer’s markers, it is important to explore the interaction between stress and contextual learning.
In our first experiment, male C57BL/6J mice were divided into three groups – unpredictable stress (US), isolation, and group housed (controls). All three groups were trained in a contextual fear conditioning. After training, the animals in the isolation and US groups were isolated in individual cages for seven days. In addition to living in isolation, the US group underwent seven days of variable, unpredictable stressors which include 2 hours of wet bedding, cage tilted at 45 degrees for 30 minutes, 30 minutes of restraint stress, 5 minutes of forced swimming in warm water, placement in an empty cage for one hour, and nesting material removal overnight. These stressors were applied in a random order every day for 7 days. On the eighth day, acquisition learning was assessed. Animals in the US group showed significant deficits in acquisition of contextual fear conditioning compared to isolated animals and group housed controls. Extinction learning was assessed on days nine through twelve. There was no effect of US on extinction learning, as there was likely a floor effect due to impaired acquisition. In the second experiment, animals were divided into US and a group housed control group. The US animals underwent the same series of stressors listed previously for six days. On the seventh day, all animals received one 250mg/kg injection of LPS, a bacterial mimetic, to determine how stress impacted the immune challenge. Four hours later, the hippocampus was collected for cytokine and HMGB1 mRNA analysis. As the elderly face surmounting odds of AD, along with significant stress, research on how these interact and early diagnostic signs is especially relevant.

Reinforcer devaluation involves pairing an appetitive stimulus (e.g., food) with an aversive event (e.g., illness), which disrupts the ability of the stimulus to elicit behavior (Adamson & Dickinson, 1981). The effect of reinforcer devaluation could be the result of the stimulus signaling the aversive event. Alternatively, exposure to the stimulus and aversive event together may result in a hedonic shift, or change in the affective unconditional properties of the stimulus. The two accounts make different predictions regarding the effect of reexposure to the devalued stimulus. The hedonic shift account describes reexposure to the stimulus as necessary to experience the changed value of the stimulus, but a signaling account can explain devaluation after one pairing. Balleiene & Dickinson (1991) found that reexposure to food paired with illness was necessary to observe a devaluation effect. The current experiment investigated the devaluation of a conditioned reinforcer. Rats were initially trained with pairings of an audiovisual (light and tone) stimulus with sugar water (sucrose). In the next phase, acquisition of a new behavior, lever pressing, was supported by presenting the stimulus (conditioned reinforcer) following a lever press. During devaluation, the experimental group received one trial of the stimulus paired with a shock, whereas the control group received the stimulus and shock, but separated in time (i.e., unpaired). In Test 1, all rats were given the opportunity to press the lever with no nominal consequences (e.g., no stimulus or shock). Then, all rats were re-exposed to the audiovisual stimulus without the lever or shock. In Test 2, lever pressing was measured as in Test 1. The data will be discussed in terms of the role of reexposure in devaluation.

References

Adams and Dickinson (1981). Instrumental responding following reinforce devaluation. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section B: Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 33 (2), 109-121.

Balleine, B., & Dickinson, A. (1991). Instrumental performance following reinforcer devaluation depends upon incentive learning. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 43(3), 279-296.

There is empirical evidence that there is an association between nostalgia, or a sentimental longing for the past, and one’s psychological and social well-being. Additional research has shown that nostalgic reverie leads not only to increased optimism and positive attitudes towards preventative health behaviors, but also actual increased health behaviors. This study extends the research on nostalgia and health into the realm of college athletics and explores how collegiate athletes’ performance is correlated with nostalgic tendencies, in addition to various measures of well-being, optimism, meaning in life, vitality, and life satisfaction. A positive correlation is expected, such that higher performing athletes are also more nostalgia prone. This study will serve as a foundation to explore the direct benefits for athletes of nostalgic thought, the advantages of which are firmly supported in other contexts.

Covert echoing has been hypothesized to play a role in the emergence of stimulus control over vocal naming after a person is exposed to contiguous presentation of a novel object and its name. However, experimental evidence is weak. This study examined the effects of blocking echoic responses during exposure to name-object presentations on later vocal naming. Preschool-age children were exposed to pictures of national flags and heard the associated country names. In the echoic condition, participants were instructed to echo the country name presented in each trial. In the interference condition, they were instructed to name the background color on which the flag was presented in each trial, which was presumed to interfere with echoic responding. In the no-response-requirement (NRR) condition, participants were not instructed to make any responses. Flag naming was probed after each session. Only 3 of the 5 participants showed a tendency to name the flags vocally even after repeated exposure. Of these three, only one demonstrated poorer performance in the interference condition relative to the echoic and NRR conditions. These results fail to provide support for the echoic hypothesis and are consistent with other data from our lab.

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are a tool commonly employed at universities for assessing faculty members’ teaching performance and even eligibility for promotions. Survey items often ask students to make judgments about the professor’s knowledgeability, teaching style, and class difficulty. Fair and consistent review of SETs is critical for faculty members as they seek to improve their teaching skills and gain professional recognition. The present study investigates the novel question of how judgments of completed SETs are made. Undergraduate students (n = 160) and faculty participants were shown and asked to make judgments about a fictional SET. The four conditions varied in whether the fictional professor being evaluated was rated lower or higher than average, and whether or not the professor gave in-class quizzes. Follow-up questions had participants evaluate why they made certain judgments about the professor. This research helps explicate the factors that contribute to faculty members’ interpretations of and students’ responses on SETs.

In nature, it is adaptive for an animal to learn to make different responses to different stimuli (e.g., climb some trees to obtain ripe fruit but forage near the base of others). In the laboratory, learning to make different responses (e.g., lever pressing vs. chain pulling) is facilitated by different outcomes (e.g., food vs. water) for each response. The current research aimed to extend this differential outcomes effect in rats with a visual discrimination procedure. Rats were reinforced for pressing a lever on the left side (left lever) of operant box in the presence of one visual stimulus (e.g., a flashing light) and for pressing the right lever in the presence of another visual stimulus (e.g., a solid light). In the experimental group, the rats received a different outcome for each correct response (flashing light -> left lever -> sugar water; solid light -> right lever -> chocolate pellets). In the control group, the rats received only one of the outcomes (e.g., sugar water) for both responses. The data will be discussed in terms of support for the differential outcomes effect. Examining the effects of a differential outcomes procedure in a variety of tasks will help to better understand the conditions under which this effect can facilitate learning.

Few studies have directly evaluated the assumption that equivalence-based instruction establishes stimulus classes with greater efficiency than direct instruction of all possible stimulus relations within each class. Therefore, this study evaluated the efficiency of EBI protocol compared to direct instruction (DI), using fifteen visual abstract stimuli (A1 through E3). Forty-eight undergraduate students were assigned to one of four groups: The EBI-DI group received EBI in Phase 1 and DI in Phase 2, and vice versa for DI-EBI group. EBI-EBI and DI-DI group received EBI and DI in both phases, respectively. In Phase 1,EBI-first groups received training on AB and BC relations and DI-first groups received training with all possible relations. After achieving mastery criterion, the ABC test included all possible trial types. In Phase 2, all groups received training to (a) add a fourth stimulus (D), and (b) add a fifth stimulus (E) to the class. No statistically significant difference was found between EBI and DI-first groups in the number of trials, reaction time during test and overall trials to achieve criteria and the performance in ABC test. There was an interaction between the first training condition (EBI vs. DI) and the second training condition (EBI vs. DI) on percentage accuracy in the first ABCD test, but not in ABCDE test.