Verbal abilities in young aggressive boys.

Academic failure and poor verbal abilities are commonplace in older children with aggressive behavior problems. The present study addressed the question of whether a similar pattern would be observed in young aggressive boys. A variety of verbal and nonverbal abilities were examined in 71 pairs of aggressive and normal boys in kindergarten-2nd grade. Significant differences favoring normals were observed on the WISC Information, Similarities, Block Design, Mazes, Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ subscales; Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities Auditory Reception and Grammatic Closure subscales; and the Wide Range Achievement Test Reading subscale. Results do not indicate a generalized deficit in verbal development among young aggressive boys; however, findings support the interpretation that some deficit in mediational use of verbal ability may be present in aggressive boys. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theoretical and treatment implications of developmental research on verbal control of behavior.

The developmental research on verbal control of behavior, especially that conducted by the Soviet psychologists A. Luria (1959) and L. Vygotsky (1962), suggests a developmental progression by which the child's inner speech comes to assume a regulatory role. Results of a research program which included both naturalistic observational studies and experimental investigations fail to support Luria's age-related stages of development. However, the hypothetical developmental model offered by Vygotsky and Luria does provide a useful sequence which can be employed as a cognitive self-guidance treatment program. The theoretical and treatment implications of a research program on verbal control are examined. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual difference factors in the efficacy of Covert Modeling and Self-Instructional Training for fear reduction.

Analyzed the relationship between individual differences in cognitive mediational processes and the efficacy of 2 training strategies for fear reduction: self-instructional training (SIT), based on self-verbalization, and covert modeling (CM), based on visual imagery. 26 undergraduate animal-phobics were randomly assigned to training conditions. Measures included ratings of imagery vividness, visual imagery performance, and measures of cognitive styles. Results indicate that reliance on imagery or verbal strategies to cope with fear was important in predicting treatment effects. Ss who used imagery to cope with fear benefited significantly more from CM than SIT. The reverse occurred for Ss using verbal strategies to cope with fear. These effects were exhibited on both behavioral avoidance and self-reported fear measures. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and neuropsychological characteristics of physically aggressive boys.

Cognitive–neuropsychological tests were given to adolescent boys (N?=?177) to investigate processes associated with physical aggression. Factor analysis yielded 4 factors representing verbal learning, incidental spatial learning, tactile–lateral ability, and executive functions. Physical aggression was assessed at ages 6, 10, 11, and 12, and 3 groups were created: stable aggressive, unstable aggressive, and nonaggressive. The authors found main effects for only the executive functions factor even when other factors were used as additional covariates in a step-down analysis; nonaggressive boys performed better than stable and unstable aggressive boys. The covariates family adversity and anxiety were both related only to the verbal learning factor. This study highlights the importance of deficits in executive function in the expression of physical aggression relative to other cognitive–neuropsychological functions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sociocultural influences on the development of verbal mediation: Private speech and phonological recoding in Saudi Arabian and British samples.

Cross-national stability in private speech (PS) and short-term memory was investigated in Saudi Arabian (n=63) and British (n=58) 4- to 8-year-olds. Assumed differences in child-adult interaction between the 2 nationality groups led to predictions of Gender × Nationality interactions in the development of verbal mediation. British boys used more self-regulatory PS than British girls, whereas there was no such difference for the Saudi group. When age, verbal ability, and social speech were controlled, boys used slightly more self-regulatory PS than girls. Self-regulatory PS was related to children's use of phonological recoding of visually presented material in a short-term memory task, suggesting that PS and phonological recoding represent different facets of a domain-general transition toward verbal mediation in early childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality characteristics of parents of neurotic, aggressive, and normal preadolescent boys.

Compared MMPI's of parents of neurotic, aggressive, and normal 9-11 yr. old boys using 2 of Achenbach's factors for classification of child psychiatric patients. 23 couples, parents of aggressive boys, were more deviant than 29 couples, parents of neurotic boys, Experimental parents were more deviant than 50 control couples. Fathers of aggressive boys were higher on Pd than either fathers of neurotic or control boys. Fathers of neurotic boys were higher on K. Mothers of aggressive boys had more low point Mf. More neurotic boys were oldest and more aggressive boys middle children. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal mediation deficits: Relation to behavior and achievement in children.

Examined relationships between specific types of verbal mediation deficiency and patterns of behavior and achievement in 59 7–11 yr old children with deficits in verbal intelligence (as determined by the WISC). Ss were also given the Hiskey-Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude, the Wide Range Achievement Test, and the Behavioral Problem Checklist. Results show that abstract reasoning ability was positively related to self-control of acting-out behavior, inhibition of impulse, and adequate academic progress. Ss with reasoning deficits but adequate sequencing-memory abilities exhibited variable self-regulation behavior. Ss with both reasoning and sequencing-memory deficits showed relatively high levels of acting-out behavior, less inhibition, and low academic achievement. Findings suggest that different cognitive processes may underlie different patterns of behavioral self-control. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationships between overt and fantasy aggression.

The interrelationships among aggressive needs, anticipation of punishment, and overt aggressive behavior in 29 lower-class boys were investigated in this study. Three hypotheses were tested: 1) among lower class boys, those having a relatively great amount of fantasy aggressive needs indulge in more overt aggressive behavior than those who have relatively few aggressive fantasy needs; 2) Ss whose TAT stories included a great deal of punishment press relative to the number of their aggressive needs demonstrate less overt aggression than Ss whose ratios of punishment press to aggressive needs are low; and 3) Those with low punishment press/aggressive fantasy ratio show more aggression in their behavior than those with high P/A ratio. All three hypotheses were supported by the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metric distance models of creativity and children's appreciation of figurative language.

36 kindergartners, 3rd, and 6th graders indicated their semantic preferences among 9 figures of speech. Ss were administered the Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Test and Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Results indicate that at the kindergarten level, Ss' appreciation of figurative language may be based on nonverbal creativity. But at Grades 3 and 6, presumably with the onset of operational reasoning, Ss' figurative language behavior is increasingly tied to verbal IQ and verbal creativity. Results are consistent with the notion that figurative language behavior is essentially an exercise in creativity. Developmental differences in the relationship between creativity and figurative language are discussed in terms of changes in cognitive development. A least-squares metric distance solution is established for scaling Ss' preference judgments. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of operant procedures in a group of institutionalized aggressive geriatric patients.

This study used positive reinforcement schedules versus no reinforcement on a group of 6 highly aggressive, institutionalized elderly patients. Dependent measures included confirmed incidents of physical and verbal aggressive behavior monitored across an ABAB design with a 4-month phase-out period. Results indicated that aggressive behavior can be significantly decreased in a group setting and subsequently generalized to ward behavior. Ancillary aspects of the study included the role of tangible and back-up reinforcers and staff attitude and behavior. Implications for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing the validity of the colonial mentality implicit association test and the interactive effects of covert and overt colonial mentality on Filipino American mental health.

Colonial mentality (CM) has been found to be an important factor for Filipino American mental health. However, the link between CM and mental health may be more complex and might be influenced by whether Filipino American individuals hold covert CM, overt CM, or both. Relatedly, although the Implicit Association Test has been used to capture the covert and automatic aspect of CM, suggesting that this component of CM is less amenable to accurate self-report and introspection, the validity of such a method and its ability to predict mental health variables has yet to be supported. Furthermore, the possibility that the link between overt CM and mental health may be dependent on the covert aspect of CM has yet to be empirically explored. Thus, I examined the construct validity and utility of the Colonial Mentality Implicit Association Test (CMIAT) as a measure of the covert aspect of CM and investigated the interactions between covert and overt CM in predicting mental health among a sample of 102 Filipino Americans. Results suggest that the CMIAT may be a valid and useful tool for capturing the covert and automatic component of CM and that covert CM may be moderating the link between overt CM and mental health. Implications for CM theory and for Filipino American mental health are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in cognitive processes.

Studied the effects of verbal ability and sex on performance in a simultaneous matching task. The 537 undergraduates who participated were administered the verbal battery of the Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Test. Ss with high-verbal ability (high verbals) were much faster than Ss with low-verbal ability (low verbals) in making taxonomic category identity matches and homophone identity matches. Results suggest that verbal ability is related to the speed of retrieval from long-term memory. In addition, high verbals were faster in making physical identity word matches, suggesting that either lexicographically coded information stored in long-term memory is used in such a task or that verbal ability is also related to the speed of retrieval from short-term memory. As expected, males did not differ from females in the time they required to perform any of the matching tasks, although males made slightly more errors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive gender differences are disappearing.

Gender differences in cognitive abilities were determined using the norms from the four standardizations of the Differential Aptitude Tests conducted between 1947 and 1980, and from the four standardizations of the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/Scholastic Aptitude Test conducted between 1960 and 1983. The standardized gender differences (ds) were averaged over grade of examinees and year of standardization to obtain a mean effect size for each ability, and variations among effect sizes were examined for grade, year, and Grade?×?Year trends. Girls scored higher than boys on scales of grammar, spelling, and perceptual speed; boys had higher means on measures of spatial visualization, high school mathematics, and mechanical aptitude; and no average gender differences were found on tests of verbal reasoning, arithmetic, and figural reasoning. Gender differences declined precipitously over the years surveyed, and the increases in these differences over the high school grades have diminished. The important exception to the rule of vanishing gender differences is that the well-documented gender gap at the upper levels of performance on high school mathematics has remained constant over the past 27 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measures of fluency as predictors of incidental memory among older adults.

This study investigated fluency performance as a mediator of age-related declines in incidental memory performance as both are thought to rely on strategic retrieval processes. A large sample of community dwelling older adults completed a battery of tests assessing fluency, verbal knowledge, speed of information processing, and incidental recall. Fluency measures included initial and excluded letter fluency and the Uses for Objects Test, and they were assumed to reflect increasing reliance on strategic retrieval search. Speed emerged as the best mediator of age-related variance in incidental recall, and Uses for Objects Test performance added to the variance after controlling for verbal knowledge and speed. The results suggest that age-related decline in incidental recall is largely due to speed and the strategic search of memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Commands, competence, and cari?o: Maternal socialization practices in Mexican American families.

Early research on the socialization of Latino children has posited that mothers exercise authoritarian practices, compared with lateral reasoning (authoritative) strategies emphasized by Anglo mothers. This work aimed to categorize fixed types of parenting practices tied to the mother's personality rather than to culturally bounded contexts; it often ignored the emotional warmth or harshness present in compliance attempts and relied on interview questions rather than naturalistic observation. We built from ecocultural theory to observe daily home activities in which Mexican American mothers attempted to correct their young child's behavior or encourage completion of a task (compliance attempt). We observed 24 first- or second-generation mothers and their 4-year-old children and analyzed the activity contexts and multiple forms of 1,477 compliance attempts. Mothers typically led with direct verbal commands in their attempt to achieve compliance. Many blended commands with other compliance strategies, rather than repeating simple behaviors. Drawing on Crockenberg and Litman's (1990) differentiation of variable compliance strategies, we find that most mothers relied on low power-assertive methods, including verbal commands, rather than inductive strategies that involved reasoning. Few compliance episodes prompted high power-assertive or harsh strategies. The degree of reliance on verbal commands and the complexity of mothers' repertoires appear to be related to their education and acculturation levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working memory and articulation rate in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

A. D. Baddeley, N. Thomson, and M. Buchanan (1975) suggested that articulatory rehearsal rate determines the amount of verbal material that can be maintained in working memory. In the current study, 12 children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (SDCP) and 38 normal children were tested on measures of articulation rate and memory span for 1-, 2-, and 3-syllable words. Across all conditions, articulation rate for the SDCP group was significantly slower than for the normal group; nonetheless, memory span was equivalent for both groups. This finding implies that covert rehearsal proceeded normally for the SDCP group, in spite of decrements in speech rate. Thus, the relationship between overt and covert rehearsal rates differs for children with SDCP compared with normal children. Findings from the current study further suggest that normal speech rates are not necessary for development of normal covert rehearsal rates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is body mass index in old age related to cognitive abilities? The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 Study.

We tested the hypothesis that the previously reported association between a higher body mass index (BMI) and poorer cognition in later adulthood is an artifact of confounding by previous cognitive ability and socioeconomic status. Participants were 1,079 adults aged about 70 years in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 Study, on whom there are IQ data from age 11. Cognitive outcome measures included: IQ at age 70 using the same test that was administered at age 11; composite measures of general cognitive ability (g factor), speed of information processing, and memory; and two tests of verbal ability. People classified as overweight or obese in later adulthood had significantly lower scores on tests of childhood IQ, age 70 IQ, g factor, and verbal ability. There was no significant association with processing speed or memory performance. After adjusting for childhood IQ and social class in general linear models, associations with age 70 IQ and g factor were nonsignificant or attenuated. However, throughout the models, there was a persistent (inverse) relationship between BMI and performance on the National Adult Reading Test (NART) and Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR), which remained significant after full adjustment for all sociodemographic and health covariates (for the NART, p = .025; for the WTAR, p = .011). The findings suggest that the previously reported BMI–cognition associations in later adulthood could be largely accounted for by prior ability and socioeconomic status, and by the possible influence of these factors on the adoption of health behaviors in adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body position, facial expression, and verbal behavior during interviews.

The communicative value of body position and facial expression was evaluated by measuring an O's ability to detect a relationship between nonverbal and verbal behavior which had been simultaneously emitted. The verbal and nonverbal stimuli were collected during 2 different standardized stress interviews. Judges (Js) were shown pairs of photographs together with short written speech samples and required on each trial to pick the photograph which matched the verbal behavior. In 4 separate experiments with different groups of Js, accurate judgments were obtained. Evidence for a relationship between nonverbal and verbal behavior simultaneously emitted was replicated across 2 different samples of interview behavior and under 3 cue conditions—seeing the head, body, or whole person. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of speech characteristics in scholastic success.

Compared 2 groups of 93 French-Canadian 3rd grade boys in terms of verbal intelligence and various characteristics of speech. Ss in both groups came from low social class homes, and were similar in measured nonverbal intelligence. The essential difference between groups was school achievement; 1 group had average grades of B or above, the other, C or below. It was found that the groups differed reliably in verbal intelligence and in particular speech characteristics, analyzed by an experienced linguist. Distinctive patterns of speech differentiated the 2 groups even with verbal intelligence statistically controlled. Results are discussed in terms of current psycholinguistic theories of social-class differences in speech and language. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biased decision-making processes in aggressive boys.

Recent evidence has suggested that aggressive boys demonstrate a bias toward attributing hostility to peers in unwarranted circumstances. The present study explored 2 aspects of cognitive processing that might be related to attributional bias: speed of decision making and selective recall of hostile cues. 81 aggressive and nonaggressive boys at 3 age levels (kindergarten–2st grade, 2nd–3rd, and 4th–5th) participated in a detective game in which the task was to accumulate evidence to decide whether or not a peer had acted with benevolence or hostility. Aggressive boys were found to respond more quickly and with less attention to available social cues. They also overattributed hostility to peers in unwarranted circumstances, but only when they responded quickly. This restriction suggests that training aggressive boys to respond more slowly could lead to fewer biased attributions on their part. Selective recall was also related to biased attributions for both groups of boys. This suggests that training boys to recall all cues nonselectively could reduce the frequency of their biased attributions. Results are discussed in terms of a cognitive model of aggressive behavior. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)