Deafness, spelling and rhyme: How spelling supports written word and picture rhyming skills in deaf subjects

Orally trained, congenitally deaf adolescents and hearing, reading-age-matched control subjects made rhyme judgements for pictures and for written words. Hearing children performed the task accurately. By contrast, the deaf group were very poor at rhyme judgement for words and for pictures. For hearing children, word rhyme judgement was more accurate when the words were congruent in their spelling pattern (e.g. bat/hat), less accurate when the spelling pattern of the rhyming words was incongruent (hair/bear). Deaf subjects showed an even more pronounced effect of spelling congruence; their ability to match for rhyme when written words did not share the same spelling pattern was extremely poor. Moreover, spelling congruence predicted deaf subjects' picture rhyming skills.

We conclude that oral training for deaf people does not always permit them to achieve a reliable phonological representation of speech from lip-reading and residual hearing alone. Instead they use the written spelling of the word. This result is not predicted from some previous results that suggest that orally trained deaf people can make direct, spontaneous use of rhyme in the processing of visually presented material.     

Agency,communion, and gender as predictors of communication style and being liked in adult male-female dyads

Agency, communion, and gender were compared as predictors of communication style in the conversations of 76 unacquainted pairs of male-female college students. Each dyad was given a popular issue to discuss for 5 min. Agency and communion were measured using Spence and Helmreich's (Masculinity and Femininity: Their Psychological Dimensions, Correlates, and Antecedents, Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1978) Personal Attributes Questionnaire. Self-perceived agency was significantly associated with verbal assertiveness: High-agency persons used fewer indirect statements and fewer passive self-references than low-agency persons. Nonsignificant trends indicated that self-perceived communication tended to be associated with interpersonal involvement: High-communion persons used fewer impersonal references and were liked more than low-communion persons.An earlier version of this paper was presented in the Symposium on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Language and Gender at the 91st annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Anaheim, California, August 1983.Several people contributed to this study in various ways. Conversations with various friends and colleagues were important inspirations for the research. In particular, I would like to thank Robert de Mayo. Gina Ralke, Jorge Reyes, James Bucci, and Mark Michaels were outstanding members of a research team that led to the design and eventual implementation of this study. Ronald Gelb, Donna Brennan, and Lynda Kern also assisted. Nancy Henley is especially appreciated for her support and advice. William McCarthy and an anonymous reviewer made helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.     

THE LATERALISATION OF EMOTION: A CRITICAL REVIEW

Recent experimental investigations on patients with unilateral brain lesions and on neurologically intact people are reviewed with a view to appreciating the role of lateralised processes in emotion. Distinctions are drawn between the perception of emotion, the expression of emotion and the interaction of these two factors in studies of latéralisation. In spite of a mass of contradictory findings, and despite the interaction of structural and cognitive factors in some studies of emotion, there are some fairly robust findings. The right hemisphere seems to be specially involved in tasks requiring emotional analysis, particularly when the tone of the displayed emotion is negative. The right hemisphere, too, appears to be particularly involved in displaying some negative emotions. Among the important problems which await resolution, we do not know whether emotional events are apprehended independently of cognitive ones, nor how mood affects the “Cerebral balance of power”.     

PROGRAMMING “LOOSE TRAINING” AS A STRATEGY TO FACILITATE LANGUAGE GENERALIZATION

This study investigated the generalization of spontaneous complex language behavior across a nontraining setting and the durability of generalization as a result of programming and “loose training” strategy. A within-subject, across-behaviors multiple-baseline design was used to examine the performance of two moderately retarded students in the use of is/are across three syntactic structures (i.e., “wh” questions, “yes/no” reversal questions, and statements). The language training procedure used in this study represented a functional example of programming “loose training.” The procedure involved conducting concurrent language training within the context of an academic training task, and establishing a functional reduction in stimulus control by permitting the student to initiate a language response based on a wide array of naturally occurring stimulus events. Concurrent probes were conducted in the free play setting to assess the immediate generalization and the durability of the language behaviors. The results demonstrated that “loose training” was effective in establishing a specific set of language responses with the participants of this investigation. Further, both students demonstrated spontaneous use of the language behavior in the free play generalization setting and a trend was clearly evident for generalization to continue across time. Thus, the methods used appear to be successful for training the use of is/are in three syntactic structures.     

A multidimensional assessment of parent-identified behavior problem toddlers

Sixty-eight 2-and 3-year-olds (46 parent-referred, 22 controls) participating in an identification, assessment, and follow-up study of hyperactivity and related behavior problems were evaluated on parent-report, observational, and cognitive measures. Referred youngsters were described by both parents as more active, inattentive, difficult to discipline, and aggressive with peers than were controls. Mothers of referred children also reported a more difficult infancy period. Laboratory assessments confirmed parental reports of current problems. Referred children shifted activities more during free play, were more active and inattentive during structured tasks, and made more impulsive responses on a delay task than did controls. Discriminant function analysis indicated that parental ratings of activity paired with laboratory measures of sustained attention and impulsivity correctly classified 88% of the sample. These data suggest that the core symptoms of hyperactivity can be identified in very young children, although their prognostic significance remains to be determined.This research was supported by Grant No. R01 MH 32735 from the National Institute of Mental Health to the first author. Thanks are due to the parents and children who participated so enthusiastically in this study. The dedication of Patricia Cluss is gratefully acknowledged. Mady Fingeret, Frank McKee, Jenny Palermo, Susan Riley, Elizabeth Schaughency, Sheree Thomas, and Russell Walters are also thanked for their help in data collection.     

Study habits and Eysenck's theory of extraversion-introversion

Predictions derived from Eysenck's theory of personality were tested in two samples by relating extraversion scores to library study locations, frequency of study breaks, and self-report of factors which influence study location. The predicted main effects for study location were found, with extraverts occupying locations that provided greater external stimulation. Positive correlations were consistently found between extraversion and preferred level of noise, preferred level of socializing opportunities, and rated importance of socializing opportunities. The prediction that extraverts would take more frequent study breaks was supported in Sample 1 but not replicated in Sample 2. The data are interpreted as providing direct support for Eysenck's theory of behavioral differences and mixed indirect support for his theory of neurological differences between introverts and extraverts.     

The rate of word integration and the overprinting paradigm

In the first experiment, the letters of words were overprinted; that is, successive letters were presented on the same location of the screen. Word identification was difficult unless the rate of presentation was slow, about 3 letters/sec. The second experiment showed that the low level of word identification did not reflect difficulty with basic letter identification. Instead, it reflected the rate at which short-term memory can accept separate items. While such results refute models of reading that stress a letter-by-letter integration, they do not test those that stress construction of higher order units. Instead, the task forces letter-byletter integration by removing spatial information, a dimension required for construction of higher order units. As a result, it does not permit integration of the correct units. The third experiment illustrated the construction and integration of supraletter units. Letter groups (either syllables or corresponding nonsyllable groups! were overprinted, a technique that introduces the spatial dimension. Word identification increased dramatically, and subjects were able to exploit the familiarity inherent in syllabic presentations. Thus, integration is much faster when more appropriate units can be used, and construction of the units depends on spatial information. The fourth experiment showed that the construction of supraletter units is achieved prior to short-term memory: Even though memory was able to group the material, the subjects could not use syllabic structure when syllables were isolated temporally but not spatially. The results were discussed in terms of a model describing the construction of higher order units.     

Some psychological correlates of generalized and focal epilepsy in children

School-aged children with two types of epilepsy, generalized and focal, were compared with normal children of the same age, sex, and IQ on measures of cognitive style, attention, motor control, and behavioral pathology. Epileptic children were found to employ less efficient cognitive strategies and to have longer reaction times and poorer control of fine motor movements than have normal children. Children with generalized epilepsy were more impaired than were normal children when sustained motor performance was required. Mothers of children with generalized epilepsy reported more behavior problems than did control mothers on an objective checklist. These results suggest special educational methods for the treatment and education of epileptic children.The research reported in this paper was supported by Grant No. MA-45O5 from the Medical Research Council of Canada. Grateful thanks are extended to Dr. Katherine Metrakos, Director of the Convulsive Disorder Clinic, Montreal Children's Hospital, who screened epileptic subjects and gave us her enthusiastic support. The Diagnostic Test Center was most helpful in providing blood serum levels on the clinical sample. We wish to thank the Notre Dame de Grace and Westmount branches of the Y.M.C.A. for access to control subjects.