Does echoic memory develop?

A series of experiments is reported on the stimulus suffix effect with the primary variables being age of the subject (7 and 11 years), rate of presentation, and list length. While the suffix effect was larger for younger subjects at a slow rate of presentation, the effect was nearly identical across age groups with a fast presentation rate. It was concluded that when the contaminating effects of more central processes are reduced, there is no developmental change in the capacity of echoic memory. An interesting effect of rate of presentation is reported with younger subjects performing better at faster rates of presentation and adults performing better at slower rates.     

Children's use of semantic analysis in the interpretation of missing subjects: Further evidence against the MDP

Preschool and many older children often have difficulty understanding who carries out the complement action (e.g., to go in sentences such asMary promised John to go; this is so, even though they easily understand this information in sentences such asJohn told Mary to go. C. Chomsky (1969) proposed that children's errors arise from the overgeneral application of a purely structural Minimal Distance Principle. Maratsos (1974), however, hypothesized that children err by overgeneralizing a different principle which he called the Semantic Role Principle. According to this principle, the Goal-Recipient of the spoken message, not the closest noun phrase, is understood as the person who carries out the act referred to by the infinitival complement. The two studies reported here were designed to determine which of these principles children use. Preschool children were taught to understand a specially designed novel construction. The children then acted out sentences containing related but novel uses of the construction such that they would respond differentially according to which interpretive principle they used. The results strongly favored the Semantic Role Principle, rather than the MDP described by Chomsky (1969), or a related, more complex MDP described by Rosenbaum (1967). It is further discussed how children's formulation of the Semantic Role Principle, rather than the MDP, might arise from their prior analyses of related constructions, such as the imperative construction, rather than following from an innate preference, as suggested in Maratsos (1974).This research was supported by the NICHD under Grant #5 R01 HD09112-02 given to M. P. Maratsos.     

The fallacy of “two years below grade level for age” as a diagnostic criterion for reading disorders

The use of grade equivalent scores contrasted against grade placement is widespread in the diagnosis of dyslexia and other reading disabilities. This method substantially overstates disabilities at upper grade levels while underestimating the severity of difficulties in the early grades. Other difficulties and difficulties and distortions of this methods are also pointed out. An accurate, alternative method for reliably determining aptitude/achievement discrepancies is presented and its use discussed.     

The middle schooling process: influences on science and mathematics achievement from the longitudinal study of American youth

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to develop and test a model of middle school science and mathematics achievement with a national probability sample of 3,116 seventh-grade public school students. Eighth-grade achievement was viewed as a function of readiness attributes on entry into seventh grade and intervening parent, peer, self, and classroom affective and behavioral measures. Data were collected from students and parents over three time periods in seventh and eighth grade. Results of a revised structural model showed that prior achievement in science and math was a strong mediator of effects in the process of schooling. Grades in sixth grade, parental expectations, parent educational attainment, and motivation had moderately strong indirect effects on eighth-grade achievements. Also notable was the positive direct influence of perceptions of classroom context on science and math achievement growth and the negative direct influence of sex (in favor of girls) on science achievement growth. Cross-validation on a split-half sample did not disconfirm the model. It was concluded that while prior achievement had a dominant influence in the schooling process, other variables including parental expectations, motivation, and classroom context do contribute to the schooling process and can be a focal point for improving school success. These and other factors, though helpful, may be most effective well before the middle school years.     

Psychometric characteristics of the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire in college students

There is a growing concern for identifying individuals at risk for suicidal behaviors. Suicidal ideation, that is, the thoughts and cognitions one has about suicidal behaviors and intent, may be considered a primary marker for the risk of more serious suicidal behaviors. This investigation examined the reliability and validity of the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (ASIQ; Reynolds, in press-a), a 25-item self-report suicidal ideation measure designed for adults. Subjects were 474 college students from two Midwestern universities. Results indicated high internal consistency (r alpha = .97) and test-retest (rtt = .86) reliability of the ASIQ with college students. Significant correlations (rs = .38 to .60) were found with measures of depression, hopelessness, anxiety, and self-esteem. For the total sample, a multiple correlation of .67 was found between the ASIQ, the independent variables just noted, and history of prior suicide attempt. Factor analysis of the ASIQ produced a four-factor solution. Psychometric support for the utilization of the ASIQ in clinical and research settings is presented and discussed.     

Factorial validity and reliability of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale

The factorial validity and internal consistency reliability of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale was examined using a random sample of elementary-school children in grades I through 6. Teacher ratings of subjects' classroom behaviors on the Devereux approximated ratings obtained by the standardization sample. Internal consistency (coefficient alpha) reliability coefficients of the 11 Devereux subscales were found to be quite adequate, ranging from 80 to 93. Intercorrelations among Devereux subscales were moderate to high. A principal factor analysis of the 11 subscales produced two factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0, which cumulatively accounted for 70.2% of the total variance. When rotated via an orthogonal (Varimax) solution, the two resultant factors appeared to measure emotional adjustment and academic related dimensions of classroom behavior. Given the problem of multicollinearity that was shown to exist among subscales, the authors suggest caution in the interpretation of Devereux subscales as discrete factors.The authors gratefully acknowledge computer support funding provided by the University of Wisconsin, Graduate School Research Committee Grant 135-1537 to the first author.     

Personality patterns of adolescent poor and good sleepers

To determine whether poor sleepers have a unique personality constellation significantly different from that of good sleepers, a sample of 162 emotionally disturbed adolescent poor sleepers was compared to a sample of 153 emotionally disturbed adolescent good sleepers on standardized personality instruments. Poor sleepers were found to have a high incidence of neurotic psychopathology with personality patterns characterized by depression, fearfulness, inhibition, anxiety, and rumination. In contrast, good sleepers showed quasi healthy and/or characterological patterns. While this study does not resolve cause and effect relationships, it does establish a highly significant relationship between neuroticism and sleep disturbance for adolescent boys and girls, and also demonstrates a similarity of personality dynamics and patterns between adult and adolescent samples of patients with sleep disturbances.