The relation of perceptual activity to Matching Familiar Figures Test accuracy.

Examined the relation between Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) performance and Piaget's construct of perceptual activity in 48 3rd- and 4th-grade males. Type I and Type II illusions were used to assess the Ss' perceptual-attentional skills. While perceptual activity was found to relate to MFF errors for the entire sample, other findings indicate that perceptual skill alone did not determine MFF accuracy. It is hypothesized that solution of the MFF items may also depend on a higher order operation: the ability to coordinate available perceptual-attentional skills during visual search of the stimulus array. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More misgivings about the Matching Familiar Figures Test as a measure of reflection-impulsivity: Absence of construct validity in preadolescence.

As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) performance was assessed in 52 girls and 54 boys at age 11 yrs and related California Child Q-Set evaluations obtained both concurrently and at age 14 yrs. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the relative influence of MFFT latency and error scores in the personality domain were compared. Results show that MFFT latency, by itself, accounted for almost no incremental variance in personality evaluations after error had been partialed out. However, the contribution of MFFT error was appreciable and unique—it was significantly related in many ways to behavior, even after its shared variance with latency had been partialed out. Only for girls were significant MFFT latency-by-error interaction effects observed. It is concluded that the results, consistent with those obtained for the same sample of children 7 yrs earlier and consistent also with the results of many other investigators, are incompatible with the original interpretation of the MFFT. The results are also incompatible with the J. Kagan and S. B. Messer (see record 1975-21125-001) conjecture that developmental changes occur in the meaning of MFFT performance. Evidence is offered for a competence, rather than a conceptual tempo, interpretation of the MFFT. The propriety of continuing to use the MFFT as an index of reflection-impulsivity is strongly questioned. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of a more reliable version of the Matching Familiar Figures Test.

Because of the inadequate reliability of Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) error scores, a longer, more reliable version was developed. As a result of item analysis of 30 MFFT-type items, 20 were selected on the basis of item—total error correlations and ability to discriminate reflective from impulsive 11-yr-old boys. Two subsequent studies with Ss of similar ages showed that split-half correlations for the new 20-item MFFT over 2 wks were .91 for latency and .89 for errors, while test–retest correlations over 5 wks were .85 and .77 for latency and errors, respectively. These results plus those of a further study with 7- and 9-yr-old boys and girls suggest that the new test (the MFF20) is suitable for use with children in the age range 7–21 yrs. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some misgivings about the Matching Familiar Figures Test as a measure of reflection-impulsivity.

Argues that a discrepancy exists between J. Kagan's conceptualization of reflection-impulsivity and his operationalization of reflection-impulsivity using the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF). A review of the literature reveals little clear evidence for the reflection-impulsivity interpretation of MFF performance. A study with 100 children is reported in which the separate contributions of latency and accuracy were evaluated. Results indicate that accuracy had important personality concomitants; latency was inconsequential. Fast-Inaccurate children were anxious, hypersensitive, vulnerable, and structure-seeking; they were not impulsive, minimally concerned, and unanxious as conjectured by Kagan. Some implications of the study are drawn. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Misgivings about the Matching Familiar Figures Test: Premature or overdue?

This note responds to the arguments and evidence adduced by Kagan (1987) in his reply to the Block, Gjerde, and Block (1986) study questioning the validity of the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) as a measure of "reflection–impulsivity." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting creativity in preadolescence from divergent thinking in early childhood.

Administered to 75 children (ages 4 and 5 yrs) 2 divergent-thinking (DT) measures (Instances and Unusual Uses) and 2 conventional tests of general intelligence. Six and 7 yrs later, these Ss—then preadolescents—were evaluated with respect to creativity by their 6th-grade teachers. These creativity evaluations at 11 yrs exhibited substantial discriminant and construct validity and were relatively free of halo effects. A composite score based on the number of high-quality, divergent-thinking responses in childhood (i.e., responses reflecting both imagination and sensitivity to task constraints) correlated significantly with teacher evaluations of preadolescent creativity. This construct-validating correlation, which spanned 6 and 7 yrs and 2 measurement domains, was .45, uncorrected for attenuation. Even more important, this composite DT high-quality score in early childhood incrementally accounted for 14% of the variance in preadolescent creativity evaluations beyond that accounted for by sex and conventionally measured intelligence and DT fluency (number of responses regardless of quality). (1? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Misgivings about the Matching Familiar Figures Test: A brief reply to Block, Gjerde, and Block (1986).

This reply to a recent article by Block, Gjerde, and Block (1986) questioning the validity of the construct of reflection–impulsivity points to flaws in the logic of the authors' argument and the inferences drawn from their data. Additionally, the current author's data indicate that intellectually competent children are often shy and fearful. Finally, Block et al. must specify the meaning of "broad competence." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

""Some misgivings about the Matching Familiar Figures Test as a measure of reflection-impulsivity": Commentary reply.

Attempts to clarify issues raised by J. Block et al (see record 1975-03118-001) regarding the conceptualization, validity, and interpretation of reflection-impulsivity. It is suggested that Block et al selectively emphasized reviews of studies on preschool rather than school-age children and did not distinguish among the various sources of anxiety that mediate performance on tests with response uncertainty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consistency of maternal behavior from infancy to preadolescence.

Continuing studies on the effect of the mother on child development, the present investigation establishes that (a) interviews with the mother elicit comparable data to that gleaned from direct observation of the mother-child interaction and (b) at least with regard to the love-hate dimension, there is a consistent pattern of relationship between mother and child during infancy and in to preadolescence. Such validation was not found with regard to the factor of the autonomy-control continuum. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal models of developmental dynamics between reading and cognition from childhood to adolescence.

The authors applied linear dynamic models to longitudinal data to examine the dynamics of reading and cognition from 1st to 12th grade. They used longitudinal data (N=445) from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study (S. E. Shaywitz, B. A. Shaywitz, J. M. Fletcher, & M. D. Escobar, 1990) to map the dynamic interrelations of various scales of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children--Revised (i.e., Full, Performance, and Verbal) and specific markers of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery--Revised reading cluster (i.e., Letter-Word ID, Decoding, and Comprehension). The results of these analyses indicate that (a) there is a positive dynamic relation between reading and cognition across the selected age range; (b) this dynamic relation is symbiotic, with positive influences in both directions; (c) the influence from cognition to reading is stronger when considering the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children Performance--Revised Performance scale and weaker with the Verbal scale; (d) when examining the different Reading subtests, the influences from cognition are more apparent for Letter-Word ID and Comprehension and are less perceptible for Decoding; and (e) the dynamics of reading and cognition appear to be of stronger magnitude during 1st to 3rd grade, less strong during 4th to 8th grade, and weaker from 9th to 12th grade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extended early childhood intervention and school achievement: age thirteen findings from the Chicago Longitudinal Study

We evaluated the effects of participation in an extended program of compensatory education for 559 low-income, inner-city African American children up to seventh grade. The intervention is the federal and state-funded Chicago Child-Parent Center and Expansion Program, which began in 1967. Groups included 426 children who participated in the program from preschool to grades 2 or 3 and 133 children whose participation ceased in kindergarten. After taking into account initial differences in achievement at kindergarten entry and at the end of kindergarten, and after taking into account sample selection bias, program participation for 2 or 3 years after preschool and kindergarten was associated with significantly higher reading achievement up to seventh grade and with lower rates of cumulative grade retention and special education placement (4 to 5 years postprogram). Children participating in the follow-on program for 3 years had significantly higher reading achievement in seventh grade and a lower rate of grade retention than 3 year participants. Only 3 year participants had significantly higher math achievement than the comparison group. Study findings provide rare longitudinal evidence of the beneficial effects of a large-scale community-based program of extended early childhood intervention.     

Environmental risk factors and children's achievement from middle childhood to early adolescence.

This study examined the long-term effects of low family income and stressful life events on math and reading achievement test percentile scores for 1,253 children. Four birth cohorts were followed for 2-4 years so that achievement across Grades 2 through 7 could be examined. Two types of analytic models, the multiplicative risk factor model and the cumulative risk model, were used. The moderating effects of ethnicity and gender were also explored. The results suggest that low income and minority ethnic status are significant risk factors for children's achievement. No systematic evidence was found for a large impact of life events on reading achievement, and the effects of such events on math achievement appear to be best understood as part of the larger context of multiple risk factors during childhood. The findings suggest a differential impact of risk factors on math achievement compared with reading achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: A quantitative review of longitudinal studies.

The present study used meta-analytic techniques to test whether trait consistency maximizes and stabilizes at a specific period in the life course. From 152 longitudinal studies, 3,217 test–retest correlation coefficients were compiled. Meta-analytic estimates of mean population test–retest correlation coefficients showed that trait consistency increased from .31 in childhood to .54 during the college years, to .64 at age 30, and then reached a plateau around .74 between ages 50 and 70 when time interval was held constant at 6.7 years. Analysis of moderators of consistency showed that the longitudinal time interval had a negative relation to trait consistency and that temperament dimensions were less consistent than adult personality traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal consistency of adolescent ethnic identification across varying school ethnic contexts.

The present study examined consistency and inconsistency in adolescents' ethnic identification (i.e., self-reported ethnicity) across the 6 middle-school semesters. The sample (N = 1,589, of whom 46% were boys and 54% were girls) included African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Caucasian/White, Latino/Latina, Mexican/Mexican American, and multiethnic students. Latent class analyses yielded 3 key patterns in ethnic identification across the middle-school years: consistent, late consistent, and inconsistent. Ethnic identification remained consistent across fall and spring of 6th, 7th, and 8th grades for only about 60% of the students. Asian/Pacific Islander students were more consistent, and multiethnic students were less consistent than students from other ethnic groups. School ethnic composition was associated with systematic shifts in ethnic identification from the beginning to the end of middle school for those students who initially identified as Latino/Latina, African American, or multiethnic but not for Mexican-origin students. In combination, the results provide insight into the consistency of ethnic identification, the role of context in adolescents' self-representation, and considerations for longitudinal studies that examine ethnic differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal linkages between sibling relationships and adjustment from middle childhood through adolescence.

The links between changes in sibling conflict and intimacy and changes in perceived peer social competence and depression symptoms were examined from middle childhood through adolescence. Participants were mothers, fathers and first- and second-born siblings from 197 White, working/middle class, two-parent families. Peer competence peaked in early adolescence and then declined; depression symptoms were high in middle childhood and, for girls, in middle adolescence. Controlling for parent-offspring relationships and sibling and parent adjustment, increases in sibling conflict were linked to increases in depression symptoms, and increases in sibling intimacy were linked to increases in peer competence and, for girls, decreases in depression symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral inhibition: Stability and associations with adaptation from childhood to early adulthood.

The stability of individual differences in behavioral inhibition and their association with peer relations, emotional distress, and life-course timing were examined in a longitudinal study of 205 individuals from childhood (ages 8–12) to early adulthood (ages 17–24). Behavioral inhibition was conceptualized as stranger wariness and measured through ratings made by interviewers following individual interview or testing sessions. Individual differences in behavioral inhibition were consistent from childhood to early adulthood (r?=?.57). In early adulthood, higher behavioral inhibition was associated with a less positive, less active social life for both sexes and, for men, with greater emotional distress and negative emotionality. For both genders, participants who were inhibited as children were less likely to have moved away from their family of origin by the early adulthood assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal consistency of adult personality: Self-reported psychological characteristics across 45 years.

Examined the longitudinal consistency of personality characteristics, using data from the Kelly Longitudinal Study, a panel of 300 men and 300 women who were initially tested at age 18–35 during the 1930's. Emotional disturbance during the 1930's and 1950's, as measured by the Bernreuter Personality Inventory and the Bell Adjustment Inventory, had significant correlations in the .25–.40 range with measures of psychiatric symptoms (from the Cornell Medical Index) taken in 1979–1981. Revised inventory scales with content related to neuroticism and social introversion–extraversion had moderate longitudinal consistency across several decades of adult life and demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity. Results demonstrate the utility of personality measurements in predicting significant psychological outcomes over the full interval of the normal adult lifespan. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting early adolescent disorder from childhood aggression and peer rejection.

Two large cohorts of Black 3rd-grade children from low-income families were followed into early adolescence. Adjustment at the end of the 1st year of middle school was assessed by teacher and parent ratings and by adolescent self-reports. Childhood peer social status predicted parent-reported externalized and internalized disorder and self-reported internalized disorder. Childhood aggression predicted self-reported externalized and internalized disorder and parent-reported externalized disorder. Teacher ratings of school adjustment were predicted by aggression, rejection, and sex of the child. Consensus judgments of poor adjustment were predicted by both aggression and peer rejection, with sex moderating the effect of peer rejection. Both childhood aggression and peer rejection appear to be significant predictors of adolescent disorder, with each making a predictive contribution uniquely its own. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The cognitive style of breadth of categorization: Longitudinal consistency of personality correlates.

Four tasks measuring breadth of categorization in different ways were administered to 128 4-yr-old children. Independent personality data were available on these Ss at ages 3, 4, and 7 in the form of behavior ratings by independent sets of teachers using the California Child Q-Set and by independent sets of examiners. The 4 category breadth measures were standard-scored and composited to generate a domain-representative index of category breadth. This index was then correlated with the independent personality ratings available at each of the 4 ages. A core set of relationships, common across both age and sex, indicated that broad categorizers had difficulty in stimulus exclusion, lacked autonomous structuring, and generally behaved with few internal constraints. Boys were significantly broader in their categorization than girls, although there was appreciable overlap between the sexes. Personality correlates of breadth of categorization observed as early as 3 yrs of age were also observed at age 7. Results are placed in a larger theoretical context by introducing the concept of under- and overperceptualization. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A pragmatic approach to early childhood memories: Shifting the focus from truth to clinical utility.

Backlash against repressed trauma memories has led clinicians and theoreticians (e.g., G. K. Ganaway, see PA, Vol 78:24404; and E. F. Loftus, see PA, Vol 80:37888) to redress popular conceptual fallacies regarding the accuracy of early childhood memory. The author reviews pertinent experimental literature to make a cogent case for M. Mayman's (1968) working model of reconstructive memory. The integration of cognitive and psychodynamic theory results in an appreciation for the psychologically revealing quality of early memories. Case illustrations from a young and a middle-aged woman integrate theory with practice, and demonstrate how memory can be construed as a projective test in an initial psychological assessment or analyzed during an ongoing therapy session. Technical recommendations for therapists dealing with patients' memories are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)