OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Oxtoby, Richard"

Browsing by Author "Oxtoby, Richard"

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Open Access
An analysis of the development of a lay relationship counselling training programme in Gugulethu
(1999) Cooke, Judy; Oxtoby, Richard
The principles and policies of primary mental health care and developmental social welfare in South Africa have in common a comprehensive, people-centred, equitable approach to addressing the discriminatory practices of the past in a transforming South Africa (Freeman & Pillay, 1997, White Paper for Social Welfare, 1997). The training and utilization of community members to render front-line services in historically disadvantaged communities has been envisaged as one of the strategies which can help alleviate the situation. The Department of Social Welfare sees a particular role for specialist human service organisations in assisting with the development of appropriate capacity-building programmes for this purpose. This study analyses a training programme in action of one such organisation, FAMSA (Family and Marriage Society of South Africa) W.Cape. The programme involved the initiation of the "Family Foundation", a lay, community-based, volunteer, relationship-counselling service. It is part of FAMSA W.Cape's project to extend its services in Cape Town's townships. It used an adult-learner, experiential training model developed by FAMSA's National Council (1990), which is based on Western therapeutic traditions, into which local training materials and an international developmental perspective were introduced. The chief aims of the study were to examine the appropriateness and effectiveness of the model in the township context, and to draw out of the process of implementation and the participants, new information and theory, to enrich and improve the model. The study therefore falls under the umbrella of community psychology and action research. The researcher held the combined roles of trainer and participant observer during the research period from July 1996 -- July 1998. A qualitative, "grounded theory" methodology was employed (Strauss & Corbin, 1990), in which audiotaped, transcribed data collected from the ﬁrst group of trainees in group training sessions and semi- structured individual interviews was thematically analysed. The dominant theme related to the crossing and maintaining or creating of boundaries and structures during the implementation process. The role of support in community developmental work which is widely acknowledged as important (Holdsworth, 1994, Sterling & Lazarus, 1995), was another key theme of the study. A third major theme was that of identity construction. Subsidiary themes of culture, language, gender, power, and participation were interwoven with these. Various theoretical perspectives, predominantly the psychodynamic one of the training model, were used to examine them, assess effectiveness of implementation and make recommendations for future practice and policy-making in this area.
Open Access
The behaviour of children one year after a head injury
(1991) Newman, Evelyn Elizabeth; Oxtoby, Richard
This study examines the behavioural sequelae in 116 subjects aged between 5 and 14 years 1 year after a head injury. Subjects were selected from consecutive admissions to trauma units on the basis of neurological criteria. Severity of injury was graded according to duration of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA). There were 53 children in the Moderate group with PTA less than 24 hours; 37 children in the Severe group with PTA between 1 and 7 days and 26 children in the Very Severe group with PTA over 7 days. The head-injured subjects were matched for age, sex, ethnic group and socio-economic background with 37 Controls who had trauma not involving the head. There are two main objectives to this thesis. The first is to establish which of the behaviours present in the head-injured children at one year follow-up could be attributed to their head injury. This was achieved in two ways: By separating behaviours which presented for the first time in the post-traumatic period from those with a pre-traumatic origin and through the identification of other factors such as pre-morbid behaviour patterns and persistent psychosocial adversity which may have contributed to post-head injury behaviour patterns. The above two steps made it possible to determine the existence of a defined post-traumatic syndrome. The second main objective was simply to establish whether there was a dose-response relationship between the severity of the head injury and behavioural sequelae. The areas examined included physical complaints, developmental problems, activity levels, social problems, disturbances of mood and control, neurotic behaviour and mental symptoms.
Open Access
Burnout, work environment, and coping in surgical hospital nurses
(1996) Nixon, Michal; Oxtoby, Richard
This study examined the extent of burnout (as conceptualized by Maslach and Jackson (1981): emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and diminished personal accomplishment) being experienced by nurses in a South African state hospital, and its associations with a range of work environment variables and the ways in which nurses generally cope with their stress. This exploratory study took the form of a cross-sectional, correlational field survey, in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from surgical hospital nurses by means of self-report questionnaires. Quantitative measures included were the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach & Jackson, 1981), the Work Environment Scale (WES; Moos, 1986) and the Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced Scale (COPE; Carver, Scheier & Weintraub, 1989). Additional quantitative measures of personal control, support, sense of appreciation and job satisfaction were obtained from visual analogue rating scales. The qualitative data comprised a frequency analysis of themes evident in the content of subjects' written responses to four open-ended questions posed in the questionnaire. On each of the three burnout subscales, respondents' scores were categorized into low, moderate or high levels of burnout. Apart from correlational and ANOVA analyses, performed in order to examine relationships between variables and differences in terms of demographics, nursing categories, and nursing specialities, discriminant analyses were performed in order to identify those variables which were experienced differently by nurses reporting different levels of burnout. A number of significant predictors of burnout were identified. Of the work environment variables examined in the study, higher levels of work pressure, diminished physical comfort, and lack of peer cohesion predicted higher levels of emotional exhaustion. Lack of physical comfort and perceived lack of supervisor support were strongly associated with higher levels of depersonalization. Generally, lower levels of perceived autonomy and supervisor support were associated with a diminished sense of personal accomplishment. Regarding coping, frequent use of the problem-focused strategy of planning was found to be associated with lower levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Frequent use of the emotion-focused strategies of positive reinterpretation, seeking emotional social support, and acceptance were related to higher levels of personal accomplishment, whereas increased use of the emotion-focused strategy of denial was strongly associated with diminished personal accomplishment. Regarding palliative/avoidant coping strategies, frequent behavioural disengagement was associated with higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and mental disengagement and focusing/venting of emotions were related to higher levels of emotional exhaustion.
Open Access
The development of children's interpretation of emotion in music
(1996) Wild, Lauren; Oxtoby, Richard
The relationship between music and emotion is complex, and has defied explanation for a great many years. The present study addressed one particular aspect of this issue: to what extent can young children interpret the emotions expressed in short musical excerpts drawn from larger works, and how do their interpretations differ from those of adults and change as they mature? Following an appraisal of current theoretical approaches and empirical research, a structural model of emotions incorporating the ideas of fuzzy, prototypically organised emotion concepts based on underlying dimensions of degree of pleasure and arousal or activation (Bullock & Russell, 1984, 1986; Russell, 1989) was used to reveal and interpret patterns and developmental trends in children's understanding of emotion in music. 5-year-old, 7-yearold and 9-year-old children and adults (n = 30 in each age group) participated in the main study. They were asked to link 18 musical excerpts to an emotion word/facial expression pair selected from the following alternatives: calm, happy, excited, scared, angry/cross and sad. These were presented to the subjects in a set of three tasks utilising different combinations of musical excerpts and emotion words.
Open Access
Dichotic recall indices of lateralized cerebral processing of abstract, concrete and emotional Zulu word stimuli in FS+ and FS- dextrals
(1994) Magwaza, Goodwill; Oxtoby, Richard
This thesis reports a basic cognitive neuropsychological experiment which employed an original dichotic recall test to assess lateralized cerebral processing of abstract, concrete and emotional Zulu word stimuli among 32 male and 30 female dextral (right- handed) Zulu-speakers, consisting of 14 males and 12 females with sinistral (left-handed) blood relatives (FS+ ~ and 18 males and 18 females with no sinistral blood relatives (FS-). The present dichotic listening experiment investigated whether abstract word stimuli are recalled more poorly or better than either concrete or emotional word stimuli, and whether concrete word stimuli are recalled better or more poorly than emotional word stimuli. It also investigated whether recall of abstract, concrete and emotional word stimuli yield a right ear advantage CREA) or left ear advantage (LEA).
Open Access
The effect of test anxiety on IQ test performance, achievement, and self-concept in elementary schoolchildren
(1984) Baddeley, Gillian Mary; Oxtoby, Richard; Dawes, Andrew
IQ test performance of elementary schoolchildren was investigated as a function of two levels of test anxiety and two types of IQ measure. IQ measures used, the New South African Group Test (NSAGT) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R) were assumed to vary in anxiety-provoking cues on cognitive-attentional theoretical grounds. The hypothesis tested was that high test anxiety would lower performance on the NSAGT, but not the WISC-R. The performance of children varying in test anxiety but equivalent in intelligence was then compared at different IQ levels with the hypothesis that high-test anxious children would perform less well at each level. Academic achievement and self-concept of these children were also investigated, with the hypotheses that high-test-anxious children would be lower in both than low-test-anxious children of equivalent intelligence. The Test Anxiety Scale for Children, the Defensiveness Scale for Children and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale were administered to all Standard 4 pupils at two white, English-language, co-educational schools in middle-class suburbs. Highly defensive children were eliminated; the top and bottom 20% of the test anxiety distribution formed the experimental groups, high-test-anxious (HA; n=28) and low-test-anxious (LA; n=27) who were tested blind, in random order, on the WISC-R NSAGT and achievement data were obtained from school records and subjects assigned to High, Medium and Low IQ levels based on NSAGT scores. Analysis of variance indicated that HA children obtained significantly lower IQ scores independent of type of IQ measure.
Open Access
The effects of clobazam and lorazepam on patient's psychomotor performance and anxiety
(1982) Oblowitz, Howard Keith; Oxtoby, Richard
Psychomotor performance, drowsiness and anxiety were measured in 70 anxious outpatients in a randomized double-blind, placebo- controlled trial comparing the 1,5 benzodiazepine clobazam (10 mg (two times a day) to lorazepam (1 mg two times a day). Carefully selected tests were administered pre-treatment and at 2 and 9 days after treatment. Compliance was checked by blood assays. There was a significant improvement in anxiety in the clobazam, lorazepam and placebo groups at 2 days and a further improvement at 9 days but only in the clobazam and lorazepam groups. The lorazepam patients had a significantly higher overall drowsiness rating than the clobazam and placebo groups. Both the clobazam and placebo groups showed an improvement over time in choice reaction time, the Digit Symbol Substitution Test, Purdue Pegboard tests and the Inglis paired-associate learning test. There was no change in critical flicker fusion threshold. The lorazepam-treated patients demonstrated exactly the same pattern on psychomotor performance tests except that there was an impairment in two of the Purdue pegboard tests on day 2. On the basis of previous volunteer studies with lorazepam, a far more general and consistent impairment of psychomotor performance was expected with that drug. This indicates that the finding derived from normal volunteers cannot necessarily be extrapolated to anxious patients. The possible reasons for the different responses in volunteers and patients are discussed. The practical implications of the various findings and the recommendations for future research are also considered.
Open Access
The effects of three relaxation training programmes on anxiety and self-concept
(1983) Parkes, Virginia Eve; Oxtoby, Richard
My interest in what makes people fail, originated in my work with emotionally disturbed children overseas. The description of Seligman (1968) dragging dogs about a shuttle-box to prove to them that they could influence their environment, reminded me of having to physically restrain children on occasions to force them to see that they had succeeded at a task. There was a constant cry which seemed to ring through the school of: "How can you know you can't until you try." These children seemed determined to defeat their own efforts.
Open Access
An experimental investigation into the efficacy of multicomponent treatment programmes for test-anxious student nurses
(1989) Marais, Dorothea W M; Oxtoby, Richard
The present investigation was initiated with the aim of assessing the efficacy of multicomponent treatment programmes for test-anxiety in student nurses, in order to develop a programme that could be included in the nursing curricula. The subjects were 103 student nurses currently in their first year of the four-year Diploma in Nursing (General, Community and Psychiatry) and Midwifery at Carinus Nursing College CCNC). They had been randomly allocated to four classes at the College. The study compared high-test-anxious, low-test-anxious and mid-test-anxious subjects within these four groups, three of which received multicomponent treatment programmes, while the fourth was the control· group. Programmes comprised Systematic Desensitisation (SD), Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training and Guided Imagery (PMRT & Gl) and Study Skills Training (SST), each of which included a core component of cognitive restructuring. Treatment spanned six weeks. The following self-report questionnaires were used at pre- and post-intervention: The Anxiety Achievement Test
Open Access
Factors conducive to success in nursing : a predictive study
(1983) Bezuidenhout, Paul Bruce; Oxtoby, Richard
The purpose of this study was to determine which biographical or personality variables might be used as indicators of success or failure in a nurse-training program. The population consisted of 502 nursing students in various stages of a diploma course at either the Carinus or Otto Du Plessis Nursing College during June and July 1980. The students received their practical training at one of ten hospitals in the Western Cape Region. The students were given the Personal, Home, Social and Formal Relations Questionnaire (PHSF), the IPAT Anxiety Scale and a biographical questionnaire (designed by the researcher). Both the PHSF and IPAT are multiple choice questionnaires. For the purpose of this study a successful student was one who was rated average or above average in the college as well as the hospital, who enjoyed her work and intended making nursing her profession. An unsuccessful nursing student was one who resigned as a result of not being able to cope, emotional problems and a general dissatisfaction with her job.
Open Access
Group treatment for the parents of children with learning-disabilities : as a means of changing the attitudes of parents towards such children, and the effect of such a change on the remediation of the learning disability
(1986) Vosters, Carly J A; Steere, Jane; Oxtoby, Richard
[page 127 missing] A research was done on the attitudes of parents towards learning-disabled children and on the behaviour rating of the children by their parents (experiment A) and on group treatment for parents of learning-disabled children (experiment B). EXPERIMENT A The experimental group consisted of parents of 28 learning-disabled children. The children were in sub A, B, or std I, attending regular primary schools and received remedial tuition. The control group consisted of 30 parents of children who achieve normally. The two groups were matched for socio-economic status, family structure, age and sex of child. The attitudes of the two groups of parents were compared with the help of the Hereford Parent Attitude Survey (1963). It is designed to measure the dimensions of attitudes of parents towards their children. The scale consists of five subscales measuring: confidence in parental role, causation of child's behaviour, acceptance of child's behaviour and feelings, mutual understanding and mutual trust. Every subscale contains 15 items, each of which is rated on a five point scale ranging from +2 to -2. The sum of the item score in each area serves as the parent's total score for that attitude area. The higher the score the better the attitude. VI It was found that: Parents of normal achieving children scored higher on the subscales measuring understanding, causation and on the total score of the attitude survey than parents of learning-disabled did. The parents' behaviour ratings of their children were compared with the Parent-Teacher Behavior Rating Scale for Underachieving Children by Rie (1976). This scale measures overt behaviour characteristics of children. It consists of seven subscales, measuring: activity, achievement, sociability, attention, distractibility, disruptability, and need-achievement. Each subscale contains five items each of which is rated on a five point scale of frequency of occurrence. The higher the score the more favourable the behaviour. It was found that: experimental group parents rated their children's behaviour less favourably on each subscale than parents in the control group. EXPERIMENT B: Mothers of learning-disabled children were divided into three groups: experimental group A, the counselling group; experimental group B, the teaching group; and control group C, the non-treatment group. Group A participated in supportive, reflective group counselling, the discussions were 'parent focussed'. The characteristics of a learning-disability were explained to the parents in group B, discussions were 'child focussed'. Parental attitude and behaviour measures taken after treatment were compared with the previous measures. Teachers moni- Vil tored the behaviour of .the children with the same behaviour rating scale on a weekly basis, while treatment took place. It was found that: Mothers in group A scored higher after treatment on the attitude subscale measuring 'trust' than before treatment. Teachers found that behaviour of children whose parents participated in group B improved significantly. The results of the study indicate that if treatment procedures based on counselling and teaching methods are combined, attitude change of parents and behaviour improvement in children will be facilitated.
Open Access
An investigation of the relationship between rate of responding during and acquisition and resistance to experimental extinction.
(1975) Marshall, Andrew John; Oxtoby, Richard
The aim of the present series of experiments was to show that a direct relationship exists between two measures of response strength- rate of responding and resistance to extinction. Experiments I and II used a different subjects design, with three pigeons, one at each level of the independent variable. The results of experiment I (fixed interval schedules) and experiment II (variable interval schedules) were similar - no systematic relationship between the two variables under observation was found. Experiments III and IV controlled individual differences by using multiple schedules of reinforcement. The results of experiment III, where three pigeons were exposed to the same MULT FI schedule yielded a direct function between the two measures of response strength. Experiment IV used a MULT CONJ FI-FR(DRL-DRH) schedule with three pigeons exposed to both levels of the independent variable, so that control could be exercised simultaneously over both number of reinforcements and "time-in-schedule". The trend of the data obtained was in the same direction as that found in experiment III. It was thus concluded, with individual differences controlled for, that rate of responding and resistance to extinction were directly related, and hence adequately mirror response strength.
Open Access
A multicomponent treatment programme for text-anxious elementary schoolchildren
(1988) Baddeley, Gillian Mary; Oxtoby, Richard
The efficacy was assessed of multicomponent treatment in reducing test anxiety, and improving self-concept and examination performance, in test-anxious elementary schoolchildren. A core programme was devised, comprising three components: systematic desensitization, cognitive restructuring and informal study skills training. Two further components, one each for teachers and parents were added, giving a 'contextualised' programme. Three complementary studies compared either the contextualised programme with a no-treatment, non-identified, control condition (Study 1: n = 40; Study 3: n = 24), or the core programme with an attention-placebo control condition (Study 2: n = 26). It was hypothesised that Studies 1 and 3 would show significant between-group differences at post-test, with experimental subjects showing a significant decline in test anxiety and gains in achievement and self-concept. In Study 2, no significant between-group differences were hypothesised: subjects receiving the core treatment or attention-placebo programme being expected to show a similar degree of reduction in test anxiety and gain in self-concept, but no improvement in achievement.
Open Access
Neuropsychological impairment in children following head injury
(1989) Hemp, Frances; De Villiers, J C; Oxtoby, Richard
There is a high incidence of head injury in children, yet few studies have systematically studied cognitive outcome. This study was designed as a survey to (a) establish the nature of intellectual and neuropsychological deficits that occur after head injuries of differing severity in children aged 6 to 14 years, (b) establish the nature of recovery curves in the first year after injury, and (c) determine which medical and psychosocial factors are associated with poor cognitive outcome and which functions show persisting impairment. From 1134 children admitted with head injury to Red Cross and Groote Schuur Hospitals during a 2-year period, a consecutive sample of all those who had post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) over 1 hour, a compound depressed or basal skull fracture, a seizure, or any evidence of neurological involvement, was collected (n=388). Further requirements that they should be between 6 and 14 years, English or Afrikaans speaking, and have no history of significant cerebral pathology or mental retardation, reduced the sample to 123 children. Severity groups were formed according to the length of PTA: 56 moderates (PTA less than 1 day), 40 severes (PTA 1 to 7 days), and 28 very severes (PTA more than 7 days). They were matched for age, sex, socioeconomic status and ethnic group with 46 controls who had traumatic injury not involving the head. Detailed accident, medical and psychosocial data were collected. The children were assessed on a battery of tests covering intelligence, language, motor speed, visuographic and memory functions, as soon as they were out of PTA (Tl), 3 months later (T2), and at 1-year post-injury (T3). The 4 groups are compared at each interval on Tukey' s studentized range test and the extent of recovery within and between the groups is compared by repeated measures analysis of variance.
Open Access
Neuropsychological sequelae of paediatric posterior fossa brain tumours : the effect on quality of life
(2002) Leng, Jeanette Anne; Hemp, Frances; Peter, Jonathan; Oxtoby, Richard
Bibliography: leaves 248-285.
Open Access
Provisional formulation of normative data for semi and unskilled black and coloured workers on the Trail making Test
(1988) Daly, Nigel; Oxtoby, Richard
This study provides a provisional normative range of performance for the South African semi- and unskilled black and coloured population groups on the Trail Making Test. One hundred and six black and coloured semi- and unskilled workers from the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, satisfying the criteria of 8 years or less of formal education, with no neurological impairment or psychopathology, and some degree of literacy, were randomly selected. Parts A and B of the Trail Making Test were then administered and scored, and the scores reported in tabular form, broken up in terms of race, age and education. A statistical analysis (multiple linear regression) was applied to the data and additional information on the effects of age, education and sex on test performance briefly discussed in terms of previous research findings. The results of this study add weight to Dugmore's (1987) assertion that existing norms currently in use for the Trail making Test are invalid for these population groups. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research were also briefly discussed.
Open Access
The quality of life in epilepsy : a South African study
(1999) Whitefield, Victoria Jane; Oxtoby, Richard; De Villiers, C
The present study investigated the relationship between quality of life (QOL) and measures of epilepsy (i.e. seizure frequency, seizure type, duration of epilepsy and perceived seizure control) in a South African sample of adults with epilepsy. A 3I item quality of life inventory (QOLIE-31) which has been cross culturally translated was administered to 72 epilepsy adults ( age range 17-65 years) across three sites (Groote Schuur Hospital, Tygerberg I-Iospitai and South African National Epilepsy League SANEL) in the Western Cape. Forty individuals were classified as "coloured" and 32 were classified as " white". Data was collected and scored using the QOLIE -31 scoring manual and then analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The ANOVA and Logistic Regression analysis support a significant relationship between the quality of life of the sample and the measure of perceived seizure control (p < 0.0001), although the prediction on that measure is relatively poor, due to the sample size and number in each cell per variable. The explorative analysis, PRINCALS, looking at the relationship between the demographic variables of the sample group, quality of life and significant measures of epilepsy, illustrates a relationship between employment and site as well as between race and the subscale of emotion. In addition, the second analysis yields strong correlations between seizure frequency and seizure control, social and cognitive aspects of epilepsy and less explicit correlations between emotional aspects and quality of life. The results support other research on quality of life in epilepsy. The instrument is comprehensive, easy to score and appears to adequately assess the primary concerns of individuals who are living with epilepsy, except for the concern over autonomy and independence. Limitations of the study include the small sample size as well as the exclusion of other cultural groups in South Africa which would require further translations and validations of the inventory. The findings support the fact that epilepsy is a disorder characterized by a "loss of control" and that perceived seizure frequency serves to reinforce the perception of control. As a diagnosis however it cannot be separated from psychosocial, emotional and physical functioning and well-being. In addition cross-cultural differences in the perception of epilepsy need to he explored more fitlly in terms of the patient who defines his/her own quality of life, in his/her own particular context. When measuring quality of life cross-culturally, an instrument that has been culturally validated and translated to a particular cultural gnoup must be employed. Further investigations involving a broader cultural and linguistic sample group are warranted.
Open Access
The relationship between scholastic performance and neuropsychological functioning in a sample of institutionalised children
(1988) Blakey, Judy Ann; Oxtoby, Richard
Professional staff attached to Child Welfare in Cape Town are aware of the lack of academic attainment of a large number of children in alternative care. The current research investigated the relationship between scholastic performance and neuropsychological functioning in a sample of institutionalised children from culturally deprived families. A multiple case study of 21 children, ranging in age from 6 to 16 years, comprising 10 girls and 11 boys attending the same primary school, provided data on neuropsychological, behavioural and family history dimensions. A multi-model assessment approach tapped diverse sources of evidence, including the following 5 parameters: 1) The Sensory Parameter: Snellen's Visual Acuity test, and either Merryweather & Steenkamp's or Wepman's Auditory Discrimination tests. 2) The Motor Parameter: Denckla's Revised Neurological Examination for Subtle Signs and the Purdue Pegboard fine motor speed and coordination tests. 3) The Language Parameter: The UCT Graded Reading, Speed Reading and Graded Spelling tests. 4) The Integrative Parameter: Visuographic functioning included the Beery Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test and the WISC-R Mazes subtest. General intelligence was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised. Memory function was gauged both by the Benton Visual Retention Test (multiple choice format) and the WISC-R Digit Span subtest. Concentration was examined by combining 3 WISC-R subtest measures (Arithmetic, Digit Span & Coding) to yield a "Freedom from Distractibility" index. 5) The Personal Parameter: This included details of the children's heights and weights, as well as information regarding their self-concepts, measured by the Attitudes Towards Self Scale, a semantic differential self-report scale, developed by Nieuwoldt & Cronje. Written responses to 2 projective techniques, which included Wish fulfilment and Incomplete sentences, provided material for content analyses that yielded insights into attitudes to a variety of topics, including school, family life, hopes and fears.
Open Access
The role of illustrations in children's oral reading accuracy, strategies and comprehension at different developmental and progress levels : a psycholinguistic investigation
(1981) Donald, David R; Oxtoby, Richard
The effects of illustrations on early reading development have been subject to considerable controversy. Results and interpretations under the 'focal attention hypothesis' indicate that illustrations have a distracting effect on the learning of responses to orthographic cues in the process 6f isolated word recognition. Conversely, considerable although inconclusive evidence suggests that illustrations may be facilitative as contextual information in the process of reading and comprehending continuous prose. Within a psycholinguistic model of the reading process, the contextual hypothesis, that illustrations constitute a source of contextual redundancy which facilitates word identification accuracy, strategy and comprehension, was tested. Given the results of an earlier experiment that had confirmed the hypothesis for seven-year-old, average readers, the aim was to test the hypothesis over high and low progress readers at reading ages seven and nine. From 1868 grades I, III and V children screened on the D. Young Group Reading Test, 120 subjects at the respective reading age and progress levels were selected. Within a matched samples, 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design, subjects read 320 word narrative stories at instructional level of difficulty, with or without illustrations. Results in general confirmed the hypothesis. In particular, analysis of variance revealed that the illustration effect was strong and significant for RA7, high progress and for RA9, low progress readers; RA7, low progress readers; moderate and significant for and consistent but generally non-significant for RA9, high progress readers. This significant interactive pattern held over word identification accuracy; literal comprehension; use of semantic information (error acceptability) and rate of self-correction. Use of syntactic information was moderately and significantly facilitated across combined groups. Use of orthographic information, as predicted, was moderately and significantly reduced across combined groups. Inferential comprehension was non-significantly affected. It was concluded that, in the process of contextual reading, illustrations facilitate access to meaning; that the strength of the effect depends on the need for extra-textual contextual information and processing capabilities of the respective groups; and that the 'focal attention' effect on isolated word recognition is a particular processing case within the more general, practically relevant case of contextual reading.
Open Access
The role of illustrations in children's oral reading accuracy, strategies and comprehension at different developmental and progress levels : a psycholinguistic investigation
(1981) Donald, David R; Oxtoby, Richard
The effects of illustrations on early reading development have been subject to considerable controversy. Results and interpretations under the 'focal attention hypothesis' indicate that illustrations have a distracting effect on the learning of responses to orthographic cues in the process 6f isolated word recognition. Conversely, considerable although inconclusive evidence suggests that illustrations may be facilitative as contextual information in the process of reading and comprehending continuous prose. Within a psycholinguistic model of the reading process, the contextual hypothesis, that illustrations constitute a source of contextual redundancy which facilitates word identification accuracy, strategy and comprehension, was tested. Given the results of an earlier experiment that had confirmed the hypothesis for seven-year-old, average readers, the aim was to test the hypothesis over high and low progress readers at reading ages seven and nine. From 1868 grades I, III and V children screened on the D. Young Group Reading Test, 120 subjects at the respective reading age and progress levels were selected. Within a matched samples, 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design, subjects read 320 word narrative stories at instructional level of difficulty, with or without illustrations. Results in general confirmed the hypothesis. In particular, analysis of variance revealed that the illustration effect was strong and significant for RA7, high progress and for RA9, low progress readers; RA7, low progress readers; moderate and significant for and consistent but generally non-significant for RA9, high progress readers. This significant interactive pattern held over word identification accuracy; literal comprehension; use of semantic information (error acceptability) and rate of self-correction. Use of syntactic information was moderately and significantly facilitated across combined groups. Use of orthographic information, as predicted, was moderately and significantly reduced across combined groups. Inferential comprehension was non-significantly affected. It was concluded that, in the process of contextual reading, illustrations facilitate access to meaning; that the strength of the effect depends on the need for extra-textual contextual information and processing capabilities of the respective groups; and that the 'focal attention' effect on isolated word recognition is a particular processing case within the more general, practically relevant case of contextual reading.

Browsing by Author "Oxtoby, Richard"

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