L'APPRENTISSAGE DE LA NOTION D'INCLUSION DE CLASSES CHEZ DE JEUNES ENFANTS BAOULÉS (CÔTE D'IVOIRE)*

This training study of the concept of class inclusion follows a previous paper on the training of the conservation of liquids (Dasen et al. 1979). Twenty-eight African (Baoulé) children, aged 7 to 9 years, were attributed to two groups, matched on age, schooling and performance on a pretest comprising 5 concrete operational tasks. Fourteen subjects who performed at stages 1 or 2 on class inclusion were trained according to a method adapted from Inhelder et al. (1974). The training effect was measured during two post-tests at the interval of one month. The results show a stable training effect in half of the subjects; there is a statistically significant generalization to other concepts of the same stage. This finding, which is similar to what has been reported for European children, supports the hypothesis of connections between operational concepts based on the common structure of the ‘grouping’. A ‘time lag’ of about 2 years in the development of class inclusion appears when comparing Baoulé and European children. The absence of very rapid learning (‘actualization’) shows that this lag probably occurs at the competence and not only at the performance level. The training effect is sufficient to reduce and even bridge this lag.     

Neuropsychology and psychopathology: A progress report

This paper summarizes and discusses the contributions of neuropsychological assessment to various forms of psychopathology. Emphasis is placed upon studies done with the Halstead-Reitan battery and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, but studies done with other neuropsychological test procedures are also reviewed. The conclusions reached are that neuropsychological tests are sensitive to functional regional brain disorganization in psychopathology, and that they are useful in the diagnostic process for a number of disorders including schizophrenia, psychopathy, mood disorders, and other psychiatric conditions.     

Development of visuomanual tracking in 5- to 9-year-old boys

Visuomanual sinusoidal tracking is investigated in 5- to 9-year-old children. The proportion of successful performances steadily increases with age, but adult proficiency is never attained even by those who can perform the task. Moreover, the progress in proficiency—as measured by systems analysis techniques—is not monotonic and suggests the presence of distinct stages in the development of visuomotor coordination. Qualitative analysis of unsuccessful performance demonstrates that failures cannot be ascribed only to insufficient motor coordination and emphasizes the role of cognitive and representational factors even in such a simple task.     

Experimental Tests of Normative Group Influence and Representation Effects in Computer‐Mediated Communication

Two experiments addressed the questions of if and how normative social influence operates in anonymous computer‐mediated communication (CMC) and human‐computer interaction (HCI). In Experiment 1, a 2 (public response vs. private response) × 2 (one interactant vs. four interactants) × 3 (textbox vs. stick figure vs. animated character) mixed‐design experiment (N = 72), we investigated how conformity pressure operates in a simulated CMC setting. Each participant was asked to make a decision in hypothetical social dilemmas after being presented with a unanimous opinion by other (ostensible) participants. The experiment examined how the visual representation of interaction partners on the screen moderates this social influence process. Group conformity effects were shown to be more salient when the participant's responses were allegedly seen by others, compared to when the responses were given in private. In addition, participants attributed greater competence, social attractiveness, and trustworthiness to partners represented by anthropomorphic characters than those represented by textboxes or stick figures. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1, replacing interaction with a computer(s) rather than (ostensible) people, to create an interaction setting in which no normative pressure was expected to occur. The perception of interaction partner (human vs. computer) moderated the group conformity effect such that people expressed greater public agreement with human partners than with computers. No such difference was found for the private expression of opinion. As expected, the number of computer agents did not affect participants' opinions whether the responses were given in private or in public, while visual representation had a significant impact on both conformity measures and source perception variables.     

Personal Dispositions and Shift‐Work Tolerance: A Longitudinal Study of Municipality Shift Workers

The aim of this study was to investigate how dispositional resistance to change and neuroticism could predict shift‐work tolerance (SWT) over a period of 6 months. Electronic questionnaires were completed by 74 shift workers employed in a municipality in Norway in January 2013 (1st wave of data collection) and in June 2013 (2nd wave of data collection). The findings suggest that individual differences, especially neuroticism, can predict SWT over a period of 6 months.