I

PERSPECTIVES IN NEUROLINGUISTICS
AND PSYCHOLINGUISTICS
A Series of Monographs and Treatises

SECOND LANGUAGE

ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS
J

Edited by
WILLIAM C. RITCHIE

ACADEMIC PRESS, INC.
A Subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers

SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
RESEARCH
Issues and Implications
FROM THE INTRODUCTION:
Workers engaged in "pure" research, as are many
psycholinguists and neurolinguists, often hesitate to
look to applied fields — such as, in the present case,
foreign/second language teaching — for data to confirm
or disconfirm hypotheses in their disciplines .... How¬
ever, recent basic research on second language acquisi¬
tion and use — carried out, in some cases, in close
conjunction with the management of foreign/second
language acquisition — shows considerable'promise as
a bridge between the masses of data available in the
foreign language classroom and the consideration of
such theoretical questions as the nature of the ability
to acquire languages beyond the age at which first
language acquisition ordinarily takes place and to use
languages so acquired .... The chapters of this vol¬
ume constitute a cross-section of this recent work.
Interaction . . . between the disciplines basic to for¬
eign/second language teaching and the practices of
teaching themselves would require (a) a conceptual
framework in terms of which alternative explanations
for the specific phenomena of second language acquisi¬
tion and use can be formulated and (b) systematic
employment in the classroom of techniques which fol¬
low from these alternatives with a view to confirming
or discomfirming them.
The chapters in the volume are divisible into two
major groups: (a) those concerned primarily with re¬
viewing or reporting empirical results and their bearing
on theoretical questions . . . and (b) those concerned
primarily with the implications of research and theory
for language instruction and vice versa .... Within the
first group there is a further three-way division among
chapters focusing on (1) the acquirer's initial capacity
for acquisition . . . ; (2) the process of acquisition
and (3) second language performance . . .

Jacket design by Bill Ha is! ip

Second language
acquisition research
Issues and implications

PERSPECTIVES IN

NEUROLINGUISTICS and PSYCHOLINGUISTICS

Harry A. Whitaker, Series Editor
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

Haiganoosh Whitaker and Harry A. Whitaker (Eds.).

Studies in Neurolinguistics, Volumes 1, 2, and 3
Norman J. Lass (Ed.). Contemporary Issues in Experimental Phonetics
Jason W. Brown. Mind, Brain, and Consciousness: The Neuropsychology
of Cognition
Sidney J. Segalowitz and Frederic A. Gruber (Eds.). Language Devel¬
opment and Neurological Theory
Susan Curtiss. Genie: A Psycholinguistic Study of a Modern-Day “Wild
Child”
John Macnamara (Ed.). Language Learning and Thought
I. M. Schlesinger and Lila Namir (Eds.). Sign Language of the Deaf:
Psychological, Linguistic, and Sociological Perspectives
William C. Ritchie (Ed.). Second Language Acquisition Research: Issues
and Implications
In preparation
Patricia Siple (Ed.). Understanding Language through Sign Language

Research
Martin L. Albert and Loraine K. Obler. The Bilingual Brain: Neuro¬
physiological and Neurolinguistic Aspects of Bilingualism

Second language
acquisition research
Issues and implications

Edited by

William C. Ritchie
Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York

ACADEMIC PRESS

New York

San Francisco

London

1978

A Subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers

Copyright ©

1978,

by Academic Press, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED OR
TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRONIC
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Ill Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10003

United Kingdom Edition published by
ACADEMIC PRESS, INC. (LONDON) LTD.

24/28 Oval Road, London NW1

7DX

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Second language acquisition research.
(Perspectives in neurolinguistics & psycholinguistics)
Includes bibliographies.
1. Language and languages—Study and teaching—
Psychological aspects—Addresses, essays, lectures.
2. Psycholinguistics—Addresses, essays, lectures.
3. Children—Language—Addresses, essays, lectures.
I. Ritchie, William C.
P53.S38
401'.9
78-6884
ISBN 0-12-589550-X

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Contents
List of contributors
Preface
Acknowledgments

1

Introduction: Theory and practice in second language research
and teaching

ix
xi
xiii

1

William C. Ritchie
Theory and Practice

2

The Present Volume

7

References

8

2

Implications of a multiple critical periods hypothesis for second
language learning

11

Herbert W. Seliger

3

Bilingualism: A neurolinguistics perspective

21

Harry A. Whitaker

4

The Right Roof Constraint in an adult-acquired language

33

William C. Ritchie
Preliminaries

35

Method
Results and Discussion

37
41

Conclusion

42

Appendix A

Subjects

44

Appendix B
Appendix C

The Questionnaire
Alternatives to Loss

45
53

Appendix D
References

Individual Results

57
62

o 5

Some remarks on creativity in language acquisition coGu mva.

65

Heidi Dulay and Marina Burt
Definition of Creativity

66

Evidence for Affective Delimitation of Input

71

Evidence for Cognitive Creativity

72

Role of Input Factors
Summary and Conclusions

77
85

References

86
V

CONTENTS

VI

6

Order of difficulty in adult second language acquisition

91

Janet I. Anderson
Subjects

92

Materials and Testing Procedure

92

Scoring Procedure and Data Analysis

93

Results and Discussion
Appendix The Test

97
102

References

108

d7

Beyond statistics in second language acquisition research

109

Carolyn Madden, Nathalie Bailey, Miriam Eisenstein,
and Lloyd Anderson
Two Types of Learners

110

Focus on Substitutions

113

Methods of Data Analysis Compared

119

Appendix

123

Explication and Samples of Error Types

References

8

125

Evidence of the need for a second language acquisition index of
development

127

Diane E. Larsen-Freeman

9

Discourse analysis, speech acts, and second language acquisition

137

Evelyn Hatch

o 10 The strategy of avoidance in adult second language acquisition

157

Howard H. Kleinmann
Method
Results and Discussion
Appendix A

158
161

Comprehension Test and Self-Confidence Ratings on English Passive,

Infinitive Complement, and Present Progressive Structures
Appendix B Individual Scores on Variables

166
172

References

174

'll Individual variation in the use of the Monitor

175

Stephen D. Krashen
Individual Variation in the Use of the Monitor

177

General Characteristics of Monitor Users

177

Case Studies of Monitor Users

178

The Overuser

179

The Underuser

180

Conclusion and Summary

182

References

182

CONTENTS

vii

ol2 Why speak if you don't need to? The case for a listening
approach to beginning foreign language learning

185

Judith Olmsted Gary

°

Introduction

185

Rationale and Strategies for Delayed Oral Practice

186

Past and Present Applications of Delayed Oral Practice

192

Questions Yet to Explore

196

References

198

13

Language learning and language teaching—any relationship?

201

Wilga M. Rivers
Index

215

■

'

-

i

.

List of contributors
Numbers in parentheses indicate the pages on which the authors' contributions begin.

Janet I. Anderson (91), American University of Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
Lloyd Anderson (109), Linguistics Research Laboratory, Gallaudet College,
Washington, D. C.
Nathalie Bailey (109), Linguistics Department, Queens College of the City
University of New York, Llushing, New York
Marina Burt (65), Educational Linguistics and Assessment, Bloomsbury West,
San Lrancisco, California
Heidi Dulay (65), Child Development and Education, Bloomsbury West, San
Francisco, California
Miriam Eisenstein (109), Adult Resource Center, Jersey City State College,
Jersey City, New Jersey
Judith Olmsted Gary (185), Department of English, University of Cali¬
fornia, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Evelyn Hatch (137), Department of English , University of California, Los
Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Howard H. Kleinmann* (157), Department of Linguistics, University of
Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Stephen D. Krashen (175), Linguistics Department, University of Southern
California, Los Angeles, California
Diane E. Larsen-Freeman (127), Department of English, University of Califor¬
nia, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Carolyn Madden (109), Department of Linguistics, Queens College of the City
University of New York, Flushing, New York
William C. Ritchie (1, 33), Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures,
Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
Wilga M. Rivers (201), Department of Romance Languages and Literatures,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Herbert W. Seliger (11), Department of Linguistics, Queens College of the City
University of New York, Flushing, New York
Harry A. Whitaker (21), Department of Psychology, Department of Neurol¬
ogy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York

*Present address: Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15212.

'

f

Preface

Until quite recently, virtually all research on the acquisition and use of second
languages was related directly to the practical problems of foreign and second
language instruction and, more specifically, to attempts to relate general work in
the basic disciplines of psychology and linguistics to these practical problems.
Since the late 1960s, however, a number of lines of basic research have taken
shape which are devoted specifically to the development of a theory of second
language acquisition and use. Such a theory, properly formulated and substan¬
tiated empirically, will not only provide a rational basis for the conduct of
foreign and second language instruction but will also make available theoretical
conclusions—based on data gathered both within the foreign and second lan¬
guage classroom and outside of it—which bear on a number of important ques¬
tions in neurolinguistics and psycholinguistics. For example, research on second
language acquisition provides the most plentiful source of empirical results
bearing on the question of critical periods for language acquisition.
The purpose of the present volume is to bring together, for the use of
researchers and students in these and related fields, a broad sample of the kinds
of work that are to be found in foreign and second language research. There are
four discernible subdivisions within the book. After an Introduction, Chapters
2-4 are discussions of the neurological and cognitive character of the “initial
state” of the language acquirer beyond the normal age for first language acquisi¬
tion. Chapters 5-9 are concerned with the process of second language acquisition
in general (Chapters 5 and 8), in the child (Chapter 9), and in the adult (Chapters
6 and 7). Chapters 5,7, and 8 include extensive discussion of methodological
problems in second language research. Chapters 10 and 11 are concerned with
adult second language performance. Chapters 2, 3, 6, 10, 11, and especially
12 and 13 include implications of basic research for the conduct of language
instruction.
Second language researchers will find not only new interpretations of previous
work (Chapters 1-3, 5, 7-9, and 11-13) but also empirical studies that have not
appeared previously (Chapters 4, 6, and 10).

xi

.

.

Acknowledgments

This volume grew out of a conference on second language learning and teach¬
ing which took place on the campus of the State University of New York, at
Oswego, Oswego, New York, July 16-18, 1976. As the organizer of that confer¬
ence, I wish to thank the Office of Research and Graduate Affairs of Syracuse
University, sponsors of the conference, and, in particular, the Vice-President of
Research and Graduate Affairs, Donald E. Kibbey, for his generous and ex¬
peditious support.
The conference was held in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of Ameri¬
ca's 1976 Linguistic Institute at Oswego. I acknowledge with gratitude the Direc¬
tor of that Institute, Winfred P. Lehmann, who was kind enough to deliver the
welcoming remarks at the conference, and, particularly, the Associate Director
of the Institute, Carol F. Justus, who conceived of the conference and offered
assistance and encouragement at critical stages in the planning process.
I wish also to thank the members of the Department of English as a Second
Language at the University of Hawaii where I spent the spring and summer terms
of 1977; they arranged my teaching duties so as to allow me to devote as much
time as possible to editing tasks.
Eight of the chapters included here—those by Seliger; J. Anderson; Madden,
Bailey, Eisenstein, and L. Anderson; Larsen-Freeman; Hatch; Kleinmann; Gary;
and Rivers—appear in essentially the form in which they were delivered as
papers at the conference. The chapter by Dulay and Burt is reprinted from an
earlier publication, and Krashen's chapter is part of another, recently published
work. The material presented in the Whitaker and Ritchie chapters has appeared
previously though in less accessible form. The cooperation of all of the con¬
tributors was exceptional, and I hereby express appreciation for their help in
making the editing of the volume much less burdensome than it would otherwise
have been. I am particularly indebted to Heidi Dulay, Marina Burt, and Steve
Krashen, who were extremely helpful throughout the editing process. Myron
Lichtblau and Phil Peterson of Syracuse University also contributed their expert
advice in several editing tasks. Any errors in editorial judgment are, of course,
my own.
Finally, I wish to thank my wife, Laurie, and daughter, Jane, for their loving
support and patience throughout and for putting up with my absence from a
number of excursions to the beach.
xiii

•

.

■

.j

Introduction: Theory
and practice in second

language research and teaching

William C. Ritchie

Workers engaged in “pure” research, as are many psycholinguists and
neurolinguists, often hesitate to look to applied fields—such as, in the present
case, foreign/second language teaching—for data to confirm or disconfirm
hypotheses in their disciplines. Until quite recently such hesitancy would have
been justified in the instance just mentioned. However, recent basic research on
second language acquisition and use—carried out, in some cases, in close con¬
junction with the management of foreign/second language acquisition—shows
considerable promise as a bridge between the masses of data available in the
foreign language classroom and the consideration of such theoretical questions as
the nature of the ability to acquire languages beyond the age at which first
language acquisition ordinarily takes place and to use languages so acquired.
This recent work thus brings the relationship between foreign/second language
teaching and its basic disciplines (including psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics)
closer in character than it had been previously to the relationship between, for exam¬
ple, clinical medicine and the biological sciences, where the interaction benefits both
theory and practice. The chapters of this volume constitute a cross-section of this
recent work. Before describing the contents of these chapters, it will be worth¬
while to examine the theory/practice relationship in some detail in its more
typical and expected forms.

1

WILLIAM C. RITCHIE

2

THEORY AND PRACTICE

No one would deny that the phenomenal success achieved in medical practice
over the last 100 years—particularly in the prevention and cure of infectious
diseases—is due to the close interaction between basic biological research and
clinical medicine.1 Less widely recognized, perhaps, is the fact that basic re¬
search in biology has also benefited from this interaction.2 The relationship
between medicine and biology, therefore provides an excellent model for the
interaction of foreign/second language teaching on the one hand and basic re¬
search on the acquisition and use of second languages on the other. Exactly what
is this relationship between theory and practice in medicine? The function of any
theory is to provide explanations for some range of observed phenomena. In the
case of the infectious diseases, a theory will provide an explanation for the
symptoms of the diseases in question. Whether these symptoms are explained as
a consequence of an imbalance in the four bodily humors or of the presence in the
organism of large numbers of microbes of some specific sort, the relationship to
practice is reasonably clear. If the symptoms are explicable as a consequence of a
humoral imbalance, then the practitioner's task is to restore the balance in some
way (e.g., by bloodletting). If they are explicable as a consequence of the
presence of microbes, then the practitioner's task is to eliminate them (or reduce
their numbers) by, say, inoculation3 or drug therapy of some sort. A scientific
theory of the phenomena to be managed thus provides the crucial descriptions
and explanations required to define the tasks involved in managing those
phenomena. Handler (1970) describes the consequences of the application of
biological science to medical practice as follows: “No aspect of medical practice
has escaped scientific attention, and for virtually all the diseases of man there are
improved modes of diagnosis and therapy which, at best, are specifically curative
and, at least, are supportive and relieving [p. 633].”
Conversely, the application of a particular technique for managing some range
of phenomena often constitutes a test of a theory proposed to explain the
phenomena. The claims that bloodletting or the administration of an antibiotic
will eliminate the symptoms of a given infectious disease follow from the two
quite different explanations for these symptoms described in the preceding para¬
graph and the use of these techniques thus provides experimental evidence for or
'See Handler (1970, Chapter 16), Beecher (1960), and Dubos (1968). See, also, Bernal (1970) for
a number of instances of interaction between science and industry in the nineteenth century. The life
of Louis Pasteur is particularly rich in cases of the fruitful interaction of basic research and its
applications. See, specifically, Cuny (1967), Dubos (1950, 1960), and Vallery-Radot (1925).
2See, particularly, Handler (1970) and Beecher (1960).
JIn cases, such as rabies, where the incubation period is of sufficient length to allow the manufac¬
ture of antibodies by the diseased organism. Note that the intelligent application of the technique of
inoculation requires, in addition to an explanation for the symptoms of the disease, a theory concern¬
ing the mechanism of immunity.

INTRODUCTION

3

against the putative explanations. Clinical medicine thus constitutes a rich source
of experimental data for the testing of hypotheses proposed to explain biological
phenomena.
Interaction of this sort between the disciplines basic to foreign/second lan¬
guage teaching and the practices of teaching themselves would require (a) a
conceptual framework in terms of which alternative explanations for the specific
phenomena of second language acquisition and use can be formulated and (b)
systematic employment in the classroom of techniques which follow from these.^
alternatives with a view to confirming or disconfirming them.
A review of the literature of so-called applied linguistics in the forties, fifties,
and sixties reveals a relationship between language teaching and those disciplines
then perceived as being basic to it—namely, learning theory and descriptive
linguistics—which diverges sharply from the one described. Even the most care¬
ful and insightful attempts to “apply” learning theory to foreign language teach¬
ing (e.g., Rivers, 1964) remain at a discouragingly general and vague level when
compared with the specificity of the applications of biological science in medical
practice.4 An indication of the tenuousness of the relationship between research
and practice in this case is that it is simply inconceivable that foreign language
teachers would have been expected to contribute at all directly to the solution of
problems in learning theory.
Attempts to “apply” descriptive linguistics to language teaching through de¬
tailed contrastive analysis—that is, through comparison of the structures (utter¬
ances? rules?) of the native language of the learner with those of the language to
be learned—differ little in degree of relevance to language teaching from at¬
tempts to apply learning theory. In fact, the best work of this sort (e.g.,
Stockwell, Bowen, & Martin, 1965) recognizes the fact that the mere compari¬
son of the descriptions of two languages provides no explanation whatsoever for
the phenomena to be managed and that some quite specific theory of second
language acquisition (such as some detailed development of learning theory) is
required to complete the picture. However, when the notions from learning
theory deemed relevant to the explanation of the phenomena (i.e., interference,
transfer, etc.) are carefully analyzed they are found to be of dubious relevance to
the particular phenomena of second language learning (see Carroll, 1968; Dulay
& Burt, 1974).
Mere replacement of the learning-theory/descriptive linguistics paradigm with
cognitive psychology and generative grammar does not improve the situation. In
a much- (perhaps over-) discussed paper, Chomsky expresses skepticism con¬
cerning “the significance, for the teaching of languages, of such insights and
4Consider the unavailability in 1964 (as now) of an established body of theory and research
concerning, for example, the teaching of French nasal vowels or of the subjunctive in German to
native speakers of English. Apparently, research of a degree of specificity parallel to this is available
in medical science. —

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WILLIAM C. RITCHIE

understanding as have been attained in linguistics and psychology [1966, p.
29].” He justifies his skepticism on the basis of the claim—surely as true now as
when Chomsky wrote—that “well established theory, in fields like psychology
and linguistics, is extremely limited in scope [p. 31].” Apparently, Chomsky
believes that what is needed for “theory in fields like psychology and linguis¬
tics” to be applicable in language teaching is research in these fields which will
render “well established” the theories formulated within them. He then discusses
four “tendencies and developments within linguistics and psychology that may
have some potential impact on the teaching of language . . .; the 'creative' aspect
of language use; the abstractness of linguistic representation; the universality of
underlying linguistic structure; the role of intrinsic organization in cognitive
process [p. 32].”
Chomsky's recommendation that we be skeptical about applying the results of
psychological and linguistic research to language teaching is certainly appro¬
priate. However, there are reasons for such skepticism that go much deeper than
those that Chomsky presents. Even if theory both in linguistics and in some
general cognitive psychology of learning were well established, only theory and
research in second language acquisition per se could determine what aspects of
such theories are relevant to foreign/second language teaching. This is true
because a general theory of learning would not be sufficiently specific to be
applicable in foreign language teaching and a linguistic theory is simply a theory
of something other than second language acquisition.
First of all, if the capacity to construct and use systems of linguistic knowledge
is task specific, then there is no reason to believe that general theories of problem
solving will bear on any aspect of language acquisition and use. Therefore, the
explicability of linguistic phenomena in general and of second language
phenomena in particular in terms of such theories must be demonstrated empiri¬
cally.

U2
?fTU*J

Consider next the case of what Chomsky refers to as “linguistics.” It is clear
from the discussion that he regards “linguistics” to be the study of (a) languages
acquired as first languages at the usual age for first language acquisition and (b)
the properties shared by the grammars of such languages. There is, once again,
no a priori reason to believe that “well established” theories in such a field can
explain the phenomena of second language acquisition. In particular, there is no
reason to believe, in advance of empirical investigation, that the use of a second
language is “creative,” that the “linguistic representations” in accounts of sec¬
ond language competence are abstract, that the underlying linguistic structures
required for the explanation of second language use (assuming that there are
such) are universal or that the role of intrinsic organization in cognitive processes
is as significant in second language performance as it is in first. fnj^mlj^ChomskyllLre marks are relevant to foreign/second language teaching to precisely the
extent that the phenomena of second language acquisition and use match those of

INTRODUCTION

5

first language acquisition and use.5 The simple fact that, as Corder (1967) puts it,
“the learning of the mother tongue is inevitable, whereas, alas, we all know that
there is no such inevitability about the learning of a second language.. . [p.
163],” constitutes strong prima facie evidence against the position that theories
designed to account for first languages are also valid for second. In any case, this
question can only be settled by extensive empirical investigation of second lan¬
guage phenomena.6 As Rivers notes (Chapter 13 of this volume) “problems of'
the second language learning of late adolescents and adults in formal
situations.. . will not be solved by applying uncritically what we know about
first language, or even second language, learning by children. . . [p. 201].”
Conversely, it would be absurd to suggest that the observations of foreign
language teachers could be brought to bear on basic issues in linguistic theory in
the Chomskyan sense—again, simply because they would be irrelevant. What
such observations bear on is a theory of second language acquisition.
All of this is not to say that Chomskyan linguistics cannot make a contribution
to the study of second language acquisition and use. In fact, it is clear that
Chomsky's conceptual analysis of the tasks of research on first languages (see,
e.g., Chomsky, 1965, Chapter 1; Chomsky, 1975) is just as valid as a definition
of the central tasks of second language research as it is for first. An explanation
of second language use surely requires an account of the user's grammar and
behavioral strategies for the second language. An understanding of second lan¬
guage acquisition surely requires, most centrally, an account of the acquirer's
“tacit linguistic theory” at the onset of the acquisition process and a set of
acquisitional strategies that determine the character of the acquisition process.
Obviously there are extremely important affective and nonlinguistic cognitive
5Chomsky may have something else in mind here; perhaps his remarks on language are intended as
a description of the desired character of second language use at the conclusion of the acquisition
process. It should be clear that such a description is precisely as relevant to the language teacher as a
description of the healthy organism is to the physician treating a disease—it tells him where he wants
to go but it gives no indication of how to get there. For the latter purpose, descriptions of the state of
the organism in the process of acquisition (respectively, in the diseased state) and of the capacities of
the organism to reach the final state (mastery of the second language, or full health) as well as an
explanation of the consequences of applying various techniques (pattern practice drill, drug therapy)
are required.
6This may be what Chomsky has in mind when he writes
It is possible—even likely—that principles of psychology and linguistics, and research in
these disciplines may supply insights useful to the language teacher. But this must be
demonstrated, and cannot be presumed. It is the language teacher himself who must
validate or refute any specific proposal. There is very little in psychology or linguistics that
he can accept on faith [1966, p. 32],
However,chology on one hand and foreign/second language teaching on the other. It should be added that teach¬
ers would do well to accept Chomsky's admonitions with respect to results from this latter field as well
as from linguistics and psychology. See Tarone, Swain, and Fathman (1976) tor discussion.

6

WILLIAM C. RITCHIE

factors in language acquisition in addition to the central ones just mentioned.7
' Given such an understanding of second language acquisition, how would it
bear on the practical problems of language teaching and vice versa? Let us
consider a case represented in the present volume. Schachter (1974) argues
convincingly that acquirers of second languages tend to avoid in production those
structures which appear, on the basis of contrastive analysis and certain minimal
assumptions about the second language acquisition process, to be difficult for
them in the initial stages of acquisition.8 Madden, Bailey, Eisenstein, and L.
Anderson (Chapter 7 of this volume) present some data that appear to require a
similar interpretation. They suggest that some acquirers adopted a guessing
strategy, others an avoiding strategy in responding to diff...