Kanji reading by a prekindergarten language-disabled child: A pilot study

A , severely language-disabled boy was taught 250 words made up of one, two, three, or four Japanese/Chinese kanji. Many kanji words were learned and some ability to process these in simple sentences was observed. Acquisition of a word for meaning was not dependent on its visual complexity, but on the child's ability to grasp the meaning of the word. Results suggest that a whole-word method may facilitate very early reading acquisition and a possible neurophysiological correlate of this is proposed. Kanji or whole words may prove useful for language-handicapped individuals unable to process words phonetically.     

Blocking acquisition of the rabbit's nictitating membrane response to serial conditioned stimuli

Three experiments demonstrated that prior training with one stimulus (CS1) would block acquisition of the rabbit's nictitating membrane response (NMR) to another stimulus (CS2) which was more contiguous to the US during serial compound training (CS1-CS2-US). Specifically, the CS1-US interval was 800 msec, which produces only a modest rate of CR acquisition, while the CS2-US interval was 400 msec, which is an optimal value for the NMR preparation. Experiment 1 demonstrated blocking when CS1 overlapped CS2, and Experiment 3 demonstrated blocking when CS1 and CS2 were presented in a strictly sequential fashion. Experiment 2 showed that the magnitude of blocking in the serial compound was comparable to that obtained in a simultaneous compound in which both the CS1-US and CS2-US intervals were 800 msec, thus making CS2 less contiguous with the US than in the serial compound. Moreover, the level of responding to CS2 in all serial compound groups (blocking and control) was lower than in the simultaneous compound groups. The present findings provide further evidence that the associative consequences of CS-US contiguity can be highly attenuated by processes of attention or competition for associative strength.     

Discrete dynamic choice: An extension of the choice models of thurstone and luce

The present paper deals with the extension of two well-known static discrete choice theories to the dynamic situation in which individuals make choices at several points in (continuous) time. A dynamic version of Luce's Axiom, “independence from irrelevant alternatives”, is proposed and some of its implications are derived. In the static case Yellott (J. Math. Psych. 1977, 15, 109–146) and others have demonstrated that an independent random utility model generated from the extreme value distribution exp(?e^?ax?b) becomes equivalent to Luce's Axiom. Yellott also introduced an axiom called “invariance under uniform expansions of the choice set”, and he proved that within the class of random utility models with independent identically distributed utilities (apart from a location shift) this axiom is equivalent to Luce's Axiom. These results are extended to the dynamic situation and it is shown that if the utility processes are expressed by so-called extremal processes the corresponding choice model is Markovian. A nonstationary generalization is proposed which is a substantial interest in applications where the parameters of the choice process are influenced by previous choice experience or by time-varying exogenous variables. In particular, it is demonstrated that the nonstationary model is Markovian if and only if the joint choice probabilities at two points in time have a particular form. Thus, the paper provides a rationale for applying a specific class of Markov models as the point of departure when modelling mobility processes that involve individual discrete decisions over time.     

Contrasting cases of Italian agrammatic aphasia without comprehension disorder

This study examined the effects of different concurrent verbal memory loads on a recognition accuracy task using bilaterally presented nouns. Four different memory load conditions were examined. They varied along a size dimension of either three or six words and along a complexity dimension of either easy concrete nouns or difficult highly abstract nouns. In each of the above conditions and in one control group, order or word report was controlled and in a second control group subjects were free to report the lateralized words in any order they wished. There were 20 subjects in each of the six groups. As expected, a significant right visual field superiority for verbal processing was obtained. there were no main effects of size of memory load nor complexity of m emory load on the laterality patterns. More subtle fluctuations in the patterns were found in the form of significant interactions between memory load, order of word report, and visual field. These interaction effects suggest that words reported second in the bilateral task, are more susceptible to the interfering effects of either larger or more complex memory loads. This is particularly true for right visual field words. While these data generally support a structural model of hemispheric organization, the interaction effects suggest that modifications must be made to the basic model to account for such factors as hemispheric capacity limits and order of report in the bilateral task.     

Attentional biases and the right-ear effect in dichotic listening

Most dichotic listening experiments permit subjects to deploy attention in any way they choose. We argue that this adds uncontrolled variance to the observed right-ear advantage. In the first experiment, more robust laterality effects were obtained in an identification task with focused than with divided attention. Such differences were not found in the second experiment, when a detection procedure was used. Virtually all the laterality effect observed in the second study could be attributed to subjects who were biased attenders, in the sense that they exhibited more intrusions from the right ear to the left than vice versa. However, rather than indicating that laterality effects are simply attentional bias, this effect can be attributed to an asymmetry of perceptual discrimination.     

Written spelling deficit of Broca''s aphasics

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of the written spelling deficit manifested by Broca's aphasics. Four spelling tests were given to eight Broca's aphasic patients. Analysis of misspelling errors led the investigators to conclude that Broca's aphasics do not spell phonically, but rather adhere exclusively to a visual/orthographic strategy. Possible cognitive deficits underlying the spelling problem are identified. The written spelling deficit is related to other features of the syndrome of Broca's aphasia, and finally, speculations are offered concerning the neurological substrate of written spelling in Broca's aphasic patients.     

Voice onset time production and perception in apraxic subjects

This study explored the relationship between the perception and production of voice onset time (VOT) in apraxic subjects. Spectrograms of the words, “bees” and “peas” spoken by apraxic subjects were acoustically analyzed to obtain a measure of VOT. The subjects also identified the initial cognate (“b” or “p”) from synthetically generated speech spanning a voiced to voiceless time continuum. The results suggest that apraxic subjects have production as well as perceptual errors in the voicing feature but no significant relationship was found between the two measures.     

An awareness approach to the covert symptoms of stuttering

Speech-language clinicians working with the confirmed stuttering client are often faced with the clinical management of the covert symptoms of stuttering in addition to the more observable and measurable overt symptoms. The authors report the successful use of awareness techniques to exaggerate the subjective experience of these covert symptoms and encourage the use of these techniques as an adjunct to the counseling and desensitization procedures traditionally employed. A transcribed clinical management session in which several awareness techniques are used to aid the client in an introspective examination of “anticipation of stuttering,” is analyzed in order to reach some specific recommendations for using awareness techniques in the clinical management of the covert symptoms of stuttering.     

Further study of the electrophysiological correlates of lexical decision

Discriminations were required between words, pseudohomophones, and visually matched nonwords. Two tasks were employed, one which could be accomplished on the basis of a visual code (the REAL task, involving discrimination between words and both types of nonword) and another necessitating the use of a phonological code (the REAL/PSEUD task, words and pseudohomophones vs. nonwords). ERPs were recorded from three midline sites and from left and right inferior parietal sites. Two principal results were observed, (i) the peak latency of a late positive component, P637, covaried with RT, with variations in latency of around one half the corresponding RT variations, and (ii) the peak-to-peak amplitude of N100-P187 interacted with stimulus and task, such that it was larger for nonwords in the REAL task and words in the REAL/PSEUD task. No taskor stimulus-dependent asymmetries were observed in any ERP component. The P637 latency data support a model of RT variation based on the interaction of changes in parallel response preparation and stimulus evaluation processes. The observations with respect to N100-P187 suggest that ERPs are sensitive to factors related to the early processing of words and word-like visual material.     

An observational case study of failure in social problem-solving

An observationally based assessment of social problem-solving skill was contrasted with more traditional testing methods. A preschool child with low social success was chosen for a demonstration profile analysis. The relative frequencies of the social goals, strategies, and targets shown by this child during free play were plotted in relation to that of his same-sex peer group. Parallel profiles of his relative success with specific goals, strategies, and targets were also constructed and compared to relevant group means and standard deviations. Specific social problem-solving strengths and weaknesses were identified from these profiles, using both intra- and interindividual analyses. The benefits and limitations of this approach for measurement and treatment of social problem-solving deficits were discussed.