Showing papers on "Perceptual learning published in 1979"

How specific are perceptual skills? A cross‐cultural study of pattern reproduction*

Abstract: Pattern reproduction tasks were presented in four different media to samples of urban Zambian and urban British schoolchildren. When the patterns were reproduced as wire models, the Zambian children excelled the British. When the patterns were reproduced by drawing, the British children excelled the Zambian. No reliable cross-cultural differences were found when the patterns were reproduced as plasticine models or as configurations of hand positions. Both cultural groups were equally adversely affected when required to perform the modelling tasks or the hand positions task blind-folded. The results are interpreted as suggesting that cross-cultural differences in performance of pattern reproduction tasks reflect different sets of highly specific perceptual skills rather than differences on broader cognitive variables such as practical intelligence, field-dependency or sensotypes.

Prediction of later cognitive behavior from early school perceptual-motor, perceptual, and cognitive performances.

Abstract: Multiple regression equations were generated to predict cognitive achievement for 189 young children (ages 57 to 92 mo.) 1 yr. after original administration of a battery of perceptual-motor, perceptual, and cognitive tests. Regression equations generated from maximum R2 improvement techniques indicated that a battery of perceptual and perceptual-motor performances at pre-kindergarten is useful for prediction of cognitive performance 1 yr. later at kindergarten level. This battery included one fine and two gross perceptual-motor tasks, and one visual and two auditory perceptual tasks. Inclusion of original cognitive performances did not improve the optimal prediction equation for this age group. In contrast, cognitive achievement at first grade and, particularly, at second grade levels was best predicted from knowledge of earlier cognitive performances.

Schema Learning Theory: An Approach to Perceptual Learning

Abstract: to the above approaches by extending the concept of psychological distance to stimulus properties. Finally, this paper will make some concluding remarks concerning the utility of schema learning research applied to perceptual learning, and culture-free measures of learning ability. The emphasis of this paper is upon current research identifying future trends which appear in the literature. The basic idea of the schema was first introduced by Bartlett (1932) in accounting for changes in memory over time as tending to be more approximate to the familiar. Bartlett viewed experience as being mediated in some form by the effects of organization derived from the experience which acts to organize further experiences. Woodworth (1938) refined and clarified this concept of schema when he noted that configurations of new experiences are remembered in terms of a schema with the addition of a correction factor. People tend to classify new stimulus objects in the environment into general classes and then specify the exception or correction of the object in relation to that classificatory schema. Attneave (1957) concluded from the work of Woodworth that this represented a view of schema as consisting, "at least in part of some representation of the central tendency or communality of the class of objects in question" (p. 454).

Locus of the effect of specific practice in continuous visual search

Abstract: Specific practice in a visual search task can result either in a selective elaboration of the feature lists of the task stimuli or in a selective emphasis of their status within the task (targets vs. nontargets). According to the first explanation, which is related to the differentiation principle of perceptual learning, specific practice enhances the operation of stimulus identification. According to the second explanation, which is related to the enrichment principle of perceptual learning, it enhances the operation of response selection. Evidence from two transfer experiments with a reversal paradigm argues in favor of the second view, at least for tasks with easily codable letter stimuli. The results are discussed in the framework of a recent model of information integration in visual search.

Acquiring a Concept of Painting Style

Abstract: The work of one painter may be distinguished from that of another by differences in non-specific visual characteristics. Certain visual elements will consistently appear in the work of any artist, and the sum of these elements is called style. Courses in art history usually teach painting styles by presenting students with a number of examples, labeling each according to painter, and often providing descriptions of relevant attributes. Learning to discriminate painting styles is a prototypical concept formation task (Walk, 1967). There are two ways in which teaching painting styles differs from most experimental concept formation tasks: the relevant dimensions and attributes are more difficult to identify, and the rules by which these stimuli may be assigned to categories are complex and difficult to state. Nevertheless, the general concept learning paradigm (e.g., Bourne, 1966) is very appropriate to the learning of painting styles. Experience with individual instances of a painter's work can lead to an ability to correctly identify works that have not previously been encountered. There are theoretical bases for postulating direct perceptual coding of complex visual stimuli (Arnheim, 1969; Paivio, 1971). The role of informative feedback, including verbalization of concept rules, may be an important determinant of acquisition, retention, and generalization of painting style concepts as with concept learning more generally. The contribution of verbal information as an aid to the learning of style concepts is the subject of debate, for it is not certain that the concepts generated by such complex visual stimuli as paintings can be translated accurately into the verbal mode (Pylyshyn, 1973). Evans (1967) has presented empirical evidence indicating that nonverbal (schematic) concepts may be acquired without feedback. Even when explicit feedback is available it may have only negligible effects on concept attainment (Cahoon, 1970). The role of verbal feedback in the acquisition of a concept of painting style thus may or may not merit the importance placed upon it in teaching practice. Social learning theory, described by Albert Bandura (1969) in his research on vicarious or imitative learning with young children, has been shown to affect children's concept formation skills as well as their social behavior. Gerst (1971) found that symbolic coding of modeling stimuli enhanced observational learning. Coding was defined as the process of forming summary labels which encompassed the essential element of the model's performance. Gerst reported a significant relationship between the retention of summary codes and delayed reproduction of modeled responses. Rosenthal, Alford, and Rasp (1972) studied concept attainment as a result of observation (modeling) in second graders. Rosenthal et al. used an imitation phase without extrinsic reinforcers (Bandura and Barab, 1971) and used three kinds of information (weak verbal code, strong verbal code, strong code plus rule) to guide correct responses. High verbal code groups generally outperformed low-code groups. Zimmerman and Rosenthal (1972) introduced a knowledge-of-results (feedback) dimension into an observational learning concept-formation experiment. They found that nonmodeling groups appeared to profit from feedback, while modeling groups did not. Vicarious procedures produced stronger results than the practice-plus-feedback approach.

Are Perceptual Skills Necessary for Success in Reading? Which Ones?.

Abstract: Numerous reading and reading readiness programs have been made available to teachers over the years, constructed on the assumption that certain auditory and visual perceptual skills are prerequisites to successful achievement in academics, particularly reading. Many educators have suggested that children who have been labeled learning or reading disabled demonstrate deficits at the perceptual level. In fact, many of those who have been instrumental in the field of learning disabilities have suggested that all learning disabled children have perceptual processing problems and that these perceptual problems are at the root of their learning disabilities (Barsch 1965; Cruickshank, 1977; Frostig, 1970; Getman, 1965; Kephart, 1960; Wepman, 1974). ARE PERCEPTUAL SKILLS NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS IN READING? WHICH ONES?

Relationships Between Visual and Auditory Perceptual Skills and Comprehension in Students with Learning Disabilities

Abstract: The outcome of a correlational study that examined the relationships between visual and auditory perceptual skills and comprehension is reported. Scores of 25 learning disabled students (aged 9 to 13) were compared on five tests: a visual-perceptual test (Coloured Progressive Matrices); an auditory-perceptual test (Auditory Motor Placement); a listening and reading comprehension test (Durrell Listening-Reading Series); and a word recognition test (Word Recognition subtest, Diagnostic Reading Scales). The correlation coefficients indicated highly significant relationships between visual-perceptual skills and listening comprehension, and between visual-perceptual skills and reading comprehension only when the effect of word recognition skills was controlled statistically. Auditory-perceptual skills, however, were more closely related to reading comprehension than to listening comprehension. Although word recognition skills explained much of the variance in reading comprehension among the learning disabled s...

Screening for perceptual skills dysfunction: an up-date.

Abstract: The paper argues that the primary-care practitioner has an obligation to screen the visual and auditory perceptual skills of all his/her elementary school-aged patients. Two easy-to-administer tests are described, along with guidelines for interpreting and making decisions on the basis of test outcomes.

The definition and assessment of visual and auditory perception

Abstract: Perceptual tests are among the most frequently administered clinical instruments. They offer several different explanations for various perceptual regularities and irregularities, depending upon the orientation of the user. The very frequently administered Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test (BVMGT) (Bender, 1938) is an example of an assumed measure of visual perceptual discrimination, when in fact the manual motor response being ascertained may lead to several diagnoses. The BVMGT, and many of the other perceptual tests are often administered in order to determine: (1) childhood psychosis, (2) cerebral pathologies, (3) learning disabilities, (4) developmental lag, (5) intelligence, and even (6) personality development. The question of course is, what price is paid for the adaptable usage of perceptual tests? Is it possible that a usage which fits all or any theory of human pathology or developmental discrepancy, can impede the development of perceptual theories, which in turn may prohibit new test ...

Oculomotor Factors In Visual Perceptual Response Efficiency

Abstract: The preprogramming of saccadic eye movements is examined by studying the pattern of oculomotor sequences while scanning a visual display The effects of interference employing a backward masking paradigm on the oculomotor response as well as on position judgment and stimulus identification are examined Data indicate that the motor programming of an ocular saccade is linked to the perceptual analysis of target position and cannot be set in motion with an impairment in perceptual localization

Stimulus recognition as a factor in establishing the effective properties of the signal

Abstract: An attempt was made to estimate the importance of preliminary perceptual learning of the recognition of indifferent stimulus for the formation of effective properties of the trigger signal of conditioned reflex functional system. The dynamics of the elaboration of instrumental conditioned reflexes was compared: 1) when an unfamiliar signal was introduced into the experimental environment (control experiments). 2) in case of introduction of a perceptually familiar signal, 3) after "erasing" of acquired perceptual experience by electroshock. The experiments revealed that a preliminary perceptual learning contributes to the formation of the effective properties of the trigger signal.

Auditory and Visual Perception, Sex, and Academic Aptitude As Predictors of Achievement for First-Grade Children.

Abstract: This study explored the relationships among visual and auditory perception, academic aptitude, sex, and school achievement. The participants were first-grade children from an east central Indiana p...

The effects of labeling and perceptual training on perception and discrimination learning in young children1

Abstract: Ninety-six seven- and nine-year-olds were tested under four experimental conditions. A “distinctive label” group associated four different gender-cued labels with four infants’ faces. An “equivalent label” group associated only two of these labels. There were also two no-label groups: “differential perception” and “perception”. In the former, perceptual cues were provided; no cues were provided in the latter. The main measures were perception and discrimination learning tests. Nine-year-olds were not affected by the labels, seven-year-olds were, but more significantly during initial trials. A proposed explanation is that perception is affected by labels, perceptual learning and selective attention. These effects are determined developmentally. That is, as age increases the effects of verbal cues diminish and those of perceptual cues increase. The findings are related to cross-cultural data, indicating that Israeli toddlers classify according to gender earlier than their American counterparts. This is probably because Hebrew more than English contains distinctive linguistic cues related to gender.

Individual differences in visual discrimination of letters.

Abstract: curvature, angularity, and closure. The solution disclosed that individuals utilized these features differentially in the visual discriminations. The results suggest that future research in visual feature extraction will benefit from the examination of individual variations in the perceptual process. An integral part of E. J. Gibson's (1969) theory of perceptual learning was the postulate that individuals differ in their ability to extract distinctive feature information. This difference was viewed as developmental, a function of age and experience. Using letters and letter-like symbols, Gibson and her associates (Gibson, Gibson, Pick, & Osser, 1962; Gibson, Osser, Schiff, & Smith, 1963; Gibson, Schapiro, & Yonas, 1968) demonstrated that the developmental differences were both quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative improvements were reflected in the increased speed and accuracy of visual discrimination. Qualitative improvements were inferred from increases in the specificity of discriminations. Perceptions became progressively more differentiated and attuned to stimulus characteristics. In a related finding, Gibson (1970) noted interesting differences between the hierarchical clusterings (Johnson, 1967) of children's and adults' data from an earlier study (Gibson, et al., 1968). In particular, tree diagrams of the clusterings suggested that adults relied more heavily on angular features in making their discriminations, while children made relatively more use of a srraight-curve distinction. She hypothesized that older subjects used certain distinctive features more than younger subjects did and their discriminations represented a more "~esialt-like processing." Other evidence for a developmental improvement in utilization of distinctive features has come from eye-movement studies. Using letters (Nodine & Steuerle, 1973) and letter-like symbols (Nodine & Simmons, 1974), Nodine and his associates have shown increases, with age, in both the economy and selectivity of eye-movements. Third graders required not only fewer fixations than kindergarteners to arrive at same-different judgments, but they also fixated proportionately more features critical to correct discriminations in the grapheme