Partial Knowledge of Word Meanings: Thematic and Taxonomic Representations

The type of information (taxonomic or thematic) available at different levels of knowledge was investigated. Following extensive norming to identify taxonomic and thematic associates of low-frequency nouns, participants determined if taxonomic or thematic associates were meaningfully related to target words at three levels of knowledge: target words they correctly defined (known), recognized as familiar (frontier), or mistakenly denied as part of the language (unknown). In another experiment, participants reported which type of relationship (taxonomic or thematic) was preferred. Results indicated that both types of information were available at all levels of knowledge. However, accuracy and preference were greater for taxonomic associates across word levels. A differential increase in available thematic information relative to taxonomic information was found. Implications for the acquisition and representation of word meanings are discussed.     

Infants’ responses to objects representing levels of word knowledge and categorical information

The effects of differing levels of word knowledge on infants’ sequential touching behaviors were investigated in two studies. In both, parent report was used to assess three levels of word knowledge: known, frontier, and unknown. In the first study, 14-month-old infants sequentially touched objects consistent with parents’ reports of their word knowledge. In the second study, 20-month-old infants sequentially touched objects by both conceptual category and reported level of word knowledge. It appears that even infants, like adults, can make distinctions among objects on the basis of their knowledge about the objects’ labels.     

Methylphenidate in hyperactive children: Differential effects of dose on academic,learning, and social behavior

Methylphenidate (Ritalin) has been shown to have differential effects on hyperactive children's behavior as a function of dose level. In the present investigation, a triple-blind, placebo-control, within-subject (crossover) experimental design was employed in which 12 hyperactive boys between 6 and 10 years received three different dosages of methylphenidate (5, 10, and 15 mg) in a randomly assigned sequence. Dosage effects were assessed on clinic(PAL-Paired Associates Learning test) and school-(percent on task, teacher ratings, work completion rates, and accuracy) related behaviors. For 10 of the children, classified as responders to medication by the PAL using the criteria of Swanson, Kinsbourne, and colleagues, a series of ANCOVAs with repeated measures showed significant dosage effects on teacher ratings (p 01), percent on task (p 01), academic accuracy (p 05), and assignment completion rates (p 05). PAL performance was also significantly enhanced (p 01) after optimal dose levels were considered. Subsequent trend analysis showed a significant positive linear relationship between dose and each of the dependent variables. A comparison of fixed-dose and miligram-per-kilogram plots showed that children's performance across the different dosages were clearly individualistic and task-specific, even when similar body weights were compared. The implications of using clinic-based testing to determine optimal medication responsivity were discussed.We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the following pediatricians for their valuable assistance: W. H. McDermott, D. J. Chronley, R. B. Trivett, F. J. Jehle, P. M. Small, and F. T. Leong. Grateful acknowledgement is also extended to the two anonymous reviewers whose comments contributed to the content of this paper, and to the undergraduate and graduate student members of the Children's Learning Clinic.     

Resume Characteristics as Predictors of an Invitation to Interview

The resume is the first contact between an organization and a job seeker, but little empirical evidence exits to guide resume development. This study examined the impact of resume characteristics on decisions to interview graduates. It was found that resume characteristics provided an advantage in obtaining an invitation to interview.     

Morita-Based Therapy and Its Use Across Cultures in the Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa

In this article the author presents an overview of classical inpatient Morita therapy, contrasts it with features of rational emotive therapy (RET), and illustrates an intervention program (based on Shoma Morita's theory and practice) for women suffering from bulimia nervosa. Given that Morita therapy is scantly documented in the literature as an outpatient treatment outside Japan, a session-to-session short-term treatment methodology that was used for a pilot study in Australia is provided. A case example is presented with direct dialogue from treatment sessions.     

Incidence of neurological soft signs in children with isolated cleft of the lip or palate

The purpose of this study was to assess neurological soft signs in children and adolescents with isolated cleft of the lip or palate (iCL/P) compared with healthy controls. Children with iCL/P were recruited through the university cleft clinic. Control subjects were recruited through advertisements. Of the 166 subjects who participated (age range 7 to 17 years, M = 12.5, SD = 3.2), 77 had iCL/P (48 male) and 89 were healthy controls (44 male). All participants took the Physical and Neurological Examination of Subtle Signs and selected tests of motor coordination. A multivariate analysis of variance assessed differences between subjects with and without iCL/P. Also, a Pearson correlation estimated the relationship between the neurological soft signs and age. Subjects with iCL/P scored significantly higher on all neurological soft signs variables. These higher scores were associated with younger age. Findings lend support to the hypothesis of aberrant brain development in children with iCL/P.     

FEED THE HUNGRY BEE: USING POSITIVE PEER REPORTS TO IMPROVE THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND ACCEPTANCE OF A SOCIALLY REJECTED GIRL IN RESIDENTIAL CARE

We studied how rewarding peers for publicly reporting positive aspects of a socially rejected girl's behavior affected her social interactions and acceptance. The results indicated that positive peer reports reduced negative social interactions (to near zero) and increased positive interactions (to above 70%). In addition, social acceptance ratings of the girl increased from pre- to postintervention.     

Social attention and real-world scenes: the roles of action, competition and social content

The present study examined how social attention is influenced by social content and the presence of items that are available for attention. We monitored observers' eye movements while they freely viewed real-world social scenes containing either 1 or 3 people situated among a variety of objects. Building from the work of Yarbus (1965/1967) we hypothesized that observers would demonstrate a preferential bias to fixate the eyes of the people in the scene, although other items would also receive attention. In addition, we hypothesized that fixations to the eyes would increase as the social content (i.e., number of people) increased. Both hypotheses were supported by the data, and we also found that the level of activity in the scene influenced attention to eyes when social content was high. The present results provide support for the notion that the eyes are selected by others in order to extract social information. Our study also suggests a simple and surreptitious methodology for studying social attention to real-world stimuli in a range of populations, such as those with autism spectrum disorders.