Psychologists welcome age of computers
By BILL LINGLE
Of the Emerald
Imagine that you ana Bugsy
have just robbed a bank. The
police say if you testify against
Bugsy, you won’t have to go to jail.
They've told Bugsy the same
thing.
You'll both get five years if you
testify against each other. If
neither testifies, you'll both get
only two years. But H only one tes
tifies, the “squealer" gets off free
and the other draws 10 years.
You and Bugsy can't talk to
each other. How do you decide
what to do?
That's a real problem... even if
you're not a criminal but an under
graduate psychology student
who's just been given the
"Prisoner’s Dilemma," a tool to
demonstrate strategies of coop
eration and non-cooperation.
The dilemma is an old one, but
the University's psychology de
partment is using it, and other
learning devices, in a new way —
with computers in an indi
vidualized learning program
called Inquiry Training.
I he independent under
graduate study program is charac
terized by Robert Fagot, psychol
ogy department chairman, as
"one of the most exciting educa
tional ventures we have at
tempted."
"It allows even first-year stu
dents to get actively involved in
the learning process in a way that
can’t be done in conventional
classes," Fagot says.
Students check out and work
with individual learning “modules"
— small computer programs —
designed to be run on PDP-10 and
PDP-15 computer terminals in the
psychology department.
One such program is “Mouse."
The "mouse” is a dot of light which
moves randomly on the cathode
ray tube. The student can "teach"
the mouse to move one way or
another by reinforcing its correct
moves. The student can then plot
the mouse’s learning curve.
"Mental arithmetic" is a pro
gram that explores what goes on
in the mind when two small num
bers are added together. The stu
dent gathers data by watching a
N-piant technicians
failed deliberately?
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — The idled nuclear reactor at the Han
ford Nuclear Reservation could be restarted by Wednesday if 18 techni
cians pass a safety test, a spokesman for the operators said.
United Nuclear, which operates the kilowatt-producing reactor,
closed the plant Friday after 18 of 19 operating technicians taking a
routine recertification test had failing grades. United spokesman Lynn
Watson said.
"We feel the failure of 18 of19 of those taking the test to pass was
deliberate," Watson said.
Watson said the technicians had given a tipoff of what was to come
when they signed a letter saying they would refuse to take the test while
wage negotiations were pending.
But Thomas Van Lear, a union shop steward for the Nucleonics
Alliance, attributed the low examination grades to a lack of training by
United Nuclear and the turmoil created by the contract negotiations.
"Some of us got the 26 hours of retraining we were supposed to,
and some got very litbe." he said
Van Lear, whose union is affiliated with the Atomic Metal Trades
Council, added "It’s difficult to buckle down and study as you should
when your wages are being threatened. "
Watson said United Nuclear’s position is that ample retraining was
provided for all operators. “If they realty need retraining the contract
says they can get up to or more than 60 days of it, but only when the
company dooms there is a need,” Watson said.
Watson said the operators are “highly staled, and the test will be
administered again Tuesday.
“If they pass the test, and we won't know until Wednesday, we
could start up the N Reactor immediately,” Watson said.
If those taking the test appear to genuinely fail the second time,
they could lose their nuclear operation certification, Watson said.
The recertification test is required every two years under a contract
between the firm and the federal Energy Research and Development
Administration (ERDA).
ERDA spokesman Tom Baumann of Richland said, “to the best of
our knowledge no ERDA nuclear installation has even been shut down
before by those kinds of test failures.’’
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rapid flashby of 132 simple addi
tion problems on a video display
terminal. Computer analysis at the
end of the experiment allows the
student to draw conclusions about
conflicting theories.
“Computer-assisted learning is
more than an audio-visual aid,’’
says Michael Posner, head of the
Psychology Undergraduate Edu
cation Committee and coordinator
of the Inquiry Training Program.”It
is an effort to make experimenta
tion available ad lib.’ It's like a li
brary. It's not just an aid to a lec
ture; it’s an aid to inquiry.”
Posner says it is rare for a sys
tem like the Inquiry Training Pro
gram to be available to under
graduates. He says only a few
universities, including Dartmouth
College and the University of Il
linois, have followed this ap
proach ^
“The program gives students a
chance to ask questions that
haven’t been asked before,” he
says. "The whole idea is to try to
free students early in their college
careers to make their own deci
sions and ask their own ques
tions.”
John Winkelman, who earned
his Ph.D. in psychology at the
University and recently served as
director of the Inquiry Training
Program, agrees that it serves a
“dual instructional and explora
tory function.”
“Mouse, for example, is primar
ily instructive,” explains Winkel
man. “The student learns for him
self how reinforcement modifies
behavior. With another module, a
student could run the experiment
on different people in different
mental states and find out how
long it takes them to begin re
sponding in the correct way.”
Such experiments have practi
cal application, Winkelman says.
“Take the example of parents
who build up screaming behavior
in their children,” he explains.
"Even a very thin schedule of rein
forcement can build up powerful
behavior patterns. The experi
ment might show that the more
random or infrequent the rein
forcement, the more effective it
may be. This certainly would have
a bearing on how to go about
changing the screaming be
havior.”
Rod Carter, a junior in psychol
ogy from Albany assists in run
ning the program. Carter thinks
another benefit of the experiment
is that it gets students to “break
down the barriers many people
have against the computer as a
learning tool.”
The new learning approach,
which already offers modules in
experimental and social psychol
ogy, has vast potential applica
tion. Clinical modules are now
being constructed.
“The computer can provide a
patient’ for the student to try out
various techniques for modifying
behavior,” Carter says.
Posner says the psychology
department is applying for federal
funds to develop the program. He
anticipates that the Inquiry Train
ing Program will expand in accor
dance with the psychology
department's focus of “giving un
dergraduate students more indi
vidualized teaming situations and
laboratory classes.”
PROPOSED AMENDMENT
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION UNIVERSITY
OF 0RE60N BOOKSTORE, INC.
ARTICLE VIII IS HEREBY AMENDED IN ITS ENTIRETY TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
(a) The Board of Directors shall consist of ten (10) members of the Corporation as follows:
A" atcfhe (ime they stand for election, be Undergraduate Students Graduate
nnJmS' ° ? Faculty' resPecJ»vely. Five (5) members shall be Undergraduate Students
r ri t rn^T1t)€r jnail he a Student-at-Large, either Undergraduate or Graduate two (2) members shall hp
Graduate Students: and two (2) members shall be from the Faculty 1)6
(b) Except as Provided in paprgraph(c) below, all members shall be elected to serve a term of twn
g years, andthe membership shall elect one (1) Freshman each oddmumlW^ To 5?
Sophomores each year, one (1) Student -at-Large (either Undergraduate
umbered year, one (1) Graduate Student each year, and one (1) member of the Faculty each year
(c) Upon the years indicated below. Board Members shall be elected for terms as follows:
FRESHMEN
SOPHOMORES
1976
1977
1978
1979
Thereafter
1976
1977
Thereafter
one member — 1-year term
one member — 2-year term
None
one member — 2-year term
one member — each odd year for a 2-year term
two members — 2-year term
two members — 2-year term
two members — each year for a 2-year term
STUDENTS-AT-LARGE
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
Thereafter
one member
one member
one member
None
one member -
one member —
— 1-year term
— 1-year term
- 2-year term
- 2-year term
each even year for a 2-year term
GRADUATE STUDENTS
FACULTY
1976
1977
1977
Thereafter
1976
1977
Thereafter
two members — 1-year term
one member — 1-year term*
one member — 2-year term**
one member — each year for a 2-year term
one member
one member
one member -
— 2-year term
— 2-year term
each year for a 2-year term
•Candidate receiving second highest number of votes cast.
“Candidate receiving the highest number of votes cast.
VOTING AT BOOKSTORE
MAY 3-7