Spatial localization does not require the presence of local cues

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that rats can rapidly learn to locate an object that they can never see, hear, or smell provided it remains in a fixed spatial location relative to distal room cues. Four groups of rats were permitted to escape from opaque water onto a platform which was either just above or just below the water surface, and in either a fixed or varied location. Learning occurred rapidly except for the group for whom the escape platform was below the water surface and moved about from place to place. Transfer tests revealed that a spatial location search strategy was employed by the group for whom the platform was below water but in a fixed location. A second experiment investigated this learning further, revealing instantaneous transfer when the rats were required to approach the platform from a novel starting position. The data of both studies are discussed in relation to recent work on spatial memory in the rat. The concept of the “acuity” of spatial memory is introduced and the procedures used may provide a new approach to comparing spatial memory with classical and instrumental conditioning.     

The development of handedness and dichotic ear listening asymmetries in relation to school achievement: A longitudinal study

To assess the development of dichotic ear asymmetries and handedness, 208 male school children were evaluated in kindergarten and at Grades 2 and 5 (ages 66, 92, and 130 months of age, respectively) with a dichotic listening task and a hand preference test. The Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) also was administered at each of the three grade levels. There was significant variability in handedness scores over time only for those subjects whose scores at initial testing, that is, in kindergarten, identified them as non-right-handers. Both right and left handers had a significant increase in dichotic listening scores over time; however, only right handers had a significant right ear advantage at each evaluation. Regression analyses showed that combined hand preference scores and ear recall scores at each probe when combined accounted for almost 44% of the variance in WRAT achievement scores at Grade 5. Ear asymmetry scores, however, were not predictive of school achievement.     

Selective delayed alternation deficits in dominantly inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy

In order to characterize more completely the nature of the frontal lobe-type cognitive changes in patients with dominantly inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) we administered two tasks sensitive to frontal system dysfunction, delayed alternation (DA) and delayed response (DR), to 12 patients from one OPCA family. Affected members from this family have previously been shown to have a marked and widespread cerebral (including frontal) cortical cholinergic reduction as severe as that observed in Alzheimer's disease. Performance on DA, but not on DR, was significantly impaired in the OPCA patients compared to that in the controls. We suggest that the DA deficits in OPCA could be a consequence of a loss of cholinergic innervation to orbitofrontal or possibly temporal cortical areas and/or damage to the integrity of the cerebello-frontal neuronal connections.     

The future case: An alternative to single case study

Traditional single case studies have tended to focus on the individual's past and/or present with minimal reference to one's future. This allows for an incomplete assessment of the reality in which humans participate as organisms-in-process. The future case is advanced as a complement to traditional single case designs. Emphasis is upon imaginative and creative involvement with one's future in the clinical setting. The rationale and concrete outline for this future invention process reflect how individuals can move beyond restricting conditions to higher levels of emotional growth and satisfaction.     

Time estimation as a function of recall: a test of Ornstein's theory of temporal judgement

The storage size metaphor used by Ornstein to explain subjective estimations of the length of time a task had lasted is contrasted with a recall hypothesis on the basis of the distinction between accessibility and availability. The different hypotheses were tested using a design similar to one which measured recall and recognition of common and uncommon words. Results showed that although an equivalent number of words were still in store for both groups, subjects who had learnt common words showed better recall and judged the learning task to have lasted longer. The results are interpreted as being in favour of the recall hypothesis. A preliminary study showed higher recall and longer time estimations for subjects who had performed a semantic orienting task in a levels-of-processing experiment.     

Classifying pictures and words: Implications for the dual-coding hypothesis

In deciding that two items come from the same category, subjects were delayed if the items were presented as a word and a picture, as compared with two words or two pictures. Subjects were not delayed if the items were not to be compared. Hence, the delay appears to occur during the retrieval and comparison of know ledge about the items, not during their perceptual analysis. The results suggest that there are two distinct codes involved in the categorization of words and pictures, rather than a single code.     

On the representation of language in the right hemisphere of right-handed people.

Laterality experiments using reaction time were conducted to assess the performance of the right hemisphere of normal people on verbal tasks. The results show that if the task calls for pictorial encoding of visually presented verbal material, then the right hemisphere's performance is superior to that of the left. When the task calls for linguistic analysis, the minor hemisphere displays no aptitude in dealing with the task. The latter finding is at variance with data from split-brain research. To reconcile these differences, it was proposed that language functions, though represented in the right hemisphere of normal people, are functionally localized in the left. When the control which the left hemisphere exerts over the right is weakened or removed, e.g., by commissurotomy, right hemisphere language is released. The application of this model to other neurological phenomena is briefly discussed.     

Teachers with a growth mindset are motivated and engaged: the relationships among mindsets,motivation, and engagement in teaching

Social Psychology of Education - Past research on mindsets has mostly focused on studying students’ beliefs about the malleability of their intelligence or teachers’ beliefs about the...     

Misunderstandings and omissions in textbook accounts of effect sizes

There have been frequent attempts in psychology to reduce the reliance on null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) as the criterion for establishing the importance of results. Many authorities now recommend the reporting of effect sizes (ESs) as a supplement or alternative to NHST. However, there is extensive specialist literature highlighting problems associated with the use and interpretation of ESs. A review of the coverage of ESs in over 100 textbooks on statistical analysis in behavioural science revealed widespread neglect of ESs and the relevant critical issues that have widespread coverage in the more specialist literature. For example, many textbooks claim that ESs should be interpreted as a simple measure of the practical real-world importance of a result despite the fact that ESs are profoundly influenced by features of design and analysis strategy. We seek to highlight areas of misunderstanding about ESs found in the pedagogical literature in the light of the more specialist literature and make recommendations to researchers for the appropriate use and interpretation of ESs. This is critical as statistics textbooks have a crucial role in the education of researchers.