Accommodating variability in voice and foreign accent: flexibility of early word representations

In six experiments with English‐learning infants, we examined the effects of variability in voice and foreign accent on word recognition. We found that 9‐month‐old infants successfully recognized words when two native English talkers with dissimilar voices produced test and familiarization items ( Experiment 1 ). When the domain of variability was shifted to include variability in voice as well as in accent, 13‐, but not 9‐month‐olds, recognized a word produced across talkers when only one had a Spanish accent ( Experiments 2 and 3 ). Nine‐month‐olds accommodated some variability in accent by recognizing words when the same Spanish‐accented talker produced familiarization and test items ( Experiment 4 ). However, 13‐, but not 9‐month‐olds, could do so when test and familiarization items were produced by two distinct Spanish‐accented talkers ( Experiments 5 and 6 ). These findings suggest that, although monolingual 9‐month‐olds have abstract phonological representations, these representations may not be flexible enough to accommodate the modifications found in foreign‐accented speech.     

A little learning is a dangerous thing: an experimental demonstration of ignorance-driven inference

Studies of ignorance-driven decision making have been employed to analyse when ignorance should prove advantageous on theoretical grounds or else they have been employed to examine whether human behaviour is consistent with an ignorance-driven inference strategy (e.g., the recognition heuristic). In the current study we examine whether - under conditions where such inferences might be expected - the advantages that theoretical analyses predict are evident in human performance data. A single experiment shows that, when asked to make relative wealth judgements, participants reliably use recognition as a basis for their judgements. Their wealth judgements under these conditions are reliably more accurate when some of the target names are unknown than when participants recognize all of the names (a "less-is-more effect"). These results are consistent across a number of variations: the number of options given to participants and the nature of the wealth judgement. A basic model of recognition-based inference predicts these effects.     

Personality information: Does it influence attractiveness ratings of various body sizes?

In the present study, the influence of personality information on attractiveness ratings of different body sizes was examined. Specifically, participants were presented with either no personality information, negative information, or positive information about a hypothetical female target and asked to rate the smallest and largest figure that they would consider attractive for her using a figure rating scale. Consistent with the study hypotheses: (1) participants chose a wider range of figures as attractive for a female described to have a positive personality when compared to the range chosen when no personality information was provided; (2) females selected wider attractive ranges than males; and (3) other participant characteristics (i.e., physical appearance anxiety and body mass) were found to predict attractive ranges selected by participants. These findings may have implications for the treatment of body-image disturbance, as the findings suggest that personality, rather than appearance alone, may be a factor in perceptions of attractiveness of various body sizes.     

In‐group reassurance in a pain setting produces lower levels of physiological arousal: direct support for a self‐categorization analysis of social influence

A large body of research demonstrates a strong social component to people's pain experiences and pain‐related behaviours. We investigate this by examining the impact of social‐influence processes on laboratory‐induced pain responses by manipulating the social‐categorical relationship between the person experiencing pain and another who offers reassurance. We show that physiological arousal associated with laboratory‐induced pain is significantly lower in normal, healthy participants following reassurance about the pain‐inducing activity when that reassurance comes from an in‐group member in contrast to reassurance from an out‐group member and a no reassurance control. These data are consistent with predictions derived from self‐categorization theory, providing convincing empirical support of its analysis of social influence using a non‐reactive measure. These data also represent a clear advance within the pain literature by identifying a possible common process to the social‐psychological component of pain responses. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Morphological Analogies in Hebrew-Speaking University Students with Dyslexia Compared with Typically Developing Gradeschoolers

Little attention has been devoted to date to the study of morphological knowledge in individuals with developmental dyslexia. The current study compares the ability of Hebrew-speaking adult dyslexic students and gradeschool children to analyze written words into their morphological components, using a linguistic analogy task. Two sets of monolingual Hebrew-speaking participants—152 typically developing gradeschool children and 38 undergraduate students diagnosed with reading disabilities—were administered the Morphological Analogies Task. Results indicate an early ability of normally developing children to perform morphological analogies, while the adult dyslexic group performed on par with 3rd and 4th grade. Error analysis revealed that the overwhelming majority of the erroneous responses in all grades involved morphological strategies rather than the associative semantic strategy. However, the adult dyslexic students had many more associative responses than the graderschoolers. This testifies to the reduced written morphological abilities of adult dyslexic students.     

The Influence of Phonological Context on the Sound Errors of a Speaker with Wernicke's Aphasia

A corpus of phonological errors produced in narrative speech by a Wernicke's aphasic speaker (R.W.B.) was tested for context effects using two new methods for establishing chance baselines. A reliable anticipatory effect was found using the second method, which estimated chance from the distance between phoneme repeats in the speech sample containing the errors. Relative to this baseline, error-source distances were shorter than expected for anticipations, but not perseverations. R.W.B.'s anticipation/perseveration ratio measured intermediate between a nonaphasic error corpus and that of a more severe aphasic speaker (both reported in Schwartz et al., 1994), supporting the view that the anticipatory bias correlates to severity. Finally, R.W.B's anticipations favored word-initial segments, although errors and sources did not consistently share word or syllable position.     

the role of opportunity structures in older women workers' careers

This article describes contextual factors that exert influence on whether, when, and how people retire. The authors use opportunity structures as a framework for describing these processes. Interview data were gathered from 21 late‐career women; 2 illustrative cases depict differing career circumstances. Several important contextual factors were identified, including organizational membership, occupational membership, work peers, and the history of opportunities. Depending on the circumstances, these factors can enhance or limit the range of retirement‐related options. Employment counselors can help expand this range by advocating training and job placement centers, examining norms and combating stereotypes, and encouraging job redesign.     

Counselling psychologists' perceptions of the impact of mandatory personal therapy on professional development--an exploratory study

A qualitative study was carried out with recently qualified and trainee counselling psychologists to investigate their opinions as to the impact of mandatory personal therapy on their professional development. The methodology employed was grounded theory using data obtained from indvidual and group interviews. The results indicate that mandatory personal therapy can lead to perceived positive outcomes in terms of professional development including: a sense of the self as a professional through developing reflexivity as a result of being in the role of client; socialization into a professional role through validational and normative experiences such as the therapist modelling good and poor practice; support during times of personal difficulty; and, personal development that leads to a perceived improved ability for the participant to distinguish between personal issues and those of the client. An important effect for participants who did not have a previous substantial experience of personal therapy appeared to be the validation of therapy as an effective psychological intervention.