Memory span and short-term memory capacity: A developmental study

A memory span task involving series conditions comprised of several different types of material was administered to children from three grade levels (7–12 years of age). As expected, age differences were strongly affected by type of material, with two conditions (consonant letters, words) intended to restrict opportunities for chunking yielding age differences that were negligible, and one condition (consonant-vowel letters) constructed to maximize sequential probability yielding age differences that were large. This finding renders less plausible the popular notion that capacity increases with age, and suggests that age differences in memory span reflect chunking processes. Additional findings, which indicate that age differences in memory span are affected by method of presentation and stage of practice, suggest that these variables should be considered in studies aimed at estimating children's memory capacity.     

The modification of intelligence through early experience

Infants judged to be at risk for subnormal intellectual growth were randomly assigned to an Experimental (N = 27) or a Control (N = 25) group. Infants in both groups received medical care and dietary supplements; their families received social work services on a request basis. Experimental children participated in an educational daycare program beginning before the third month of life. The daycare program was composed, in part, of curriculum activities designed to stimulate intellectual growth. Between 6 and 36 months of age, Experimental children maintained normal intellectual growth; Control children declined in IQ beginning between 12 and 18 months of age and remained significantly lower than Experimental children at 24 and 36 months. The mother-child IQ correlation for Control dyads was 43; for Experimental dyads the correlation was ?.05. These two types of evidence are interpreted as support for the importance of early environments in the development of intelligence.     

Projecting Earth on to Heaven: The Hopes of Frank Drake and the Fears of Stephen Hawking

Space scientists today exemplify the projection theory of religion, only they substitute space aliens for the Heavenly Father. Projections are delusions, not facts.     

Two-dimensionalism and the epistemology of recognition

There is reason to expect a reasonable account of a priori knowledge to be linked with an account of the nature of conceptual thought. Recent “two-dimensionalist” accounts of conceptual thought propose an extremely direct connection between the two: on such views, being in a position to know a priori a large number of non-trivial propositions is a necessary condition of concept-possession. In this paper I criticize this view, by arguing that it requires an implausibly internalist and intellectualist conception of capacities we bring to bear in applying concepts in experience. Empirical concept-application depends on the exercise of a variety of capacities, many of which can be grouped together under the general label “recognitional”. As I argue, two-dimensionalism cannot accommodate a plausible account of such capacities. This suggests that the link between a priori knowledge and the nature of conceptual thought is not as direct as twodimensionalists take it to be. I close by briefly sketching a different way to think of that link.

Conditions affecting retention test performance: A developmental study

Developmental studies of retention have yielded remarkably diverse results: however, it is widely assumed that retention ability increases with age. This study examined this assumption by investigating some of the conditions that might affect retention test performance in third graders and tenth graders. The most important results were the absence of age differences in proportionalized short-term retention, despite substantial differences in the number of items learned, and significant age differences in long-term retention only between groups that had received a different number of learning trials. These and other results suggest that age differences in retention test performance occur only when age is confounded with degree of learning. In short, there do not appear to be any age differences in retention per se.     

A model for the behavioral assessment of behavior disorders in children: Measurement considerations and practical application

School psychologists have traditionally experienced difficulty in assessing children referred to them for behavior disorders. Given this reported difficulty, a behavioral assessment model is proposed which specifies three types of assessment information: direct observations, rating scale data, and interview data. Characteristics of these three types of assessment information are discussed, along with recommendations for their use. Two psychological models are suggested to guide school psychologists through the assessment process. Bergan's behavioral consultation model is recommended for securing valid and reliable interview and observational data, and Campbell and Fiske's multitrait-multimethod model is proposed as a means of logically integrating behavioral assessment information. The notion of convergence or agreement between dissimilar assessment methods is discussed.     

“Masculinity,” “femininity,” and adjustment in college men

The regression of adjustment—indexed by measures of anxiety and depression— on “masculinity” (instrumentality) and “femininity” (expressiveness)—as assessed by the BSRI, PRF ANDRO, and the Short BSRI—was studied in 122 college men. The findings revealed that: (a) anxiety and depression marked a single adjustment factor; (b) self-esteem mediated the relationships between instrumentality, expressiveness, and adjustment, such that when the variance due to it was removed, neither instrumentality nor expressiveness accounted for significant variance in Anxiety-Depression; (c) the Short BSRI index of expressiveness behaved differently from the other indices and more like that of the PAQ; (d) instrumentality and expressiveness interacted significantly, such that instrumentality was positively associated with adjustment for those with low or average expressiveness and expressiveness was positively associated with adjustment only for those with low or average instrumentality; and (e) men high in instrumentality and low in expressiveness reported slightly higher adjustment than “androgynous” men.     

Cognitive differentiation in women and pioneer-traditional vocational choices

In order to test the hypothesis that women who went into male dominated fields (pioneers) were more cognitively complex in social relationships than women who went into female dominated fields (traditionals), 83 college seniors were classified and tested using a grid for cognitive complexity in their roles. As predicted, the pioneers were more differentiated (p < .05) in their perception of various social roles and supported the research in cognitive complexity in vocational behavior.