Search results for "behavioral research"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
T-pattern analysis for the study of temporal structure of animal and human behavior : a comprehensive review
2014
A basic tenet in the realm of modern behavioral sciences is that behavior consists of patterns in time. For this reason, investigations of behavior deal with sequences that are not easily perceivable by the unaided observer. This problem calls for improved means of detection, data handling and analysis. This review focuses on the analysis of the temporal structure of behavior carried out by means of a multivariate approach known as T-pattern analysis. Using this technique, recurring sequences of behavioral events, usually hard to detect, can be unveiled and carefully described. T-pattern analysis has been successfully applied in the study of various aspects of human or animal behavior such …
Samuel Fernberger's rejected doctoral dissertation: A neglected resource for the history of ape research in America.
2009
I summarize a never-completed 1911 doctoral dissertation on ape behavior by Samuel Fernberger of the University of Pennsylvania. Included are observations on many behavioral patterns including sensory and perceptual function, learning, memory, attention, imagination, personality, and emotion in an orangutan and two chimpanzees. There are examples of behavior resembling insight, conscience, tool use and imitation. Language comprehension was good but speech production was minimal. The document appears to contradict a brief published article on the project by William Furness in that punishment was frequently used. The document is important for understanding Fernberger's early career, for antic…
Multivariate data handling in the study of rat behavior: an integrated approach.
2009
The aim of the present article is to provide a methodological description of various approaches to multivariate data handling in the study of rodent behavior. To this purpose, 42 male Wistar rats were tested in an open field, and their behavior was recorded through a digital video camera for a subsequent analysis by means of a software coder. After a preliminary evaluation of descriptive features such as durations and percent distributions, we carried out different kinds of multivariate approaches represented by stochastic, cluster, adjusted residual, and T-pattern analyses. In the attempt to depict behavior in a straightforward way, the results of each analysis were graphically illustrated…
Structure of rat behavior in hole-board: II) multivariate analysis of modifications induced by diazepam.
2009
In our previous study we suggested that multivariate analysis could improve hole-board test reliability providing a more useful tool to determine behavioral effects of anxiolytic drugs. To support this hypothesis, a multivariate analysis of rat behavior in hole-board, following administration of the reference anxiolytic drug diazepam, was carried out. Four groups, each composed of thirty male Wistar rats, were used: one saline and three diazepam injected (0.25, 0.5 and 2 mg/kg IP). Rat behavior was recorded for 10 min through a digital videocamera. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were carried out. In all groups, more than 80% of whole behavioral structure encompassed walking, climbing…
A Large Scale Test of the Effect of Social Class on Prosocial Behavior
2015
Does being from a higher social class lead a person to engage in more or less prosocial behavior? Psychological research has recently provided support for a negative effect of social class on prosocial behavior. However, research outside the field of psychology has mainly found evidence for positive or u-shaped relations. In the present research, we therefore thoroughly examined the effect of social class on prosocial behavior. Moreover, we analyzed whether this effect was moderated by the kind of observed prosocial behavior, the observed country, and the measure of social class. Across eight studies with large and representative international samples, we predominantly found positive effect…
The Added Value of Studying Embodied Responses in Couple Therapy Research: A Case Study.
2018
This article reports on the added value of embodied responses identified through sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity in couple therapy research. It focuses on moments of change and the timing of therapeutic interventions or therapeutic moves in a couple therapy session. The data for this single-case study comprise couple therapy process videotapes recorded in a multi-camera setting, and measurements of participants' SNS activity. The voluntary participants were a marital couple in their late thirties and two middle-aged male psychotherapists. The division into topic segments showed how the key issue of seeking help, which was found to comprise three separate components, was repeatedly…
Temporal patterns analysis of rat behavior in hole-board.
2009
The aim of present research was to analyze the temporal structure of rodent's anxiety-related behavior in hole-board apparatus (HB). Fifteen male Wistar rats were tested for 10 min. Video files, collected for each subject, were coded by means of a software coder and event log files generated for each subject. To assess temporal relationships among behavioral events, log files were processed by means of a t-pattern analysis. 14 two-element t-patterns, four t-patterns encompassing 3 events and 2 t-patterns encompassing 4 and 5 events respectively were revealed. It was demonstrated that rat behavior in HB was mainly structured on the basis of the temporal patterning among exploratory events; t…
Cerebral embolic ischemia in rats: correlation of stroke severity and functional deficit as important outcome parameter.
2006
The embolic MCA occlusion model in rats is used for recanalisation studies in acute stroke. In addition to the determination of lesion size, the assessment of functional outcome may improve the value of this model. Male Wistar rats were submitted to MCA clot embolism or sham surgery. In order to achieve a larger variety of lesion volume, 2 subgroups (each 7 animals) were subjected to differently sized emboli (30 and 40 mm). Follow-up period was 6 days. Outcome assessment consisted of a test battery including parallel bar crossing, observation of behaviour in an open field and an 8-arm maze and a neurological score with ten different sensorimotor and coordinative items. Animals were perfusio…
T-pattern analysis of diazepam-induced modifications on the temporal organization of rat behavioral response to anxiety in hole board.
2010
Rationale: By means of t-pattern analysis, it has been observed that the different events, characterizing rat behavior in hole board (HB), present close interrelationships which occur sequentially and with significant constraints on the interval lengths separating them. Objectives: The aim of present research was to study, by means of descriptive and multivariate t-pattern analyses, the effects of the reference anxiolytic drug diazepam (DZP) on temporal structure of a rat’s anxiety-related behavior in HB. Methods: Fifty-six male Wistar rats were tested for 10 min in HB. Video files, collected for each animal, were coded by means of a software coder, and event log files, generated for each s…