Investigating speech motor practice and learning in people who stutter

In this exploratory study, we investigated whether or not people who stutter (PWS) show motor practice and learning changes similar to those of people who do not stutter (PNS). To this end, five PWS and five PNS repeated a set of non-words at two different rates (normal and fast) across three test sessions (T1, T2 on the same day and T3 on a separate day, at least 1 week apart). The results indicated that PWS and PNS may resemble each other on a number of performance variables (such as movement amplitude and duration), but they differ in terms of practice and learning on variables that relate to movement stability and strength of coordination patterns. These findings are interpreted in support of recent claims about speech motor skill limitations in PWS.

Educational objectives: The reader will be able to: (1) define oral articulatory changes associated with motor practice and learning and their measurement; (2) summarize findings from previous studies examining motor practice and learning in PWS; and (3) discuss hypotheses that could account for the present findings that suggest PWS and PNS differ in their speech motor learning abilities.     

Non-linear gaining in precision aiming: making Fitts' task a bit easier

The role of information in the processes underlying kinematic trajectory-formation was examined by manipulating the relation between effector space (movement of a hand-held stylus on a graphics tablet) and task space (movement of a cursor on a screen where targets were presented) in a precision aiming task with five different levels of task difficulty. Movement patterns were found to evolve as a function of the flow of information in task space, with participants (N = 13) producing more rapid and more fluent movements when the mapping between spaces included the softening-spring characteristics typical of behavioural patterns at higher levels of task difficulty. We conclude that the kinematic changes (movement time and pattern) observed when task difficulty increases result from informational influences. Information affects behavioural dynamics at the level of the parameters without affecting the underlying dynamical structure.     

教育水平在认知老化中的作用

为考察教育水平在认知老化中的作用,分别使用横断数据和干预数据分析教育水平对认知老化的影响模式。对51名58～83岁的城市社区老年人实施加工速度测验和基本心理能力测验。随机选取25名被试作为干预组接受加工速度训练。被试在前测后第8周接受与前测内容相同的后测。横断分析的结果显示,在特定的认知测验中,教育水平对认知能力的年龄差异有调节作用。干预数据的分析结果显示,加工速度干预效果显著,且对词汇流畅性有迁移作用。但相关分析和回归分析的结果则表明,教育水平在促进老年人干预收益和迁移方面的作用不显著。在获取和应用新知识方面,教育水平的作用并不显著,其在认知老化中的作用可能更多地表现为对固有认知功能的保护。     

化学概念心理表征的初步研究

化学概念表征是化学教育心理学的重要研究对象。化学概念是以命题、表象、产生式和图式等方式表征的。化学概念表征有表象优先性、丰富性、相关性、个体性、可变性等特点。学习者对化学概念理解的本质是形成恰当的心理表征,用“正确度”、“深度”和“速度”等概念,对化学概念的表征可作更为精致的描述。     

Le voisinage orthographique influence la catégorisation de couleur des mots différemment selon l’âge et la vitesse de traitement

The objective of this research was to determine to what extent the effect of higher-frequency orthographic neighbourhood in a word colour-categorization task is changed during aging when processing speed is taken into account. In addition, the effect of the lexicality of the stimuli on colour categorization was examined, as well as its variation according to age and processing speed. Fifty-two young adults (M_age = 21.62) and 52 older adults (M_age = 66.04) participated in this study. For each age group, two sub-groups were created according to the processing speed of the participants as measured by the WAIS Coding subtest. Two conditions of words (written in red, yellow, green or blue) were presented in a colour-categorization task. Half of the words did not have any orthographic neighbours (e.g., pistil [pistil]), while the other half had a higher-frequency neighbour (e.g., tirade [tirade]/TIRAGE [draw]). A control condition with a series of Xs was added to test the influence of the effect of the lexicality of words on the colour-categorization times. As a whole, the results showed slower colour-categorization times for words compared to a series of Xs, which did not vary with age and processing speed. Importantly, the results showed that orthographic neighbourhood frequency interacted with age and processing speed, on colour categorization response times. More precisely, the neighbourhood frequency effect was found to vary differently according to processing speed in each age group. For the fastest young adults, the facilitatory effect of higher-frequency orthographic neighbourhood was obtained, whereas no such effect was found for the slowest young adults. The fastest older adults did not exhibit any effect of higher-frequency orthographic neighbourhood whereas a facilitatory effect was observed for the slowest older adults. Therefore, these data suggest that both aging and the processing speed of the participants influence the interference effect of reading on colour categorization. These findings are discussed in the context of cognitive aging theories and models of written word recognition.     

Integrating Psychology within the Globalizing World: A <Emphasis Type="Italic">Requiem</Emphasis> to the Post-Modernist Experiment with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Wissenschaft</Emphasis>

Since the new beginning in 2007 of Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science we have brought out to the open both the reasons why the ever-widening research enterprise in psychology has largely failed to produce general knowledge, and to point to promising new directions in the field. The post-modernist turn in psychology is now over, and it is an interesting task to return to creating a universal science of psychology that is context-sensitive, and culture-inclusive. The latter goal entails a renewed focus upon qualitative analyses of time-based processes, close attention to the phenomena under study, and systematic (single-system-based—usually labeled idiographic) focus in empirical investigations. Through these three pathways centrality of human experiencing of culturally constructed worlds is restored as the core of psychological science. Universal principles are evident in each and every single case. Transcending post-modernist deconstruction of science happens through active international participation and a renewed focus on creating general theories. Contemporary psychology is global in ways that no longer can any country’s socio-political world view dominate the field. Such international equality of contributions grants innovation of the core of the discipline, and safeguards it against assuming any single cultural myth-story as the axiomatic basis for the discipline.

Visual attention capacity: a review of TVA-based patient studies

Psychophysical studies have identified two distinct limitations of visual attention capacity: processing speed and apprehension span. Using a simple test, these cognitive factors can be analyzed by Bundesen's Theory of Visual Attention (TVA). The method has strong specificity and sensitivity, and measurements are highly reliable. As the method is theoretically founded, it also has high validity. TVA-based assessment has recently been used to investigate a broad range of neuropsychological and neurological conditions. We present the method, including the experimental paradigm and practical guidelines to patient testing, and review existing TVA-based patient studies organized by lesion anatomy. Lesions in three anatomical regions affect visual capacity: The parietal lobes, frontal cortex and basal ganglia, and extrastriate cortex. Visual capacity thus depends on large, bilaterally distributed anatomical networks that include several regions outside the visual system. The two visual capacity parameters are functionally separable, but seem to rely on largely overlapping brain areas.     

A Multivariate Multilevel Approach to the Modeling of Accuracy and Speed of Test Takers

Response times on test items are easily collected in modern computerized testing. When collecting both (binary) responses and (continuous) response times on test items, it is possible to measure the accuracy and speed of test takers. To study the relationships between these two constructs, the model is extended with a multivariate multilevel regression structure which allows the incorporation of covariates to explain the variance in speed and accuracy between individuals and groups of test takers. A Bayesian approach with Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) computation enables straightforward estimation of all model parameters. Model-specific implementations of a Bayes factor (BF) and deviance information criterium (DIC) for model selection are proposed which are easily calculated as byproducts of the MCMC computation. Both results from simulation studies and real-data examples are given to illustrate several novel analyses possible with this modeling framework. The authors thank Steven Wise, James Madison University, and Pere Joan Ferrando, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, for generously making available their data sets for the empirical examples in this paper.     

Toward a comprehensive view of the skills involved in word reading in Grades 4, 6, and 8

Research to date has proposed four main variables involved in reading development: phonological awareness, naming speed, orthographic knowledge, and morphological awareness. Although each of these variables has been examined in the context of one or two of the other variables, this study examines all four factors together to assess their unique contribution to reading. A sample of children in Grades 4, 6, and 8 (ages 10, 12, and 14 years) completed a battery of tests that included at least one measure of each of the four variables and two measures of reading accuracy. Phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, and morphological awareness each contributed uniquely to real word and pseudoword reading beyond the other variables, whereas naming speed did not survive these stringent controls. The results support the sustained importance of these three skills in reading by older readers.