Pathways to understanding mind: construct validity and predictive validity of maternal mind-mindedness

The construct validity of maternal mind-mindedness (MM) was investigated in the context of its relations with children's later understanding of mind. MM measures were obtained from infant-mother (N = 52) interactions at 6 months, and from maternal interviews at 48 months. Children's understanding of mind was assessed using theory of mind (ToM) tasks at 45 and 48 months, and a stream of consciousness (SoC) task at 55 months. One of the early MM measures--mothers' appropriate mind-related comments--was a positive independent predictor of: (a) MM at 48 months, and (b) ToM and SoC performance at 45 to 55 months. Path analyses suggested direct links between mothers' use of appropriate mind-related comments and children's later understanding of mind.     

Examining the effects of PASS cognitive processes on Chinese reading accuracy and fluency

The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive) processes to Chinese reading accuracy and fluency. One-hundred-forty Grade 3 to 5 Mandarin-speaking children were assessed on measures of PASS processes, phonological awareness, and orthographic knowledge. A year later they were assessed on reading accuracy and fluency. The results indicated that successive processing predicted reading through the effects of phonological awareness and simultaneous processing predicted reading through the effects of orthographic knowledge. The results were similar for reading accuracy and fluency. Implications for the PASS theory are discussed.     

Cognitive processes separating good and poor readers when IQ is covaried

In this paper we address the issue of separating reading disability from general intelligence in order to identify those cognitive processes which discriminate between poor and good readers when intelligence is covaried. Subjects were 140 Grade 5 and 6 students who were administered Lorge-Thorndike intelligence test (1964), a reading decoding test and cognitive tests which measure planning, attention-arousal and simultaneous-successive processing. The tests which emerged as discriminators between good and poor readers when Lorge-Thorndike full scale IQ was covaried, were three measures of successive processing (Sequence Repetition, Naming Time, Speech Rate) and a measure of selective attention, the familiar Stroop Color-Word test. Subsequently, a comparison of reading disabled high and low average IQ children confirmed that the four tests were performed poorly by both groups. All four tests involve the use of articulatory representation, confirming the important role speech-related processes play in reading (decoding). The results support the notion that deficient speech-related processes may be the central problem of the majority of poor readers, especially those of above-average intelligence. Future directions for research on phonological coding and articulation were suggested.     

Children's memory for phonemically confusable and nonconfusable letters: changes with age and reading ability

This experiment focused on differences that occur with age and reading skill in the use of phonemic codes in short-term retention tasks where stimuli were presented visually. In 1 condition, individuals recalled 6-letter strings composed of rhyming and nonrhyming letters after a 15-sec delay under conditions that permitted phonemic coding and rehearsal. 2 other conditions were designed to suppress (a) rehearsal of certain types of phonemic codes in the delay interval and (b) both phonemic coding at stimulus presentation and rehearsal. Subjects were grade 2 average readers matched in reading skill with grade 4 disabled readers, grade 4 average matched with grade 6 disabled, and grade 6 average matched with grade 4 superior readers. Average readers showed a decrease in errors with age in all 3 conditions, although performance was always better in the nonsuppression condition. In the latter, memory for nonrhyming letters was always better than memory for rhyming letters. Differential use of phonemic codes by good and poor readers in grades 4 and 6 was less than that found in previous research with younger children. Finally, by comparing the performances of grade 2 average with grade 4 disabled readers and grade 4 average with grade 6 disabled readers, the developmental lag hypothesis of reading disability was examined. Problems with testing the hypothesis are discussed.     

A critical comparison of factors affecting science and technology students’ entrepreneurial intention: a tale of two genders

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - This study assesses the influence of gender differences in the formation of entrepreneurial intention. Specifically, we investigate...     

Multivariate alternatives to regression analysis in the evaluation of salary equity-parity

The analysis of salary equity-parity in institutions of higher education typically involves the use of multiple regression analysis to determine predicted salary and the residual differences between predicted and actual salary. Multiple regression analysis forces the variable weights throughout the salary structure to be uniform, permits only one criterion or dependent variable to be examined at a time, restricts the coordinates to those provided by the variables as measured, and as customarily used, treats qualitative or discrete variables as if they were continuous, assuming ordinality of the numbers used. Two multivariate alternatives to regression analysis are presented, canonical analysis and multiple discriminant analysis, both of which define new coordinate systems for evaluation of dimensions underlying salary decisions.Presented at the 23rd Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Toronto, May 1983.     

Counselling people with addictive behavior

A general framework for understanding addictive behaviors (involving chemical substances as well as other forms of compulsions) is presented with special reference to excessive drinking, overeating and compulsive gambling. Treatment procedures for each of these problem behaviors are described and some general conclusions drawn for dealing with other forms of addictions.Paper presented at the XIII^th IRTAC Conference at Calgary, August 14–18, 1988.     

Maternal Working Models of Attachment, Marital Adjustment, and the Parent-Child Relationship

This study examined the connection between maternal working models, marital adjustment, and the parent-child relationship. Subjects were 45 mothers who were observed in problem-solving interactions with their 16–62-month-old children ( M = 33 months). Mothers also completed the Attachment Q-set, the Adult Attachment Interview, and a marital adjustment scale. As predicted, maternal working models were related to the quality of mother-child interactions and child security, and there was a significant relation between marital adjustment and child security. Maternal working models and marital adjustment were also associated interactively with child behavior and child security. Among children of insecure mothers, child security scores were higher when mothers reported high (vs. low) marital adjustment. No relation between child security scores and mothers' marital adjustment was found among children of secure mothers. These results suggest that maternal working models influence parenting and child adjustment well beyond infancy, to which period the few existing studies of adult attachment have been restricted. The results also suggest that interactions between maternal working models and the marital adjustment on child behavior and attachment security need to be more closely examined.