Bias for consonantal information over vocalic information in 30-month-olds: cross-linguistic evidence from French and English

Using a name-based categorization task, Nazzi found in 2005 that French-learning 20-month-olds can make use of one-feature consonantal contrasts between new labels but fail to do so with one-feature vocalic contrasts. This asymmetry was interpreted as developmental evidence for the proposal that consonants play a more important role than vowels at the lexical level. In the current study using the same task, we first show that by 30 months French-learning infants can make use of one-feature vocalic contrasts (e.g., /pize/–/pyze/). Second, we show that in a situation where infants must neglect either a consonantal one-feature change or a vocalic one-feature change (e.g., match a /pide/ with either a /tide/ or a /pyde/), both French- and English-learning 30-month-olds choose to neglect the vocalic change rather than the consonantal change. We argue that these results suggest that by 30 months of age, infants still give less weight to vocalic information than to consonantal information in a lexically related task even though they are able to process fine vocalic information.     

Individual difference influences on self-focused and other-focused counterproductive student behaviors

This paper extends previous research on counterproductive student behaviors by presenting an individual difference model of counterproductive student behaviors (CSBs) that includes four sets of antecedent variables: internal control variables; propensity variables; achievement striving; and severity perceptions of CSBs. Data from 276 undergraduate students shows that CSBs exhibit a two-factor solution (self-focused and other-focused CSBs), and that each of the four sets of antecedent variables explain unique variance in either self-focused CSBs or other-focused CSBs; with the influence of achievement striving being restricted to behaviors that harm the academic performance of students. The results are discussed in terms of their relationship with previous research on counterproductive behaviors and their implications for understanding of the broad domain of college student performance.     

非英语专业大学生CET4成绩影响因素的结构模型

以501名参加过CET4的非英语专业大学生为研究对象,通过英语自我效能感问卷（ESEQ）、英语学习焦虑量表（ELAS）和英语学习策略量表（ELSI）的测量,探讨CET4成绩与其主要影响因素性别、英语自我效能感、英语学习焦虑和英语学习策略之间的结构关系模型。结果显示：（1）非英语专业大学生的英语学习焦虑存在显著的性别差异（女生低于男生）;（2）性别除与英语学习策略不存在直接路径作用外,与CET4成绩、英语自我效能感、英语学习焦虑间均存在直接路径作用;（3）英语学习焦虑对CET4成绩既存在直接路径作用,又通过英语自我效能感、英语学习策略和英语自我效能感的中介产生问接路径作用;（4）英语学习策略仅通过英语自我效能感的中介对CET4成绩产生间接路径作用。研究还表明英语自我效能感在CET4成绩影响因素的结构模型中起着瓶颈作用。     

从多元概化理论看高考综合能力测试的改进

通过多元概化理论的研究发现,高考综合能力测试（2001,广东）的总体信度达到了可以接受的水平（0.784）。但测验中各部分对总方差的贡献程度与预定的赋分比例有较大差距。其中,地理和政治的贡献度偏低,化学和历史的贡献度偏高。这表明有（历史和化学）偏科特点的考生得到了较高的综合分数。又经决策(D)研究发现,增加地理部分的题量会反常地降低测验的总体信度,这说明有不少高分考生答错或主动放弃了地理科题目。因此,如何有效控制各部分的实际贡献程度、避免负面导向是当前高考综合能力测试亟待解决的问题。     

在多媒体语境条件下词类对儿童英语词汇学习效果的影响

该研究考察了多媒体动画片语境条件下,词类对儿童英语词汇学习效果的影响,结果发现:(1)儿童对名词和形容词的再认成绩显著优于代词;(2)就独立回忆测验而言,名词的成绩显著高于代词,形容词的成绩处于代词和名词之间,但与二者的差异均不显著;(3)就情境回忆测验而言,名词与形容词的成绩差异不显著,二者均显著高于代词;(4)名词与形容词的情境回忆测验成绩均显著高于独立回忆测验成绩,但代词的独立回忆与情境回忆测验成绩差异不显著。总体而言,儿童对名词和形容词的学习效果好于代词,表明词类会对儿童英语词汇学习效果产生影响。     

Gender associations in the twentieth-century English-language literature

Gender associations may be partly learned from print media, including literature. Using Google Books Ngram corpus, we explored the depiction of male and female characters in the twentieth-century English-language fiction. By analyzing adjective-noun bigrams, we examined adjectives used in association with “man”, “woman”, “boy”, and “girl”. Men were described in more positive terms than women. Girls were depicted more positively than boys at the beginning of the twentieth century, but the tendency reversed in the middle of the century. Boys were described in more masculine terms than girls; however, men were described in similarly masculine adjectives as women. Despite limitations of interpretability of the results, the study presents a possible approach of exploring past characterization of the two genders.     

The effects of intensive,extensive, structured study on GRE scores

Thirty-eight undergraduate students engaged in self-paced self-study using standard materials in one of five Graduate Record Examination (GRE) preparatory courses, lasting 5.5 to 7.5 weeks, offering 66 to 140 hours of study, and using attendance and participation incentives. Statistically and practically significant improvements were found from pretest to posttest verbal, quantitative, and combined scores. In one series of courses, the mean combined scores improved 96 points, increasing from 842 (pretest) to 938 (posttest). In the other, the mean improved 186 points, increasing from 888 to 1074. Earlier published research involved brief training (3 to 9 hours) and showed no benefits. The present research suggests that intensive, structured training can produce a mean improvement of at least 96 points, which is a socially significant accomplishment.     

Curriculum bias in standardized tests of reading decoding

This study examined overlap between four basal reading programs and the phonetic analysis subtest of three standardized achievement measures. Raw scores, percentages of items correct, grade equivalents, and percentile scores were computed for a hypothetical student who had mastered all grapheme-phoneme correspondences taught at each grade level. The results indicated that (a) programs differed in the number and sequence of phonics skills taught; (b) percentile and grade-equivalent scores differed across programs at each grade level for a given test; and (c) the proportion of grade-equivalent scores falling at or above expected grade levels differed across tests for a given program (range of 29%–71%). The implications for selecting and interpreting standardized measures of reading decoding are discussed.     

Effect of achievement motivation on cognitive control adaptations

Previous research addressing motivational effects on cognitive control adaptations primarily manipulated external rewards. In the present study, we examined whether achievement motivation, reflecting intrinsic motivation, modulates cognitive control adaptations. In each of two experiments, students were divided into a high achievement motivation group (HAM; Experiment 1: N?=?36; Experiment 2: N?=?39) and a low achievement motivation group (LAM; Experiment 1: N?=?30; Experiment 2: N?=?39) on the basis of the Achievement Motivation Scale. Cognitive control adaptations were assessed by sequential congruency effects (SCEs) in Flanker tasks. Using a standard Flanker task in Experiment 1 and examining response times, the HAM but not LAM participants showed evidence of cognitive control adaptations. Because SCEs in a standard Flanker task may reflect lower-level, bottom-up processes rather than cognitive control adaptations, we used an adapted version of the Flanker task in Experiment 2 that controlled for the potential influence of such processes. Experiment 2 again revealed evidence of SCEs in the HAM but not LAM participants. These results suggest that cognitive control adaptions may be modulated by achievement motivation. Such potential modulation could be taken into account when evaluating results of previous and future fundamental and applied studies on cognitive control adaptations.