Single-word reading in college dyslexics

Recent studies of single-word processing in dyslexic populations have focused on the differential predictions made by ‘delay’ and ‘deviance’ models. Many experiments in this area have sought to determine whether the reading process in dyslexia is idiosyncratic or similar to processing in younger non-dyslexic readers. Most relevant research has, however, failed to take account of recent developments in theoretical models of reading. Furthermore, relatively little research has examined the reading behaviour of ‘highly compensated’ subjects, who achieve high-level academic qualifications despite their developmental dyslexia. The present paper examines such a population, and concludes that its single-word reading is governed by the same spelling-to-sound word characteristics as reading by other groups. The implications of the results for the deviance/delay hypothesis and for models of word naming are discussed.     

Motfis of passage into worlds imaginary and fantastic

In this paper I match phenomena associated with the passage into otherworlds as reported during out-of-body and near-death experiences, with imagery associated with the passage into otherworlds as depicted in classic modern fantasies and fairy tales. Both sources include sensations of consciousness separating from the body, floating and flying, passage through fluidic spaces or dark tunnels toward bright lights, and emergence into supernatural worlds inhabited by souls of the deceased and by higher spiritual beings; and both describe comparable psychophysical intiatory factors. I introduce a metaphysically neutral depth psychology to explain these parallels, examine two metaphysically opposed extensions to this depth psychology, and consider several implications of a transcendental perspective.Mr. Greene is a free-lance writer whose principal interests have been parapsychology, religion, and metaphysics     

NATURE, HISTORY, AND GOD: TOWARD AN INTEGRATED CONCEPTUALIZATION

Abstract. In this paper I attempt to bring the ancient symbol God into a meaningful and illuminating conceptual relationship with modern understandings of the development of the cosmos, the evolution of life, and the movements of human history. The term "God" is taken to designate that reality (whatever it may be) which grounds and undergirds all that exists, including us humans; that reality which provides us humans with such fulfillment or salvation as we may find; that reality toward which we must turn, therefore, if we would flourish. I suggest that the cosmos can quite properly be interpreted today in terms of two fundamental ideas: (1) a notion of "cosmic serendipitous creativity," (2) the expression of which is through "directional movements" or "trajectories" of various sorts that work themselves out in longer and shorter stretches of time. In a universe understood in these terms, the symbol "God" may be taken to designate the underlying creativity working in and through all things, and in particular working in and through the evolutionary-historical trajectory on which human existence has appeared and by which it is sustained. The symbol "God" can thus perform once again its important function of helping to focus human consciousness, devotion, and work in a way appropriate to the actual world and the enormous problems with which men and women today must come to terms; but the ancient dualistic pattern of religious piety and thinking in which God is regarded as a supernatural Creator and governor of the world—so hard to integrate with modern conceptions of nature and history—is thoroughly overcome.     

Distance and movement time effects on the timing of agonist and antagonist muscles: a test of the impulse-timing theory

The experiment examined the effects of movement time (MT) and distance on the timing at electromyographic (EMG) activity from an agonist and antagonist muscle during rapid, discrete elbow movements in the horizontal plane. According to impulse-timing theory (Wallace, 1981) MT, not distance moved, should have a pronounced effect on the timing of EMG activity (duration of initial agonist and antagonist burst and time to onset of initial antagonist burst). The levels of MT were 100 and 160 msec and the levels of distance were 27 degrees and 45 degrees of elbow flexion. In general support of impulse-timing theory, the results of the three EMG timing measures showed that MT had a more pronounced effect on these measures than distance. In addition, the timing of EMG activity in relation to total MT remained fairly consistent across the four MT-distance conditions.     

Lexical decision for open- and closed-class words: failure to replicate differential frequency sensitivity

Bradley and her colleagues (D. C. Bradley, Computational distinctions of vocabulary type, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1978D. C. Bradley, M. E. Garrett, &; E. B. Zurif, in D. Caplan (Ed.), Biological studies of mental processes, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1980) have reported a marked difference in frequency sensitivity between open- and closed-class words on a lexical decision task. This effect was obtained with normal subjects, but not with Broca's aphasics. Their results have already influenced experimental and theoretical investigations of syntactic processing. However, in three lexical decision experiments with normal subjects, modeled on those of Bradley et al., we failed to find such a theoretically interesting difference between the two classes. Instead, both classes showed similar reaction time frequency sensitivity for word frequencies less than approximately 316/million (H. Kucera &; W. N. Francis, Computational analysis of present-day English, Providence, RI: Brown Univ. Press, 1967, count); above 399/million, the closed class had an almost-flat function of reaction time versus the logarithm of the frequency, while the open class may have had too few members for meaningful assessment. Because reaction time may be a nonlinear function of log frequency, and because there is relatively little overlap between the frequency ranges of the two classes, comparisons of the members of the two classes which might straddle the function's inflection point must be made with extreme caution.     

Spatial frequency and the detection of temporal discontinuity in superimposed and adjacent gratings

The properties of the detecting mechanism involved in the resolution of temporal discontinuities of visually presented stimuli have been investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, observers made judgments of discontinuity when superimposed presentations of sine-wave gratings of 1, 3, 6, and 10 cycles/deg were presented for either a 20- or a 200-msec duration per presentation at a contrast of .1 and .4. Threshold separation for discontinuity detection indicated a linear increase as spatial frequency increased, with a lesser effect for longer duration exposure and higher contrast. Experiment 2 involved adjacent presentation of the second grating, and a small linear decrease in separation threshold as a function of increasing spatial frequency occurred. The effect of spatial frequency on temporal discontinuity detection is dependent on whether the second stimulus is superimposed or adjacent.     

The effect of two types of induced-motion displays on perceived location of the induced target

Using a pointing test, perceived location of a target seen in induced motion was evaluated under two display conditions. In one, a fixated, horizontally stationary spot was surrounded by a frame moving back and forth. As the frame moved to each side, its center shifted correspondingly with respect to the subject’s objective median plane. In the second display, the surround was constructed so that as it moved back and forth, its center remained in virtual alignment with the objective median plane. Although both conditions produced a substantial induced-motion effect, only the former produced significant shifts in the target’s perceived location. Furthermore, similar shifts were also obtained with a stationary, offcenter frame (Experiment 2). This suggests that the changes in perceived location obtained with the first induced-motion display were not derived from the induced motion per se, but, rather, from a frame effect produced when the surround moved to an off-center position. Implications for the relationship between perceived motion and position, as well as for two theories of induced motion, are discussed.     

Interpretation of white space responses in children's Rorschach protocols

While most texts continue to assert that the Rorschach white space response (S) indicates hostility and oppositionality, several studies suggest that such responses are more accurately reflective of cognitive differentiation and autonomous strivings. In addition, there are no studies which have systematically explored the significance of S responses in children's protocols. To shed light on these issues, 47 children (7 to 13 yr.) were administered the Rorschach, Thematic Apperception Test, and the WISC-R, while their parents completed a behavioral checklist. Subjects with high S-response, independent of age, IQ, or perceptual accuracy, used the whole blot more often than those who made less frequent use of white space. They also had higher frequencies of shading determinants and blends and used more content categories. These results were interpreted as suggesting a tendency for subjects showing high S-response to construe the world in more complex terms. No differences were found between subjects high and low on S-response on either behavioral ratings or projective indices of hostility or negativism.     

The labours of Hercules: some good reasons why social workers should not try to be different, and practice family therapy

Family therapy, despite being an approach to problems in a social context, has, for the most part, been developed and refined in medical settings (Adams, 1979). Family therapy propounds a methodology based on social rather than medical techniques of intervention. It is logical to suggest that workers based in socially-orientated agencies, rather than medical settings, could be predicted to be better placed to utilize and develop this particular approach to human problems. How can it be explained that the main bulk of the innovations are still coming from practitioners who have trained primarily in medical approaches and settings? This article looks at some of the reasons why family therapy practice and development is not flourishing in Social Services Departments as it is in, for example, hospitals and clinics. The authors do not offer any positive conclusions at this stage, but will show, in a later publication, what has been achieved in some Social Services Departments, and how practice has been established despite the organizational and operational constraints implicit in the introduction of a family, or systems orientated method, to an agency traditionally and statutorily focused upon the individual.     

A right-ear advantage for dichotic listening in bilingual children

A dichotic listening task was administered to two groups of right-handed Hispanic children enrolled in bilingual education classes. The younger group's mean age was 9:6, the older group's was 13:6. Two dichotic tapes were used, one in English, one in Spanish, consisting of 60 pairs of words per tape. The words were comparable across languages in terms of frequency, grammatical function, and phonetic composition. The results showed clear and equal right-ear advantages for both groups of subjects and for both languages. As expected, older children scored higher than younger ones, and performance on Spanish was better than on English. Neither of these effects interacted with the ear advantage, however. Ear difference scores did not correlate with proficiency in the second language (as measured by performance on the English tape), but there was a significant correlation (r = .58) between the degree of asymmetry in the two languages. These findings indicate that the left hemisphere is primarily (and equally) involved in processing both languages of bilinguals, and that this pattern appears to remain stable in development.