Partially supported by a New York University Art and Science Research Grant and by National Institute of Mental Health Grants HD-2672-01 and HD-MH-03008.

The purpose of this study was to investigate both the relationship between verbalization and shift-learning and the possible prepotent stimulus dimensions of the eighty-four 7-year-olds used as subjects. Four pairs of two-dimensional stimuli were presented to the children, for the discrimination learning task, in the following order: large black,…

Two separate subject matter areas, which were felt to represent two distinct types of learning situations, were selected for investigation, namely, a kind of logico-mathematical procedure--the transportation technique, and a visual form discrimination task--aircraft recognition. Two separate courses were developed for each subject matter area. One…

The research described in this paper is concerned with conceptual learning in disadvantaged children. The various studies discussed were concerned with the current learning capacity of the subjects. The tasks presented consisted of inductive concept problems. Subjects were provided with various experiences and the effects of these procedures on…

Examines the importance of (1) dimensional characteristics of stimuli present in discrimination transfer tasks, (2) having contrasting stimuli presented simultaneously, and (3) subjects age. Subjects were rural Mexican youths, ages 4 to 10. Reversal and nonreversal type discrimination transfer problems were used in the study. (DP)

This paper presents further data on the Moss-Harlow Effect, together with some new theory, supporting the conclusion that younger subjects prefer novelty more than do older children. (Author)

Recent research suggests that humans and other animals have sophisticated abilities to extract both statistical dependencies and rule-based regularities from sequences. Most of this research stresses the flexibility and generality of such processes. Here the authors take up an equally important project, namely, to explore the limits of such…

The presuppositions that favor firsthand experience over secondhand information, as pertaining to learning and education, are questioned. It is noted that, when education and firsthand experience are described as if equivalent, a presumption is made that a commonsense theory of knowledge and mind is valid. Research on the social psychology of…

Reports research demonstrating that fourth-grade subjects could not solve a basic transverse patterning problem involving pairs of geometric forms even after 90 trials. The addition of one nonspatial dimension, however, resulted in solution. Also, the greater the number of nonspatial dimensions present, the better the learning. (Author/SDH)

Nonsense forms with nonsense labels were utilized in a match to sample task to observe whether children's word extensions are based on static form characteristics or on functional action characteristics. The stimuli consisted of: (1) a single model object which performed an action; (2) a selection array consisting of one object similar in form to…