A directed forgetting task was used in an investigation of the conditions under which normal and educable mentally retarded junior high school students would disregard irrelevant information. Results showed that irrelevant information in memory interfered with the performance of only the retarded group, when given a minimal explanation of the…

A metacognitive model was proposed as an explanatory framework for spontaneous strategy use. A study in which hyperactive children transferred newly acquired strategies following self-control training and attributional retraining served as an illustration of how components in the model can be used to better understand "spontaneity." (Author/LMO)

Members of 118 families were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; a cognitive test battery; and tests of visual, auditory, and figure memory. Factor analysis of memory scores resulted in four-factor solution. Significant spouse correlations and significant midparent-midchild regressions were found for some of the memory measures.…

Three experiments involving 85 learning-disabled (LD) children and 101 non-LD children investigated whether memory difficulties of LD children may be attributable in part to executive processing. Results suggest that LD readers may suffer from executive processing deficiencies, although they do not rule out effects of language-specific processes.…

The relation between individual differences in verbal ability and memory for order was investigated. Results indicated that (1) order and item information may be retained separately; (2) verbal ability is related to short-term recall but not recognition of order; and (3) transformation of order at output increases the relation. (Author/RD)

In a synthesis of concepts from communication, comprehension, and socialization of intelligence, it is suggested that strategy adoption is dependent on the prior learning of the "situated meaning" for tasks requiring the use of memory strategies. In this view, strategy deficiencies in the mentally retarded arise from an impoverished learning…

Measures of verbal intelligence and abstract reasoning were taken on a group of 31 college-aged and 32 elderly adults, together with mental-processing rates associated with choice reaction time, primary memory scanning, and lexical decoding. Group means showed that verbal IQ and lexical decoding were intact in the elderly subjects. (Author/LMO)

Measures of memory for order were correlated with measures requiring mental manipulation, achievement, and aptitude using college and fifth grade students. A significant relationship was found for fifth graders but not for college students, suggesting that the nature and capacity of short-term memory changes with age. (Author/PN)

A critique by Carroll of a study by Jarman and Das (EJ 171 820) is refuted in terms of the methodology and theory of the Jarman and Das study. Additionally, two general issues concerned with individual differences in cognitive processes and strategic behavior are elaborated beyond Carroll's discussion. (Author/CP)

Sex differences in spatial ability were examined in 410 Israeli college students using standard tests of mental rotation. On related abilities tests, males performed better than females on a numerical skills test, and females performed better on an associative memory test. No significant sex differences were found on other ability tests. (SLD)

Individual differences in performance on 4 computer-controlled visual memory and recognition tasks as a function of performance on 5 paper-and-pencil spatial tests were studied for 90 psychology students attending the University of Rennes (France). Results show that spatial thinking is partially supported by visual memory. (SLD)

The hypothesis that coping with novelty is a key aspect of intelligence is not supported by the data of Sternberg and Gastel. It is contended that these authors committed a common error by interpreting correlations involving difference scores without reference to the properties of the components of the difference. (SLD)

The theoretical and methodological concepts for research on aptitudes as cognitive processes are discussed. Individual differences constructs are reviewed in relation to cognitive processing models, and studies of short-term memory are reviewed. A coordinated approach to the study of aptitude as information processing is recommended. (Author/RD)

Available from: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 355 Chestnut Street, Norwood, New Jersey 07648. Two groups (high and low functioning) of educable mentally handicapped children consisting of 70 Ss' average age 127 months' were tested for strategies in their approach to memory and problem solving tasks and for their responsiveness to strategy…

A conceptual theory for predicting the relations between intellectual abilities and performance during task practice is proposed and is evaluated through an experiment with high school and college students. This macro-theory integrates hierarchical theories of intellectual abilities with information-processing theories of automatic and controlled…