Le rôle de la mémoire de travail dans la production écrite de textes

Integration of capacity (Just and Carpenter, 1992) and componentiel (Baddeley, 1986) conceptions of working memory in models of text composition (Hayes, 1996 ; Kellogg, 1996 ; McCutchen, 1996) has allowed studying several facets of the role of working memory in writing acquisition and in expert management of the writing processes. This article presents these two conceptions and examines their respective contribution in the field of writing research from two perspectives: The demands of the writing processes (in terms of processing and transient storage) and the influence of working memory capacity on the control of production. The conclusion underlines the importance of investigating the on-line management of text production, the role of the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and to link strategies for allocating the working memory resources with text quality.     

Validation de la version française de l'échelle de réflexivité en groupe de Carter et West, 1998

Several studies found reflexivity —the extent to which team discuss objectives, strategies and processes and adapt them to changes— to be related to team efficacy. Two studies were conducted with 80 teams (320 participants) to validate French version of reflexivity scale. In study 1 exploratory factor analysis revealed 3 factors which partly confirms the 2 factor structure (task reflexivity and social reflexivity) expected from the original study (Carter and West, 1998). Two items of the original task reflexivity scale load on a third factor we named strategic reflexivity. The three factor structure was replicated in study 2 with confirmatory factor analysis. Criterion validity is proved by correlations between reflexivity and team performance. Task, social and strategic reflexivity correlate with different aspects of team effectiveness. The French version of reflexivity scale is reliable and appropriate for evaluating team reflexivity.     

Influence du contexte sémantique sur la performance d'identification d'odeurs

Our olfactory knowledge is mainly implicit and the last step for cognitive processing of odors — naming — is not always performed. To facilitate naming, odor identification by forced choice between alternatives is used. However, presenting names induces semantic priming. To assess which level of spontaneous odor processing is influenced by semantic context, we compared three priming conditions. Our results indicate that the identification process is based mainly on the rejection of semantic categories that are most remote from the target, and firstly of those with a different hedonic valence. The analysis of identification errors supports the hypothesis that odor naming rests more on global semantic discriminations than on what is called lexical access in other sensory modes.     

Written Argumentation by a 10-Year-Old Pupil in Sweden

Most pupils become confident with narrative texts. However, studies show that pupils do not learn to master discursive genres in a satisfactory way. Therefore it is important to study pupils’ written argumentation and to develop knowledge about text production in an education that also highlights linguistic structures. The present article investigates written argumentations produced by 10–12 year-old pupils. The aim is to investigate perspectives in the texts, and thereby catch the entire texts—their content, function and form—and to relate text analysis to interaction in the classroom. The theoretical framework emanates from the dialogical and triadic conception of language and text where ideational, relational and textual aspects play a central role. In this article the focus is on the three perspective dimensions—relief, hierarchy and sequences—in one argumentative text written by a 10-year-old girl and the discursive practice within which her text is produced.     

Metaphor and ‘career’

This article provides a series of readings of a young man’s career—a career that was shared in the context of a research project. Although similar, each reading is qualitatively different in the sense that new material is introduced on each occasion. This, in turn, highlights the limitations of the word as a form of representation. The article argues that in order to encapsulate the irreducible hermeneutic characteristic of a ‘career,’ a non-linear form of representation is required. The article moves on to show how metaphor can be utilized to represent ‘career’ in both words and images. This includes a detailed examination of the notion of metaphorisation—a constructionist term that denotes the relationship between metaphor and consciousness. The article concludes with a discussion of the methodological possibilities offered by metaphor for conducting research.     

Les marques de cohésion : leur rôle fonctionnel dans l'acquisition de la production écrite de texte

Written text composition is a complex activity improving slowly through acquisition. One of the main difficulty for the novice writer is to translate in the linear textual structure a multidimensional representation (Fayol, 1991). The general issue of this paper concerns the essential role of cohesion devices in the acquisition of this linearization process in writing. Anaphoræ, connectives and punctuation marks are first mentionned, stressing on their common functions in text. Then, stress is put on their acquisition, both as structured systems and as functional tools progressively organizing the written text and ensuring close inter-systems relations.     

Le rôle de l’implication et des systèmes de croyances au sein des représentations sociales

The study presented in this article concerns the functioning of representational mechanisms in social thought. More specifically, its objective is to identify the role of variables covering psychosocial involvement and systems of belief within social representations. At the interface between the individual and the group, these variables are considered here because of their status as explanatory variables of social thought. By analyzing the representation of human rights, we hypothesize that the level of involvement and the type of beliefs developed toward the state (concepts of a democratic state versus a safe state) impact on the expression of this representation and the standpoints it creates. The survey was conducted by questionnaire with a student population (315 participants). The main results, which are consistent with our hypotheses, provide evidence of an influence of the variables tested on the expressiveness of the representation of human rights. On the one hand, they reveal how an involvement developed in this subject and the social beliefs attached to the role of the state come to particularize the meaning of this representation, especially concerning its principles of equality. On the other hand, the results demonstrate the activity of ideological processes – political in content – which intervene in the realization of the representation. Through these processes, the results show a stronger influence of social beliefs than of psychosocial involvement on the representation studied.     

Relationship between orthographic‐motor integration and computer use for the production of creative and well‐structured written text

Background: Orthographic‐motor integration refers to the way in which orthographic knowledge is integrated with fine‐motor demands of handwriting. A strong relationship has shown to exist between orthographic‐motor integration and students' ability to produce creative and well‐structured written text (De La Paz & Graham, 1995). This relationship is thought to be due to the cognitive load resulting from lack of automaticity in orthographic‐motor integration so that writers do not have sufficient resources to accomplish the more demanding aspects of writing. Interventions to improve children's orthographic‐motor integration result in improved written text (Jones & Christensen, 1999). Aim: This study first extended findings related to handwritten text to the relationship between typing and the length and quality of computer‐based written text. Second, it examined the efficacy of an intervention to develop proficiency in typing skills on the length and quality of students' written language. Sample: Participants in the first study were 276 Grade 8 and 9 students. In the second study 35 students in Grades 8 and 9 who exhibited very low levels of proficiency in typing were the participants. Methods: In Study 1, orthographic‐motor integration related to typing as well as handwriting was assessed for all students. They were asked to complete a piece of handwritten and computer‐based text. Students in the intervention study completed the same measures as Study 1, at pre‐ and post‐test. During the intervention half the students completed a daily typed journal and half completed a program designed to facilitate their typing skills. Results: There was a significant relationship between orthographic‐motor integration — handwriting and the length and quality of handwritten text, and a stronger relationship between orthographic‐motor integration — typing and length and quality of computer‐based text. Both intervention groups in the second study showed significant differences in writing skills from pre‐ to post‐test. However, the typing skills group showed significantly better scores on typing and quality of typewritten text than the journal group at post‐test. The impact of the intervention was specific to typewritten text. There was no difference in length or quality of handwritten text. Conclusion: It is suggested that developing proficiency in orthographic‐motor integration related to typing allows writers to employ their cognitive resources more flexibly when working on a computer, so that they can devote attention to higher‐order processes involved in ideation, syntactic and semantic monitoring and pragmatic awareness.     

Penser autrement les difficultés scolaires : les apports du Rorschach en système intégré

This study examines school under-achievement from the perspective of clinical psychology. We compare 2 groups of children in the 3^rd grade (mean age 9) based on their results on a national test of French language and Mathematics. We present the Rorschach results of 7 high performers compared to 7 low performers, all of whom have IQ scores (K. ABC) that are in the average range (90 - 109). The Rorschach data (Comprehensive System) demonstrate no differences between these groups of children concerning affective functioning and stress tolerance. However, the quantitative and qualitative results are notably different concerning attitudes relative to complex situations, in the area of critical self-perception and conflict-resolution strategies.     

L'élaboration du contenu du texte : de la mémoire à long terme à l'environnement de la tâche

This paper aims at analysing different theories about text content elaboration. In the literature, the conceptual processing is considered through its relationships with long-term memory and the retrieving process during planning. It has been shown that knowledge availability and organisation influenced the writing progress. The task environment, which contains both the text that is currently written and documentary sources, equally plays an important role during text content elaboration. In this framework, the question concerning the double influence of knowledge from long-term memory and information from environment on the dynamics of writing processing is raised. The working memory, the activation theories and the analysis of the writer's eye movements are studied to answer this crucial question.     

La version française du dictionnaire pour le LIWC : modalités de construction et exemples d’utilisation

LIWC is, originally, a text analysis program that counts words of English texts in psychologically meaningful categories. It provides an analysis (in percentage) for 80 dimensions of language (functional words, topics, punctuation). The goal of this methodological note is to present the French LIWC. This version respects the structure of the categories of the English version of the software and gives explanations about the user guide such the preparation of the to be analyzed texts. Then, we explain the decisions for translating the English dictionary into French. We emphasize the constraints imposed by the morphology of written French language and the difficulties encountered (elision of the article, elision of negation and of verbs’ tense). Presenting the translation problems allows understanding the modalities of construction of the dictionary and allows for a LIWC user to build a personalized dictionary in order to analyze contents more suited to the research needs. A qualitative comparison of dimensions obtained with both the French and English versions for 66 bilingual texts of various types and contents provides satisfactory results. A statistical comparison of 119 expressive writings produced by students from three university courses (Humanities, Sciences and Psychology) about a given event (success or failure to an exam) shows the validity of the French version for identifying the expressed contents. Thus, this tool should be efficient for undertaking research in different fields of psychology (health, work and education) concerning oral and written language produced in different contexts.     

Pragmatique et langage non littéral : la compréhension des demandes sarcastiques par les enfants

This study was aimed at examining the role of context and intonation in sarcastic-request understanding by French-speaking children 3- to 7-year-olds. An individual completion of stories task is given to the children. Stories vary according to two factors: intonation (sarcastic or neutral) and context (sarcastic or neutral). The results showed that the children were able to understand sarcastic requests before the age of 6 or 7. Intonation seems to be an earlier cue than context in sarcastic-request understanding. At the ages of 3 and 5, children appear to primarily base their interpretation on intonation; it is not until they are 7 that they are also able to take context into account.     

“Logic of artistic development: the case of Mondrian” [New Ideas in Psychology 21 (2003) 221-246]

In this article I show how we can give a formal representation and analysis of evolutions in artistic style, using the work of the painter Mondrian as an example. Capitalising on the idea that radical change in thought implies related changes in judgement criteria, we can in a ‘‘logic of development’’ specify the relations within, and between, those different sets of artistic judgement criteria that are considered typical of successive stages in artistic development. I discuss some of the problems involved in dealing with post-conventional thinking and judgement. Then I propose five major steps in Mondrian's artistic quest, showing how it is different—and how different it is—from other kinds of (e.g. moral or aesthetic) judgement development. Whereas many kinds of conceptual development lead to (various types of) criterion expansion, this form of entirely postconventional development goes in the opposite direction of a most stringent criterion reduction.     

Adolescent(e)s à haut potentiel intellectuel : des configurations familiales plurielles

This research captures the diversity of family patterns among gifted adolescents (IQ ≥ 130). Data on the perceived parental's support and investment in schooling, family relationships and sociobiographic characteristics were collected by questionnaire from 255 French junior high school gifted students (48 girls, 207 boys), aged 9 to 15 (M = 12.5; SD = 1.51). A hierarchical cluster analysis highlights the existence of four types differentiated, thereby going against a standardized and stereotypical representation of this population.     

Les nouvelles technologies au service des personnes âgées : entre promesses et interrogations - Une revue de questions

Based on a literature review, this article proposes to discuss the psychosocial stakes dependent for the use of new technologies for the elderly. This reveals that if these devices have undeniable assets which can contribute to improve comfort and with the quality of life of the elders, he does not remain about it less than the fast development of these technologies also cause a series of interrogations relating to the maintenance of the psychic and social integrity of these users. These systems can thus cause a new form of dependence (with the technical assistance) and accentuate - paradoxically - the stigmatization of people by the construction of a new profile: “the technically assisted elders”.     

Étude des préférences affectives dans la relation fraternelle au travers du dessin de famille imaginaire

This article reveals the role of older (real or imaginary) brothers and sisters, and more broadly the part of affective process in socialization of 4-5 years old girls born of mixed sibling, single-sex sibling or single girl. We used the imaginary family drawing followed by an interview on the sibling relationship. The qualitative and quantitative analysis' results reveal that identifications are always overloaded to the affects but are directed according to the sex of the chosen model. Moreover, most of the girls increase their own sex-group and assert in this manner their sexual identity. The brother's experiment depends on the populations and allows the child in a mix-sibling configuration to be more flexible according to sexual stereotypes.     

L’acquisition des phrases interrogatives chez les enfants francophones

In this article we present evidence in favour of the hypothesis that Computational Complexity (CC) constrains the development of question formation in French. We predict that children acquire wh in situ questions before wh fronted questions, root questions before long distance questions and questions without subject-verb inversion before questions with inversion. The results of an elicited production experimental task (in which participated 36 French-speaking children and 24 French-speaking adults) allow us to conclude that these predictions are confirmed. The production of questions with « partial movement » of the wh word, an unexpected result, can also be explained by the CC hypothesis.     

Adaptation française d’une version courte de l’Inventaire des rôles sexués de Bem pour enfants (Child Sex Role Inventory)

The main objective of this work is to propose a French adaptation of the Child Sex Role Inventory (CSRI; Boldizar, 1991) in a short form. This one will be called “Inventaire des rôles sexués de Bem-enfants” (IRSB-E). The validation of the new inventory followed the main recommendations of Vallerand (1989): (1) conception of a preliminary version; (2) evaluation of items’ clarity and concomitant validity of the questionnaire; (3) evaluation of its construct validity by the analysis of its factorial structure (Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses); (4) evaluation of internal consistency and fidelity test-retest of the instrument and (5) study of the correlates. On the whole, five studies implying 654 subjects were carried out. In its final version, the questionnaire comprises two sub scales called masculinity and femininity made up of nine and eight items respectively, gathering on three dimensions for the masculinity scale (i.e., self-affirmation, competition, leadership) and two dimensions for the femininity scale (i.e., sensitivity to others, tenderness). The construct validity of the questionnaire was attested by (a) exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and (b) correlates in conformity with the theory. This tool made it possible to reproduce data evoked in the literature, in particular positive correlations between masculinity and masculine-stereotyped activities (e.g., mathematics, sport practice) on the one hand, and self-esteem on the other hand; femininity being rather negatively correlated with self-esteem and sport practice but positively related to perceived competence in French.