Hands in the air: Using ungrounded iconic gestures to teach children conservation of quantity.

Including gesture in instruction facilitates learning. Why? One possibility is that gesture points out objects in the immediate context and thus helps ground the words learners hear in the world they see. Previous work on gesture's role in instruction has used gestures that either point to or trace paths on objects, thus providing support for this hypothesis. The experiments described here investigated the possibility that gesture helps children learn even when it is not produced in relation to an object but is instead produced in the air. Children were given instruction in Piagetian conservation problems with or without gesture and with or without concrete objects. The results indicate that children given instruction with speech and gesture learned more about conservation than children given instruction with speech alone, whether or not objects were present during instruction. Gesture in instruction can thus help learners learn even when those gestures do not direct attention to visible objects, suggesting that gesture can do more for learners than simply ground arbitrary, symbolic language in the physical, observable world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multidimensional models and iconic decay: Reply to di Lollo and Dixon.

Discusses 2 issues raised by V. di Lollo and P. Dixon (see record 1992-33922-001). First, the authors formalize the notion of "informational dimensionality" and demonstrate that G. R. Loftus's extraction-rate model is equivalent to di Lollo and Dixon's "dual-decay model" with respect to dimensionality. Second, the authors describe how the extraction-rate model can be modified to apply it to 2 data sets reported by di Lollo and Dixon. The major modifications involve (1) the assumption of capacity limitations in short-term memory and (2) the assumption of differential information-extraction rates prior to and after probe presentation in a partial-report paradigm. The authors demonstrate that although the model can account qualitatively for di Lollo and Dixon's data, it cannot account for them quantitatively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facial gestures and subject expression of feelings.

Examined the effects of 4 levels of nonverbal facial gestures on client verbal behavior in a quasi-interview setting. Nonverbal behaviors included no expression, head nod, smile, and head nod/smile combination. Each level of treatment was presented by a male and female E. Treatments were videorecorded for standardized presentation to 72 female undergraduates. Ss produced progressively and significantly greater amounts of feeling and self-reference feeling statements for head nod, smile, and head nod/smile combination when stimuli were presented by the female E. The opposite effect was realized when stimuli were presented by the male E. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meanings of counselor nonverbal gestures: Fixed or interpretive?

Determined the extent to which perceptions of counselors' nonverbal gestures may be influenced by subjective factors on the part of the perceivers. 24 college freshmen met individually with an interviewer for 15 min each. Ss' global impressions of the interviewer were manipulated during the interviews to produce impressions either of empathy or of preoccupation. Eight standardized nonverbal gestures—4 empathic and 4 preoccupied—were embedded in each interview. A videotape-assisted recall procedure was used to obtain Ss' ratings of the interviewer's behavior at the times of occurrence of each of the 8 cues. Results indicate that the overwhelming determinants of Ss' impressions of the interviewer at the times the embedded cues were emitted were the Ss' global impressions. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processing of information in iconic memory: Differences between nonretarded and retarded subjects.

Compared iconic memory processes of 17 undergraduates and 18 retarded Ss (primarily aged 18–28 yrs; IQ 56–77) in 4 experiments. In Exp I, a partial report paradigm was used in which 6 retarded and 6 undergraduate Ss were presented 6 pictures under 4 intervals (0–500 msec). In Exp II, using 5 Ss in each group the same procedure as in Exp I was used but letters as well as pictures were included. Results show that although overall performance for retarded Ss was poor, they did better with letters than with pictures—a reverse of the finding with undergraduate Ss. In Exp III, 2 retarded Ss were given extended practice and incentive to perform well. Asymptote was reached in 10 days but never equaled performance of unpracticed undergraduates. In Exp IV, using 5 Ss in each group, information load was varied from 1 to 4 items, and a masking stimulus was used to interrupt processing following 6 intervals that lasted up to 250 msec. Results show that (1) there are quantitative differences between intelligence groups in iconic capacity; (2) retarded Ss process information more slowly, a difference that increases with increasing information load; and (3) there are substantive structural differences in iconic memory of retarded and nonretarded Ss. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imitation of facial and manual gestures by human neonates

Infants between 12 and 21 days of age can imitate both facial and manual gestures; this behavior cannot be explained in terms of either conditioning or innate releasing mechanisms. Such imitation implies that human neonates can equate their own unseen behaviors with gestures they see others perform.     

Correspondence effects with manual gestures and postures: A study of imitation.

In this study, the authors applied methods and theories from research of stimulus–response compatibility (SRC) to action imitation. In 6 experiments, they adopted the logic of the Simon paradigm (B. Hommel & W. Prinz, 1996) to explore interference between task-relevant symbolic stimulus features (color) and task-irrelevant iconic stimulus features (2 hand gestures and 2 postures). The same 2 hand gestures served as responses. Pronounced correspondence effects for both gestures and postures showed up throughout. In line with theories of SRC, the authors account for these correspondence effects in terms of overlap arising between stimulus and response features in a common representational domain. As a specific extension of this approach, they propose 2 functionally independent mechanisms: One operates movement-based when dynamic information is provided, and the other operates state-based with static postures as stimuli. Implications for theories of both SRC and action imitation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anatomy of word and sentence meaning

Five species of lizards, Agama yemenensis, A. adramitana, Chamaeleo chamaeleon, C. calyptratus and Acanthodactylus baskinaus were trapped alive from Abha Province. Serological and parasitological examinations of blood revealed antibodies against toxoplasmosis and leishmaniasis. Blood films showed Hepatozoon spp. The results were discussed with reference to their role as reservoir hosts.     

Psychology 2: message received and understood?

Human beings judge and make sense of their surroundings in two ways. Sensory organs supply information to the brain where it is processed and interpreted according to the idiosyncrasies of that individual's personality and experiences. Perception is the active process which integrates and coordinates these activities. Hence, any sensory message can be received and/or understood quite differently depending on the individual concerned. This article outlines how a knowledge of psychology can assist in the understanding of human perception, and how this can be applied to a wide range of nursing care settings and applications. The psychology of perception is of particular relevance to areas such as patient/client assessment, skilled communication, teaching and the provision of health education.     

Positive mood can increase or decrease message scrutiny: The hedonic contingency view of mood and message processing.

Currently dominant explanations of mood effects on persuasive message processing (i.e., cognitive capacity and feelings as information) predict that happy moods lead to less message scrutiny than neutral or sad moods. The hedonic contingency view (D. T. Wegener & R. E. Petty, see record 1994-32368-001) predicts that happy moods can sometimes be associated with greater message processing activity because people in a happy mood are more attentive than neutral or sad people to the hedonic consequences of their actions. Consistent with this view, Experiment 1 finds that a happy mood can lead to greater message scrutiny than a neutral mood when the message is not mood threatening. Experiment 2 finds that a happy mood leads to greater message scrutiny than a sad mood when an uplifting message is encountered, but to less message scrutiny when a depressing message is encountered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal working memory and sentence comprehension: A multiple-components view.

Semantic and syntactic aspects of sentence comprehension were investigated for 3 patients (aged 61, 65, and 72 yrs) who showed different patterns of performance on short-term memory tasks. On a sentence anomaly judgment task assessing the retention of semantic information, only patient A. B. showed a detrimental effect on comprehension with increases in the number of words to be held in an unintegrated fashion. On judgments of grammatical acceptability, only patient M. W. demonstrated a detrimental effect of increasing the number of words intervening between the words signaling that a sentence was ungrammatical. The results suggest that semantic and syntactic components must be postulated in addition to the phonological and articulatory components of A. D. Baddeley's (1986, 1990) working memory model. Although the phonological, semantic, and syntactic components may be differentially affected by brain damage, the components interact and support each other in normal comprehension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parafoveal preview during reading: Effects of sentence position.

Two experiments examined parafoveal preview for words located in the middle of sentences and at sentence boundaries. Parafoveal processing was shown to occur for words at sentence-initial, mid-sentence, and sentence-final positions. Both Experiments 1 and 2 showed reduced effects of preview on regressions out for sentence-initial words. In addition, Experiment 2 showed reduced preview effects on first-pass reading times for sentence-initial words. These effects of sentence position on preview could result from either reduced parafoveal processing for sentence-initial words or other processes specific to word reading at sentence boundaries. In addition to the effects of preview, the experiments also demonstrate variability in the effects of sentence wrap-up on different reading measures, indicating that the presence and time course of wrap-up effects may be modulated by text-specific factors. We also report simulations of Experiment 2 using version 10 of E-Z Reader (Reichle, Warren, & McConnell, 2009), designed to explore the possible mechanisms underlying parafoveal preview at sentence boundaries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imitation in newborn infants: Exploring the range of gestures imitated and the underlying mechanisms.

This study evaluated the psychological mechanisms underlying imitation of facial actions in young infants. A novel aspect of the study was that it used a nonoral gesture that had not been tested before (head movement), as well as a tongue-protrusion gesture. Results showed imitation of both displays. Imitation was not limited to the intervals during which the experimenter's movements were displayed; Ss also imitated from memory after the display had stopped. The results established that newborn imitation is not constrained to a few privileged oral movements. The findings support Meltzoff and Moore's hypothesis that early imitation is mediated by an active cross-modal matching process. A common representational code may unite the perception and production of basic human acts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speech intelligibility following maxillectomy with and without a prosthesis: an analysis of 54 cases

BRCA1 accounts for nearly all families with multiple cases of both early onset breast and ovarian cancer and about 45% of families with breast cancer only. Although to date more than 200 distinct mutations have been described, several have been found to be recurrent in the gene. We have analyzed 87 Spanish breast/ovarian cancer families for the six most recurrent mutations in the BRCA1 gene. The analysis of the five exons where these mutations are located was made using the SSCP and sequenciation techniques. Four mutations were found in our families and only two carried one of the six mutations analyzed. In both cases the mutation identified was 185delAG. Our results suggest that these six mutations are not specially recurrent in the Spanish population and that differences in the geographical origin of the families can influence the type and proportion of mutations identified.