To support the view of readability as an interaction between a text and the reader's prose-processing capabilities, this article applies an extended and formalized version of the Kintch and van Dijk prose-processing model to 20 texts of varying readability. (Author/GSK)

The relationship between latency to respond and performance on the ITPA Visual Association subtest was investigated for 50 preschoolers. Performance was a function of age and response latency. It was concluded that for children who don't have the appropriate search strategy, the visual association subtest doesn't give a valid assessment.…

Reber found that subjects given neutral instructions to memorize letter strings from a synthetic language learned more about the underlying grammar than those instructed to try discovering the rules for letter order. Two experiments explored the relationship between implicit and explicit processes in the acquisition of complex knowledge.…

Studies the perceptual relationship between temporal "before" and "after" and their spatial counterparts. Adults reported temporal "before" related to spatial "after" and temporal "after" related to spatial "before." Three-year old children better understood spatial "after" and spatial "before," suggesting a temporal/spatial semantic acquisition…

Two experiments examined the role of presupposed (or old) and focal (or new) information in integrating sentences, by measuring comprehension time for various combinations of presupposed and focal information. (Author/AM)

Examines the duration of visual persistence and the relative processing rate in poor and normal readers. Subjects were 48 males aged 7 to 13 years. (MP)

A total of 12 second- and fifth-graders' semantic decision times for pictures and words were analyzed relative to the predictions derived from unitary- and dual-memory models. (MS)

Examined the effect of heart rate and behavioral measures of attention on infants' distractibility. Found longer distraction latencies during attentional engagement as defined by heart rate changes or behavior than for inattentive periods. Infants had longest distraction latencies when heart rate and behavior measures both indicated engagement.…

Examines the meaning of reaction time (RT) and the possibility that it may predict other cognitive and motor skills in the first year of life. Considers two competing models that specify the information-processing components underlying RT performance. Describes the neural data needed to definitively choose between the models and considers…

Time taken to count stimuli was compared among three groups each composed of 22 elementary-aged children (with autism, with moderate learning difficulties, and normally developing). Results suggest that children with autism showed a tendency toward an analytic level of processing. While groups differed on measures of counting speeds, children…

Psychological time consists of cognitive constructs, images, and symbolic representations. Psychological time undergoes changes throughout the life span and is an integral part of the psychological developmental processes. This article suggests several guidelines for counseling practice that address the many facets of psychological time in later…

Several experiments were undertaken with a total of 111 undergraduates. Subjects attempted to imagine how three-dimensional novel wire objects would appear from viewpoints other than that of the subject. Subjects were unable to perform this task without making use of strategies that circumvent the process of visualization. (TJH)

Explains exploratory sequential data analysis (ESDA) and outlines ESDA characteristics that could help human-computer interaction investigators using sequential data make better conceptual and methodological choices. Behavioral, cognitive, and social factors are considered, and failures of expertise, time management, and databased problems are…

Examined process mediating the effect of positive mood on performance of a cognitive task. Positive mood subjects performed significantly worse on a set of syllogisms than control subjects. Results are consistent with accounts arguing that people in positive moods expend less effort. (JBJ)

Sixty-four adults were tested on simple addition and multiplication problems presented in Arabic digit or English number-word format. Overall, response times and error rates were much higher with the word format, but more important, presentation format interacted with arithmetic operation and problem size. (DR)