Reading development in a tracked school system: A longitudinal study over 3 years using propensity score matching

Background. Assigning students to different school tracks on the basis of their achievement levels is a widely used strategy that aims at giving students the best possible learning opportunity. There is, however, a growing body of literature that questions such positive effects of tracking. Aims. This study compared the developmental trajectories of reading comprehension and decoding speed between students at academic track schools that typically prepare students for university entrance and students at non-academic track schools that usually prepare students for vocational education. Sample. In a longitudinal design with three occasions of data collection, the authors drew on a sample of N= 1,508 5th graders (age at T1 about 11 years, age at T3 about 14 years) from 60 schools in Germany. The academic track sample comprised n= 568 students; the non-academic track sample comprised n= 940 students. Method. Achievement measures were obtained by standardized tests of reading comprehension and decoding speed. Students at the different tracks were closely matched using propensity scores. To compare students’ growth trajectories between the different school tracks, we applied multi-group latent growth curve models. Results. Comparable results were recorded for the complete (unmatched) sample and for the matched pairs. In all cases, students at the different tracks displayed a similar growth in reading comprehension, whereas larger growth rates for students at academic track schools were recorded for decoding speed. Conclusions. Our findings contribute to an increasing body of literature suggesting that tracking might have undesired side effects.     

Neurophysiological preconditions of syntax acquisition

Although the neural network for language processing in the adult brain is well specified, the neural underpinning of language acquisition is still underdetermined. Here, we define the milestones of syntax acquisition and discuss the possible neurophysiological preconditions thereof. Early language learning seems to be based on the bilateral temporal cortices. Subsequent syntax acquisition apparently primarily recruits a neural network involving the left frontal cortex and the temporal cortex connected by a ventrally located fiber system. The late developing ability to comprehend syntactically complex sentences appears to require a neural network that connects Broca’s area to the left posterior temporal cortex via a dorsally located fiber pathway. Thus, acquisition of syntax requires the maturation of fiber bundles connecting the classical language-relevant brain regions.     

Beyond stability: Predicting inter-individual differences in intra-individual change

Demonstration of a high longitudinal stability of inter-individual diferences in behaviour has been one traditional goal of personality psychology. In recent years, impressively high longitudinal correlations have been reported for self-and other-ratings of behaviour in adulthood, indicating a high overall stability of personality differences in that period of development. However, even 5-year correlations around 0.70 do not exclude major deviations of some of the subjects from this overall stability (i.e. differential stability in the sample). Furthermore, the younger a sample is, the lower will be the longitudinal stability observed, and the less suficient is the explanation of inter-individual diferences by static traits. This article goes beyond the notion of stability at the sample level by asking from a developmental perspective (a) whether systematic inter-individual differences in intra-individual change exist, (b) how they can be assessed, and (c) whether these inter-individual differences can be explained by characteristics of the person or of the environment.     

Correlates of the Temporal Consistency of rsonality Patterns in Childhood

ABSTRACT The temporal consistency of children's personality patterns as measured by the California Child Q-set was investigated in a sample of 151 German children between ages 4 and 6 years, and in a sample of 87 Dutch children between ages 10 and 12 years. Children's personality patterns showed a high interindividual variance of consistency. Correlational analyses revealed that children's ego resiliency predicted the longitudinal consistency of their Q-sort patterns irrespective of variations in age, culture, and type of judge. Itemwise extreme group comparisons of very consistent and very inconsistent children with a middle group showed that consistent children were characterized by culturally desirable traits, and inconsistent children by undesirable traits. The items typical for consistent children changed with age in agreement with the change in major developmental tasks. Discussion focuses on the processes that mediate the positive relations between the temporal consistency of personality, ego resiliency, and the age-appropriateness of personality.     

Before and After the German Reunification: Changes in Observers' Commentaries on Achievements in a Natural Experiment1

East Germany (EG) and West Germany (WG) had been divided by the inner-German frontier for more than 4 decades. In 1989, the frontier fell, and in 1990, East and West Germany were reunified. To study differences in attributional patterns as a consequence of this political change, the attributions of WG TV-sport commentators during the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games were analyzed for their frequency and antecedents. Results show an increase in internal and stable attributions after success in contrast to failure attributions; the former to a greater extent in 1992. In 1988 and in 1992, the positive achievements of EG athletes were attributed more often to internal causes than were the positive achievements of WG athletes. In 1992, attributions for EG athletes were more likely to be stable than in 1988.     

Accessibility from active and fulfilled goals

In six studies participants searched for a target stimulus among other stimuli. Lexical decision and Stroop measures of accessibility showed that accessibility of target-related words was enhanced prior to finding the target and reduced after finding it, relative to both a preceding stage, relative to a control, no-goal condition and relative to a condition in which the goal was not fulfilled. In addition, Studies 4, 5, and 6 showed that goal-related accessibility and post-fulfillment inhibition were proportional to the goal’s expectancy, the goal’s value, and their interaction. Together, these studies support the notion that goals enhance accessibility of the goal-related constructs, which is maintained as long as the goal is active, goal fulfillment inhibits accessibility of goal-related constructs, and these effects are proportional to the strength of the motivation.     

Maternal Care and Individual Differences in Defensive Responses

Abstract— Familial transmission of mental illness is common. Recent studies in behavioral neuroscience and biological psychiatry reveal the importance of epigenetic mechanisms of transmission that center on the developmental consequences of variations in parental care. Studies with rats suggest that environmental adversity results in patterns of parent–offspring interactions that increase stress reactivity through sustained effects on gene expression in brain regions known to regulate behavioral, endocrine, and autonomic responses to stress. While such effects might be adaptive, the associated cost involves an increased risk for stress-related illness.