Zooming in on speech production: Cumulative semantic interference and the processing of compounds

Diese Dissertation untersucht einige ungeklärten Aspekte der Sprachproduktion. Das erste Ziel war es zu klären, wie Komposita (z.B. Goldfisch) auf der lexikalisch-syntaktischen Ebene unseres Sprachproduktionssystems repräsentiert sind. Gibt es dort einen einzelnen lexikalischen Eintrag für das gesamte Kompositum (GOLDFISCH) oder mehrere Einträge für jedes seiner Konstituenten (GOLD und FISCH), welche beim Sprechen zusammengesetzt werden? Zur Beantwortung dieser Frage wurde die sogenannte kumulative semantische Interferenz (KSI) verwendet. Dieser semantische Kontexteffekt beschreibt die Beobachtung, dass die Benennlatenzen von Sprechern systematisch länger werden, wenn diese eine Reihe von semantisch verwandten Bildern benennen. Obwohl KSI bereits viel als Instrument in der Sprachproduktionsforschung genutzt wird, sind einige Fragen rund um den Effekt selbst noch offen. Das zweite Ziel dieser Dissertation war es daher einige dieser Fragen mit Hilfe von behavioralen und elektrophysiologischen Maßen zu beantworten, um so unser Verständnis von KSI zu erweitern. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass KSI ihren Ursprung auf der konzeptuellen Ebene des Sprachproduktionssystems hat und dass sie nicht von der morphologischen Komplexität der verwendeten Begriffe moduliert wird, aber davon, wie häufig diese benannt werden. Diese Erkenntnisse ermöglichen es in der Zukunft zielgenauere Vorhersagen zu machen, wenn KSI als Forschungsinstrument verwendet wird. Die Ergebnisse zeigen zudem, dass die Konstituenten von Komposita während deren Produktion aktiviert werden. Dies belegt, dass Komposita in einer komplexen Struktur repräsentiert sind, die aus einem Eintrag für das ganze Kompositum und zusätzlichen Einträgen für die Konstituenten besteht. Somit zeigen diese Ergebnisse, dass die Morphologie bereits die Repräsentationen auf der lexikalisch-syntaktischen Ebene beeinflusst und erweitern somit unser Wissen über den Aufbau unseres Sprachproduktionssystems.This dissertation addresses unresolved issues concerning speech production processes and the cognitive architecture of our speech production system. The first aim was to answer the question how compounds (e.g., goldfish) are represented on the lexical-syntactic level of our speech production system. Is there a single entry for the whole compound (GOLDFISH) or multiple ones for each of its constituents (GOLD and FISH), which are assembled for each use? To investigate this question, we used the cumulative semantic interference (CSI) effect. This semantic context effect describes the observation that speakers’ naming latencies systematically increase when naming a sequence of semantically related pictures. Although CSI has been extensively used as a tool in language production research, several aspects of it are not fully understood. Thus, the second aim of this dissertation was to close some of these knowledge gaps and gain a more comprehensive understanding of CSI. In three studies, we first investigated the CSI effect, before using it as a tool to study the lexical representation of compounds. Behavioural and electrophysiological data from the first two studies point to a purely conceptual origin of CSI. Furthermore, they revealed that CSI is not influenced by the items’ morphological complexity but affected by item repetition. These findings advance our understanding of CSI and thus allow us to make more informed predictions when using CSI as a research tool. The last study showed that the compounds’ constituents are activated during compound production, which provides evidence for a complex lexical-syntactic representation of compounds, consisting of one entry for the holistic compound and additional entries for each of its constituents. This dissertation thus reveals that the morphological complexity of compounds affects the lexical-syntactic level during speech production and thus advances our understanding of the architecture of our speech production system

Career Choice With the Serious Game Like2be

Choosing a career is an important biographical event for adolescents. Toward the end of compulsory education, they must decide which career path they want to pursue. The serious game like2be was developed to support adolescents in this individual career choice process. In a quasi-experimental intervention study with 809 adolescents, like2be was evaluated for its effectiveness in career choice classes at the lower secondary level. In addition, a teaching concept for the application of the serious game which included additional teaching materials was analyzed. The data show that like2be is an effective medium for broadening personal career choice horizons, especially when it is pedagogically well-founded and integrated into career choice classes. Although the effectiveness of like2be in stimulating intensive reflection on one's own vocational aptitude or a gender-sensitive attitude towards occupations is limited, the present study shows that like2be has major potential for supporting the process of career choice among adolescents

"Anästhesie verstehen" – ein interaktives web-basiertes Fallseminar

Das multimediale Lernprogramm „Anästhesie verstehen“ entstand im Rahmen der Dissertation und ist die erste Version eines web-basierten, fallorientierten Lernprogramms im Fachbereich Anästhesie der Veterinärmedizin an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Ziel des Lernprogramms war die Erstellung und Bereitstellung einer Lernumgebung, die gleichermaßen für alle Studierende zugänglich ist, die der Erarbeitung und Vertiefung von Wissensinhalten der Anästhesie und Notfallmedizin dient und zusätzlich ein Nachschlagewerk zur Verfügung stellt. Das Lernprogramm erlaubt Studierenden vorlesungs- und rotationsbegleitend klinische Fälle aufzuarbeiten sowie theoretisch und praktisch erlangtes Wissen orts- und zeitunabhängig zu vertiefen

"Anästhesie verstehen" – ein interaktives web-basiertes Fallseminar

Das multimediale Lernprogramm „Anästhesie verstehen“ entstand im Rahmen der Dissertation und ist die erste Version eines web-basierten, fallorientierten Lernprogramms im Fachbereich Anästhesie der Veterinärmedizin an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Ziel des Lernprogramms war die Erstellung und Bereitstellung einer Lernumgebung, die gleichermaßen für alle Studierende zugänglich ist, die der Erarbeitung und Vertiefung von Wissensinhalten der Anästhesie und Notfallmedizin dient und zusätzlich ein Nachschlagewerk zur Verfügung stellt. Das Lernprogramm erlaubt Studierenden vorlesungs- und rotationsbegleitend klinische Fälle aufzuarbeiten sowie theoretisch und praktisch erlangtes Wissen orts- und zeitunabhängig zu vertiefen

Development of intraindividual value structures in middle childhood: A multicultural and longitudinal investigation

Objective We examined changes in value interrelations during middle childhood. In line with the Personal Values Theory, we expected a value system, with individuals similarly valuing related motivations, and setting priorities between conflicting motivations. We hypothesized this system to develop dynamically during middle childhood as children deepen their understanding of their own values. Method Using unfolding analysis, we estimated intraindividual value structure coherence, that is, the extent to which the interrelations among a child's values are similar to the hypothesized interrelations. Cross-Cultural Study 1 (N = 4615, 6–12-year-old children) included children from 12 countries. Cross-Sequential Study 2 (N = 629, 6–10-year-old children at Time 1) included three annual measurements. Results In Study 1, we found a curvilinear association between age and intraindividual value structure coherence: Children's values were more coherent at ages 9–10 than before or after. Study 2 confirmed this pattern of within-individual development. Conclusions We propose that development in coherence with the theoretical value structure offers insight into children's understanding of values as well as changes in value priorities

Values in the School Curriculum from Teachers' Perspective: A mixed-methods Study

The transmission of human values plays a key role in the educational landscape around the world (Matthes, 2014; Beck, 1990; Halstead, 1996), and educational frameworks (c.f. OECD , 2019; Council of Europe , 2016) as well as national school curricula (c.f. National Curriculum , Ofsted, 2018 ; Lehrplan 21 , D -EDK, 2016) are based on values that are considered important. However, empirical research into how values are structurally reflected in school curricula and how these values are perceived in the school environment by teachers is very limited. This mixed-methods study is the first of its kind to provide findings based on data from Switzerland, where a new comprehensive curriculum has recently been introduced. Schwartz's theory of basic human values (1992), the most widely researched values framework, serves as its conceptual framework. A Qualitative Content Analysis of the Swiss educational curriculum ( Lehrplan 21 , D -EDK, 2016) revealed a wealth of references to values, with a focus on values belonging to Schwartz' higher order values Openness to Change (Basic values: Self-Direction and Stimulation ), Conservation ( Tradition, Conformity and Security ) and Self-Transcendence ( Benevolence and Universalism ). On the other hand, values belonging to the higher order value of Self-Enhancement ( Power and Achievement ) did not play an important role in the investigated curriculum. In a complementary quantitative study, the value statements from the Swiss educational curriculum were embedded in a questionnaire, which 108 (102 female (94.4%), 6 male (5.6%)) primary school teachers completed with regard to how they perceive the value-oriented curricular contents in their school environment. Multidimensional Scaling revealed that teachers' perception of value-oriented curricular contents in their school environment was structured alongside Schwartz's motivational continuum of values, with values of Openness to Change being opposed to values of Conservation , and values of Self-Transcendence being opposed to values of Self-Enhancement

Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Serious Gaming in the Field of Vocational Orientation

This study investigates the effectiveness of the serious game like2be, which has been developed to support the individual career orientation process of adolescents by broadening their occupational horizon. In this paper, we present results from an intervention study with n = 809 adolescents in Swiss schools at the lower secondary education level. To analyze the extent to which cognitive, affective, and motivational factors are stimulated and what influence they have on expanding knowledge about occupations (measured learning outcome), we applied confirmatory factor analysis, multiple linear regression, and a structural equation model. The results indicate that the stimulation of cognitive processes through serious gaming has a statistically significant impact on learning outcome, although such factors as enjoyment, flow experience, or self-perceived benefits in playing like2be did not significantly impact gain in knowledge about occupations

The relationship between young children’s personal values and their teacher-rated behaviors in the classroom

There has been little research on the relationships between children’s personal values and the behaviors that express such values in the school context. In the present study, we examined for the first time with children at this young age, the relations between values and their value-related behaviors, i.e., supportive, disciplined, learning-oriented, and achievement-oriented, in the primary school context. The sample consisted of 952 primary school children (51.5% boys; Mage = 7.93; SD = 0.35). Data used in this study were collected in 2022 in Switzerland. A multilevel analysis confirmed the hypothesis that systematic relationships between values and teacher-rated behaviors can be demonstrated with young children. However, gender was the strongest predictor of teacher-rated children’s classroom behaviors. The results highlight the significance of understanding children’s value-behavior relations, teachers’ possible gender stereotypes of children’s behaviors, and its practical importance in the school context

The interplay between teachers’ value-related educational goals and their value-related school climate over time

Values education within the school context is, among other elements, shaped by a value-related school climate as well as teachers’ value-related educational goals. This longitudinal study investigated the interplay between these two elements over fifteen months, starting in March 2021, and including four points of measurement (t1 − t4). The sample consisted of 118 primary school teachers (years 1 and 2) from primary schools in Switzerland. Teachers’ value-related educational goals were measured with the Portrait Values Questionnaire, and teachers’ perception of their school climate was measured with the 12-Item School Climate Measure Scale. Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models along with Multiple Imputation for missing data were used to investigate the reciprocal relationships along the four dimensions of value-related educational goals represented by Schwartz’s Higher-Order Value Types: Openness to Change, Conservation, Self-Enhancement, and Self-Transcendence and their corresponding dimensions of a perceived value-related school climate of Innovation, Stability, Performance, and Support. For the dimensions “Innovation and Openness to Change,” the analyses revealed that the perceived value-related school climate of Innovation predicted teachers’ value-related educational goals of Openness to Change significantly from t1 to t2, while an effect in the opposite direction from t2 to t3 and from t3 to t4 was found. For the dimension “Stability and Conservation,” the analyses revealed that the perceived value-related school climate of Stability predicted teachers’ value-related educational goals of Conservation from t3 to t4. These findings are discussed in light of the dynamic processes of values education within the school environment as well as in the context of environmental and societal developments

Latent Class Analysis of University Lecturers' Switch to Online Teaching during the First COVID-19 Lockdown: The Role of Educational Technology, Self-Efficacy, and Institutional Support

The switch to emergency remote teaching (ERT) due to the first COVID-19 lockdown demanded a lot from university lecturers yet did not pose the same challenge to all of them. This study sought to explain differences among lecturers ( n = 796) from universities in France, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK in their use of educational technology for teaching, institutional support, and personal factors. Guided by the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), lecturers' behavior (educational technology use), environment (institutional support), and personal factors (ERT self-efficacy, continuance intentions, and demographics) were examined. Latent class analysis was employed to identify different types of lecturers in view of educational technology use, while multinomial regression and Wald chi-square test were used to distinguish classes. The largest latent class were Presenters (45.6%), who focused on content delivery, followed by Strivers (22.1%), who strived for social interaction, Routineers (19.6%), who were ready for online teaching, and Evaders (12.7%), who evaded using technology for educational purposes. Both personal factors and perceived institutional support explained class membership significantly. Accordingly, Evaders were older, less experienced, and rarely perceived institutional support as useful. Routineers , the Evaders' counterparts, felt most self-efficient in ERT and held the highest continuance intentions for educational technology use. This research suggests that universities engage lecturers in evidence-based professional development that seeks shared visions of digital transformation, networks and communities, and design-based research