Linear syllogisms present two premises, each describing a relation between two terms. The individual's task is to infer the relation among the three terms of the linear syllogism, and then answer a question about one or more of these relations. For example, "John is taller than Bob. Sam is shorter than Bob. Who is the tallest?" Students…

Many writers have suggested that comprehension occurs at several levels (e.g., literal, inference, and conclusion). However, many teachers spend as much as two-thirds of their time on lower-level skills such as phonics and literal-level comprehension skills. Some authors have suggested ways of assisting readers in achieving comprehension at more…

It has been suggested that cognitive style interacts with performance on tasks measuring formal thought. It is hypothesized that cognitive style interacts with task context rather than with the underlying formal thought processes. Experiments are reported to clarify the type of task that elicits an interaction and to determine whether such…

Presented to the Ninth Annual Interdisciplinary UAP-USC Conference on Piagetian Theory and the Helping Professions in 1979, the paper discusses the development of cognitive skills in handicapped children through art activities, and describes some new art-based procedures for assessing and developing such cognitive skills. The procedures in the…

Developmental patterns in the solution of verbal analogies, especially the recognition of higher-order analogical relations, were traced. The investigation sought to: (1) provide new developmental tests of a componential theory of analogical reasoning; (2) identify strategy changes during the transition from midchildhood (grade 3) to adulthood…

An aptitude-strategy interaction in linear syllogistic reasoning was tested on 144 undergraduate and graduate students of both sexes. It was hypothesized that the efficiency of each of four alternative strategies--control, visual, algorithmic, and mixed--would depend upon the subjects' pattern of verbal and spatial abilities. Two tests of verbal…

The document contains a paper on the cognitive-decision approach to moral/citizenship education and three critiques of the paper. The major paper characterizes cognitive decisionists, describes strengths and weaknesses of their approach, and assesses the extent to which empirical knowledge is available for the approach. Cognitive decisionists…

The Domain of Cognition is a taxonomy for planning, sequencing, and implementing instruction, which covers the entire range of cognitive and cognitive-affective learning and behavior. Students acquire, learn, and use information on eight hierarchically and sequentially arranged levels of complexity. The levels and their corresponding abilities…

The application of Piaget's theory of cognitive development to the assessment of mental ability of the mentally retarded is presented. Following a discussion of developmental theories and diagnosis of mental development, testing interviews demonstrate the limits of cognitive thought at each of three stages. Abnormal intellectual oscillations are…

This paper attempts to specify the ways in which bilingualism might affect cognitive functioning. Two general ways, the "linguistic" and the "non-linguistic," are distinguished. Linguistic explanations explain the effects of bilingualism on cognition as a direct result of the fact that the bilingual has access to two verbal…

With the pervasiveness of television, especially for children, visual literacy is a growing concern. Television should be regarded as part of a potential solution to the country's need for improved education. "Sesame Street" has proved that children do learn from television, that active interaction is not always necessary for learning,…

This study investigated the performance of three groups of educationally advantaged and educationally disadvantaged eighth grade boys on each of five measures of cognitive, linguistic, and intellectual functioning. The five measures included: (1) general intelligence, (2) field dependence assessed by an embedded-figures task, (3) level of…

The problem of this research was to construct a list of behaviorally specifiable objectives for secondary school teachers to use in teaching the higher cognitive skills (ie., problem solving, rational thinking, and discovery) as well as subject matter. Process, as contrasted with content, was the focus. The specific Thought Process Objectives are…

Debates as to the appropriateness of using the Karplus Islands Puzzle as an instrument to assess formal-operational thought. (CP)

Hypothesizes that the human brain localizes mental operations which are integrated in the performance of cognitive tasks such as reading. Provides support of this hypothesis from studies in neural imaging, mental imagery, timing, and memory. (RT)