Reber found that subjects given neutral instructions to memorize letter strings from a synthetic language learned more about the underlying grammar than those instructed to try discovering the rules for letter order. Two experiments explored the relationship between implicit and explicit processes in the acquisition of complex knowledge.…

Three experiments are reported in which, following presentation of a categorized list, subjects either recalled the whole list or a part of the list. Results indicate that it is difficult to retrieve selectively parts of a studied list when instructions specify only what not to recall. (Author/AM)

Reports an experiment which supports the predictions of the accommodative-reconstruction hypothesis that recall is not based on retrieval of stored traces of interpreted experience. It involves accommodating details of what is to be remembered to what is known at the time of recall. (PMJ)

Examined the relation between developmental suggestibility effects and preschoolers' emerging ability to reason about conflicting mental representations. Subjects were 42 three- to five-year-olds. Found in the children significant initial encoding and ability to retrieve event details. Also found an integration between children's theory of mind…

Empirical parallels between repetition priming (RP) and automaticity predicted by the instance theory were studied in 4 experiments with a total of 196 introductory psychology students. RP was viewed as the first few steps toward automaticity. Characteristics RP shares with automaticity, beyond a general speed-up with practice, are discussed. (SLD)

The idea of potential and usable processing space is explored, and consequent teaching strategies are discussed. Simultaneous studies of the effect of working memory space and field-dependence on science performance at secondary and tertiary levels are reviewed. How students filter out "signal" from "noise" during various…

Teachers who understand the dimensions of cognitive style and cognitive control can significantly affect their students' academic performance. This article explains students' information processing system, learning phases and skills, and instructional implications. Teachers can use overlearning and meaningfulness to help students move new…

This study investigated the tendency of deaf children (ages 6-13) not to spontaneously use active memory strategies such as rehearsal. Comparison of 38 deaf and 39 hearing students found that deaf students compensated for less effective rehearsal strategies by capitalizing on unique spatial features of the task. (Author/DB)

A discussion of the Total Physical Response method of second language instruction places the concept within the context of other unconventional language learning methods, reviews the rationale behind the approach, and outlines the classroom procedures used. A sampling of useful commands for classroom use is included. (19 references) (MSE)

Reviews and reinterprets current developmental directed-forgetting literature within an inhibition framework. Argues that item-by-item cued directed-forgetting tasks manipulate selective rehearsal to produce greater recall of to-be-remembered than to-be-forgotten items, producing directed-forgetting effects by second grade. Blocked and…

Reviews selected pioneering findings in the child-developmental and adulthood-aging literature and evaluates them within the framework of Nelson (Thomas O.) and Narens' (Louis) (1990) theory of metamemory. Makes suggestions for conceptually-based analytical research to help specify the mechanisms that underlie developmental differences in…

Examines how well students remember information presented through computer-assisted instruction as a function of a self-reference strategy. Memory test scores and student confidence levels were significantly higher for self-reference students. Confidence level had a relatively high correlation with the total memory test score. Amount of time spent…

This study explored the contribution of two working memory (WM) systems to reading performance in younger and older children. Results showed significant age-related differences in verbal and visual-spatial WM performance were maintained when articulation speed and short-term memory were partialed from the analysis and that WM predicted age-related…

Judgments of frequency for targets (old items) and foils (similar; dissimilar) steadily increase as the number of times a target is studied increases, but discrimination of targets from similar foils does not steadily improve, a phenomenon termed registration without learning (D. L. Hintzman & T. Curran, 1995; D. L. Hintzman, T. Curran, & B. Oppy,…

In honeybees, the proboscis extension response (PER) can be conditioned by associating an odor stimulus (CS) to a sucrose reward (US). Conditioned responses to the CS, which are acquired by most bees after a single CS-US pairing, disappear after repeated unrewarded presentations of the CS, a process called extinction. Extinction is usually thought…