Visual acuity improvement following fading and feedback training—II. Relationship to changes in refractive error

The present study evaluated the effects of behavioral training on visual acuity and refractive error in myopic adults. Twenty volunteers were matched on the basis of refractive error and one member of each matched pair was randomly assigned to either Fading and Feedback training or a no-treatment control condition. Visual acuity was measured with both recognition and resolution measures. Refractive error was measured subjectively using the LaserSpec optometer, and objectively by two retinoscopic examinations performed by an ophthalmologist with and without cycloplegia. The results indicated significant increases in recognition visual acuity, but not resolution visual acuity for trained subjects compared to the no-treatment controls. Trained subjects did not show improvement in refractive error on any measure, and refractive error changes were not correlated with changes in either measure of visual acuity. These data suggest that the visual acuity improvements typically found with behavioral training are not associated with changes in refractive error.     

FIELD REPLICATION OF CLASSWIDE PEER TUTORING

We conducted a large-scale field replication study of classwide peer tutoring applied to spelling instruction (Greenwood, Delquadri, & Hall, 1984). Two hundred and eleven inner-city students in four schools participated during their first- and second-grade school years. The effects of classwide peer tutoring were compared to teacher instructional procedures and pretest probes using a group replication design (Barlow, Hayes, & Nelson, 1984). Analysis of group and individual results indicated that (a) both teacher instructional procedures and classwide peer tutoring were effective in increasing spelling performance above pretest levels, (b) peer tutoring produced statistically greater gains relative to the teachers' procedures for both low and high student groups formed on pretest levels, (c) these outcomes were representative of groups, classes, individuals, and years during the project, and (d) participant satisfaction with the program was generally high. A separate analysis of the social importance of treatment outcome revealed differential findings for low and high groups related to pretest levels. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Cultural bias in the WISC

It is often argued that IQ differences between groups of American Blacks and Whites are the result of IQ tests being culturally biased instruments. The present study attempts to determine the existence of cultural bias in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) by comparing Black and White children on: (1) loadings of the first principal component on the WISC subtests; (2) the rank order of item difficulty; (3) measuring the contribution to the total variance of the Race by Item interaction obtained by ANOVA; (4) and by attempting to stimulate race differences by within-race age differences. The results indicate that: (1) there is no evidence of specific factors peculiar to either racial group (the groups differ on what is common to all subtests); (2) the rank order of item difficulties is similar in both racial groups; (3) ANOVA reveals a significant Race by Item interaction, but one which accounts for less than five percent of the total variance, less than one percent in the case of age offset analysis; (4) the items which best discriminate between Blacks and Whites at any age level are also the items which best discriminate between age groups within-race. The data support the view that race differences are differences in mental maturity rather than in artifact of biased testing instruments.     

Learning and memory of field independent-dependent individuals

It has been proposed that field-independent and field-dependent learners differ more in the processes they use than in the effectiveness of their learning or retention. The present article discusses alternative explanations which emphasize developmental differences and differences in efficiency of performance between field-independent and field-dependent learners. Review of the concept learning literature and some new data suggested that the greater effectiveness of field-independent learners was related to memory efficiency and the ability to conduct combinatorial analysis. Research concerning short-term memory and free recall was also examined. High information load, greater interference potential, and less subjective organization were suggested as factors which contribute to the less efficient memory of field-dependent learners.     

Processes operative during delay of gratification

Sixty-four middle-class preschool children chose between waiting for a preferred item and receiving a less desired item immediately. The items were of different classes, i.e., one food and one toy, and subjects waited with one, both, or neither of the rewards available for viewing. The likelihood that a subject would continue waiting for the delayed reward was found to increase as a function of previous waiting time rather than decrease or remain constant as required by two current theories of delay of gratification processes, an aversive affect model implied by Mischel and Ebbesen (1970) and Atkinson and Birch's (1970) dynamics of action. Although display of rewards impaired successful delay, replicating previous results, dynamics of action predictions of differential effects for display of immediately available and delayed outcomes of different classes were not confirmed. Systematic observation of spontaneous subject activities during the delay period offered additional support for the notion that distraction facilitates successful waiting behavior. A decision-attention model is proposed to account for the present results as well as those of previous studies of delay of gratification.We would like to thank the director, Mr. Jack Lewis, and the staff of the Red Bell Nursery of Plymouth, Michigan, for helping us obtain subjects for this study and providing access to their facilities. We are also grateful to Ms. Shirley St. Peter and Ms. Carolyn Jagacinski for their work as experimenters.     

Negative dominance in hedonic integration of noun-noun pairs

Subjects in Experiment 1 rated the pleasantness of nouns and of noun pairs. Although pair pleasantness was highly correlated with average component-word pleasantness, it was systematically lower than this average. In Experiment 2, subjects rated all combinations of 18 nouns on either pleasantness or unpleasantness of the pair, in a within-subject factorial design. Significant interactions in the two studies were interpreted in the context of algebraic integration theory as indicating a context-sensitive differential weighting of components: the more unpleasant noun of a pair had a greater effect on pair ratings than the more pleasant noun. The potential reliability and generality of this negative dominance effect was considered, and it was contrasted with the Pollyanna effect discussed by previous authors.The authors would like to thank Ronald Fox for his valuable help with the data analysis.     

Imagery ability and the identification of hands: A chronometric analysis

In a replication of Cooper and Shepard's (1975) study of hand recognition, it was found that individual differences in imagery ability had a significant influence on reaction times to such stimuli (Experiment 1). However, it was found (Experiment 2) that individual difference effects were only seen if prior instructions to use imagery were given to the subjects.