初中生函数概念发展的研究

本研究通过测验法对北京市六所中学的802名初一至初三的学生进行调查,考察了初中学生函数概念的发展水平。结果表明,初中生函数概念的发展存在着较为特殊的年龄特征;学生所接受的学校教育内容显著地影响其函数概念的发展水平。但是,初中学生进行正与反、肯定与否定之间相互转化的辩证思维能力还较差;还有很大一部分(将近一半)的学生不能用运动、变化的观点来看待问题;初二是学生函数概念发展的一个转折点。从初二以后,学生无论是进行文字信息、还是图形信息加工的能力都有明显的增强,但将文字信息与图形信息进行转换的能力水平还很低;考察同类问题间的联系时,学生还不能脱离开问题的实际内容,概括化地理解抽象的数量关系。     

In pursuit of knowledge: comparing self-explanations, concepts, and procedures as pedagogical tools

Explaining new ideas to oneself can promote learning and transfer, but questions remain about how to maximize the pedagogical value of self-explanations. This study investigated how type of instruction affected self-explanation quality and subsequent learning outcomes for second- through fifth-grade children learning to solve mathematical equivalence problems (e.g., 7 + 3 + 9 = 7 + _). Experiment 1 varied whether instruction was conceptual or procedural in nature (n = 40), and Experiment 2 varied whether children were prompted to self-explain after conceptual instruction (n = 48). Conceptual instruction led to higher quality explanations, greater conceptual knowledge, and similar procedural knowledge compared with procedural instruction. No effect was found for self-explanation prompts. Conceptual instruction can be more efficient than procedural instruction and may make self-explanation prompts unnecessary.     

Loci of stuttering of English- and Korean-speaking children who stutter: Preliminary findings

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to determine whether differences exist between young English- and Korean-speaking children who stutter (CWS) in the loci of stuttering.MethodParticipants were 10 Korean-speaking and 11 English-speaking CWS between the ages of 3 and 7 years. Participants produced narratives while viewing various picture scenes and a wordless picture book.ResultsFindings indicated that Korean-speaking CWS stuttered more on content than function words whereas English-speaking CWS stuttered more on function than content words. Furthermore, both Korean- and English-speaking CWS tended to stutter more on utterance-initial words. These findings appear to be related to the differences in linguistic/syntactic structures between Korean and English. Specifically, in the Korean-speaking CWS’s narratives, most utterance-initial words (73.60 %) were content words whereas in the English-speaking CWS’s narratives, most utterance-initial words (83.57 %) were function words.ConclusionThese preliminary findings, although in need of replication with a larger sample size, seem to suggest that the word class (i.e., content/function words) contributions to stuttering loci are more language-specific whereas the word position (i.e., utterance-initial position) contributions to stuttering loci are more language-nonspecific. Given that the true characteristics of stuttering may be rather language-nonspecific than language-specific, further research may need to focus more on stuttering loci related to word position than word class.     

A novel variation of the Stroop task reveals reflexive supremacy of peripheral over gaze stimuli in pro and anti saccades

A long-standing controversy in social attention debates whether gaze-of-another induces reflexive shifts of one’s own attention. In attempting to resolve this controversy, we utilized a novel Stroop task, the PAT Stroop, in which pro- and anti-saccade (PAT) responses are made to competing gaze and peripheral stimuli. The first experiment demonstrated a “Stroop effect” for peripheral stimuli, i.e. peripheral distractors interfered with gaze triggers, but gaze distractors did not interfere with peripheral triggers. These results were replicated in the second experiment, which also negated the possibility that the mere display and practice of the “clean PAT” influenced the results. Thus, the use a new PAT Stroop task demonstrated reflexive supremacy of peripheral stimuli over gaze stimuli. This novel variant of the Stroop task demonstrated similar characteristics to the classic color naming Stroop - i.e. an asymmetrical pattern, and again showed the utility and versatility of stoop-like tasks in probing mental tasks.     

The effects of smart phone video analysis on focus of attention and performance in practice and competition

ObjectivesResearch has consistently found that focus of attention (FOA) affects motor learning and performance. However, much of the previous work has used artificially manipulated FOA of novice participants performing laboratory tasks. There is a paucity of work that has tested transfer to more complex competition environments. We aimed to investigate the effects of smart phone video analysis, which commonly occurs in natural practice settings in golf, on skilled player’s FOA and performance in both practice and competition.DesignThis study employed a mixed experimental design. The between participants factor was the use of video analysis (practice with video vs practice only) and the repeated measures factor was time point (pre-intervention vs post-intervention).MethodAltogether, 19 skilled golfers (handicap: M = 5.79, SD = 5.80) took part in a four-week practice intervention with (n = 10) or without (n = 9) the use of smart phone video analysis. Driving range performance and competition performance were measured pre- and post-intervention. Practice diaries provided measures of FOA during the intervention period.ResultsThe practice with video group displayed a significantly more internal FOA throughout the intervention period than the practice only group. This resulted in a significant time by group interaction for driving range performance that showed an increase in performance for the practice only group and a decrease for the practice with video group. However, the performance effects did not transfer to competition scores.ConclusionsFindings enhance our understanding of the effects of video analysis on FOA and question whether FOA effects transfer from on range practice to on course performance.     

概念不仅仅是归类

直到最近对概念大量的研究还是在归类方面,但归类仅是概念诸多功能中的一种。文章认为通过归类的学习还不能有效地理解概念,或概念的其他功能。原因是概念具有多重功能,它们交互作用影响概念的结构和加工过程;孤立地研究概念的单个功能可以使人理解某个特定功能的认知过程,但是却阻碍人们发现概念共同的多重功能的认知过程。由此认为概念应该在一系列相互影响的功能背景之下展开研究。     

MULTIPLE‐RESPONDENT ANECDOTAL ASSESSMENTS: AN ANALYSIS OF INTERRATER AGREEMENT AND CORRESPONDENCE WITH ANALOGUE ASSESSMENT OUTCOMES

We evaluated interrater agreement across multiple respondents on anecdotal assessments and compared cases in which agreement was obtained with outcomes of functional analyses. Experiment 1 evaluated agreement among multiple respondents on the function of problem behavior for 27 individuals across 42 target behaviors using the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS) and the Questions about Behavioral Function (QABF). Results showed that at least 4 of 5 respondents agreed on the primary maintaining consequence for 52% (22 of 42) of target behaviors with the MAS and 57% (24 of 42) with the QABF. Experiment 2 examined correspondence between the anecdotal assessment results and functional analysis results for 7 individuals for whom at least 4 of 5 respondents showed agreement in Experiment 1. Correspondence with functional analysis results was observed in 6 of 7 cases with the QABF and in 4 of 7 cases with the MAS. Implications of these outcomes for the utility of anecdotal assessments are discussed.     

When can we choose to forget? An ERP study into item-method directed forgetting of emotional words

Emotionally arousing information is treated in a specialised manner across a number of different processing stages, and memory for affective events is often found to be heightened by virtue of this. However, in some cases, emotional experiences might be the very ones that we would like to forget. Here, two item-method directed forgetting studies are presented which investigate people's ability to intentionally forget affective words when stimuli and memory instructions are presented simultaneously. In the first experiment an interaction between task instruction and emotional content was evident in a diminished directed forgetting effect for emotional words, suggesting that they may be relatively resistant to deliberate forgetting. The interaction between instruction and emotion appeared both in free recall of words and in a yes-no recognition task. In the second study, an ERP procedure was utilised to investigate whether emotion modulates the effects of instruction during the initial encoding of stimuli. Recognition data again showed a clear interaction between instruction and emotion, with a reduced directed forgetting effect for emotional words. The ERP data demonstrated evidence for individual effects of both emotion and instruction during encoding; however, despite this, no evidence for an interaction between these factors was evident in the ERP data. As such, we conclude that even when study items are presented simultaneously with their associated memory instructions, neither does emotion prevent differential processing of directed forgetting instruction, nor does memory instruction prevent differential processing of emotion during early encoding. Implications are discussed in relation to the directed forgetting literature and more broadly with respect to circumstances under which emotion and cognitive processing work in parallel or in competition with each other.     

Generalizing attentional control across dimensions and tasks: Evidence from transfer of proportion-congruent effects

Three experiments investigated transfer of list-wide proportion congruent (LWPC) effects from a set of congruent and incongruent items with different frequency (inducer task) to a set of congruent and incongruent items with equal frequency (diagnostic task). Experiments 1 and 2 mixed items from horizontal and vertical Simon tasks. Tasks always involved different stimuli that varied on the same dimension (colour) in Experiment 1 and on different dimensions (colour, shape) in Experiment 2. Experiment 3 mixed trials from a manual Simon task with trials from a vocal Stroop task, with colour being the relevant stimulus in both tasks. There were two major results. First, we observed transfer of LWPC effects in Experiments 1 and 3, when tasks shared the relevant dimension, but not in Experiment 2. Second, sequential modulations of congruency effects transferred in Experiment 1 only. Hence, the different transfer patterns suggest that LWPC effects and sequential modulations arise from different mechanisms. Moreover, the observation of transfer supports an account of LWPC effects in terms of list-wide cognitive control, while being at odds with accounts in terms of stimulus–response (contingency) learning and item-specific control.