Kate Cockcroft

The Relationship between Lecture Attendance and Academic Performance in an Undergraduate Psychology Class

This article reports on a preliminary investigation into the impact of non-attendance at lectures on the performance of students in a second-year psychology class. Results suggest that the frequency of lecture attendance is significantly, but moderately, related to better academic performance and that ‘always’ attending lectures is the best indicator of academic performance. These results are discussed in relation to understanding lecture non-attendance and improving academic performance.

The Fallible Phallus: A Discourse Analysis of Male Sexuality in a South African Men's Interest Magazine:

This article presents a discourse analysis of the constructions of male sexuality in the South African publication Mens Health. The focus of the analysis was a series of monthly featured articles on best sexual practices and behaviour. Since the magazines content appears to confront men with, on the one hand, the construction of the ideal, potent phallus, and, on the other hand, the fallibility inherent in attempting to live up to this ideal, the overarching discourse in the texts was termed the ‘Fallible Phallus’. By stipulating ideal sexual experiences and then juxtaposing these descriptions with the threat of those moments not occurring, a paradox is created in the texts between the phallic dominance of masculinity and the anxieties and insecurities that may result from sexual failure. The Fallible Phallus discourse is a synthesis of four subsidiary themes derived from the texts, namely the male sexual drive theme, the inadequacies of male sexuality, the rule book of sexual practices, and the problematic nature of female sexuality. In the discussion of these themes, it is suggested that the texts use male sexual performance as a yardstick for assessing level of masculinity.

Working memory functioning in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A comparison between subtypes and normal controls

Objective: Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience working memory difficulties. However, research findings are inconsistent, making it difficult to compare results across studies. There are several reasons for this inconsistency. Firstly, most studies make no distinction between ADHD subtypes, despite evidence that predominantly inattentive ADHD (ADHD/I) represents a different neurocognitive profile to the hyperactive-impulsive subtype (ADHD/HI). Secondly, documented studies use different tests of working memory which may be measuring different skills. Some assess only the verbal components of working memory and others the visuo-spatial; few of the tests assess both. Further, some tests employ a recognition methodology and others use recall, which require different brain regions and cognitive processes. To clarify these inconsistencies, the verbal and visuo-spatial working memory of children with ADHD/I, ADHD/HI and a control group with no ADHD symptoms were compared. Method: The Automated Working Memory Assessment and Ravens Coloured Progressive Matrices were administered to 72 children (ADHD/I n = 27; ADHD/HI n = 25; control n = 20). Results: The ADHD groups performed similarly, but were significantly poorer than the control group in all aspects of working memory. Storage abilities were stronger than processing abilities, while verbal and visuo-spatial abilities were equally developed for all groups. Conclusion: ADHD-related deficits were apparent across working memory components, even when IQ was controlled for, suggesting a generalised impairment.

Use of the 1996 Griffiths Mental Development Scales for infants: a pilot study with a Black, South African sample

Objectives: Over the last few years, researchers have made a significant effort to address the need for more reliable and valid assessment measures for South Africa. The objective of this study was to acquire empirical data regarding the use and application of the Griffiths Mental Development Scales with Black South African infants. Methods: Specifically, the study aimed to make a preliminary cross-cultural comparison of the performance of Black South African infants and the British normative sample of the Griffiths Scales (Huntley 1996). The South African sample consisted of 40 infants aged between 13 and 16 months, with approximately equal numbers of boys and girls. Results: The finding was that the South African sample performed significantly better than the British norm group on the Eye-Hand Co-ordination Scale (Scale D) and the Performance Scale (Scale E), while the norm group scored significantly higher on the Personal-Social Scale (Scale B). Conclusion: The implications of these results are discussed in the paper.

Does Aircraft Noise Impair Learners' Reading Comprehension, Attention and Working Memory? A Pilot Study

The study sought to determine whether the cognitive performance of learners is affected by exposure to aircraft noise. The cognitive performance (reading comprehension, attention and memory) of 174 learners aged 9–13 years (males = 69, females = 68; Unidentified = 37), attending a public school in a high aircraft noise areas was compared with that of learners attending a matched public school with typical noise for a school setting. Cognitive performance was assessed by means of a reading comprehension test, as well as tests of attention, intelligence, working memory, and episodic memory. Significant between group differences were observed in reading comprehension and sustained visual attention.

A Comparison between Verbal Working Memory and Vocabulary in Bilingual and Monolingual South African School Beginners: Implications for Bilingual Language Assessment.

This study compared bilingual and monolingual school beginners on measures of simple and complex verbal working memory and receptive and expressive vocabulary. The aim was to determine whether the tests of working memory are fairer measures of language ability than the vocabulary tests for bilingual children when tested in their second language. Participants were 120 school beginners, comprising English first- (monolingual) and second-language (bilingual) speakers, matched for age, grade and socio-economic background. All were being educated in English. Results showed that (1) the monolinguals outperformed the bilinguals on both expressive and receptive vocabulary; (2) there were no significant differences between the language groups on any of the working memory tests, when receptive and expressive vocabulary both were and were not statistically controlled; and (3) from the working memory measures, Digit Span tasks were significantly associated with vocabulary for both language groups, while Non-word Recall and Counting Recall were only related to vocabulary for the monolinguals. The findings have theoretical and practical implications for the functioning of verbal working memory in bilinguals and the types of verbal working memory measures suitable for assessing the language abilities of bilingual children.

A cross-cultural comparison between South African and British students on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales Third Edition (WAIS-III)

There is debate regarding the appropriate use of Western cognitive measures with individuals from very diverse backgrounds to that of the norm population. Given the dated research in this area and the considerable socio-economic changes that South Africa has witnessed over the past 20 years, this paper reports on the use of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Third Edition (WAIS-III), the most commonly used measure of intelligence, with an English second language, multilingual, low socio-economic group of black, South African university students. Their performance on the WAIS-III was compared to that of a predominantly white, British, monolingual, higher socio-economic group. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the WAIS-III lacks measurement invariance between the two groups, suggesting that it may be tapping different constructs in each group. The UK group significantly outperformed the SA group on the knowledge-based verbal, and some non-verbal subtests, while the SA group performed significantly better on measures of Processing Speed (PS). The groups did not differ significantly on the Matrix Reasoning subtest and on those working memory subtests with minimal reliance on language, which appear to be the least culturally biased. Group differences were investigated further in a set of principal components analyses, which revealed that the WAIS-III scores loaded differently for the UK and SA groups. While the SA group appeared to treat the PS subtests differently to those measuring perceptual organization and non-verbal reasoning, the UK group seemed to approach all of these subtests similarly. These results have important implications for the cognitive assessment of individuals from culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse circumstances.

Psychological assessment in post-apartheid South Africa: the way forward

In 2014, South Africa is into its 20th year since the 1994 elections which ushered in a democratic government and marked the official end of apartheid. The discipline of Psychology has in this time attained many milestones, several of which relate to the sub-discipline of psychological assessment. Prior to, during, and post-apartheid, psychological assessment featured as one of the most contentious areas in the history of the country, as well as the history of Psychology. In this article, we provide some critical insights into those aspects in the history of psychological assessment in South Africa that have led it to be the provocative field it is today. We also identify the positive contributions of psychological assessment that have facilitated South Africa’s movement towards a more just and equitable society. The article concludes with suggestions for the future development of psychological assessment and how it can serve to enhance the discipline of Psychology and the wellbeing of South Africans.

Working Memory in ADHD: A Comparison of British and South African Children

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the following issues: (a) Do students with ADHD have a pervasive pattern of impaired working memory skills across verbal and visuospatial domains? (b) is there evidence for a similar pattern of deficits across U.K. and South African students? and (c) which working memory tasks can effectively identify students with ADHD from TD peers? Method: Four groups of children participated in the study: students with ADHD and TD from the United Kingdom and students with ADHD and TD from South Africa. Results: There were several key findings. First, the students with ADHD in South Africa performed significantly worse than the other groups (ADHD-United Kingdom, TD-United Kingdom, and TD-South Africa) in verbal and visuospatial short-term memory measures. Next, students with ADHD in the United Kingdom and South Africa exhibited working memory deficits extended to the visuospatial domain. This pattern was consistent with previous research in developmental populations (Alloway et al., 2006) and in adult samples (Kane et al., 2004; Park et al., 2002). A related finding was that the memory deficits in the students with ADHD (in the United Kingdom and South Africa) were significantly worse than their TD counterparts even when IQ and age were statistically accounted. These persistent deficits fit well accumulating evidence of the importance of working memory in learning. Conclusion: Practical implications for education will be discussed in the context of appropriate diagnosis and support in the classroom.

Working memory functioning in deaf primary school children: Implications for inclusive education

Working memory is a limited capacity system in which information is temporarily stored and processed. Its optimal functioning is essential for educational attainment from the earliest grade. The working memory system enables the storage and mental manipulation of information during classroom learning activities that are crucial for the acquisition of complex skills and knowledge. Given the South African Department of Educations commitment to inclusive education, it was deemed important to consider the visual working memory functioning of deaf learners and how this may differ, if at all, from that of hearing children. In this study, the visuospatial components of working memory were assessed in 24 deaf children and 15 matched, hearing children, to determine what, if any, differences existed between these groups. The results indicated that the hearing children scored significantly higher than the deaf children on virtually all components of visuospatial short-term and working memory. The implication of thi...