Dorothy H. Eichorn

Continuity and Change in Women's Characteristics over Four Decades

Fifty-three mothers of participants in the Guidance Study of the Institute of Human Development at the University of California, Berkeley, were rated on 21 cognitive and personality-social characteristics at approximately 30 years of age and again at age 70. As judged by the interage correlations, all 5 of the cognitive variables and 10 of the 16 personality variables, proved to be relatively stable over the 40-year period. Ratings of intelligence, mental alertness, speed of mental processes, use of language, and accuracy in thinking were relatively consistent and the following personality-social characteristics also showed continuity over the 40-year interval: talkativeness, cheerfulness, frankness in discussion, tendency to criticize, excitability, energy level and self-esteem. Ratings of self-assurance, attitude toward child and satisfaction with life showed little stability over this long interval. A new factor analytic method was used to extract 3 factors common to both ages, together with 2 factors specific to age 30 and 3 factors specific to age 70.

Some determinants of perceptual investigatory responses in children

Abstract Twenty-four nursery school children participated in each of three experiments in which one-word requests on the part of the S produced. 14-second tachistoscopic exposures of geometric and meaningful figures. Redundancy (relative uncertainty) had no significant influence on responsiveness, in contrast to the generally positive results from identical experiments with adults obtained separately by Berlyne and Minton. Incongruity and color, however, were effective variables. The response curve for repeated exposure to stimuli was a negatively accelerated, decreasing one, indicative of drive reduction, habituation or fatigue rather than the negatively accelerated, rising curve, similar in form to the usual learning curve previously observed by Berlyne.

A comparison of laboratory determinations and Wetzel Grid estimates of basal metabolism among adolescents.

Summary Longitudinal determinations of basal metabolism made by the Tissot opencircuit technique were compared with the Wetzel Grid estimates of total calories per day for fifty-two boys and fifty-two girls between the ages of 11.5 and 17.5 years. The average difference was 128.38 calories for boys and 98.78 calories for girls. Approximately one-half of the boys and one-third of the girls deviated from the Grid estimates by at least ±12 per cent for one-third or more of their measures. Among boys, the Grid values were a consistent underestimate of the laboratory values, and the difference between the two values increased systematically with age. For girls, the Grid underestimated the laboratory values through 14 years and thereafter overestimated them. Relationships between laboratory determinations of basal metabolism and several indices of physiological maturity were cited. It is suggested (1) that at least during adolescence, standards for basal metabolism should include a maturity referent, and (2) that diagnosis of pathology on the basis of deviation of metabolic test data from Grid estimates of the appropriate caloric output should be made with caution and verified by other techniques.

Development of Mental Functions

THE chief problems and research trends in the study of mental development were defined, as of 1950, in the previous growth and development numbers of the REVIEW (46, 107). Current studies have shown a sustained interest in each of these topics, with special attention to certain critical issues. Renewed effort is being directed toward the analysis of socio-economic factors in relation to intelligence and achievement. Age changes in mental abilities, and responses to the same tasks at different ability levels, have continued to receive marked emphasis. Some interest in the effect of glutamic acid on intellectual development was reflected in the previous review, and research on this relationship has gained momentum; however, in view of the negative results of the majority of these studies, further inquiry in this particular area may be expected to diminish. The examination of mental-physical relationships has continued; of particular note in this connection are recent studies on the effect of prenatal and natal conditions on later mental status. If we are to judge by the number of publications, the relationship of interests to abilities is no longer a prominent topic, but much still remains to be done in analyzing the role of emotional factors in mental functioning, and studies in this area have opened a number of promising leads. Differential fertility is also a topic of concern; the publication of several major reports has raised new problems which require additional study, particularly in relation to social trends in age at marriage and in family size. Infant Tests

Reliability of Reaction Time

Various statistical models for assessing the reliability of repeated measures of reaction time are compared. The results indicate that the intraclass correlation for scores is appropriate for assessing reliability of an individuals performance during repeated measures, whereas the intraclass correlation for means or the odd-even product-moment correlation represents the reliability of the mean performance of the individual with respect to the group.