Development of rules and strategies: balancing the old and the new

The experiments described in the lead articles replicate findings from previous studies of development of knowledge about balance scales, add several new findings, and raise four key questions: (a) How can rule use best be assessed? (b) How can we reconcile systematic use of rules with variable use of strategies? (c) When do children begin to use rules? and (d) How do children generate new rules? In this Reflection, we summarize current understanding of development of knowledge about balance scales and consider each of the four questions.     

Sentence processing strategies in healthy seniors with poor comprehension: an fMRI study

We used fMRI to examine patterns of brain recruitment in 22 healthy seniors, half of whom had selective comprehension difficulty for grammatically complex sentences. We found significantly reduced recruitment of left posterolateral temporal [Brodmann area (BA) 22/21] and left inferior frontal (BA 44/6) cortex in poor comprehenders compared to the healthy seniors with good sentence comprehension, cortical regions previously associated with language comprehension and verbal working memory, respectively. The poor comprehenders demonstrated increased activation of left prefrontal (BA 9/46), right dorsal inferior frontal (BA 44/6), and left posterior cingulate (BA 31/23) cortices for the grammatically simpler sentences that they understood. We hypothesize that these brain regions support an alternate, nongrammatical strategy for processing complex configurations of symbolic information. Moreover, these observations emphasize the crucial role of the left perisylvian network for grammatically guided sentence processing in subjects with good comprehension.     

Ethical and practical considerations in managing incidental findings in functional magnetic resonance imaging

Functional magnetic resonance imaging has emerged as a powerful tool for mapping the neurologic underpinnings of sensory, motor and cognitive function. Much of this evolution carries assumptions about the subject population under study and, in particular, the neurologic status of subjects entered into studies either as healthy controls or as belonging to a specific disease group. Recent reports of incidental MRI abnormalities in normal volunteers for fMRI studies have brought to attention a variety of practical challenges and ethical dilemmas for researchers, many of whom are not physicians and most of whom have no formal radiological training. We propose a minimum standard for consenting subjects in fMRI protocols, and consider strategies over the longer term that call for expert physician participation, archiving of incidental findings including false positives, and the adoption of guidelines for handling variation in neural activations or performance that appear outside expected norms.     

共享概念的性质对拥有关系句子情景模型建立的影响

应用扇效应技术探讨共享概念的性质对建构拥有关系情境模型的影响。共包括2个实验,探讨在将“多人买1物”句式中的所购“物品”改变为隐含共同地点信息的“物品”条件下,被试对“多人买1物”拥有行为句式的学习是否表现出扇效应。结果表明,当所购物品隐含的相同地点信息的情况下,“多人买1物”的拥有行为句式无论是否具有明确的地点状语,都如同“1人买多物”的句式一样,没有表现出扇效应,与Radvanskv的研究结果不同。据此认为,只有在共享概念是属于情景模型建构的维度信息的情况下,有共享概念的信息才能整合为同一个情景模型。     

中国幼儿数数过程信息加工活动研究

探讨中国幼儿数数发展特点。实验1探讨3－5岁幼儿数数的终结点分布状况,结果表明,最大的密集终结点是“19”。实验2进一步考察幼儿在其数数范围内与范围外的起点进行数数的成绩,结果表明,数数范围为11－19的幼儿就开始有部分人可以在其数数范围外的起点进行数数,此表明他们开始应用了数列规则。据此可以认为,中国幼儿的数数活动同样包括联结学习与数列规则学习两种信息加工活动,但中国幼儿数列规则的学习活动在“11－19”数数过程开始。     

Examination of relationships among trait-like individual differences, state-like individual differences, and learning performance

Several authors (e.g., J.T. Austin & H.J. Klein, 1996; R. Kanfer, 1990b, 1992) have urged researchers to examine comprehensive models of distal individual differences as predictors of proximal motivational processes and performance. Two field studies in an academic setting tested a model of relationships among trait-like individual differences (cognitive ability, general self-efficacy, and goal orientation), state-like individual differences (state anxiety, task-specific self-efficacy, and goals), and learning performance. Most hypothesized relationships among these constructs received support when tested on 2 samples, when examining different performance episodes, and when using different goal orientation and state-anxiety measures. In general, state-like individual differences were found to mediate the relationships between trait-like individual differences and learning performance. Implications of these results are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Effects of antecedent order and semantic context on Chinese pronoun resolution

Three reading time experiments were conducted in order to examine the relative contributions of order of antecedents and semantic context to the resolution of temporarily ambiguous Chinese pronouns. These pronouns were ambiguous because each of them was preceded by two antecedents, both of which were likely candidates for coreference. The identity of the pronoun was revealed by subsequent disambiguating information that constrained the pronoun to one particular interpretation. Experiment 1 showed that reading of the disambiguating phrase was slower when the phrase confined the pronoun to the second rather than to the first antecedent. Experiment 2 produced the same effect of antecedent order (first vs. second antecedent) regardless of whether the target antecedent was an action-performing or an action-receiving entity. In Experiment 3, the order effect was eliminated by a biasing modifier inserted immediately before the pronoun. These results indicate that in a semantically neutral environment, the first-appearing antecedent is the preferred candidate for coreferencing the ambiguous Chinese pronoun. The interaction between order of antecedents and semantic context (in the form of preposed biasing modifiers) suggests that the initial comprehension of Chinese pronouns depends as much on contextual as on structural factors.     

Attitudes toward genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis among a group of individuals with physical disabilities

Few studies have been published on the attitudes of people with physical disabilities toward genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis. Articles in the lay press and social science literature on this topic, mainly written by disability rights activists and advocates, imply opposition to prenatal diagnosis and the field of clinical genetics by the physically disabled population. In this study, 15 adults with physical disabilities were interviewed regarding their attitudes toward genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis. Genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis were generally viewed favorably by this sample of the disability community. Only a small percentage of the sample perceived genetics to be eugenic. Implications for genetic counseling and future research are discussed.     

An investigation of Taiwanese early adolescents' views about the nature of science

This study developed a Pupils' Nature of Science Scale, including the subscales of the invented and changing nature of science, the role of social negotiation on science, and cultural context on science, to assess early adolescents' views about the nature of science. More than 6,000 fifth and sixth graders in Taiwan responded to the Scale. The study revealed that the adolescents had quite different perspectives toward different subscales of the nature of science. Moreover, male adolescents tended to express more constructivist-oriented views toward the nature of science than did their female counterparts. The adolescents of different grades and races also displayed varying views toward the nature of science.     

Transforming mental health care for children and their families

In April 2002, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health was created by executive order to study the mental health care delivery system in our nation and to make recommendations for improvements so that individuals with serious mental disorders can live, work, learn, and fully participate in their homes and communities. In its report, "Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America," the commission provided strategies to address critical infrastructure, practice, and research issues. This article focuses on the work of the commission's Subcommittee on Children and Families, describing its vision for mental health service delivery for children and providing suggestions for strengthening community-based care for youths with or at risk of behavioral health disorders. Training, research, practice, and policy implications for psychologists are discussed.