Signing environment in an institution: Teaching sign vocabulary to residents with mental retardation for communication with deaf peers

Two experiments were conducted so that deaf adults with mental retardation could develop their communication skills in an institution. Deaf and hearing residents were taught sign vocabulary using the following four procedures: sign language lessons in a large group, posters, review lessons, and distribution of a sign language book. Experiment 1 was a pilot study to assess the effect of a sign language lesson, and Experiment 2 was a systematic study to evaluate the 4 procedures using a multiple baseline design. Sign language use in natural settings was monitored for 10 months, starting with the first sign language lesson. Results showed that a sign language lesson was an effective way for most hearing residents to acquire expressive signs. Three out of 4 deaf residents learned expressive signs gradually during experiments. In natural settings, hearing residents were seen to use signs spontaneously with deaf residents in many different social contexts. Additional comprehensive assessment was conducted to confirm whether or not residents could understand one another's expressive signs. Seven out of 10 residents showed correct responses more than 80% of the time.     

How are visuospatial working memory, executive functioning, and spatial abilities related? A latent-variable analysis.

This study examined the relationships among visuospatial working memory (WM) executive functioning, and spatial abilities. One hundred sixty-seven participants performed visuospatial short-term memory (STM) and WM span tasks, executive functioning tasks, and a set of paper-and-pencil tests of spatial abilities that load on 3 correlated but distinguishable factors (Spatial Visualization, Spatial Relations, and Perceptual Speed). Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that, in the visuospatial domain, processing-and-storage WM tasks and storage-oriented STM tasks equally implicate executive functioning and are not clearly distinguishable. These results provide a contrast with existing evidence from the verbal domain and support the proposal that the visuospatial sketchpad may be closely tied to the central executive. Further, structural equation modeling results supported the prediction that, whereas they all implicate some degree of visuospatial storage, the 3 spatial ability factors differ in the degree of executive involvement (highest for Spatial Visualization and lowest for Perceptual Speed). Such results highlight the usefulness of a WM perspective in characterizing the nature of cognitive abilities and, more generally, human intelligence.     

Variability among Deese-Roediger-McDermott lists in eliciting false recall for people's names

According to previous research, the variability of lists in eliciting false recall in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm is large. A list structure made by Mukai, in which people's names were used as critical lures, was used to investigate the variability of lists. The materials were composed of 6 pairs of lists, in which the critical lure and its contextually associated study item (referred to as critical presented item) were assumed to play an important role in eliciting false recall. 80 participants (M age = 21.7 yr.; SD = 2.6) were tested. The difference of the list pair in eliciting false recall was positively correlated with list pair differences in free association rate from critical presented item to critical lure (r = .82, p < .05) and negatively correlated with the length of critical lure (r = -.94, p <.01). It was shown that the variability of lists in eliciting false recall can be explained by these two factors. Moreover, the length of the lure was also negatively correlated with an index of unsuccessful source monitoring (r = -.87, p < .05). The results were discussed in terms of the activation/monitoring theory.     

The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex "Frontal Lobe" tasks: a latent variable analysis

This individual differences study examined the separability of three often postulated executive functions-mental set shifting ("Shifting"), information updating and monitoring ("Updating"), and inhibition of prepotent responses ("Inhibition")-and their roles in complex "frontal lobe" or "executive" tasks. One hundred thirty-seven college students performed a set of relatively simple experimental tasks that are considered to predominantly tap each target executive function as well as a set of frequently used executive tasks: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Tower of Hanoi (TOH), random number generation (RNG), operation span, and dual tasking. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the three target executive functions are moderately correlated with one another, but are clearly separable. Moreover, structural equation modeling suggested that the three functions contribute differentially to performance on complex executive tasks. Specifically, WCST performance was related most strongly to Shifting, TOH to Inhibition, RNG to Inhibition and Updating, and operation span to Updating. Dual task performance was not related to any of the three target functions. These results suggest that it is important to recognize both the unity and diversity of executive functions and that latent variable analysis is a useful approach to studying the organization and roles of executive functions.     

Differential roles for visuospatial and verbal working memory in situation model construction

Two experiments investigated the processing of the spatial and causal dimensions of situation models. In Experiment 1, participants read texts varying in spatial and causal demands while responding to on-line spatial and causal probes. Experiment 2 used the same design, but used texts that more tightly integrated spatial and causal information. In both experiments, spatially oriented dependent measures were generally influenced by spatial, but not causal, demands, whereas causally oriented measures were influenced by causal, but not spatial, demands. In addition, spatially oriented dependent measures were generally correlated with a measure of spatial working memory capacity, whereas causally oriented measures were correlated with a measure of verbal working memory capacity. These results indicate that spatial and causal dimensions of situation models are maintained and elaborated independently in different working memory subsystems.     

Young children produce categorical false recall without activation of the lure items

Individuals who study a list of words that are all related to another word that is not presented (a lure word) sometimes produce a false memory of having studied the lure word. The false memories are observed in lists of words that are in the same category as (category list) or associated with (associative list) a word that was not presented in an attempt to elicit false recall. The present study investigated whether young children create these types of false recall. Following the study of a categorical list, false recall was elicited in young children to the same degree as in adults, but studying an associative list elicited false recall only in adults. Furthermore, categorically related lure words did not have a priming effect in young children. These results suggest that the categorical false recall is produced via a different mechanism from the associative false recall.     

Chemical ordering of Co and Ni in a W-(AlCoNi) crystalline approximant related to Al–Co–Ni decagonal quasicrystals studied by atomic resolution energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy

A W-(AlCoNi) crystalline approximant, which is closely related to Al–Co–Ni decagonal quasicrystals, in an Al_72.5Co₂₀Ni_7.5 alloy has been studied by atomic resolution energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), in an instrument attached to a spherical aberration (Cs)-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope. On high-resolution EDS maps of Co and Ni elements, obtained by integrating many sets of EDS data taken from undamaged areas, chemical ordering of Co and Ni is clearly detected. In the structure of the W-(AlCoNi) phase, consisting of arrangements of transition-metal (TM) atoms located at vertices of pentagonal tilings and pentagonal arrangements of mixed sites (MSs) of TM and Al atoms, Co atoms occupy the TM atom positions with the pentagonal tiling and Ni is enriched in part of the pentagonal arrangements of MSs.