Comprehension of familiar and unfamiliar native accents under adverse listening conditions.

This study aimed to determine the relative processing cost associated with comprehension of an unfamiliar native accent under adverse listening conditions. Two sentence verification experiments were conducted in which listeners heard sentences at various signal-to-noise ratios. In Experiment 1, these sentences were spoken in a familiar or an unfamiliar native accent or in two familiar native accents. In Experiment 2, they were spoken in a familiar or unfamiliar native accent or in a nonnative accent. The results indicated that the differences between the native accents influenced the speed of language processing under adverse listening conditions and that this processing speed was modulated by the relative familiarity of the listener with the native accent. Furthermore, the results showed that the processing cost associated with the nonnative accent was larger than for the unfamiliar native accent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The time course of repetition effects for words and unfamiliar faces.

The repetition effect on reaction time to words and unfamiliar faces was examined at lags of 0, 4, and 15 items between 1st and 2nd presentations. For words, Ss made either a lexical decision or a decision based on the stimulus's structural attributes. In the lexical decision task, a significant repetition effect was found at all 3 lags for words, whereas for nonwords the effect was significant only at Lag 0. In the structural decision task, the repeated decision was facilitated for both words and nonwords only at Lag 0, despite a word superiority effect at all lags. Target faces were presented either 0, 1, or 5 times before testing. Ss made either structural discriminations (face/nonface) or recognition judgments. In the structural discrimination task, the effect of repetition was significant only at Lag 0 (regardless of the number of pretest presentations). In the recognition task, the repetition effect was longer lasting, and its magnitude increased with the number of presentations which, presumably, determined the strength of the episodic memory trace. These results are taken as showing that repetition effects, like other measures of memory, are influenced by the type of stimulus, its preexperimental history, the level to which it is processed, and the lag between the initial presentation and the test. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comprehension of concrete and abstract words in semantic dementia.

The vast majority of brain-injured patients with semantic impairment have better comprehension of concrete than abstract words. In contrast, several patients with semantic dementia (SD), who show circumscribed atrophy of the anterior temporal lobes bilaterally, have been reported to show reverse imageability effects, that is, relative preservation of abstract knowledge. Although these reports largely concern individual patients, some researchers have recently proposed that superior comprehension of abstract concepts is a characteristic feature of SD. This would imply that the anterior temporal lobes are particularly crucial for processing sensory aspects of semantic knowledge, which are associated with concrete not abstract concepts. However, functional neuroimaging studies of healthy participants do not unequivocally predict reverse imageability effects in SD because the temporal poles sometimes show greater activation for more abstract concepts. The authors examined a case-series of 11 SD patients on a synonym judgment test that orthogonally varied the frequency and imageability of the items. All patients had higher success rates for more imageable as well as more frequent words, suggesting that (1) the anterior temporal lobes underpin semantic knowledge for both concrete and abstract concepts, (2) more imageable items—perhaps because of their richer multimodal representations—are typically more robust in the face of global semantic degradation and (3) reverse imageability effects are not a characteristic feature of SD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding unfamiliar words: The influence of processing resources, vocabulary knowledge, and age.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 15(3) of Psychology and Aging (see record 2010-01363-001). Please note that the Action Editor for this article was Anderson D. Smith.] In a 2-experiment design, the authors assessed the role of age and ability in defining unfamiliar words from context. In Experiment 1, 60 adults aged 18-33 and 60 adults aged 61-96 read passages with cues to the meaning of rare words, then defined them. Older adults produced fewer components of the words' meanings and were more likely to produce generalized interpretations of the precise meaning. In Experiment 2, 726 adults aged 30-97 selected definitions from 4 choices: the exact definition, a generalized interpretation of the exact definition, a generalized interpretation of the story, and definition irrelevant information from the story. Adults over age 75 selected fewer precise definitions and more generalized interpretations of the story than younger ones. Findings suggest that older adults may have special difficulties in deriving the meaning of unfamiliar words from context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Location coding with letters versus unfamiliar, familiar, and labeled letter-like forms.

Errors in reporting a post cued target in a string of several letters more often involve a letter appearing elsewhere in the string (mislocation error) than one not appearing in the string (intrusion error). However, this difference is not found with strings of relatively unfamiliar symbols or forms. Two experiments, with a total of 70 Ss, explored the reason for this difference. Exp 1 showed that the difference was not an artifact of different overall accuracy levels or exposure durations for the 2 character types. In Exp 2, relative to no experience, initial experience with the forms through familiarization or learning labels for them produced mislocation and intrusion frequencies that were more similar to those for letters. This change was related to the development of stored representations for forms that are similar to those for letters. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comprehension calibration and recall prediction accuracy of texts: Reading skill, reading strategies, and effort.

High school students at 3 levels of verbal skill rated their own recall (prediction accuracy) and comprehension (calibration accuracy) of 3 expository texts accompanied by 3 different sets of instructions. All sets of instructions emphasized reading for understanding, and two of them also involved key words (given or personally selected), which were to be used during study. Students assessed which instructions they preferred and estimated their general verbal and memory skills. Three major results were obtained (a) Students seemed to assess their general verbal and memory skills quite well. (b) Acceptable levels of comprehension calibration and recall prediction accuracy were found. Verbal-skill differences were found for recall prediction accuracy but not for comprehension calibration accuracy. (c) students had study preferences—the most preferred way to study increased performance but reduced prediction accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding unfamiliar words in young, young-old, and old-old adults: Inferential processing and the abstraction-deficit hypothesis.

Previous research suggests that older adults derive interpretations of unfamiliar words that are less precise than those of young adults (D. McGinnis & E. M. Zelinski, 2000). Thirty-one adults aged 18-37, 27 aged 65-74, and 28 aged 75-87 read passages containing unfamiliar words (1 per passage) and were asked to think aloud during reading. After reading each passage, participants selected meaning-relevant cues and rated the quality of 4 definition options. Compared with the 2 younger groups, the oldest group rated thematic and irrelevant definitions significantly higher, and their think-aloud protocols included more generalized inferences. Results pertaining to cue selection were not significant. Taken together, these results suggest that age differences in meaning derivation may be related to inferential processing that is overgeneralized, providing support for the abstraction-deficit hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental models of learning to read Chinese words.

What is the nature of learning to read Chinese across grade levels? This study tested 199 kindergartners, 172 second graders, and 165 fifth graders on 12 different tasks purportedly tapping constructs representing phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic processing, and subcharacter processing. Confirmatory factor analyses comparing alternative models of these 4 constituents of Chinese word reading revealed different patterns of metalinguistic underpinnings of children's word recognition across grade levels: The best-fitting model for kindergartners represented a print–nonprint dichotomy of constructs. In contrast, 2nd graders showed a fine-grained sensitivity to all 4 hypothesized constructs. Finally, the best-fitting model for 5th graders consisted of a phonological sensitivity construct and a broad lexical morphological–orthographic processing construct. Findings suggest that Hong Kong Chinese children progress from a basic understanding of print versus nonprint to a diversified sensitivity to varied word-reading skills, to a focus on meaning-based word recognition, to the relative exclusion of phonological sensitivity in more advanced readers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prior knowledge activation: Inducing engagement with informational texts.

Failure to engage with informational texts is a problem frequently noted at the high school level, at which students are expected to read independently. As a means of addressing this issue, a prior knowledge activation strategy (PKA) was taught to ninth-grade students in which they were encouraged to make spontaneous connections between their personal knowledge and informational texts. Students who learned to use the PKA strategy consistently outperformed students in a main idea (MI) treatment group and those in a no-instruction control group on application-level comprehension questions but not literal-level questions. A second study replicated the operations of the first study, with the addition of an MI-PKA treatment designed to combine both strategies. Both the PKA and the MI-PKA combination groups performed higher on application-level comprehension questions and demonstrated more positive attitudes toward reading than the other groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

False recognition of pictures versus words in Alzheimer's disease: The distinctiveness heuristic.

False recognition of semantic associates can be reduced when older adults also study pictures representing each associate. D. L. Schacter, L. Israel, and C. Racine (1999) attributed this reduction to the operation of a distinctiveness heuristic: a response mode in which participants demand access to detailed recollections to support a positive recognition decision. The authors examined patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) and older adults with this paradigm. Half of the participants studied pictures and auditory words; the other half studied visual and auditory words. Older adults who studied pictures were able to reduce their false alarms compared with those who studied words only. AD patients who studied pictures were unable to reduce their false alarms compared with those who studied words only and, in fact, exhibited trends toward greater false recognition. Implications for understanding semantic memory in AD patients are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test anxiety and academic competence: A comparison of alternative models.

The ability of 3 theoretical models to explain the academic performance and test anxiety of 178 undergraduates was compared. The cognitive-attentional model includes negative thoughts and underlying concerns. The cognitive-skills model also includes study habits. The social learning model includes self-efficacy and outcome expectations as well as goal-related motivation. In hierarchical regressions, variable sets from all models added unique variance to explain performance and to explain test anxiety. Cognitive-attentional processes emerged as relatively more important than academic skills or social learning processes, though the latter sets did contribute significantly. It is recommended that cognitive-attentional accounts be replaced by multiple-deficit formulations, and that multimodal counseling addresses cognitive, skills, and social learning processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intern final oral examinations: An exploration of alternative models of competency.

The training committee of an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited VA internship program implemented oral examinations as a method of assessing interns' readiness for independent practice. Performance criteria for the examinations were constructed using four models of professional competency: (a) APA Benchmarks/Cube, (b) California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP; Petti, 2008), (c) American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) Clinical Psychology, and (d) the local internship performance rating system. Two to three interns were assigned to each model, and examiners rated competencies during an oral case presentation. All interns passed according to the summary criterion for their assigned model. On postexamination process inquiry, interns and examiners were most satisfied with the CSPP model and least satisfied with the ABPP model. Clarity of expectations was noted to be lowest in the APA model. Seven of 10 interns favored establishing an oral exam requirement. Two of the three interns who recommended discontinuance of the examination were examined using the ABPP model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The war between the words: Biological versus social evolution and some related issues.

Representative responses to the 1975 American Psychological Association presidential address, "On the conflicts between Biological and Social Evolution and between Psychology and Moral Tradition," by D. T. Campbell (see record 1976-12046-001), selected by 2 guest editors, are presented in 3 sections: (a) biological vs social evolution, (b) the genetic basis of behavior (especially of altruism), and (c) the value of tradition. As a reprise, Campbell presents his general reactions. (21/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond pictures and words: Alternative information-processing models for imagery effect in verbal memory.

Presents an information-processing approach to imagery effects in verbal memory tasks. A general model of the process of forming images from verbal input is developed, based on propositional memory representations like those used in computer simulations of sentence comprehension, visual scene analysis, and image processing. The general model is then refined in several classes of alternative models that attempt to account for imagery effects, with emphasis on sentence memory results, by using different mechanisms in the general model. The major division in the alternative models is whether the facilitation produced by imagery is due to the actual storage of image information or is just a by-product of image formation or the use of high-imagery materials. Some of the models are rejected on the basis of published data. Two of the remaining models would require substantial progress in the study of sentence memory and comprehension in a way not directly related to imagery. The models most likely to be successful are those that assume that the use of imagery results in the storage of redundant information that provides alternate retrieval routes. (2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of social competence in preschoolers: Teachers versus peers.

The predictive validity and the reliability of a teacher-based ranking method of assessing popularity were compared with those of the traditional picture sociometric approach. In each of 2 studies, both popularity measures were administered in several day-care classrooms with a total of 187 Ss (aged 31–64 mo). Behavioral observations of social interaction and teacher ratings of social competence were also collected. Very high reliability estimates were obtained for the teacher popularity measure, with lower estimates obtained for the picture sociometric measure. When validated relative to the social competence ratings and behavioral observations, the teacher popularity measure was a more effective predictor. With age effects partialed out, teacher popularity entered the equation prior to sociometric popularity and was a significant predictor of social competence. The sociometric popularity measure did not significantly improve this prediction. Findings support the use of teacher rankings of popularity as a measure of social competence in the preschool. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Arousal and attraction: A response-facilitation alternative to misattribution and negative-reinforcement models.

Previous explanations of arousal-attraction phenomena have focused on misattribution and reinforcement processes. Two studies were conducted to test an alternative response-facilitation explanation of these findings. In general, both studies followed previous methods, with the addition of conditions in which Ss' attention was directed to the actual source of their arousal. Study 1 was based on the fear-arousal method used by D. G. Dutton and A. P. Aron (see record 1975-03016-001) and found enhanced attraction to a confederate in high-fear-arousal subjects. Contrary to the misattribution model, the focus-of-attention manipulation had no effect on attraction. Study 2 used a nonthreatening source of arousal (exercise) and also included a focus-of-attention manipulation. Contrary to the misattribution model, arousal facilitated sexual attraction even when subjects' attention was directed to the actual arousal source. Although the results of Study 1 are consistent with a negative-reinforcement model, the findings from Study 2, and from several other studies in the area, are not. The simple response-facilitation model best explains these results and provides a parsimonious alternative explanation for several other sets of data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two- versus three-alternative concurrent-chain schedules: A test of three models.

Two experiments with pigeons used concurrent-chain procedures with variable-interval schedules as initial links and different delays to food as terminal links. Two schedules were present in all sessions, but a 3rd schedule was alternately present and absent in successive sessions. When the 3rd schedule delivered food with no terminal-link delay, the presence of this schedule led to an increase in preference for the schedule with the shorter terminal link of the 2 unchanged schedules. When the terminal-link delay for the 3rd schedule was 30 s, the presence of this schedule led to a decrease in preference for the schedule with the shorter terminal link of the 2 unchanged schedules. These results are inconsistent with the predictions of R. Grace's (1994) contextual-choice model, but they are consistent with 2 other mathematical models- delay-reduction theory and the hyperbolic value-added model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children with recently diagnosed diabetes: Interactions within their families.

Analyzed how families with a diabetic child interact and how these patterns differ from other families, using 57 diabetic and 48 acutely ill early adolescents and preadolescents from 2-parent families. The 2 samples were contrasted in terms of enabling and constraining interactions of each family member. Findings reveal that diabetic Ss and their parents expressed significantly more enabling (e.g., focusing, problem-solving, active understanding) speeches than comparable members of the acute illness group. There were indications of particular constraining interactions (devaluing) occurring between fathers and diabetic Ss. Several alternative interpretations are offered to account for these results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of Alzheimer's disease on the recognition of novel versus familiar words: Neuropsychological and clinico-metabolic data.

This study explored recognition memory performance for novel versus familiar words in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and normal controls (NCs), using an adaptation of E. Tulving and N. Kroll's (1995) procedure. Results showed that both groups exhibited more hits and more false alarms for familiar than for novel words. The groups did not differ in the recognition of familiar words, reflecting preserved familiarity processes in AD. However, AD patients made more false alarms than NCs in the recognition of novel words, reflecting impairment of recollection processes in AD. A positron emission tomography analysis of clinico-metabolic correlations in AD patients showed a correlation between recognition of novel words and right hippocampal activity, whereas recognition of familiar words was more related to metabolic activity in the left posterior orbitofrontal cortex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)