Phonology matters: the phonological frequency effect in written Chinese

Does phonology play a role in silent reading? This issue was addressed in Chinese. Phonology effects are less expected in Chinese than in alphabetical languages like English because the basic units of written Chinese (the characters) map directly into units of meaning (morphemes). This linguistic property gave rise to the view that phonology could be bypassed altogether in Chinese. The present study, however, shows that this is not the case. We report two experiments that demonstrate pure phonological frequency effects in processing written Chinese. Characters with a high phonological frequency were processed faster than characters with a low phonological frequency, despite the fact that the characters were matched on orthographic (printed) frequency. The present research points to a universal phonological principle according to which phonological information is routinely activated as a part of word identification. The research further suggests that part of the classic word-frequency effect may be phonological.     

Effects of problem format on division and multiplication performance: division facts are mediated via multiplication-based representations

In 2 experiments participants solved division problems presented in multiplication-based formats (e.g., 8 x _ = 72) more quickly than division problems presented in division-based formats (e.g., 72 / 8 = _). In contrast, participants solved multiplication problems presented in a division-based format (e.g., _ / 8 = 9) slowly and made many errors. In both experiments, the advantage for multiplication-based formats on division problems was found only for large problems (i.e., those with products or dividends greater than 25). These findings provide support for the view that large single-digit division facts are mediated via multiplication-based representations and that multiplication is the primary mode of representation for both division and multiplication facts.     

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.     

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.     

What Good is a Feminist Identity?: Women’s Feminist Identification and Role Expectations for Intimate and Sexual Relationships

Women’s feminist identification is associated with a growing list of favorable outcomes, predicting that these correlations will extend to egalitarian and assertive role expectations for committed and sexual partnerships, respectively. Surveying 165 undergraduate US women, nonfeminist passive acceptance was linked to low egalitarian expectations overall and across all seven subscales of the marriage role expectation inventory. It also was related to depressed sexual assertiveness overall and specifically in initiating sexual encounters and engaging in safe sexual practices. These negative associations were nonsignificant or positive for women with stronger feminist identification. When endorsement of passive acceptance was controlled for, the positive correlation between egalitarian and assertive expectations fell to nonsignificance, consistent with regarding nonfeminist attitudes as a confounded third common factor.