A correlation exists between verbal ability test scores and name identity minus physical identity reaction times in a letter matching task. The present results support Carroll's (1981) suggestion that the reaction time difference is related more to speed than power component of standardized tests and is not optimum for prediction. (Author/RD)

The Magazine and Visual Communication Divisions section of the Proceedings contains the following 8 papers: "Beefcake, Breadwinner, or Babysitter: A Content Analysis of Male Images in Female-Targeted Magazine Advertising, 1978-1998" (Mikalee Dahle and Jennifer Greer); "The Impact of Larry Flynt: An Overview of One Publisher's Legal…

Speech samples from 3 hearing-impaired children (ages 9-11) were videotaped for judgment by 5 teachers in audio-only and audio-video condition. When a teacher evaluated a child's speech using both auditory and visual information, fewer errors were typically noted than if the child's speech was evaluated using only auditory information. (Author/JDD)

This study, involving a 10-year-old child with cerebral palsy and autism, found that the use of headphones resulted in an increase in on-task behavior whether stimuli were presented in an audiovisual mode, an audio-only mode, or a visual-only mode. Preference was for the auditory only or the mixed audiovisual stimuli. (DB)

Fourteen emotionally disturbed junior high students and 16 regular education students were exposed to 2 experimental conditions with white and Baker-Miller pink visual stimuli. Analysis revealed significant differences on systolic and diastolic blood pressure but not on pulse, grip strength, nor the Digit-Symbol test of the Wechsler Adult…

A study compared continuous discourse tracking rates in eight children (ages 8-14) with hearing impairments and eight typical children using three competing noise conditions: classroom noise, videotaped classroom activity, and combined noise and visual activity. Statistical analyses showed no significant differences among tracking rates due to the…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether individual differences observed in the grammatical morphology of children with specific language impairment (SLI) could be traced to another source, such as the use of weak syllables. Results show that imitations in prosody may restrict the degree of grammatical morpheme use by children with SLI.…

The word-learning ability of 12 school-age subjects with moderate or severe mental retardation was assessed. Subjects used the System for Augmenting Language with visual-graphic symbols for communication. Ability to fast map novel symbols was found to relate to symbol achievement status. Implications for vocabulary acquisition by youth with mental…

Investigates the role of morphological structure in the representation and processing of Mandarin Chinese compounds. Results provide evidence against single-layer, morpheme-based models of the Chinese mental lexicon, pointing instead to a two-layer, whole-word and morphemic model (the Multi-Level Cluster Representation Model). (67 references)…

Two experiments examined pigeons' generalization to intermediate forms following training of concept discriminations. In Experiment 1, the training stimuli were sets of images of dogs and cats, and the transfer stimuli were head/body chimeras, which humans tend to categorize more readily in terms of the head part rather than the body part. In…

The article describes a unit for seventh-grade students, using children's literature to teach visual, auditory, and algebraic patterns. (Contains 7 figures.)

In traditional psychoanalysis, patients recline on a couch in a way that prevents patients and analysts from seeing each other's faces. This has been argued to have significant effects, both positive and negative, on patients' treatment. The use of the couch creates an unusual communicative situation in which both parties are physically but not…

Background: There is growing literature suggesting that some children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can show a significant bias in attention away from left space. Here we examine mechanisms that may underpin these effects in both clinical and non-clinical child populations. Unilateral spatial inattention…

Virtual Reality (VR) is primarily a visual technology. Elements such as haptics (touch feedback) and sound can augment an experience, but the visual cues are the prime driver of what an audience will experience from a VR presentation. At its inception in 2001 the Centre for Advanced Visualization (CFAV) at Niagara College of Arts and Technology…