Solving deductive-reasoning problems after unilateral temporal lobectomy

The possible functional role of mental imagery in solving deductive-reasoning problems was investigated. Patients with left or right temporal lobectomies and normal control subjects had 32 different solvable three-term series problems read to them. Almost all subjects in the control and in the right-temporal-lobe groups reported consistent use of imagery in solving these problems, whereas less than half the left-temporal-lobe group reported using such a strategy. Overall, the left-temporal-lobe group was impaired relative to both the right-temporal and control groups. The right-temporal-lobe group was impaired only when the form of the question asked was not congruent with the form of the information in the premises. It was concluded that either (a) the left-temporal-lobe group had an unexpectedly large verbal comprehension deficit, or (b) the form of imagery utilized in solving deductive-reasoning problems is based upon verbal symbolic information, and as such is mediated by the left hemisphere.     

Enabling,facilitating, and precipitating factors associated with women's career orientation

Women who had completed a career/life survey 13 to 21 years after enrolling as freshmen in college were classified as career (N = 372) or homemaker (N = 797) oriented on the basis of their actual work experiences. Statistically significant differences between the groups were found on 90% of the variables within the enabling conditions (i.e., family characteristics), 60% of the variables within the facilitating conditions (i.e., educational and vocational characteristics), and 88% of the variables within the precipitating conditions (i.e., attitudinal factors). The proportion of variance accounted for in career orientation by these variables varied from 0 to 32%. The variables which best differentiated between the two groups were categorized within the enabling conditions. The results are discussed in terms of previous theory, research, and practical application.     

A life-span,life-space approach to career development

A career is defined as the combination and sequence of roles played by a person during the course of a lifetime. These roles include those of child, pupil or student, leisurite, citizen, worker, spouse, homemaker, parent, and pensioner, positions with associated expectations that are occupied at some time by most people, and other less common roles such as those of criminal, reformer, and lover. A Life-Career Rainbow is presented as a means of helping conceptualize multidimensional careers, the temporal involvement in, and the emotional commitment to, each role. Self-actualization in various roles, role conflicts, and the determinants of role selection and of role performance are discussed. The use of the Rainbow in career education and in counseling is briefly considered.     

A deletion ahead of its time

An alleged defect in transformational treatment of syntax acquisition is the absence from child speech of certain predicted errors with ‘wh-’ constructions. In this paper, a theory of acquisition dynamics and intensive longitudinal data are brought to bear on this issue. The key observations involve an early precursor, at 24—28 months, of the relative clause. The analysis sheds light on two fundamental issues in transformational acquisition theory: The permissibility of simultaneous rule changes and whether a transformation can be acquired before the associated deep structure. The issues and analysis can be translated into non-transformational terms.     

Individual differences in procedures for knowledge acquisition from maps

This study investigated the procedures subjects use to acquire knowledge from maps. In Experiment 1, three experienced and five novice map users provided verbal protocols while attempting to learn a map. The protocols suggested four categories of processes that subjects invoked during learning: attention, encoding, evaluation, and control. Good learners differed from poor learners primarily in their techniques for and success at encoding spatial information, their ability to accurately evaluate their learning progress, and their ability to focus attention on unlearned information. An analysis of the performance of experienced map users suggested that learning depended on particular procedures and not on familiarity with the task. In Experiment 2, subjects were instructed to use (a) six of the effective learning procedures from Experiment 1, (b) six procedures unrelated to learning success, or (c) their own techniques. The effective procedures set comprised three techniques for learning spatial information, two techniques for using self-generated feedback to guide subsequent study behaviors, and a procedure for partitioning the map into sections. Subjects using these procedures performed better than subjects in the other groups. In addition, subjects' visual memory ability predicted the magnitude of the performance differential.     

A theory of careers encounters sex: Reply to Holland (1976)

This paper is the third in a series beginning with a report (by the authors) of research on the application of Holland's theory of careers to women and men. Holland's response, “The Virtues of the SDS …” is considered, in particular, research he cites on the effect of the Self-Directed Search (SDS) on counselees and his advocacy of raw score reports of personality patterns. The widely divergent career options suggested to men and women by SDS raw scores are noted and misunderstandings concerning the implications of Holland's assessment procedures for his theory are discussed. Holland's defense of raw score reports of personality characteristics is found wanting, especially in light of the support provided for his theory by normed scores.