Age-related changes in the appreciation of novel metaphoric semantic relations

ABSTRACT

In the present study we tested the possibility that older adults differ from younger adults in their appreciation of metaphoric semantic relations, and that age-related changes occur due to the perception of novel metaphors. In the first experiment 35 younger (mean age?=?23.1) and 35 older adults (mean age?=?75.3) were asked to rate the plausibility of metaphoric, literal, and unrelated word pairs. Relative to young participants, older participants rated fewer expressions as metaphorically plausible. The second experiment was conducted to examine whether the findings of the first experiment could be accounted for by an age-associated difference in the appreciation of metaphors with different levels of familiarity. In the second experiment, 25 younger (mean age?=?24.4) and 25 older adults (mean age?=?77.5) were asked to rate the familiarity level of the plausible metaphoric expressions. Relative to young participants, older participants rated fewer expressions as novel and more expressions as familiar. The results suggest that novelty plays an important role in appreciating the plausibility of semantic relationships, and age-related changes are associated with the appreciation of the novelty of expressions.     

Exploring the Reliability and Validity of the DAT-K in Grade 11 Learners in a Historically Disadvantaged School in Johannesburg,South Africa

This study explored the reliability and validity of the Differential Aptitude Test—Form K (DAT-K) in a sample of 75 learners (mean age = 17.1 years, SD = 1.13) from a previously disadvantaged school in Johannesburg. Adequate reliability coefficients were obtained but coefficients were higher for nonverbal than verbal subtests. Face validity was judged to be adequate but construct validity was questionable. All subtests correlated within cluster (verbal, non-verbal) but all the subtests with the exception of the Comparison subtest loaded highly on a single factor. Examination of the influence of language as a variable suggested that learners whose home language was an African language did significantly poorer on all the DAT-K subtests except for the Comparison subtest. These findings lend support to the arguments that psychological testing in South Africa is problematic particularly in individuals who do not speak English as their first language.     

G-DINA认知诊断模型在语言测验中的验证

G-DINA模型是DINA 模型的一般化模型,具有补偿性和饱和性两个主要特征。G-DINA模型的补偿性特征契合了语言测验的综合性和多元性,G-DINA模型的饱和性特征则可以比较理想地应对语言技能的抽象性和难区分性。此项研究以代表性的语言测验类型阅读测验为案例,应用G-DINA模型对1029名被试的PISA英语阅读测验结果进行实证分析,证明了两个假设：补偿饱和型认知诊断模型对多元抽象的语言测验的适应程度较高;G-DINA这一新生认知诊断模型可以被用来诊断较为复杂抽象的语言测验,且经得起统计学和语言学理论的双重考验。     

The spatial contours of wellbeing: A content analysis of metaphor in academic discourse

Abstract

In thinking and talking about wellbeing, people often deploy spatial metaphors, such as identifying positive and negative affect with ‘up’ and ‘down’ respectively. However, there has not yet been a systematic investigation of how wellbeing is represented through metaphor. To shed light on this topic, a content analysis was conducted of spatial metaphors in academic discourse on wellbeing, focusing on recent editions of two leading journals, the Journal of Positive Psychology, and the British Journal of Clinical Psychology. Across 28 papers, 54 spatial metaphors were identified, grouped into four main categories: verticality; horizontality; configuration; and dynamism. Above all, wellbeing is associated with interior expansiveness, with positive valence usually attaching to vertical metaphors of height and depth, horizontal metaphors of width and breadth, and configuration metaphors of size and growth. The analysis thus offers valuable insights into the subjective dynamics of wellbeing.     

Sound symbolic naming of novel objects is a graded function

Although linguistic traditions of the last century assumed that there is no link between sound and meaning (i.e., arbitrariness), recent research has established a nonarbitrary relation between sound and meaning (i.e., sound symbolism). For example, some sounds (e.g., /u/ as in took) suggest bigness whereas others (e.g., /i/ as in tiny) suggest smallness. We tested whether sound symbolism only marks contrasts (e.g., small versus big things) or whether it marks object properties in a graded manner (e.g., small, medium, and large things). In two experiments, participants viewed novel objects (i.e., greebles) of varying size and chose the most appropriate name for each object from a list of visually or auditorily presented nonwords that varied incrementally in the number of “large” and “small” phonemes. For instance, “wodolo” contains all large-sounding phonemes, whereas “kitete” contains all small-sounding phonemes. Participants' choices revealed a graded relationship between sound and size: The size of the object linearly predicted the number of large-sounding phonemes in its preferred name. That is, small, medium, and large objects elicited names with increasing numbers of large-sounding phonemes. The results are discussed in relation to cross-modal processing, gesture, and vocal pitch.     

A meta-analysis of executive functioning in dyslexia with consideration of the impact of comorbid ADHD

Grapheme coding was examined in French Grade 6 and Grade 8 children and adults who learned English as a second language (L2). In Experiments 1 and 2, three conditions were compared in a letter detection task in L2: (1) simple grapheme (i.e., detect “a” in black); (2) complex language-shared grapheme (i.e., “a” in brain) and (3) complex L2-specific grapheme (i.e., “a” in beach). The data indicated that graphemes in L2 words were functional sub-lexical orthographic units for these L2 learners. Moreover, L2-specific graphemes took longer to process than language-shared complex graphemes. Using the same task, Experiment 3 examined phonological influences by manipulating the cross-language congruency of grapheme-to-phoneme mappings (detect “a” in have [congruent] vs. take [incongruent]). The outcome of this study offers preliminary evidence of graphemic coding during L2 word recognition both at the orthographic and the orthography-to-phonology mapping levels.     

The effect of bilingualism on lexical learning and memory across two language modalities: some evidence for a domain-specific,but not general,advantage

ABSTRACT

The present study was conducted to replicate bilingual advantages in short-term memory for language-like material and word learning in young adults and extend this research to the sign domain, ultimately with the goal of investigating the domain specificity of bilingual advantages in cognition. Data from 112 monolingual hearing non-signers and 78 bilingual hearing non-signers were analysed for this study. Participants completed a battery of tasks assessing sign and word learning, short-term memory, working memory capacity, intelligence, and a language and demographic questionnaire. Overall, the results of this study suggested a bilingual advantage in memory for speech-like material – no other advantage (or disadvantage) was found. Results are discussed within the context of recent large-scale experimental and meta-analytic studies that have failed to find bilingual advantages in domain-general abilities such as attention control and working memory capacity in young adults.     

易学的推类逻辑

易学中的逻辑问题,是一个在易学和逻辑学研究中被忽视的问题,但又是一个关系到对中国文化史、思想史和逻辑史的再认识的重要问题。易学中的逻辑是推类逻辑,本文给出了理由,同时以现代逻辑的方法给出了易学推类逻辑的形式系统,并作了讨论。指出易学逻辑是在中国文化背景下的以汉字表述的特有逻辑形式,建立了中国古代的普遍语言,形成了自我满足的语义系统,其在为人们提供正确的认识方法和为古代科学提供认识工具方面与西方逻辑是一致的。     

Guidelines for Writing Letters to Patients

Patient letters provide a permanent record of the genetic counseling that was provided and are unique in medical care; rarely do other health care providers send summaries written specifically to their patients and families. We surveyed genetic counseling training program directors and found that while the acquisition of patient letter-writing skills was considered important, there were no specific guidelines made available to students. To develop letter-writing guidelines, we evaluated patient letters, reviewed references on professional correspondence, surveyed the medical literature, and worked with a writing consultant. The guidelines we subsequently developed and present here include a format for writing patient letters, suggestions on presenting medical information in understandable terms, and wording considerations. These patient letter-writing guidelines are intended to serve as a guide for teaching students this important skill and as a resource for practicing health care professionals.     

Psychological Hardiness and Adjustment to Life Events in Adulthood

Data were collected from 88 persons who had lost their jobs and 227 persons whose youngest child had left home to explore the impact of psychological hardiness on personal distress, adjustment, and coping strategies. Analyses controlling for numerous sociodemographic factors as well as NEO Neuroticism and Extroversion suggested that the interaction between overall hardiness and the experience of differential life events influenced the use of planful problem solving and positive reappraisal as coping mechanisms, as well as influencing levels of positive affect. In addition, a main effect for overall hardiness on several coping strategies, positive affect, and life satisfaction was obtained. Findings also suggested that job loss was a more stressful experience for adults in this study than was the empty nest. These data indicate that hardiness may mediate responses to life events that differ in terms of their predictability and anticipatory nature.