Effects of simulated stuttering on listener recall

In an investigation of the effects of simulated stuttering on listener recall, a presentation was varied on two factors: degree of stuttering (mild or severe) and information value of stuttered words (low or high). A control presentation featuring non-stuttered speech also was prepared. Five groups of 16 subjects were randomly assigned to, and participated in, one of the five listening conditions. Then they completed a 20-item recall test. A one-way analysis of variance revealed sognificant differences among the five conditions. Two-way analysis of variance disclosed no main effects. However, a significant interaction showed that recall was lowest in the severe stuttering-high information condition. The results are discussed in terms of attention to critical information.     

A multivariable analysis of spatial abilities by sex

This article presents a series of studies investigating the influence of experimental factors and the personological variables of age and sex upon spatial abilities. It was hypothesized that the overall equivocal findings typical of spatial research may be partially due to the use of different factors across studies. The experimental variables of spatial factor, task demands, spatial information type, information-processing mode, and response mode were systematically manipulated across the eight studies. In each individual analysis of data collected in a specific study, no significant main effect sex differences were detected. However, when a meta-analytic review of the studies was conducted, both spatial information dimensionality and information dimensionality × spatial factor assessed proved to be influential on male and female spatial performances. Female performance was superior when the dimensionality of stimulus and response variables was invariant. Males had the advantage when dimensionality crossing was necessitated. The discrepancy between the sexes was particularly dramatic when the spatial orientation factor was tapped.     

The selective impact of question form and input mode on the symbolic distance effect in children

Five experiments are reported on the symbolic distance effect (SDE) and related phenomena with 6- and 9-year-old children. In the first of these, children were asked to judge the relative sizes of animals in verbal and pictorial tests featuring the comparatives "bigger" and "smaller." A perceptual condition with actual objects was included by way of comparison. A Symbolic Distance Effect was obtained for both lexical and pictorial input. Mode differences were also observed. Pictures produced faster responses than words, and congruity effects occurred only in the pictorial condition. Although performance was similar in tests with either comparative, our subsequent experiments on both 6- and 9-year-olds reveal a significant asymmetry in the child's capacity to verify statements of relation as a function of the direction along the (size) continuum implied by the question. However, important differences between age groups also apparent in the data lead us to conclude that the older subjects develop strategies to overcome this asymmetry by translating certain statements of relation into a form more congruent with their natural modes of encoding.     

Powerful Pedagogy in the Science-and-Religion Classroom

This essay is a discussion of effective teaching in the science-and-religion classroom. I begin by introducing Alfred North Whitehead's three stages of learning—romance, discipline, and generalization—and consider their implications for powerful pedagogy in science and religion. Following Whitehead's three principles, I develop a number of additional heuristics that deal with active, visual, narrative, cooperative, and dialogical learning styles. Finally, I present twelve guidelines for how to use e-mail and class-based listserves to achieve some of these outcomes.     

Types produce types—Especially fathers

Employing a larger sample and a more stringent statistical criterion, this study replicated an attempt by T. G. Grandy and R. F. Stahmann (Journal of Vocational Behavior, 1974, 5, 231–239.) to test Holland's hypothesis that parents' personality types foster similar offspring personality development. The relationships between paternal and offspring personality types were consonant with the findings of Grandy and Stahmann but the role of maternal personalities remained unclear. An explanation was offered that fathers' personality types carry more weight in the development of offspring types.     

The effect of serving as a model of self-control on subsequent resistance to deviation in children

The effect of having a child serve as a rule-following model for other children on the model's own subsequent rule-following was investigated in a resistance to deviation situation. First- and second-grade boys (age range 73 to 94 months) who were told they would serve as self-controlling models for others and who actually served in this capacity touched prohibited toys less than did boys who were not told they would serve as models. Boys told they were to serve as models but who were prevented from performing deviated at a level between the models and boys given no responsibility. Having children serve as rule-following models for others is suggested as an effective, non-punitive technique to increase their self-control.