Preschoolers' production of tag questions and adherence to the polarity-contrast principle

In this study childrens' ability to repeat either positive-or negative-polarity tag questions was examined. An elicited imitation task (Brown, Fraser, & Bellugi, 1963; Slobin & Welsh, 1973) was used to determine whether the patterns of repetition by children with lower-level language skills differ from the patterns of repetition by children with normal language skills. It was also asked whether children always adhere to the polarity-contrast principle in their production of tag questions, as suggested by Berninger and Garvey (1982). Adherence to the polarity-contrast principle was greater for the higher-level children than the lower-level children, but very few qualitative differences in the children's responses were found. Both sets of children violated the polarity-contrast principle at times and frequently repeated contrasting tag questions as matching tag questions. This finding clearly counters Berninger and Garvey's claim that preschool children always adhere to the polarity-contrast principle and corresponds to the spontaneous speech data of Richards (1988) and Todd (1982). Preschoold children, it appears, have more than has been assumed to learn about the structure and function of English tag questions.This research was performed at the Language Project Preschool, Woodlawn Elementary School, Lawrence, Kansas. Thanks to Richard Brown for his storytelling, Rusty Schnur and Anne Evans for their cooperation, and the preschool children for their participation. This paper was written while the author held a Ph.D. Fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands and was a Ph.D. student in the Child Language Program at the University of Kansas.     

Salience of stimulus and response features in choice-reaction tasks

A pattern of differential reaction time (RT) benefits obtained in spatial-precuing tasks has been attributed to translation processes that operate on mental codes formed to represent the-stimulus and response sets. According to the salient-features coding principle, the codes are based on the salient stimulus and response features, with RTs being fastest when the two sets of features correspond. Three experiments are reported in which the stimulus and response sets were manipulated using Gestalt grouping principles. In the first two experiments, stimuli and responses were grouped according to spatial proximity, whereas in the last experiment, they were grouped according to similarity. With both types of manipulations, the grouping of the stimulus set systematically affected the pattern of precuingbenefits. Thus, in these experiments, the organization of the stimulus set was the primary determinant of the features selected for coding the stimulus and response sets in the translation process.     

Auditory location as an encoding dimension.

In two experiments, subjects were given five successive short-term memory tests. In Experiment 1, recall was not significantly facilitated when memory material in the final test was delivered to the ear opposite to the one that received the memory material in the four preceding tests. In Experiment 2, events were presented from two differentially located speakers rather than through headphones. A shift across speakers on the final test did produce proactive interference release. These findings suggest spatial location as a potential encoding dimension of verbal material.     

Linear structural equations with latent variables

An interdependent multivariate linear relations model based on manifest, measured variables as well as unmeasured and unmeasurable latent variables is developed. The latent variables include primary or residual common factors of any order as well as unique factors. The model has a simpler parametric structure than previous models, but it is designed to accommodate a wider range of applications via its structural equations, mean structure, covariance structure, and constraints on parameters. The parameters of the model may be estimated by gradient and quasi-Newton methods, or a Gauss-Newton algorithm that obtains least-squares, generalized least-squares, or maximum likelihood estimates. Large sample standard errors and goodness of fit tests are provided. The approach is illustrated by a test theory model and a longitudinal study of intelligence.This investigation was supported in part by a Research Scientist Development Award (KO2-DA00017) and a research grant (DA01070) from the U. S. Public Health Service.     

Cross-modal compatibility effects with visual-spatial and auditory-verbal stimulus and response sets

Within the visual-spatial and auditory-verbal modalities, reaction times to a stimulus have been shown to be faster if salient features of the stimulus and response sets correspond than if they do not. Accounts that attribute such stimulus-response compatibility effects to general translation processes predict that similar effects should occur for cross-modal stimulus and response sets. To test this prediction, three experiments were conducted examining four-choice reactions with (I) visual spatial-location stimuli assigned to speech responses, (2) speech stimuli assigned to keypress responses, and (3) symbolic visual stimuli assigned to speech responses. In all the experiments, responses were faster when correpondence between salient features of the stimulus and response sets was maintained, demonstrating that similar principles of translation operate both within and across modalities.     

Cerebral specialization and the control of oral and limb movements for individuals with Down's syndrome

In this paper we review existing research on cerebral specialization in Down's syndrome (DS) individuals, and we present a preliminary model. The model proposes that the cerebral organization of DS persons is such that there is a dissociation of brain areas responsible for speech perception and the production of complex movement including speech. Research is presented that confirms some initial predictions of the model.     

The Implicit Associations Between Religious and Nonreligious Supernatural Constructs

The present studies furthered understanding of the implicit relationships between traditional religious (RS) and nonreligious supernatural (NRS) concepts. Moving beyond the study of explicit beliefs, we accounted for the distinctions within NRS concepts, applying recent developments in the understanding of the correspondence in beliefs in these phenomena.     

Effects of gender role self-discrepancies and self-perceived attractiveness on social anxiety for women across social situations

Background and objectives: Psychosocial factors, such as gender role norms, may impact how social anxiety disorder (SAD) is experienced and expressed in different social contexts for women. However to date, these factors have not been examined via experimental methodology. Design: This was a cross-sectional, quasi-experimental controlled study. Methods: The current study included 48 highly socially anxious (HSA) women (70.9% meeting criteria for SAD) and examined the relationships among psychosocial factors (i.e. gender role self-discrepancies and self-perceived physical attractiveness), self-perceived social performance, and state anxiety, across two in vivo social tasks (i.e. conversation and opinion speech). Results: On average, participants reported belief that they ought to be less feminine for the speech task and more masculine for both the conversation and speech tasks. Also, for the conversation task, only lower self-rated attractiveness predicted poorer self-perceived performance and greater post-task state anxiety, above gender role self-discrepancies and confederate gender. For the speech task, only greater self-discrepancy in prototypical masculine traits predicted poorer performance ratings, and it was related to greater state anxiety in anticipation of the task. Conclusion: For HSA women, psychosocial factors may play different roles in social anxiety across social contexts.