摘要:

In order to assess whether infant attention would be directed towards a visual stimulus that was categorically at odds with surrounding stimuli, 16 infants (mean age = 39 weeks) were presented with 5 displays, each comprising a pair of categorically related items (2 birds) and a pair of unrelated items (bird and cat). The infants displayed earlier and longer fixation to the latter pair, with primary response to the discrepant item in this pair (the cat). Three preliminary experiments with 30 infants (mean age = 38 weeks) discounted a priori preferences for the cat as an explanation of these results, and confirmed that infants were able to discern the categorical similarity amongst the bird items, while also being able to discriminate these items.

ISSN:0004-9530    

DOI:10.1080/00049539508258762

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

According to Reber (1992), implicit learning should vary only minimally with age and intelligence quotient (IQ), whereas explicit learning should depend heavily on both age and IQ. To evaluate these predictions, children from two age groups (5–7 yean and 10–12 years) were selected to form low, medium, and high IQ subgroups. They were then tested on an implicit and an explicit learning task. The implicit task, adapted from Lewicki (1986), used a number of 4 × 4 matrices which displayed 16 pictures in different arrangements. One picture was of a house, and the children were required to learn the incidental covariation of (a) the experimenter's side of approach (left or right), with the house positioned in the upper or lower half of the matrix; and (b) the colour of the matrix board and cover (red or blue), with the house positioned in the left or right half of die matrix. The explicit task had a similar logical structure to the implicit task, but (a) was implemented using different stimulus dimensions; (b) was presented so that the stimulus dimensions were not only salient, but were also explicitly identified to the children; and (c) used instructions that identified the nature of the rules to be learned, ensuring that learning was intentional. The reported results are inconsistent with the claim that age differences exist only in explicit learning, since implicit learning also improved significandy with age. However, the results are consistent with the claim mat implicit learning is invariant of, whereas explicit learning covaries with, IQ. The study is discussed in the context of the applicability of the implicit‐explicit distinction, and like distinctions, to theories of cognitive deve

ISSN:0004-9530    

DOI:10.1080/00049539508258763

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

In a number of studies, Kail (1986, 1988a, 1992) has shown that estimates of young children's information processing speeds using a variety of tasks and task conditions (that invoke many different processes) are perfectly correlated with older children's processing speeds. Kail has argued that this supports the view that changes in speeded task performance are due to a single global factor that influences all processes. In this paper, I challenge this claim by simulating the consequences of using specific developmental functions (for different processes) for estimated processing times for children of different ages. The simulations demonstrate that Kail's correlational technique is insensitive to differences in underlying developmental functions. Further, the correlational technique is sensitive, unfortunately, to arbitrary differences in the experimental designs used to gather the data.

ISSN:0004-9530    

DOI:10.1080/00049539508258764

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The hypothesis that a growth in working memory capacity could explain the observed development of theory of mind in preschoolers was tested. Fifty‐four 3‐ to 5‐year‐olds were administered: two false belief tasks as measures of theory of mind development; two “false” photograph tasks parallel to typical false belief tasks, but involving nonmental representations; the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test ‐Revised (PPVT‐R); and two working memory capacity measures (backward digit span, BDS, and forward digit span, FDS). A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that BDS significantly predicted performance on both the false belief and false photograph tasks with age and PPVT‐R score controlled, but that FDS did not, suggesting that growth in central executive capacity is important in determining children's success or failure on false belief tasks, but that articulatory loop capacity is not. It is concluded that, in general, the findings are consistent with the working memory hypothesis, although subsequent contingency table analysis revealed that success on the BDS task was not necessary for successful performance on the

ISSN:0004-9530    

DOI:10.1080/00049539508258765

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

As part of a prospective longitudinal study of a large and representative sample of Victorian school‐aged children (the Australian Temperament Project), we assessed the prevalence of reading problems at the Grade 2 level. On the basis of scores on the ACER Primary Reading Survey ‐ Level B, we designated 16% of children as reading disabled. We did not find the usual preponderance of boys with reading problems. There was a strong association between reading problems and behavioural maladjustment, as rated by parents and teachers, particularly amongst boys. It is likely that this association is responsible for the reported excess of boys in clinical samples. Follow‐up assessments of the reading‐disabled children two years later showed that few children “recovered” to a normal level of reading. Analyses of the reading and spelling errors made by these children confirmed that deficient phonological skills are particularly characteristic of reading‐disabled children. It is suggested that more attention to the teaching of phonetic skills in the early school years is necessary to diminish the difficulties for these children in lea

ISSN:0004-9530    

DOI:10.1080/00049539508258766

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

It has often been concluded that preschoolers' memories are likely to be distorted after they have been exposed to biased information. However, in experiments on suggestibility, young children may not recognise that the purpose and relevance of conversations with the experimenter is to determine whether they can ignore biased information in remembering the original details of stories. Instead, they may interpret the presentation of the biased information to mean that biased alternative was an acceptable, or even a preferred, test choice when compared to the original details. In the experiment reported here, 4‐and 5‐year‐olds heard a story and then were assigned to three conditions: control or unbiased, biased, and conversationally enriched. Children in the conversationally enriched group were presented the same misleading information that children in the biased condition received. In addition, a rationale was presented to cancel the implication conveyed in the presentation of the biased information that the original details were irrelevant to producing an accurate report of the story. As predicted, the recognition memory of the children for original details in this condition significantly surpassed that of children in the biased condition, and was as accurate as that of the children who had received unbiased inform

ISSN:0004-9530    

DOI:10.1080/00049539508258767

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Ratings of the frequency of occurrence of each of 29 items thought to be associated with deceptive behaviour were obtained from 100 mothers of children aged between 3 and 7 years. Principal components analysis of their responses yielded three factors: the first concerned knowledge of mental states, the second deception by behavioural manipulation, and the third a general propensity to mislead others. Trend analyses of individual factor scores revealed different patterns of age‐dependent changes for each of the factors. The first factor had significant linear, quadratic, and cubic components with change between years 3 and 4, stability through years 4 to 6, and further change between years 6 and 7. The second factor was best described by a downward linear function from years 3 to 7, while the third remained stable over the same age range. These results highlight a pervasive tendency for children in this age range to engage in deception for the purpose of self‐interest, indicate that younger children favour deceptive strategies that differ from those of older children, and support the notion of qualitative changes in 4‐ and 7‐year‐olds' understanding of ment

ISSN:0004-9530    

DOI:10.1080/00049539508258768

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

It is a widely held view that mother‐infant vocal engagements provide a foundation for children's development of communication and language abilities. In this paper we consider how the maternal covocalisation and alternating patterns of temporal dependence between the vocal behaviours of mothers and infants might facilitate such development. Two related issues are examined in relation to the choice of these patterns: first, the means by which temporal dependence is determined; second, the appropriateness of the selected units of analysis for the investigation of the effect of mothers' behaviour on infant communication development. Regarding the first of these issues, we propose that dependence between the actions of mothers and infants can be determined by a procedure which randomly permutes the behavioural records of both mother and infant. In considering the second, we use pragmatic and ecological criteria to evaluate units of analysis for the investigation of temporal patterning, and borrow the concepts ofaffordanceandencounterfrom ecological perspectives on human perception to examine the role of maternal behaviour in the emergence of communication and language abilities in infant

ISSN:0004-9530    

DOI:10.1080/00049539508258769

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Younger and older adults were compared on domain‐ and task‐specific measures of memory self‐efficacy to determine if unique contributions of each to memory performance could be ascertained. In addition, changes in task‐specific memory self‐efficacy over trials as a function of increasing task experience were evaluated; if older adults' memory performance is particularly affected by memory self‐efficacy, task experience may be more beneficial for them. Thirty‐two older (mean age 73) and younger (mean age 23) adults participated in a series of four pretask memory self‐efficacy judgments, followed by a series of four serial recall trials which were interleaved with further memory self‐efficacy trials. Although older adults remembered less overall, like younger adults their memory self‐efficacy improved. Individual differences in self‐efficacy and educational background were important predictors of older adults' memory performance. Findings lend credence to the malleability of memory self‐efficacy, its improvement with added task experience, and the beneficial effects of positive memory self‐efficacy on memory performance, e

ISSN:0004-9530    

DOI:10.1080/00049539508258770

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Book reviewed in this article:“Mozart of Psychology” Re‐introduced: Vygotsky as Revolutionary ScientistNewman F.&Holzman L; London: Routledge; 1993; x + 240pp.; $34.95.Psychology of Social ChangeThomas, D. and Veno, A. (Eds.); Palmerston North: The Denmore Press; 1992; 335pp. $

ISSN:0004-9530    

DOI:10.1080/00049539508258771

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1995

数据来源: WILEY