bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Disabled Readers: Their Intellectual and Perceptual Capacities at Differing Ages
Authors: Miller John W. , McKenna Michael C.
Published: September 2011

To investigate the multiple relationships between selected measures of intelligence and perception and reading achievement a group of young, poor readers ( MCA = 8.4 yr.) and a group of older, poor readers ( MCA = 11.2 yr.) were given the Gates-MacGinitie Achievement Test, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Slosson Intelligence Test, Spatial Orientation Memory Test, and Auditory Discrimination Test. The combination of the four predictor variables accounted for a significant amount of the variance in reading vocabulary and comprehension for younger and older poor readers. Greater variance was accounted for in the reading achievement of younger students than of older students. Perceptual abilities related more strongly for younger students, while intelligence related more strongly for older students. Questions are raised about the validity of using expectancy formulae with younger disabled readers and the “learning disabilities” approach with older disabled readers.
A Sequenced Questioning Paradigm as a General Facilitator of Preschoolers' Associative Fluency
Authors: Pellegrini A. D.
Published: September 2011

To investigate the extent to which free play vs a sequenced questioning paradigm were general facilitators of preschoolers' associative fluency 36 children (15 girls and 21 boys, Mage. = 52.52 mo.; SD = 9.197 mo.) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, free play, questioning, or control. In the first two conditions children interacted with two conventional objects, randomly chosen from a set of four. Children in all conditions were asked to articulate novel uses for conventional objects they had not interacted with during their respective treatments. The condition significantly affected creative responses. Responses in the questioning condition were significantly greater than in the other conditions; there was no significant difference between play and control conditions.
Age Effects on Trail Making Test Performance
Authors: Kennedy Kevin J.
Published: September 2011

The Trail Making Test, used in differentiating brain-damaged from non-brain-damaged individuals, was administered to 150 non-brain-damaged subjects classified into five age decades to determine the effects of age on performance. Between-group comparisons as well as correlational data indicated that older subjects performed significantly more poorly than younger subjects. Significant small negative correlations of performance with education and intelligence suggested that lower intelligence and education also may adversely affect performance. Some implications of these findings for clinical neuropsychology are discussed.
Neuropsychological Assessment of an Adult's Minimal Brain Dysfunction: A Case Study
Authors: Horton Arthur Macneill , Decker Elisabeth B.
Published: September 2011

A 38-yr.-old married man complained of difficulties in remembering and concentration. Related were difficulties in orienting himself in space, planning and completing visual-spatial tasks, and participating in complex perceptual-motor activities. Neurological and traditional psychological examinations indicated no organic deficits. Neuropsychological evaluation produced evidence suggestive of subtle cerebral dysfunction. Limitations of traditional assessment strategies to identify the clinical manifestations of adults' minimal brain dysfunction are briefly discussed.
Simple Reaction Times for Mentally Retarded and Epileptic Individuals
Authors: Summerford Christine F.
Published: September 2011

A comparison was made to determine the effect of epilepsy on simple reaction time among 57 school-aged subjects. The subjects were classified intellectually as average, educable mentally retarded, or trainable mentally retarded, and neurologically as epileptic or nonepileptic. Following an explanation of the testing apparatus, 24 trials per day for five consecutive afternoons were given. The microswitch was depressed after a warning light and a foreperiod activated an audio response stimulus. A significant difference in RT was not found between subjects with epilepsy and those without epilepsy within each intellectual classification.
Utility of Invariance Coefficients
Authors: Thompson Bruce
Published: September 2011

Most correlational methods tend to capitalize on chance. This capitalization tends to be especially serious when factor analytic methods are employed. The study compares alpha and invariance coefficients, which are used, respectively, as estimates of generalizability of results to a universe of items and as estimates of the generalizability of results to a population of persons. A secondary analysis of three previous factor analytic studies provides an heuristic demonstration that the coefficients are sensitive to different data characteristics. It is suggested that research results might be generalized more accurately if researchers calculated invariance coefficients, in addition to alpha coefficients, when correlational methods are employed.
Effect of Sensory Modality for Presentation and Word Imagery on Paired-Associate Learning
Authors: Papineau William , Lohr Jeffrey M.
Published: September 2011

Recall performance on a paired-associate learning task was investigated as a function of word imagery modality (visual or auditory), presentation mode (visual or auditory), and sex. Analysis showed greater recall of visual imagery words, and the results are consistent with Paivio's (1971) conceptual-peg hypothesis. Visual presentation of word lists produced greater recall than auditory presentation, and females exhibited greater recall performance than did males. A predicted interaction between modality for presentation and for word imagery did not reach statistical significance. The implications for future research with sensory imagery in learning are discussed.
Effects of Room Color on Mirror-Tracing by Junior High School Girls
Authors: Bross Cindy , Jackson Karen
Published: September 2011

The effects of preferred and nonpreferred room color on mirror-tracing performance were examined. Girls in Grades 7, 8, and 9 practiced mirror-tracing in a neutral colored room to a criterion before being tested in their preferred or nonpreferred colored rooms. The errors decreased significantly in the preferred room, while the time to complete changed minimally.
Age Differences in Recognition and Recall of Famous Names
Authors: Vanderplas James M. , Vanderplas Jean H. , Mozenter Randi
Published: September 2011

Young (17 to 25 yr. of age) and old (61 to 82 yr. of age) subjects were tested for recognition and cued recall of famous surnames. Old subjects recalled and recognized more names than young subjects, and old subjects were less subject to recognition failure of recallable names than were young subjects. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that older subjects have a greater number and variety of both episodic and semantic associations with the surnames of famous people and therefore should be better able to recognize and recall these kinds of materials.
Reversed Cerebral Asymmetries as a Potential Risk Factor in Autism: A Reconsideration
Authors: D'Angelo Eugene J.
Published: September 2011

This paper provides a methodological modification and re-analysis of the data presented by Hier, et al. in 1979 on the presence of unfavorable cerebral asymmetry in autistic patients. In contrast to prior findings, statistical significance was not obtained, suggesting that it is premature to assert that such morphologic anomalies may be considered a risk factor in autism.
Work Values Inventory Scores from 1970 to 1980
Authors: Staats Sara
Published: September 2011

Super's (1970) Work Values Inventory was administered to 204 undergraduates from 1970 to 1980. Data were collected in a classroom setting where the inventory was used for pedagogic purposes. Considering the data with respect to a cultural shift or generational difference over the decade, an increase in work valuation, especially by women, was indicated.
Stuttering and Oral Stereognosis
Authors: Martin Richard R. , Lawrence Barbara A. , Haroldson Samuel K. , Gunderson Donna
Published: September 2011

Two experiments were conducted to investigate oral stereognostic performance of stutterers. In Exp. I, stutterers and controls responded “same”—“different” to two oral forms placed successively on their tongues. In Exp. II, stutterers and controls underwent two procedures. For half the items, the task was the same as in Exp. I; for the other half, subjects were presented a single form and visually identified that form from among others on a placard. In both experiments, stutterers made significantly more oral stereognostic errors than did their matched controls.
Some Factors Influencing Perceived Goal Distance in Time: A Preliminary Check
Authors: Gjesme Torgrim
Published: September 2011

Perceived goal distance in time (PgD) is assumed to be influenced by (a) physical distance in time, (b) the individual's future-time orientation (FTO), (c) perceived intrinsic instrumentality of activity (PiI), and (d) the importance of the goal. The results, based on pupils (159 boys and 151 girls) in Grades 7, 8, and 9, showed that pupils high in future-time orientation (FTO) and perceived intrinsic instrumentality of activity (PiI), perceived any temporal distance (PgD) as shorter than those who were low in these variables. However, the most significant determinant of perceived goal distance in time (PgD), in addition to physical distance in time, was the importance of the future goal; a very important goal being perceived as much closer than an unimportant goal.
Field Dependence/Independence and its Relation to Sex of Polytechnic Students
Authors: Lotwick G. H. , Simon A. , Ward L. O.
Published: September 2011

Subjects, all full-time polytechnic students studying engineering, science and education ( ns = 91 males, 27 females), took the modified rod-and-frame test. Higher scores, indicating greater field dependence among females than males, were obtained, but correlations were much lower for Series 3 than for Series 1 and 2.
Recognition and Recall: An Electroencephalographic Investigation of Hemispheric Alpha Asymmetries for Males and Females on Perceptual and Retrieval Tasks
Authors: Haynes William O. , Moore W. H.
Published: September 2011

Hemispheric alpha asymmetries of males and females were obtained during the presentation of connected verbal material under instructions of recall or recognition and during the retrieval tasks requiring recall or recognition which were compared to a “vigilance” condition. Significantly more left hemispheric participation was found for the retrieval/recognition tasks than for the perceptual, listening tasks. The notion that brain mechanisms involved in information storage or retrieval for recall and recognition tasks are different was not supported. Asymmetries between the males and females did not differ.
Prediction Analysis of 2 × 2 Contingency Tables
Authors: Silverstein A. B.
Published: September 2011

A limitation of the prediction analysis of 2 × 2 contingency tables is pointed out. Specifically, when competing predictions are being compared, a direct comparison of selected cell (or marginal) frequencies gives' virtually the same information as that provided by prediction analysis. This limitation does not apply in the more general case of R × C cross-classifications.
Visual Field Sensitivity on a Two-Choice Discrimination Task
Authors: Salmon Paul , Rodwan Albert
Published: September 2011

A signal-detection analysis was used to evaluate visual-field sensitivity on a two-choice (same/different) discrimination task. Pairs of unfamiliar geometrical forms were presented tachistoscopically to the right or left visual fields of 12 subjects. Of 12 subjects 11 obtained left visual-field values which exceeded those of the right. The data suggested that the superiority of stimulation of the left visual field resulted from greater sensitivity to “same” figure pairs.
Visual Search Performance by Paranoid and Chronic Undifferentiated Schizophrenics
Authors: Portnoff Lance A. , Yesavage Jerome A. , Acker Mary B.
Published: September 2011

Disturbances in attention are among the most frequent cognitive abnormalities in schizophrenia. Recent research has suggested that some schizophrenics have difficulty with visual tracking, which is suggestive of attentional deficits. To investigate differential visual-search performance by schizophrenics, 15 chronic undifferentiated and 15 paranoid schizophrenics were compared with 15 normals on two tests measuring visual search in a systematic and an unsystematic stimulus mode. Chronic schizophrenics showed difficulty with both kinds of visual-search tasks. In contrast, paranoids had only a deficit in the systematic visual-search task. Their ability for visual search in an unsystematized stimulus array was equivalent to that of normals. Although replication and cross-validation is needed to confirm these findings, it appears that the two tests of visual search may provide a useful ancillary method for differential diagnosis between these two types of schizophrenia.
Dichaptic Task Performance as a Function of Ability Pattern, Sex, and Hand Preference
Authors: Posluszny Robert , Barton Keith
Published: September 2011

It was hypothesized that, since verbal and spatial ability seem to be lateralized (left for verbal, right for spatial), in any dichaptic task individuals with high spatial ability will do best with their left hands and those with high verbal ability best with their right hands. Conversely, scorers with high spatial ability should make more errors with their right hands and highly verbal people more errors with their left hands. Some evidence was found to support these hypotheses for males, but for females the relationships seemed more complex. Possible explanations and implications of the findings are discussed.
Relation in Children of Psychological Differentiation and Reasoning by Class Inclusion
Authors: Sampsel Bruce D. , Widaman Keith F. , Winer Gerald A.
Published: September 2011

Third, fourth, and fifth graders were given two forms of a class inclusion test and three tests that presumably tap psychological differentiation, the Matching Familiar Figures Test, the Embedded Figures Test, and a leveling-sharpening test. Performance on embedded figures and leveling-sharpening tests correlated with performance on traditional items of class inclusion, suggesting that psychological differentiation is linked to class inclusion. However, age changes in differentiation do not account for age changes in class inclusion. Rather, it appears that level of differentiation inhibits or facilitates the presence of class inclusion by interacting with a more basic competency which changes with age.
Relationship between Bender Errors, Emotional Indicators and Performance on Bender Recall
Authors: Anderson Barbara , Rallis Kathryn
Published: September 2011

The relationship between Bender Recall score and number of emotional indicators on the Bender was investigated with a sample of 100 children referred within the public school system for evaluation over a 2-yr. period. No relationship was found between number of emotional indicators and either recall or Bender errors. Recall score was significantly related to quality of original Bender productions.
Mode-Relations in Language Learning by Language-Deficient Retarded Subjects
Authors: Holdgrafer Gary
Published: September 2011

The relationship between language comprehension and production was examined with two severely language-deficient retarded subjects who were taught the plural form /z/. Comprehension and production were trained concurrently with different words in each mode until correct plural use occurred in the untrained mode for each word. Subsequent training of reversed plural use in comprehension for one subject and production for the other failed to result in reversed plural use in the untrained modes for those words. This mode- independence contrasted with interdependence displayed by normal children in an earlier study using similar procedures. The results are discussed in relation to the normal developmental process and the possible deviation from it.
Freedom of Pair Construction and Effects of Sequences of Input-Recall Trials on Learning
Authors: Sanford James F.
Published: September 2011

The relative contribution to learning of input and recall trials was examined under conditions in which subjects were given considerable freedom on input trials to construct their own pairs of verbal elements for learning from an array of elements and to change their pairings at any time on input trials. 25 psychology students were assigned to learn in each of three input-recall sequences. An alternating input-recall sequence produced better performance at recall than sequences in which either more input or more recall trials was present. It was concluded that the finding of relative equivalence in the contribution of input and recall trials of earlier studies resulted from the input procedures used and did not demonstrate a general principle of learning verbal materials. In conditions in which subjects are free to construct their own materials for learning, there is an optimal sequence most closely approximated in the present study by the alternating input-recall sequence.
Geometric Figure-Rotation Task and Face Representation in Dyslexia: Role of Spatial Relations and Orientation
Authors: Pontius Anneliese A.
Published: September 2011

Two tasks tapping various kinds of spatial-relational representation were given to test the role of spatial representation in writing and reading. (1) An intentional rotation task using six geometric (Bender-Gestalt) figures was performed by 356 children (ages 8 to 15 yr.), namely, 252 normal readers and 104 dyslexic children. (2) A draw-a-person test with the face from the front was added, since previous studies showed a significant positive correlation between un- or under-developed writing and reading abilities on one hand, and the specifically distorted pictorial representation of the upper part of the human face (“neolithic faces”) on the other. Compared to normal readers, the dyslexic children not only drew significantly more “neolithic faces” but also made more errors of spatial displacement (up/down or right/left) on parts of asymmetric figures, while among both groups there were similar percentages (67.06% and 6538%, respectively) of children who made no errors in the merely global rotation of the figures. The specific difficulty in the performance of a subgroup (78.85%) of dyslexic children on the figure rotation task appears to be analogous to certain errors made with lexical signs, where the global shape is preserved, while its asymmetrical parts may be displaced: (b z = d = q = p, N = Z). Analogously, the “neolithic faces,” while misrepresenting (obliterating) the spatial-relationally complex and individualized bridge of the nose area, preserve merely its global configuration.
Hemispheric Specialization for Tactile-Spatial Processing in Preschool Children
Authors: Etaugh Claire , Levy Rhonda B.
Published: September 2011

Witelson (1976) found that boys but not girls showed right-hemisphere specialization for tactile-spatial processing as early as 6 yr. of age. In the present study, Witelson's task was administered to 46 normal 4- and 5-yr.-old girls and boys. Both sexes showed right-hemisphere specialization. There were no sex differences either in specialization or in over-all performance.
Consistent Responses by Groups of Subjects to Projective Differential Items
Authors: Raynolds Peter. A. , Sakamoto Shiori , Saxe Robert
Published: September 2011

The nonverbal projective differential test item is described and distinguished from semantic differential items. Projective differential items are pairs of abstract visual stimuli, such as inkblots. Subjects choose one of the two projective stimuli as more similar to a concept being rated. Two studies showed that groups of subjects respond in a consistent manner to such items, with most subjects agreeing that one of the two abstract visual stimuli is more like the concept than the other; this is the projective differential response phenomenon. It was argued that subjects are able to express some aspects of the connotative meanings that concepts have for them through their responses to projective differential items. The potential usefulness of nonverbal items in constructing measuring instruments was discussed.
Additive Structures in Multidimensional Scaling
Authors: Degerman Richard
Published: September 2011

The formal complexity underlying a group of objects may be partitioned into two components, one of which is due to the total number of attributes involved (the between-attribute component) and the other of which is due to complexity within the individual attributes themselves (the within-attribute component). This notion of multidimensional structure is discussed within the framework of an additive component model of multidimensional scaling, where a configuration is considered to be composed of disjoint subspaces, each one of which reflects variation due to a specific stimulus component. A number of empirical examples are given to demonstrate the applicability of the additive component model to multidimensional scaling.
Effect of Penalty Information on Judgments of Seriousness of Crimes
Authors: Yaworsky Krystine Batcho
Published: September 2011

Using magnitude estimation, subjects made judgments of the seriousness of criminal offenses. These subjective judgments were affected by the information the subject was given concerning the maximum allowable prison sentences for the crimes. The influence of penalty information was evident for a variety of offenses at different levels of subjective seriousness.
Relation between Activation Level and Production of Fantasy
Authors: Schmolling Paul
Published: September 2011

40 college students rated themselves at intervals on scales measuring anxiety, alertness, relaxation, and sleepiness. Subjects imagined a fantasy animal and then rated the animal's mood and activity level. Subjects' activation level tended to influence fantasy in a congruent direction. However, the amount of influence on fantasy production was not very great. To a remarkable extent, fantasies seemed to have a life of their own.
A New Procedure for Determining Components of Field Dependency
Authors: Haller Otto
Published: September 2011

Rod-and-frame component scores can be derived from an over-all deviation score which measures direction and amount of rod tilt from vertical. Nyborg (1974) presented one procedure for deriving component scores, another procedure is presented here. This procedure is appropriate to determine whether the rod or the frame is used as a predominant and consistent cue for verticality. Also, rod-and-frame test data are presented as a function of performance on a backward digit-span test. The over-all result can be described as an interaction of complex field-dependency category by sex. The constant error component may complicate this interaction. The results show that there are several kinds of field dependencies and that one kind of field dependency may have a different meaning for men and women.
Are Whole Words Perceptual Units in Reading?
Authors: Silverman Wayne P. , Ulatowski Paul E.
Published: September 2011

Two experiments examined the perceptual processing of letters embedded within one- or two-syllable words and visually similar nonwords. Two-choice speeded discrimination tasks were used in which subjects were informed of both the identity and location of critical display information before stimulus presentation. Exp. 1 results indicated that one-syllable words differing by two letters were more quickly discriminated than one-syllable words differing in a single letter. Such performance gains due to the presence of redundant information suggest that one-syllable words form compelling perceptual units. In contrast, similar nonword pairs differing by two letters were discriminated no faster than two nonwords differing in a single letter. This latter pattern of results also was found for two-syllable words and similar nonwords, suggesting that neither unfamiliar nonwords nor two-syllable words form compelling perceptual units. In Exp. 2 subjects were given substantial practice on a task that forced attention to multiple letters within the stimulus displays. Results replicated the findings of Exp. 1, except that performance for both one-syllable words and matched nonwords now showed improved performance in the presence of redundant information. Taken together results of the two experiments suggest that: (a) the size of compelling perceptual units seems limited, with entire words sometimes functioning as multiunit patterns and (b) unit size is not necessarily related to the correspondence between letter order and pronounceability.
Reminiscence Theory: A Reply to Frith and Eysenck
Authors: Payne R. B.
Published: September 2011

Two criticisms of Coppage and Payne (1981) were offered by Frith and Eysenck (this issue). The first was refuted on empirical grounds. The second suggested their disregard of die logic of our experiment.
Pleasure and Activation Revisited: Dimensions Underlying Semantic Responses to Fifty Randomly Selected “Emotional” Words
Authors: Whissell Cynthia M.
Published: September 2011

49 subjects rated 50 words of affect randomly selected from a dictionary. Factor analyses of the 11 scales used documented the presence of a Pleasure factor and an Activation factor that jointly explained 86% of the variance. With the addition of Personal-ness as a third factor, 92.6% of the variance in mean ratings could be accounted for, and 5 clear clusters of words emerged.
Comparison of Sensory Modes of Biofeedback in Relaxation Training of Frontalis Muscle
Authors: Chen William
Published: September 2011

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of various sensory modes of EMG biofeedback in relaxation training of the frontalis muscle. 19 male and 29 female subjects were randomly selected from a pool of college volunteers. They were then randomly assigned 12 each to audio-feedback, visual feedback, audiovisual feedback, and no feedback groups. There were 11 20-min. sessions per subject. Subjects in the biofeedback groups were trained to reduce muscle tension voluntarily by utilizing Cyborg J33 EMG portable trainers. The subjects in the three feedback groups exhibited significantly lower muscle tension than did the subjects in the no-feedback control group. There were no significant differences in relaxation among the three feedback groups.
Effects of Whole vs Part Method of Training on Transfer of Learning
Authors: Murray Joseph F.
Published: September 2011

Volunteer subjects participated in a study to determine the effect of whole vs part method of training to fall in judo on transfer of learning with regard to general judo skill, knowledge, falling, and contest ability. Two groups (60 subjects per group) were established. Group 1 was taught falling through the part method of training while Group 2 was taught falling through the whole method of training. A multivariate analysis with a nested design indicated significant transfer for Group 1 (pan method of training) with regard to falling and significant transfer for Group 2 (whole method of training) with regard to contest ability. The results supported the literature in that a variety of factors determine whether the whole or part method is superior in producing transfer effects. It was generally concluded that the part method would be more appropriate for the general physical education teacher, while the. whole method would be more appropriate for the judo coach.
Effects of Bilateral Amygdala Lesions on Neophobia and Conditioned Taste Aversion in Mice
Authors: Shimai Satoshi , Hoshishima Keiichiro
Published: September 2011

The effects of bilateral lesions of the basolateral amygdala on the neophobia to a novel solution and on the conditioned taste aversion were investigated in 35 male CFW mice. Analysis of consumed saccharine solution showed that the amygdala lesions in mice diminished the neophobia and conditioned taste aversion. These findings were consistent with previous data from rats and suggested that amygdala is an important area for processing gustatory information in mice.
Practice Variability and Longer and Short Retention Intervals
Authors: Kerr Robert
Published: September 2011

This experiment compared the effect of different practice schedules on distance and direction errors in a blindfolded two-dimensional movement. The three experimental groups, (a) criterion target only, (b) varied targets (not criterion), (c) single target (not criterion) and one control group (rested), were tested immediately after the “practice” session without knowledge of results and were tested again after a 1-wk. retention interval. The distance data demonstrated little difference among the three experimental groups, but all three groups were significantly better than the control group. However, there was little difference in errors of direction among the groups. While the data for distance support a schema interpretation of movement control, the data for direction appear to reflect the concept of a visual-spatial map being used to guide movements.
Cluster and Principal Components Analyses of the Group Embedded-Figures Test
Authors: Loo Robert
Published: September 2011

The structure of the Group Embedded-figures Test was examined. Data from 173 females and 93 males were subjected to Johnson's complete-linkage cluster analysis and principal components analysis. The results showed the importance of simple form type especially Form E, the cube, and of item position. Recommendations for the future study of the structure of embedded-figures tests were presented.
Achievement Motivation and Indirect Testing for Manual Skills
Authors: Smith M. , Johnson I.
Published: September 2011

Time estimation and need for achievement were used to predict typing skills. Unlike a previous study time estimation did not predict performance but there was a significant relationship between achievement motivation for adolescents and learning to type. Some reasons for these results were suggested.
An Evaluation of Power and Sample-Size Requirements for the Continuity-Corrected Fisher Exact Test
Authors: Overall John E. , Hornick Chris W.
Published: September 2011

This article evaluates power and Type I error probabilities for a modified Fisher exact test for homogeneity of response probabilities in 2 × 2 tables. The original Fisher exact test and the Pearson chi-square are employed as standards for comparison. The continuity-corrected Fisher statistic is shown to be considerably more powerful than the uncorrected Fisher exact test, while it is less often nonconservatively biased than the Pearson chi-square.
Developmental Preferences for Action Role Versus Word-Order Strategies: A Curious “U”-Shaped Function
Authors: Highnam Cliff
Published: September 2011

A concept-attainment task was presented to 6-, 8-, and 11-yr.-old children ( N = 96) to determine age-related differences in selection of action role or word-order problem-solving strategies. Children identified characters of puzzle pictures either on the basis of action role (agent-patient) or on the basis of word order ( N1— N2) of sentences describing the puzzle pictures. Results indicated that a significantly greater number of 8-yr.-olds employed word-order strategies than 6- or 11-yr.-olds. An argument which accounts for these findings is advanced which focuses on the developing metalinguistic skills of 8-yr.-olds and an appreciation of the linear form of language which is brought to consciousness by the process of learning to read.
Animistic Thought in Young Children: Effects of Probing
Authors: Williamson Peter A. , Kelley Michael F. , Waters Billie
Published: September 2011

Piaget's norms for animistic thought have been criticized as too high. These critics have in turn been questioned for failing to obtain justifications for judgments. This study attempted to reconcile the differences between the two camps through a standardized questioning format which went a step beyond justification. Subjects, aged 3 to 6 yr., were given a task in which they judged the life qualities of a stimulus, justified their judgment, and judged again after being given an anomalous probe. Analysis indicated that younger children were unable to adhere to an original judgment when probed while older children were.
Clients' Characteristics as Mediating Variables in Perception of Counselors' Social Influence
Authors: Mc Kay John K. , Dowd E. Thomas , Roixin Stephen A.
Published: September 2011

48 clients in a rehabilitation center viewed two 12-min. videotapes each, one depicting a counselor high in social influence and the other one of low influence. They then rated the counselors on the Counselor Rating Form and the Empathy subscale of the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory. Black subjects and subjects at lower educational levels rated the counselor of low social influence significantly higher than did whites and better educated subjects on all measures. White subjects and subjects at higher educational levels rated the counselor of high social influence significantly higher on Trustworthiness and Empathy than did blacks and less educated subjects. Results are discussed in light of the research on clients' characteristics as mediating variables in the counseling process and outcome.
Rhythmic Reproduction, Arousal, and Chosen Time
Authors: Ruggieri Vezio , Milizia Maria
Published: September 2011

The relationship between rhythmic reproduction of four stimulus frequencies (44, 80, 126, 200 beats a minute), chosen time, and arousal was studied with 32 subjects of both sexes. The following findings emerged: at the frequency of 44, the group is divided into equal numbers of subjects who either accelerate or slow down; a frequency of 80 induces a general slowing down and a frequency of 200 a general acceleration. Also, the maximum absolute error occurred at a frequency of 200 and the minimum, at the frequency of 80. With regard to chosen time, subjects who tended to accelerate showed a tendency to choose faster rhythms. With regard to level of arousal, the highest frequency was associated with a faster reproduction during relaxed wakefulness and a slower reproduction at the higher and lower activation levels; a state of reduced alertness also produced slowing down at a frequency of 126 and a state of relaxed wakefulness, an acceleration at a frequency of 44.
Preschool Children's Discrimination of Age
Authors: Taylor Ellen , Steele Connie , Roberto Karen
Published: September 2011

This study compared abilities of 4- and 5-yr.-olds to be accurate in connoting “who is older” without using size representation as a cue. An age discrimination task was administered to 30 4-yr.-olds and 30 5-yr.-olds. Analysis indicated that the 5-yr.-old children had better ability to discriminate age than the 4-yr.-old children but were not equal to adults. No significant sex differences were found in the children's ability to discriminate age.
Influence of Passive and Active Vestibular Stimulation on Balance of Young Children
Authors: Gabert Trent E. , Jee Anna , Collins William E.
Published: September 2011

60 children, 6 to 8 yr. old, with below-average scores on three balance tests were divided into four equal groups: active vestibular stimulation (Preston Vestibular Board), passive vestibular stimulation (rotating chair), and a control group for each. Vestibular groups were given 14 sessions of stimulation over a 5-wk. period. Balance scores for all groups, including controls, improved significantly on one or more of the tests. Improvement could not be related to vestibular stimulation.
Note on Criteria for Writing Posture Used to Test Levy and Reid's Cerebral Organization Hypotheses
Authors: Fudin Robert , Lembessis Elizabeth
Published: September 2011

Apparent ambiguities in Levy and Reid's writing posture criteria and dissimilar criteria used by other investigators are discussed. Classification of inverted writing postures by a diagram which, as Levy and Reid indicated in 1976, depicts typical writing positions is questioned because their 1978 paper suggests that these diagrammed positions were only an intermediary stage in the classification of some inverters. Results of studies using dissimilar criteria for writing posture appear to be difficult to compare because subjects who may differ in cerebral organization might be placed in the same category. Some of these studies introduced another possible source of confounding because different tasks were used to test lateralization of function. Since different tasks seem to study distinctive facets of language, lateralization of one function in sinistrals, thought to be less lateralized than dextrals, does not predict lateralization of any other function. These considerations suggest that an adequate test of Levy and Reid's ideas concerning the relationship among handedness, hand posture during writing, sex, and cerebral organization requires the development of a standard set of valid criteria for writing posture.
Effects of Paintings and Music, Both Alone and in Combination, on Emotional Judgments
Authors: Parrott A. C.
Published: September 2011

Two paintings by each of three artists (Miro, Hopper, O'Keefe) and two pieces of music (Grieg, Tchaikovsky) were evaluated under three different conditions: music alone, paintings alone, combined situation of music and painting. Emotional judgments by 63 (non-specialist) subjects, mean age of 22.3 yr., were obtained using seven-point binary rating-scale questions, e.g., depressing/elevating. The emotional effects of painting and music were basically additive since significant interactions on the emotional judgments were not generally found. Significant interactions were, however, reported for the ‘goodness/badness of match’ between music and painting; specific combinations of painting and music were judged to be particularly well (or particularly badly) matched. Painting judgments were little affected by the presence of music. Music judgments were, however, more affected by the presence of paintings, especially by the complex paintings with high activity levels which were possibly acting as significant distractors.
Self-Contact and Gesturing in Different Stimulus Situations: Relationship with Cerebral Dominance
Authors: Ruggieri Vezio , Celli Carlotta , Crescenzi Antonella
Published: September 2011

The relationships among self-contact and gesturing scores of 27 female undergraduate psychology students in 2 neutral and 2 emotional stimulus situations have been examined. To study the role of cerebral dominance, the self-contact and gesturing behaviors produced by the left and right halves of the body have been separately analyzed. In the emotional situations there was enhancement of the self-contact score on the left side of the body, but in one of the two, self-contact scores on the left were associated with high free-gesturing scores on the right side of the body. The self-contact score increases on the right side of the body in the situation of a first social interaction. The role of the self-contact as an anxiety-reducing system is discussed.
Perception of Eye Scans with the Müller-Lyer Stimuli: Evidence for Filter Theory
Authors: Petersik J. Timothy
Published: September 2011

Ginsburg's filter theory successfully accounts for the perceptual distortions perceived in a wide range of illusions and bistable phenomena. Essentially, the theory proposes that illusory distortions are the natural consequence of low-pass spatial filtering (based upon the human modulation transfer function) of the physical stimulus. With regard to the Müller-Lyer illusion, predictions based upon filter theory and human scan-path data are in accord. However, data linking filter theory's predictions regarding perceptual experiences associated with the illusion to the eye-scan results have been missing. In the present experiment subjects provided subjective estimations of their own eye scans while viewing each of the following stimuli: the fins-out member of the Müller-Lyer illusion, the fins-in member of the Müller-Lyer illusion, and a finless horizontal line (variations of each stimulus consisted of one, two, and three line segments). The analysis of these data supported three predictions that were derived from filter theory. Potential problems facing filter theory are also addressed.
Comparison of Cognitive Tempo and Time Estimation by Young Boys
Authors: Walker N. William
Published: September 2011

The relationship between cognitive tempo and time estimation by young boys is investigated. Emphasis is on clarifying the physiological vs learned etiology of cognitive tempo on the assumption that a predilection to cortical excitation or inhibition can be indicated through time estimation. Significant differences between 20 impulsive and 20 reflective boys (aged 8–0 to 8–11) on estimates of reproduction time and a high correlation (−.49) between impulsive boys' response times and estimates of reproduction time were noted.
Visual-Motor Organization: Differences between and within Individuals
Authors: Notterman Joseph M. , Tufano Daniel R. , Hrapsky Jeffrey Scott
Published: September 2011

The research described in this monograph uses control theory's pursuit-tracking paradigm of voluntary movement to identify several elementary psychomotor tasks. They are simple to administer and tap increasingly complex, nonverbal cognitive or perceptual attributes. Two series of experiments are reported. Study 1 examined the hypothesis that dissimilar arrays of individual differences, as determined through test-retest correlations, may exist among the same subjects: first, across various static and dynamic visual and motor “tasks” selected from the terms of control theory's tracking equations and, second, in the organization of these tasks as represented by pursuit tracking. The hypothesis could not be rejected. Study 2 determined that test-retest individual differences in visual-motor organization not only persisted in the absence of practice, but that they also withstood active intervention by practice. This study also showed that subjects differ reliably in their ability to plan, i.e., to take advantage of coherence in visual-motor information.
Fine's Frame and Perceived Tilt
Authors: Wenderoth Peter
Published: September 2011

In 1980 Fine asserted that in all rod-and-frame studies, frame tilt has been experimenter-defined. This claim is unwarranted. Attempts to manipulate rod-and-frame illusions by setting observers to see identical frames as squares or diamonds are discussed, as are the difficulties of interpreting the obtained data.
Experimental Stress and Cystomanometric Recordings of Patients with Primary Enuresis, a Preliminary Report
Authors: Trombini G. , Rossi N. , Umilta C. , Baccarani C. P.
Published: September 2011

The motility of the bladder has been recorded for 20 children with nocturnal enuresis while they were submitted to emotional tenseness experimentally induced. The analysis showed that emotional stress leads to contractions of the detrusor only in patients with psychogenic enuresis and not in those for whom organic lesions were responsible for the disturbance and chat the motor response depends on the level of emotional tenseness. Such results are of interest for diagnosis and physiopathology of psychogenic enuresis.
Gender Differences in Prism Adaptation as Influenced by a Secondary Task
Authors: Elliott Digby
Published: September 2011

This experiment investigated prism adaptation as influenced by performing a secondary task during the adapting and by the gender of the subject. Experimental subjects (10 males and 10 females) performed a secondary force-production task with the left hand, while adapting to prismatic displacement with the right (target-pointing). Control subjects ( n = 20) were not required to perform the force-production task. While male subjects were not influenced by the secondary task manipulation, female subjects exhibited less adaptation. Since males' and females' performance did not differ on the secondary force-production task, it is unlikely that this finding can be explained by differential primary vs secondary task tradeoffs.
Mathematical Model for the Filling-in of Illusory Contour
Authors: Brigner Willard L.
Published: September 2011

It is demonstrated that illusory contour in the shape of a square is perceived lighter when abutted by black horizontal lines and white vertical lines, darker when abutted by white horizontal lines and black vertical lines. These differences in perceived brightness and the spread of brightness, or a filling-in phenomenon, can be modeled by the major product of a column vector and a row unit vector where the order of each vector corresponds to extent and the value of each entry in the column vector corresponds to brightness.
Observer's Presence and Self-Focused Attention in Role-Rehearsal Activities
Authors: White Rolfe E.
Published: September 2011

The presence of an observer was hypothesized to heighten self-focused attention for students rehearsing interviewing skills in a classroom setting. Pairs of undergraduates were randomly assigned to interview each other in the presence (8 pairs) or absence of an observer (7 pairs). Results supporting the hypothesis were marginally significant. A supplementary finding indicated that differences between the sex of an interviewer and observer did mediate self-focused attention. An explanation for this finding is discussed using objective self-awareness theory.
Relation between Body-Esteem and Self-Esteem of Obese and Normal Children
Authors: Mendelson Beverley Katz , White Donna Romano
Published: September 2011

36 elementary school children (20 subjects were below and 16 subjects above 15% overweight) completed a self-esteem and body-esteem questionnaire. The Body-esteem Scale was reliable and suitable for children as young as 7 yr. Body-esteem shared a significant amount of variance with self-esteem and percentage overweight. Although body-esteem and relative weight were correlated, self-esteem and relative weight were not significantly related. Furthermore, body-esteem and self-esteem were not differentially related for 20 normals versus 16 obese children in this sample.
Measurement of Rod-and-Frame Test Performance
Authors: Allen Mary J. , Garcia Marta , Bealessio Linda Banerdt
Published: September 2011

Data from 50 male and 50 female adult volunteers were analyzed for reliability and validity of three alternative scoring systems for the Rod and Frame Test, an absolute scoring system and two alternative algebraic scoring systems. Subjects took the Rod and Frame Test, Portable Rod and Frame Test, and the Embedded Figures Test. Absolute and algebraic frame-effect scores were reliable and valid. Rod-effect algebraic scores were less reliable and valid. Correlations were higher for females and correlations with the Embedded Figures Test were so low that the interchangeability of these field articulation measures is questionable.