Deep dysphasia: An analog of deep dyslexia in the auditory modality

A right-handed patient, with two left hemisphere lesions, a small one in the prefrontal lobe and a larger one in the temporal, presents an unusual syndrome: a massive deficit for oral language (expression and comprehension) contrasting with a fairly good preservation of written language (expression and comprehension). The processing of isolated words and sentences has been extensively tested with repetition and dictation tasks. The patient performs rather well with nouns, verbs, and adjectives, poorly with adverbs and function words, and completely fails with nonsense words. A remarkable feature of his repetition is the frequency of semantic paraphasias. Thus, this patient exhibits a behavior rather similar to deep dyslexia, hence the possible label "deep dysphasia." The paper presents a "preunderstanding" hypothesis to account for such behaviors.     

麦金太尔解决休谟伦理难题的贡献与困惑

麦金太尔《德性之后》的一个重要意义,是试图解决休谟伦理难题,即“是”与“应该”的矛盾。本文对此作一个初步的分析,力图证明麦金尔在这个方面的贡献对及存在的不足。     

Speech in mania: Syntactic aspects

In this study, we observed and linguistically analyzed the verbal behavior of six manic subjects, looking specifically for those linguistic capacities which were intact and for those which were disrupted. From interviews and tape-recordings of manic subjects in both analytic-protocol and discourse situations, we observed a preservation of basic speech capacities, including the ability to comprehend and generate grammatical sentences and to utilize highly complex linguistic transformations. We noted, however, a disruption in the ability to properly utilize ellipsis and semantic (discourse) anaphora such that manic subjects did not maintain a meaningful progression of thought in discourse.     

The role of the school psychologist: Teachers'' preferences as a function of personal and professional characteristics

Teachers were surveyed concerning the importance of 12 potential roles for school psychologists (e.g., counseling, case or program consultation, community liaison, psychodiagnostics). Results showed that direct and remedial services which did not require the school psychologist to intrude on the teacher's prerogatives were in general considered to be most important. However, teachers who reported using “open education” methods were significantly more likely to value more indirect, preventive, and collaborative school psychology services than their colleagues. Grade level taught, gender, experience, and teaching specialty had virtually no effect on respondents' ratings of the school psychologist roles.     

The brachium of the inferior colliculus: The human auditory pathways: A quantitative study

Counts of nerve fibers in the brachium of the inferior colliculus in man from birth to 97 years (28 brains) revealed an average on the right of 168,311/mm² and an average of 168,593/mm² on the left. The total fiber population for each level studied averaged 350,562 for section A (immediately adjacent to the inferior colliculus), 452, 372 for section B (center of brachium), and 559,242 for section C (immediately adjacent to the medial geniculate body). These figures were averaged from brains whose ages ranged from 11 to 89 years. The area of the brachium, as well as its total fiber population, increased as the medial geniculate body was approached. This indicates that fibers were entering the brachium at various points along its course from the inferior colliculus to the medial geniculate body or were leaving in the reverse direction. A lower fiber density was found in infant brains, and a loss of nerve fibers was evident in the 91- and the 97-year-old specimens.     

How teachers use the group I.Q. test scores

Ninety elementary school teachers, grades 2–6, in two school districts in Ohio were interviewed to obtain information on how they used the results of group IQ tests. Twenty-seven of 90 teachers (30%) reported making “little or no use” of the test scores. Most of these teachers presumably had more faith in their own tools and observations than in the IQ test scores. However, 76 of 90 teachers (84%, including the ones who made little use of the test scores) stated that they used the test scores for one or more purposes. The four most frequently mentioned uses were: (a) “for discussion in parent conferences” (51%); (b) “to know a student's potential and/or determine ability-motivation discrepancy” (42%); (c) “to plan instruction” (39.5%) and (d) “for referral purposes” (29%). The instructional strategies mentioned by the teachers varied and were categorized into 21 categories.     

Psychoactive drug effects in a hyperactive child: A case study analysis of behavior change and teacher attention

The effects of methylphenidate on the behavior and teacher interactions of a 9-year-old hyperactive female were analyzed. Observations of the subject's task-related and disruptive behaviors and of interactions between the subject and her classroom teacher were made when the subject received the active drug and an inert placebo. Teacher's ratings of the subject's classroom behavior and measures of her academic performance were also obtained. Results showed that when the subject was receiving methylphenidate she engaged in task-related activities a greater percent of the time, had a higher percent of teacher interactions that were instructional in quality, and received lower behavior ratings by the teacher than when she was receiving a placebo. The results suggest that the use of medication may enable the hyperactive child to profit both behaviorally and academically.     

Persistence of response prevention effects following retraining of escape behavior

This study evaluated the effects of response prevention procedures on the extinction of escape behavior following the reinstatement of shock-escape training prior to the start of extinction. Female hooded rats were assigned to four groups (N = 10) in a factorial design which orthogonally combined response prevention or pseudo-prevention procedures with escape retraining or no retraining procedures. Results showed that prevention reliably impaired shock-escape behavior on early retraining trials; but this effect dissipated completely by the end of retraining. In extinction, prevention reliably facilitated the extinction of escape behavior relative to that of pseudo-prevention controls; but the degree of facilitation was reliably attenuated by retraining procedures. These findings were related to the competing response interpretation of prevention effects.     

I. Validity of WISC-R factor scores in predicting achievement and attention for four sociocultural groups

The predictive validity of WISC-R factor scores was examined with samples from the four sociocultural groups of Anglo, Black, Chicano, and native American Papago. The Full Scale IQ and Verbal Comprehension (VC) factor scores were significantly better predictors of achievement as measured by teacher ratings and the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The Perceptual Organization and Freedom from Distractibility (FD) factor scores were also significantly related to achievement, but at a lower level than Full Scale and VC. The correlations of the WISC-R and achievement measures were nearly the same for three of the four groups (exception was native American Papago). The relationship of the FD factor score to ratings of attention was statistically significant, but relatively low. Cautions in interpreting FD as a measure of attention were recommended due to overlap of distributions and low proportion of variance in attention accounted for by FD.     

Effects of noise on sensitivity of introverts and extraverts to signals in a vigilance task

Forty Ss, previously classified as introverts or extraverts on the basis of scores on the Eysenck Personality Inventory, performed a visual vigilance task while being stimulated with noise at an intensity level of either 65 or 85 dB. Introverts given noise of 65 dB intensity showed an improvement in detection rate across trials, whereas introverts given noise of 85 dB intensity showed a decline in detection rate. Extraverts responded to noise of 65 dB intensity with a slight decrease in detection rate, but showed an improvement in detection over trials when noise of 85 dB intensity was given. When noise of the lower intensity was given, introverts showed greater sensitivity to signals than extraverts. When noise of the higher intensity was given, introverts and extraverts were equal in sensitivity. The results are discussed in terms of a hypothesized relationship between stimulation and arousal, with E-I as a moderator variable.     

Social conditioning and its proper control procedures.

In Expt I, eight infants received response-contingent social stimulation, while another eight infants received response-independent social stimulation. Both groups' vocalization rates similarly increased from baseline to stimulation periods and decreased from stimulation to extinction periods. In Expt II, 12 infants were given continuous social stimulation (elicitation treatment) for one period, and, in a second period, stimulation was withheld for 5 sec contingent upon each vocalization (omission treatment). Response rates were similar for both periods, and rates decreased when social stimulation was removed (mobile treatment). In both studies social stimulation increased vocalization rates and rate of responding was insensitive to the programmed contingency. There were, however, fewer “bursts” of responses with the negative and positive contingencies as compared with response-independent stimulation.     

II. The comparability of the WISC-R and WAIS among 16-year-old EMR children

Thirty 16-year-old EMR children were administered the WAIS and WISC-R in counterbalance order to determine the comparability of the two assessment instruments. The WAIS was found to yield significantly higher Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores. The comparisons of corresponding subtests indicate that all WAIS subtests were significantly higher than the WISC-R except Picture Completion. Correlations between corresponding WAIS and WISC-R IQ scales and subtests, however, were significant. The results suggest differences between the two instruments among children of subnormal intelligence, thus presenting the possibility that a child may be differentially classified based on the selection of the intelligence test.     

Self-observation and behavior change: Applications to academic and adjustment problems through behavioral consultation

Self-observation as a behavior change technique was implemented through behavioral consultation in a public elementary school system. The self-observation procedures were introduced to two subjects with academic problems (assignment completion) and two subjects with behavioral problems (disruptive talk and interruptions, respectively). In each of the four cases, self-observation resulted in improvement in client behavior. Results are discussed within the context of previous methodological issues in the self-observation literature and the relevance of self-observation as a therapeutic tool in school settings.     

Dynamic models of development and the mechanistic-organismic controversy

Starting with a prototypical model of Newtonian mechanics, a sequence of dynamic models with increasing structural complexity is presented. The implicated smooth variation along a dimension of structural complexity yields dynamic models which display organismic properties such as stagewise development and emergent self-organization. Consequently, it is concluded that dynamic models of development are inherently neutral with respect to the mechanism-organicism controversy. Accordingly, a unitary research program is proposed in which these dynamic models serve as building blocks for the construction of a coherent explanatory system of development.     

Changing roles for the school mental health professional

Draws on the experience of an innovative school mental health project, emphasizing early detection and prevention of school adjustment problems, to describe emergent, needed roles for school psychologists. The later include: systematic screening of primary graders and parent interviewing to further early detection; consultation with teachers and other school personnel; and recruitment, training, and supervision of nonprofessional help-agents. Such roles bring early effective services to many children, in ways that optimize their educational and personal development.     

Personality correlates of retrieval processes in intentional and unintentional forgetting

Early accounts of intentional forgetting relied exclusively on mechanisms that operate at encoding. The results of more recent experiments indicate that memory-retrieval inhibition also is involved, thus linking waking intentional forgetting with hypnotic amnesia. The present Experiment 1 was designed to provide further support for the retrieval-inhibition hypothesis by testing four alternative explanations for some of the recent results. Experiment 2 examined the role of word affect in both intentional forgetting and unintentional forgetting to evaluate theoretical interpretations of the retrieval mechanisms thought to be involved. Unintentional forgetting of negative words was consistent with a repression-like interpretation, whereas intentional forgetting of negative words appeared to be limited by sensitization. Personality correlates of the recall results were identified and were found to be in support of these interpretations.     

Speech sound errors in patients with conduction and Broca's aphasia

Speech sound errors exhibited by three conduction and three Broca's aphasic patients on naming and word-repetition tasks were subjected to phonemic and subphonemic analyses. In the conduction aphasic patients, errors occurred equally often on consonants and vowels in both the naming and word-repetition tasks, while in the Broca's aphasic patients errors occurred selectively on consonants. Transposition errors occurred almost as often as substitution errors in the conduction aphasic patients, while substitution errors constituted the majority of errors in the Broca's aphasic patients. The Broca's aphasic patients, as compared to the conduction aphasic patients, exhibited a markedly higher number of substitution errors occurring between phonemes separated by a single subphonemic feature on the naming task. On the basis of these findings, it was hypothesized that the differences in the error patterns of the two types of aphasia reflected differences in the underlying mechanisms of the impairment in each type.     

Catastrophe theory: A topological reconceptualization of sexual orientation

The classical model of sexual orientation as a continuum is examined and hypotheses regarding the sequential patterning of sexual partner choices are considered. Data are reviewed which suggest that these patterns are often discontinuous: shifts from one orientation to the other are observed without a transitional period and bisexuality is rare as a lifestyle in which contacts with both male and female partners are regular, concurrent, ongoing activities. Catastrophe theory, a mathematical model of discontinuity, is explained with the simple example of aggression in dogs and then the simple cusp catastrophe is applied as a starting place for this topological reconceptualization of sexual orientation. Behavioral predictions and implications for future research are discussed.     

Personality and problem-solving: The nature of individual differences in planning,scanning and verification

This study investigated the nature of individual differences in the time spent on different stages of a perceptual problem-solving task and the extent to which two task parameters (item complexity, goal setting) affected performance. A group of 24 Ss completed four sets of perceptual maze items as well as the EPI and AH5 tests. Perceptual mazes at two levels of item complexity were presented both with and without a computer-automated version. In addition to recording the overall solution time for each item, the program also records the time spent on the search, tracking and checking phases of maze-solving. The results indicated that the overall response speed is more closely related to intellectual ability (AH5 score) than to personality. In contrast, extraversion appeared to be more important in determining the relative amount of time spent on certain phases of maze-solving, particularly the initial period of scanning prior to making a response. The extent of these effects was found to depend on task parameters since the most striking differences were found on the most complex items presented without information as to the maximum solution obtainable.