Activation of number facts in bilinguals

Two experiments examined the effect of the presentation format of numbers—digits versus word format in the first and in the second languages of bilinguals—on mental arithmetic. Speed of number-fact retrieval and the presence of interference produced by numbers that were either numerically close to or associatively related to the correct answers of stored arithmetic problems (e.g., 2+5 and 7×8) were compared across formats. The verification of true problems was increasingly slower and less accurate from the digit condition to the second-language condition. Interference was produced by both types of incorrect answers in the digit and first-language conditions, whereas in the second-language condition, it was constrained to answers that were numerically close to correct answers. Together, the results suggest that the retrieval of arithmetic facts and the automatic spreading of activation within the network of numerical facts are not only language-sensitive, but format-sensitive in general.     

Use of orthographic redundancies and word identification speed in bilinguals

The present study aimed at evidencing some of the factors linked to word identification speed in bilinguals. The performances of beginning and of skilled bilinguals on tasks related to single-word decoding were assessed in both the first and the second language. Results of a first experiment showed that whereas both groups of bilinguals demonstrated use of orthographic redundancies specific to their native language, only the skilled group did so as concerns second-language redundancies. It was seen in a second experiment, however, that the use or nonuse of orthographic structure cannot in itself account for the pattern of lexical decision latencies observed for words in the two languages. Rather, this pattern is consistent with the idea that word recognition latency is largely dependent upon subjects' past experience with and actual use of words.     

Undesirable life-events and depression in young adolescents

We compared the relationship between individual undesirable life-events and comprehensive life-event factors, as well as major depression in adolescents. Students in four public suburban middle schools were screened for depressive symptomatology and life-events by a self-administered questionnaire. Seven of 21 individual events (parents' divorce, parental job loss, problems between parents, problems between the adolescent and his/her parents, failing a grade in school, school suspension, death of a close friend) and three of six life-event factors (conflict/disappointment, marital discord, maladjustment) were significantly related to depression in univariate models. A multivariate examination of the individual events was difficult to interpret, but examination of the event factors found maladjustment and conflict/disappointment significant. Analyses using the undesirable life-event factors provided a clearer picture of the relationships investigated by grouping related events into a more manageable number of independent categories. Specific combinations of life-events suggest stronger associations with adolescent depression than others. Clinicians may identify youths at risk for depression when specific combinations of undesirable life-events occur.     

Peer popularity and peer communication patterns: Hyperactive versus active but normal boys

Classroom peer perceptions of 18 teacher-nominated hyperactive and 18 teacher-nominated active but normal elementary school-age boys, as revealed in two sociometric measures (Bower's Class Play, like-dislike nomination), were compared. Results indicated that hyperactives were significantly different from actives on all sociometric measures in that they were perceived more negatively. Peer communication patterns also were assessed. The communicative content, communicative quality, and attention to task instructions of hyperactive boys were compared to those of comparison boys. Limited support was found for the earlier finding that hyperactive boys were less likely than comparison boys to modulate behavior in response to changing external cues and to respond to subtle social learning opportunities. The communication task was found to be highly engaging for both groups of boys, and results suggest that hyperactive children may not lack the interpersonal skills necessary for referential communication, although they may be unable to use them consistently in all settings. The need to continue the study of peer relations of hyperactive children in naturalistic settings is stressed.     

Infants' response to facelike patterns: Developmental changes between 10 and 15 weeks of age

Infants at two age levels were shown six patterns which represented three levels of stimulus complexity and two types of organization, facial and nonfacial. Ten-week-old infants showed a preference for the higher levels of complexity but acted as though they were oblivious to the type of organization which was imposed on the elements within the stimulus patterns. Fifteen week olds also showed increased attention to the higher levels of complexity. In addition, at the older age level differential responding was greater for stimuli which varied concomitantly in both facial resemblance and complexity (Facial organization) than for those which varied only in complexity (Nonfacial organization). The present results agree with those of previous studies in suggesting that there is a change between the ages of 10 and 15 weeks in the dimensions which underlie infants' response to facelike patterns.     

An investigation of the interaural time difference threshold for speech

The interaural time difference threshold for speech has been reported to be approximately 35 μsec (Cherry & Sayers, 1956), a value substantially larger than the 6 ~sec reported for broadband noise signals by other experimenters (e.g., Tobias & Zerlin, 1959). In the two studies just mentioned, however, different subjects and psychoacoustical methods were employed; thus, it is unclear whether larger interaural time differences are needed to lateralize speech signals. The purpose of this experiment, therefore, was to compare lateralization performance for speech and nonspeech stimuli. Interaural time difference thresholds were obtained for speech, speech spectrum noise, speech multiplied noise, and 200-, 500-, and 1,000-Hz sinusoids for the same subjects using a 2 IFC experimental paradigm. Under these conditions, speech and speech-multiplied noise yielded essentially the same interaural time difference thresholds.     

Implications of evaluating and intervening with incipient stutterers

A study was conducted to investigate the factors involved in the recovery from incipient stuttering without therapeutic intervention. Fifteen subjects were seen on two occasions, once for an initial evaluation after the reported onset of stuttering, and for a second evaluation to determine if they had recovered or become chronic stutterers. Within the constraints of a small sample, several findings are presented: (1) 80% of the children recovered spontaneously from stuttering, (2) subjects who exhibited more types and frequencies of disfluencies upon onset had a poorer prognosis for recovery, (3) the age of onset, if under 4 years, had little bearing on recovery, and (4) children who were seen professionally soon after disfluency onset had the greatest prognosis for recovery. Possible implications of these results are discussed.     

Environmental control of independent and dependent behaviors in preschool girls and boys: A model for early independence training

Differential adult response to the dependent behaviors of young girls and boys has been widely reported in the literature. The present study was an experimental investigation of the role of adult response patterns in shaping and maintaining independent behavior in preschoolers. A two-group design using random assignment was used to examine environmental control of independent and dependent behaviors, defined as task persistence and exploration, and proximity-seeking and socialization of attention, respectively. Subjects were 20 3- and 4-year-olds, 11 females and 9 males. Results indicated that independent and dependent behaviors are both strongly under the control of environmental contingencies in both boys and girls. Implications of these results for the theoretical understanding of sex-role development and women's mental health problems are discussed.     

The encoding of perceptual information in the organization of individual stimulus patterns

Two experiments compared the effectiveness of variable physical dimensions and relationships among the components of individual stimulus patterns as means for encoding perceptual information. Four different codes were constructed in which letters (A through P) were represented by redundant combinations of the shape and brightness of the four component forms in each stimulus pattern. Three of the codes differed in terms of the physical variables that were redundant, and a fourth code was designed to simplify the relationships within individual stimulus patterns. Ss were asked to identify each pattern by naming its letter label as rapidly as possible. Differences in the speed of identification between codes and between individual patterns within codes indicated that perceptual information was effectively encoded by the organization of relationships within individual stimulus patterns. The representation of stimulation in terms of relationships among components has several implications for models of human information processing.