The influence of the form of the question on the eyewitness testimony of preschool children

Thirty-two preschool children were questioned after viewing four short films. The form of the question (affirmative-negative, definite-indefinite article, some-any quantifier) was systematically varied in a counterbalanced design. The form of the question did not significantly affect answers to questions about entities actually present in the films; however, it did have significant effects on answers concerning entities which were not in the film. Questions such as Did you see the..., Did you see any..., and Didn't you see some... were answered yes more frequently than other question types. Thus young children are aware of the expectation conveyed by certain linguistic forms, such asthe. The results are discussed in the light of current models of constructive memory as well as their implications for accurate questioning of children.An earlier version of this article was delivered to the Stanford Child Language Research Forum, Stanford University, April 1976.     

Electroencephalographic and dichotic indices of cerebral laterality in stutterers

To test the hypothesis that stuttering is the product of faulty cerebral laterality four experiments were performed on each of five adult stutterers and five fluent speakers. These tests were: (1) dichotic listening with consonant-vowel pairs, (2) alpha recording over both hemispheres during the performance of cognitive tasks intended to engage preferentially the left or right hemispheres, (3) contingent negative variation with either an articulatory or bilaterally symmetrical response, and (4) readiness potential with the same responses. The results fail to disconfirm the null hypothesis regarding stutterers and their fluent peers. All subjects showed consistent patterns of cerebral laterality indicative of localization of speech function in the left hemisphere. Suggestions are made regarding a possible contribution of deficient sensorimotor integration in stuttering.     

For better or worse? Self-esteem and the contingencies of acceptance in marriage

A longitudinal daily diary study examined the origins and consequences of perceiving a partner's acceptance and love as contingent on professional success. Both members of 154 couples completed a diary for 21 days. Multilevel analyses revealed that low self-esteem men and women felt more accepted and loved by their partner on days when their professional lives were marked by success, and low self-esteem women felt less accepted and loved on days when their professional lives were marked by failure. No such spillover effects between people's professional and relationship lives emerged for people high in chronic selfesteem. A 1-year longitudinal follow-up revealed that people who initially felt less accepted across days reported decreased satisfaction. Men also became especially distressed when their wives felt less accepted initially and (incorrectly) perceived their husbands' regard as contingent.     

Predicting literacy at age 7 from preliteracy at age 4

Early literacy experience and preliteracy knowledge have been shown to predict later literacy outcomes. Using a representative sample of 3,052 same-sex twin pairs (6,104 children) in the United Kingdom, we explored phenotypic and etiological interrelationships among early literacy experience, preliteracy knowledge, and school-based literacy outcomes (reading and writing). Both literacy experience and preliteracy knowledge at age 4 significantly and independently predicted literacy at age 7. Both measures also showed genetic influence that significantly predicted literacy at age 7, although genetic mediation was stronger for preliteracy knowledge than for early literacy experience. However, for both measures, shared environmental factors explained most of the association with literacy at age 7.     

Cluttering and stuttering exhibited in a young professional

S 18, a young adult professional, was self-referred for stuttering. Assessment indicated deficits consistent with both stuttering and cluttering, including prolongations, syllable repetitions, secondary escape behaviors, rapid speech rate, and poor expressive language. The client had no awareness of cluttering characteristics. Therapy goals included improved breath control, slowed rate, easier onset of articulation, and increased awareness of speech. Progress toward therapeutic goals was consistent. However, his motivation decreased as therapy progressed. He was discharged from direct treatment after 13 months, at which time he could employ therapeutic techniques to improve his fluency and intelligibility when speech was disordered.     

Predictors of Success in High School Level Vocational Education Programs: A Review, 1954–1967

Over 1,200 correlations reported in 38 studies appearing in the period 1954–1967 are summarized for 10 predictor categories and 11 vocational program areas. For each predictor-program combination the distribution of correlations is given along with median correlation (r), total number of students involved, number of correlations located, and an index to the relevant studies. Main trends include (a) substantial variation in results from study to study; (b) differences in level of predictor-criterion r among vocational areas and between males and females; (c) evidence of differential predictability; and (d) poor performance of dexterity tests.     

Pollock on token physicalism,agent materialism and strong artificial intelligence

An examination of John Pollock's theory of artificial intelligence and philosophy of mind raises difficulties for his mechanist concept of person. Token physicalism, agent materialism, and strong artificial intelligence are so related that if the first two propositions are not well‐established, then there is no justification for believing that an artificial consciousness can be designed and built. Pollock's arguments are shown to be inconclusive in upholding a functionalist theory of persons as supervenient but purely physical entities. In part this is the result of Pollock's thin definition of the concept of supervenience, according to which any complex supervenes on its proper parts. The limitations of this account are apparent when contrasted with richer conceptions of supervenience, such as Joseph Margolis’. But on Margolis’ theory, the mind and its expressions supervene on or rise above their material embodiments in the sense that they cannot be fully explained in physical terms, which contradicts Pollock's token physicalism and agent materialism. The consequence for Pollock's project to explain the mind as mechanical, and to manufacture artificial persons, is that these systems can at best aspire to impressive innovations in weak artificial intelligence, but realistically cannot aspire to strong or mentalistic artificial intelligence.