William J Jacobs
- Professor, Psychology
- Member of the Graduate Faculty
Contact
- (520) 626-4825
- Psychology, Rm. 312
- Tucson, AZ 85721
- wjj@arizona.edu
Bio
No activities entered.
Interests
No activities entered.
Courses
2022-23 Courses
-
Abnormal Psychology
PSY 381 (Spring 2023) -
Dissertation
PSY 920 (Spring 2023) -
Abnormal Psychology
PSY 381 (Fall 2022) -
Directed Research
PSYS 492 (Fall 2022) -
Dissertation
PSY 920 (Fall 2022) -
Independent Study
PSY 399 (Fall 2022) -
Psyc Of Value+Preference
PSY 447 (Fall 2022)
2021-22 Courses
-
Abnormal Psychology
PSY 381 (Spring 2022) -
Directed Research
PSYS 492 (Spring 2022) -
Dissertation
PSY 920 (Spring 2022) -
Abnormal Psychology
PSY 381 (Fall 2021) -
Directed Research
PSYS 492 (Fall 2021) -
Psyc Of Value+Preference
PSY 447 (Fall 2021)
2020-21 Courses
-
Abnormal Psychology
PSY 381 (Spring 2021) -
Directed Research
PSYS 492 (Spring 2021) -
Independent Study
PSY 399 (Spring 2021) -
Research Methods
PSY 290A (Spring 2021) -
Abnormal Psychology
PSY 381 (Fall 2020) -
Directed Research
PSYS 392 (Fall 2020) -
Directed Research
PSYS 492 (Fall 2020) -
Dissertation
PSY 920 (Fall 2020) -
Research
PSY 900 (Fall 2020)
2019-20 Courses
-
Abnormal Psychology
PSY 381 (Spring 2020) -
Directed Research
PSYS 392 (Spring 2020) -
Dissertation
PSY 920 (Spring 2020) -
Honors Thesis
PSY 498H (Spring 2020) -
Independent Study
NSCS 199 (Spring 2020) -
Independent Study
PSY 199 (Spring 2020) -
Research
PSY 900 (Spring 2020) -
Clinical Psychology
PSY 469 (Fall 2019) -
Directed Research
PSYS 392 (Fall 2019) -
Directed Research
PSYS 492 (Fall 2019) -
Dissertation
PSY 920 (Fall 2019) -
Honors Thesis
PSY 498H (Fall 2019) -
Human Sexuality
PSY 364 (Fall 2019) -
Independent Study
NSCS 299 (Fall 2019) -
Thesis
PSY 910 (Fall 2019)
2018-19 Courses
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Abnormal Psychology
PSY 381 (Spring 2019) -
Directed Research
PSYS 392 (Spring 2019) -
Directed Research
PSYS 492 (Spring 2019) -
Research
PSY 900 (Spring 2019) -
Directed Research
PSYS 392 (Fall 2018) -
Honors Thesis
PSY 498H (Fall 2018) -
Human Sexuality
PSY 364 (Fall 2018) -
Psyc Of Value+Preference
PSY 447 (Fall 2018) -
Psyc Of Value+Preference
PSY 547 (Fall 2018) -
Research
PSY 900 (Fall 2018)
2017-18 Courses
-
Directed Research
PSYS 492 (Spring 2018) -
Evolutionary Psychology
PSY 306 (Spring 2018) -
Honors Thesis
PSY 498H (Spring 2018) -
Independent Study
PSY 499 (Spring 2018) -
Honors Thesis
PSY 498H (Fall 2017) -
Human Sexuality
PSY 364 (Fall 2017) -
Independent Study
PSY 499 (Fall 2017) -
Psyc Of Value+Preference
PSY 447 (Fall 2017) -
Research
PSY 900 (Fall 2017)
2016-17 Courses
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Honors Independent Study
NSCS 399H (Spring 2017) -
Honors Independent Study
PSY 299H (Spring 2017) -
Honors Independent Study
PSY 399H (Spring 2017) -
Honors Independent Study
PSY 499H (Spring 2017) -
Honors Thesis
PSY 498H (Spring 2017) -
Independent Study
PSY 399 (Spring 2017) -
Preceptorship
PSY 491 (Spring 2017) -
Psyc Of Value+Preference
PSY 447 (Spring 2017) -
Structure of Mind & Behavior
PSY 150A1 (Spring 2017) -
Evolutionary Psychology
PSY 306 (Fall 2016) -
Honors Thesis
PSY 498H (Fall 2016) -
Independent Study
PSY 299 (Fall 2016) -
Psyc Of Value+Preference
PSY 447 (Fall 2016)
2015-16 Courses
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Dissertation
PSY 920 (Spring 2016) -
Evolutionary Psychology
PSY 306 (Spring 2016) -
Honors Independent Study
PSY 399H (Spring 2016) -
Honors Independent Study
PSY 499H (Spring 2016) -
Honors Thesis
PSY 498H (Spring 2016)
Scholarly Contributions
Books
- Jacobs, W. J., & Gladden, P. (2021). Selectionist Models: Implications for Behavior. Springer International Publishing.
- Gladden, P. P., & Jacobs, W. J. (2019). Information Processing and the Interdisciplinary Perspective.. doi:doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1310-1
- Figueredo, A. J., Woodley of Menie, M., & Jacobs, W. J. (2016). The Evolutionary Psychology of The General Factor of Personality: A Hierarchical Life History Model.. Wiley.
Chapters
- Bianchi, J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2016). Paternity Uncertainty and father-offspring conflict.. In Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science(pp 1-3). doi:DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3597-1
Journals/Publications
- Chambers, S. N., Jacobs, W. J., & Boyce, G. A. (2021). Constructing a desert labyrinth: The psychological and emotional geographies of deterrence strategy on the US/Mexico border. Emotion, Space and Society, 38, 100764.
- Jacobs, W. J., & Gladden, P. (2020). Selectionist Models: Implications for Behavior. Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_317-1
- Gladden, P. R., & Jacobs, W. J. (2019). Information Processing and the Interdisciplinary Perspective. Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1310-1
- Figueredo, A. J., Jacobs, W. J., Gladden, P. R., Bianchi, J., Patch,, E., Kavanagh, P. S., Beck, C. J., Sotomayor-Peterson, M., Jiang, Y., & Li, N. P. (2018). Intimate partner violence, interpersonal aggression, and life history strategy.. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, 12(1), 1.
- Black, C. J., Figueredo, A. J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2017). Substance, History, and Politics: An Examination of the Conceptual Underpinnings of Alternative Approaches to the Life History Narrative. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY, 15(1).
- Figueredo, A. J., Garcia, R. A., Menke, J. M., Jacobs, W. J., Gladden, P. R., Bianchi, J., Patch, E. A., Beck, C. J., Kavanagh, P. S., Sotomayor-Peterson, M., Li, N. P., & Jiang, F. (2016). The K-SF-42: A new short form of the Arizona Life History Battery. Evolutionary Psychology.
- Figueredo, A. J., Garcia, R. A., Menke, J. M., Jacobs, W. J., Gladden, P. R., Bianchi, J., Patch, E. A., Beck, C., Kavanagh, P. S., Sotomayor-Peterson, M., Jiang, Y., & Li, N. P. (2017). The K-SF-42: A New Short Form of the Arizona Life History Battery. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY, 15(1).
- Figueredo, A. J., Garcia, R., Menke, M. J., Jacobs, W. J., Gladden, R. P., Bianchi, J., Patch, E. A., Beck, C. J., Kavanaugh, P. S., Sotomayor-Peterson, M., Jiang, Y., & Li, N. P. (2017). The K-SF-42: A new short form of the Arizona Life History Battery. Evolutionary Psychology, 15(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704916676276
- Black, C. J., Figueredo, A. J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2016). Substance, History, and Politics: An Examination of the Conceptual Underpinnings of Alternative Approaches to the Life History Narrative. Evolutionary Psychology, 15, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1474704916670402.
- Corral-Frias, N. S., Nadel, L., Fellous, J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2016). Behavioral and self-reported sensitivity to reward are linked to stress-related differences in positive affect. PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, 66, 205-213.
- Corral-Frías, N., Nadel, L., Fellous, J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2016). Behavioral and self-reported sensitivity to reward are linked to stress-related differences in positive affect.. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 16.
- Figueredo, A. J., Garcia, R. A., Menke, M., Jacobs, W. J., Gladden, P., Bianchi, J., Patch, E., Beck, C., Kavanagh, P., Sotomayor-Peterson,, M., & Jiang, Y. (2016). The K-SF-42: A New Short Form of the Arizona Life History Battery.. Evolutionary Psychology, 15, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1474704916676276.
- Brown, S. D., Furrow, D., Hill, D. F., Gable, J. C., Porter, L. P., & Jacobs, W. J. (2014). A Duty to Describe: Better the Devil You Know Than the Devil You Don't. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 9(6), 626-640.
- Brown, S. D., Furrow, D., Hill, D. F., Gable, J. C., Porter, L. P., & Jacobs, W. J. (2014). A Duty to Describe: Better the Devil: You Know Than the Devil You Don’t. Perspectives in Psychological Science.
- Hoscheidt, S. M., LaBar, K. S., Ryan, L., Jacobs, W. J., & Nadel, L. (2014). Encoding negative events under stress: High subjective arousal is related to accurate emotional memory despite misinformation exposure. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MEMORY, 112, 237-247.
- Hoscheidt, S., LeBar, K., Ryan, L., Jacobs, W. J., & Nadel, L. (2014). Encoding arousing events under stress: Evidence for selective inoculation against the integration of misinformation as a function of anxiety. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 237-247.
- Plooy, C. d., Thomas, K. G., Henry, M., Human, R., & Jacobs, W. J. (2014). The fear-factor stress test: an ethical, non-invasive laboratory method that produces consistent and sustained cortisol responding in men and women. Metabolic Brain Disease, 1-10.More infoAbstract: We describe a method to administer a controlled, effective stressor to humans in the laboratory. The method combines the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and the Cold Pressor Test into a single, believable procedure called the Fear-Factor Stress Test (FFST). In the procedure, participants imagine auditioning for the reality television show Fear Factor. They stand before a video recorder and a panel of judges while (a) delivering a motivational speech, (b) performing a verbal arithmetic task, and (c) placing one hand into a bucket of ice water for up to 2 min. We measured subjective anxiety, heart rate, and salivary cortisol in three groups of young adults (n = 30 each, equal numbers of men and women): FFST, TSST, and Control (a placebo version of the FFST). Although the FFST and TSST groups were not distinguishable at the cortisol measure taken 5 min post-manipulation, at 35 min postmanipulation average cortisol levels in the TSST group had returned to baseline, whereas those in the FFST group continued to rise. The proportion of individual cortisol responders (≥ 2 nmol/l increase over baseline) in the TSST and FFST groups did not differ at the 5-min measure, but at the 35-min measure the FFST group contained significantly more responders. The findings indicate that the FFST induces a more robust and sustained cortisol response (which we assume is a marker of an HPA-axis response) than the TSST, and that it does so without increasing participant discomfort or incurring appreciably greater resource and time costs. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.
- Wolf, P. S., Figueredo, A. J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2014). Global Positioning System Technology (GPS) for Psychological Research: A Test of Convergent and Nomological Validity. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 315.More infodoi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00315
- du, P. C., Thomas, K., Henry, M., Human, R., & Jacobs, W. J. (2014). The fear-factor stress test: an ethical, non-invasive laboratory method that produces consistent and sustained cortisol responding in men and women. METABOLIC BRAIN DISEASE, 29(2), 385-394.
- Human, R., G., K., Dreyer, A., Amod, A. R., S., P., & Jacobs, W. J. (2013). Acute psychosocial stress enhances visuospatial memory in healthy males. South African Journal of Psychology, 43(3), 300-313.More infoAbstract: Previous research demonstrates that stress can disrupt a number of different cognitive systems, including verbal memory, working memory, and decision-making. Few previous studies have investigated relations between stress and visuospatial information processing, however, and none have examined relations among stress, visuospatial memory performance, and planning/organisation of visuospatial information simultaneously. In total, 38 undergraduate males completed the copy trial of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test. Those assigned randomly to the Stress group (n = 19) were then exposed to a laboratory-based psychosocial stressor; the others were exposed to an equivalent control condition. All then completed the delayed recall trial of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test. Physiological and self-report measures of stress indicated that the induction manipulation was effective. Our predictions that control participants, relative to stressor-exposed participants, (a) take less time to complete the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test recall trial, (b) reproduce the figure more accurately on that trial, and (c) show better planning and more gestalt-based organisational strategies in creating that reproduction were disconfirmed. At recall, those with higher circulating cortisol levels (measured post-stress-induction) completed the drawing more accurately than those with lower circulating cortisol levels. Otherwise stated, the present data indicated that exposure to an acute psychosocial stressor enhanced visuospatial memory performance in healthy males. This data pattern is consistent with a previously proposed inverted U-shaped relationship between cortisol and cognition: Under this proposal, moderate levels of the hormone (as induced by the current manipulation) support optimal performance, whereas extremely high and extremely low levels impair performance. © The Author(s) 2013.
- Human, R., Thomas, K., Dreyer, A., Amod, A. R., Wolf, P., & Jacobs, W. J. (2013). Acute psychosocial stress enhances visuospatial memory in healthy males. SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY, 43(3), 300-313.
- Wenner, C. J., Bianchi, J., Figueredo, A. J., Rushton, J. P., & Jacobs, W. J. (2013). Life History theory and social deviance: The mediating role of Executive Function. Intelligence, 41, 102-113.
- Wolf, P., Figueredo, A. J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2013). Global positioning system technology (GPS) for psychological research: a test of convergent and nomological validity. FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY, 4.
- Attig, S., Schwartz, G. E., Figueredo, A. J., Jacobs, W. J., & Bryson, K. C. (2012). Weird Coincidences, Intuition, and Spirituality. Psychiatric Annals, 41, e1-e3.
- Britton, W. B., Shahar, B., Szepsenwol, O., & Jacobs, W. J. (2012). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Improves Emotional Reactivity to Social Stress: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial. BEHAVIOR THERAPY, 43(2), 365-380.
- Britton, W. B., Shahar, B., Szepsenwol, O., & Jacobs, W. J. (2012). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Improves Emotional Reactivity to Social Stress: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial. Behavior Therapy, 43(2), 365-380.More infoPMID: 22440072;PMCID: PMC3495556;Abstract: The high likelihood of recurrence in depression is linked to a progressive increase in emotional reactivity to stress (stress sensitization). Mindfulness-based therapies teach mindfulness skills designed to decrease emotional reactivity in the face of negative affect-producing stressors. The primary aim of the current study was to assess whether Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is efficacious in reducing emotional reactivity to social evaluative threat in a clinical sample with recurrent depression. A secondary aim was to assess whether improvement in emotional reactivity mediates improvements in depressive symptoms. Fifty-two individuals with partially remitted depression were randomized into an 8-week MBCT course or a waitlist control condition. All participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) before and after the 8-week trial period. Emotional reactivity to stress was assessed with the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory at several time points before, during, and after the stressor. MBCT was associated with decreased emotional reactivity to social stress, specifically during the recovery (post-stressor) phase of the TSST. Waitlist controls showed an increase in anticipatory (pre-stressor) anxiety that was absent in the MBCT group. Improvements in emotional reactivity partially mediated improvements in depressive symptoms. Limitations include small sample size, lack of objective or treatment adherence measures, and non-generalizability to more severely depressed populations. Given that emotional reactivity to stress is an important psychopathological process underlying the chronic and recurrent nature of depression, these findings suggest that mindfulness skills are important in adaptive emotion regulation when coping with stress. © 2011.
- Jacobs, W. J., Sisco, M., Hill, D., Malter, F., & Figueredo, A. J. (2012). Evaluating theory-based evaluation: Information, norms, and adherence. EVALUATION AND PROGRAM PLANNING, 35(3), 354-369.
- Jacobs, W. J., Sisco, M., Hill, D., Malter, F., & Figueredo, A. J. (2012). On the Practice of Theory-based Evaluation: Information, Norms, and Adherence. Evaluation and Program Planning, 35, 354-369.
- Attig, S., Schwartz, G. E., Figueredo, A. J., Jacobs, W. J., & Bryson, K. C. (2011). Coincidences, Intuition, and Spirituality. PSYCHIATRIC ANNALS, 41(12), E1-E3.
- Chen, Y., Jacobs, W. J., Quan, S. F., Figueredo, A. J., & Davis, A. (2011). PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF REPEATED VENTILATOR WEANING FAILURE: AN EXPLANATORY MODEL. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CRITICAL CARE, 20(4), 292-302.
- Metcalfe, J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2010). People's study time allocation and its relation to animal foraging. BEHAVIOURAL PROCESSES, 83(2), 213-221.
- Metcalfe, J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2010). People's study time allocation and its relation to animal foraging. Behavioural Processes, 83(2), 213-221.More infoPMID: 20026197;PMCID: PMC2832607;Abstract: In this article we suggest a relation between people's metacognitively guided study time allocation strategies and animal foraging. These two domains are similar insofar as people use specific metacognitive cues to assist their study time allocation just as other species use cues, such as scent marking. People decline to study items that they know they already know, just as other species use a win-shift strategy - avoiding already visited and depleted patches - in foraging. People selectively study the easiest as-yet-unlearned items first, before turning to more difficult items just as other species take the 'just right' size and challenge of prey-the so-called Goldilocks principle. People use a stop rule by which they give up on one item and turn to another when the returns diminish just as others species use a stop rule that guides shifting from one patch to another. The value that each item is assigned on the criterion test, if known during study, influences which items people choose to study and how long they study them just as knowledge of the nutritional or energy value of the food influences choices and perseverance in foraging. Finally, study time allocation strategies can differ in their effectiveness depending upon the expertise of the student just as some species forage close to optimally while others do not. © 2009 Elsevier B.V.
- Thomas, K., Laurance, H. E., Nadel, L., & Jacobs, W. J. (2010). Stress-induced impairment of spatial navigation in females. SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY, 40(1), 32-43.
- Doll, B. B., Jacobs, W. J., Sanfey, A. G., & Frank, M. J. (2009). Instructional control of reinforcement learning: A behavioral and neurocomputational investigation. Brain Research, 1299, 74-94.More infoPMID: 19595993;PMCID: PMC3050481;Abstract: Humans learn how to behave directly through environmental experience and indirectly through rules and instructions. Behavior analytic research has shown that instructions can control behavior, even when such behavior leads to sub-optimal outcomes (Hayes, S. (Ed.). 1989. Rule-governed behavior: cognition, contingencies, and instructional control. Plenum Press.). Here we examine the control of behavior through instructions in a reinforcement learning task known to depend on striatal dopaminergic function. Participants selected between probabilistically reinforced stimuli, and were (incorrectly) told that a specific stimulus had the highest (or lowest) reinforcement probability. Despite experience to the contrary, instructions drove choice behavior. We present neural network simulations that capture the interactions between instruction-driven and reinforcement-driven behavior via two potential neural circuits: one in which the striatum is inaccurately trained by instruction representations coming from prefrontal cortex/hippocampus (PFC/HC), and another in which the striatum learns the environmentally based reinforcement contingencies, but is "overridden" at decision output. Both models capture the core behavioral phenomena but, because they differ fundamentally on what is learned, make distinct predictions for subsequent behavioral and neuroimaging experiments. Finally, we attempt to distinguish between the proposed computational mechanisms governing instructed behavior by fitting a series of abstract "Q-learning" and Bayesian models to subject data. The best-fitting model supports one of the neural models, suggesting the existence of a "confirmation bias" in which the PFC/HC system trains the reinforcement system by amplifying outcomes that are consistent with instructions while diminishing inconsistent outcomes. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Doll, B. B., Jacobs, W. J., Sanfey, A. G., & frank, M. J. (2009). Instructional control of reinforcement learning: A behavioral and neurocomputational investigation. BRAIN RESEARCH, 1299, 74-94.
- Gladden, P. R., Figueredo, A. J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2009). Life History strategy, Psychopathic Attitudes, personality, and general intelligence. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, 46(3), 270-275.
- Kirsner, B. R., Figueredo, A. J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2009). Structural Relations among Negative Affect, Mate Value, and Mating Effort. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY, 7(3), 374-397.
- Kallai, J., Karadi, K., Bereczkei, T., Rozsa, S., Jacobs, W. J., & Nadel, L. (2007). Spatial exploration behaviour in an extended labyrinth in patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia. PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH, 149(1-3), 223-230.
- Payne, J. D., Jackson, E. D., Hoscheidt, S., Ryan, L., Jacobs, W. J., & Nadel, L. (2007). Stress administered prior to encoding impairs neutral but enhances emotional long-term episodic memories. LEARNING & MEMORY, 14(12), 861-868.
- Figueredo, A. J., Vasquez, G., Brumbach, B. H., Schneider, S., Sefcek, J. A., Tal, I. R., Hill, D., Wenner, C. J., & Jacobs, W. J. (2006). Consilience and Life History Theory: From genes to brain to reproductive strategy. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW, 26(2), 243-275.
- Kallai, J., Makany, T., Karadi, K., & Jacobs, W. J. (2005). Spatial orientation strategies in Morris-type virtual water task for humans. Behavioural Brain Research, 159(2), 187-196.More infoPMID: 15817182;Abstract: The present study characterized frequent motion patterns (search strategies) that occurred during spatial navigation in a virtual maze. The research focused on identifying and characterizing some search strategies, the temporal progression of strategy-use, and their role in spatial performance. Participants were 112 undergraduate students (42 males and 70 females). We identified three search strategies that predicted spatial performance. Enfilading refers to an approach-withdrawal pattern of active exploration near a target location. Thigmotaxis refers to a search strategy that involves continuous contact with the circular wall of the maze. Visual scan involves active visual exploration while the subject remains in a fixed spatial location and turns round. In addition to identifying these motion patterns, some significant points of the spatial learning process were also detailed where strategies appeared to shift systematically. The applied search strategies in these transitional points have determined overall spatial performance. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Pai, M., & Jacobs, W. J. (2004). Topographical disorientation in community-residing patients with Alzheimer's disease. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(3), 250-255.More infoPMID: 15027040;Abstract: Background. Based on the hypothesis that declarative memory and navigation ability depend on hippocampal integrity, and the fact that declarative memory declines early in Alzheimer's disease (AD), the authors suggest that topographical disorientation (TD) will be an early manifestation of AD. Subjects and methods. Patients diagnosed With AD based on DSM-IV criteria, residing at home, were studied in a clinic at a 1000-bed referral medical center. Patient characteristics, disease condition, performance on neuropsychological tests, and navigation function were compared between patients with and without current TD. Information regarding the extent and duration of TD and the level of current navigational function were collected during a clinical interview. Results. 112 patients (61 males and 51 females) with mean age of 74 years and disease duration of 37 months completed the study. Among them, 61 currently experienced TD, 20 had required an escort to their home by others, and 28 had TD as an incipient symptom. Those with current TD tended to have a longer disease duration, required an escort to their home by others, and reported a history of repeated change of residence, TD as an incipient symptom, a restricted spatial range within which they felt comfortable (safety range), and disorientation when they were out of familiar territory. In addition, caregivers reported a high level of concern for the safety of those with TD when he or she traveled alone. Conclusion. TD in community-dwelling AD patient is common. Caregivers should pay attention to those with longer disease duration and try to avoid changing residence. Developing a brief and valid test for topographical orientation will be helpful for the early detection of TD. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- Laurance, H. E., Learmonth, A. E., Nadel, L., & Jacobs, W. J. (2003). Maturation of Spatial Navigation Strategies: Convergent Findings from Computerized Spatial Environments and Self-Report. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT, 4(2), 211-238.
- Lilienfeld, S. O., Jacobs, W. J., & Meadows, E. (2003). Analyzing the relationship between therapists and research psychologists [2]. Chronicle of Higher Education, 49(30 SEC.2), B4+B17.
- Skelton, R. W., Bukach, C. M., Laurance, H. E., Thomas, K. G., & Jacobs, W. J. (2000). Humans with traumatic brain injuries show place-learning deficits in computer-generated virtual space. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 22(2), 157-175.More infoPMID: 10779831;Abstract: Spatial learning and memory has been linked to the hippocampus and temporal lobes and though these areas are often damaged in traumatic brain injury (TBI), spatial learning deficits after TBI have not received much attention. In the present study, a virtual environment was used to challenge people with TBI to solve a task comparable to the Morris water maze, which in turn has been shown to be highly sensitive to hippocampal and frontal lobe dysfunction in laboratory animals. A regular computer monitor was used to present 12 participants with TBI and 12 age- and sex-matched comparison participants with a computer-generated, three-dimensional 'virtual arena maze,' consisting of a large round arena within a very large square room. Participants were required to learn the place of an invisible target on the floor of the room based solely on distal cues on the walls of the room. Eight of the 12 participants with moderate to severe TBI showed substantial place- learning deficits in comparison to the uninjured participants. Performance in the virtual environment correlated with self-reported frequency of wayfinding problems in everyday life and with scores on a test of episodic memory, the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Task. These data confirm that deficits in spatial learning and memory follow TBI, and suggest that the virtual arena maze may provide a new method for objectively assessing them.
- G., K., Laurance, H. E., Luczak, S. E., & Jacobs, W. J. (1999). Age-related changes in a human cognitive mapping system: Data from a computer-generated environment. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 2(6), 545-566.More infoPMID: 19178203;Abstract: Two studies investigated age-related changes in human spatial cognition. In Study 1, younger and older adults searched computer-generated space, over several trials, for the location of a hidden target. Younger adults, but not older adults, quickly located the target and consistently returned to it. All the younger adults, but few of the older adults, reported using spatial relations among distal cues to navigate the space. In Study 2, young, middle- aged, and older adults performed the same task, but were provided with increased environmental support and pre-task training. The data pattern from Study 1 was replicated, with the performance of middle-aged adults falling between that of young and older adults. Although older adults in Study 2 reported less experience at completing computer-based tasks than did young and middle-aged adults, effects of this differential level of computer experience appeared to diminish over the course of experimental procedures (i.e., group differences that appeared on pre-task non-spatial practice trials were not apparent on a similar post-task trial). Age-related differences in spatial cognition persisted, however. Thus, the current data (a) suggest that a human cognitive mapping system changes over the lifespan, (b) suggest that computer-generated tasks can be sensitive to those changes, and (c) are consistent with a substantial literature investigating age- related changes in human and rodent spatial cognition.
- Kállai, J., Kosztolányi, P., Osváth, A., & Jacobs, W. J. (1999). Attention fixation training: Training people to form cognitive maps help to control symptoms of panic disorder with agoraphobia. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 30(4), 273-288.More infoPMID: 10759324;Abstract: Nine individuals diagnosed with panic with agoraphobia received three elements of Attentional Fixation Training (AFT): Directed attention to the external environment, directed topographical synthesis, and directed orientation in space-time to control characteristics of panic. They then walked a standard 2.5km route and practiced these elements upon entering one of the five panic-inducing situations: (a) walking alone near a busy street with the examiner following at 20m, (b) walking alone near a busy street with the examiner out of client's visual field, (c) shopping with the examiner present, (d) traveling on a bus alone, and (e) shopping alone. Heart rate was monitored in each of these five situations. Except for the case of using public transport, heart rate activity decreased to a considerable extent during AFT practice suggesting AFT elements provided a good way to control symptoms of panic in vivo. Results were discussed within the confines of a model suggesting that an attentional deficit, which produces a spatial disorientation disorder that maintains both panic and agoraphobia, can efficiently be overcome by means of all three AFT tools. Copyright (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.
- Jacobs, W. J., & Dalenberg, C. (1998). Subtle presentations of post-traumatic stress disorder: Diagnostic issues. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 21(4), 835-845.More infoPMID: 9890125;Abstract: The authors present a set of diagnostic procedures designed to detect subtle presentations of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Defined as a Type II diagnostic error (a false negative), the authors examine several sources of subtle presentations of PTSD. These include imperfect diagnostic instruments, high base rates, imperfect memory of critical events, imperfect reporting of signs and symptoms, imperfect interpretation of presented signs and symptoms, and diagnostic decisions based on informal clinical judgment. The authors believe that a multistage diagnostic procedure, using instruments with known psychometric properties while simultaneously looking for converging evidence is the best safeguard against missing an appropriate diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder.
- Metcalfe, J., & Jacobs, W. J. (1998). Emotional Memory the Effects of Stress on "Cool" and "Hot" Memory Systems. Psychology of Learning and Motivation - Advances in Research and Theory, 38(C), 187-222.
- Jacobs, W. J., Laurance, H. E., & G., K. (1997). Place learning in virtual space I: Acquisition, overshadowing, and transfer. Learning and Motivation, 28(4), 521-541.More infoAbstract: Three experiments showed that, in virtual space, humans learn to find an invisible target that remains in a fixed location relative to distal cues. Experiment 1 showed that people rapidly learned to locate an invisible target in a computer-generated virtual arena. Participants searched the appropriate place intensely when, on a probe trial, the target was removed. Experiment 2 showed that two groups of participants, one with a visible and one with an invisible target, learned to locate the target in the virtual arena. A probe trial, during which the target was removed, showed that participants from both groups searched the former location of the target in the virtual arena, suggesting the presence of proximal cues did not interfere with place learning. Experiment 3 showed that, following place learning, people directly approach the location of the invisible target from novel start positions. The data were discussed in terms of spatial learning and memory. © 1997 Academic Press.
- Thomas, K. G., & Jacobs, W. J. (1997). Keeping pace with the revolution: A review of Schacter's searching for memory. Traumatology, 3(1), 23-29.
- Jacobs, W., & Blackburn, J. R. (1995). A model of pavlovian conditioning: Variations in representations of the unconditional stimulus. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science, 30(1), 12-33.More infoPMID: 7794782;Abstract: We present a model of Pavlovian excitatory conditioning in which associative strength and malleable central representations of unconditional stimuli determine the strength of conditional responding. Presentation of a conditioned stimulus acts through an experientially determined associative bond to activate a representation of the unconditional stimulus. The activation of the representation produces a conditioned response. A striking feature of the model is its ability to describe changes in conditioned response magnitude in terms of alterations of representations of the unconditional stimulus. Another is its acknowledgement of the capacity of associative bonds to survive behavioral extinction. The model describes much of the data reported from excitatory conditioning experiments and predicts counterintuitive phenomena. © 1995 Springer.
- Baum, M., Andrus, T., & Jacobs, W. J. (1990). Extinction of a conditioned emotional response: Massed and distributed exposures. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28(1), 63-68.More infoPMID: 2302150;Abstract: Using the lick-suppression methodology of Jacobs, Buttrick & Kennedy (Pavlovian Journal of Biological Science, 23, 29-34, 1988), a conditioned emotional response (CER) was established in 24 rats using off-the-baseline pairings of a light (the conditional stimulus) and brief footshock (the unconditional stimulus). Following conditioning, the rats were assigned to one of three extinction groups differing in whether they received massed or distributed off-the-baseline exposure to the conditional stimulus. The effects of differential treatment were assessed on-the-baseline on test days, when the extinction of the CER was monitored. Rats receiving a single, long exposure to the conditional stimulus showed greater resistance to extinction than the rats in the distributed groups. They also showed a difference pattern of CER extinction. The results were discussed and compared to similar studies that have explored the massed vs distributed dimension, both in CER and avoidance-extinction (using response prevention or flooding). The relation of animal studies to parallel human studies using exposure therapy was also discussed. © 1990.
- Jacobs, W. J., Zaborowski, J. A., & Whishaw, I. Q. (1989). Failure to Find Latent Spatial Learning in the Morris Water Task: Retraction of Jacobs, Zaborowski, and Whishaw (1989). Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 15(3), 286-.More infoAbstract: Retracts Jacobs, Zaborowski, and Whishaw (1989) because of a failure to find latent spatial learning in the Morris Water Task using the same method. In addition, reexamination of the earlier study revealed that if discarded data from 2 rats with abnormally high scores had been included in the analysis, the results would have been nonsignificant. Methodological confounds may also have contributed to the earlier results.
- Jacobs, W. J., Zaborowski, J. A., & Whishaw, I. Q. (1989). Rats Repeatedly Placed on a Hidden Platform Learn but Quickly Forget Its Location. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 15(1), 36-42.More infoAbstract: Rats were pretrained to escape from cool water by swimming to a platform hidden at a fixed location in a swimming pool. They were then placed a number of times on a platform at a new location in another pool in a new room. Rats placed on the platform subsequently swam to it more quickly than rats that were not placed or rats placed in inappropriate locations. Rats required 10-15 placements on the platform before swimming directly to it on a test trial. An interval of as little as 2 hr between placement and testing eliminated the advantage of previous placement. These results unambiguously demonstrate that rats can latently acquire spatial information, and they disclose some performance features of latent spatial learning.
- Jacobs, W. J., Buttrick, M., & Kennedy, D. (1988). A rapid and sensitive method for measuring the conditional emotional response II: On-the-baseline excitatory conditioning and extinction. The Pavlovian Journal of Biological Science, 23(1), 29-34.More infoPMID: 3357710;Abstract: The present study outlines a rapid and sensitive on-the-baseline conditional emotional response (CER) procedure. Using rats as the experimental subject, the method detects delay conditioning, incubation, extinction and spontaneous recovery. In addition, the method detects conditional responding using electric shock ranging from 0.23 to 0.50 mA as the unconditional stimulus. Because of its speed and sensitivity, the method shelters the subject from unnecessary long-term deprivation and pain. © 1988 Springer.
- Pfaus, J. G., Blackburn, J. R., Harpur, T. J., MacDonald, M. A., Mana, M. J., & Jacobs, W. J. (1988). Has Psychology Ever Been a Science of Behavior? A Comment on Skinner. American Psychologist, 43(10), 821-822.
- Jacobs, W. J., & Blackburn, J. R. (1987). Incubation of conditional suppression is an associatively-based phenomenon. The Pavlovian Journal of Biological Science, 22(3), 118-121.More infoPMID: 3658492;Abstract: Ten rats were deprived of water and trained to lick a tube for saccharin reinforcement. In each of the two sessions that followed, the rats received six contiguous pairings of a 30-second illumination of the houselight and a 0.75 second, 0.10 mA electric shock while licking. No sign of conditioning was observed during the first experimental session, but profound conditioning was observed on the first and subsequent trials of the second conditioning session. No comparable change in the rate of licking was observed in groups of rats that received only presentations of the visual stimulus, only presentations of the electric shock, or random presentation of the visual stimulus and electric shock during the first conditioning session. These data establish that the incubation of conditional suppression is an associative phenomenon. © 1987 J. B. Lippincott Company.
- Scala, G. D., Mana, M. J., Jacobs, W. J., & Phillips, A. G. (1987). Evidence of Pavlovian conditioned fear following electrical stimulation of the periaqueductal grey in the rat. Physiology and Behavior, 40(1), 55-63.More infoPMID: 3615655;Abstract: Stimulation of the periaqueductal grey (PAG) has been used to support aversive conditioning in a variety of species with several experimental paradigms. However, it has not been clearly demonstrated whether the behavioral changes produced by PAG stimulation in these paradigms are mediated by associative or nonassociative mechanisms. The present studies demonstrate that electrical stimulation of the PAG in the rat may be used to support associative learning in a Pavlovian paradigm. In each experiment, a fully controlled conditional emotional response (CER) procedure was used to examine the unconditional aversive properties of PAG stimulation. In Experiment la, weak associative conditioning was observed when a light CS was paired with PAG stimulation over 6 conditioning trials. In Experiment 1b, robust associative conditioning was obtained with a light CS when 18 conditioning trials were used. In Experiment 2, robust associative conditioning was demonstrated with a tone CS when 6 conditioning trials were used. The results parallel those found when other aversive stimuli are used as a UCS (e.g., footshock or intraorbital air puff), and because the present experiments included the proper control procedures the results clearly indicate that the behavioral changes produced by PAG stimulation are mediated by associative Pavlovian learning mechanisms rather than nonassociative mechanisms such as sensitization or pseudoconditioning. The present technique may be useful for assessing the neuroanatomical and neurochemical substrates underlying the aversive effects of brain-stimulation, and for screening the effects of drugs on the conditional and unconditional responses produced by such stimulation. © 1987.
- Pfaus, J. G., Myronuk, L. D., & Jacobs, W. J. (1986). Soundtrack contents and depicted sexual violence. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15(3), 231-237.More infoPMID: 3729702;Abstract: Male undergraduates were exposed to a videotaped depiction of heterosexual rape accompanied by one of three soundtracks: the original soundtrack (featuring dialogue and background rock music), relaxing music, or no sound. Subjective reports of sexual arousal, general enjoyment, perceived erotic content, and perceived pornographic content of the sequence were then provided by each subject. Results indicated that males exposed to the videotape accompanied by the original soundtrack found the sequence significantly more pornographic than males exposed to the sequence accompanied by either relaxing background music or no sound. Ratings of sexual arousal, general enjoyment, and the perceived erotic content, however, did not differ significantly across soundtrack conditions. These results are compatible with the assertion that the content of a video soundtrack may influence the impact of depicted sexual violence. © 1986 Plenum Publishing Corporation.
- Jacobs, W., & Harris, C. (1985). Escape responding in a shuttlebox. Learning and Motivation, 16(3), 334-340.More infoAbstract: Measures of response latency are a primary tool for those who investigate escape responding in rats. Unfortunately, the single term "latency to escape" has been applied to several different measures of latency. The present study was designed to demonstrate that two different measures of the "latency to escape" tap different aspects of escape responding. To that end, rats were given escape training using a Sidman Avoidance Schedule with brief inescapable electric shock as the aversive stimulus. The latency to escape the shock-shock interval, as measured from the onset of the last shock in a shock period, did not change across trials. However, the latency to escape the shock period, as measured from the onset of the first shock in a shock period, decreased across trials. In addition, the presentation of a feedback stimulus contingent upon escape responding did not affect the latency to escape either the shock period or a shock-shock interval. The results show that these two latency measures, typically not recognized as unique, measure different characteristics of the strength of escape responding in a shuttlebox. Alternative accounts of this pattern of data were considered. © 1985.
- LoLordo, V. M., Jacobs, W. J., & Foree, D. D. (1982). Failure to block control by a relevant stimulus. Animal Learning & Behavior, 10(2), 183-192.More infoAbstract: Pigeons were trained to depress a treadle in the presence of a discriminative stimulus, either a tone or illumination of red houselights, in order to obtain access to grain or avoid electric shock. In avoidance training, the auditory discriminative stimulus yielded faster acquisition than did the visual one. In appetitive training, the visual discriminative stimulus yielded faster acquisition than the auditory one. Experiments 2 and 3 used these stimuli in Kamin's (1969) blocking design. In Experiment 2, when the pigeons were trained to depress a treadle in the presence of tone to obtain grain and then red light was added as the redundant stimulus, the light acquired stimulus control over treadlepressing; blocking was not observed. In Experiment 3, when the pigeons were trained to depress a treadle in the presence of red light to avoid electric shock and then tone was added as the redundant stimulus, the tone acquired stimulus control over treadle-pressing. Again, blocking was not observed. The implications of these results for several models of stimulus control are discussed. © 1982 Psychonomic Society, Inc.
- Jacobs, W. J., Zellner, D. A., LoLordo, V. M., & Riley, A. L. (1981). The effect of post-conditioning exposure to morphine on the retention of a morphine-induced conditioned taste aversion. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, 14(6), 779-785.More infoPMID: 7196046;Abstract: In the following experiment, multiple injections of morphine sulfate following the acquisition of a morphine-induced taste aversion had no effect on the retention of the previously acquired aversion. Post-conditioning injections of morphine resulted in the development of physical dependence to morphine and led to a decrement in the ability of morphine to induce a subsequent aversion to a second novel taste. This failure of post-conditioning exposures to morphine to affect a previously acquired morphine-induced taste aversion even though tolerance to morphine had occured was discussed in the context of Rescorla's event-memory model of conditioning. © 1981.
- Shapiro, K. L., Jacobs, W. J., & LoLordo, V. M. (1980). Stimulus-reinforcer interactions in Pavlovian conditioning of pigeons: Implications for selective associations. Animal Learning & Behavior, 8(4), 586-594.More infoAbstract: In a Pavlovian procedure, groups of pigeons were presented with a compound auditory-visual stimulus that terminated with either response-independent electric shock or food. In a subsequent test, the tone CS was dominant in aversive conditioning, reliably eliciting conditioned head raising and prancing. The red light CS was dominant in appetitive conditioning, reliably eliciting pecking. This result was replicated in a second experiment, in which trials were widely spaced. Pour additional groups of pigeons received pairings of the separate element CSs with the USs. Red light, but not tone, was an effective CS in appetitive conditioning, whereas tone, but not red light, was effective in aversive conditioning. There was no discriminative responding in zero-contingency control groups. Several theoretical accounts of these data are discussed. © 1980 Psychonomic Society, Inc.
- Riley, A. L., Jacobs, W. J., & LoLordo, V. M. (1978). Morphine-induced taste aversions: A consideration of parameters. Physiological Psychology, 6(1), 96-100.More infoAbstract: Following consumption of saccharin, groups of rats were injected with various doses of morphine sulfate. Although no aversion was found after 1 conditioning trial, repeated saccharin-morphine pairings resulted in decreases in consumption of the saccharin solution. On the average, however, the groups of rats showed only a moderate aversion, independent of the dose of morphine. Although there was little variability in consumption among rats that received the smallest dose of morphine, there was considerable individual variability among subjects receiving the larger doses. The differences between morphine-based conditioned taste aversions and aversions based on emetic USs were discussed.
- Jacobs, W. J., & LoLordo, V. M. (1977). The sensory basis of avoidance responding in the rat. Relative dominance of auditory or visual warning signals and safety signals. Learning and Motivation, 8(4), 448-466.More infoAbstract: Three experiments determined the relative degree of stimulus control exerted by the elements of a compound auditory-visual stimulus when this stimulus was presented in various temporal relationships to a barpress avoidance response. When the compound discriminative stimulus for barpress avoidance responding consisted of onset of white noise and onset of either light or darkness, the white noise always exerted dominant control. When the compound discriminative stimulus consisted of offset of white noise and onset of light, neither element controlled avoidance responding. On the other hand, when a barpress avoidance response produced a compound feedback stimulus consisting of onset of white noise and onset of either light or darkness, the visual element always exerted dominant control. When the compound feedback stimulus consisted of offset of white noise and onset of light, both elements exerted stimulus control. © 1977.
- Riley, A. L., Jacobs, W. J., & LoLordo, V. M. (1976). Drug exposure and the acquisition and retention of a conditioned taste aversion. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 90(8), 799-807.More infoPMID: 965528;Abstract: Two experiments examined the effects of preexposure and postexposure to a drug on the acquisition and retention of a conditioned taste aversion induced by that drug. Experiment 1 demonstrated that although drug preexposure attenuated a subsequent conditioned aversion, repeated taste drug pairings reversed the initial attenuation effect and resulted in nearly complete avoidance of consumption. Experiment 2, however, demonstrated that drug postexposure did not alter a previously established conditioned aversion, although the postexposure experiences were effective in attenuating a conditioned aversion to a second novel solution. It was suggested that conditioned aversions are mediated by ACTH and that preexposure to a drug results in tolerance to that drug, yielding a smaller ACTH response and thereby a weaker aversion.
Presentations
- Human, R., Thomas, K. G., Henry, M., & Jacobs, W. J. (2015, march). Experimentally-Induced increase in Cortisol Impairs Working Memory in Men but not Women. 12th International Conference of the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa. Durban, South Africa: University of Capetown, Capetown, South Africa.
- Davis, M. F., Jacobs, W. J., & Davis, O. K. (2014, October). Assessment in Higher Education: Dealing with real group differences. 28th Annual Conference of the American Evaluation Association. Denver, Colorado.