This study investigates the role of perception and sensory motor learning on speech production in L2. Compared to natural language learning, acoustic input in formal adult instruction is deprived of multiple sensory motor cues and lacks the imitation component. Consequently, it is possible that inaccurate pronunciation results from training.…

In spite of the relevant role of prosody in communication, and in contrast with other linguistic components, there is paucity of research in this field for Williams syndrome (WS). Therefore, this study performed a systematic assessment of prosodic abilities in WS. The Spanish version of the Profiling Elements of Prosody in Speech-Communication…

Two experiments study the effects of age and sex on the ability of 3-1/2- to 6-year-old children to use nonverbal cues in identifying affiliative relationships. (SDH)

This paper describes a delayed response experiment which tested children's memory for the location of a hidden object. Eight boys and eight girls at each of two age levels (25 and 37 months) were assigned to each of four experimental conditions and given eight trials in a 9-choice task. On each trial the child saw the object hidden in one of nine…

Examined the effects of two levels of causality (intentional-accidental), outcome quality (good-bad), and affected object (human being-physical object) on the evaluations of acts and actors and the related response latencies. Four age groups of 128 children (5-11 years) were studied, using eight stories and two 4-point scales of good-bad and…

This study investigated the hypothesis that as children become older they are increasingly likely to make efficient use of accessible retrieval cues. Results confirmed the hypothesis. (ST)

Three experiments examined 4- to 10-month-olds' perception of audio-visual (A-V) temporal synchrony cues in the presence or absence of rhythmic pattern cues. Results established that infants of all ages could discriminate between two different audio-visual rhythmic events. Only 10-month-olds detected a desynchronization of the auditory and visual…

Investigated 7-year-olds', 9-year-olds', and adults' ability to classify children's and adults' faces by sex using only biological based internal facial structure. Found that participants categorized adult faces by sex at accuracy levels varying from just above chance (7-year-olds) to nearly perfect (adults). All groups were less accurate for…

Discusses changes occurring in two-, four-, and six-month-old infants' visual attention span, through a series of experiments examining their ability to orient to peripheral visual stimuli. The results obtained were consistent with the hypothesis that infants get faster with age in shifting attention to a spatial location. (AA)