Rats responded on a two-component chain schedule in which a response-contingent electric shock at the end of the first component was either positively correlated, negatively correlated, or uncorrelated with reinforcement availability in the second component. With 0.4-ma shocks, rate in the first component depended on the shock-reinforcement correlation: when shock and reinforcement availability were positively correlated, after extended exposure to the contingencies, rates exceeded those in the absence of shock; when shock and reinforcement availability were negatively correlated, responding was generally suppressed throughout. The discriminative control of shock over responding in the second component, in which reinforcement was available 50% of the time, also depended somewhat on correlation. However, rate change in the first component was not specifically related to discrimination in the second component. With 0.8-ma shocks, responding was substantially suppressed in the first component at all three values of shock-reinforcement correlations.Electric shock of medium or high intensity is usually regarded as a noxious stimulus which suppresses the behavior that produces it, and maintains behavior that delays or terminates it. Some recent experiments have shown that the effects of shock in a punishment procedure may be modified if the shock has a systematic relation to the availability of reinforcement. Williams and Barry (1966) trained rats on a variable-interval 1-min schedule of food reinforcement, and punished responding on an identical but independent schedule under two conditions. In one condition, food and shock were delivered simultaneously, while in the other condition they were delivered separately. Complete recovery from the initial suppressive effects of the shock was observed in the first condition, but none was evident in the second. The effect was attributed to counter conditioning.Holz and Azrin (1961), using pigeons as subjects, delivered response-contingent shocks only during sessions when reinforcement was available; no shock was given in alternated

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Junior school children were found to produce unidentifiable utterances in dichotic as well as monotic shadowing. The phenomenon was investigated by providing practice at increased presentation rates of the input and exploring right ear advantages for verbal material. The poor articulation increased with higher input rates and could not be explained by lack of lateralization. An explanation in terms of inadequate monitoring of speech production appeared most appropriate.

We are printing the ASUTS abstracts presented at their meeting in Seattle, 5 October 1974. Because of a change in policy in the convention office at Seattle, these were not published in the September issue.