Development of syntax in a retarded girl using procedures of imitation, reinforcement, and modelling

Three experiments demonstrated the development and generalized use of a singular and plural declarative sentence in a child initially lacking sentence form responses. In each experiment, an adult(s) served as a language model(s), and consequences (sweets) were provided for imitation of the model. During training trials, an item(s) was displayed first to the model(s) then to the subject; these displays were accompanied by requests to label the item(s). Generalization was assessed by a number of probe trials that were periodically interspersed among training trials. During these trials, the subject was requested to label the displayed item(s) without any preceding labelling response from the model. Using these procedures, generalized use of a singular sentence ("That is one-") resulted in Experiment I, and generalized use of a plural sentence ("These are two-") resulted in Experiment II. In Experiment III, two models (a singular and a plural sentence model) were made available to the subject but imitation of only one model was reinforced during any one condition. Results indicated the subject labelled probe (generalization) items with the same sentence form that was modelled and reinforced during training trials.     

COMPETENCES A COMMUNIQUER ET RELATIONS PRIVILEGIEES ENTRE ENFANTS: COMPARAISON ENTRE DEUX GROUPES D'AGE*

The purpose of this study is to analyse the specificity of interactions between preschool friends, whose relationships are built on a voluntary and stable choice of a particular partner. The sample consisted of 18 unisexual triads of children aged 3 to 4 years (9 male and 9 female) from 5 Parisian kindergarten. These triads were compared with 18 others, composed of children aged 4 to 5 years (9 male and 9 female), from a previous study (Werebe et Boudonnière, in press). Each triad was composed of a dyad of friends plus a third familiar partner, all three classmates. The dyads of friends were selected on the basis of the following criteria: (1) a reciprocal and preferential search for one another; (2) a voluntary choice of the friend, without intervention from parents or teachers. The children were videotaped without their knowledge, without adult presence, in a familiar room of their school. The experimental setting was standardized in each of the 5 schools. The experimental paradigm was a variant of the one created by Nadel and Baudonnière (1980, 1982), with an important modification: the ten categories of matching objects were provided in double sets for the three children. Four indices were used for the data analysis: holding and appropriation of objects; offering of objects; competition to hold objects and verbalizations. The findings confirmed the principal hypothesis: that interactions between friends differ from those with the third partner, in both age groups, quantitatively (density of interactions) and qualitatively (reciprocal offerings and verbal communications). Furthermore, the findings revealed that the younger children had more difficulty than the older ones, to manage the triadic situation, especially in this situation with the constraint imposed by the presence of two sets of matching objects for three partners.     

An investigation of children's fears and their mothers' fears

Children (75 female, 52 male) in grades 2 through 8 completed the Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSS-FC). Their mothers completed the same questionnaire twice: once for themselves and a second time to estimate their children's fears. Spearman's rhos indicated that there was a high degree of correspondence between the mothers' rank-ordered estimates of their children's fears and the children's rank-ordered self-reports (=.86 for males, =.96 for females.However, mothers' overall estimates of their children's general fearfulness were significantly correlated only with their daughters' fearfulness, not with their sons'. Further analyses showed that mothers could generally identify their children's highest-rated fears. All test-retest measures were significant. In summary, these results suggest that mothers may provide useful clinical information about their children's specific fears and that the FSS-FC is a reliable instrument with which to assess children's fears.     

Why do older adults have difficulty with semantic fluency?

Aging involves many cognitive declines, particularly in fluid intelligence, with relative maintenance of crystallized intelligence. This paradox is evident in the language domain: lexical retrieval becomes slower and less accurate, despite well preserved vocabularies. Verbal fluency assesses both crystallized and fluid aspects of language. Semantic fluency hypothetically reflects semantic knowledge, while letter fluency putatively reflects executive functioning, which would predict a greater impact of aging on the latter. However, the opposite is typically observed.

To investigate factors contributing to such asymmetries, we examined verbal fluency in 86 adults (30-89 years). Multiple regression analyses indicated that semantic fluency depends largely on lexical retrieval speed, as well as visualization strategies to support controlled retrieval, skills which may disproportionately decline with age. By contrast, letter fluency relies heavily on vocabulary knowledge, providing some protection against age-related declines. These findings contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of typical age-related declines in word retrieval.     

The Relationship Between Personality and Subjective Well-Being: Different Association Patterns When Measuring the Affective Component in Frequency and Intensity

The aim was to determine whether the relationship between personality traits and Subjective Well-Being (SWB) differs when the affective component of SWB is measured in terms of frequency or intensity. Extraversion and Neuroticism were expected to show significant but different associations to SWB depending on the dimension of the affective component. Swedish undergraduate students (N = 153) self-reported personality, life satisfaction (LS), and affect measured in both frequency (i.e., how often they feel certain affects) and intensity (i.e., how strongly they feel certain affects). Two types of SWB-scores were constructed by merging LS with affect measured in either frequency or intensity. While Extraversion had a similar effect on both types of SWB, Neuroticism had a significantly stronger effect on SWB when the affective component was measured in frequency. More importantly, the effect of Neuroticism, compared to Extraversion, was stronger on SWB regardless of the dimension of the affective component. These findings suggest that future research should clearly distinguish between intensity and frequency when measuring the affective component of SWB. The distinction is important, not only due to the distinctiveness of the affective dimensions per se, but also due to different association patterns between personality traits and both dimensions.     

Assessing bilingual and monolingual Latino students with translations of the MMPI-2: initial data

This article presents the results of 2 studies conducted with Spanish versions of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) with Latino students. Study 1 compared the results of 2 administrations of the MMPI-2, one in English and the other in Spanish. Study 2 compared the results of administrations of 2 Spanish versions of the MMPI-2, the official Mexican adaptation and the Version Hispana. In both cases, scale score differences were not found. Comparability, as operationally defined by test-retest reliability, was found to be higher for the group that was administered the English and Spanish versions than the group administered the 2 Spanish versions. Overall, the results were found to suggest correspondence. Yet, the authors warn against concluding "perfect" correspondence because other key groups need to be studied, including psychiatric patients and persons from the Latino community. Also, the determination of linguistic equivalence needs further refinement.     

"I am us": negative stereotypes as collective threats

Collective threat is the fear that an in-group member's behavior might reinforce a negative stereotype of one's group. In a field study, self-reported collective threat was higher in stereotyped minorities than in Whites and was linked to lower self-esteem in both groups. In 3 experimental studies, a potentially poor performance by an in-group member on a stereotype-relevant task proved threatening, as evidenced by lower self-esteem among minority students in 2 experiments and women in a 3rd experiment. The latter study demonstrated the generality of collective threat. Collective threat also undermined academic performance and affected self-stereotyping, stereotype activation, and physical distancing from the in-group member. Results further suggest that group identification plays a role in whether people use an avoidance or challenge strategy in coping with collective threat. Implications for theories of social identity and stigmatization are discussed.