The eyes have it: Exposure times and saccadic movements in visual half-field experiments

Several tachistoscopic visual half-field experiments using exposure times in excess of 150 msec have been reported and arguments have been put forth justifying this procedure. An experiment was done investigating visual field accuracy under conditions where eye movement was allowed, following parafoveal exposure. Two control experiments were done to evaluate the viewing conditions. When eye movement is permitted, accuracy in both visual fields reaches 100%. It is concluded that visual field differences found with exposure times greater than 150 msec are due to the active cooperation of the subjects and not due to the justifications advanced by experimenters using long exposure times.     

Relationships between self-concept and achievement

This study is based on a multifaceted and hierarchical model of self-concept and explores the relationships between the various facets of self-concept and academic achievement. The model of self-concept has general self-concept at the apex, then academic self-concept, presentation of self, and social self-concept. There are 7 third-order factors: achievement, ability, and classroom self-concepts (academic), physical self-concepts (social). Further, there are four specific-subject and peer and family self-concepts (social). Further, there are four specific-subject self-concepts. The argument proposed in this study is that the relations between achievement and the facets of academic self-concept are greater than the relations between achievement and presentation of self and social self-concept. This argument is not rejected. Adolescents consistently evaluate themselves across various academic subjects, but there are no relationships between achievement and other aspects of the self.     

Operational efficiency and the growth of short-term memory span

Four studies are reported which link developmental increases in memory span with developmental increases in operational speed or efficiency. In the first, a linear relationship is demonstrated between increases in word span and increases in speed of word repetition. In the second, adults and 6-year-olds are equated on speed of word repetition, by manipulating word familiarity. It is shown that their word spans are no longer different under these conditions. Similar findings are then reported for a test of M space called “Counting Span.” First, a linear relationship is demonstrated between increases in Counting Span and increases in speed of counting. Next, adults and 6-year-olds are equated on speed of counting, by forcing adults to count in an unfamiliar language. It is shown that their counting spans are no longer different under these conditions. The conclusion is that developmental increases in memory span do not result from increases in total processing space. Rather, with development, basic operations become faster and more efficient. This means that they require less processing space, and that more space becomes available for storage as a result.     

Observing spontaneous metaphor in children

The study considered whether apparent metaphors are a frequent part of child language and whether the child recognizes the metaphoric relation created. Seventy-three nursery and kindergarten children (2 to 6 years of age) were observed for one or two half-hour periods of free play. Naturally occurring utterances in unconventional uses were recorded. The children were then questioned about their possible metaphoric creations to determine their awareness and understanding of their utterances. Results suggest that metaphoric processes exist quite early in development, as exemplified by a high frequency of spontaneous metaphor in the free play of young children. The semantic extensions were often deliberate and used appropriately. On some occasions the child was able to articulate the rationale for the verbal substitution. The content and cognitive features of the figures are discussed. Several hypotheses are offered for the developmental trend of decline in frequency of metaphor use with age.     

The effect of training procedures on the overlearning reversal effect in young children

The performance of 80 preschool children on a reversal problem was studied as a function of amount of training and type of training procedure used during acquisition and reversal. In the extinction phase of reversal learning, subjects given a correction procedure during the reversal problem made fewer perseverative errors than subjects given noncorrection. In the reversal midplateau phase of reversal learning, overtraining facilitated reversal learning for subjects receiving noncorrection during the acquistion problem, but not for subjects receiving correction. A shift in training procedure between acquisition and reversal increased the number of subjects who reached criterion immediately after perseveration. Since these results are difficult to explain in terms of traditional learning theories, an alternative response-switching strategy explanation was proposed.     

Writing induces a right hemisphere linguistic advantage in dysphonetic dyslexic children: implications for attention and capacity models of laterality

An experiment demonstrated a complete hemispheric processing reversal in 10 male, dysphonetic dyslexic children that occurred during a dichotic listening test of their verbal working memory. Requiring a written response to dichotic digits produced a right hemisphere/left ear superiority in the dysphonetic dyslexics whereas normal subjects and other dyslexics maintained a left hemisphere/right ear advantage. This reversal was unaffected by changes in task difficulty. A second experiment assessed the influence on producing the reversal of concurrent manual interference with left hemisphere verbal processing (responding orally vs. manually) and selective right hemisphere priming (Forward Writing vs. Backward Writing). The dysphonetic children reverted to a strong left hemisphere superiority when recalling the dichotic digits orally. Backward writing produced no ear advantage in either direction. The findings suggest that dysphonetic dyslexia may be related to (1) left hemisphere processing demands that exceed capacity, (2) easily activated right hemisphere processing strategies and (3) failure to coordinate linguistic processing interhemispherically. The results supported a novel hybrid conceptualization of dyslexia consisting of a synthesis of selective activation, and dual processor-limited capacity, theories.     

Natural anchoring at the neutral point of category rating scales

Contextual theories of judgment assume that the rating of any stimulus depends on its relationship to a context of similar stimuli. For example, any specific act of behavior would be rated less favorably when considered in the context of good behaviors then when considered in the context of bad ones. However, two experiments suggest an absolute anchoring of the natural neutral point, an exception to this generalization. In Experiment 1, morally indifferent acts remained “neutral,” regardless of context; and in Experiment 2 the break-even or zero-point in a simulated game of chance was always rated “neutral.” In both experiments, contextual manipulations had powerful effects upon ratings of other stimuli, though never shifting them across the neutral point. Furthermore, both experiments suggest that neutral-point anchoring also affects the use of the most extreme categories in a manner that is unique to this phenomena. In Experiment 2 for example, the introduction of extremely positive “wins” not only made other wins seem less favorable while leaving ratings of the zero-point unchanged, but also made the most negative losses seem more favorable. It is as if the introduction of an extremely positive “win” also introduces the possibility of an extremely negative “loss.” Taken together these findings contradict the basic adaptation-level premise that the entire scale is determined by the neutral point; they are also inconsistent with the assumption of range theories that the scale is anchored by the endpoints of the range of stimuli actually experienced.     

Judge not? The pedagogical puzzle of right interpretation and wrong interpretation

When studying the reception history of the Bible, should students be asked to suspend judgment on a particular interpretation for the sake of the pedagogical goals of the course? Or is their judgment essential to the process of learning and understanding? This essay explores the pedagogical puzzle of right interpretation and wrong interpretation through the context of my classroom, where neither the troubling events of a nation in turmoil nor our own social, religious, and cultural locations as readers could be bracketed from the learning environment, despite my best efforts. In particular, this essay integrates the approach outlined by Gary Weissman, who argues for an embrace of student misreading in his book The Writer in the Well. His suggestion that misreading and rewriting are fundamental to the process of understanding is provocative, and its application to biblical studies presents special challenges, but this paper argues for its relevance to the pedagogical puzzle at hand.