This experiment was designed to test whether paired objects described as interacting through movement are more memorable to young children than the same objects described as alike in structure or color. Drawings of eight familiar objects were presented in unfamiliar combinations to forty-five 4-year-old subjects. Objects were described as…

Five preschool-age boys participated in a study of the effects of detailed and nondetailed toys on solitary creative play. In contrast to detailed, high-structure toys, nondetailed, low-structure toys were hypothesized to enhance creative play. In a multi-element design taking place over 13 daily sessions, detailed and nondetailed toys were…

Compared food texture preferences during infancy and toddlerhood. Found that infants displayed more negative expressions and head and body movements in response to complex textures than to simple textures. Toddlers displayed more positive head and body movements and more eagerness in response to complex than to simple textures. Experience with…

Two experiments were conducted in order to determine whether there are differences between well and malnourished infants in the extent to which they prefer novel stimuli. (MP)

Stimulus preference assessments for individuals with developmental disabilities typically involve offering choices among stimuli and providing immediate access to the chosen stimuli. Several researchers have explored the utility of presenting choices verbally, thereby obviating the need to present the choices in tangible form and deliver access to…

In three studies, we investigated to what extent a geometrical representation in a psychological space succeeds in predicting typicality in animal, natural food and artifact concepts and whether contrast categories contribute to the prediction. In Study 1, we compared the predictive value of a family resemblance-based prototype model with a…

Studied feeding-related arousal effects on a visual recognition paired-comparison task at newborn, 1, and 4 months of age. Found that newborns and 1-month olds shifted from a familiarity preference before feeding to a novelty preference after feeding. Control-group testing confirmed that shift was not due to increased stimulus exposure. By 4…

The episodic buffer component of working memory is assumed to play a role in the binding of features into chunks. A series of experiments compared memory for arrays of colors or shapes with memory for bound combinations of these features. Demanding concurrent verbal tasks were used to investigate the role of general attentional processes,…

Describes a study of eighth graders that compared the effects of two-dimensional and three-dimensional illustrated texts on eye movement strategies and on retention of information. Results are reported that support earlier research findings that realism in illustrations is not necessarily facilitating and may even be distracting. (Contains 19…