The effects of retention interval on preschool children's short-term memory of verbal items

The short-term recall of word-triads was tested, comparing retention over three types of intervals within 24 preschoolers. Retention was significantly lower in the 16 sec unfilled interval condition than in the immediate test condition. This result, predicted from preschoolers' rehearsal deficiency, differs from those obtained in previous adult and child studies. A filled interval condition, requiring irrelevant verbal activity during the 16 sec period, significantly reduced recall from that of the unfilled interval condition. Recognition of the word items on a subsequent recognition test was greater than chance and was not affected by interval condition. This suggests that the condition effects in short-term recall did not disrupt the long-term storage of the items.     

Pavlovian extinction,phobias, and the limits of the cognitive paradigm

The slow or total lack of decrease in some autonomic responses during extinction in aversive conditioning and concomitant verbalizations of fear have remained a problem for learning theories and psychophysiology. Removal of the aversive stimulus should result in a rapid decrement in responding, as it does in cognitive and somatic systems. In laboratory analogues of phobia and clinical neurosis, however, such decreases do not occur in some autonomic responses and reported fear. In this article three areas of research are presented in which dissociations occur between cognitive and autonomie responses: 1) relational learning, 2) phobia, and 3) incubation. The data indicate that there are some important distinctions to be made concerning the properties of different psychological and physiological systems. These distinctions pertain to the differences between cognitive and noncognitive systems, between the two branches of the ANS, and between acquisition and extinction processes. These distinctions lead to a number of hypotheses concerning dissociations between response systems and have important implications for the understanding and treatment of neurosis.     

Task-hemispheric integrity in dual task performance

A condition of task hemispheric integrity is predicted to result in a dual task situation when the central processing and response components of each task are associated exclusively with a given cerebral hemisphere. The prediction that this condition will generate more efficient time-sharing is tested in a series of four experiments. In experiment 1 the prediction is confirmed when a spatial (tracking) and verbal (letter memory search) task are time-shared, and the hand assignment to task responses is manipulated. In experiment 2 a spatial variant of the memory search is used instead of the verbal letter search, and hand assignment effects are not obtained, since when two spatial tasks are time-shared an integrity assignment is impossible. Experiment 3 validates the hemispheric lateralization of the two single task variants of the memory search task, while experiment 4 establishes the separate “spatial’ and “verbal” resource demands of the two variants by observing their differential interference with concurrent spatial and verbal tasks.     

The lady spaceman: Children's perceptions of sex-stereotyped occupations

In a study of perceptions of sex-sterotyping in occupations, children from first, fourth, and sixth grades in single-sex schools and a coeducational school were asked to name male and female occupants of traditionally male and traditionally female roles. Use of linguistic markers (e.g., lady doctor) or stereotypically inappropriate responses (e.g., naming a female doctor nurse, while correctly naming the male occupant of this role doctor) was associated with labeling female occupants of traditionally male roles and male occupants of traditionally female roles. The results from this study indicate that language subtly reflects children's perceptions of sex roles.This study was supported by a grant from the Melbourne State College Standing Committee on Research and Development.     

The costs of selecting power bases or messages associated with the opposite sex

A study was conducted to examine the interpersonal costs of using power bases associated with the opposite sex. The study also tested two hypotheses regarding influence differences associated with two statistical interactions: (1) the sex of the source by the sex-type of the message, and (2) the sex of the subject by the sex-type of the message. Subjects (N=387) viewed a videotype containing one of six speakers (three males, three females) delivering one of two speeches (about gun control or child care centers) and using one of two power bases (helplessness or expertise). The results indicated that speakers using power bases associated with the opposite sex were liked less and regarded as less competent and qualified than their counterparts. The results also indicated that female speakers aroused more belief in the child care message and male speakers aroused more belief in the gun control message than did the other speaker-message combinations. No significant effects were associated with the interaction between subjects' sex and message. Among other findings, female subjects generally rated the messages and the speakers more positively than did male subjects.     

Cooperative education,career exploration,and occupational concepts for community college students

Super's self-concept theory of career development and Jordaan's construct of vocational exploratory behavior were used to investigate the outcomes of a college cooperative education program. The effects of an internship were compared with those of a classroom experience with regard to change in similarity between self- and occupational pictures (incorporation scores). A measure of incorporation was administered to 85 students who worked during one quarter, and 99 students who were enrolled in classes during the same period. Both groups increased in incorporation for prospective occupation (t = .01, p > .10). For the internship group no difference was found between increase in incorporation for first- and second-choice occupation (t = .24, p > .10), while for the classroom group the increase in incorporation for prospective occupation was significantly greater than for second-choice (t = 2.80, p < .01). This result was discussed in light of the implication that the internship stimulated vocational exploratory behavior. Roe's system of occupational classification revealed an unexpected lack of relationship between first- and second-choice occupations. These findings were discussed in relation to the career development of the working-class community college sample.     

A comparison of female and male adolescents' social behaviors and cognitions: A challenge to the assertiveness literature

Sex differences were investigated in the thoughts and behaviors of adolescents in simulated social situations. The pattern of sex differences indicated females to be more appropriately assertive in their overt behaviors than males. Males were more aggressive. In their cognitions females were more likely to deny their impact on others, while males were more likely to deny the impact of others on themselves. Potency training was suggested for females, assertiveness training for males. Cluster analyses of correlations among behaviors and thoughts revealed four clusters for females: external locus of control, internal locus of control, active expressiveness, and social isolation or denial. The three male clusters were a negative impotent one, a positive active cluster, and an aggressive hostile cluster.The research reported is based on a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph.D., University of Toronto (OISE). The research was partially funded by OISE Research and Development Grant No. 3478, awarded to the second author.     

Category and Attribute Knowledge Deterioration in Alzheimer's Disease

A prevalent theory regarding the deterioration of semantic memory in Alzheimer's disease is that it is a bottom-up process. If this is true, performance on tests of attribute knowledge should decline more rapidly than performance on tests of categorical knowledge as dementia severity increases. In the present study, a convincing pattern of findings to either support or reject the theory failed to emerge. This raised questions regarding the ability to separate attribute and categorical knowledge, and whether one can be tested without influence of the other. Questions also were raised regarding the additional cognitive processes needed to complete tasks of semantic memory.     

Psychoeducation: A promising intervention strategy for families of children and adolescents with mood disorders

Mood disorders and suicide in youth represent major health concerns requiring effective intervention strategies. This paper briefly summarizes the literature on childhood mood disorders and discusses expressed emotion (EE) and the link between lowering EE and improved outcome for mood disordered individuals. Family psychoeducation is discussed as a means of reducing EE and similarities and differences between psychoeducation and other therapeutic interventions explored. The authors' adaptations that made psychoeducation developmentally appropriate for families of children and adolescents are reviewed. Psychoeducation for families of mood disordered youth is suggested as worthy of further clinical and empirical effort.