Self-focused attention in schizophrenic patients with and without auditory hallucinations and normal subjects: A comparative study

Self-focused attention has been implicated in a number of psychiatric disorders, but little research has examined this in schizophrenic subjects. In this study, a sample of schizophrenic patients experiencing auditory hallucinations, schizophrenic patients not experiencing auditory hallucinations and normal controls were asked to complete the private self-consciousness subscale of the Self Consciousness Scale. It was found that patients experiencing auditory hallucinations exhibited significantly higher levels of self-focus than those not experiencing hallucinations, although they did not differ from normal subjects. It was also shown that level of self-focus predicted whether or not subjects experienced hallucinations. These results, and their implications, are discussed with reference to the literature.     

Manipulation of stimulus onset delay in reading: evidence for parallel programming of saccades

On-line eye movement recording of 12 subjects who read short stories on a cathode ray tube enabled a test of direct control and preprogramming models of eye movements in reading. Contingent upon eye position, a mask was displayed in place of the letters in central vision after each saccade, delaying the onset of the stimulus in each eye fixation. The duration of the delay was manipulated in fixed or randomized blocks. Although the length of the delay strongly affected the duration of the fixations, there was no difference due to the conditions of delay manipulation, indicating that fixation duration is under direct control. However, not all fixations were lengthened by the period of the delay. Some ended while the mask was still present, suggesting they had been preprogrammed. But these "anticipation" eye movements could not have been completely determined before the fixation was processed because their fixation durations and saccade lengths were affected by the spatial extent of the mask, which varied randomly. Neither preprogramming nor existing serial direct control models of eye guidance can adequately account for these data. Instead, a model with direct control and parallel programming of saccades is proposed to explain the data and eye movements in reading in general.     

The effects of explicit timing and feedback on compositional response rate in elementary school children

The effects of several variables on compositional response rate were investigated in three classrooms. After establishing baseline composition rates in each of the three classrooms, an experimental phase was introduced that consisted of: explicit timing of the children's composition period with a stopwatch, immediate feedback on the number of words each child produced, public posting of the greatest number of words written by each child to date, and instructions to try to exceed their highest score. In the second-grade classroom, these conditions were introduced, removed, and re-introduced. In two fifth-grade classrooms, these conditions were introduced according to a multiple baseline, across classes. In all cases, introduction of the experimental conditions led to a doubling of rate of words written by students and an increase in subjective quality ratings of compositions made by independent judges.     

Perceptions of communication,cohesion, and adaptability in families of adolescents with and without learning handicaps

Adaptability, cohesion, and communication patterns were studied in 30 families of learning-handicapped adolescents and 30 families of nonhandicapped adolescents. Parent and adolescent perspectives on each of these variables were solicited. The results indicated that adolescents in each of these groups had similar perspectives on adaptability, cohesion, and communication. The parents of the learning-handicapped adolescents, however, felt that their families were less cohesive and had lower levels of communication about problems than did their offspring. When levels of communication were related to adaptability and cohesion, it was evident for both groups that the families with high reported cohesiveness had the most positive communication patterns. Additionally, adolescents rated their families higher on communication if they also perceived a greater amount of flexibility in adaptation.     

Assessment of a microcomputer-based version of the Austin maze

The Austin (or Milner) Maze consists of a 10 x 10 array of electrical contacts through which the subject must discover a hidden pathway by touching successive points in the matrix. Trials needed to reach 3 consecutive errorless performances, errors committed, and time taken to reach this criterion are commonly regarded as indicators of frontal lobe function. This study evaluated the equivalence of a computer-based version of this task. Thirty-two male computer science students completed both forms of the maze in counterbalanced order, separated by an interval of 4 weeks. In a 2-year follow-up, 25 remaining subjects completed the tasks in reverse order, again separated by a 4-week interval. Correlational data and analysis of variance supported the proposition that the computer-based version could act as a substitute for the more tediously administered traditional form. Although the sample characteristics may limit the generalizability of this conclusion, the application and development of the software by independent investigators may facilitate its clinical application and allow a more efficient resolution of relevant theoretical issues.     

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.     

Developmental differences in the allocation of processing capacity

Recently psychologists have formulated a comprehensive view of attention involving allocation of processing capacity. Although developmental changes in processing capacity have been proposed as one source of age differences in certain cognitive skills, there has been little systematic investigation of this hypothesis. In the present study, second and sixth graders and adults (8, 12, and 20 years of age, respectively) performed a letter-matching task (primary task) concurrently with an auditory detection task (secondary task). Changes in reaction time in the secondary task as a function of manipulations of the primary task were used to estimate capacity allocation to the primary task. Primary task variables included stage of processing (alerting, encoding, rehearsing, responding) and matching condition (physical-identity vs name-identity matching). Age differences in secondary task performance were found to be related to stage of processing but not to matching condition. Earlier stages of the letter match task (alerting, encoding) required somewhat more capacity allocation in younger subjects. Later stages (rehearsing, responding) made substantially higher demands on capacity in children. Capacity allocation may be an important cognitive variable mediating developmental differences in basic information processing skills, and may underlie age trends found in performance of certain complex cognitive tasks.