Effects of cognitive training on academic and on-task behavior of hyperactive children

A cognitive training program that taught both self-instructional and self-management skills was used with three 7-to 8-year-old hyperactive children. A multiple baseline across individuals design was used to evaluate the effects of training on on- task behavior and math accuracy. There were significant changes in math accuracy for all subjects, and two subjects showed significant improvements in on- task behavior. Evidence suggesting generalization to untrained behaviors was shown by an increase in self-correction of oral reading for all subjects. The results suggest that cognitive training specifically designed to promote generalization to classroom tasks can improve the classroom behavior and academic achievement of hyperactive children.The study was supported by a scholarship to the first author from the Specific Learning Difficulties Association (SPELD, Auckland). The authors would like to thank Mr. T. F. Walbran, deputy district senior inspector of primary schools, and Mrs. S. Gribben and the staff of Dominion Road Primary School; Mrs. F. Donovan helped with the collection of reading data and Dr. G. Arvidson gave assistance with data analysis. Special thanks also go to the graduate students who served as trainers or observers.     

An animal sound simulator

A portable and inexpensive animal sound simulator is described, and the use of the simulator in the production of song mimics of maleDrosophila species is illustrated.     

The question-answer exchange between mothers and young children

Investigated associations between the questioning and answering behaviour of mothers and children in a design that allowed analyses within as well as between social classes. Thirty-two six-year-old children volunteered their knowledge and asked questions of their mothers about a variety of objects in a natural context. Social class differences in the children were found in the quality of questioning and the amount of knowledge displayed, but for the latter there were differences between tasks, and the incidence of questioning confounded the predictions made. Class differences in mothers' behaviour likewise differed by task. An index of the mothers' provision of cognitive meaning and of feedback was shown to correlate highly with children's rates of questioning and knowledge revealed both within and across classes.     

Properties of the diffuse thalamocortical system and human personality: A direct test of Pavlovian/Eysenckian theory

Advances in the last few decades demonstrate the relevance of Pavlov's classification of behavioural types with respect to human individual differences and suggest that the hypothetical excitatory and inhibitory processes which he associated with these differences correspond to cortical and thalamic neuron populations of the diffuse thalamocortical system (DTS). Since the transmission properties or time constants of these DTS elements would correspond to the Pavlovian property of ‘strength’, and since they can be evaluated in human subjects (Robinson, 1981), it is possible to formulate hypotheses based on the fundamental principles of strength and balance which Pavlov employed to provide a causal explanation for temperamental types. A major finding is that covariation of the time constants equated with strength correlates 0.95 with covariation of extraversion and stability scores on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). This result provides unequivocal support for the relationship between human individual differences and properties of the nervous system postulated by Pavlov and it also confirms the neurophysiological underpinning of Eysenck's influential theory of human personality. In addition, the relationship between Pavlovian and Eysenckian concepts is clarified and EEG parameters are meaningfully related to personality differences.     

Intrinsic Qualities of Experience: Surviving Harman's Critique

Gilbert Harman (1990) seeks to defend psychophysical functionalism by articulating a representationalist view of the qualities of experience. The negative side of the present paper argues that the resources of this representationalist view are insufficient to ground the evident distinction between perception and (mere) thought. This failure makes the view unable to support the uses to which Harman wishes to put it. Several rescuing moves by other representationalists are considered, but none is found successful. Part of the difficulty in Harman's work is that he does not adequately specify the view he rejects. The positive aim of the present paper is to provide a robust intrinsic quality account of experience that offers advantages in comparison with Harman's view, and that plainly does not fall to any of the arguments he advances. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Global Spatial Organization by Individuals with Williams Syndrome

Williams syndrome is a genetically determined disorder with a characteristic cognitive profile. Overall IQ tends to be lower than in the normally developing population, performance on measures of linguistic ability is somewhat higher than would be expected given the levels of IQ typical for this group, and there is a particular weakness in visuospatial construction (e.g., block design tasks). A well-known hypothesis about the deficit in visuospatial construction is that people with Williams syndrome are strongly inclined to be local spatial processors. We report a test of this hypothesis that used a visual search task sensitive to spontaneous global spatial organization. A sample of adults with Williams syndrome produced a pattern of data demonstrating that they spontaneously organize spatial displays at a global level. Indeed, individuals with Williams syndrome found it more difficult to change from global to local processing than participants with normal intelligence. We suggest that the primary problem with visuospatial construction in people with Williams syndrome is not in the salience of single levels of organization but rather in the difficulty of changing between organizations.     

浅谈信号检测论在广告再认测试中的应用与修正

信号检测论（SDT）是一种借助数学形式研究信息传输系统中“接受者”操作的理论。自50年代以来已被广泛地应用于心理学、市场营销等各种研究领域。本文论述了SDT应用于广告再认测试的原因、引进SDT后遇到的困难以及研究者为此作出的相应修正,最后对这些修正方法进行了简要的评价。     

Adjusting to Retirement: Considerations for Counselors

The purpose of this article is to examine retirement while focusing on issues older adults face in adjusting to retirement and to suggest implications for counseling people who are making this transition.     

A DEVELOPMENTAL-GENETIC ANALYSIS OF CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THE BAYLEY MENTAL DEVELOPMENT INDEX FROM 14 TO 24 MONTHS:

Abstract— A developmental-genetic model was fitted to Bayley Mental Development Index (MDI) data to address questions concerning the origins of individual differences in MDI performance and the origins of change and continuity during infancy More than 350 pairs of identical and same-sex fraternal twins were studied longitudinally at 14, 20, and 24 months of age There was substantial genetic continuity of general cognitive ability from 14 to 24 months but significant new genetic variation also appeared at 24 months Shared family environmental influences were global across all three ages and not time-specific Finally, nonshared environmental influences did not contribute to the observed continuity of general cognitive ability, only to change.     

The EEG and intelligence: An appraisal of methods and theories

Formerly, attempts were made to discover some relationship between intelligence differences and measures of “spontaneous” EEG activity. More recently the focus of interest has shifted to a putative relationship between intelligence differences and differences in EEG responses evoked by sensory stimulation. This article identifies serious conceptual and methodological problems of the EEG-intelligence literature which render some EEG-intelligence theories untenable. It is concluded that the “cerebral arousability” theory of EEG-intelligence relations is the only one that can account for the physical, neurological and psychological facts while addressing the main issues that have dominated the whole field of intelligence research for the past 100 years.