José I. Navarro

Superconditioning and Overshadowing

Abstract Conditioned lick suppression by water-deprived rats was used to investigate the phenomenon of superconditioning. In Experiment 1, animals received explicitly unpaired conditioned inhibition training with CS A or CS B and a footshock US. Both groups then received pairings of a CS A-light compound with shock. In testing, animals for which CS A was inhibitory displayed enhanced responding to the light, relative to animals for which CS A was associatively neutral. Thus, superconditioning relative to the conventional control group was demonstrated. However, an additional control group that first received inhibitory training with CS A and then the light alone paired with shock exhibited as much suppression to the light as the superconditioning group. This control, which was omitted from previous demonstrations of superconditioning, suggests that superconditioning is merely attenuated overshadowing of the added element by CS A as a result of prior inhibitory training with CS A. In Experiment 2, superconditioning was not obtained when partial reinforcement of CS A occurred during negative contingency training, despite the fact that in prior research the identically trained CS A had passed both summation and retardation tests for inhibition. In Experiment 3, exposure to CS A alone (i.e., latent inhibition treatment) sufficed to produce a superconditioning-like effect with respect to the light when the CS A-light compound was later paired with shock. In Experiment 4, conditioned inhibition and latent inhibition treatments of CS A were found to yield equivalent superconditioning-like effects with respect to the added element. Collectively, these studies suggest that superconditioning arises from a reduction in overshadowing and a comparable effect can be obtained through any initial treatment that diminishes the associability of the overshadowing CS.

Longitudinal Study of Low and High Achievers in Early Mathematics

BACKGROUND Longitudinal studies allow us to identify, which specific maths skills are weak in young children, and whether there is a continuing weakness in these areas throughout their school years. AIMS This 2-year study investigated whether certain socio-demographic variables affect early mathematical competency in children aged 5-7 years. SAMPLE A randomly selected sample of 127 students (64 female; 63 male) participated. At the start of the study, the students were approximately 5 years old (M= 5.2; SD= 0.28; range = 4.5-5.8). METHOD The students were assessed using the Early Numeracy Test and then allocated to a high (n= 26), middle (n= 76), or low (n= 25) achievers group. The same children were assessed again with the Early Numeracy Test at 6 and 7 years old, respectively. Eight socio-demographic characteristics were also evaluated: family model, education of the parent(s), job of the parent(s), number of family members, birth order, number of computers at home, frequency of teacher visits, and hours watching television. RESULTS Early Numeracy Test scores were more consistent for the high-achievers group than for the low-achievers group. Approximately 5.5% of low achievers obtained low scores throughout the study. A link between specific socio-demographic characteristics and early achievement in mathematics was only found for number of computers at home. CONCLUSIONS The level of mathematical ability among students aged 5-7 years remains relatively stable regardless of the initial level of achievement. However, early screening for mathematics learning disabilities could be useful in helping low-achieving students overcome learning obstacles.

Improving attention behaviour in primary and secondary school children with a Computer Assisted Instruction procedure

Attention disorders are one of the major sources of poor school performance. This research project was designed to examine whether a Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) approach would be successful in achieving higher rates of attention. In order to increase attention behaviour during school time, psychologically‐designed software was developed. The software, called “How to improve your mental skills,” consists of three games based on multimedia perception tasks. First, 155 elementary school children with an average age of 12.4 years, from Cadiz (Spain) School District, were evaluated with two attention tests, the Perception Differences Test (PDT), and the subtest Spatial of Primary Mental Aptitude (S‐PMA). Students were divided and balanced into one experimental and two control groups, according to their scores on the PDT. Then, 10 training sessions, of 25 minutes each, with the software “How to improve your mental skills”, were administered to the experimental group. Children from control group 1 played...

Mental Attention in Gifted and Nongifted Children.

The relationship between the construct of mental attention and “giftedness” is not well established. Gifted individuals could make effective use of their executive functions and this could be related to their mental attentional capacity. The dialectic constructivist model developed by Pascual-Leone introduced the concept of mental attention or “effort”, relating it to mental capacity. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the measurement of mental capacity (M-measurement) is differential for a group of children with high IQs. 110 students between 4 and 18 years old participated in this study. Some were Gifted (n=70) and others Non-Gifted (n=40). Wechsler-R Scale and the Figural Intersection Test were administered to all participants. An interesting pattern was found in the younger groups. The gifted scored higher than the non-gifted in the Figural Intersection Test and much higher than their theoretical M. The non-gifted scored quite close to their theoretical M (based on age). In the oldest group, the gifted again achieved higher scores, but now they scored at the theoretical level, and the non-gifted underperformed.RésuméLa relation entre le concept de l’attention mentale et l’intelligence supérieure n’est pas très bien établi. Les personnes ayant des capacités élevées pourraient faire une utilisation très habile de leurs fonctions exécutives et ceci peut être en rapport avec la capacité d’attention mentale. Ce concept est dénommé: le modèle constructiviste dialectique développé par Pascual-Leone, celui-ci a introduit le concept d’attention mentale rattaché à la capacité mentale. L’objectif de ce travail est d’étudier si la mesure de la capacité mentale (M) est différente pour un groupe de graçons et filles qui présentent une haute ponctuation en intelligence psychométrique. Dans cette étude ont participé 110 élèves de 4 à 18 ans. Certains enfants étaient surdoués (n=70) et d’autres non (n=40). L’échelle Wechsler-R et il Figural Intersection Test a été administrée à tous les participants. Les résultats trouvés montrent que les participants plus jeunes, ont obtenu de meilleurs résultats avec le FIT. De même, les enfants de capacité élevée ont une ponctuation M supérieure à ce que l’on pourrait espérer pour leur âge.

Acquisition of Basic Concepts by Children with Intellectual Disabilities Using a Computer-Assisted Learning Approach

Computer-assisted learning can be an efficient learning-teaching procedure. Although there is an extensive educational software tradition for this approach, few have better performance than standard drill-and-practice methods. In this work, the specific software “Lets Play With …” was designed to teach concepts of colours, shapes, and body position to children with intellectual disabilities. The software structure follows the Gagné instructional design and applied behaviour analysis. The program was carried out with 39 boys and 21 girls who were special education students in the Cadiz School District. Statistically significant differences were found between groups taught with and without the software.

Relationship between personality traits and vocational choice.

The relationship between occupational preferences and personality traits was examined. A randomly chosen sample of 735 students (age range = 17 to 23 years; 50.5% male) in their last year of high school participated in this study. Participants completed Cattells Sixteen Personality Factor–5 Questionnaire (16PF–5 Questionnaire) and the Kuder–C Professional Tendencies Questionnaire. Initial hierarchical cluster analysis categorized the participants into two groups by Kuder–C vocational factors: one showed a predilection for scientific or technological careers and the other a bias toward the humanities and social sciences. Based on these groupings, differences in 16PF–5 personality traits were analyzed and differences associated with three first-order personality traits (warmth, dominance, and sensitivity), three second-order factors (extraversion, control, and independence), and some areas of professional interest (mechanical, arithmetical, artistic, persuasive, and welfare) were identified. The data indicated that there was congruency between personality profiles and vocational interests.

Synchronous and asynchronous interactions of bilingual Hispanic pre‐ and in‐service teachers in distance learning

Abstract This study investigated differences in online written interactions of bilingual Hispanic pre‐ and in‐service teachers across two types of online discussion groups: synchronous and asynchronous. Participants were exposed to a shortened version of a wholly online special education course and participated in instructional activities as well as synchronous and asynchronous discussion groups over a six‐week period. The research used both an alternating treatment design to gather quantitative data, and interviews and questionnaires for qualitative data. The results support the contention that synchronous discussion group interactions are an important feature of successful online courses with Hispanic students.

Stimulus Control with Computer Assisted Learning

Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) has been shown to be an efficient learning-teaching procedure. Although there is an extensive educational software tradition using CAL approaches, few of them have demonstrated a better student performance than standard drill and practice methods. The purpose of this study was (a) to evaluate the effectiveness of the “Lets Play With...” software program, and (b) to evaluate the effectiveness of a prompt (i.e. a blinking object) used in the program. The educational software “Lets Play With...” was designed to teach basic concepts involving shapes and body positions to preschool students. The software structure follows a behavioral design and uses a stimulus control procedure. The study was carried out with 64 preschool students in the Cadiz (Spain) School District. Statistically significant differences were found between the experimental group and a control group.

Explanatory model of emotional-cognitive variables in school mathematics performance: a longitudinal study in primary school

This study tested a structural model of cognitive-emotional explanatory variables to explain performance in mathematics. The predictor variables assessed were related to students’ level of development of early mathematical competencies (EMCs), specifically, relational and numerical competencies, predisposition toward mathematics, and the level of logical intelligence in a population of primary school Chilean students (n = 634). This longitudinal study also included the academic performance of the students during a period of 4 years as a variable. The sampled students were initially assessed by means of an Early Numeracy Test, and, subsequently, they were administered a Likert-type scale to measure their predisposition toward mathematics (EPMAT) and a basic test of logical intelligence. The results of these tests were used to analyse the interaction of all the aforementioned variables by means of a structural equations model. This combined interaction model was able to predict 64.3% of the variability of observed performance. Preschool students’ performance in EMCs was a strong predictor for achievement in mathematics for students between 8 and 11 years of age. Therefore, this paper highlights the importance of EMCs and the modulating role of predisposition toward mathematics. Also, this paper discusses the educational role of these findings, as well as possible ways to improve negative predispositions toward mathematical tasks in the school domain.

Functional analysis of challenging behavior in people with severe intellectual disabilities.

Challenging behaviors exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities often hinder the acquisition of academic, social, and life skills. Functional analysis has been useful for assessing challenging behavior in various settings. The purpose of this study was to implement an operant methodology for recognizing the functional properties of challenging behavior in people with intellectual disabilities. Four adults diagnosed with profound intellectual disability received assessment under several experimental conditions using a functional analysis methodology: social attention as positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement such as the termination of demands, positive tangible reinforcements, absence of social contingencies, and escape from noisy stimuli. Results showed that different types of reinforcement or avoiding contingencies affected the rate of aggression, self-injury, disruption, stereotypy, or socially offensive behaviors, and functional analysis may potentially be a viable alternative for identifying challenging behaviors.