Processing fluency is the notion that cognitive processes and their neural corre-lates can function fluently or disfluently (Reber et al., 2004; Winkielman et al., 2003; Shen et al., 2010; Wänke & Hansen, 2015). Fluent or disfluent processing has been conjectured to give rise to a subjective affective experience that is relied on in a variety of judgement tasks, like: evaluation based on perceptive features (Reber et al., 2004); formation of attitudes (Rubin et al., 2010); judging truth (see. Wänke & Hansen, 2015); evaluation and understanding of written content (Song & Schwartz, 2008; Shen et al., 2010;) and more. The aim of this study was to test the possible implicit effects on evaluative judgement of faces following a task of pairing parent to offspring of varying difficulties (by modulating the degree of similarity). This inquiry was spurred by the hypothesis that fluency pose a pro-cessing dynamic that provide experiential information that is used for aesthetic evaluation. The web-based testing used in this case was designed to test if this effect infuses items with a quality of salience that is limited to specific stimuli (face). Or if it is less defined and generalized to influence all subsequent evalua-tion. The testing group of 93 (M = 41y, SD = 13.16) participants (71 females, 17 males, 5 other), was divided into two groups with different fluency conditions. The results (r(93) = .27, p = .009) indicated that positive evaluations is more likely to follow low-fluency conditions (operationalized as pairing time). A possible ex-planation for this observation is that low-fluency conditions probably engage deeper processing of the stimulus, perhaps contributing to a more durable memory trace which provides better recognition and familiarity of the stimulus at the time of the evaluation. Furthermore, it is more than likely that fluency is sensitive to attribution during task shift, which could negate relevance of previous experience or create a contrast effect (i.e. evaluating the stimulus more favourably due to the negative valence of a previous exposure), leaving “only” the facilitating property of exposure-time to the stimuli salient. Another finding is that females on average evaluate faces more positively then males.

Arising from the increasing demands of the twenty-first century workplace, concern over learner reading performance is at the forefront of national education. The increasing demands have raised the literacy bar for learners and subsequently, schools have been forced to accommodate instruction for these increased expectations. Successful reading requires the learner to incorporate a number of reading skills in appropriate ways. Oral reading fluency and reading comprehension are identified as components in effectively gaining meaning from text. A reciprocal relationship exist between the two that allows one to comprehend more thoroughly as one reads more fluently. Additionally, as one reads more fluently, one‟s ability to comprehend also improves. This is due to the fact that one‟s brain is more capable in processing text when one is able to read fluently. Therefore, when one automatically identifies words one is able to comprehend text more completely. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a linear relationship exists between Grade 4 learners‟ oral reading fluency on different types of tests and their reading comprehension. The study was conducted within a positivistic research paradigm. A one-shot crosssectional survey design was used to determine the relationship between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension of Grade 4 learners in selected schools in Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province. Five schools, representing the different quintiles, were selected to participate in the study. A total of 406 Grade 4 learners made up the study population. Two tests were developed and validated in order to assess the learners‟ oral reading fluency and reading comprehension. The data was analysed by means of descriptive statistics as well as Pearson product-moment correlations. The results indicate that learners in rural schools could only read at 52 words per minute (wpm) which meant that they could be grouped in the 10th percentile. With regard to reading comprehension the learners in the rural areas scored an average of 54% on the first reading comprehension test. Their results on the second comprehension test indicated that they experienced difficulties with inference questions. The results indicated that learners in urban schools read at 107.5 words per minute (wpm) which meant that they could be grouped between the 50th and 75th percentile. In their first reading comprehension test they scored an average of 78%. Their results on the second comprehension test indicated that they experienced difficulties with interpretation questions. Pearson product moment correlations indicated a practically significant difference between rural and urban schools on oral reading fluency and reading comprehension with urban schools outperforming rural schools. Overall, the results indicated a practically significant relationship of r = 0.69 between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension. The findings of this study should be noted by teachers as well as be addressed in interventions as a matter of urgency. / MEd (Learner Support), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Arising from the increasing demands of the twenty-first century workplace, concern over learner reading performance is at the forefront of national education. The increasing demands have raised the literacy bar for learners and subsequently, schools have been forced to accommodate instruction for these increased expectations. Successful reading requires the learner to incorporate a number of reading skills in appropriate ways. Oral reading fluency and reading comprehension are identified as components in effectively gaining meaning from text. A reciprocal relationship exist between the two that allows one to comprehend more thoroughly as one reads more fluently. Additionally, as one reads more fluently, one‟s ability to comprehend also improves. This is due to the fact that one‟s brain is more capable in processing text when one is able to read fluently. Therefore, when one automatically identifies words one is able to comprehend text more completely. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a linear relationship exists between Grade 4 learners‟ oral reading fluency on different types of tests and their reading comprehension. The study was conducted within a positivistic research paradigm. A one-shot crosssectional survey design was used to determine the relationship between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension of Grade 4 learners in selected schools in Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province. Five schools, representing the different quintiles, were selected to participate in the study. A total of 406 Grade 4 learners made up the study population. Two tests were developed and validated in order to assess the learners‟ oral reading fluency and reading comprehension. The data was analysed by means of descriptive statistics as well as Pearson product-moment correlations. The results indicate that learners in rural schools could only read at 52 words per minute (wpm) which meant that they could be grouped in the 10th percentile. With regard to reading comprehension the learners in the rural areas scored an average of 54% on the first reading comprehension test. Their results on the second comprehension test indicated that they experienced difficulties with inference questions. The results indicated that learners in urban schools read at 107.5 words per minute (wpm) which meant that they could be grouped between the 50th and 75th percentile. In their first reading comprehension test they scored an average of 78%. Their results on the second comprehension test indicated that they experienced difficulties with interpretation questions. Pearson product moment correlations indicated a practically significant difference between rural and urban schools on oral reading fluency and reading comprehension with urban schools outperforming rural schools. Overall, the results indicated a practically significant relationship of r = 0.69 between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension. The findings of this study should be noted by teachers as well as be addressed in interventions as a matter of urgency. / MEd (Learner Support), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The main aim of this dissertation was to investigate the difference in neural language patternsrelated to language ability in healthy adults. The focus lies on unraveling the contributions of theright‐hemispheric homologues to Broca’s area in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and Wernicke’s areain the posterior temporal and inferior parietal lobes. The functions of these regions are far from fullyunderstood at present. Two study populations consisting of healthy adults and a small group ofpeople with generalized epilepsy were investigated. Individual performance scores in tests oflanguage ability were correlated with brain activation obtained with functional magnetic resonanceimaging during semantic and word fluency tasks. Performance‐dependent differences were expectedin the left‐hemispheric Broca’s and Wernicke’s area and in their right‐hemispheric counterparts. PAPER I revealed a shift in laterality towards right‐hemispheric IFG and posterior temporal lobeactivation, related to high semantic performance. The whole‐brain analysis results of PAPER IIrevealed numerous candidate regions for language ability modulation. PAPER II also confirmed thefinding of PAPER I, by showing several performance‐dependent regions in the right‐hemispheric IFGand the posterior temporal lobe. In PAPER III, a new study population of healthy adults was tested.Again, the right posterior temporal lobe was related to high semantic performance. A decrease in lefthemisphericIFG activation could be linked to high word fluency ability. In addition, task difficultywas modulated. Increased task complexity showed to correlate positively with bilateral IFGactivation. Lastly, PAPER IV investigated anti‐correlated regions. These regions are commonly knownas the default mode network (DMN) and are normally suppressed during cognitive tasks. It wasfound that people with generalized epilepsy had an inadequate suppression of regions in the DMN,and showed poorer performance in a complex language test. The results point to neural adaptabilityin the IFG and temporal lobe. Decreased left‐lateralization of the IFG and increased rightlateralizationof the posterior temporal lobe are proposed as characteristics of individuals with highlanguage ability.

Le vieillissement normal est associé à une réorganisation cérébrale qui peut être influencée par plusieurs facteurs. Des théories comme la réserve cognitive de Stern (2002) tentent d’expliquer les effets de ces différents facteurs. Certains, le niveau de scolarité par exemple, sont encore mal connus. Pourtant, le niveau de scolarité est connu pour avoir un impact sur les performances cognitives tout au long de la vie. Le but de ce mémoire est d’étudier les effets du niveau de scolarité sur l’oxygénation cérébrale de personnes âgées en santé lors d’une tâche d’évocation lexicale orthographique et sémantique. Chaque tâche est divisée selon un critère « plus productive » et « moins productive ». Les âgés faiblement scolarisés produisent moins de mots que les âgés fortement scolarisés. De plus, la différence de mots produits entre le critère plus productif et moins productif est plus grande pour la tâche sémantique que pour la tâche orthographique. Du point de vue hémodynamique, les deux groupes ont des activations semblables, contredisant le phénomène HAROLD. De plus, les participants peu scolarisés tendent à activer de façon plus importante l’hémisphère gauche, peu importe la tâche ou la condition. Par contre, les activations varient selon la tâche et la condition dans le cas du groupe fortement scolarisé. / Normal aging is associated with cerebral reorganisation which can be influenced by many factors. For example, the theory cognitive reserve (Stern, 2002) is trying to explain how those factors can have an impact on the reorganization. However, some factors, such as educational level, are known to have an impact on cognitive performance. The aim of this dissertation is to study the effect of educational level in cerebral oxygenation of healthy older adults during both phonologic and semantic verbal fluency tasks. Each task is divided into two criteria: more productive and less productive. Behavioural data showed that less educated elderly generate fewer words than more educated ones for both tasks. Moreover, the differences between the number of words for the more productive criterion and the less productive one are higher for the semantic than for the phonologic task. NIRS data showed that both groups activated prefrontal cortex, without difference between them. In addition, less educated participants tend to have bigger activations in the left hemisphere regardless of the task and the criterion. On the other hand, higher educated participants’ activations vary according to the task and the criterion unlike the HAROLD model’s predictions.

This study examined the relationship between the open-endedness of activities and the creativity of young children. Eleven prekindergarten classes were observed and rated twice using a researcher-developed instrument, the Open-endedness of Activities Rating Scale (OARS). Three classes were selected from the 11 based on their cumulative ratings in the first observation (CROBS1): the class with the lowest degree of open-endedness of activities (CLSL), the class with a medium degree of openendedness of activities (CLSM), and the class with the highest degree of open-endedness of activities (CLSH). Fifty-two "atrisk" students in these three classes (24 boys, 28 girls), who had no identified disabilities or delays, were tested utilizing Torrance's (1981) Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement (TCAM). A correlation was then drawn between the three classes' ranks of CROBS1 and their respective ranks of mean TCAM scores: fluency scores (FLUE), originality scores (ORIG), imagination scores (IMAG), and total scores (TTCAM). The 11 classes' CROBS1 was correlated and compared with their cumulative ratings in the second observation CROBS2 in order to examine the reliability of the OARS. The results from the study indicated that: (1) the researcher-developed instrument, the OARS, is reliable for research purposes; (2) the degree of openendedness of activities is significantly positively related to the level of creative thinking ability of the young children engaged in these activities; (3) increasing the open-endedness of activities is most beneficial for a class with a relatively low degree of openendedness, because a moderate increase in its open-endedness can result in a noticeable improvement in the fluency, originality, and total creative thinking ability of its students; and (4) increasing the open-endedness of activities is also beneficial for a class with a relatively medium degree of open-endedness, because a moderate increase in its open-endedness can result in a noticeable improvement in its students' imagination.

The thesis addresses Semantic Verbal Fluency test and its potential as a diagnostics of cognitive deficit at schizophrenic population. Deficit of cognitive functions, presently considered as a core symptom of this disorder, substantially impacts daily life functioning. In particular, discriminant validity of Semantic Verbal Fluency test is examined in a mentally and neurologically healthy population as well as patients diagnosed with schizophrenia aged 18 to 40 years (N=339). Furthermore, results of profound analysis using a qualitative scoring system in a selected sample group (N=47) are presented. Moreover, the study investigates the association of selected demographic variables (gender, age, years of education) with results of Semantic Verbal Fluency test. Results of our statistical analysis reveal that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia performed significantly worse than healthy controls in all examined variables (total word count, total number of semantic clusters, total number of switches, mean cluster size, percent words in clusters, ratio of cluster switches) as compared with mentally and neurologically healthy subjects. Comparable results of the two research groups were attained solely in "number of hard switches" variable. Our results further indicate a significant association between...

<p>Despite an emphasis on oral communication in most foreign language classrooms, the resource-intensive nature (i.e. time and manpower) of speaking tests hinder regular oral assessments. A possible solution is the development of a (semi-) automated scoring system. When it is used in conjunction with human raters, the consistency of computers can complement human raters’ comprehensive judgments and increase efficiency in scoring (e.g., Enright & Quinlan, 2010). In search of objective and quantifiable variables that are strongly correlated with overall oral proficiency, a number of studies have reported that some utterance fluency variables (e.g., speech rate and mean length of run) might be strong predictors for L2 learners’ speaking ability (e.g., Ginther et al., 2010; Hirotani et al., 2017). However, these findings are difficult to generalize due to small sample sizes, narrow ranges of proficiency levels, and/or a lack of data from languages other than English. The current study analyzed spontaneous speech samples collected from 170 Japanese learners at a wide range of proficiency levels determined by a well-established speaking test, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI). Prior to analysis, 48 <i>Complexity, Accuracy, Fluency</i> (CAF) measures (with a focus on fluency variables) were calculated from the speech samples. First, the study examined the relationships among the CAF measures and learner oral proficiency assessed by the ACTFL OPI. Then, using an empirically-based approach, a feasibility of using a composite measure to predict L2 oral proficiency was investigated. The results revealed that <i>Speech Speed</i> and <i>Complexity</i> variables demonstrated strong correlation to the OPI levels, and moderately strong correlations were found for the variables in the following categories: <i>Speech Quantity, Pause</i>, <i>Pause Location</i> (i.e., Silent pause ratio within AS-unit), <i>Dysfluency</i> (i.e., Repeat ratio), and <i>Accuracy.</i> Then, a series of multiple regression analyses revealed that a combination of five CAF measures (i.e., Effective articulation rate, Silent pause ratio, Repeat ratio, Syntactic complexity, and Error-free AS-unit ratio) can predict 72.3% of the variance of the OPI levels. This regression model includes variables that correspond to Skehan’s (2009) proposed three categories of fluency (speed, breakdown, and repair) and variables that represent CAF, supporting the literature (e.g., Larsen-Freeman, 1978, Skehan, 1996).</p>

Cette thèse de doctorat étudie la réponse des consommateurs à la longévité brandée de la marque. En particulier, on explore l'effet de la longévité brandée de la marque sur la fluidité du traitement et la familiarité de la marque dans diverses conditions. Comment réagissent les consommateurs lorsqu'une marque indique sa date de création sur un emballage ou une publicité ? Comment leurs réactions diffèrent­elles en fonction de leur niveau d’implication avec le produit ou de la congruence entre la catégorie de produit et la longévité de la marque? Cette thèse identifie les processus psychologiques qui se produisent lors de l'exposition à la longévité brandée de la marque afin d'expliquer l'effet de la longévité de la marque sur le consommateur. La longévité brandée de la marque est censée susciter une réaction positive chez le consommateur, telle que la confiance dans la marque et la crédibilité de la marque. Cette thèse examine les mécanismes psychologiques qui expliquent ces effets. La fluidité du traitement est considérée comme le cadre théorique pouvant expliquer ces effets. Un modèle démontre que celle­ci est le médiateur entre l’effet de la longévité brandée de la marque et la familiarité de la marque. Ce modèle prend en compte des effets modérateurs tels que l’implication envers le produit et la congruence. / This doctoral dissertation examines consumer response to branded longevity. In particular, it explores the effect of branded longevity on processing fluency and brand familiarity under various conditions. How do consumers react when a brand indicates its founding date on a package or advertisement? How do their reactions differ according to their level of involvement with the product or the congruence between the product category and branded longevity? This thesis identifies the psychological processes that occur during exposure to branded longevity in order to explain the effect of the longevity of the brand on the consumer. Branded longevity is argued to positively influence marketing variables, such as brand confidence and brand credibility. This thesis examines the psychological mechanisms that explain these effects. Processing fluency is considered as the theoretical framework that can explain these effects. Our model shows that processing fluency mediates the effect of branded longevity on brand familiarity. This model takes into account moderating effects such as product involvement and congruence.

Esta dissertação é composta por dois estudos conduzidos de acordo com a abordagem da Neuropsicologia Cognitiva, a fim de compreender os efeitos da idade, do tipo de escola e tipo de tarefa no desempenho da fluência verbal em crianças de 6 a 12 anos. No primeiro estudo descreveu-se a adaptação ao contexto brasileiro da metodologia para análises dos componentes cognitivos de clustering e switching em tarefas de fluência verbal semântica (FVS) e ortográfica (FVO). Nesse estudo foram descritas as etapas de adaptação, realizada análise de juízes para evidência de fidedignidade do método e disponibilizada a versão final para categorização das variáveis de clustering e switching para clínicos e pesquisadores. O segundo estudo buscou comparar o desempenho quanti e qualitativo (variáveis de clustering e switching) de três grupos etários de crianças (6-8 anos, 9-10 anos e 11-12 anos) de dois tipos de escola (pública e privada) em duas tarefas de fluência verbal (semântica e ortográfica), e ainda verificar associações entre as variáveis de desempenho da fluência verbal, idade e desempenho em tarefas de linguagem, memória de trabalho e de funções executivas. Foram encontradas diferenças significativas nos desempenhos quanti e qualitativos nos diferentes grupos etários e nos tipos de tarefas, mas não foram encontrados efeitos do tipo de escola. Na FVO o grupo de 11-12 anos apresentou desempenho superior aos demais, com aumento do número de clusters e de switches, o que parece estar associado à maturação das funções executivas. Na FVS as diferenças de desempenho aparecem já entre os grupos mais jovens, mas também se verifica mudanças nas variáveis referentes à recuperação estratégica (números de clusters e de switches). Todos os participantes apresentaram melhor desempenho na FVS em relação à FVO. Encontrou-se associação entre os desempenhos das variáveis de clustering e switching com o número de palavras evocadas em ambas as tarefas de FV, assim como com a idade e com o desempenho nas tarefas de linguagem, memória de trabalho e funções executivas. A presente dissertação destaca a importância de estudar os processamentos subjacentes ao desempenho em tarefas de FV, pois auxiliam a compreender quais habilidades neuropsicológicas estão envolvidas nas estratégias de evocação lexical, podendo ser úteis no prognóstico e no planejamento de intervenções em distúrbios neuropsicológicos/neuropsiquiátricos durante a infância. / This thesis consists of two studies conducted in accordance with the approach of Cognitive Neuropsychology, in order to understand the effects of age, type of school and type of task in verbal fluency (VF) performance in 6-12 years old children. The first study described the adaptation to the Brazilian context of the methodology for clustering and switching analysis in semantic (SVF) and phonemic (PVF) verbal fluency task. This study described the fitting process, performed analysis of judges for reliability evidence and presented the final version for clustering and switching variables to clinicians and researchers. The second study compared the quantitative and qualitative performance (clustering and switching variables) of three age groups of children (6-8 years, 9-10 years and 11-12 years), two types of school (public and private) and two verbal fluency tasks (semantic and phonemic), verified associations between verbal fluency performance on general scores and clustering e switching scores, age and performance on language, working memory and executive functions tasks. Age and type of tasks had a significant effect in the general and clustering and switching scores, but we haven’t found type of school effects on the variables. PVF performance improved at 11-12 years and appears to be associated with the maturation of executive functions, by the increasing of number of clusters and number of switches. SVF performance differences have already appeared among younger groups, but also observed changes in variables related to strategic recovery. All participants performed better in SVF regarding the PVF. An association was found in the performance of clustering and switching scores with the number of words retrieved in both VF tasks, as well as age and performance on language, working memory and executive functions tasks. This work highlights the importance of studying the underlying cognitive processes on the performance of VF tasks. Understanding these cognitive processes may be useful tools to investigate the prognosis and to plane neuropsychological interventions in neuropsychiatric disorders during childhood.