ERIC Number: ED071742
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1972
Pages: 2
Abstractor: N/A
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Information Processing in Auditory-Visual Conflict.
Henker, Barbara A.; Whalen, Carol K.
Proceedings, 80th Annual Convention, APA, 1972, p129-130
The present study used a set of bimodal (auditory-visual) conflict designed specifically for the preschool child. The basic component was a match-to-sample sequence designed to reduce the often-found contaminating factors in studies with young children: failure to understand or remember instructions, inability to perform the indicator response, or disinterest or avoidance. The Ss were 99 children, mostly from low-income neighborhoods. All major ethnic groups were represented. Two age groups separated by a 4-mo. interval were selected to facilitate identification of developmental changes. The visual stimuli were photographs of people, animals, and common objects. The task, in all series, was to match basic categories such as "trucks" or "horses". For the Auditory (A) series (and Bimodal Conflict, BC), the sample was a tape-recorded sound (cat meowing) or a label ("dog"). Procedures were designed to give the advantage of both primacy and recency to visual matches. First, a shaping procedure was used to teach the match-to-sample set in the visual mode. After five training items, the practice series was presented: four V items, eight A items and then four V trials. Results of the initial BC test showed a marked age difference in modality choice. The majority of the older children (59%) selected V matches, while very few of the younger children (13%) chose to match the V stimuli. It is clear that the primacy and recency of the V trials in the training-practice series did not discourage A responding in younger Ss. It is further suggested that the developmental difference was a function of the 5-year-old's more malleable task set. Implications are given. (CK)
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Sponsor: Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC. Regional Research Program.
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Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A