Joseph A. Steger

Verbal vs non-verbal paired-associates learning in poor and normal readers

Abstract Poor and normal readers were compared on verbal and non-verbal paired-associates tasks involving visual and auditory components. The performance of the poor readers was equivalent to that of the normals on the non-verbal tasks but inferior on the verbal tasks. The results were interpreted as consistent, either with the possibility of select language (intrahemispheric) disorder, in poor readers, or dysfunction, unique to visual-verbal (interhemispheric) integration. These alternatives were discussed, and it was suggested that additional research is needed to evaluate their validity.

Immediate visual recall in poor and normal readers as a function of orthographic-linguistic familiarity.

Summary The current investigation directly assessed the hypothesis that the visualperceptual skills of poor readers are comparable to those of normal readers. Previous research suggested that spatial and other perceptual difficulties, as observed in poor readers, occur as a function of more basic problems in acquiring visual-verbal equivalents. The prediction was made that both poor and normal readers would encounter similar difficulties if these groups were presented with an unfamiliar orthography, as compared with normal readers who were becoming acquainted with the graphic and linguistic components of that orthography. Employing a visual recall task, the performance of non-Hebrew poor and normal readers were compared with one another as well as with those of normal readers learning Hebrew. Response variables consisted of total number correct, as well as omission, orientation, sequencing and substitution errors for different length Hebrew words. It was expected that the performance of the non-Hebrew groups would be comparable on all measures but that both groups would be inferior to the Hebrew group. The prediction was supported for total number correct, as well as for omission and orientation errors, but there were no reliable differences among the groups on the sequencing and substitution measures. Of additional interest was the finding that the non-Hebrew groups had particular difficulty in correctly orienting Hebrew letters that could be construed as disoriented Roman letters as well as the observation that the directional scanning tendencies of the non-Hebrew groups were identical. The results provide additional evidence for the suggestion that visual-spatial deficit is an unlikely cause of reading disability and indirectly support the notion that the disorder is attributable to dysfunction in visual-verbal integration.

Immediate and Delayed Recognition of Visual Stimuli in Poor and Normal Readers.

Abstract The present study investigated the hypothesis that specific reading disability is attributable to inadequate visual memory. Previous research had demonstrated that poor readers sustain no basic dysfunction in visual perception, but there was need to evaluate the possibility that deficiencies in letter and word recognition result from disorder in long-term visual storage. Adopting a format employed in a previous study, randomly arranged Hebrew letters were presented to poor and normal readers unfamiliar with Hebrew, and both groups were asked to demonstrate retention for these stimuli on three separate occasions: immediately after initial presentation, 24 hours later and 6 months later. As a control measure, the performance of the non-Hebrew subjects was compared with that of normal readers familiar with Hebrew letters. It was found that retention in the non-Hebrew groups was equivalent under all of the temporal conditions, but the performance of both was poorer than the Hebrew groups under the immediate and 24-hour conditions. However, none of the reader groups differed in the case of retention after a 6-month delay period. It was concluded that deficient visual memory is an unlikely source of specific reading disability, and alternative explanations of the disorder were considered.

Differential Transfer in Poor and Normal Readers

It has been suggested that children who sustain specific reading disability experience difficulty in abstracting and generalizing the invariant components of words containing redundant elements because of basic dysfunction in categorical processing. This hypothesis was assessed by comparing independent samples of poor and normal readers on transfer of training tasks of two different types: a visual-verbal association task which simulated the reading process, and a visual-visual association task unlike reading. It was predicted that poor readers would perform significantly below normal readers on both initial learning and transfer under the visual-verbal association conditions. In contrast, it was expected that the performance of similar groups of poor and normal readers would be comparable under the visual-visual training and transfer conditions. The results supported these predictions, and it was concluded that the generalization problems observed in poor readers in early word learning are, most likely, attributable to transfer difficulties associated with specific disorder in visual-verbal integration, rather than primary or basic disorder in categorization ability.

Manpower Obsolescence: A New Definition and Empirical Investigation of Personal Variables1

Of twelve major determinants of managerial and technical job obsolescence, high need achievement and high levels of organizational participation were found to be the major contributors to nonobsole...

Accuracy of Prediction of Own Performance as a Function of Locus of Control

It was hypothesized that Ss with some years of college would differ in their ability to predict their scores on a classroom examination according to how they scored on the Locus of Control scale. Results supported the hypothesis, indicating that internals are more accurate predictors of their own academic performance than are externals. Discussion focused on the interaction between locus of control and the nature of the prediction of behavior required of Ss.

VISUAL-TACTILE AND TACTILE-TACTILE PAIRED-ASSOCIATE LEARNING BY NORMAL AND POOR READERS

The hypothesis that poor readers suffer from an inter-sensory perceptual deficit was tested by having 16 poor and 16 normal readers learn an inter- and intra-sensory paired-associate task. Thus, visual symbols were paired with tactile stimuli and another set of tactile stimuli were paired with tactile stimuli. Although all poor readers met an explicit criterion for poor reading, there was no difference between poor and normal readers in either of the paired-associate tasks. The results suggest that a general perceptual deficit does not exist for poor readers; however, a specific integration problem in auditory-visual pairing may exist.

The clinical manager: Performance and management characteristics

To determine what makes for an effective administrator, the characteristics of catchment-area team leaders were analyzed. For effectiveness, is empathy or administrative skill superior? The authors say skill is the key.

A Forced Choice Version of the MSCS and How It Discriminates Campus Leaders and Nonleaders

Use of a forced choice version of the Miner Sentence Completion Scale showed close agreement with the original MSCS. A validity study demonstrated that the new version could differentiate leaders f...

Clinical management: a descriptive model.

Clinical management includes a blend of management functions, relational factors and personal style. The most effective managers in this study were those with high ratings on their ability to motivate, evaluate, and direct the work of others. The authors suggest that these abilities are most important in the selection of clinical managers.