Eye movements of older and younger readers when reading disappearing text

Older and younger readers read sentences in which target words were masked 40 to 60 ms after fixation onset. Masking only the target word caused more disruption than did masking each word in the sentence, and this effect was stronger for the younger readers than for the older readers. Although older readers had longer eye fixations than did younger readers, the results indicated that the masking effect was comparable for the 2 groups. However, for both groups, how long the eyes remained in place was strongly influenced by the frequency of the fixated word (even though it had been rapidly replaced by the mask and was no longer there when the eyes did move). This is compelling evidence that for both older and younger readers, cognitive/lexical processing has a very strong influence on when the eyes move in reading.     

Eye movements and word skipping during reading: effects of word length and predictability

Eye movements were monitored as subjects read sentences containing high- or low-predictable target words. The extent to which target words were predictable from prior context was varied: Half of the target words were predictable, and the other half were unpredictable. In addition, the length of the target word varied: The target words were short (4-6 letters), medium (7-9 letters), or long (10-12 letters). Length and predictability both yielded strong effects on the probability of skipping the target words and on the amount of time readers fixated the target words (when they were not skipped). However, there was no interaction in any of the measures examined for either skipping or fixation time. The results demonstrate that word predictability (due to contextual constraint) and word length have strong and independent influences on word skipping and fixation durations. Furthermore, because the long words extended beyond the word identification span, the data indicate that skipping can occur on the basis of partial information in relation to word identity.     

Life Satisfaction and Violent Behaviors among Middle School Students

We explored relationships between violent behaviors and perceived life satisfaction among 2,138 middle school students in a southern state using the CDC Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (MSYRBS) and the Brief Multidimensional Student Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). Logistic regression analyses and multivariate models constructed separately revealed significant race by gender results. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the variables of interest. Having ever carried a gun, ever carried a knife/club, physical fighting and physical fighting with need for medical treatment were associated (p ≤ .05) with reduced life satisfaction for specific race/gender groups, while controlling for SES and grade. Results suggest implications for school-community based violence prevention programs. Future research should consider measures of life satisfaction as a component of comprehensive assessments of middle school student violence and aggressive behaviors in fieldwork, intervention research and program evaluation.     

Predictive value of neuropsychological assessment; with regards to life expectancy among cardiac bypass surgery patients

This follow-up study to Keith et al. (2002) sought to explore relations between the cognitive, neuropsychological, and psychosocial sequelae of cardiopulmonary bypass surgery (CPB) and survival. A neuropsychological test battery including the state portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (S-STAI), reaction time, visual attention (VFA), rotor pursuit, visual spatial memory, verbal memory and paired associations (PA) was administered. PA (P < .05), VFA and S-STAI scores were related with 5–7 year survival. After the Benjamini-Hochberg method was employed to control for multiple comparisons only S-STAI scores remained significant. Results of logistic regression indicate that pre-CPB surgery scores on the S-STAI accurately predicted 5–7 year survival and mortality in 66% and 83% of cases respectively.     

Anticipatory responses to perturbation of co-ordination in one-handed catching.

Anticipatory responses to perturbation have rarely been studied in the co-ordination of dynamic interceptive actions. In this study, the kinematics of ball catching were examined in skilled catchers when mechanical perturbation of the catching arm was expected and unexpected. During trials where the perturbation was anticipated, participants initiated movements earlier (207 +/- 32 ms) than in randomly perturbed trials (223 +/- 34 ms). Furthermore, several individuals also tended to move their hand faster when perturbations were expected compared to baseline trials. Individual analyses revealed that three out of eight participants exhibited changes in the relative timing of the grasp phase to adapt to the specific manipulation of task constraints. Anticipatory responses were revealed in changes not only at movement initiation but also in the resulting adaptations to the co-ordination of reach and grasp phases of ball catching. When the catchers could not anticipate perturbations, movement strategies suggested the use of a continuous tracking-based mode of control rather than a prediction-based mode of control.     

The Spiritual Assessment Inventory: A Theistic Model and Measure for Assessing Spiritual Development

The Spiritual Assessment Inventory (SAI) is a relationally-based measure designed to assess two dimensions of spiritual development: Awareness of God and Quality of Relationship with God. The present article reports the results of two studies: exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of a revised SAI, which replicated five factors, and a factor analysis of a revised SAI with a new Impression Management (IM) subscale. Results supported the factor structure of the SAI and the homogeneity of the IM scale. Correlations of the SAI subscales with the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Intrinsic/Extrinsic-Revised, the Bell Object Relations Inventory, the Defense Styles Questionnaire, and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory also supported the construct validity of the SAI. Two-step multiple regressions supported the incremental validity of the SAI. Suggestions for future research and implications for clinical use of the instrument are discussed.     

Establishing an Alcohol and Other Drug Assessment and Intervention Program Within an On‐Site Counselor Education Research and Training Clinic

The authors describe the Substance Information Program, a university alcohol and other drug (AOD) assessment and intervention program. The Substance Information Program is housed in a counseling department's on‐site training and research clinic and gives counselors‐in‐training an opportunity to gain practical addictions training.     

The stereoscopic anisotropy: individual differences and underlying mechanisms

Observers are more sensitive to variations in the depth of stereoscopic surfaces in a vertical than in a horizontal direction; however, there are large individual differences in this anisotropy. The authors measured discrimination thresholds for surfaces slanted about a vertical axis or inclined about a horizontal axis for 50 observers. Orientation and spatial frequency discrimination thresholds were also measured. For most observers, thresholds were lower for inclination than for slant and lower for orientation than for spatial frequency. There was a positive correlation between the 2 anisotropies, resulting from positive correlations between (a) orientation and inclination thresholds and (b) spatial frequency and slant thresholds. These results support the notion that surface inclination and slant perception is in part limited by the sensitivity of orientation and spatial frequency mechanisms.     

Orthographic learning during reading: examining the role of self-teaching

Thirty-four second grade children read target homophonic pseudowords (e.g., slurst/slirst) in the context of real stories in a test of the self-teaching theory of early reading acquisition. The degree of orthographic learning was assessed with three converging tasks: homophonic choice, spelling, and target naming. Each of the tasks indicated that orthographic learning had taken place because processing of target homophones (e.g., yait) was superior to that of their homophonic controls (e.g., yate). Consistent with the self-teaching hypothesis, we obtained a substantial correlation (r=.52) between orthographic learning and the number of target homophones correctly decoded during story reading. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that neither RAN tasks nor general cognitive ability predicted variance in orthographic learning once the number of target homophones correctly decoded during story reading had been partialed out. In contrast, a measure of orthographic knowledge predicted variance in orthographic learning once the number of targets correctly decoded had been partialed. The development of orthographic knowledge appears to be not entirely parasitic on decoding ability. (c) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).