Four experiments are reported in which people organize a space hierarchically when they estimate particular locations in that space. Earlier work showed that people subdivide circles into quadrants bounded at the vertical and horizontal axes, biasing their estimates towards prototypical diagonal locations within those spatial categories…

This paper studies the development of taxonomic processing as measured by an adapted version of the Wechsler Similarities subtest, which distinguishes between categorization of concrete and abstract words. Two factors--age and concreteness--are also tested by a recall task. The results show an age-related increase in taxonomic categorization,…

This article discusses a new design for the classic Bloom's Taxonomy developed by Anderson, L. W. & Krathwohl, D. (2001), which can be used to evaluate learners' technology-enhanced experience in more powerful and critical ways. The New Bloom's Taxonomy incorporates contemporary research on learning and human cognition into its model. The…

Generic sentences (such as "Birds lay eggs") are important in that they refer to kinds (e.g., birds as a group) rather than individuals (e.g., the birds in the henhouse). The present set of studies examined aspects of how generic nouns are understood by English speakers. Adults and children (4- and 5-year-olds) were presented with scenarios about…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine children's knowledge of semantic relations. Method: In Experiment 1, the 6-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and adults participated in an object decision task. Participants in the primed group made object decisions in response to primes that were related taxonomically, thematically, or perceptually to the…

Investigations related to expertise in problem solving and ability to transfer learning from one context to another are important for developing strategies to help students perform more expertlike tasks. Here we analyze written responses to a pair of nonintuitive isomorphic problems given to introductory physics students and discussions with a…

THE TRIPLE MODE TEST OF CATEGORIZATION (TMT-CAT), A COPY OF WHICH IS INCLUDED WITH THIS DOCUMENT, WAS CONSTRUCTED AND VALIDATED TO MEASURE THREE MAJOR MODES OF CATEGORIZATION POSTULATED BY VYGOTSKY. THE TMT-CAT CONTAINS 131 TEST ITEMS WHICH ARE PICTURES IN FORCED-CHOICE-PAIR COMPARISONS. THE CHILD MUST INDICATE PLACEMENT OF A STIMULUS PICTURE IN…

This study was designed to investigate (a) the feasibility of modifying an existing question classification scheme for use in measuring the inquiry level of teachers' questions and (b) the relationship between the inquiry level of teacher questioning and student achievement. Data for the study were collected from three specific classroom…

A book titled "The Processes of Thinking" by Marc Belth is reviewed. (JD)

First and fifth graders sorted cards into two piles based on the orientation of a T figure. Sorting took place in the presence of irrelevant information which did or did not contrast in line slope with the target, or in the absence of irrelevant information. (Author/JMB)

In this study, third and sixth graders were tested in a recognition memory task with short lists of items from either one or two categories to investigate the influence of categorical information on retrieval processes. (Author/SB)

Two experiments using the habituation-dishabituation paradigm examined infants' ability to form and retrieve a basic-level category. Results indicated that infants categorized when tested immediately and after a five-minute delay. (PCB)

Responds to W. Frawley's and J. Lantolf's comments on the Frauenglass and Diaz study concerning the interaction between private speech and cognition. Argues that Vygotsky's theory predicts a positive effect on children's problem solving activity. (HOD)

Response latencies of 27 learning disabled (LD) and 27 normal control boys (8-11 years old) were compared on a picture-word interference task. Both LD and control Ss exhibited greater interference effects (longer response latencies) when naming pictures (versus naming words) and when categorizing words (versus categorizing pictures). (Author/CL)

Organizational theorists have been constrained by the overuse of dichotomies. Complex social phenomena cannot adequately be represented through these simplifications of reality. This propensity of theorists to dichotomize is investigated and countered by the advocacy of disciplined naivete in the study of educational organizations. (MLF)