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 expectancy model in the analysis of occupational preference and occupational choice

The differences between the factors related to occupational preference and occupational choice were explored for upper-division college students from business and psychology classes. The results strongly supported a valance-instrumentality-expectancy model in the context of occupational choice. Occupational preference was primarily a function of occupational valence, the multiplicative relation between the outcome valences and the instrumentalities of the occupations for these outcomes. Occupational choice was primarily a function of the force to choose an occupation, the multiplicative relaitonship between occupational valence and the expectancy of attaining an occupation and the expected costs of attaining an occupation.     

Infant pattern vision: A new approach based on the contrast sensitivity function

Current approaches to the study of infant pattern vision have yielded interesting findings but have not yielded a set of data or principles from which general predictions can be drawn. We propose an alternative approach based on measurements of the contrast sensitivity function (CSF). This approach has been successfully applied to the study of adult vision. In principle, the approach allows one to predict the detectability of a wide variety of two-dimensional patterns if one knows the observer's CSF. Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, CSFs of 1-, 2-, and 3-month infants were measured using a fixation preference paradigm. The results indicated noteworthy development between 1 and 3 months particularly in sensitivity to high spatial frequencies (fine stripes). The low-frequency attenuation characteristic of adult vision is observed at 2 and 3 months but not always at 1. In Experiment 2, CSFs of 2-month infants were measured at a lower luminance level. The results indicated that low-frequency attenuation became less pronounced as would be predicted if it were a manifestation of lateral inhibitory processing. The manner in which the CSF can be used to make general predictions is described. The CSFs of Experiment 1 are then used to successfully predict infants' detection of patterns used in two frequently cited experiments. We also propose a simple model of infant pattern preference and show that the model accurately predicts the results of a number of well-known experiments.     

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.     

Self-verification processes: How we sustain our self-conceptions

It is proposed here that individuals use their social interactions as opportunities to verify and confirm their self-conceptions. In a series of empirical investigations, three unique strategies of self-verification are examined. In Investigation I, participants were more likely to seek social feedback when they believed that it would confirm their self-conceptions. In Investigation II, participants elicited reactions from their interaction partners that confirmed their self-conceptions, especially when they suspected that their interaction partners' appraisals might disconfirm their self-conceptions. In Investigation III, participants preferentially recalled social feedback that confirmed their self-conceptions. Thus, within each of three distinct phases of the social interaction, people sought to verify their self-conceptions. The interplay of different strategies of self-verification and the conditions under which they will occur are discussed.     

Stuttering theory,research, and therapy: A five-year retrospective and look ahead

This article reviews events in stuttering theory, research, and therapy that have transpired during the past 5 years. After the retrospective review, current work in the area of stuttering is examined. This analysis of the past and present was conducted in an effort to give clearer direction to future efforts to understand the disorder, and to study and treat it more effectively.     

Individual Differences in visual imagery and spatial ability

Spatial ability is generally assumed to involve construction, transformation, and interpretation of mental images. To explore the relationship between spatial ability and both image quality and image process efficiency, 79 subjects performed eight spatial tests, completed three imagery questionnaires, and participated in six laboratory tasks. These laboratory tasks were devised to measure image quality and the efficiency of image generation, image rotation, image scanning, adding and subtracting detail in images, and integration of images. Although ratings of imagery control and vividness were unrelated to spatial test performance, laboratory measures of process efficiency and image quality were strongly related to spatial test performance and weakly related to one another. A structural equation model identified a single spatial factor, Visualization ability, that can be decomposed into unique variance plus a linear combination of measures of image quality and image process efficiency. An interpretation of this model is that successful performance on spatial tests requires maintenance of a high-quality image and efficient image transformation and inspection processes.     

Relation of Type A behavior to performance and satisfaction among sales personnel

Many of the personal characteristics frequently associated with successful sales performance are very similar to behaviors which are a part of the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern. This study investigated the relationship between Type A behavior and sales performance, as well as job satisfaction, among a sample of 355 life insurance agents. No significant differences were found between Type A and B agents and three measures of sales performance and one measure of general job satisfaction. Type A behavior among the sample was associated with measures of stress and number of health complaints. Possible explanations for the lack of Type A-performance and Type A-satisfaction relationships are discussed as is the importance of the association with stress and health complaints.