Selective attention by children and adults to pictures specified by color

Four conditions were used to investigate developmental trends in the ability to establish and use a color set to direct the selective processing of pictures. In three conditions, 6-year-old, 9-year-old, and adult subjects viewed a series of pairs of pictures, with one red and one black line drawing in each pair. Subjects were asked to look either at the red pictures only, the black pictures only, or both pictures. In a fourth condition, subjects viewed a series of singly presented red and black pictures. Pictures of both colors were included in a subsequent recognition memory test. At all ages recognition memory was comparable for pictures of each color in the both and single conditions but was higher for pictures of the specified color in the selective red and selective black conditions. There was no evidence at any age that memory for pictures of the specified color was decreased by the presence of the second picture. These results, showing roughly comparable selectivity at all ages, were discussed in relation to findings of developmental trends in selective attention on more “traditional” central-incidental learning tasks.     

Defining the terms of Go-Between Process

Science asks that a theory state its basic terms and operations with economy and precision. Twenty-two terms and operations of Zuk's Go-Between Process are defined. It is desirable in science also to carefully distinguish among related theories. Go-Between Process and Structural-Strategic Family Therapy are related theories, and differences are described.     

An animal model of the hyperactive-child syndrome suitable for the study of the effects of food additives

This report describes the use of an animal model for testing the relationship between the effects of ingesting food additives and hyperactivity. Telomian × beagle hybrid dogs were chosen as subjects because this breed has been observed to exhibit behavior seen as analogous to the hyperactivity of children. Two studies were conducted by adding or deleting butylated hydroxyanisole and Food, Drug, and Cosmetic red dye number 40 to the diet of each dog. A test of sitting was performed to measure the level of activity. While a relationship was not observed between the ingestion of the additive and the level of activity, several issues pertaining to the use of the animal model became apparent. These issues and the use of animals for future research in this area are discussed.     

The communication disorder in dialysis dementia: A case report

The communication disorder in dialysis dementia is an integral feature of the syndrome. This report describes the communication disorder in a 67-year-old man over a period of 4 months from his admission to the hospital to his death. In the early stage of the syndrome, the most prominent feature was a speech problem, the characteristics of which may vary among cases. In the middle stage, it was difficult to distinguish among aphemia, aphasia, or a combination of dysarthria and confusional state. The severity of the problems in these stages was temporally related to the dialysis treatments. The final stage was characterized by constant mutism and was unrelated to the dialysis treatments. Death occurred 10 months after the communication problems emerged. Communication studies of dialysis dementia patients may offer a systematic method to monitor the course of the syndrome, its response to therapeutic trials, and a clinical model for the study of communication disorders in general.     

The Effects of Alcohol Use and Offender Remorsefulness on Sentencing Decisions1

Presentence reports on 628 offenders were content analyzed. Regression analysis found that remorseful offenders received less severe sentences than non-remorseful offenders. Offenders convicted of minor offenses received more lenient sentences if they had used alcohol in conjunction with their crimes than if they did not use alcohol. The opposite was the case for offenders commiting serious crimes. Remorseful offenders with few prior alcohol-related convictions received less severe sanctioning than non-remorseful offenders with similar conviction records. In contrast, recidivists who were remorseful were dealt with more harshly than their non-remorseful counterparts.     

REINFORCER VARIATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR MOTIVATING DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED CHILDREN

Motivating developmentally disabled children to participate in educational activities can be very difficult. This is especially true for children diagnosed autistic. Because there is some evidence to suggest that stimulus variation may influence motivation, the present study investigated the effects of constant vs. varied reinforcer presentation on correct responding and on-task behavior. Results from a reversal design showed declining trends in both correct responding and on-task behavior when the same reinforcer was consistently presented, whereas, varying the reinforcers produced significantly improved and stable responding. The results are discussed in relation to the literature on stimulus variation and its effects on responsivity.     

Self-instructions: Effects of cognitive level and active rehearsal

This research examined the effects of a self-instruction intervention on the relationship between cognitive level and conceptual tempo. Preoperational and concrete operational children received the Matching Familiar Figures Test prior to and after serving in either a no training control group, a content only control group, or a self-instruction group. Children in the content only control group received the same set of self-guiding strategy statements as those in the self-instruction group but without overt rehearsal of the statements. Cognitive level and conceptual tempo were strongly related; preoperational children tended to be classified as impulsive, concrete operational chidlren, as reflective. Although cognitive level predicted overall performance, with concrete operational children being more successful and more reflective than preoperational children, the influence of training was similar for both groups. On posttest, children in the self-instruction groups made more correct responses and were more reflective than children in the other two training groups.