VISUAL COMPLEXITY AND YOUNG CHILDREN'S LEARNING FROM TELEVISION

The impact of both the static and dynamic visual complexity of a half-hour sequence of “Sesame Street” segments upon viewers' visual attention, recall, and recognition are assessed in this study of 48 four and five year olds. Previous research has produced inconsistent results with respect to the links among the three sets of variables in this observational learning process. Results of a path analysis indicated strong negative relationships between static complexity and all three viewer variables, positive relationships between dynamic complexity and both attention and recognition, and between attention and both types of learning. No significant relationship emerged between dynamic complexity and recall. Implications for television production aimed at young children are discussed.     

幼儿对心理状态的认识

本研究探讨３—５岁儿童对自身和他人心理状态认识的发展过程．借助图片和玩具结合四种作业任务,对１９１名儿童进行了实验和短期追踪实验。结果表明：３岁儿童尚不能对心理状态作出认识,４岁半左右是儿童认识心理状态的转折期,到５岁末能完全把握自身和他人的心理状态．在四项作业任务中,儿童通过的先后次序为他人误念判断和他人未知判断、现象一实在区分、表征变换．这一方面与儿童的认知发展趋势有关,另一方面也与实验的情景和材料有关．     

SPREADING OF VISUAL ATTENTION TO MODALLY VERSUS AMODALLY COMPLETED REGIONS

Abstract— Regions of objects that are partially obscured at the current retinal image are often perceptually filled in by the visual system (Kanizsa, 1979). In some cases (modal completion), this causes the filled-in region to appear tinged with the color and brightness of unobscured parts of that object, but m other cases (amodal completion), it does not (Michotte & Burke, 1951). It has recently been argued that modal and amodal completion both arise in preattentive vision, and may operate equivalently at that level (Davis & Driver, 1994, He & Nakayama, 1992, Shipley & Kellman, 1992). In this article, we show that they have different effects on attentive vision, with attention tending to spread to (and from) modally completed regions and their visible inducers, but not to (or from) comparable amodally completed regions and their inducers. This finding is consistent with visual attention operating on surfaces (e g, He & Nakayama, 1995) in a viewer-centered representation of the scene, after the operation of filling-in processes.     

SIMULTANEOUS DISCRIMINATION OF VISUAL ATTRIBUTES

LIE, I. & ORSZAGH, G. Simultaneous discrimination of visual attributes. Scand. J. Psychol , 1971, 12, 128–130.–The accuracy of simultaneous discrimination of two attributes (colour and size) of a common visual object was compared with discrimination of a single attribute. No significant difference between single and double discrimination tasks was obtained for any of the four durations of exposure (40, 100, 175, 500 msec).     

CHILDREN'S PERCEPTIONS OF TELEVISION CHARACTERS1

This study explores the cognitive dimensions used by children in differentiating among television characters. By linking content-free judgments of the differences among television characters with content attributes suggested by prior research, a four-dimensional mapping is identified. This cognitive mapping is virtually identical for children at three different ages. Further, dimensions identified are strong predictors of the children's desires to model the social behaviors of the TV characters. The dimensions identified and discussed include those of humor, attractiveness, strength, and activity. The findings also indicate that young boys and girls use the same dimensions in markedly different ways.     

THE EFFECTS OF VISUAL,VERBAL, AND MOTOR ELABORATIONS ON PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S RECALL AND COMPREHENSION OF PROSE

This study examined the differential effect of dynamic (visual and motor) and static (visual and verbal) elaborations on preschool children's Immediate and delayed memory (recall of explicit content) and comprehension (recall of Implicit content) of prose. Eighty children, ages 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years were randomly assigned to five treatment groups: 1) Read (R) condition ‐ unelaborated single reading of story; 2) Read‐Read (RR) condition ‐ two consecutive readings (static verbal elaboration); 3) Visual (S) condition ‐ story + observation of stationary representational props (static visual elaboration); 4) Experimenter‐Manipulate (E‐M) condition ‐ story + observation of experimenter manipulating props (dynamic visual elaboration); and 5) Subject‐Manipulate (S‐M) condition ‐ story + self manipulation of props (dynamic visual‐motor elaboration). As predicted, Ss In E‐M and S‐M conditions generally exhibited greater Immediate and delayed recall of both explicit and Implicit content than did Ss In the R condition. Unexpectedly, few differences were obtained between the dynamic and static conditions, or between the static RR and S conditions, although these results were obscured by age differences and question set Interactions. However, a relatively consistent trend was revealed In the data ‐ while dynamic visual‐motor elaborations enhanced both explicit and Implicit memory, static verbal elaborations generally enhanced only explicit recall. The superior recall of children In the E‐M and S‐M conditions was Interpreted as supporting the proposition that dynamic visual and motor elaborations of prose Induce Interactive Imagery In children as young as 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years of age, and thereby enhance both their rote memory and constructive Inferential processing of information.     

幼儿在集合比较中运用数数的实验研究

本研究中运用了两个实验探讨数数干预和测查条件对儿童在集合比较中运用数数的影响。干预对3岁儿童(M=3：9)没有影响。在平均年龄为4岁4个月时．干预组儿童比控制组儿童更倾向于用数数比较集合．自然组儿童也比传统组更倾向于用数数。许多4岁儿童在无干预时不用数数可能是因为,1)不知数数比视觉性比较更有效,或2)他们在集合比较中的数数极易受测查情景因素的影响。儿童在集合比较中的数数运用与他们的数数水平密切关联。     

NOTE ON SIMULTANEOUS DISCRIMINATION OF VISUAL ATTRIBUTES

van der H eijden A. H. C. Note on simultaneous discrimination of visual attributes. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1972, 13 , 71–72.—A tachistoscopically presented stimulus, provided it is above threshold, results in a visual image with a minimum duration of about 250 msec. In experiments on visual information processing, therefore, the results must be interpreted in terms of 'effective stimulus duration' (exposure time and duration of visual image) rather than exposure time alone.     

外源性视觉选择性注意的时空特征

使用与目标出现位置无关的外周空现刺激作为线索,研究在不同刺激呈现间隔（ＳＯＡ）下它对不同偏心 视觉目标的辨别反应时的影响,以考察外源性觉选择性注意的加工特生,并下三种注意空间分布模型对选择性注意时空特征的不同预测,结果表明：１．外周突现刺激能够不随意地吸引注意,符合自动加工特性;２．注意转移以注意中心连续移动的方式进行,支持探照灯模型,不支持透镜模型和静态的空间梯度模型,并在注意移动速率进行了估计     

THE EFFECT OF TELEVISION AND RADIO ON CHILDREN'S CREATIVITY

The literature on creativity posits that creative abilities are stable and relatively impervious to short-term interventions. Several studies have, however, reported differential effects of media on children's imaginative play and thinking. The results of these studies are difficult to interpret owing to their reliance on nonstandardized measures of creativity. The present study examines the relative effects of television versus radio on children's creativity. Third and sixth graders were presented a story on television or radio and were then given an adapted version of the “Just Suppose” test of divergent thinking developed by Torrance (1974). Responses were scored in terms of ideational fluency, flexibility, and originality. The results indicated that the two media did not have a differential effect on children's creativity.     

幼儿自我控制能力发展的研究

运用因素分析、评价与实验的方法,编制“幼儿自我控制能力发展教师评定问卷”,探讨幼儿自我控制能力的结构及幼儿自我控制的年龄差异和性别差异,研究结果表明:(1)“幼儿自我控制能力发展教师评定问卷”具有较高的信度和效度;(2)幼儿自我控制能力包括自制力、自觉性、坚持性、自我延迟满足;(3)幼儿自我控制能力随年龄的增长而呈上升趋势;(4)幼儿自我控制能力存在明显的性别差异。     

CHILDREN'S PERSON PERCEPTION: THE GENERALIZATION FROM TELEVISION PEOPLE TO REAL PEOPLE

This study investigated children's perceptions of television people and the extent to which these perceptions are generalized to impressions of peers. Elementary school children (W=172) completed questionnaires measuring viewing, knowledge of, identification with, and the perceived reality of television characters, and ratings of peers on 11 traits (e.g., funny, attractive, kind, nice). Two criterion variables were studied: children's mean rating of peers on each of the traits and the variance in the ratings of peers on each trait. Multiple regression analyses (controlling for grade and sex) revealed that: (1) identification with television characters was a significant predictor of the mean evaluation of peers on the traits; (2) television viewing was a significant predictor of the variance in children's ratings of peers; and (3) the relationship between television viewing and the variance in trait ratings was lower for attributes found in past studies to be suggested by television presentations. Implications of these findings for the traditional concern that television standardizes perceptions of people through stereotyping are considered.     

ON THE EFFICIENCY OF VISUAL SELECTIVE ATTENTION:

Abstract— The ability to ignore irrelevant peripheral distractors was assessed as a junction of the efficiency in visual search for a target at the center of display. Efficient target search, among dissimilar nontargets, led to greater distraction than inefficient search, among similar nontargets. This seemingly paradoxical result is predicted by the recent proposal (Lavie, 1995a) that irrelevant processing can be prevented only by increasing the load for relevant processing. Varying the set size of similar items in the central search task demonstrated that interference from irrelevant distractors was eliminated only with more than four relevant items. These results demonstrate how capacity limits determine the efficiency of selective attention, and raise questions about some standard assumptions of most visual search models.     

卡车驾驶员视觉选择性注意研究

采用注意力测验量表,对２８０名男性卡车驾驶员的视觉选择性注意进行了测量。研究发现：事故组与安全组卡车驾驶员的完成时间、漏划数和平均每秒正确删数有很显著差异,错划数有显著差异;事故多发组与安全组卡车驾驶员的完成时间和平均每秒删数有很显著差异,错划数有显著差异;年龄对卡车驾驶员的视觉选择性注意有显著影响,随着年龄的增加,卡车驾驶员完成视觉选择性注意作业的时间增长,漏划数和错划数增多,平均每秒正确删数减少,而４０－５０岁则是卡车驾驶员视觉选择性注意速度和准确性下降的转折点。     

非言语沟通的视觉信息在电视教学中的作用

本研究用社会心理学关于非言语沟通的观点分析电视教学,认为剥夺有关教师非言语沟通的视觉信息可能是影响电视教学质量的一个原因。通过模拟电视教学的实验验证这一假设。在三种条件下对被试进行同样内容的教学:条件Ⅰ为传统课堂教学;条件Ⅱ为呈现教师形象的电视教学;条件Ⅲ为无教师形象只呈现板书图示的电视教学。课后进行所学知识的测验和态度问卷。结果表明,在电视教学中增加有关教师非言语沟通的视觉信息对学习者知识的掌握及对教师、教学内容和教学形式的态度有积极作用。将剥夺互动中非言语沟通的视觉信息的消极影响命名为“屏风效应”。对提高电视教学质量提出了新的建议。     

THE IMPACT OF AUDITION ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF VISUAL ATTENTION

Interactions between audition and vision were investigated in two experiments In the first experiment, school-age hearing children, deaf children with cochlear implants, and deaf children without implants participated in a task in which they were to respond to some visual signals and not others This task did not involve sound at all Deaf children without implants performed much more poorly than hearing children Deaf children with cochlear implants performed considerably better than deaf children without implants The second experiment employed a longitudinal design and showed that the rate of development in visual selective attention was faster for deaf children with cochlear implants than deaf children without implants Moreover, the gams were rapid–occurring within 2 years post-implant surgery The results suggest that a history of experience with sounds matters in the development of visual attention The results are discussed in terms of multimodal developmental processes     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S NARRATIVE FANTASY

In this study, 22 female and 20 male 3- to 5-year-old children were presented with six story starts and were asked to finish the stories. In their stories, girls introduced significantly more friendly figures who offered assistance; boys introduced significantly more aggressive behavior and attempts to master situations through the use of aggressive activity. Girls told significantly more stories about girls; boys tended to tell more stories about boys. A factor analysis of the coding categories is discussed. The analysis of the fantasy narratives showed boys to be more concerned with coping with aggressive drives and channeling them into attempts at mastery, and girls with caretaking and responding to the needs of others.     

KNOWING ABOUT READING BEFORE READING: PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS OF READING

This paper reports findings from an investigation of preschool children's concepts about reading. Three tasks related to several basic ideas about reading were presented to 60 preschool children, ranging in age from three to five years. The first task assessed children's ability to identify oral and silent reading. The number of children who correctly identified both forms of reading increased with age, with almost all five‐year‐olds giving accurate responses. The second task was aimed at establishing children's perceptions of their own reading ability. Only four of the 60 children incorrectly evaluated their own reading ability. The third task investigated children's ability to recognize what it is on a page that is read. Three‐year‐olds were, on the whole, quite unaware of the salient information in books. Even among the five‐year‐olds, who performed significantly better than three‐ and four‐year‐olds on this task, some children's responses indicated an ambiguity about the role of print in reading. Suggestions for adults who guide young children through their early experiences with print are drawn from the findings of this investigation.     

跨通道的内源性选择注意

该实验利用空间线索技术研究跨视觉和听觉通道的内源性选择性注意,实验结果表明视觉中央线索能可靠地引导出内源性视觉选择性注意,听觉中央线索在较长的ＳＯＡ（至少５００ｍｓ）条件下也能引导出内源性视觉选择性注意,支持视觉和听觉具有特异性的注意加工通道,但两者之间存在相互连接的假说。     

THE DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF CHILDREN'S PERCEPTIONS OF TELEVISION CHARACTERS: A REPLICATION

This study was an attempt to replicate and extend the findings of previous research which explored the cognitive dimensions used by children to differentiate television characters. Results indicate that humor remains the primary attribute that children use to differentiate television characters, although this characteristic does not seem to be important in children's modeling decisions. Attractiveness and activity remain secondary attributes but also discriminate between male and female children in predicting identification with the characters. These findings are similar to those of the original study. Sex represents an additional important attribute for both sexes in differentiating the characters but is important only for female decisions about which characters are appropriate role models.