How much and how fast: rapid processing of spoken language in later adulthood

Speech processing involves rapid decoding and construction of meaning from a transitory acoustic signal. Because older adults have been found to be slower in performing many cognitive tasks, we hypothesized that they may have difficulty in immediate recall for speech of increasing input rate. Two experiments are reported in which both older and younger participants listened to and immediately recalled sentences that were systematically varied in speech rate and number of propositions. Although recall performance of the older adults showed a disproportionate decline when speech rate was increased, older adults, as well as the younger adults, were able to recall sentences of increasing propositional densities. We also found that the tendency to recall a greater proportion of main ideas than details (the levels effect) was enhanced by increased propositional density, and depressed by increased speech rate and increased age. These results are discussed in terms of an age-related change in the rate at which information can be processed in working memory.     

Reserve capacity of the elderly in aging-sensitive tests of fluid intelligence: replication and extension

Fluid intelligence belongs to that cluster of intellectual abilities evincing aging loss. To examine further the range of intellectual reserve available to aging individuals and the question of replicability in a new cultural and laboratory setting, 204 healthy older adults (mean age = 72 years; range = 60-86) participated in a short-term longitudinal training study. For experimental subjects, 10 sessions consisted of cognitive training involving two subability tests (Figural Relations, Induction) of fluid intelligence. The pattern of outcomes replicates and expands on earlier studies. Older adults have the reserve to evince substantial increases in levels of performance in fluid intelligence tests. Transfer of training, however, is narrow in scope. Training also increases accuracy of performance and the ability to solve more difficult test items. Difficulty level was estimated in a separate study, with a comparable sample of N = 112 elderly adults. Future research is suggested to examine whether intellectual reserve extends to near-maximum levels of performance.     

Cross-sectional studies of personality in a national sample: 1. Development and validation of survey measures

Short scales were developed to measure three broad dimensions of personality in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) Epidemiologic Followup Study. Items to measure neuroticism were selected rationally from the General Well-Being Schedule, and items to measure extraversion and openness to experience were selected by multiple regression from the NEO Personality Inventory. In a sample of 654 men and women from the Augmented Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, all three short scales showed clear evidence of convergent and discriminant validity against full scales in self-reports, and against peer and spouse ratings. Because they were developed and validated on a sample with a comparable age range, the NHANES scales should be useful in examining age trends in these three personality dimensions in a national sample.     

A guide to family/school interventions for the family therapist

When presented with a behavioral problem or symptom expression that involves two systems, such as a serious school-related problem, the therapist needs to design an approach that will intervene effectively and expeditiously in both systems. This paper offers a guide to stages of problem escalation and therapeutic intervention that is intended to aid the problem-solver's thinking processes in approaching a troubled situation that involves two systems, the school and the home.     

Book reviews

With Faith and Fury. Delos McKown. New York: Promethius Books, 1985. pp 440. $16.95

The Sacred in a Secular Age. Phillip E. Hammond, Editor. University of California Press, 379 pages (p/b) $8.95 (£8.50)     

Book reviews

Current Psychology -     

The use of a resident daily scheduling procedure to increase appropriate social,ward, and scheduling behavior in adult psychiatric residents (patients)

The purpose of the present experiment was to investigate the efficacy of a goal orientation procedure in their treatment of apathy, isolation, and insufficient goal setting skills in chronic psychiatric residents. The experiment was conducted in a behaviorally-oriented deinstitutionalization program in a state psychiatric hospital. Three male and four female chronic psychiatric residents served as research participants. A group repeated measures design with four within-participant phases (ABA‘B’) was utilized. The goal orientation procedure included a written schedule that was completed by each research participant daily. This Daily Living Schedule required that a behavior be specified by the participant for every half-hour period during the day (8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.). During all four phases of the experiment, research participants were observed on the ward from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for engagement in scheduled target behaviors. The daily scheduling procedure produced substantial increases in appropriate behavior such as social activities, ward jobs, and participation in treatment programs, whereas decrease were produced in inappropriate behavior such as isolation and day time sleeping.     

Training non-native speech contrasts in adults: Acquisition of the English /ð/-/θ/ contrast by francophones

Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics - Speech perception abilities are modified by linguistic experience to maximize sensitivity to acoustic contrasts that are important for one’s...     

The electronic chalkboard

The present paper describes “the electronic chalkboard” (TEC), a teaching innovation made possible by the recent development, under a FIPSE grant to CONDUIT, of specialized instructional software. The instructional power of TEC casts the computer in the role of catalyst in the student-teacher dyad and leads to the emergence of the more powerful student-computer-teacher triad. Relevant educational principles and CAI techniques that should ensure the intelligent use of TEC are discussed.