ACTIVITÉ MÉTACOGNITIVE DE L'ENFANT ET DIFFICULTÉ DE LA TÂCHE COGNITIVE

The influence of the type of difficulty of a cognitive task on metacognitive activity (metacognitive experiences and metacognitive strategies) was studied in six- and eight-year-old children. Children had to make decisions about the correspondence of statements and drawings presented in pairs one after the other, starting either with a statement, or with a picture. They encounter two kinds of difficulties: (1) one due to the information conveyed by drawing (non-correspondence with the statement); (2) another due to the order in which the statements and drawings are presented: when the drawing comes first the child must retain it in his memory until a statement can guide him in his decoding of it; this difficulty is unexpected given the expectations the child has due to the cognitive task proposed. The principal findings were as follows: (1) Compared to the six-year-olds, the eight-year-olds demonstrated three times more metacognitive control strategies for expressing information, more cognitive skills (reasoning), and a higher level of performance (understanding and recall). (2) The two types of difficulties do not have the same effects: (a) the difficulty due to the information conveyed by the drawing leads to an increase in the latency time; the performance (understanding) is not as good; (b) in the case of difficulty due to the statement-drawing order, twice as many verbalizations expressing metacognitive experiences and a decrease in the latency time were observed. The interpretation of the findings underscores the importance for the child of the indicators he has to orient him in mobilizing metacognitive and cognitive activities.     

PERCEPTION D'EXPRESSIONS FACIALES ÉMOTIONNELLES ET LÉSION CÉRÉBRALE: INFLUENCE DE LA NETTETÉ DU STIMULUS

Fourty right-handed brain-damaged subjects (20 left- and 20 right-injured; 8 patients with a visual field defect in each group) were submitted to a matching task of facial expressions under various conditions of photographic clearness. Results indicate that right-damaged subjects, particularly with a visual field defect, produce the lowest performances, although this defect appears only if the stimuli are not too foggy. Our data on neurological subjects agree thus with the literature on normal subjects indicating that the right brain (of normal subjects) is more involved in visual processing of emotional aspects of a face than the left brain. These facts suggest also that this asymmetry appears only under the everyday life conditions of visual clearness.     

COMPARAISON INTERLINGUISTIQUE DE MATÉRIEL VERBAL PROPRE A L'APPRENTISSAGE DE CONCEPT1

Inter-language comparison of verbal material for the study of concept formation. — A list of 215 French words, which were translation equivalents of the words in Underwood and Richardson's (1956) published list, were presented to 119 French students from which single, restricted to sense impression associates were obtained. A systematic inter-language comparison is established and differences between French and English speaking subjects discussed. The piocedure adopted by Mednick and Halpern (1962) to study the ease of concept attainment as a function of Associative Rank has been applied to French subjects. A replication using a direct translation of the English nouns shows no difference between concepts at Associative Rank 1 and 2. It appears indeed from norms of the French group that the concepts selected are balanced not only with respect to Dominance Level but also with respect to Mean Associative Rank. But further experiment, with a material established according to the norms of the French list of associates, shows a very significant difference in the mean number of trials taken to solve each concept. It thus strengthened the assumption of homogeneity of associative response hierarchies in a given language community.     

LA MÈRE ET SON BÉBÉ: VARIATIONS CULTURELLES ANALYSE CRITIQUE DE LA LITTÉRATURE*

Infant-caretaking as a complex activity is a part of the culture. Each country, each ethnic group has his own norms, theories and practices. Three facets of the mother-infant relationship (from the point of view of the mother) can be identified: they are practices (nursing and home stimulations), representations and folk theories, and styles of interaction. They all vary in function of environmental, social and cultural factors, the strength of each is discussed here. Also, the first part of this paper informs the reader on methodological problems in this kind of studies. And, in the last one, mother-infant relationship in the migration context is studied.     

Smoking among Norwegian schoolchildren 1975–1980: I. Extent of smoking in the age group 12–15 years, 1975

213600 pupils from grades 6–9 (age 12–15) in the primary school in Norway filled in a questionnaire about smoking habits (1975). The headmaster of each individual of the 2824 schools participating in the study filled in reports giving the local frequencies of daily smokers, occasional smokers and nonsmokers for each grade and for boys and girls separately. The school-reports also contained questions about demographical properties of the school. A sample of 6968 questionnaires from the pupils (those who were born on the sixth irrespective of month) were also submitted for statistical analysis. Compared with previous studies, the percentage of smokers among girls proved to have increased considerably. The tendency found in many western industrialized countries, that smoking is increasing among girls more than among boys, or that boys are reducing smoking to a greater extent than are girls, was confirmed also for Norway. In all 19 counties there was a higher percentage of daily smokers among girls than among boys. Higher percentages of occasional smokers or pupils who had tried smoking were found in small schools and scattered settlements. Norway may be divided into geographical areas according to the differences in the smoking habits of girls and boys. In the counties in the south and to the west, girls have not surpassed boys to the same extent as in the rest of the country. From previous political-cultural research it is known that the south and west is characterized by temperance and prohibition movements, higher frequencies of religious attendance, as well as a distintiveness in voting behaviour.     

Pupils' evaluation and generation of evidence and explanation in argumentation

Background. Studies on argument have found that participants tend to prefer explanations to evidence. This apparent bias toward explanation has been qualified recently by research that has found it to diminish with the availability of evidence. Aim. This study examines the use of explanation versus evidence in the context of argumentation with reference to the goals of particular argument situations. Sample. Seventy‐nine eighth‐grade pupils at a regular, urban middle school. Method. The pupils read argumentation scenarios, each having the stated goal of either explaining or proving a claim. The pupils rated the degree to which each of two provided assertions (one a theoretical explanation, and the other evidence‐based) helped achieve the goal of the argument. On a second task, the pupils chose which of the two assertions should be more effective in achieving the argument goal. On the third task, the pupils generated either an explanation or evidence for each of the argumentation scenarios. Results. Pupils demonstrated sensitivity to the relative epistemic strength of explanation and evidence. They rated explanations as more advantageous in achieving the explanation goal, and evidence as more advantageous in achieving the proof goal. Conversely, however, when asked to generate or recall an explanation or evidence, pupils produced more explanations than evidence independent of the argumentation goal. Conclusions. The study refines the definition of argumentation context to include specific goals. Pupils were sensitive to the context of the argumentation situation (e.g. goals, availability of evidence). However, they appeared to have a disposition toward explanation when asked to produce an explanation or evidence‐based justification.     

L'accession à l'opérativité formelle chez les enfants intellectuellement précoces

This study is an attempt to contribute data concerning the cognitive functioning and development of intellectually gifted children, at the threshold of formal operational stage. It ascribes to the theory of the operational development of intelligence according to Piaget. “Gifted”, children and “average” children of an equivalent mental age (12 years and 6 months) were compared. A second group of gifted children of the same chronological age as the average children completed this study. Longeot's “Échelle de Développement de la Pensée Logique” was used for all the subjects. The results reveal dissynchronical aspects within the genesis of gifted children. They are discussed taking into account the task characteristics (type of reasoning they require) and functional specificities of compared subjects.     

LES CONDUITES SOCIALES CHEZ DES ENFANTS ‘AUDACIEUX’ DE 9–10 MOIS*

Among 38 infants of 9–10 months who were exposed to a strange person on the one hand, and to a novel inanimate object on the other hand, 17 left their mother and came near the stimulus in both situations. This study focuses on these 17 ‘bold’ infants, whose behaviors (place-shifts, looks, smiles, vocalizations, manipulations, contacts with mother) were compared from one situation to another (person/object), and also, within each situation, on their being emitted either near the stimulus or away from it (proximity/distance). Such comparisons showed that although these infants acted in almost the same way when they were close to the person or to the object, many aspects of their behavior nevertheless differed clearly from one situation to the other. With the object, the approach was immediate and the contact was a proximal one. With the person, on the other hand, the approach was delayed, and keeping a certain distance seemed essential to the establishment of the relation: it was mainly from afar that the infants communicated with the stranger, through behaviors that were well adapted to social interactions (looks and smiles). These results were interpreted as indicating that children of this age can truly understand the distinctive nature of social and nonsocial situations, and use the appropriate familiarization strategy required by these two types of situations.     

L'APPRENTISSAGE DE LA NOTION D'INCLUSION DE CLASSES CHEZ DE JEUNES ENFANTS BAOULÉS (CÔTE D'IVOIRE)*

This training study of the concept of class inclusion follows a previous paper on the training of the conservation of liquids (Dasen et al. 1979). Twenty-eight African (Baoulé) children, aged 7 to 9 years, were attributed to two groups, matched on age, schooling and performance on a pretest comprising 5 concrete operational tasks. Fourteen subjects who performed at stages 1 or 2 on class inclusion were trained according to a method adapted from Inhelder et al. (1974). The training effect was measured during two post-tests at the interval of one month. The results show a stable training effect in half of the subjects; there is a statistically significant generalization to other concepts of the same stage. This finding, which is similar to what has been reported for European children, supports the hypothesis of connections between operational concepts based on the common structure of the ‘grouping’. A ‘time lag’ of about 2 years in the development of class inclusion appears when comparing Baoulé and European children. The absence of very rapid learning (‘actualization’) shows that this lag probably occurs at the competence and not only at the performance level. The training effect is sufficient to reduce and even bridge this lag.     

SITUATIONS SOCIALES À POTENTIEL CONFLICTUEL ET CARACTÉRISTIQUES SOCIO-COGNITIVES D'ENFANTS AGRESSIFS ET REJETÉS*

Twenty aggressive and rejected children (boys and girls), twenty socially competent and popular children, and twenty children having average social skills - all of which were first and second graders attending regular school - participated in this study. All were presented on videotape with nine typical peer-conflict situations. Each child was asked about the way that he/she felt, and the way that he/she would resolve each problem situation. In addition, each child had to specify what he/she thought to be the offender's intentions in each problem situation. Several points differentiated first grade from second grade subjects. However, aggressive, socially skilled and average subjects distinguished themselves on only a few items. Differences relating to subject's sex were also scarce. Data support the view that aggressive children know as well as other children how to appropriately resolve interpersonal conflict situations. However, they do not use this knowledge because of impulsivity control problems, an inability to correctly identify others' intentions or a lack of motivation.     

The form of the information and selective counting by ESN(M) pupils

The study springs from views on attentional deficits in retarded performers. Three experiments are reported in which educationally sub-normal (mild) category pupils and average ability pupils matched with them for mental age perform a speeded classification of cards on the basis of an enumeration of a group of items on each card. This group may be the total of the items on the card or a selected part of that total. Interest focuses upon the relationship between performance in the selective situation and the form or structure of the item group. It is argued initially that attentional patterns may be expected to vary in relation to the specific structure of the information available and the way the performer appreciates that structure. The results support this notion. ESN(M) subjects perform in a similar fashion to the matched group, even given selective instructions, when what must be counted is the whole of a vertical linear series of items. However, when what must be counted is in the form of a part of a vertical linear item series, the performance of the ESN(M) group is significantly slower than that of the matched group. In addition the matched group appear more sensitive to discontinuity within the vertical item series while the ESN(M) group may have a less differentiated approach to such information founded mainly on the appreciation of verticality. It is suggested that aspects of information available to performers must be studied in relation to the kind of whole the particular performer takes the information to be. Although retardates do not carry appropriate structural expectations from situation to situation, suitable organisation of information can be appreciated, leading to more successful performance.     

算术应用题二重变异样例学习的迁移效果

设计并运用了三种表面特征变异的二重样例和三种结构特征变异的二重样例,对二年级小学生解决算术应用题的迁移效果进行了实验研究。结果表明：一个原样例的学习就能明显促进了二年级小学生解决与原样例表面特征不同而结构特征相同的近迁移问题;学习三种表面特征变异的二重样例后没有产生明显的远迁移效果;而学习了三种结构特征变异的二重样例后产生了不同程度的远迁移效果,其中,规则平行组合二重样例学习的远迁移效果最好,其次是规则变异二重样例学习的远迁移效果,规则镶嵌组合变异二重样例学习的远迁移效果最差     

Effects of Involving Conduct Problem Adolescents in the Setting of Counseling Goals

Effects of involving conduct problem adolescents in the setting of individual counseling goals were examined. Four levels of goal setting involvement were copmared with high school pupils referred for behavioral counseling in an urban public high school. The four levels were: Level 1-a pupil was directly invovled with a counselor in the goal setting process. Level 2-a pupil was informed that goals were being set by a counselor but pupil did not participate in the process. Level 3-goals were set by a counselor and pupil was neither informed nor involved. Level 4-no explicit counseling goal was set. Three school counselors employed a different level of goal setting for individual behavioral counseling with a different set of pupils during each quarter of the school year. Direct involvement of pupils in goal setting (Level 1) and knowledge that goals were being set for them (Level 2) led to greater amounts of goal attainment than was the case when pupils were not informed of goals (level 3) or when no explicit goal was set (Level 4). Direct involvement in goal setting was associated with highest degrees of pupil satisfaction with counseling. Results are discussed within the context of an increased concern among public school educators for development of effective means to assist the high school pupil with conduct problems. Directions for additional investigations are briefly noted.     

The effect of month of birth on the attainments of primary and secondary school pupils

Background Previous research has produced conflicting results regarding the effects of season of birth and age‐position on cognitive attainments. In Northern Ireland the school year divides the summer season into two providing an opportunity to evaluate the relative contribution of season of birth and age‐position effects. Aims To investigate the relationship between attainment in literacy skills and month of birth for primary and secondary school pupils and to determine the relationship between motor skills and month of birth in primary school pupils. Sample One thousand one hundred and twenty four primary school pupils participated, and results for key stage 3 (KS3) English and GCSE English Language, for 3,493 Year 10 and 3,697 Year 12 secondary school pupils, respectively, were obtained. Method Primary school pupils were individually assessed using standardised reading and spelling tests, as well as tests of motor skill. They were also assessed using a standardised group reading test in their class groups. For the secondary school pupils, the results for two year cohorts, in KS3 English and GCSE English language, respectively, were analysed. Results For the primary school pupils there was evidence of both a season of birth and an age‐position effect on all of the cognitive measures, particularly in the early years of schooling. There was, also, evidence of a significant age‐position effect at both KS3 and GCSE in favour of the older pupils. For the younger primary school pupils there was evidence of significant age‐position effects on both motor measures. Conclusions The findings from the present study suggest that month of birth may be related to both season of birth and age‐position effects. These effects may be compounded, particularly in the early years of primary school, when summer born children are youngest in their year, as in England. In Northern Ireland, age‐position effects are also evident in secondary school public examination results, which may have implications for long‐term life choices.     

Smoking among Norwegian schoolchildren 1975–1980

A comprehensive research project on smoking among Norwegian schoolchildren was started in 1975. Results from two nation-wide questionnaire surveys and from two field experiments were presented. The first field experiment (1978) demonstrated that different approaches to smoking and health education had different effects on the pupils' reported tobacco consumption. In three of four experimental groups, the reported short-term reduction of cigarettes smoked was statistically significant. If the pupils were actively involved, and when their parents were involved, the reported reduction of cigarettes smoked was 21 % compared to only 6% in a group with passive pupils and no involvement of the parents. In a second field experiment (1979-80), a long-term reduction was shown. During the first six months there was a marked decrease in the prevalence of smokers. Compared with a control group, the effect still remained after one year. In the period 1975–1980, a new trend in smoking among young people in Norway was recorded. Irrespective of grade and sex, the proportion of young people smoking daily decreased. The decrease was somewhat stronger for girls than for boys.     

High school students’ suggestions for supporting younger pupils counteract cyberbullying

This study's aim was to explore high school students’ suggestions for supporting younger pupils prevent and deal with cyberbullying. Seventy-eight high school students participated in 11 focus groups, and had many concrete suggestions for ways they could support younger pupils against cyberbullying. The suggestions covered a range of activities, for instance advising younger pupils on how to avoid becoming victims of cyberbullying by teaching them netiquette. Furthermore, the students were positive toward involving adults in counteracting cyberbullying among younger pupils, for example educating younger pupils’ parents about cyberbullying. Moreover, the students suggested that they could show support for victims of cyberbullying by taking on the role of a friend when a younger pupil is cyberbullied and spend time with her/him during breaks. They also had ideas about supporting younger pupils in getting cyberbullies to stop, for instance by teaching the younger pupils technical skills for dealing with the cyberbullying on the Internet. To conclude, the findings in this study indicate that high school students want to be involved in supporting younger pupils against cyberbullying, and have many concrete suggestions for how this can be done. These findings have implications for counteracting cyberbullying in schools.     

‘An elephant cannot fail to carry its own ivory’: Transgenerational ambivalence,infrastructure and sibling support practices in urban Uganda

This article examines how urban Ugandans navigate family support systems through a focus on the under-researched area of sibling care practices. We conceptualise such systems as transgenerational infrastructure to capture the complex flows, negotiations and dilemmas of both inter- and intra-generational relationships, orderings and power, situating family support practices within their spatial, structural and social contexts. Drawing on grounded narratives of lived experience collected in Jinja, Uganda, the article offers an alternative interpretation to what is commonly portrayed as a weakening of family support systems in sub-Saharan Africa. We develop a transgenerational ambivalence perspective which allows for a deeper understanding of the heterogeneity and fluidity of family support as an ethical practice replete with complex emotions and dilemmas shaped in the junctures between social norms, agency, resources and material conditions. Through focusing on working-age Ugandans, we demonstrate the potential for a transgenerational ambivalence approach to make visible contradictions at structural and subjective levels and focus greater attention on the importance of sibling relationships and birth order than is evident in the existing intergenerational literature. This can help researchers in the task of linking family dynamics to the growing precarity and uncertainties of life in the marginal socio-economic contexts of urban sub-Saharan Africa.     

TRADUCTION ET VALIDATION CANADIENNE-FRANÇAISE DE L'ÉCHELLE DE L'ESTIME DE SOI DE ROSENBERG*

Since the early days of psychology, the self-concept and more specifically global self-esteem has been addressed by numerous researchers in the field. Among the widely used instruments for measuring global self-esteem, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem scale (RSE) has displayed high levels of validity and reliability (Harter 1983; Wylie 1974). Through a brief (10 items) and direct approach, the RSE can be answered quickly by different age and social groups. Considering the good psychometric properties of the RSE mentioned above, and the importance of self-esteem for research in psychology, the purpose of the present four studies was to translate and validate in French the RSE Internal consistency (study 1) and confirmatory factor analyses through LISREL VI (study 2) were conducted with a French-Canadian junior college student population in order to verify the internal consistency and the unidimensional factorial structure of the scale. In addition, the construct validity (study 3) and temporal stability (study 4) of the scale were assessed. Although the present findings are preliminary in nature, they nevertheless support the reliability and validity of the Rosenberg's Self-Esteem scale in French.     

A Comparison of Individual and Group Contingencies on Spelling Performance with Special Education Students

The effects of individual and group contingencies on the spelling accuracy of 10 special education students were assessed in a counterbalanced multiple-baseline design. Experimental manipulations were introduced at random. During the Baseline condition no consequence for accuracy in spelling was provided. With the Group Contingency, pupils earned points based on accuracy and exchanged them for activity back-up reinforcers based on the average performance of the group. During the Individual Contingency arrangement, the same point totals were awarded by "yoking" pupils to the group behavioral criteria. The results revealed superior accuracy during the group contingency by all 10 pupils. Differences in student preferences with respect to the two contingency arrangements were not found. Negative peer comments were low over the duration of the experiment. The findings were discussed in terms of east of implementation in a special classroom setting and research data from other studies were provided.     

Help seeking amongst child and adolescent victims of peer‐aggression and bullying: The influence of school‐stage,gender, victimisation,appraisal, and emotion

Background: An important element of many anti‐bullying programmes is encouraging victims to tell someone about their predicament. Research has already reported prevalence of telling, who/when children tell and efficacy of telling. However, seeking help can be viewed as a coping behaviour, and coping processes such as appraisal and emotion may be important predictors of whether pupils ask for help. Aims: To examine the effects that background variables (gender, school‐stage), victimisation (duration, frequency), appraisal (threat, challenge, control) and negative emotion have upon support seeking by child and adolescent victims of peer‐aggression and bullying. To also examine how effective pupils perceive social support to be. Sample: Participants were 830 children (49% male) aged 9–14 years. Three hundred and seventeen pupils were in Primary 6, 307 in Secondary 2 and 206 in Secondary 3. Method: A self‐report bullying questionnaire was completed by the participants within their classes. Questionnaires included items relating to victimisation, appraisal, emotion, and coping strategy choice as well as demographic data. Results: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that gender, challenge appraisals, and emotions were significant predictors of the degree to which child and adolescent victims of peer‐aggression and bullying sought help (accounting for 15.8% of the variance): girls were more likely than boys to seek help, as were pupils with high challenge appraisals or those experiencing high levels of negative emotion. Also, girls were more likely than boys to view support as the best strategy for both stopping bullying and for helping them to feel better. Conclusion: Results suggest that pupils are more willing to seek help when they see the situation as one in which something can be achieved. Pupils also may be seeking support to get help coping with negative emotions, and this may need to be emphasized to teachers.