AN INVESTIGATION OF THE DIFFERENCE DEFICIT HYPOTHESIS USING THE CLOZE PROCEDURE

Abstract

This study considers the hypothesized differences of difference and deficitreaders using the cloze procedure in narrative passages at the fourth grade level. The authors reject the hypothesis that deficit readers are better able to use surrounding context than difference readers. While the study's experimental design to test the difference/deficit hypothesis may not be the most powerful, it is a modified replication of a previous study from which the difference/deficit hypothesis was drawn (Cromer & Weiner, 1966). As such it does not seem to support difference/deficit notions of reading disability.     

A Treatise vs. An enquiry: Omissions and Distortions by the New Humeans

There is a definite stress on the primacy of An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding over A Treatise of Human Nature by the so-called New Humeans, who in turn, advocate the sceptical/causal realist interpretation of Hume's empiricism. This paper shows how there has been a deliberate attempt by them to omit and distort certain negative aspects of Hume's life in the belief that in order to accept their interpretations we must first acknowledge that, (1) the Enquiry is the superior text and, (2) reject any criticisms suggesting that Hume only wrote it to help promote the Treatise and fulfil his ambitions for literary fame.     

A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Study of Autobiographical Memory Retrieval

Memory for the experiences of one's life, autobiographical memory (AM), is one of the most human types of memory, yet comparatively little is known of its neurobiology. A positron emission tomography (PET) study of AM retrieval revealed that the left frontal cortex was significantly active during retrieval (compared to memory control tasks), together with activation in the inferior temporal and occipital lobes in the left hemisphere. We propose that this left frontal lobe activation reflects the operation of control processes that modulate the construction of AMs in posterior neocortical networks.     

Family Environment in Inner-City African-American and Latino Parents/Caregivers: A Comparison of the Reliability of Instruments

Inner-city, African American and Latino youth are at higher risk for the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Interventions usually focus on changing physical activity and dietary behaviors, yet family environment has the potential to influence response to these interventions. We aimed to identify instruments that could reliably be used to assess the family environment of children from high-risk populations. Selected indices from four instruments were used; the Family Environment Scale (FES), the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales IV (FACES IV), the Self-report Family Inventory (SFI), and the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Out of 15 indices evaluated, 9 were reliable in both ethnicities including FES cohesion, conflict and organization, SFI emotional expressiveness, conflict and family health/competence, FACES IV family communication and family satisfaction, and FAD general functioning. Perceived family environment characteristics did not differ significantly for inner-city African American and Hispanic families.     

The Relation Between Child Maltreatment and Adolescent Suicidal Behavior: A Systematic Review and Critical Examination of the Literature

A large body of research suggests that child maltreatment (CM) is associated with adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts. These studies, however, have not been critically examined and summarized in a manner that allows us to draw firm conclusions and make recommendations for future research and clinical work in this area. In this review, we evaluated all of the research literature to date examining the relationship between CM and adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts. Results generally suggest that childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect are associated with adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts across community, clinical, and high-risk samples, using cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs. In most studies, these associations remain significant when controlling for covariates such as youth demographics, mental health, family, and peer-related variables. When different forms of CM are examined in the same multivariate analysis, most research suggests that each form of CM maintains an independent association with adolescent suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. However, a subset of studies yielded evidence to suggest that sexual abuse and emotional abuse may be relatively more important in explaining suicidal behavior than physical abuse or neglect. Research also suggests an additive effect—each form of CM contributes unique variance to adolescent suicide attempts. We discuss the current limitations of this literature and offer recommendations for future research. We conclude with an overview of the clinical implications of this research, including careful, detailed screening of CM history, past suicidal behavior, and current suicidal ideation, as well as the need for integrated treatment approaches that effectively address both CM and adolescent suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.     

The limits of visual resolution in natural scene viewing

We examined the limits of visual resolution in natural scene viewing, using a gaze-contingent multiresolutional display having a gaze-centred area-of-interest and decreasing resolution with eccentricity. Twelve participants viewed high-resolution scenes in which gaze-contingent multiresolutional versions occasionally appeared for single fixations. Both detection of image degradation (five filtering levels plus a no-area-of-interest control) in the gaze-contingent multiresolutional display, and eye fixation durations, were well predicted by a model of eccentricity-dependent contrast sensitivity. The results also illuminate the time course of detecting image filtering. Detection did not occur for fixations below 100 ms, and reached asymptote for fixations above 200 ms. Detectable filtering lengthened fixation durations by 160 ms, and interference from an imminent manual response occurred by 400-450 ms, often lengthening the next fixation. We provide an estimate of the limits of visual resolution in natural scene viewing useful for theories of scene perception, and help bridge the literature on spatial vision and eye movement control.     

Psychology as a discipline of discourse

This paper begins with a discussion of various layers of meaning now associated with the term ‘discourse’. Particular attention is paid to one aspect of discourse, namely the notion of ‘dialogue’. Some of Mikhail Bakhtin's ideas on dialogue are outlined, leading towards his emphasis on life, itself, being dialogical by its very nature. The author then articulates some of his own activities in psychotherapy,identifying various ways in which aspects of discourse are involved in his daily practice as a ‘professional conversationalist’. He then spells out an agenda for developing a psychology viewed and approached as a ‘discipline of discourse’. He finishes by indicating some of the implications of this perspective.     

Patterns of On-line Resource Allocation to Narrative Text by Younger and Older Readers

Younger and older adults read narrative texts word by word for immediate recall. There were no age differences in recall performance, showing that older adults were effective in narrative memory. Analysis of reading times demonstrated the existence of interindividual variability in sensitivity to text demands, which was predictive of subsequent memory performance. Contrary to the view that older readers do not encode text analytically, for these naturalistic narratives both younger and older adults optimized memory through the allocation of processing resources to the construction of a proposition-based representation of content. Overall, attentiveness to narrative structure also facilitated narrative memory, but this relationship was more reliable among older readers.