On the nature of consonant/vowel differences in letter position coding: Evidence from developing and adult readers

In skilled adult readers, transposed‐letter effects (jugde ‐JUDGE ) are greater for consonant than for vowel transpositions. These differences are often attributed to phonological rather than orthographic processing. To examine this issue, we employed a scenario in which phonological involvement varies as a function of reading experience: A masked priming lexical decision task with 50‐ms primes in adult and developing readers. Indeed, masked phonological priming at this prime duration has been consistently reported in adults, but not in developing readers (Davis, Castles, & Iakovidis, 1998). Thus, if consonant/vowel asymmetries in letter position coding with adults are due to phonological influences, transposed‐letter priming should occur for both consonant and vowel transpositions in developing readers. Results with adults (Experiment 1) replicated the usual consonant/vowel asymmetry in transposed‐letter priming. In contrast, no signs of an asymmetry were found with developing readers (Experiments 2–3). However, Experiments 1–3 did not directly test the existence of phonological involvement. To study this question, Experiment 4 manipulated the phonological prime‐target relationship in developing readers. As expected, we found no signs of masked phonological priming. Thus, the present data favour an interpretation of the consonant/vowel dissociation in letter position coding as due to phonological rather than orthographic processing.     

Thinking,Acting, Considering

According to a familiar (alleged) requirement on practical reason, one must believe a proposition if one is to take it for granted in reasoning about what to do. This paper explores a related requirement, not on thinking but on acting—that one must accept a goal if one is to count as acting for its sake. This is the acceptance requirement. Although it is endorsed by writers as diverse as Christine Korsgaard, Donald Davidson, and Talbot Brewer, I argue that it is vulnerable to counterexamples, in which agents act in light of ends that they do not accept but are still merely considering. For instance, a young professional may keep a job option open not because she definitely wants or intends to take it, but just because she is considering taking it. I try to show (1) that such examples are not easily resisted; (2) that they present challenges specifically for Brewer, Davidson, and especially Korsgaard; and (3) that the examples also raise fresh, non-partisan questions in action theory. What is considering, exactly? How could it fall short of acceptance while still guiding behaviour? How can we act for an end before thinking it through?     

Inclined Weight-Loaded Walking at Different Speeds: Pelvis-Shoulder Coordination,Trunk Movements and Cost of Transport

Although studied at level surface, the trunk kinematics and pelvis-shoulder coordination of incline walking are unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the speed effects on pelvis-shoulder coordination and trunk movement and the cost of transport (C) during unloaded and loaded (25% of body mass) 15% incline walking. We collected 3-dimensional kinematic and oxygen consumption data from 10 physically active young men. The movements were analyzed in the sagittal plane (inclination and range of trunk motion) and the transverse plane (range of shoulder and pelvic girdle motion and phase difference). The rotational amplitude of the shoulder girdle decreased with load at all speeds, and it was lower at the highest speeds. The rotational amplitude of the pelvic girdle did not change with the different speeds. The phase difference was greater at optimal speed (3 km.hr^?1, at the lowest C) in the loaded and the unloaded conditions. The trunk inclination was greater with load and increased with speed, whereas the range of trunk motion was lower in the loaded condition and decreased with increasing speed. In conclusion, the load decreased the range of girdles and trunk motion, and the pelvis-shoulder coordination seemed to be critical for the incline walking performance.     

Movement Variability Increases With Shoulder Pain When Compensatory Strategies of the Upper Body Are Constrained

This cross-sectional study analyzed the influence of chronic shoulder pain (CSP) on movement variability/kinematics during humeral elevation, with the trunk and elbow motions constrained to avoid compensatory strategies. For this purpose, 37 volunteers with CSP as the injured group (IG) and 58 participants with asymptomatic shoulders as the control group (CG) participated in the study. Maximum humeral elevation (Emax), maximum angular velocity (Velmax), variability of the maximum angle (CVEmax), functional variability (Func_var), and approximate entropy (ApEn) were calculated from the kinematic data. Patients' pain was measured on the visual analogue scale (VAS). Compared with the CG, the IG presented lower Emax and Velmax and higher variability (i.e., CVEmax, Func_var, and ApEn). Moderate correlations were achieved for the VAS score and the kinematic variables Emax, Velmax and variability of curve analysis, Func_varm, and ApEn. No significant correlation was found for CVEmax. In conclusion, CSP results in a decrease of angle and velocity and an increased shoulder movement variability when the neuromuscular system cannot use compensatory strategies to avoid painful positions.     

Coparenting Conflict and Academic Readiness in Children of Teen Mothers: Effortful Control as a Mediator

Children's exposure to coparenting conflict has important implications for their developmental functioning, yet limited work has focused on such processes in families with diverse structures or ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds. This longitudinal study examined the processes by which Mexican‐origin adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their 3‐year‐old children's grandmothers and biological fathers (N = 133 families) were linked to children's academic and social skills at 5 years of age, and whether children's effortful control at 4 years of age mediated the link between coparenting conflict and indices of children's academic readiness. Findings revealed that adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their child's biological father was linked to indices of children's academic and social school readiness through children's effortful control among girls, but not boys, whereas conflict with grandmothers was directly linked to boys' and girls' social functioning 2 years later. Findings offer information about different mechanisms by which multiple coparenting units in families of adolescent mothers are related to their children's outcomes, and this work has important implications for practitioners working with families of adolescent mothers.     

L’examen psychologique dans le handicap visuel : intérêts et limites méthodologiques

The psychological assessment of visually impaired people (blind or partially sighted) confronts the psychologist with methodological constraints regarding the choice of assessment tools. Both critical judgement and an extensive psychometric knowledge are necessary. The objective of this article is to present the results of a study in which the existing tools in this field are identified. The results of this study bring to light the shortage of tools and methods of investigation specifically designed to assess the different psychological facets (affective, cognitive or conative) of visual impairment. We will then examine the methodological and psychometric issues specifically related to assessment in the field of visual impairment. Although some tools have psychometric qualities for the assessment of blind and visually impaired people (Miller & Skillman, 2003; Reid, 1997), we note that the limits of some tests are often overlooked or ignored (Reid, 1997; Tobin, 1994; Tobin & Hill, 2011). Questions relating to the use, adaptation and translation of foreign language tools are examined. In order to illustrate these points, we present some practices used by psychologists which highlight the limits of currently existing tools for the assessment of the psychological, in particular, the cognitive facet, and in addition provide some recommendations for assessment.     

Attentional influences on memory formation: A tale of a not-so-simple story

Is there a learning mechanism triggered by mere expectation violation? Is there some form of memory enhancement inherent to an event mismatching our predictions? Across seven experiments, we explore this issue by means of a validity paradigm. Although our manipulation clearly succeeded in generating an expectation and breaking it, the memory consequences of that expectation mismatch are not so obvious. We report here evidence of a null effect of expectation on memory formation. Our results (1) show that enhanced memory for unexpected events is not easily achieved and (2) call for a reevaluation of previous accounts of memory enhancements based on prediction error or difficulty of processing. Limitations of this study and possible implications for the field are discussed in detail.     

A low‐cost platform for eye‐tracking research: Using Pupil© in behavior analysis

Tracking eye movements is being increasingly recognized as a valuable source of information about stimulus control. So far, however, eye‐tracking research has suffered from accessibility issues, with expensive hardware and closed‐source software. In this article we review Pupil©, an eye‐tracking platform developed by Pupil Labs and that combines open‐source software with low‐cost hardware components. We offer concrete recommendations about Pupil use in stimulus‐control research and we show how the software can be extended to automatize the analysis of gaze data. Finally, we present the results of a study of visual discrimination and conditioned reinforcement conducted with Pupil, establishing the usefulness of this platform as a research tool in behavior analysis.