Second-grade students' reading proficiency was studied by determining the influence of rhyming or nonrhyming items on their recall of random letter strings, using visual and auditory presentations. Good and poor readers differed in their use of phonetic coding in working memory. (MH)

Describes study of children in grades one, three, and five that examined their active processing and short term memory (STM) of color, contour, and interior pattern of shapes found in computer digitized pictures. Age-related differences are examined, and the role of processing visual information in the learning process is discussed. (12…

Describes a study of undergraduates that investigated the effects of mental imagery during training on posttest scores. Speed of retrieval time versus accuracy is discussed; perception of imagery use is examined; and treatments of experimental and control groups are described. (23 references) (LRW)

The general intelligence factor (g) was investigated using 170 university students across three batteries of ability measures: (1) a short-term memory battery; (2) the Multidimensional Aptitude Battery; and (3) a reaction time battery. Results support the notion of g and suggest short-term memory as an essential aspect of intelligence. (SLD)

Two experiments with 42 second graders, 55 fourth graders, and 36 fifth graders investigated previous findings of a lack of strategic advantage for expert children dealing with information in their area of expertise. Results from using an expert-novice paradigm suggest that expert children's task advantage is mediated primarily by nonstrategic…

Fifty-six field-dependent and 55 field-independent students in grades 6 through 8 were assessed on reading comprehension tasks varying in memory load and cognitive restructuring requirements. Field-independent readers outperformed field-dependent readers on tasks with high memory demands and requirements for efficient restructuring. (SLD)

Study examined transfer of learners' first language (L1) orthographic processing strategies to second language processing. Two groups learning Japanese, differing by L1 writing system (phonographic vs. morphographic), were tested on ability to represent novel kanji characters in short-term memory. Results indicate learners with a morphographic L1…

Investigated the effects of student working-memory capacity, preference for amount of instruction, spatial problem-solving ability, and school mathematics grades on eighth graders' recall of factual information and conceptual understanding. Pairs of students worked through 16 activities using a dynamic, computer-based geometry program. Presents…

A study explored working memory (WM) capacity, WM task requirements, as well as effects between WM, skills, knowledge base, and intelligence in adults with mental retardation and children aged 3-6 years. Adults were better on measures reflecting skills and knowledge base. Children performed better in phonological and visuo-spatial WM tasks.…

Two studies examined the possibility of retrieval-induced forgetting by 7-year-olds. Children heard a story while viewing pictures of events mentioned in the story, each highlighting objects drawn from two distinct semantic categories (e.g. animals and food). Over the next several days, children were asked the same yes/no questions about half the…

Background: The objective of this study is to identify intact and deficient cognitive processes in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and children with high functioning autism (HFA). Method: Three rigorously diagnosed groups of children aged between 6 and 12 years (54 ADHD, 41 HFA, and 41 normal controls) were tested on…

A recent study suggests that lesions to all major areas of the cholinergic basal forebrain in the rat (medial septum, horizontal limb of the diagonal band of Broca, and nucleus basalis magnocellularis) impair a spatial working memory task. However, this experiment used a surgical technique that may have damaged cerebellar Purkinje cells. The…

The amygdala appears necessary for enhanced long-term memory associated with emotionally arousing events. Recent brain imaging investigations support this view and indicate a sex-related hemispheric lateralization exists in the amygdala relationship to memory for emotional material. This study confirms and further explores this finding. Healthy…

The primary purpose of this study was to test two hypotheses proposed by Bracken and McCallum (1998), authors of the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT), as to how children diagnosed with ADHD would perform on the UNIT. Twenty-nine students between the ages of 5 and 17 years were administered the extended battery of the UNIT twice, with…

The cognitive revolution began in the 1950s as researchers began to move away from the study of knowledge acquisition and behaviorism to the study of information and the way it is processed. Four factors are discussed in chapter 1 as contributing to the increase in popularity of the "cognitive revolution" (increasing enthusiasm for the…