Models of competence in solving physics problems

We describe a set of two computer-implemented models that solve physics problems in ways characteristic of more and less competent human solvers. The main features accounting for different competences are differences in strategy for selecting physics principles, and differences in the degree of automation in the process of applying a single principle. The models provide a good account of the order in which principles are applied by human solvers working problems in kinematics and dynamics. They also are sufficiently flexible to allow easy extension to several related domains of physics problems.     

Critical Reviews of Recent Books

Beck, S. J. Introduction to the Rorschach Method. Res. Monog., Amer. Orthopsychiat. Asso., 1937, No. 1. Reviewed by Charles L. Vaughn.     

Priming effects from phonologically related distractors in picture-word interference

In the cross-modal picture-word interference task, distractors phonologically related to a to-benamed picture facilitate the naming response as compared to unrelated distractors. Our experiment shows that this phonological priming effect can be obtained with as early an SOA as-300 ms. The experiment also demonstrates that this priming effect cannot be attributed to strategic behaviour of the participants as opposed to automatic preactivation processes in the lexical-conceptual system. The implications for studies using the picture-word interference task as a tool for investigating lexicalization processes in speech production are discussed.     

Can infants’ orientation to social stimuli predict later joint attention skills?

From the moment infants are born, they seem to prefer orienting to social stimuli, over objects and non‐social stimuli. This preference lasts throughout adulthood and is believed to play a crucial role in social‐communicative development. By following up a group of infants at the age of 6, 8, and 12 months, this study explored the role of social orienting in the early development of joint attention skills. The expected association between social orienting and joint attention was partially confirmed. Social orienting in real‐life photographs of everyday situations was not related to later joint attention skills, however fixation to the eyes in a neutral face was related to response to joint attention skills, and fixation to the eyes in a dynamic video clip of a talking person was predictive of initiating joint attention skills. Several alternative interpretations of the results are discussed.