Activation of bipolar prototypes in attribute inferences

The present study examined how prototypes, as organizational principles of knowledge about persons, affect attribute inference judgments. A distinction is drawn between bipolar and unipolar categories. Two questions are addressed: First, whether only one or both prototypes of bipolar categories like extraversion-introversion are activated in making inference judgments, and second, whether information about the applicability of a stimulus item to a target is processed differently than information about the inapplicability of the stimulus item. The results support the hypothesis that only one prototype is activated and that this is the affirmative one, irrespective of whether the stimulus information is applicable or inapplicable to the target person. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Correlates of syntactic development in kindergartners: Deficiency vs. proficiency

In a search for correlates of oral language deficiency, a sentence imitation task (SOLST) was used to select 20 syntactically deficient and 20 syntactically proficient kindergarten subjects. The groups were compared on a battery of tasks measuring oral language comprehension and production, verbal and nonverbal intelligence, visual-motor skill, manual dexterity, right-ear advantage, reading readiness, and later reading achievement. On 8 of the 11 variables, the delayed group performed significantly less well than the controls, although Pearson correlation coefficients of other measures with measures of syntax were generally low to moderate. Negative correlations of some variables with right-ear advantage raise the possibility of reverse dominance in some of the experimental subjects. In addition, there was confirmation for poor performance on the Stephens Oral Language Screening Test resulting in subsequent reading difficulties.     

The speech production abilities of stutterers: Recent, ongoing, and future research

Recent and ongoing research into the speech production abilities of stutterers has followed four disparate paths. First, there have been objective studies of physiologic, aerodynamic, and acoustic parameters of stutterers' habitual speech patterns and the patterns they display while speaking in the presence of such novel stimuli as DAF or masking. Second, investigators have undertaken the fiberoptic examination of stutterers' larynges during fluent and stuttered utterances. Third, there have been studies of the speed with which stutterers start and terminate voicing independent of the act of speaking. Finally, there have been investigations of possible perceptible differences between the fluency of stutterers and normal speakers. Each of these four types of research is examined. Tentative conclusions are drawn, and directions for future theorizing and experimentation are suggested.     

Cognitive restructuring treatment: A controlled trial with anxious patients

Cognitive restructuring, modified systematic desensitization and a combined treatment (cognitive behaviour modification) were compared with a no-treatment control group, using a simple randomized design. Twenty seven general anxiety out-patients selected from the hospital waiting list were used as subjects. Assessments were made at the beginning and end of treatment, and at follow-up 1 month later. The assessments included two subjective anxiety measures, the Zung self-rating anxiety scale and fear thermometer scores, a behavioural anxiety measure, a measure of cognitive anxiety as estimated by a diary recording of thinking time, fear survey schedule scores and I/E scores.Cognitive behaviour modification was found to be a superior form of treatment, relative to the no-treatment control and the other active treatment groups as assessed by FSS intensity score. The cognitive behaviour modification group showed greater improvement than the cognitive restructuring group on the diary anxiety scores. The results also demonstrated a relationship between outcome and initial severity of condition. The higher the subjects' initial scores on neurotic symptoms and subjective anxiety level, the greater the degree of positive change after treatment. Moreover, subjects with high levels of internal control prior to treatment responded most to therapy.     

Competency-based training in behavioral consultation

The design of competency-based training in behavioral consultation is described as involving the specification of objectives, training procedures, and evaluation techniques. The relationship of training and evaluation to behavioral-consultation training objectives and the benefits to a competency-based training approach are discussed.     

Validity of sex-balanced interest inventory scales

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effectiveness of sex-balanced and sex-restrictive raw score interest scales in discriminating among vocational preference groups. Analyses were conducted separately for 502 males in six vocational preference groups and 878 females in five vocational preference groups. The degree and nature of the discrimination among groups were highly similar for the two types of scales for both males and females. Centour scores derived from sex-balanced and sex-restrictive raw scores resulted in essentially the same percentages of correct classifications of group membership. The results of this study suggest that the large sex differences traditionally found in interest inventory items may not be a necessary concomitant of validity. Hence, interest inventory reports that reflect these differences may unnecessarily restrict the career suggestions they provide to women and men.     

Texture gradient registration and the development of slant perception.

The processes underlying the development of slant perception were investigated by manipulating the degree of texture element variability. Subjects at four grade levels were required to make judgments of physical slant of surfaces with three levels of variability. Absolute error of judgment decreased with age, but texture variability had no effect at any grade level. The results suggest that there is no improvement in the ability to extract gradient information. Rather, improvement in the consistency of judgment reflects a developmental change in the relationship between stimulus information and judgment.     

Stimulus control of generalized imitation in subnormal children

Generalized imitation was established in three young subnormal children by reinforcing their imitations of a limited set of modeled actions in the presence of a large ball. A discrimination was then established by training nonimitation in the presence of a small ball. Imitation was then tested for various other ball sizes. Rate of imitation decreased as the test stimuli increasingly differed in size from the large ball. Imitations that were never reinforced occurred at about the same rate as those that were reinforced when in the presence of the large ball in training.     

The uncertain connection between verbal theories and research hypotheses in social psychology

Examples spanning 20 years and various areas of social psychology illustrate the great difficulty of knowing what implications do or do not follow the postulates of verbally stated theories. Reliance on verbally stated theories in preference to mathematical or computer-simulation models thus severs a vital link in the hypothetico-deductive chain.