An investigation was conducted to ascertain the effects of the structured overview on both the short-term and long-term comprehension of average and below average readers. The subjects were 143 college students classified as average or below average readers and randomly assigned to either a structured overview (65) or a control group (78). Both…

This study examined the effect(s) of rhyme on the recognition and recall of story events by 32 nursery school children at the University of Maine Child Study Center. Although subjects reported liking stories better when they were presented as nursery rhymes rather than prose passages, recognition of story events was significantly higher for prose…

Employing a cognitive/motivational analysis, a study was undertaken to determine some specific self-perceptions that might contribute to motivational and performance deficits observed in children with reading difficulties. A total of 72 children of relatively good, average, and poor reading ability were assessed on tasks in which success and…

Investigates the extent to which sex stereotypes impose competence (e.g., not knowing about objects) versus performance limitations (e.g., not performing for lack of reward) and the effects of sex stereotypes on exploration among 56 4- to 9-year-old children. (HOD)

This book is designed to help students become better test takers. It is intended for teachers, but would be helpful to parents who think that their children's test scores do not completely represent their knowledge or abilities. Test taking skills are those skills that, when used effectively, contribute to a "test-wise" individual who can use…

For many African American children from low-income backgrounds, cognitive performance can be enhanced in contexts thematically characterized by aspects of Afro-cultural ethos. This report presents and describes the results of six experimental studies (two studies on each) of three cultural themes of primary interest: movement, communalism, and…

Hypothesizes that horizontal decalage, or the mastery of one task but not another formally similar to it, is an expected outgrowth of Piagetian theory. (MB)

Compared laboratory and naturalistic content influences on formal reasoning tasks of 90 13-, 15-, and 17-year-olds, focusing on tasks requiring ability to control variables. Results indicate that 8 to 20 percent of performance variance was associated with task content. Content effects were also shown to reflect expectations about task variables.…

Researchers studied the effect of interpolating extraneous information on students' ability to process cognitive information concerning their prior performances on the McCloy block test. The extraneous information was given in the interval between their last test and their next attempt to perform it. Results are discussed. (Author/PP)

In five experiments, adults verified sentences by reading complex information in several technical passages. Both segmenting and indenting influenced performance; however, once a text had been meaningfully segmented, the addition of indentation cues did not affect response time. Implications for typographic design--line length and margins--are…

The influence of feedback on the cognitive task performance of 30 adults with mental retardation having either high or low self-esteem was assessed. All subjects performed two memory tasks (easy, difficult) under one of three feedback conditions (social, computer, and no feedback). Social feedback was most effective in altering the positive…