This report uses mental model theory to create a taxonomy of picture functions in order to relate these functions to learning theories. A rough outline of picture functions is presented, consisting of a retrieval function, a focus function, a construction function, and a supplantation function. It is suggested that this taxonomy could be helpful…

This study investigated the use readers make of visual and verbal illustration to understand and remember what they have read. Specific focus was placed on readers' use of pictures and analogies to understand and remember written directions for a spatial manipulation task. The independent variables measured were type of text, mode of illustration,…

Discusses the findings of a recent study concerning the ability of an infant to see an object as a symbol. Reports that infants between 36 and 39 months old significantly outperformed informed infants between 30 and 32 months old on a symbolic task. (TW)

Reports on a study in which the symbolic relation between a scale model and the larger space that it represents was displayed by two groups of young children. Three-year-old children outperformed 2.5-year-olds in finding an object in a room after seeing an analogous object hidden in a model. (TW)

Examines the relationship between visual attentiveness, search behavior, and duration of independent mobility for 56 eight-to ten-month-old infants when presented with three versions of the Piagetian Stage IV object permanence task. (HOD)

Tests whether aural discrimination is significantly better when visual-spatial stimuli are paired with melodic phrases. Results suggest that the use of visual clues paired with melodies is generally an effective aid to aural discrimination among fourth-grade subjects. Recommends further research on the use of different visual stimuli. (LS)

The influence of visual signals (echo and reverberation) on speech fluency in 60 stutterers and nonstutterers was examined. Visual signals were found to exert a corrective influence on the speech of stutterers but less than the influence of acoustic stimuli. Use of visual signals in combination with acoustic and tactile signals is recommended. (DB)

This study found significantly better lipreading scores by 31 children with hearing impairments than by 15 children with normal hearing (all 10 and 11 years old). However, correlations between degree of hearing loss and lipreading ability were nonsignificant. The study provides partial support for the doctrine of sensory compensation. (DB)

A recent survey of 60 commercial computer assisted instruction (CAI) programs found that most of the programmed lessons used few or no graphics to communicate the main points. An Instructional Graphics Checklist was developed to reflect the research findings about the use of pictures in instruction and to serve as an informal evaluation instrument…

Subjects from kindergarten-age to adult participated in four experiments. In order to view the stimuli, subjects in three experiments activated lights in viewing boxes; in the fourth experiment, stimulus fixations were measured using a corneal reflection technique. Results supported the view that visual observing is controlled by cognitive…

Tests infants' dual-process performance (a process mediating response decrements called habituation and a state-dependent process mediating response increments called sensitization) on visual habituation-dishabituation tasks. (HOD)

Describes two studies in which young children were shown pictures that represented sound with postures and contexts, with conventions, and with combinations of information. Shows that the different types of pictorial representation of sound were not equivalent in their ability to evoke a correct interpretation. (HOD)

Discusses previous pictorial research and its limited potential, and describes function-based research approach, which attempts to make findings relevant by identifying potential picture functions in terms of contributions to instructional processes and procedures broadly applicable to various objectives and strategies. Relevance of this approach…

The effects of musical accompaniment on two different visual information processing activities were examined in individuals of differing selected personality types. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator Form G was administered to classes of University students. From the results, four subgroups, the sensing-thinking, sensing-feeling, intuitive-feeling,…

This study investigated the mastery-oriented and learned-helplessness response patterns of children (n=13) with visual impairments in grades 3 to 6 who were divided into two groups, low vision children who were visual learners and nonvisual learners. Subjects were given the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire. No significant…