Rapid alternating stimulus naming in the developmental dyslexias

A rapid, alternating stimulus (RAS) naming measure was designed to study the developing ability in dyslexic readers to direct attention to contextual patterns while performing a rapid serial naming task. The results from a 3-year longitudinal investigation of 98 children indicate three trends. RAS performances differentiate both average from impaired readers and dyslexic subgroups from each other. The largest, most impaired subgroup can not complete the RAS tasks in kindergarten; the smaller subgroups have little name access speed deficits. Early RAS performances are highly predictive of later reading, particularly at the single-word reading level. Implications for understanding the development of automaticity and the relationship between retrieval speed and reading are discussed.     

The role of affinity for prosumption experiences and values

Prosumers are individuals who produce goods they consume themselves. The prosumption literature suggests that prosumption can be enhanced through knowledge sharing, creativity and innovation, and developing expertise. In this article, we investigate the relationships between prosumption experiences, prosumption values, and affinity with a prosumption activity. We use a structural equation model approach to evaluate the relationships between these constructs and assume that affinity can mediate the relationship between prosumption experiences and values. We collect empirical data from prosumers who homebrew their own beer and confirm that prosumption experiences and values are positively related, and that affinity mediates the relationship between experiences and values. Implications deriving from these findings are discussed along with directions for future research.     

Good behavior game: effects of individual contingencies for group consequences on disruptive behavior in a classroom

Out-of-seat and talking-out behaviors were studied in a regular fourth-grade class that included several "problem children". After baseline rates of the inappropriate behaviors were obtained, the class was divided into two teams "to play a game". Each out-of-seat and talking-out response by an individual child resulted in a mark being placed on the chalkboard, which meant a possible loss of privileges by all members of the student's team. In this manner a contingency was arranged for the inappropriate behavior of each child while the consequence (possible loss of privileges) of the child's behavior was shared by all members of this team as a group. The privileges were events which are available in almost every classroom, such as extra recess, first to line up for lunch, time for special projects, stars and name tags, as well as winning the game. The individual contingencies for the group consequences were successfully applied first during math period and then during reading period. The experimental analysis involved elements of both reversal and multiple baseline designs.     

Visually discriminated behavior in a "blind" adolescent retardate

A 16-yr-old retarded male, diagnosed organically blind and treated by those around him as a blind person, was given practice in discriminating visual stimuli. After training, he responded with significantly better than chance accuracy in a choice situation in which stimuli were as small as 18 pt Futura Medium type. In addition, he was trained to look at the experimenter's eyes when instructed to do so. Control procedures revealed that it was the reinforcement contingency that functioned to establish and maintain eye contact. Eye contact with the experimenter generalized in a limited way to situations in which this behavior was not reinforced, though not to a neutral individual. When the boy was required to use visual cues to help himself in a cafeteria line, he soon emitted the necessary behaviors, where formerly he had been assisted by others. Resumption of assistance markedly decreased self-help, suggesting that continued use of any newly learned skills would depend on the response of the individuals in his environment. The boy also learned eating behavior that appeared to require the use of visual cues.     

Using the HOME inventory with infants in Costa Rica

It has been established through several decades of research that children's home environments significantly influence their development. Many researchers have also been interested in expanding research beyond indirect measures of the home environment, such as socioeconomic status, to help understand the nature of specific environmental mechanisms which influence early behavior and cognitive development. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory was developed to meet these needs. Specifically, HOME measures the quality of stimulation in a child's early family environment. Almost all studies of the approach's reliability and validity have been conducted with US samples. HOME is, however, being used in other countries. The authors report their findings from a study of whether the psychometric properties of HOME based upon US samples parallel those found in Costa Rica, and whether HOME discriminates between Costa Rican environments with different associations to child health and development. Focus centers upon the infant/toddler version of the HOME Inventory. HOME data for 183 healthy Costa Rican infants were compared to the original HOME standardization sample from Little Rock, Arkansas. The study found the HOME Inventory to be helpful in identifying children at risk for delayed development in this Latin American sample. Lower HOME scores related to a shorter duration of breastfeeding and differentiated children with iron deficiency anemia in infancy, a condition associated with long-lasting developmental disadvantage.