This study was designed to explore the possibility that Bandura's notion of self-efficacy can be applied to control over cognitions as well as behavior. Subjects were asked to complete questionnaires designed to measure (a) their dental anxiety, (b) the number of their negative self-statements about a dental appointment and (c) their perceived ability to control these thoughts. Subjects with low anxiety claimed to experience fewer negative thoughts than those with moderate or high anxiety, and also to have more control over these thoughts. Subjects believed that the extend of their control would decline as the appointment approached in time, but least for the low anxiety group and most for the high anxiety group. Finally, differences in self-efficacy scores between anxiety groups were maintained when the number of negative thoughts was controlled for, but differences in negative thinking between anxiety levels were not maintained when self-efficacy was controlled for. These results suggest that anxiety is more closely related to thinking processes than content.
Abstract Since a severe closed head injury PH has been unable to recognise familiar faces overtly, but he shows a normal pattern of influences of face familiarity in matching, learning, and interference tasks which do not demand that the faces used are identified explicitly. In this paper we investigate the boundaries of these covert recognition effects. We show that PH cannot achieve overt access to any sense of a face's familiarity in forced-choice tasks (Tasks 1 and 2) and that in learning tasks he does not show evidence of covert access to names (Task 3) or to precise semantic information (Tasks 4 and 5) from the faces he sees. We suggest that covert recognition effects in prosopagnosia can thus be considered to reflect the operation of a partially isolated face recognition system.
The effect of the regularity of orthography on the acquisition of literacy skills was studied by comparing the reading and spelling of 70 Italian children aged 6–11 years with that of 90 English children learning traditional orthography (t.o.) and 33 children aged 6–7 years learning the initial teaching alphabet (i.t.a.), using an Italian passage for adults which was also translated into English. The Italian children learned to read at an earlier age than the English t.o. children, but not than the English i.t.a. children. The English t.o. and i.t.a. children could read more words than they could spell, whereas the Italian children could spell most of the words they could read and even some they could not read. The English children read fast and inaccurately, whereas the Italian children read slowly and accurately using a systematic, phonological strategy until 10 years, when they read fast and accurately. All the children used a phonological strategy in spelling, but only the Italians were mostly successful. Thus the results suggest that, if the orthography is predictable and invariant, the children use a systematic, phonological strategy and learn to read and spell more quickly and accurately.
The performance of dyslexic and control children--matched for age, sex, handedness and performance IQ--was compared on a dichotic listening task in which the stimuli were environmental sounds. Two findings emerged. First, the dyslexic group showed a normal, left ear perceptual advantage for these non-verbal materials. Second, the dyslexics were incapable of occluding dichotically presented sounds to the left ear when required to deploy attention only to sounds entering the right ear. This failure of unilateral selective attention was not found in the controls, nor in either group under a condition of left ear only attention. The data were interpreted as undermining the bihemispheric non-verbal processing hypothesis of developmental dyslexia. It was argued that the dyslexics' apparent inability to override voluntarily the reflexive lateral orienting mechanism was most consistent with explanatory models emphasizing defective functioning, or even malformation, of the left cerebral hemisphere alone.
Preface to the Second Edition Acknowledgements Contributors Introduction Part I 1. Physical Development from Three to Seven: J.Tanner (University of London) 2. The Development of Thinking and Reasoning: C.Modgil (Brighton Polytechnic), S.Modgil (Brighton Polytechnic) 3. The Growth of Intelligence and Creativity in Young Children: D.Child (University of Leeds) 4. How Young Children Develop and Use Language: J.Tough (University of Leeds) 5. How Children Learn: R.W.McIntire (University of Maryland) 6. Personality and Personal Development:D.Fontana (University College, Cardiff) 7. Social Development and Social Behaviour: R.Davie (National Children's Bureau) 8. Young Children with Special Eductional Needs: A.F.Laing (University College, Swansea), M.Chazan (University College, Swansea) 9. Carrying out Assessment with Young Children: S.Tyler (University of Keele) Part II 10. Learning and Teaching Mathematical Skills: G.Matthews (University of London) 11. Learning and Teaching Reading Skills: P.Horner (Rolle College, Exmouth) 12. Learning and Teaching Writing Skills: S.Lane (Tidemill Primary School) 13. Movement Education with Young Children: B.J.Lewis, D.Cherrington (City of Birmingham Polytechnic) 14. Making Music: A.Dankworth 15. Learning and Teaching Art and Craft Skills: H.Pluckrose (Prior Weston Primary School) 16. Understanding and Encouraging Children's Play: A.Yardley (Trent Polytechnic) 17. Teachers and Parents Working Together: T.Smith (University of Oxford).
This paper describes and compares two relaxation training procedures with moderately and severely mentally handicapped people. Abbreviated Progressive Relaxation is a widely used procedure while Behavioural Relaxation Training is a relatively recent development which the authors felt might be more suitable for mentally handicapped people since it does not require a conceptual awareness of internal states of anxiety. While both relaxation procedures produced improvements, Behavioural Relaxation Training was significantly better than Abbreviated Progressive Relaxation. In addition to this the results during treatment showed Abbreviated Progressive Relaxation to produce very variable effects from session to session. In contrast the effects of Behavioural Relaxation Training were quick and consistent.
One of the recent concerns in the study of eyewitness memory is how well lay knowledge, i.e. ‘common sense’, matches the findings of empirical research. A number of American and Canadian studies, some using questionnaire methodology, have found limitations in lay knowledge of eyewitness behaviour. Further studies have extended this general finding beyond the lay public–who are prospective jurors–to legal professionals such as lawyers and policemen. The present study utilized the Knowledge of Eyewitness Behaviour Questionnaire (KEBQ), an inventory used in previous studies, to replicate the North American studies with a British sample of students, including law students, and the general public. The results showed a great similarity between the North American and British samples' knowledge of eyewitness behaviour. A significant number of correct responses were made to eight of the 14 KEBQ items, with a significant number of incorrect responses to the remainder. It was also found that law students were no more knowledgeable than other subjects; that knowledge did not vary with age; and that previous experience as an eyewitness was not related to knowledge of eyewitness behaviour. In responding to some of the criticisms of questionnaire studies it is argued that the evidence is mounting in favour of the need for a recognized system to make jurors aware of the factors known to influence eyewitness testimony.
Recent research demonstrates, if demonstration be needed, the close relationship between social, emotional and cognitive development and the development of speech and language during the early years of life. This suggests the need for careful consideration of children's social and emotional experiences as part of any process of diagnosis/treatment/education offered to children whose development gives cause for concern particularly when there is no major physical disability to explain the difficulties. The paper describes eight 3-4-year-old children with delayed development, disordered behaviour and difficulties in speech and language who were helped by a method based primarily on understanding and meeting their social developmental needs. Parents were involved, and their own social contact with their children encouraged as part of the programme of help. About 9 months later, only two of the children were regarded as having special educational needs, with the rest making good progress in mainstream nursery or reception classes in local schools.
