So many options,so little control: Abstract representations can reduce selection demands to increase children’s self-directed flexibility

Children often struggle to behave flexibly when they must use self-directed goals (e.g., doing homework without prompting) rather than externally driven goals (e.g., cleaning up when told). Such struggles may reflect the demands of selecting among many potential options, as required for self-directed control. The current study tested whether (a) 6-year-old children show difficulty in selecting among competing semantic representations, (b) providing category labels designed to reduce selection demands improves performance, and (c) such benefits transfer to self-directed flexibility. Selection was measured using the blocked cyclic naming task for the first time with children. Pictures were named repeatedly in either homogeneous blocks from the same category (e.g., all animals), which create high selection demands due to spreading semantic activation and engage effortful cognitive control, or mixed blocks with each picture from a different category. Children showed robust difficulty in selecting among options, as indexed by response time (RT) differences between homogeneous and mixed blocks. Providing subcategory labels designed to reduce selection demands by distinguishing among same-category items (e.g., “A cow is a farm animal. A cat is a pet.”) improved selection. Providing superordinate categories (e.g., “A cow is an animal. A cat is an animal.”) also improved selection, but these benefits were less robust, and subcategory labels led to greater benefits than superordinate category labels on a subsequent verbal fluency task. These results support a role for subcategory representations in reducing selection demands to aid self-directed flexibility while suggesting that some children may use superordinate category labels to activate subcategory representations on their own.     

Pattern specificity in the effect of prior Δƒ on auditory stream segregation

During repeating sequences of low (A) and high (B) tones, perception of two separate streams ("streaming") increases with greater frequency separation (Δ?) between the A and B tones; in contrast, a prior context with large Δ? results in less streaming during a subsequent test pattern. The purpose of the present study was to investigate what aspects of the context pattern are necessary for this context effect to occur. Simply changing the B-tone frequency without an alternating A tone present was not sufficient to cause the effect of prior Δ?, but rather a melodic change between A and B tones was necessary. We further investigated the extent to which the context and test patterns needed to have similar rhythms (xxx-xxx-) and melodies (up-down-flat-up-down), and found that a maximal prior-Δ? effect occurred when the rhythmic patterns of the context and test were similar, regardless of the melodic structure. Thus, the effect of prior Δ? on streaming depended on the presence of (1) at least one melodic change in the context, and (2) similar rhythmic patterns in the context and test.     

Decision framing in judgment aggregation

Judgment aggregation problems are language dependent in that they may be framed in different yet equivalent ways. We formalize this dependence via the notion of translation invariance, adopted from the philosophy of science, and we argue for the normative desirability of translation invariance. We characterize the class of translation invariant aggregation functions in the canonical judgment aggregation model, which requires collective judgments to be complete. Since there are reasonable translation invariant aggregation functions, our result can be viewed as a possibility theorem. At the same time, we show that translation invariance does have certain normatively undesirable consequences (e.g. failure of anonymity). We present a way of circumventing them by moving to a more general model of judgment aggregation, one that allows for incomplete collective judgments.     

Trait impulsiveness and executive function in healthy young adults

Performance-based neuropsychological tests are often used to assess planning and impulse control, but the extent to which these measures reflect trait impulsiveness or specific dimensions of trait impulsiveness is not clear. This study used the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11; [Patton, J. H., Stanford, M. S., & Barratt, E. S. (1995). Factor structure of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51, 768–774.]) to examine the relationship between various dimensions of trait impulsiveness and performance on several executive function tests in healthy young adults. Total BIS-11 scores correlated with performance on measures of planning and impulse control. Higher non-planning impulsiveness scores, which indicate poorer self-control and lower cognitive complexity, correlated most strongly with performance on a maze test that measures planning and impulse control (r = .58). These results provide support for the convergent validity of pencil-and-paper maze-based measures of planning and impulse control.     

Effects of two levels of procedural fidelity with constant time delay on children's learning

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of constant time delay delivered with high procedural fidelity to constant time delay with high procedural fidelity on all variables except delivery of the controlling prompt (i.e., on a mean of 44% of the trials, the controlling prompt was not delivered when it should have been provided). Six preschool children with disabilities were taught to identify photographs in two alternating conditions (e.g., high procedural fidelity and low procedural fidelity). An adapted alternating treatments design was used to evaluate the instructional conditions on the effectiveness and efficiency of instruction. In addition, daily measures were taken of the teacher's implementation of each step of the constant time delay procedures which indicated that the two conditions were implemented as planned. The results indicate that both conditions were effective for four children; for three of these, the high procedural fidelity condition resulted in more efficient learning. For the fifth child, the high-fidelity condition resulted in criterion level responding, but the low fidelity condition did not. However, when the high fidelity procedure and trial-by-trial reinforcement were used for the low-fidelity stimuli, these also were acquired. For the sixth child, neither procedure was effective; thus, the high fidelity condition was used alone and resulted in learning. The results are discussed in terms of using the constant time delay procedure and studying the procedural fidelity of other strategies.     

Efficacy of constant time delay implemented by peer tutors in general education classrooms

We evaluated the effects of teaching 13 typically developing children to use constant time delay when tutoring three of their peers who had substantial disabilities. We measured the extent to which the tutors used the constant time delay procedure correctly and the tutees' correct performance on the skills being taught. A multiple probe design across behaviors was used. The results indicated that (a) the tutors used each step of the constant time delay with a high degree of procedural fidelity; (b) the students with disabilities acquired the skills that were taught during peer tutoring; and (c) modifications of the procedure were required for 2 of the 3 students with disabilities, and the peers tutors were able to implement the modifications. Implications for practice and future research are described.     

Applications of a computer algebra system for teaching bivariate relationships in statistics courses

Maple, a computer algebra system, is used in undergraduate psychology courses to promote students’ conceptual learning of basic principles associated with bivariate relationships. Maple’s symbolic computation, graphic displays, and animation capabilities are used along with other classroom activities to study concepts related to (1) correlation coefficients, scatterplots, and regression lines, (2) factors that affect the magnitude of sample correlations, (3) inferential tests, and (4) prediction error. For each of the 15 Maple procedures, students select population correlation values and examine the effects of different values on computer-generated graphical representations of scatterplots, regression lines, and sample correlations. The procedures are described and examples of exercises to support their use are provided.