Relationship between toy and material use and the occurrence of social interactive behaviors by normally developing preschool children

The purpose of this naturalistic study was to identify the kinds of social behaviors that normally developing preschool children exhibit while manipulating various toys and materials found in most preschool settings. One hundred fifteen 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds in four day-care centers were observed during free play periods. Thirty-eight available toys and play materials were rated as to whether they were used in an Isolate, Parallel, Sharing/Cooperative, or Physical Assistance context. The resulting data on toy/material use are discussed in terms of selecting physical stimuli in social behavior modification efforts that clearly set the occasion for positive social interaction.     

The activity context of preschool children's social interactions: A comparison of high and low social interactors

The purpose of this observational study of the activity context in which preschool children engaged in positive social interactions was to produce a data source that could be used to assist in the identification of socially withdrawn children, and to select efficient training contexts in which to develop the social behavior repertoire of withdrawn youngsters. Eleven high-rate and 10 low-rate social interactors, ranging in age from 36 to 72 months, were observed for 12 10-minute sessions across a 3-month period. Six activity contexts were coded by trained observers: Observer, Isolate, Parallel, Game, Cooperative, and Fantasy. The results indicated that: (a) Low-rate children engaged in significantly more Isolate and Observer activity than did high-rate children. (b) High-rate children engaged in significantly more Cooperative and Fantasy activity than did low-rate children. (c) There were no significant differences between groups for Game and Parallel activities. Results are discussed in terms of the concurrent validity between frequency of interaction measures and the activity context data, the developmental progression of social skills acquisition, and the selection of treatment contexts for withdrawn children.     

Abilities and skill acquisition: A latent growth curve approach

The relationship between abilities and skill acquisition has been the subject of numerous controversies in psychology. However, while most researchers implicitly or explicitly accept the idea that abilities and skill acquisition should be related, empirical research has failed to provide evidence for a consistently strong correlation between the two constructs. Based on the reanalysis of a study on skill acquisition using the air traffic controller task TRACON [Ackerman, P. L., Kanfer, R., and Goff, M. (1995). Cognitive and Noncognitive Determinants and Consequences of Complex Skill Acquisition. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Applied, 1(4), 270–304], it will be shown how latent growth curve modeling can help to gain a better understanding of the relationship between human abilities and skill acquisition. A brief introduction into the basic concepts of latent growth curve modeling will be given, particularly with regard to the advantages for the analysis of skill acquisition and its determinants. The goal is thereby to provide evidence for a much closer association than commonly assumed and to offer a new, differential, perspective formerly obscured by traditional between-subject analyses.     

Concentric left ventricular morphology in aerobically trained kayak canoeists

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that upper body aerobically trained athletes (kayak canoeists) would have greater left ventricular wall thickness, but similar left ventricular diastolic chamber dimensions, compared with recreationally active and sedentary men. Ultrasound echocardiography was used to determine cardiac structure and function in highly trained kayak canoeists (n = 10), moderately active (n = 10) and sedentary men (n = 10). The septal and posterior left ventricular walls were approximately 0.2 cm thicker in kayak canoeists (P < 0.05), and left ventricular mass was 51% and 32% greater (P < 0.05) in canoeists than in the sedentary and moderately trained participants, respectively. There were no differences in left ventricular chamber dimension, suggesting that the kayak canoeists had a concentric pattern of left ventricular adaptation to aerobic upper body training. Scaling the data to body composition indices had no effect on the outcome of the statistical analysis. There were no differences in resting Doppler left ventricular diastolic or systolic function among the groups. Ejection fraction was lower in the kayak canoeists, but the magnitude of the difference was within the normal variability for this measurement. Thus aerobically upper body trained athletes demonstrated a concentric pattern of cardiac enlargement, but resting left ventricle function was not different between athletes, moderately active and sedentary individuals.     

Self-controlled amount of practice benefits learning of a motor skill

Self-control over factors involving task-related information (e.g, feedback) can enhance motor learning. It is unknown if these benefits extend to manipulations that do not directly affect such information. The purpose of this study was to determine if self-control over the amount of practice would also facilitate learning Participants learned to throw a dart using their nonpreferred hand. The self-control (SC) group decided when to stop practice. The yoked group completed the same number of trials as their SC counterparts. Results revealed the SC group was more accurate during transfer and in recalling the number of trials completed. These findings indicate that self-control benefits extend to factors that do not directly alter task-related information.