Memory for concrete and abstract words in bilingual speakers

The dual-code hypothesis of Paivio was taken to imply that bilingual speakers should show poorer memory for the language in which concrete words appeared than the language in which abstract words appeared. The results of two experiments with German-English bilinguals, one using a recognition memory procedure and the other using the free recall task, found the opposite state of affairs. Semantic recognition, free recall, and memory for language of occurrence were all found to be superior for concrete words. Two hypotheses were advanced. One, called the "cultural imagery hypothesis," assumes that images may be culture specific, while the other hypothesis interprets the outcome in terms of the relations between stored attributes. An analysis of the experiment as an attribute-memory procedure is presented.     

The effects of suspiciousness of deception and the perceived legitimacy of deception on task performance in an attitude change experiment1

Subjects participated in two immediately consecutive experiments In the first, they either experienced a deception and debriefing, learned about deception in the abstract, did not learn about deception In the second, they either did or did not hear a reference to the possibility of a deception in that experiment A measure of incidental learning of the message in the second experiment showed that experiencing deception and learning about it in the abstract were not functionally equivalent, that only experiencing deception tended to produce absolute bias, that this bias was probably caused by “vigilance” rather than by “negativism,” that the reference to deception before the second experiment did not itself cause bias, and that the reference eliminated the difference in performance due to experiencing a deception as opposed to only learning about it in the abstract Furthermore, suspiciousness and the reported legitimacy of deception were positively related to each other at the group mean level Separating out their contribution to experimental performance showed that they complexly interacted to determine performance. These results were discussed with reference to the fear that subjects who have heard about deception from friends might perform differently from subjects who have not, with reference to the necessity for deception in some attitude change research, with reference to one alternative to deception, and with reference to explanations of why some experiments have shown no relationship between suspiciousness and experimental performance while others have shown a negative relationship     

Anxiety and ritualized speech.

The experiment examines the effects on a number of words that seem irrevelant to semantic communication. The Units of Ritualized Speech (URSs) considered are: 'I mean', 'in fact', 'really', 'sort of', 'well', and 'you know'. Two hypotheses are tested: (i) that URS rate will increase with anxiety; and (ii) that the speaker's preferred URS will increase with anxiety. Subjects were interviewed on topics they had previously rated as anxiety-provoking and non-anxiety-provoking. Hypothesis (i) was supported, but hypothesis (ii) was not. More specifically, the use of 'I mean' and 'well' increases when the speaker is anxious. Explanation for this is sought in the grammatical location of these two units. Sex differences in the use of URSs, correlations between URSs and their relationship to other forms of disfluency are also considered.     

Self-derogation and defense style in college students.

The self-concept literature generally shows that different measures of self-acceptance and self-satisfaction are positively related to psychological adjustment and several measures of defensiveness. In order to understand clearly the relationship between self-concept and adjustment it is also important to consider characteristic defense styles. With this purpose in mind, Kaplan, and Pokorny's Self-derogation scale, three of the most commonly used measures of defensive styles, and a measures of trait-anxiety, were administered to 158 college students. Self-derogation correlated positively with repression-sensitization and trait-anxiety, and negatively with general defensiveness. A positive relationship between self-derogation and ego-control was also found. The results were interpreted as consistent with self theory.     

Allocation of attention and the locus of adaptation to displaced vision.

Experimental subjects were exposed to prism-induced visual displacement of a target whose location was correctly given by proprioceptive-kinesthetic information. Control subjects were exposed alternately to visual displacement or proprioceptive-kinesthetic location information. During the adaptation period, experimental subjects in the visual attention condition performed a localization task that directed them to attend selectively to the visual modality; experimental subjects in the proprioceptive attention condition attended selectively to the proprioceptive modaltiy; control subjects performed the task on the basis of the available modality. Measures of adaptation and aftereffect were secured separately in each of the two modalities. These confirmed the predictions that the shifts in the experimental conditions would be confirmed to localization tests dependent on the unattended modality and that control subjects would not exhibit adaptation. We proposed that allocation of attention determines situational dominance and that dominance determines the locus of adaptation. The findings were compared to those reported by Canon (1970) and were applied to a reassessment of the "visual capture" phenomenon.     

On the existence of prelinguistic categories: A case study

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether infants spontaneously form categories during the prelinguistic period and whether these categories are based on the same principles as adult basic-level categories. A new methodology, using a functional use measure as the determinant of category composition, was employed in a case study of one infant's horn category. Results indicated that this category met Schlesinger's (1982) criteria for a prelinguistic category and that the category was based on similarity relationships, as adult categories are.     

Early gender differences in the functional usage of language

Early male and female differences in the functional use of language were investigated by coding the verbal interactions of 32 preschool children during a 10-minute play session with same-sex peer. The speech of each child was classified into functional-motivational categories using the FIS-P scoring instrument. The findings were consistent with the literature on adult conversational styles, showing that males talk more and are more assertive in their social interactions than are females. The results of this study demonstrate the existence of early gender differences in the functional use of language and emphasize the importance of a developmental approach to the study of communication styles.     

PROVIDING A MORE APPROPRIATE EDUCATION FOR SEVERELY HANDICAPPED PERSONS: INCREASING AND VALIDATING FUNCTIONAL CLASSROOM TASKS

We evaluated a teacher training and supervision program for increasing the involvement of severely handicapped adolescents and adults in functional educational tasks. The program, consisting of a brief in-service followed by supervisory prompts and feedback, was accompanied by large increases in functional tasks in three classrooms. In addition, generalized increases occurred during nontargeted times in the classroom and the changes during both the targeted and nontargeted times were maintained over a 44–45 week period. In two subsequent experiments, surveys provided social validation for the criteria for functional versus nonfunctional tasks in that: (a) relevant individuals reliably categorized functional tasks as representing typical living, work, social, and leisure situations and (b) experienced clinicians consistently rated tasks previously categorized as functional as being more useful for severely handicapped persons than tasks categorized as nonfunctional. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship of functional classroom tasks in the overall provision of appropriate educational services for severely handicapped students.     

Drawing out resistance: The use of the house-tree-person test to facilitate communication in verbal therapy groups

Resistance as an impediment in both individual and group therapy is discussed, and the special resistances common to groups are described through a review of the literature. An adaptation of John Buck's House-Tree-Person projective test is suggested as a method for overcoming resistance that can be used by group therapists, including those unfamiliar with art therapy techniques. Case examples are presented of a group session in which resistance is a prominent deterrent to progress and another in which the use of the projective drawing technique facilitates the dissolution of resistance.