Zoe Bablekou

Effects of face and name presentation on memory for associated verbal descriptors

Sixty-four participants were tested on immediate and delayed recall of verbal information about people accompanied by photographs of them, in comparison to verbal information about people accompanied by written names of them. Forty-two descriptive sentences were shown in a fixed random order, each associated with a photograph of one of 6 people (7 facts per depicted person), and another 42 sentences were paired with the written name of one of 6 people (7 facts per named person). Participants had to recall as many facts about each face or name as they could, 5 min after the presentation and then a week later. More information was recalled when paired with a photographic image than when paired with a name, especially in the delayed recall condition. Facts referring to a certain face or name were not attributed to a different face or name. Females excelled males on both short- and long-term retention of information. Face-related performance improved significantly when participants became aware of the precise design and memory demands of the task, but name-related performance did not improve.

Working memory and vocabulary development in Greek preschool and primary school children

The present research investigated the relative contributions of verbal short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) to vocabulary development in the early years among Greek-speaking children. Participants were 5.5-, 7.5-, 8.5- and 9.5-year-old (N = 216) native speakers of Greek, a language differing from English in which most investigations have been conducted. Children were assessed with a receptive vocabulary task, four verbal STM measures (word, digit, and non-word list recall, as well as word list matching), and three verbal WM tasks (listening, counting, and backward digit recall). Results offer support to the view that both STM and WM influence vocabulary development in early stages. Vocabulary was associated with verbal STM at 7.5 and 8.5 years, but only with verbal WM at 5.5 years. Associations declined with age (by 9.5 years), earlier than in English-speaking children. Findings are discussed in relation to Greek language characteristics, demonstrating the importance of cross-cultural investigations.

Intellectual assessment of children and adolescents: The case of Greece

The article reviews the history of intellectual assessment of children and adolescents in Greece, as well as procedures, current practices, and future directions. Although the history of special education is long in Greece, there has been very sporadic and incoherent legislation and decision making on the subject. Currently, intelligence tests are used by Greeces Diagnosis, Differential Diagnosis, and Support Centers for individuals with special needs to assess eligibility for special education, as school psychologist positions are sparse. Since the tests used in Greece are standardizations of those developed in the United States, the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory appears to be the main basis of test interpretation.

Dominant and Submissive Language in Children's Conversational Acts: A Gender Comparison.

This paper reviews the literature concerning differences in the linguistic style of girls/boys in everyday interactions, and presents empirical data from a study with Greek school children. Two age groups were studied, 6.5 years (N=100) and 9.5 years (N=100), respectively. Everyday life situations were presented, asking children to express what they would do if a certain situation occurred. Our main hypothesis predicted that girls would adopt a more passive and submissive conversational style whereas boys would express themselves using more dominant and more aggressive communication styles. The results confirmed the above prediction: gender differences were observed when children responded to hypothetical everyday life situations. However, at 9.5 years, differences in dominant/submissive style and also in talkativeness became much milder. Results are interpreted in the frame of a combined socio‐cultural and social‐developmental account. The differences observed appear to be related to specific ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ roles, attributed to the two sexes by societal norms. RÉSUMÉ: Dans cet article nous effectuons une revue de la littérature concernant les différences dans le style linguistique des filles et des garçons, lors des interactions de la vie quotidienne, et présentons des données empiriques issues d’une étude portant sur des écoliers grecs. Deux groupes d’âge sont étudiés: 6.5 ans (N=100) et 9.5 ans (N=100). Des situations de la vie quotidienne sont présentées, en demandant aux enfants de dire ce qu’ils feraient si une certaine situation se produisait. L’hypothèse principale de cette étude est que les filles adoptent un style conversationnel plus passif et soumis que les garçons, alors que ces derniers s’expriment en utilisant des styles de communication plus dominants et plus agressifs. Les résultats ont confirmé cette prédiction: des différences de genre ont été observées lorsque les enfants ont répondu à des situations de vie quotidiennes hypothétiques. Cependant, à l’âge de 9.5 ans, les différences au niveau du style dominant/soumis ainsi qu’au niveau de la verbalisation semblent être moindres. Les résultats sont interprétés au sein d’une approche socio‐culturelle et socio‐développementale. Il semble que les différences observées soient liées aux rôles spécifiques, ‘masculins’ et ‘féminins’, attribués aux deux sexes par les normes sociales. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Dieser Review präsentiert die aktuelle Literatur in Bezug auf das linguistische Muster von Junger bzw. Mädchen in deren alltäglichen Interaktionen, und stellt Daten aus einer Studie mit Griechische Schulkindern vor. Zwei Alters Gruppen wurden untersucht, jeweils von 6.5 (N=100) und 9.5 (N=100) Jahren. Den Kindern wurden Alltagssituationen vorgestellt, und Sie wurden aufgefordert, sich mündlich dazu auszudrücken, wie Sie in diesen Situationen reagieren würden. Unsere Hypothese bestand darin, dass die Mädchen eine passivere und unterwürfigere Ausdrucksweise annehmen wurden als die Jungen, wobei sich die Jungen mit einem Dominierendären und aggressiveren Kommunikationsart ausdrücken würden. Die Ergebnisse haben unsere Hypothese bestätigt: Es wurden in den hypothetischen Alltagssituationen Geschlechtsbedingte Unterschiede bei den Antworten der Kinder beobachtet. Allerdings in der 9.5 Jahre Alt Gruppe, die Unterschiede zwischen Dominante und unterwürfige Art, sowie die Gesprächigkeit, sind milder geworden. Die Ergebnisse sind in deren entsprechende soziokulturelle und sozioentwicklungs zusammenhängende Rahmen, interpretiert. Die Unterschiede scheinen in Zusammenhang mit dem bestimmten stereotypischen Verhalten der ‘männlichen’ und ‘weiblichen’ Personen zu stehen, die den beiden Geschlechtern durch soziale Normen zugeschrieben sind. RESUMEN: El presente artículo incluye una revisión teórica de los estudios que han investigado las diferencias de estilo lingüístico entre niños y niñas en interacciones cotidianas, y presenta datos empíricos de un estudio con niños griegos en edad escolar. Se estudiaron dos grupos de niños, con una media de edad de 6.5 (N=100) y 9.5 años (N=100), respectivamente. Concretamente, se les presentaba a los niños situaciones cotidianas, y se les preguntaba, qué harían si se encontrasen en una situación similar. Nuestra hipótesis principal predecía que las niñas adoptarían un estilo conversacional más pasivo y sumiso en comparación con los niños; mientras que ellos se expresarían usando un estilo de comunicación más dominante y agresivo. Los resultados confirmaron esta predicción: es decir, se observaron diferencias de género cuando los niños respondieron a situaciones cotidianas hipotéticas. Sin embargo, a los 9 años y medio, las diferencias en el estilo dominante/sumiso y hablador disminuyeron. Los resultados son interpretados desde el marco de una combinación de explicaciones socio‐culturales y de desarrollo social. Las diferencias observadas parecen estar relacionadas con roles específicos de ‘masculinidad’ y ‘feminidad’, que son atribuidos a los dos sexos a través de normas sociales.