Age related changes in the effectiveness of name and visual codes in recognition memory

In the first of three studies college, third grade, and kindergarten Ss were able to determine that two stimuli presented 700 msec apart were the same more quickly if they were visually identical than if they shared the same name. If 3000 msec elapsed between stimulus presentations third grade and college Ss responded at the same rate in making both types of matches, whereas kindergarten Ss appeared to continue to respond more quickly in making visual matches. Study II was an unsuccessful attempt to replicate the kindergarten finding. A warning signal, presented 500 msec prior to the second stimulus, reduced RTs at both interstimulus intervals, but no significant differences in making visual and name matches occurred. In Study III first-graders, responding either with or without a warning signal, were found to respond like the older Ss in Study I. The warning signal again reduced RT at both intervals. The results suggest that Ss across a wide age range are able to use the visual properties of a stimulus for only a very brief period as the basis for making matching judgments.     

Orienting versus learning instructions in children's free recall: New evidence

Ninety-six first graders were given a list of either words or pictures to process under three types of incidental orienting instructions (semantic, directed at list organization; semantic, directed at individual item characteristics; and physical) and an intentional-learning instruction. For pictures and words, list organizational instructions were the most effective, and were superior to intentional-learning instructions. In contrast, individual item-orienting instructions were not better than intentional-learning instructions on either list. Additionally, different patterns of instructional effects emerged on the two list types, which were interpreted with respect to both available data and contemporary processing theories.     

Vocal changes in stutterers and nonstutterers during monotoned speech

For years, reports have circulated that stutterers experience marked decrements in their stuttering when they speak or read in monotone. Wingate has suggested that the ameliorative effects of various novel speaking conditions on stuttering can be attributed to modifications in vocalization induced by such conditions. The present study was conducted to see whether this explanation would extend to monotoned speech as well. Ten teenage and adult stutterers and 10 normal speakers were tested in control and monotone reading conditions. Dependent measures were the frequencies of disfluency and stuttering, fundamental frequency, fundamental frequency standard deviation, vocal SPL, vocal SPL standard deviation, and fluent reading rate. Only within-group statistical comparisons were made, because members of the two groups could not be matched pairwise along critical vocal parameters. The major findings of this study indicated that across the two conditions, both groups significantly reduced their fundamental frequency, fundamental frequency standard deviation, vocal SPL and vocal SPL standard deviation. Only the stutterers exhibited a significant decrement in disfluency and stuttering. The normals did not evince enough disfluency in the control condition for a reduction to occur during monotoning. Neither group effected a reduction in fluent reading rates. These and other findings and interpretations are discussed relative to Wingate's modified vocalization hypothesis.     

Word frequency and children's stuttering: The relationship to sentence structure

This study investigated the relationship between word-frequency level and stuttering within the context of four slected sentence types. Fifteen stuttering children, aged 8–12, read 48 sentences of four different transformational types, and three word-frequency levels 12 simple active-affirmative-declarative (SAAD), 12 negative, 12 passive and 12 negative-passive. All sentences were identical in terms of underlying swings and variations of the SAAD sentences. Results agreed with Ronson's study with adults (1976) in that when the group rating was severe and the sentence type was negative, stuttering increased significantly as word-frequency level decreased. It appears that children's stuttering in relationship to word-frequency level is a different response that is subject to variables of sentence type and the severity rating of stuttering.     

Two components of need for approval score and their relationship to cheating following success and failure

Subjects completed a simulated “intelligence test” on which they were given bogus feedback indicating that they had either met college norms or had failed substantially to meet norms. Immediately following was a period in which subjects could modify their scores and believe that their modification would go undetected. The relationship of need for approval to “cheating” and amount of “cheating” was analyzed. The results supported an “avoidance” interpretation of approval motivation. Two separate components of need for approval score were identified and found to be differentially related to avoidance behavior for men and for women.     

Developmental changes in attention-deployment skills

The ability to efficiently allocate attention between two tasks differing in payoff was investigated developmentally. Ten subjects from each of three grade levels (second, fourth, and college) performed an auditory and a visual memory task simultaneously. Modality of the primary task, difficulty of the primary task, and difficulty of the secondary task were varied factorially within subjects. The difference between primary and secondary performances increased with age: All college students, about half of the fourth graders, and none of the second graders showed a meaningful degree of differentiation between primary and secondary tasks.     

The usefulness of distinguishing between a defensive and a nondefensive external locus of control

The study's purpose was to determine whether a distinction can be made between individuals adopting an external locus of control as a defense and those adopting the orientation because it reflects their life experience. It was hypothesized that the two groups differ in the amount of personal responsibility they accept for task outcomes. Internals and externals were identified and then further designated as high or low in action taking. Among externals, a high action-taking score implied defensiveness. Subjects randomly received either success or failure feedback on a presumed task of interpersonal sensitivity. Defensive externals varied their causal attributions as a function of outcome, whereas nondefensive externals did not (p < .05). The distinction between defensive and nondefensive external control was thus supported.     

Developmental differences in cognitive mapping: Configurational knowledge of familiar large-scale environments

In order to investigate the development of cognitive mapping of familiar large-scale environments. First-, fifth-, and eighth-grade children were asked to make bearing and distance estimates to six targets from three sighting locations in their school. Correlations between estimated and actual bearings and distances were extremely high at all grade levels, indicating that (a) children at all grade levels could reliably make such estimates, and (b) route knowledge of even the youngest children was quite high. Bearing accuracy increased between first- and fifth-grade and showed little improvement thereafter. Increases in a measure of configurational accuracy were found between first- and fifth-grade and between fifth- and eighth-grade. Differential accuracy as a function of the demands of particular sighting locations was found only for the younger children.