The effect of visual word features on the acquisition of orthographic knowledge

Research with adults has shown that the distortion of visual word features, and in particular of the multiletter features within words, hampers word recognition. In this study, "CaSe MiXiNg" was employed to examine the effect of disrupting visual word features on the acquisition of orthographic knowledge in children. During the training, 18 beginning and 27 advanced readers (in Grades 2, 4, and 5) repeatedly read a set of pseudowords in either lowercase or mixed case. During this training, case mixing appeared to impair reading speed in both reader groups. At posttest, 1 day after the training, case format was either the same as or different from that during the training. Lowercase pseudowords were recognized faster after a lowercase training than after a mixed-case training. In a second study, case was found not to affect the rapid naming of single letters. The combined results suggest that case mixing disrupted the multiletter features in pseudowords and that the disruption of these features can affect the acquisition of orthographic knowledge.     

Development of animal recognition: a difference between Parts and Wholes

A series of experiments examined children's recognition of animals by their features (Parts) and by the relative scale of the parts (Wholes). They were asked to identify the correct picture of an animal they could name from the original plus two computer-generated alternatives. We examined the developmental trends associated with upright (Studies 1 and 3) and inverted presentations (Study 3). Both experiments confirmed children's superior ability in dealing with the recognition of animal Parts over animal Wholes, especially for the younger ages tested (6- and 10-year-olds). It was not until the ages of 15-16 that children demonstrated equal performance on Whole and Part items. The late acquisition of animal Whole recognition is compared to the late acquired configural skills proposed for face recognition.     

小学生课堂参与的类型研究

综合运用课堂观察、访谈和问卷调查法,本研究以263名小学1～6年级学生为被试,考察了小学生课堂参与的类型及其发展特点。结果表明:1)根据学生课堂参与的性质、参与的程度可以将小学生划分为三类,即消极参与型、主动参与型和被动参与型;2)从总体分布上看,小学生课堂参与的类型是比较多样化的,相比较而言,被动参与型的人数最多,主动参与型次之,消极参与型最少;3)在学习成绩和自我概念方面,主动参与型学生的发展要优于被动参与型和消极参与型学生。     

文本信息的激活与整合：阅读优生与差生的比较

探讨阅读优生与差生文本阅读过程中文本信息的激活与整合模式,包括3个实验。实验一通过运用不一致实验范式（inconsistent paradigm）考察阅读优生与阅读差生能否形成整体连贯性与局部连贯性。结果发现,阅读差生难以形成整体连贯性。实验二运用探测－核证范式（probe-verification paradigm）通过比较在三个位置后（人物特征描述、填充段落、目标句）的探测句的反应时间,探讨阅读差生不能形成整体连贯性的原因是由于不能激活先前的信息,还是整合信息时出现了问题。结果发现阅读差生与优生一样都可以激活先前的信息,说明阅读差生不能形成整体连贯性的原因可能是整合的问题。实验三进一步验证了阅读差生不能形成整体连贯性的原因是由于不能把已经激活的信息很好地加以整合所致。     

论俄罗斯主体心理学的理论特征

主体心理学是俄罗斯心理学发展的新方向,其主要理论特征体现在:研究作为主体的人;强调主体积极性;具有鲜明的人文特征;注重对群体主体问题研究;关注社会问题;重视心理学的理论研究。     

Comparing score tests and other local dependence diagnostics for the graded response model

Score tests for identifying locally dependent item pairs have been proposed for binary item response models. In this article, both the bifactor and the threshold shift score tests are generalized to the graded response model. For the bifactor test, the generalization is straightforward; it adds one secondary dimension associated only with one pair of items. For the threshold shift test, however, multiple generalizations are possible: in particular, conditional, uniform, and linear shift tests are discussed in this article. Simulation studies show that all of the score tests have accurate Type I error rates given large enough samples, although their small‐sample behaviour is not as good as that of Pearson's Χ² and M₂ as proposed in other studies for the purpose of local dependence (LD) detection. All score tests have the highest power to detect the LD which is consistent with their parametric form, and in this case they are uniformly more powerful than Χ² and M₂; even wrongly specified score tests are more powerful than Χ² and M₂ in most conditions. An example using empirical data is provided for illustration.     

Situating Standards in Practices: Multi Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Treatment in India

Public health care needs to cope with a basic dilemma between providing standardized care within public programmes across entire and at times resource-constrained countries and adapting this care locally when responding to individual needs. This tension between standardization and local adaptation becomes particularly obvious for the prolonged and complicated treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Situated standardization, as introduced by Zuiderent-Jerak [2007a, 2007b] offers a way out of this dilemma. It helps to focus on how standards need to be situated in practice rather than viewing standardization and local adaptation as mutually exclusive practices. How do actors relate standardization and individual care in their practices of treating MDR-TB? Results from qualitative fieldwork at the first MDR-TB treatment sites of the Indian TB programme show that actors situate standards in a particular way. They assess the role of guidelines in a particular situation and on that basis recognize the core recommendations of guidelines or go beyond the guidelines. This allows actors to negotiate how standards should be situated and reconciles the dilemma between local adaptation and standardization. Having guidelines internalized, as is common for Indian TB control, bears both promises and pitfalls for engaging in standardization processes in a situated manner. The results contribute to science and technology study scholarship on guideline development. They highlight how actors coordinate the situating of standards and how this depends upon cultures of control. This illustrates the potential of qualitative studies on local adaptation for guideline developers by revealing existing practices of relating and negotiating local adaptation and standardization.     

题组反应理论及其在中学英语考试中的应用研究

题组作为众多测验中的一种常见题型,由于项目间存在一定程度的依赖性而违背了局部独立性假设,若用项目反应模型进行参数估计将会出现较大的偏差.题组反应理论将被试与题组的交互作用纳入到模型中,解决了项目间相依性的问题.笔者对题组反应理论的发展、基本原理及其相关研究进行了综述,并将其应用在中学英语考试中.与项目反应理论相对比,结果发现：（1）题组反应模型与项目反应模型在各参数估计值的相关系数较强,尤其是能力参数和难度参数;（2）在置信区间宽度的比较上,题组反应模型在各个参数上均窄于项目反应模型,即题组反应模型的估计精度优于项目反应模型.     

Testing day: The effects of processing bias induced by Navon stimuli on the strength of the Müller-Lyer illusion

Explanations for the cognitive basis of the Müller-Lyer illusion are still frustratingly mixed. To date, Day’s (1989) theory of perceptual compromise has received little empirical attention. In this study, we examine the merit of Day’s hypothesis for the Müller-Lyer illusion by biasing participants toward global or local visual processing through exposure to Navon (1977) stimuli, which are known to alter processing level preference for a short time. Participants (N = 306) were randomly allocated to global, local, or control conditions. Those in global or local conditions were exposed to Navon stimuli for 5 min and participants were required to report on the global or local stimulus features, respectively. Subsequently, participants completed a computerized Müller-Lyer experiment where they adjusted the length of a line to match an illusory-figure. The illusion was significantly stronger for participants with a global bias, and significantly weaker for those with a local bias, compared with the control condition. These findings provide empirical support for Day’s “conflicting cues” theory of perceptual compromise in the Müller-Lyer illusion.     

Absolute and relative pitch: Global versus local processing of chords

Absolute pitch (AP) is the ability to identify or produce notes without any reference note. An ongoing debate exists regarding the benefits or disadvantages of AP in processing music. One of the main issues in this context is whether the categorical perception of pitch in AP possessors may interfere in processing tasks requiring relative pitch (RP). Previous studies, focusing mainly on melodic and interval perception, have obtained inconsistent results. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of AP and RP separately, using isolated chords. Seventy-three musicians were categorized into four groups of high and low AP and RP, and were tested on two tasks: identifying chord types (Task 1), and identifying a single note within a chord (Task 2). A main effect of RP on Task 1 and an interaction between AP and RP in reaction times were found. On Task 2 main effects of AP and RP, and an interaction were found, with highest performance in participants with both high AP and RP. Results suggest that AP and RP should be regarded as two different abilities, and that AP may slow down reaction times for tasks requiring global processing.