Ambiguous musical figures and auditory streaming

Three experiments with musicians and nonmusicians (N=338) explored variations of Deutsch’s musical scale illusion. Conditions under which the illusion occurs were elucidated and data obtained which supported Bregman’s suggestion that auditory streaming results from a competition among alternative perceptual organizations. In nExperiment 1, a series of studies showed that it is more difficult to induce the scale illusion than might be expected if it is accepted that an illusion will be present for most observers despite minor changes in stimuli and experimental conditions, The stimulus sequence seems better described as an ambiguous figure. Having discovered conditions under which the scale illusion could be reliably induced, Experiments 2 and 3 manipulated additional properties of the stimulus (timbre, loudness, and tune) to provide cues to streaming other than pitch and location. The data showed that streaming of this sequence can be altered by these properties, supporting the notion of a general parsing mechanism which follows general gestalt principles and allows streaming by many stimulus dimensions. Finally, suggestions are made as to how this mechanism might operate.     

Husbands' involvement in female gender-typed household chores

Using data from the National Survey of Children (sample is 89% White, 9% Black, 2% Hispanic or other), this paper examines levels and correlates of husbands' involvement in traditionally female household chores. Analyses reveal that the vast majority of wives assume primary responsibility for these daily and non-daily tasks. Only about one-fifth of husbands are involved fully in these activities. OLS and logistic regression models show that structural and ideational variables with respect to women are the strongest predictors of men's involvement. Resource, time availability, socialization, and life course models of husbands' household labor all garner significant support, and family process is a significant factor as well. This study demonstrates important interactive effects between predictors, thus suggesting the need for synthesizing various theoretical perspectives on the household division of labor.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the American Sociological Assocation Annual Meeting, August 23–27, 1991, Cincinnati. The author gratefully acknowledges Sampson Blair and Beth Anne Shelton for helpful comments and Marc Hallee for research assistance.     

Very long-term retention of a first language without rehearsal: A case study

A case study is presented of an American sign language-using deaf woman whose life circumstances were such that she had no opportunities to use her sign language over nearly 40 years, but whose recall of its lexicon and syntax were almost unimpaired when she resumed its use after that period. Implications for the role of memory in first language learning are compared with results for second languages, and the role of rehearsal and interference in remembering over very long periods is considered.     

Heart-rate Reactivity and the Type A Behaviour Pattern in Three Age Groups of Australian Children

The relationship between the Type A Behaviour Pattern and heart-rate reactivity to the onset of a typical stressor was investigated with a sample of Australian boys and girls from three age-grade levels: preschool, middle-elementary, and upper-elementary. Behaviour Pattern was measured with the Matthews Youth Test for Health (Matthews & Angulo, 1980), and data were collected on children's second-by-second heart rate during rest and the stressor tasks. Reactivity to the onset of the stressor task (a puzzle game or mental arithmetic), was assessed. Results indicated that there were expected age differences in resting and stressor task heart rates, but that there was no significant difference in heart-rate reactivity between children classified as Type A or B Behaviour Pattern, either for the entire sample, for two extreme subsamples, or within each of the three age groups.     

INCREASING AUTISTIC CHILDREN'S DAILY SPONTANEOUS SPEECH

We investigated the effectiveness of teaching parents of 3 autistic boys to use a time delay procedure to increase their children's appropriate spontaneous speech in several naturally occurring daily settings (e.g., saying “good morning” in the morning). Generalization across settings and within settings across persons and locations was assessed. Variation in the children's spontaneous speech was also assessed. In addition procedural errors in the parents' use of time delay were calculated. Results indicated that all children increased their daily spontaneous speech and generalized their speech to other locations and persons.     

Perceived organizational support,career satisfaction,and the retention of older workers

Through two studies with diverse samples, we tested a conceptual model of the relationships between organizational and career factors and older workers' intention to remain with their organization. Perceived organizational support mediated the relationship between training and development practices, hierarchical, and job content plateauing and intention to remain. Career satisfaction mediated the relationship between perceived organizational support, job content plateauing, and intention to remain. We conclude that implementing training and development practices targeting older workers and tailored to their needs and providing interesting and challenging job assignments are important to perceptions of organizational support and career satisfaction and ultimately to the retention of older workers.     

Five-year-olds’ beliefs about the discreteness of category boundaries for animals and artifacts

Research on adult concepts indicates that category structure varies by domain; adults view membership in animal categories as absolute but membership in artifact categories as graded. In this study, we examined domain differences in beliefs about category boundaries among young children (5-year-olds). The results indicated that young children, like adults, were less likely to endorse graded category membership for animal than for artifact categories. These domain differences could not be attributed to domain differences in typicality. Implications for conceptual development and for models of domain specificity in adult cognition are discussed.     

Assessing Children's Homework Performance: Development of Multi-Dimensional, Multi-Informant Rating Scales

Efforts to develop interventions to improve homework performance have been impeded by limitations in the measurement of homework performance. This study was conducted to develop rating scales for assessing homework performance among students in elementary and middle school. Items on the scales were intended to assess student strengths as well as deficits in homework performance. The sample included 163 students attending two school districts in the Northeast. Parents completed the 36-item Homework Performance Questionnaire — Parent Scale (HPQ-PS). Teachers completed the 22-item teacher scale (HPQ-TS) for each student for whom the HPQ-PS had been completed. A common factor analysis with principal axis extraction and promax rotation was used to analyze the findings. The results of the factor analysis of the HPQ-PS revealed three salient and meaningful factors: student task orientation/efficiency, student competence, and teacher support. The factor analysis of the HPQ-TS uncovered two salient and substantive factors: student responsibility and student competence. The findings of this study suggest that the HPQ is a promising set of measures for assessing student homework functioning and contextual factors that may influence performance. Directions for future research are presented.