Songs as an aid for language acquisition

In previous research, Saffran and colleagues [Saffran, J. R., Aslin, R. N., & Newport, E. L. (1996). Statistical learning by 8-month-old infants. Science, 274, 1926-1928; Saffran, J. R., Newport, E. L., & Aslin, R. N. (1996). Word segmentation: The role of distributional cues. Journal of Memory and Language, 35, 606-621.] have shown that adults and infants can use the statistical properties of syllable sequences to extract words from continuous speech. They also showed that a similar learning mechanism operates with musical stimuli [Saffran, J. R., Johnson, R. E. K., Aslin, N., & Newport, E. L. (1999). Abstract Statistical learning of tone sequences by human infants and adults. Cognition, 70, 27-52.]. In this work we combined linguistic and musical information and we compared language learning based on speech sequences to language learning based on sung sequences. We hypothesized that, compared to speech sequences, a consistent mapping of linguistic and musical information would enhance learning. Results confirmed the hypothesis showing a strong learning facilitation of song compared to speech. Most importantly, the present results show that learning a new language, especially in the first learning phase wherein one needs to segment new words, may largely benefit of the motivational and structuring properties of music in song.     

小学儿童算术估算能力的发展

本研究深入考察了我国现阶段小学儿童算术估算能力的发展状况。通过运用自编材料对1027名儿童的团体与个别测试,发现其估算能力的发展具有如下特点：（1）明显受到题目类型的影响,但在不同年龄阶段影响又不尽相同。（2）三年级可能是整数和小数估算能力发展的一个关键期,五年级是发展分数估算能力的较好时期。（3）不同估算策略的发展进程差别相当大,不同时期都有发展的侧重点。（4）小学儿童在估算时易发生多种错误,而且不同年级均有一些典型错误。另外研究还对儿童估算能力、策略与错误类型的发展进行了深入讨论。     

Psychological differences of patients and relatives according to post-transplantation anxiety

The aim of this investigation is to analyze the psychological differences of patients and their relatives according to the formers' post-transplantation anxiety. We used two groups of participants: transplant patients (n = 166) and close relatives (n = 166). Four questionnaires were applied: a Psychological Survey (to both groups), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Quality of Life Questionnaire (to the transplant patients), and the Leeds Scales for the Self-Assessment of Anxiety and Depression (to the relatives). Participants were assessed twice: post-Intensive Care Unit (ICU; when patients were moved from the ICU to the Transplantation Unit) and post-hospital (one year after transplant). Results showed that high anxiety in patients just after organ transplant was related to an increase of anxiety and depression symptoms both in patients and relatives one year after transplant; it was also related to a decrease in the quality of life of these patients.     

Evidence for linguistic deficit in nonlexical processing in reading. A study of a Spanish-speaking patient

Previous studies have shown that in the so-called opaque languages (those in which spelling does not correspond to pronunciation), there are relatively independent routes for lexical and nonlexical processing, that is, for words and nonwords, both in spoken and in written language. On the other hand, in the so-called transparent languages (those in which pronunciation corresponds to written forms), empirical evidence is scarcer. In this study of a neurological patient (parieto-temporal lesion), speaker of a transparent language (Spanish) showing a specific deficit in nonlexical reading processing, linguistic analysis for words was relatively preserved. This finding suggests the use of various routes in the processing of transparent languages.     

Psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) in general population

This is the first study that provides normative, reliability, factor validity and discriminant validity data of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck, Epstein, Brown, & Steer, 1988) in the Spanish general population, Sanz and Navarro's (2003) Spanish version of the BAI was administered to 249 adults. Factor analyses suggested that the BAI taps a general anxiety dimension comprising two related factors (somatic and affective-cognitive symptoms), but these factors hardly explained any additional variance and, therefore, little information is lost in considering only full-scale scores. Internal consistency estimate for the BAI was high (alpha = .93). The BAI was correlated .63 with the BDI-II and .32 with the Trait-Anger scale of the STAXI 2, but a factor analysis of their items revealed three factors, suggesting that the correlations between the instruments may be better accounted for by relationships between anxiety, depression, and anger, than by problems of discriminant validity. The mean BAI total score and the distribution of BAI scores were similar to those found in other countries. BAI norm scores for the community sample were provided from the total sample and from the male and female subsamples, as females scored higher than males. The utility of these scores for assessing clinical significance of treatment outcomes for anxiety is discussed.     

A measure of racial identity in African American adolescents: the development of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity--Teen

The Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity--Teen (MIBI--T) is designed to assess the 3 cross-situationally stable dimensions (centrality, regard, and ideology) of the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI; R. M. Sellers, M. A. Smith, J. N. Shelton, S. A. J. Rowley, & T. M. Chavous, 1998) within teenagers. Adolescent responses (n= 489) to the MIBI--T were subjected to several analyses to evaluate the psychometric character of the measure. Findings indicated that the MIBI--T represents a valid framework for African American adolescents. Its internal structure is consistent with the conceptual framework of the MMRI, and findings support its construct validity. Results also indicate model invariance across grade level and gender, as well as suggest evidence of predictive validity. Further information about the MIBI--T and the full set of items are presented.     

Elucidating the component processes involved in dyslexic and non-dyslexic reading fluency: An eye-tracking study

The relationship between rapid automatized naming (RAN) and reading fluency is well documented (see Wolf, M. & Bowers, P.G. (1999). The double-deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexias. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(3), 415–438, for a review), but little is known about which component processes are important in RAN, and why developmental dyslexics show longer latencies on these tasks. Researchers disagree as to whether these delays are caused by impaired phonological processing or whether extra-phonological processes also play a role (e.g., Clarke, P., Hulme, C., & Snowling, M. (2005). Individual differences in RAN and reading: A response timing analysis. Journal of Research in Reading, 28(2), 73–86; Wolf, M., Bowers, P.G., & Biddle, K. (2000). Naming-speed processes, timing, and reading: A conceptual review. Journal of learning disabilities, 33(4), 387–407). We conducted an eye-tracking study that manipulated phonological and visual information (as representative of extra-phonological processes) in RAN. Results from linear mixed (LME) effects analyses showed that both phonological and visual processes influence naming-speed for both dyslexic and non-dyslexic groups, but the influence on dyslexic readers is greater. Moreover, dyslexic readers’ difficulties in these domains primarily emerge in a measure that explicitly includes the production phase of naming. This study elucidates processes underpinning RAN performance in non-dyslexic readers and pinpoints areas of difficulty for dyslexic readers. We discuss these findings with reference to phonological and extra-phonological hypotheses of naming-speed deficits.     

Perceptual-cognitive skills and performance in orienteering

The goal was analysis of the perceptual-cognitive skills associated with sport performance in orienteering in a sample of 22 elite and 17 nonelite runners. Variables considered were memory, basic orienteering techniques, map reading, symbol knowledge, map-terrain-map identification, and spatial organisation. A computerised questionnaire was developed to measure the variables. The reliability of the test (agreement between experts) was 90%. Findings suggested that competence in performing basic orienteering techniques efficiently was a key variable differentiating between the elite and the nonelite athletes. The results are discussed in comparison with previous studies.     

数学焦虑、问题形式对乘法估算的影响

采用由研究者所修订的数学焦虑量表和自行设计的估算问题,通过对大学生被试进行团体测验,考察了在纯数字运算和应用题两种情境中数学焦虑对估算加工的影响以及估算中的问题大小效应。结果显示：（1）数学焦虑情绪在纯数字与应用题两种情境下都对估算有显著影响;（2）情境对估算准确率影响显著,纯数字情境下的估算准确率显著高于应用题情境;（3）在应用题情境估算中发现明显的问题大小效应,在纯数字情境估算中却未发现该效应。