An Experimental Analysis of Phoneme Blending and Segmenting Skills

In this 2-experiment study, experimental analyses of phoneme blending and segmenting skills were conducted with four-first grade students. Intraindividual analyses were conducted to identify the effects of classroom-based instruction on blending phonemes in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, the effects of an individualized intervention for the student who failed to improve in the first experiment were examined. Stimulus materials were drawn directly from the classroom curriculum, making it possible to monitor students’ response to classroom instruction and intervention over time. Generalization of responding to unique letter combinations was measured. A multiple-probe across tasks designs was used in both studies. Results indicated that all students improved their phoneme blending skills and are discussed in terms of the need for evaluation methods that are sensitive enough to identify individual differences in responding between students and to detect within-student performance increases in critical early literacy skills.     

普教“升中”考试中测验等值的应用研究——以广东省佛山市“升中”考试为例

以广东省佛山市"升中"考试为例.分析和探讨如何选用合适的等值设计与方法来解决普教"升中"考试不同地区分数转换的问题.采用非随机组锚测验等值设计对三种经典测验等值方法进行比较.结果发现:Tuck-er线性等值方法最优,kvine线性等值方法次之,等百分位等值方法(频数估计)不适合此类等值.等值方差分析表明题型与等值方法具有交互作用,这说明不同的题型宜选用不同的等值方法来进行等值.     

英语多媒体学习中言语关联手势对认知负荷的影响

为了探讨英语多媒体学习中言语关联手势对认知负荷及学习成绩的影响,采用2×2被试间实验设计。结果发现：该手势对认知负荷影响的主效应不显著,但与英语语言技能水平之间存在交互作用,当学生语言技能水平低时,手势增加了认知负荷,反之,则降低认知负荷;该手势对句子转换的成绩没有明显影响,但在学生语言技能高时能提升理解能力的成绩。本研究结果提示,言语关联手势的运用有明显作用,它能提高或降低认知负荷,并对理解能力的成绩产生影响,但其大小和方向依赖于学生英语语言技能水平。     

情绪设计对多媒体学习的影响

通过两个实验探讨多媒体学习中情绪设计对学习者情绪、认知过程和学习结果的影响。实验1将内部情绪设计与外部情绪诱发两种方式结合起来,探讨多媒体学习环境中不同方式诱发的积极情绪对学习的影响。实验2进一步聚焦于内部情绪设计,考察颜色和拟人化这两个特定的情绪设计元素对学习者情绪和学习的影响。结果发现:(1)积极的外部情绪诱发和内部情绪设计可以诱发积极情绪,并促进学习迁移。(2)对学习材料进行内部积极情绪设计可以诱发学习者积极情绪,增强学习者的学习动机,降低学习者感知到的学习材料的难度,并促进学习迁移。其中,彩色设计可以诱发学习者积极情绪,但拟人化只有与彩色结合才能诱发学习者积极情绪;在拟人化条件下,彩色设计可以增强学习者学习动机;彩色设计可降低学习者对学习材料感知到的难度;彩色和拟人化都可以促进学习迁移。     

Personality and sexuality in older adults

Objective: This study explored cross-time associations between personality and multiple components of sexual functioning and behaviour in a large cohort of older adults (n = 5745).

Design: Participants (M_age = 65.57 ± 8.28 years) completed questionnaires in 2010 and 2012.

Main outcome measures: Outcomes explored included sexual attitudes, sexual activity, sexual satisfaction, lifetime sexual partners, sexual orientation and sexual dysfunction.

Results: We found that higher levels of openness and lower levels of agreeableness were related to more liberal attitudes toward sex, a greater number of sexual partners, a higher sex drive, more frequent sexual activity, lower levels of sexual dysfunction and (for women) a greater tendency towards homosexuality. Higher levels of conscientiousness were also related to more conservative attitudes towards sex, lower levels of sexual dysfunction and a greater tendency towards heterosexuality. For sexually active older adults, higher levels of extraversion and lower levels of neuroticism were related to greater sexual satisfaction. Higher levels of extraversion and lower levels of conscientiousness were also related to a greater number of sexual partners in men but not women.

Conclusion: These findings provide evidence that personality is an important correlate of sexual functioning and behaviour in older adults.     

Who benefits the most? Teacher expectations and their relation with students’ achievement in mathematics in primary school

Over the past 50 years, many studies have investigated the impact of teacher expectations on student achievement and indicated small to moderate effects. Currently, it is still unclear which student-related factors (e.g. socioeconomic status, or gender) moderate the expectation effect. There is still a need to gain a better understanding of the relation between teacher expectations and students' characteristics. The present study aims to examine the accuracy of teacher expectations as well as student-related moderators of the expectation effects on students' achievement. The analyses are based on data from a longitudinal study including 28 primary school teachers and their students (N = 509). The results show that high expectations of teachers correlated positively with student achievement in mathematics, although no significant moderating effects were found. These findings strengthen the importance of ensuring high teacher expectations for all students.     

The Development of Early Attachment Behaviours

The normative development of attachment behaviours and the changing relationship between the level of activation of the attachment system and the intensity of subsequent attachment behaviours were studied longitudinally from 3 to 12 months of age. The study was based on Bowlby's notion about increasing goal directedness of the attachment system. The sample consisted of two groups of children, 33 children born with cleft lip and palate and 34 children without this congenital anomaly. To circumvent the age-limited applicability of the Strange Situation procedure, a new observational instrument was developed, the so-called Induced Stress at Home procedure. It appeared that the ISH procedure is a valid alternative to induce and measure the attachment behaviours proximity seeking, contact maintenance and avoidance. Using the multilevel model for longitudinal data, it was shown that attachment behaviours are not very stable across age. An elaborated model revealed that the relationship between activation of the attachment system and subsequent contact maintenance and resistant behaviour become less strong with age. No differences between children with and without cleft lip and palate were found.     

发展性阅读障碍与脑异常的因果关系:研究范式及发现

关于阅读障碍神经机制的研究已经有很多,但到目前为止,研究者仍不完全清楚,阅读障碍者脑区的异常,究竟是阅读障碍的原因还是结果。研究者发展出不同的研究范式来探究此问题,包括学龄前研究、双对照组研究、纵向研究等。文中综述了这些研究范式各具的优势、不足和研究结果之间的一致性,并分析了确认因果关系之所以困难的原因。在此基础上,提出如下建议：（1）细致区分阅读障碍的亚类型;（2）以成熟和完善的阅读认知-神经模型为指导;（3）通过不同的研究范式进行交叉印证;（4）综合考虑脑的动态发展变化特点,和基因、环境、经验的作用等多种因素的影响。     

童年中晚期友谊质量与抑郁的关系:一项纵向研究

以友谊质量问卷和儿童抑郁量表为研究工具,对小学3到4年级847名儿童进行了18个月的追踪研究,采用交叉滞后的研究设计,考察了童年中晚期友谊质量与抑郁的关系。结果表明：（1）同一时间点的友谊质量和抑郁之间呈显著的负相关;（2）早期的友谊质量可以显著预测随后的抑郁,早期的抑郁也可以显著预测随后的友谊质量,且相对于友谊质量对抑郁的积极作用,抑郁对儿童友谊质量的瓦解作用更为突出;（3）童年中晚期友谊质量与抑郁的双向作用关系具有跨性别稳定性。