Multiletter Word Units in Visual Recognition: Direct Activation by Supraletter Visual Features

Multiletter priming effects have been interpreted as evidence for the representation of separable multiletter units in the visual word recognition system (Whiteley & Walker, 1994). The reported experiments examine whether the activation of such units is pre- or post-lexical. Experiments 2 and 3 employed priming in an alphabetic decision task in which subjects made a discrimination response to test stimuli which could be classed as either targets or foils. Targets were single letters, or consonant bigrams, present or absent in an immediately preceding word, or (Experiment 3 and 4) they were whole words semantically associated or not to a preceding word. Foils were single non-alphanumeric characters, a character plus a letter, or a word with one letter replaced by a character. Experiment 1 was a preliminary to determine the parameters of a sequential presentation manipulation. Experiment 2 compared conditions of simultaneous and sequential presentation where letters of prime words were presented together, or one at a time in rapid succession. With simultaneous presentation, responses to bigram targets were facilitated when these appeared in the prime word, while responses to individual constituent letters of those bigrams were not facilitated. Additionally, responses to primed bigram targets were faster than responses to primed single letter targets. The sequential presentation of prime words resulted in a qualitative change in the response pattern indicative of the disruption of multiletter unit activation. That change was replicated in Experiment 3 where semantic priming confirmed that the prime words were being processed to a level of meaning. The observations challenge a post-lexical account of the multiletter priming effects. Finally, Experiment 4 addressed the question of whether bigram priming reflects the intentional use of prime information to predict following targets. Strategic interpretations are undermined and it is argued that multiletter units are activated automatically as part of normal visual word recognition.     

The development of comprehension and reading‐related skills in children learning English as an additional language and their monolingual,English‐speaking peers

Background. A significant number of pupils in UK schools learn English as an additional language (EAL). Relative differences between the educational attainment of this group and monolingual, English‐speaking pupils call for an exploration of the literacy needs of EAL learners. Aims. This study explores the developmental progression of reading and listening comprehension skills and a range of reading‐related skills in EAL learners, whose first language is of South Asian origin, and their monolingual peers. Sample. Participants were 39 children learning EAL and 39 monolingual, English‐speaking children who were all in school Year 3 at the start of the study. Method. Children completed standardized measures of comprehension, vocabulary, reading accuracy, and reading fluency in school Year 3 and again in Year 4. Results. The results suggest that, although children learning EAL often demonstrate fast and accurate reading accuracy skills, lower levels of vocabulary knowledge place significant constraints on EAL learners' comprehension of spoken and written texts. Conclusions. Reciprocal relationships between vocabulary and comprehension may lead to increasing gaps in reading comprehension between monolingual and EAL pupils over time. It is proposed that support for the development of vocabulary skills in children learning EAL is needed in early years' classrooms.     

The representation of nonstructural information in visual memory: Evidence from image combination

Two experiments investigated the differential representation of the figure and ground of a picture in visual short-term and long-term memory. It is known (Hitch, Brandimonte, & Walker, 1995) that subjects find it more difficult to combine mental images of two separately presented pictures in order to identify a novel form when the two pictures are incongruent in color (i.e., when a black-on-white line drawing has to be combined with a white-on-black drawing). In the present experiments, thefigures were depicted in solid form to allow color congruity to be varied independently for figure and ground. Results showed a clear impairment in image combination when the to-be-combined figures were incongruent in color (black-on-gray and white-on-gray) but not when theirgrounds were incongruently colored (gray-on-black and gray-on-white). In this way, image combination was seen to be supported by a representation of the object depicted in the picture rather than by a literal representation of the picture itself (i.e., a pictorial code). In line with previous findings, the same representation was seen to support image combination based on short-term memory (Experiment 1) and long-term memory (Experiment 2), provided that in the latter case verbal recoding was precluded. When verbal recoding was allowed, image combination based on long-term memory was insensitive to color congruity, implying the involvement of a more abstract structural representation.     

The comprehension skills of children learning English as an additional language

Background Data from national test results suggests that children who are learning English as an additional language (EAL) experience relatively lower levels of educational attainment in comparison to their monolingual, English‐speaking peers. Aims The relative underachievement of children who are learning EAL demands that the literacy needs of this group are identified. To this end, this study aimed to explore the reading‐ and comprehension‐related skills of a group of EAL learners. Sample Data are reported from 92 Year 3 pupils, of whom 46 children are learning EAL. Method Children completed standardized measures of reading accuracy and comprehension, listening comprehension, and receptive and expressive vocabulary. Results Results indicate that many EAL learners experience difficulties in understanding written and spoken text. These comprehension difficulties are not related to decoding problems but are related to significantly lower levels of vocabulary knowledge experienced by this group. Conclusions Many EAL learners experience significantly lower levels of English vocabulary knowledge which has a significant impact on their ability to understand written and spoken text. Greater emphasis on language development is therefore needed in the school curriculum to attempt to address the limited language skills of children learning EAL.     

Developmental correlates of emotional intelligence: Temperament,family environment and childhood trauma

This study examined temperament, environmental factors (family environment and childhood trauma), and the interaction between them as developmental correlates of ability and trait emotional intelligence (EI). Using 97 university students, correlational analyses revealed that temperament characteristics were related to trait but not ability EI. Components of family environment and childhood trauma were not significantly related to ability or trait EI. Multiple regression analyses confirmed the importance of temperament in predicting trait EI, but provided little support for the role of environmental factors or their interactions with temperament in predicting either type of EI.     

Automated Measurement of Mouse Freezing Behavior and its Use for Quantitative Trait Locus Analysis of Contextual Fear Conditioning in (BALB/cJ × C57BL/6J)F2 Mice

The most commonly measured mouse behavior in fear conditioning tests is freezing. A technical limitation, particularly for genetic studies, is the method of direct observation used for quantifying this response, with the potential for bias or inconsistencies. We report the use of a computerized method based on latency between photobeam interruption measures as a reliable scoring criterion in mice. The different computer measures obtained during contextual fear conditioning tests showed high correlations with hand-scored freezing; r values ranged from 0.87 to 0.94. Previously reported strain differences between C57BL/6J and DBA/2J in context-dependent fear conditioning were also detected by the computer-based system. In addition, the use of computer-scored freezing of 199 (BALB/cJ×C57BL/6J)F₂ mice enabled us to detect a suggestive gender-dependent chromosomal locus for contextual fear conditioning on distal chromosome 8 by QTL analysis. Automation of freeze scoring would significantly increase efficiency and reliability of this learning and memory test.     

Church-based health behavior programs: Using social cognitive theory to formulate interventions for at-risk populations

Epidemiological analyses conclude that the major contributors to all-cause premature mortality and morbidity are smoking, alcohol abuse, inappropriate diet, and a sedentary lifestyle. Efforts to modify these health behaviors in populations with community and worksite interventions, although initially promising, have had difficulty in sustaining health-behavior changes. More intensive, theoretically based interventions targeted to at-risk groups and delivered in smaller social units, such as churches and other religious organizations, have been recommended. An intervention based on social cognitive theory that entails integrating self-regulatory procedures with social and environmental supports in rural churches serving people from lower socioeconomic groups is described in detail.