Do current connectionist learning models account for reading development in different languages?

Learning to read a relatively irregular orthography, such as English, is harder and takes longer than learning to read a relatively regular orthography, such as German. At the end of grade 1, the difference in reading performance on a simple set of words and nonwords is quite dramatic. Whereas children using regular orthographies are already close to ceiling, English children read only about 40% of the words and nonwords correctly. It takes almost 4 years for English children to come close to the reading level of their German peers. In the present study, we investigated to what extent recent connectionist learning models are capable of simulating this cross-language learning rate effect as measured by nonword decoding accuracy. We implemented German and English versions of two major connectionist reading models, Plaut et al.'s (Plaut, D. C., McClelland, J. L., Seidenberg, M. S., & Patterson, K. (1996). Understanding normal and impaired word reading: computational principles in quasi-regular domains. Psychological Review, 103, 56-115) parallel distributed model and Zorzi et al.'s (Zorzi, M., Houghton, G., & Butterworth, B. (1998a). Two routes or one in reading aloud? A connectionist dual-process model. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 24, 1131-1161); two-layer associative network. While both models predicted an overall advantage for the more regular orthography (i.e. German over English), they failed to predict that the difference between children learning to read regular versus irregular orthographies is larger earlier on. Further investigations showed that the two-layer network could be brought to simulate the cross-language learning rate effect when cross-language differences in teaching methods (phonics versus whole-word approach) were taken into account. The present work thus shows that in order to adequately capture the pattern of reading acquisition displayed by children, current connectionist models must not only be sensitive to the statistical structure of spelling-to-sound relations but also to the way reading is taught in different countries.     

The role of attributional retraining and elaborative learning in college students' academic development

In the present longitudinal study, the authors examined the impact of attributional retraining (AR) techniques on academic motivation and achievement for college students who are either frequently or infrequently using elaborative learning strategies. During the 1st semester, 203 students completed an initial questionnaire assessing elaborative learning followed by 1 of 3 treatment conditions (No AR, Writing AR, Aptitude Test AR). Results indicated improvements in students' end-of-year perceptions of control, success, and emotions, as well as course-specific and overall academic performance for those receiving either AR format, with "high elaborators" showing higher levels on these measures than "low elaborators." The authors discussed the importance of elaborative and attributional processes underlying the effectiveness of the AR treatment and the potential utility of individualized AR techniques in the college classroom.     

DRC: a dual route cascaded model of visual word recognition and reading aloud

This article describes the Dual Route Cascaded (DRC) model, a computational model of visual word recognition and reading aloud. The DRC is a computational realization of the dual-route theory of reading, and is the only computational model of reading that can perform the 2 tasks most commonly used to study reading: lexical decision and reading aloud. For both tasks, the authors show that a wide variety of variables that influence human latencies influence the DRC model's latencies in exactly the same way. The DRC model simulates a number of such effects that other computational models of reading do not, but there appear to be no effects that any other current computational model of reading can simulate but that the DRC model cannot. The authors conclude that the DRC model is the most successful of the existing computational models of reading.     

Seasonal eating patterns in Norway: a non-clinical population study

Seasonal deviations in normal eating habits have been associated with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Two studies on seasonal variation in eating habits are reported in this paper. In Study 1, seasonal patterns of eating disturbances were measured cross-sectionally in 6313 participants using an eating disturbance scale (EDS-5) and a modified version of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ). Eating disturbance scores were predicted by seasonal sensitivity scores from the SPAQ, gender, age, and light. Study 2 used a longitudinal design in which 908 participants were given the EDS-5 every month from November 1993 to January 1995. Scores on the EDS-5 fluctuated with the season of the year, with higher EDS-5 scores in winter and lower in summer. The results suggest that seasonal fluctuations affect only a subset of the total population.     

Pornography use and marital quality: Testing the moral incongruence hypothesis

Studies often report a negative association between pornography use and marital quality. A number of studies, however, find this negative association to be stronger among religious Americans, suggesting that “moral incongruence” may be a key moderating factor. This theory is tested with panel data from the nationally representative 2006–2012 Portraits of American Life Study (N = 612). Support for the theory is mixed. Any pornography use in 2006 predicts lower marital quality in 2012 regardless of whether the viewer felt pornography use was always immoral. However, among pornography viewers, the negative association between marital quality and viewing frequency is stronger for those who morally oppose pornography. Findings hold regardless of gender. Data limitations and implications for future research are discussed.     

The Three Rs of Animal Research: What they Mean for the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and Why

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is entrusted with assessing the ethics of proposed projects prior to approval of animal research. The role of the IACUC is detailed in legislation and binding rules, which are in turn inspired by the Three Rs: the principles of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. However, these principles are poorly defined. Although this provides the IACUC leeway in assessing a proposed project, it also affords little guidance. Our goal is to provide procedural and philosophical clarity to the IACUC without mandating a particular outcome. To do this, we analyze the underlying logic of the Three Rs and conclude that the Three Rs accord animals moral standing, though not necessarily “rights” in the philosophical sense. We suggest that the Rs are hierarchical, such that Replacement, which can totally eliminate harm, should be considered prior to Reduction, which decreases the number of animals harmed, with Refinement being considered last. We also identify the need for a hitherto implicit fourth R: Reject, which allows the IACUC to refuse permission for a project which does not promise sufficient benefit to offset the pain and distress likely to be caused by the proposed research.     

Learning What to Remember: Vocabulary Knowledge and Children's Memory for Object Names and Features

Although young children can map a novel name to a novel object, it remains unclear what they actually remember about objects when they initially make such a name–object association. In the current study we investigated (1) what children remembered after they were initially introduced to name–object associations and (2) how their vocabulary size and vocabulary structure influenced what they remembered. As a group, children had difficulty remembering each of the features of the original novel objects. Further analyses revealed that differences in vocabulary structure predicted children's ability to remember object features. Specifically, children who produced many names for categories organized by similarity in shape (e.g. ball, cup) had the best memory for newly‐learned objects' features—especially their shapes. In addition, the more features children remembered, the more likely they were to retain the newly learned name–object associations. Vocabulary size, however, was not predictive of children's feature memory or retention. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that children's existing vocabulary structure, rather than simply vocabulary size, influences what they attend to when encountering a new object and subsequently their ability to remember new name–object associations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Visual capture and human error

We investigated relationships between everyday error rates, susceptibility to stimulus‐driven (i.e. external) capture of visual attention and working memory. Using an eye‐tracking task called the antisaccade paradigm, we found that relatively error‐prone subjects made significantly more unintended, stimulus‐driven eye movements. This finding suggests a link between error‐proneness and a tendency towards environmental (versus volitional) control of behaviour. No evidence was found for a connection between working memory capacity and error proneness or eye movements, though range restriction may have affected the working memory results. The findings are compatible with the view that some mishaps stem from environmental capture and triggering of inappropriate actions, and that individuals vary in their susceptibility to capture. Some implications are that: (1) mishaps might be reduced by redesigning tasks to reduce capture errors, e.g. by restructuring critical tasks to eliminate action sequences with common initial stages; (2) the antisaccade task may be a useful dependent measure in research on how stressors (e.g. fatigue, noise, temperature) increase the likelihood of mishaps. Specifically, since antisaccade performance was correlated with reports of real‐world mistakes in the current study, antisaccade scores may allow useful predictions about how accident probability varies as a function of different conditions. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Norwegian translation of the self–liking and competence scale

Although global self-esteem has historically been assumed to be a unidimensional construct, recent theory and research has challenged this assumption. Instead, it has been suggested that self-esteem might more fruitfully be viewed as a two-dimensional construct composed of: (a) self-liking, based on our perceptions of feedback from our social environment; and (b) self-competence, based on our internal conceptions of success and failure in performing tasks. The Self-Liking and Competence Scale (SLCS) is a self-esteem measure that has recently been developed based on this two-dimensional conceptualization of self-esteem. The purpose of the present research was to validate a Norwegian translation of the SLCS. 372 participants were given a translated version of the SLCS, and the translated scale exhibited psychometric properties similar to those of the original English version of the scale.     

My Place or Yours?

A common stereotype holds that men are more preoccupied with sex than women are. To test the validity of this stereotype, and the degree to which women and men conform to sexually restrictive gender roles, we asked participants to describe and rate their beliefs about sex. We then factor analyzed these beliefs and achieved a simple structure of four factors: (a) Personally and Physically Pleasurable, (b) Beneficial to the Self-in-relationship, (c) Personally Costly, and (d) Sex as a Violation of Social Injunctions. We used scores on these subscales to compare women’s and men’s sexual stereotypes and behaviors. Although men showed significantly greater interest in sex on three of the four factors, when we examined sex in an intimate relationship, women and men were more alike than different. The data provide evidence that gender roles are malleable and that women and men are free to choose the degree to which they conform to sexually restrictive gender roles. Limitations and future directions are discussed.