Studies of simple visual and auditory reaction processes published since Teichner are reviewed, with emphasis on the preparatory phase of these processes, particularly the foreperiod (FP). The first section consists of the analysis of actual FP variables: duration, regularity, range, distribution, and preceding FPs. The second section deals with factors affecting the relation between FP and reaction time (RT): (a) the modality, intensity, probability, and duration of the warning signal and reaction stimulus (RS) and (b) the speed-accuracy trade-off. It is suggested that the subject's expectancy (momentary probability of the immediate delivery of the RS) is the most important determinant of the preparation to respond to the RS at any moment during a trial and, hence, of RT. Many factors exert their influence on preparation through their effect on expectancy. Other factors have a direct influence on preparation: short-term exhaustion and fatigue, immediate arousal evoked by intense auditory stimuli, the subject's stimulus criterion, the speed-accuracy trade-off, and fluctuation in motor preparedness owing to inaccuracies in the control of motor preparation.

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In this two‐year longitudinal study, we sought to examine the developmental relationships among early narrative listening comprehension and language skills (i.e., vocabulary knowledge, sentence memory, and phonological awareness) and the roles of these factors in predicting narrative listening comprehension at the age of 6 years. We also sought to examine the role of inference‐making skills as longitudinal and concurrent predictors of other language skills and listening comprehension from the age of 4 to 6 years. One hundred thirty Finnish‐speaking children participated in the study. A theoretical model of the developmental relationships among the variables was proposed and the associations were analyzed by means of path analysis. Results showed that inference skills, assessed through picture‐book viewing, made a significant and unique contribution to variation in later narrative listening comprehension. Inference skills also played an indirect role in narrative listening comprehension by making a significant contribution to vocabulary knowledge even after controlling for earlier vocabulary knowledge and sentence memory. Although vocabulary knowledge and sentence memory were related to concurrent narrative listening comprehension, they did not predict later listening comprehension over and above the autoregressor. The results are discussed in terms of the predictive validity and diagnostic sensitivity of inference skills assessments in listening comprehension. Implications for research and theory are also discussed.

S This study investigated the trajectories of preschool and first‐grade children's development of reading skills, as well as the cognitive and social antecedents of that development. One‐hundred and ninety‐six 5‐ to 6‐year‐old children were tested in October and April of their preschool year and again in the first grade. Data included measures of reading ability and its cognitive and social antecedents, which were analyzed using Simplex and Piecewise Growth Curve Modeling. The results showed that during the preschool year individual differences in reading grew larger and that this growth was faster among those who entered preschool with well‐developed skills. However, during the first grade individual differences in reading diminished. The results suggest that systematic reading instruction in primary school education is more beneficial for children with less developed literacy skills, whereas children with more developed reading skills gain relatively less from reading instruction in the first grade. ESTE ESTUDIO investigó el curso evolutivo de las habilidades de lectura en niños de pre‐escolar y escuela primaria, así como los antecedentes cognitivos y sociales de dicho desarrollo. Ciento noventa y seis niños de 5 a 6 años fueron evaluados en octubre y abril en pre‐escolar y nuevamente en primer grado. Los datos incluyeron medidas de habilidad de lectura y sus antecedentes cognitivos y sociales y fueron analizados usando el método “Simplex and Piecewise Growth Curve Modeling.” Los resultados mostraron que, durante el año de pre‐escolar las diferencias individuales en lectura aumentaron y que este crecimiento fue más rápido entre aquellos que entraron a preescolar con habilidades bien desarrolladas. Sin embargo, durante el primer grado, las diferencias individuales en lectura disminuyeron. Los resultados sugieren que la enseñanza sistemática de la lectura en la educación primaria es más beneficiosa para los niños con habilidades de lectoescritura menos desarrolladas; en tanto que los niños con habilidades de lectura más desarrolladas obtienen relativamente menos beneficios de la enseñanza de la lectura en primer grado. DIESE STUDIE untersuchte die Gedankenbahnen bei der Entwicklung von Leseleistungen von Kindern in der Vorschule und der ersten Klasse, sowie die kognitiven und sozialen Antezedentien dieser Entwicklung. Einhundertsechsundneunzig fünf bis sechs Jahre alte Kinder wurden im Oktober und im April während ihres Vorschuljahres und dann nochmals in der ersten Klasse geprüft. Die Daten umfassten das Ermessen der Lesefähigkeit und deren kognitiven und sozialen Antezedentien, die mittels Nutzung der “Simplex‐ und Piecewise” Wachstumsmodellkurven analysiert wurden. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, daß sich während des Vorschuljahres individuelle Differenzen im Lesen verbesserten und daß dieser Zuwachs bei jenen, die mit bereits gut entwickelten Leistungen in der Vorschule begannen, schneller vonstatten ging. Jedoch verringerten sich individuelle Differenzen während der ersten Klasse. Die Ergebnisse empfehlen, d...

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