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An experiement was conducted to test the hypothesis that interest inventory items would function as reinforcing stimuli in a visual discrimination task. When previously rated liked and disliked items from the Strong Vocational Interest Blank were differentially presented following one of two responses, subjects learned to respond to the stimulus that was followed by liked items. When indifferent items were presented following responses to one stimulus, the delivery of either liked or disliked items after responses to the other stimulus produced no systematic changes in discrimination performance. The results support the A-R-D interpretation that attitudinal stimuli (interest items) which elicit emotional responses will also serve as reinforcing stimuli when made contingent upon instrumental responses. A-R-D is a label chosn to designate the attitudinal, reinforcing, and discriminative functions of stimuli. (Author/MF)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert