The origins of individual differences in how learning is expressed in rats: a general-process perspective

Laboratory rats can exhibit marked, qualitative individual differences in the form of acquired behaviors. For example, when exposed to a signal-reinforcer relationship some rats show marked and consistent changes in sign-tracking (interacting with the signal; e.g., a lever) and others show marked and consistent changes in goal-tracking (interacting with the location of the predicted reinforcer; e.g., the food well). Here, stable individual differences in rats' sign-tracking and goal-tracking emerged over the course of training, but these differences did not generalize across different signal-reinforcer relationships (Experiment 1). This selectivity suggests that individual differences in sign- and goal-tracking reflect differences in the value placed on individual reinforcers. Two findings provide direct support for this interpretation: the palatability of a reinforcer (as measured by an analysis of lick-cluster size) was positively correlated with goal-tracking (and negatively correlated with sign-tracking); and sating rats with a reinforcer affected goal-tracking but not sign-tracking (Experiment 2). These results indicate that the observed individual differences in sign- and goal-tracking behavior arise from the interaction between the palatability or value of the reinforcer and processes of association as opposed to dispositional differences (e.g., in sensory processes, 'temperament,' or response repertoire)

Goal-oriented training affects decision-making processes in virtual and simulated fire and rescue environments

Decisions made by operational commanders at emergency incidents have been characterized as involving a period of information gathering followed by courses of action that are often generated without explicit plan formulation. We examined the efficacy of goal-oriented training in engendering explicit planning that would enable better communication at emergency incidents. While standard training mirrored current operational guidance, goal-oriented training incorporated “decision controls” that highlighted the importance of evaluating goals, anticipated consequences, and risk/benefit analyses once a potential course of action has been identified. In Experiment 1, 3 scenarios (a house fire, road traffic collision, and skip fire) were presented in a virtual environment, and in Experiment 2 they were recreated on the fireground. In Experiment 3, the house fire was recreated as a “live burn,” and incident commanders and their crews responded to this scenario as an emergency incident. In all experiments, groups given standard training showed the reported tendency to move directly from information gathering to action, whereas those given goal-oriented training were more likely to develop explicit plans and show anticipatory situational awareness. These results indicate that training can be readily modified to promote explicit plan formulation that could facilitate plan sharing between incident commanders and their teams

The nature of phenotypic variation in Pavlovian conditioning

Pavlovian conditioning procedures result in dramatic individual differences in the topography of learnt behaviors in rats: When the temporary insertion of a lever into an operant chamber is paired with food pellets, some rats (known as sign-trackers) predominantly interact with the lever, while others (known as goal-trackers) predominantly approach the food well. Two experiments examined the sensitivity of these two behaviors to changing reinforcement contingencies in groups of males and female rats exhibiting the different phenotypes (i.e., sign-trackers and goal-trackers). In both phenotypes, behavior oriented to the food well was more sensitive to contingency changes (e.g., a reversal in which of two levers was reinforced) than was lever-oriented behavior. That is, the nature of the two behaviors differed independently of the rats in which they were manifest. These results indicate that the behavioral phenotypes reflect the parallel operation of a stimulus-stimulus associative process that gives rise to food-well activity and a stimulus-response process that gives rise to leveroriented activity, rather than the operation of a single process (e.g., stimulus-stimulus) that generates both behaviors

EXPRESS: Instrumental responses and Pavlovian stimuli as temporal referents in a peak procedure

Three experiments investigated whether the nature of the temporal referent affects timing behavior in rats. We used a peak procedure and assessed timing of food well activity as a function of whether the referent was an instrumental response (a lever press that resulted in the withdrawal of the lever) or a conditioned stimulus (CS) that was 2 s in Experiment 1, 500 ms in Experiment 2, and 800 ms in Experiment 3. In all experiments, the interval between the offset of the temporal referent and food was 5 s. The curve fits for each experiment revealed no differences in peak time, but magazine responding immediately following the CS was higher than following a lever press. This pattern of results was interpreted as reflecting a combination of (i) ambiguity in which component of the 500 ms – 2 s auditory stimulus was serving as the referent, and (ii) response competition between lever pressing and magazine activity. Critically, these results suggest that peak timing in rats is unaffected by whether a lever press or CS serves as the referent. This conclusion is consistent with theoretical models of timing behavior, but not with evidence from humans showing that the subjective perception of time is affected by whether the cause of an outcome was self‒generated or not

Teaching introductory undergraduate Physics using commercial video games

Commercial video games are increasingly using sophisticated physics simulations to create a more immersive experience for players. This also makes them a powerful tool for engaging students in learning physics. We provide some examples to show how commercial off-the-shelf games can be used to teach specific topics in introductory undergraduate physics. The examples are selected from a course taught predominantly through the medium of commercial video games.Comment: Accepted to Physics Education, Fig1 does not render properly in this versio

Development of a behavioral marker system for incident command in the UK Fire and Rescue Service: THINCS

Non-technical skills in high-reliability industries include decision making, interpersonal communication and personal resilience. It has been argued that these skills are key to effective performance, safety and welfare. However, there is no agreed upon set of such skills or formal means to identify and assess them for incident commanders in the UK fire and rescue service (FRS). The aim of this research was to identify the non-technical skills that underpin effective incident command in the UK FRS, and to develop a behavioural marker system that captures these skills. Our research assessed the current range of training offered in non-technical skills across the UK FRS, and identified the non-technical skills of incident command within the UK FRS through interviews with incident commanders, and workshops with subject-matter experts. The six non-technical skills were: assertive, effective and safe leadership; effective decision making and planning; interpersonal communication; personal resilience; situational awareness; and teamwork and interoperability. A bespoke behavioural marker system, called THINCS, was developed with exemplary behaviours for each skill

Maximising Social Interactions and Effectiveness within Distance Learning Courses: Cases from Construction

Advanced Internet technologies have revolutionised the delivery of distance learning education. As a result, the physical proximity between learners and the learning providers has become less important. However, whilst the pervasiveness of these technological developments has reached unprecedented levels, critics argue that the student learning experience is still not as effective as conventional face-to-face delivery. In this regard, surveys of distance learning courses reveal that there is often a lack of social interaction attributed to this method of delivery, which tends to leave learners feeling isolated due to a lack of engagement, direction, guidance and support by the tutor. This paper defines and conceptualises this phenomenon by investigating the extent to which distance-learning programmes provide the social interactions of an equivalent traditional classroom setting. In this respect, two distance learning case studies were investigated, covering the UK and Slovenian markets respectively. Research findings identified that delivery success is strongly dependent on the particular context to which the specific distance learning course is designed, structured and augmented. It is therefore recommended that designers of distance learning courses should balance the tensions and nuances associated with commercial viability and pedagogic effectiveness