Numerical predictors of arithmetic success in grades 1–6

Math relies on mastery and integration of a wide range of simpler numerical processes and concepts. Recent work has identified several numerical competencies that predict variation in math ability. We examined the unique relations between eight basic numerical skills and early arithmetic ability in a large sample (N = 1391) of children across grades 1–6. In grades 1–2, children's ability to judge the relative magnitude of numerical symbols was most predictive of early arithmetic skills. The unique contribution of children's ability to assess ordinality in numerical symbols steadily increased across grades, overtaking all other predictors by grade 6. We found no evidence that children's ability to judge the relative magnitude of approximate, nonsymbolic numbers was uniquely predictive of arithmetic ability at any grade. Overall, symbolic number processing was more predictive of arithmetic ability than nonsymbolic number processing, though the relative importance of symbolic number ability appears to shift from cardinal to ordinal processing.     

Suicide Prevention in Adolescents (Age 12–18)

The epidemiology of adolescent suicide is summarized with particular emphasis on temporal trends by age and gender. “First-generation” prevention programs, as reviewed and critiqued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are then examined. In the absence of compelling empirically based behavioral outcome data, selective targeted “second-generation” prevention efforts are then described across the primary-secondary-tertiary continuum. These efforts are focused toward targets of individual predisposition, the social milieu, or proximal agents associated with high risk for suicidal behaviors. Finally, with an eye toward the future, current obstacles and unanswered questions are explored as they relate to opportunities and hopes for change in effecting reduced rates of these behaviors.     

Facial identity and facial expression matching in 5–12‐year‐old children and adults

Facial identity and facial expression matching tasks were completed by 5–12‐year‐old children and adults using stimuli extracted from the same set of normalized faces. Configural and feature processing were examined using speed and accuracy of responding and facial feature selection, respectively. Facial identity matching was slower than face expression matching for all age groups. Large age effects were found on both speed and accuracy of responding and feature use in both identity and expression matching tasks. Eye region preference was found on the facial identity task and mouth region preference on the facial expression task. Use of mouth region information for facial expression matching increased with age, whereas use of eye region information for facial identity matching peaked early. The feature use information suggests that the specific use of primary facial features to arrive at identity and emotion matching judgments matures across middle childhood. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Metaphor interpretation and reading ability in adults

Sixteen metaphors in the form of propositions linking two nouns and an adjective were presented to a group of normal readers (N=22) and to a group of poor readers (N=20). It was hypothesized that the normal readers would demonstrate a superior level of interpretation and a more advanced level of language use in explaining the metaphors. No differences were found for level of interpretation but normal readers used more abstract/psychological referents and poor readers more concrete/sensory referents in their explanations. The implications are discussed in terms of language development and the acquisition of reading skills.     

Depression and reading ability in sixth-grade children

In the last decade, researchers and clinicians have come to agree that preadolescent children can suffer from depressive disorders. In turn, depression seems to be relate to learning problems. In this study, 139 black urban sixth-grade children were tested with the Child Depression Inventory. The results indicated that level of depression was significantly (p<.01) related to current reading level, grade point average, and reading achievement. Two theories are discussed that relate depression and learning, the first concerning the teaching of problem-solving skills and the second the concept of cognitive capacity.     

Syntactic competence and reading ability in children

The effect of syntactic context on auditory word identification and on the ability to detect and correct syntactic errors in speech was examined in severely reading disabled children and in good and poor readers selected from the normal distribution of fourth graders. The poor readers were handicapped when correct reading required analysis of the sentence context. However, their phonological decoding ability was intact. Identification of words was less affected by syntactic context in the severely disabled readers than in either the good or poor readers. Moreover, the disabled readers were inferior to good readers in judging the syntactical integrity of spoken sentences and in their ability to correct the syntactically aberrant sentences. Poor readers were similar to good readers in the identification and judgment tasks, but inferior in the correction task. The results suggest that the severely disabled readers were inferior to both good and poor readers in syntactic awareness, and in ability to use syntactic rules, while poor readers were equal to good readers in syntactic awareness but were relatively impaired in using syntactic knowledge productively.     

Searching for South Asian Intelligence: Psychometry in British India, 1919–1940

This paper describes the introduction and development of intelligence testing in British India. Between 1919 and 1940 experimenters such as C. Herbert Rice, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, and Venkatrao Vithal Kamat imported a number of intelligence tests, adapting them to suit a variety of South Asian languages and contexts. Charting South Asian psychometry's gradual move from American missionary efforts toward the state, this paper argues that political reforms in the 1920s and 1930s affected how psychometry was “indigenized” in South Asia. Describing how approaches to race and caste shifted across instruments and over time, this paper charts the gradual recession, within South Asian psychometry, of a “race” theory of caste. Describing some of the ways in which this “late colonial” period affected the postcolonial landscape, the paper concludes by suggesting potential lines for further inquiry into the later career of intelligence testing in India and Pakistan.     

Unstable ocular dominance and reading ability

An ocular anomaly, unstable ocular dominance, has been shown to be associated with poor reading performance in clinically selected subjects. A study is reported in which this anomaly was examined in a nonclinical sample. Two groups of children of similar reading performance and IQ but differing in chronological age were selected. The older children had a mean discrepancy between their reading and chronological age of 19 months. Unstable ocular dominance was more frequent in these poor readers. The hypothesis that this instability would lead to more errors and longer decision times for distinguishing left-right mirror-image figures was not supported. If unstable ocular dominance is to be established as anything other than a correlate of specific reading retardation, it is necessary to establish the processes through which it is operative. These have yet to be determined.