Biomedical subjects

John Clibbens

Publications and source records attributed to John Clibbens.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Where's the orange? Geometric and extra-geometric influences on English children's descriptions of spatial locations.

The effect of both geometric and extra-geometric factors on children's production of in is reported (free-response paradigm). Eighty children across four age groups (means 4;1, 5;5, 6;1, and 7;1) were shown video scenes of puppets placing real objects in various positions with reference to a bowl and a plate. Located objects were placed at three heights on top of piles of other objects in the scene. The extrageometric factor of location control of the located object was manipulated by comparing static scenes to dynamic scenes in which the located object was depicted as either moving independently of, or together with, the reference object. Additionally, the located object was placed on other objects that were either the same or different (e.g. an apple on apples or on oranges). The results indicate that even the youngest children altered the way they talked according to not only geometric but also extra-geometric factors.

Child↗

PubMed2003

Explicit and implicit processes in multicue judgment.

In two experiments, a multicue probability learning task was used to train participants in relating judgments to a criterion, on the basis of several cues that could or could not be relevant. The outcome feedback had 25% added noise to simulate real-world experience-based learning. Judgmental strategies acquired were measured by individual multiple linear regression analyses of a test phase (with no feedback) and were compared with self-ratings of cue relevance. In a third experiment, participants were instructed explicitly on cue relevance, with no training phase. The pattern of results suggested that both implicit and explicit cognitive processes influenced judgments and that they may have been sensitive to different task manipulations in the learning phase. On more complex tasks, despite weak explicit learning, explicit processes continued to influence judgments, producing a decrement in performance. These findings explain why studies of expert judgment often show only moderate levels of self-insight, since people have only partial access to the processes determining their judgments.

Cognition↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Strategies for achieving joint attention when signing to children with Down's syndrome.

Research indicates that joint attention is an important factor in determining the rate and nature of early vocabulary development in typically developing children. Studies conducted with deaf children acquiring sign language indicate that caregivers adopt special strategies for achieving joint attention with this group: these strategies make allowance for the visual medium in which the language is transmitted. Joint attention is also important for the development of communication in children with Down's syndrome, who also often have restricted attentional capacity. Moreover, there is good evidence that the use of signed input in addition to speech can have significant benefits for these children. This paper reports on a study designed to explore the utility of strategies observed in deaf parents for the achievement of joint attention when signing with children with Down's syndrome. Data are presented from recordings of four children with Down's syndrome and their mothers. The results showed that the mothers were successful in enabling the child to perceive both signed input and contextual referents much of the time, but that the range of strategies used was very limited compared to deaf parents of deaf children. Adopting a wider range of strategies would allow a considerable increase in signed input. Implications for intervention programmes are discussed.

Attention↗