Tactile spatial ability: Lateralized performance of deaf and hearing age groups

Hearing adults, 8- and 6-year-old children, together with deaf 9-year-old children, were tested on a unimodal haptic matching task. One additional group of adults was tested with a shorter stimulus presentation time. Data indicated that left-hand superiority was most evident in the performances of the older hearing children, and of the adults with the shorter presentation time. Hemispheric specialization was less noticeable for the younger hearing group, but the task may have been too difficult. A slight right-hand superiority was found in the performance of adults with long presentation time. This may reflect the simplicity of the task for these subjects. Deaf children did not show any clear hand differences, but were superior in overall performance to hearing children.     

Sex differences, social desirability, masculinity, and the tendency to worry.

Relationships between worry and sex differences, social desirability, masculinity, and femininity were explored in this study. Data were obtained from 141 undergraduates who answered a questionnaire containing a worry scale, the Crowne-Marlowe (1964) Social Desirability Scale, the Bem (1974) Sex Role Inventory, the Trait Anxiety scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970), and several demographic items. Women reported significantly higher levels of worry than men did, and worry was significantly correlated with lower social desirability and with lower masculinity but not with femininity. However, multiple regression strategies revealed that sex differences in reported worry cannot be accounted for solely by variations in social desirability and masculinity. Also, sex differences in the tendency to worry were not eliminated by statistically controlling for trait anxiety, social desirability, and masculinity simultaneously.     

Looking good versus doing good: which factors take precedence when children learn about new tools?

We present two experiments exploring whether individuals would be persuaded to imitate the intentional action of an adult model whose actions suggest that the correct way to complete a task is with an inefficient tool. In Experiment 1, children ages 5–10 years and a group of adults watched an adult model reject an efficient tool in favor of one that was inefficient, but claim it was “made for” the task. Results indicated low rates of imitation of the model’s intentional choice until 9 and 10 years of age. In Experiment 2, children ages 3–11 years again watched a model reject a functional tool in favor of a nonfunctional one. This time, the demonstration took place on video. For half of the participants, the model from the video was present to offer a choice between the two tools (high-pressure condition), and for the other half, she was absent (low-pressure condition). Children also completed a social desirability questionnaire to explore relationships between imitation choices and personality. Results indicated that rates of imitation were associated with higher scores on the social desirability scale among children ages 3–7 years. Among 8- to 11-year-olds – and especially among 9- and 10-year-olds – the decision to copy the model’s intentional choice was more likely when the model was present than when she was absent. The findings reveal the contributions of age, personality, and social pressure to differences in imitation.     

Fight or Flight: Factors Influencing Children's and Adults' Decisions to Avoid or Confront Conflict

Five videotaped dilemmas were used to assess age differences in perceptions of interpersonal conflict and reasoning about whether to avoid or actively pursue incipient disagreements. Each film depicted a clash between friends that could either be pursued by expressing a contrary opinion or avoided by simulating agreement. Three of the topics of potential dispute related to classroom cognitive or judgmental issues, and two revolved around playground social relationships among peers. The 96 male and female subjects were evenly subdivided into 6-, 9-, and 21-year-old age groups. Avoidance was recommended twice as often as engagement overall. But there were differences due to age and to the topic of the conflict. The classroom-related judgmental conflicts were avoided less often than were those involving social relations with peers. Adults likewise recommended avoidance less often than children and were less likely to misperceive the conflicts as hostile. These results supported and extended previous studies of children's concepts of conflict. Their implications for educational practice and the use of peer debate to enhance cognitive development were also considered.     

Age-Correlated Incremental Consideration of Velocity Information in Relative Time-to-Arrival Judgments

One hundred fifty-one children and 43 adults judged which of 2 cartoon birds would be the first to arrive at a common finish line. Objects moved unidirectionally along parallel trajectories, either at the same or different speeds, and disappeared at different distances from the goal. Overall, 9–10-year-old children performed as well as adults, but 4–5- and 6–8-year-olds erred significantly more often. On trials for which distance to goal at disappearance was a valid cue, 4–5-year-olds scored 80% correct, and no differences were seen between 6–10-year-olds and adults. On the opposite type of trials, where the trailing bird would win the race, only adults retained their level of performance, and all age groups differed markedly. Findings suggest a gradual developmental transition from a distance-based to a time-based understanding of the task.     

8~15岁儿童贫富观的发展特点及其与成人的比较

儿童贫富观是其价值观的重要体现,贫富观形成是儿童社会化进程中的重要方面,然而目前国内尚缺乏中国儿童贫富观的系统研究。本研究以8~9岁、11~12岁、14~15岁以及成人(主要为大学生,年龄为20.7±1.32岁)为研究对象(N=186),结合开放性问题和结构化问卷,考察他们对于贫富的感知、公平判断、归因以及对于缓解贫困对策的认识。结果发现:控制社会经济地位之后,(1)8~9岁儿童对贫富的认识局限于表面特征,11~12岁更关注心理特征,而成人提及系统特征的比例更高;(2)8~9岁儿童较其他年龄组更倾向于对贫富做不公平的判断;(3)在贫富的归因和缓解贫困的对策上,儿童和成人都认可个人因素的重要性,但成人更多关注国家政策和社会的影响,并且认为消除贫困是不可能的。中国儿童贫富观的发展与西方已有研究相比,既有共性也有文化特异性。     

Multi-Task Study of the Effects of Task Load and Gender on the Development of Visual Field Asymmetries

This study was designed to examine whether the developmental course of visual hemispheric asymmetry is affected by task load and whether gender differences occur with age. Three experiments were performed according to the additive structure of reaction time: “go/no-go” task, “choice-reaction-time” task, and “category-sort” task. Children in three different age groups (7- to 8-years, 10 years, and 13 year olds) were presented lists of words using a visual half-field procedure. Results revealed that in the go/no-go task (Experiment 1), left hemispheric superiority for processing of word stimuli was evident at all three developmental ages, but no gender differences appeared. However, in the choice-reaction-time task (Experiment 2), and the category-sort task (Experiment 3), left hemispheric superiority was displayed by 7- to 8- and 10-year-old males, but not by 13-year-old males. In contrast, girls did not show the left hemispheric advantage at any of the developmental ages. It was concluded that visual hemispheric asymmetry exists in children at an early age, but the magnitude of asymmetry is dependent on age, gender, and task load.     

When days are numbered: calendar structure and the development of calendar processing in English and Chinese.

Unlike English, Chinese uses a numerical system for naming months and days. This study explored whether this difference in naming affects the development of simple calendar calculation. Eight- and 10-year-old children as well as undergraduates in China and the United States were asked to name the day or month that comes a specified time before or after a given day or month. In each age group Chinese speakers primarily used calculation based on calendar names to solve these tasks, while English speakers primarily resorted to reciting the names. The magnitude of these differences was substantial; on difficult tasks Chinese fourth graders performed at speeds comparable to those of English-speaking adults. Implications for models of how linguistic structure affects cognition are discussed.     

The development of alertness

Two experiments explored variation in the alerting process across age and warning interval as well as the effects of alertness on subsequent processing. Experiment 1 obtained alertness functions for a group of 5-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and adults. Results revealed strong age differences in speed of alerting and in maintenance of alertness over a 1-sec interval. Five-year-olds alerted more slowly than older groups and sustained optimal alertness less well. Both groups of children showed more variability in alerting functions compared with adults. Experiment 2 examined the degree to which age differences in processing speed were attributable to differential speed and maintenance of alerting. Masking functions obtained across variations in the alerting interval revealed that when level of alertness was optimal in both 5-year-olds and adults, minimal age differences in processing speed were observed. During short, nonoptimal alerting intervals, speed of processing in adults was faster than in 5-year-old children. The pattern of results across studies suggested that alertness can fluctuate over time in young children, that level of alertness affects subsequent perceptual processing speed, and that developmental variation in speed and maintenance of alertness can partly explain observed age differences in processing speed. The potential role of alertness in more complex cognitive tasks is discussed.     

Effect of Incentives on Learning in Middle-and Lower-Class Children

Classified by Warner's Index of Status Characteristics as either middle class (MC) or lower class (LC), 10- and 15-year-old children learned a list of five low association nonsense syllables by the anticipation method to a criterion of one perfect recitation under one of three incentive conditions: material, social approval, or no incentive. As predicted, 10-year-old LC children performed better when offered a material incentive, whereas their MC peers performed best under social approval. There were no significant differences in learning between 15-year-old MC and LC children, suggesting that with age older LC children become more responsive to nonmaterial reinforcers as they become increasingly exposed to MC norms.     

Exploring the relationship between students’ values and the values of postsecondary institutions

Little is known of how institutional and individual value systems are related among university undergraduates. With three different measures and samples of college students, perceptions of university mission and values (i.e., institutional values, creating pro-social climates, and developing a life-long commitment to values) loaded independently of their personal values systems, and often negatively with social desirability. Perceptions of institutional values were generally independent of personal value systems, using either a rank-order (Sample 1, n = 199) or rating scale method (Sample 2, n = 107), or by focusing on moral behavior structures (Sample 3, n = 208). Together, these results indicate that higher education assessment may reflect institutional values that are independent of student personal value systems.Portions of this paper were presented at the 2004 Institute for College Student Values, Tallahassee, FL     

Factors affecting developmental changes in the speed of processing

Although many studies have found developmental changes in the speed of various processes, they have potentially confounded the subject's age with his knowledge of the task domain and use of strategies. In this study, the strategies used by the subject and his domain knowledge were independently assessed by a number of tasks. Subsequently, processing rate measures were obtained for a task (the “same/different” judgment task of simultaneously presented stimuli) in which domain knowledge was manipulated independently of age while controlling for strategy usage. It was found that the usual adult superiority in speed of processing could be markedly reduced if children possessed equivalent amounts of domain knowledge and this effect was domain specific. Further, it was found that differences in knowledge affected processing rates in both knowledgeable adults and children and to about the same extent. It was concluded that some part of the typical adult superiority in processing rate was due to knowledge differences.     

Functional learning among children, adolescents, and young adults

This study examined age-related differences in functional learning performance manifested among children, adolescents, and young adults placed in a two-cue ecology involving cues with direct relation and inverse relations with the criterion. On each trial, participants were instructed to consider the values taken by two cues, predict from these two values the value of a criterion, and finally examine the corresponding feedback value (i.e., the correct value of the criterion for this situation). The authors' hypotheses were that: (a) very few children under 11 years of age would be able to learn how to use the inverse relation cue for predicting the criterion, although they would be able to correctly use the direct relation cue; (b) most adolescents and young adults over 17 years of age would be able to learn how to use the inverse relation cue and combine it with the direct relation cue; and (c) adolescents between 11 and 17 years of age would show various levels of achievement. In general, these predictions were confirmed. Not until 11 years was a substantial proportion of participants (23%) able to reject the direct relation hypothesis and select the inverse relation hypothesis during learning.     

Traditionality and the Discriminating Effect of Expectations of Occupational Success and Occupational Values for Women within Math-Oriented Fields

Success expectations and vocational values have been identified as important features of women's career pursuits. Also, examination of differences among women pursuing traditionally and nontraditionally open fields has proven illuminating. Nonetheless, the women compared in such studies often pursued fields requiring vastly different competencies, interests, and training. This study investigated possible differences between women majoring in math-oriented fields in a traditionally closed area, engineering, and those in a traditionally open area, math education, with respect to success expectations in such fields and to the importance of various vocational outcomes. Success expectations for traditional and nontraditional occupations distinguished between the two groups, as did values for a number of vocational outcomes. In understanding women's career choices, the findings support the role of success expectations, the little studied role of outcome desirability, and the value of examining within-group occupational orientations within fields differing in traditionality but requiring similar skills, training, and interests.     

The effects of onset and offset warning and post-target stimuli on the saccade latency of children and adults

Two studies, involving children (mean age = 10 years) and adults, investigated the effects of visual stimulus onsets and offsets on the latency of saccades to peripheral targets. Saccade latency was reduced when foveal stimulus onsets or offsets preceded the target. When stimulus onset occurred 100 msec after target onset, the stimulus interfered with responding, with this interference effect significantly greater for children than for adults. When stimuli were presented in the peripheral visual field facilitation and interference effects were similar for children and adults. These results were interpreted as indicating that oculomotor processes are similar in children and adults while the stimulus intake processes that follow stimulus onset at the point of fixation have a greater interference effect on children's than on adults' eye movements.     

Hedonism,Achievement, and Power: Universal values that characterize the Dark Triad

Using a sample of Swedes and Americans (N = 385), we attempted to understand the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) in terms of universal social values. The Dark Triad traits correlated significantly with all 10 value types, forming a sinusoid pattern corresponding to the value model circumplex. In regression analyses, Machiavellianism and narcissism were positively associated with the values Achievement and Power, while psychopathy was positively associated with the values Hedonism, and Power. In addition, the Dark Triad traits explained significant variance over the Big Five traits in accounting for individual differences in social values. Differences between the Swedish and the US sample in the social value Achievement was mediated by the Dark Triad traits, as well as age. Given the unique complex of values accounted for by the Dark Triad traits compared to the Big Five traits, we argue that the former account for a system of self-enhancing “dark values”, often hidden but constantly contributing in evaluations of others.     

Children's evaluation of sources of information about traits

Children's assessment of the value of different sources of information about psychological traits was investigated among 6- to 7-year-olds and 10- to 11-year-olds across 5 studies (N = 330). Older children were more likely than younger children to reject self-report as a source of information about the highly evaluative traits smart and honest, but no such age-related difference was seen for the less evaluative comparison traits outgoing and nervous. A similar pattern of age-related differences was seen when children were asked to identify which of 4 sources of information--self-report, teacher report, peer report, or direct observation--would be most useful for obtaining information about the evaluative and comparison traits. The age-related increase in skepticism about self-report as a source of information for evaluative traits was associated with an increased appreciation of the role that social desirability plays in self-presentational processes.     

Effect of age on dual-task performance in children and adults

Age effects on dual-task costs were examined in healthy adults (Exp. 1) and in typically developing children (Exp. 2). In both experiments, individual differences in performance on the single-task components were titrated so that any age differences in dual-task costs could not be attributed to differences in single-task performance. Dual-task costs were found, but there were no age-related differences in these costs in older relative to younger adults, in 7-year-old relative to 9-year-old children, or across all four age groups. The results from these experiments suggest that previously reported age differences in dual-task costs, in both healthy ageing and child development, may be due to a failure to adequately equate single-task difficulty.     

Children and adults' distance estimations in a large-scale environment: effects of time and clutter

In two experiments adults (mean age = 19-5), sixth graders (mean age = 11-8), fourth graders (mean age = 9-8), and second graders (mean age = 7-8) walked a straight line distance through a large-scale environment. Subjects were then asked to estimate the time taken to traverse each half of the walk and to estimate the distance between objects seen along the walk. In Experiment 1 each half of the walk was traversed in the same amount of time but contained a different number of objects (clutter). Time and distance estimates were related, but were not affected by the number of intervening objects encountered between locations. In Experiment 2 subjects again encountered a different number of objects along each half of the walk but each half was traversed in varying amounts of time. Again, time and distance estimates were related, and there was no clutter effect. There were no consistent developmental differences across the two experiments. It was concluded that (1) Thorndyke's clutter effect does not occur across all types of spatial cognition tasks, and (2) children and adults tend to relate time and distance across a variety of distance estimation tasks.