The rate of word integration and the overprinting paradigm

In the first experiment, the letters of words were overprinted; that is, successive letters were presented on the same location of the screen. Word identification was difficult unless the rate of presentation was slow, about 3 letters/sec. The second experiment showed that the low level of word identification did not reflect difficulty with basic letter identification. Instead, it reflected the rate at which short-term memory can accept separate items. While such results refute models of reading that stress a letter-by-letter integration, they do not test those that stress construction of higher order units. Instead, the task forces letter-byletter integration by removing spatial information, a dimension required for construction of higher order units. As a result, it does not permit integration of the correct units. The third experiment illustrated the construction and integration of supraletter units. Letter groups (either syllables or corresponding nonsyllable groups! were overprinted, a technique that introduces the spatial dimension. Word identification increased dramatically, and subjects were able to exploit the familiarity inherent in syllabic presentations. Thus, integration is much faster when more appropriate units can be used, and construction of the units depends on spatial information. The fourth experiment showed that the construction of supraletter units is achieved prior to short-term memory: Even though memory was able to group the material, the subjects could not use syllabic structure when syllables were isolated temporally but not spatially. The results were discussed in terms of a model describing the construction of higher order units.     

Some psychological correlates of generalized and focal epilepsy in children

School-aged children with two types of epilepsy, generalized and focal, were compared with normal children of the same age, sex, and IQ on measures of cognitive style, attention, motor control, and behavioral pathology. Epileptic children were found to employ less efficient cognitive strategies and to have longer reaction times and poorer control of fine motor movements than have normal children. Children with generalized epilepsy were more impaired than were normal children when sustained motor performance was required. Mothers of children with generalized epilepsy reported more behavior problems than did control mothers on an objective checklist. These results suggest special educational methods for the treatment and education of epileptic children.The research reported in this paper was supported by Grant No. MA-45O5 from the Medical Research Council of Canada. Grateful thanks are extended to Dr. Katherine Metrakos, Director of the Convulsive Disorder Clinic, Montreal Children's Hospital, who screened epileptic subjects and gave us her enthusiastic support. The Diagnostic Test Center was most helpful in providing blood serum levels on the clinical sample. We wish to thank the Notre Dame de Grace and Westmount branches of the Y.M.C.A. for access to control subjects.     

The Stability of Vocational Interests Within Occupations Over Long Time Spans

Counselors and those responsible for the construction and maintenance of vocational interest inventories need to be aware of change in interest patterns over time within occupational groups. That issue is explored here for the SVIB by asking three questions: first, do the SVIB scales developed in the 1930's hold up in cross-validations today? Answer: yes, they appear to. Second, when various SVIB scales have been revised, have the revised scales differed drastically from the originals? Answer: not much; in a few instances, there has been no change whatsoever. Third, do the people who today hold exactly the same jobs as those held by Strong's criterion groups of the 1930's have the same interest patterns as the original group? Answer: yes, at least in one occupation, i.e., bankers. Further speculation suggests that men with similar interest patterns have sifted into similar occupations throughout recorded history.     

Medical Manichaeism

Medical discourse in the contemporary United States is rife with military metaphors. These metaphors have come under vigorous criticism over the last few decades but to no avail; the militaristic tendency has proven tenacious. This essay suggests that its tenacity stems, at least in part, from a dualistic understanding of medicine unaddressed by prior criticisms. For an alternative, this essay turns to Augustine of Hippo, balancing close readings of works that deal explicitly with medical themes—The Catholic Way of Life and the Manichean Way of Life (De moribus) and The Nature of the Good (De natura boni)—with a constructive approach. By adapting Augustine's privative account of evil, we can understand disease as a condition of loss and treatment as a task of restoration. This reconfiguration shifts the focus of our interpretive discourses from malicious invaders to a fuller affirmation of the lived experiences of those who are ill.