Jennifer Gross

Recognition of Self Among Persons With Dementia Pictures Versus Names as Environmental Supports

The physical environment can promote the functional ability of persons with dementia. Many care facilities use environmental signage (e.g., names on doors) to facilitate adaptive behavior (e.g., room finding). However, the effects of such signage on residents’functioning are not well understood. In three experiments, we investigated if persons with moderate to severe dementia had the required skills necessary to benefit from signage. Compared to a control condition (recognition of fellow residents’ photographs), a high percentage of participants could identify written names and photographs of themselves (Experiment 1). Moreover, name and photographic labels helped participants identify belongings (Experiment 2). Training improved some participants’ recognition of their own photographs but not of their fellow residents’ photographs (Experiment 3). These findings are consistent with research on self-reference and age-related changes in face recognition and reading, and they suggest that many persons with dementia may have the requisite abilities to benefit from prosthetic signage.

The role of phonology in a letter detection task

In two experiments, we investigated whether onsets and rimes have a role in the processing of written English. In both experiments, participants detected letter targets (e.g.,t) in nonwords likevult faster than in nonwords likevust. This finding is consistent with Selkirk’s (1982) view that sonorants (e.g., the /l/ ofvult) cohere with preceding short vowels and are part of the vowel nucleus. In contrast, the /t/ ofvust is part of the syllable’s codast and so is harder to isolate. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the time required for one to detect single-member codas following vowel digraphs (e.g., thet inveet) was similar to the time to detect the same target letter following a postvocalic sonorant (e.g., thet invult). No evidence was found for onsets. The results provide support for a phonological organization among letters of printed rimes.