Covariation and temporal contiguity as principles of causal inference in young children

Four- to seven-year-old children observed a simple physical effect which could be attributed to either a consistent but noncontiguous covariate or a contiguous but inconsistent covariate. When there was a physical rationale for the temporal delay between covariate and effect, children attributed the effect to the consistent but noncontiguous covariate. In the absence of such a rationale, they attributed the effect to the contiguous but inconsistent covariate. It was concluded that neither consistent covariation nor strict temporal contiguity were essential aspects of causal inference for these children.     

Joint independent random utility models where one of the choice structures satisfies the strict utility model

It is known that one cannot construct an independent joint random utility model for which both the preference and aversion probabilities satisfy the strict utility model. Given this result, it is natural to ask what kind of relations are possible in such contexts. Here, for instance, we demonstrate that if a structure of preference and aversion probabilities are generated by a common independent random utility model, and if the preference probabilities satisfy the strict utility model, then the preference and aversion probabilities are related by what is known as the strong acceptance condition. We also prove an appropriate converse of this result. Finally, an example is given of a process (other than the random utility model) that is compatible with the assumption that a structure of preference and aversion probabilities satisfies a common strict utility model.     

Language processing in bilinguals

The present study investigated the language processing strategies of three subgroups of adult bilinguals with different histories of language acquisition: infant bilinguals whose bilinguality dated from infancy; childhood bilinguals who became bilingual around 5 years of age; and adolescent bilinguals who had become bilingual at secondary school age only. All were completely balanced bilinguals in French and English at the time of testing. The experimental procedure, a language recognition task, required the subjects to indicate, by pressing a response button, whether each of a series of words, presented monaurally through earphones, was French or English. Concomitantly, left and right hemisphere EEG activity was monitored, with measures taken of latency to N₁, latency to P₂, and N₁-P₂ peak-to-peak amplitudes. Results indicated shorter latencies to N₁ in the left than in the right hemisphere for the infant and childhood bilinguals but shorter latencies in the right hemisphere for the adolescent bilinguals. Overall, the N₁ latency was shorter for the adolescent subgroup than for the two other subgroups. There were no RT differences. The findings appear to reflect strategy differences: The adolescent group seemed to rely more on a right hemisphere-based, possibly more gestalt-like or melodic strategy, while the early bilinguals relied more on a left hemisphere-based, possibly semantic or analytic type of strategy. The results are discussed in terms of previous research on bilingual subtypes and general forms of language processing among bilinguals.     

Cognitive complexity and career maturity among college students

The role of cognitive complexity in the career maturity of college students was investigated. Simple and multiple correlational analyses were performed upon data from 99 college students who were administered the Attitude Scale and Competence Test of the Career Maturity Inventory, the Bieri Repertory Test, and the Bodden Cognitive Differentiation Grid. Results generally supported the prediction that career maturity would be found to be positively associated with cognitive complexity.     

Alternate antagonism with paradoxical translation behavior in two bilingual aphasic patients

Two patients presenting a pattern of recovery yet unreported in the literature were observed, one in Paris, the other in Montreal. Both patients alternately suffered severe word-finding difficulties in one language while remaining relatively fluent in the other. They retained good comprehension in both of their languages at all times. They were able to translate correctly and without hesitation from the language they could speak well at the time into the language unavailable for spontaneous use, but were unable to translate from their temporarily poor language (which they understood well) into the language which they could speak quite well at the time.     

Acquisition and use of spelling-sound correspondences in reading

The acquisition and use of knowledge concerning the spelling-sound correspondences of English were evaluated by having children read words and nonwords that contained regular and homographic spelling patterns. Regular spelling patterns are associated with a single pronunciation (e.g., -UST as in MUST); homographic patterns have multiple pronunciations (e.g., -OSE as in HOSE, DOSE, LOSE). Analyses of errors, latencies, and pronunciations provided evidence for two complementary developmental processes: good beginning readers rapidly learn to recognize high-frequency words from visual input alone, while at the same time they are expanding and consolidating their knowledge of spelling-sound correspondences. Younger and poor readers rely more on phonological information in word decoding, as evidenced by their particular difficulty reading homographic spelling patterns. Poor readers do not appear to use a radically different strategy for reading words: their perfomance is similar to that of younger, good readers.     

Do children use similar processes to read and spell words?

The use of spelling-sound information in both reading and spelling was evaluated by having children read and spell nonwords and five types of words that differed in terms of their regularity for reading and spelling. The subjects were grade 3 children who had been psychometrically defined as good readers and good spellers (“good”), good readers and poor spellers (“mixed”), or poor readers and poor spellers (“poor”). Results indicated that all children attempted to use spelling-sound correspondences in both reading and spelling, although children in both the mixed and the poor groups had weaker knowledge of these correspondences and were less systematic in their use of them. Furthermore, even though the children in the mixed group had been matched with children in the good group on reading comprehension, the number and type of errors made by the mixed subjects on both the reading and spelling tasks were more similar to those of the poor subjects than to those of the good subjects.     

Toward a reconceptualization of the reciprocal imitation phenomenon: Two experiments

This paper reports two experiments which consider the increased imitation exhibited by models who have been imitated. Experiment 1 was concerned with whether the reciprocal imitation effect is really reciprocal or if the subsequent imitation will generalize to someone else. It was found that adult subjects who were previously imitated at the 75% rate on a perceptual judgments task subsequently imitated their partner more, rated their partner more attractive, and felt more confidence when imitated than did subjects imitated at the 25% rate. These results were obtained regardless of which confederate the subjects imitated, thus indicating that reciprocal imitation is not necessarily reciprocal, but is generalizable. Experiment 2 assessed whether the subsequent imitation is the product of the effects of being imitated or is the result of the subject observing the imitator's imitation. The results indicated that after having observed imitation at a 75% rate, adult onlookers are more likely to subsequently imitate and be attracted to the imitator, the imitated person, and a person new to the situation than are onlookers who observed a 25% imitation rate. A theoretical modification is advanced which holds that subsequent imitation effects, whether from observing others imitate or from being the target of the imitation, result from a process of imitation of imitativeness. The results of these two experiments have implications for theory in imitation and social learning.     

Transfer of approach responding between punishment and frustrative nonreward sustained through continuous reinforcement

A block of continuously reinforced nonpunished trials was interpolated between acquisition of a runway response with either partial reinforcement or intermittent punishment and subsequent tests for resistance of that response to the suppressive effects of either extinction or continuous punishment. As previous investigations have shown, both the partial reinforcement effect (PRE) and the intermittent punishment effect (IPE) were sustained through the block of continuously reinforced nonpunished trials. Furthermore, the increased resistance to extinction following intermittent punishment and the increased resistance to punishment following partial reinforcement were also sustained through the interpolated continuous reinforcement. These results support a hypothesized similarity of punishment and frustrative nonreward and were interpreted in an extension of Amsel's conditioning model theory of the role of nonreinforcement in the PRE.     

Perceptual categorization in the cerebral hemispheres

The suggestion of a functional hemispheric dissociation in performing perceptual categorization was examined in two tachistoscopic experiments with normal adults. Subjects were required to match physically identical or similar, but nonidentical, pictures of animals. The first experiment showed no hemispheric difference and indicated that both hemispheres could resort to two different types of categorization process as a function of the simultaneous or delayed mode of presentation of the stimuli. In the second experiment, the viewing conditions were manipulated so as to afford a reduced amount of stimulus energy, and a significant left-visual-field advantage was then obtained. The results are discussed with respect to models of information processing in the cerebral hemispheres, and in relation to impairments in object recognition following brain damage.     

Beliefs,personality, and person perception: A theory of individual differences

The hypothesis tested was that we attend to aspects of our interpersonal environment that correspond to prominent features of our own personality. One hundred fifty-four men and women rated the way in which they typically communicate and interact with significant other people (e.g., mother, father, lover) on 11 bipolar adjective scales and the way in which those other people interact with them. An individual differences multidimensional scaling analysis of interstimulus distances among the significant other people based on the ratings of the subject's interaction with those other people indicated that subjects who weighted a particular dimension tended to think they possessed a personality trait corresponding to the dimension. Reasons for the individual difference hypothesis were given.     

The logical and empirical bases of conservation judgements

It is argued that conservation judgements are based on a particular combination of logical necessity and empirical belief. The empirical belief is that a given transformation will not alter a particular quantity (Elkind's conservation of identity). The logical aspect is a transitive deductive argument containing an initial equivalence of two quantities and the conservation of identity belief as premises which lead to the conclusion of maintained equivalence (Elkind's conservation of equivalence). In two experiments, it is shown that conservation of identity beliefs can be manipulated in subjects who have long since developed the capacity for transitive deductive inference. Untrained 10 year olds were unaware of how sublimation acts to alter certain quantities over particular transformations of shape. And untrained adults incorrectly believed that both the area and perimeter of a closed figure would be conserved over transformations which elongated the figure. Both groups of subjects could be trained in the correct conservation of identity beliefs and this affected their conservation of equivalence judgements in predicted ways. It is suggested that the locical aspect of conservation is developmentally stable and that the empirical aspect varies widely across problems and individuals because of its dependence on relevant experience.     

Audiences' reactions to self-enhancing,self-denigrating,and accurate self-presentations

Subjects in three experiments evaluated hypothetical actors whose claims about either an upcoming or past performance and whose performances were system-atically varied from very positive to very negative. Positive, self-enhancing claims were effective in generating favorable evaluations when either the claim was congruent with the performance or the subjects were unaware of how the actor performed. In general, accurate self-presentations were most favorably evaluated, especially when the claim occurred after the performance. The two exceptions to the preference for accurate self-presenters occurred when (a) the actor modestly underestimated a clearly superior prior performance by claiming to have done “only” well or all right, in which case he/she was evaluated more favorably than an accurate but seemingly boastful actor who claimed to have done extremely well, and (b) the actor self-deprecatingly predicted an inferior performance, in which case he/she was disliked even when accurate. Disclaimers about the importance of the performance (e.t., “I did well, but it's no big deal”) were seen as boastful rather than modest and decreased evaluations. The results mirror many of the tactics used by actor-subjects in past experiments, suggesting that people generally vary their self-presentations in optimal fashion to create the most favorable possible impression on the audience.     

Operant baseline procedures suppress infant social behavior

Two groups of six 3-month-old infants participated in a study which contained four consecutive 2-min periods. During Periods 2 and 4 both groups received adult social stimulation on the same prearranged schedule. The treatments during Periods 1 and 3 differed between the two groups; no adult was present for the A-S group, while the B-S group received the typical operant baseline (unresponsive adult treatment) for these two periods. Social stimulation caused a significant increase in vocal rate from the preceding control period for both groups. Infants in the A-S group vocalized at the same rate during the two periods in which the adult was absent and at similar rates during the two stimulation periods. For infants in the B-S group, baseline procedures suppressed vocal rates and did not provide a neutral or operant level of responding with which the effects of social conditioning could be compared.     

The effect of monetary incentives on backward digit span performance

In order to determine if monetary-incentive effects, particularly the detrimental effects of such incentives on human learning and performance, might be mediated by anxiety, 52 college students were administered six backward digit trials in a preexperimental, baseline phase and six trials in an experimental, test phase. Of the 52 subjects, 26 were paid 50 cents following each correct recitation of a backward digit series during the test phase. The remaining 26 were unpaid control subjects. Results showed that the rationale for the study was correct because state anxiety was indeed negatively related to backward digit span performance as previous research had shown, but the offer of reward did not elevate state anxiety scores and, more importantly, the offer of reward led to a significant improvement in backward digit span performance—an effect which is the opposite of what would be predicted by the anxiety hypothesis. The reward effects of theoretical interest in planning this research were those facilitating and detrimental effects that are produced by offering elementary, high school, or college students small amounts of money (typically from $1 to $3) as a superfluous inducement to participate in a study of human learning or performance. The results of this study discredit any explanation of such reward effects which attributes the effects to reward-induced anxiety.     

Sex-role self-concept and attitudes related to occupational daydreams and future fantasies of college women

This study explored the relationship of sex-role self-concept and general attitudes toward women's roles to patterns of career preferences and to career salience among 50 undergraduate women. Sex-role self-concept was measured by the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, and attitudes by the Attitudes Toward Women Scale. Patterns in career preferences were determined by studying the degree of gender dominance in past occupational daydreams as well as in present college major and intended future occupation. Career salience was measured using a content analysis of written future fantasies. Sex-role self-concept was related to past occupational preferences, with masculine-typed women showing a pattern of nontraditional daydreams compared to those of feminine-typed women. Attitude variables were related to present career choices, with liberal women in more male-dominant fields than conservative women. Both self-concept and attitude variables were related to career salience, measured by the proportion of fantasies about the future devoted to work themes. Masculine women showed evidence of more career salience than androgynous or undifferentiated women, and liberal women more than conservative women.     

A right-ear advantage for dichotic listening in bilingual children

A dichotic listening task was administered to two groups of right-handed Hispanic children enrolled in bilingual education classes. The younger group's mean age was 9:6, the older group's was 13:6. Two dichotic tapes were used, one in English, one in Spanish, consisting of 60 pairs of words per tape. The words were comparable across languages in terms of frequency, grammatical function, and phonetic composition. The results showed clear and equal right-ear advantages for both groups of subjects and for both languages. As expected, older children scored higher than younger ones, and performance on Spanish was better than on English. Neither of these effects interacted with the ear advantage, however. Ear difference scores did not correlate with proficiency in the second language (as measured by performance on the English tape), but there was a significant correlation (r = .58) between the degree of asymmetry in the two languages. These findings indicate that the left hemisphere is primarily (and equally) involved in processing both languages of bilinguals, and that this pattern appears to remain stable in development.     

Escape conditioning and goal punishment: Effects of acquisition trials,initial punishment trials,and CS extent

In the first of three experiments in which albino rats were given spaced shockescape trials in a straight runway, groups of 6 animals were given 6 or 24 trials followed by extinction, with or without goal-box punishment. Punishment facilitated behavior after 24 trials but did not significantly affect it after 6. Both punishment and 24 trials led to more “abrupt” extinction. In the second experiment, 6 groups of 6 animals received 6, 12, or 24 trials followed by 54 extinction trials with or without goal punishment on the first 18. All punished groups ran self-punitively, and acquisition trials effects were apparent during and after punishment. In the third experiment, buzzer extent, or duration, was manipulated, and longer extents produced stronger self-punitive effects. The results of all three experiments were interpreted in the context of presumed directive effects of aversive and conditioned aversive stimuli.