Considers the definition of learning as usefully applied to lower animals in instances of trained food-aversion behavior as a viable instance of associative learning. (SL)

Nelson, Brooks, and Wheeler (1975) found that interference effects produced by physical similarity among word stimuli in paired associates result from the disruption of contact with the functional stimulus and that interference with associative retrieval is minimal. Data in this research challenge their conclusion on several grounds. (Author/RK)

A description of a series of six experiments dealing with human memory processes. They examined the types of codes generated in maintenance rehearsal and the effects of rehearsal time at various single levels of encoding. Data confirmed earlier findings and led to conclusions regarding repetition, encoding and levels of processing. (AMH)

Noun pairs were learned by younger and older adults. Anticipation and presentation intervals were manipulated, and there were no-imagery, experimenter-provided imagery, and self-generated imagery instructions. Older subjects generated and used imagery with the same facility as younger subjects, although retrieval time was longer. (GO)

The relation between the amount of free study time needed to prepare for a perfect serial recitation and the number of words in the list was determined for individual subjects. List organization, controlled by experimenter or by subject, failed to affect difficulty. (CHK)

Two recognition memory experiments were used to study the retention of language and modality of input. A bilingual list of American Sign Language signs and English words was presented to two deaf and two hearing groups, one instructed to remember mode of input, and one hearing group. Findings are analyzed. (CHK)

Argues that the construction of new utterances formulated by speakers of English as a foreign language is the result of the cognitive process linking up old form (memory) with new form (intent). A model sentence is learned through a process of morphological and syntactical interference and eventually becomes, due to creative re-ordering, a new…

Without opportunities to acquire multiple forms of literacy, children will be handicapped in their ability to participate in the legacies of their culture. The forms in which thinking occurs should not be subjected to the status differences and inequities of society. (MLW)

Four experiments investigated the attentional requirements of learning as assessed by a serial reaction time task. The effects of a dual-task condition, plus the responses of memory disorder patients, were also investigated. The relationship between learning and awareness, preserved learning in amnesia, and the separateness of memory systems are…

Two explanations of the levels effect in text memory were examined in two experiments. Results supported the predictions of the referential coherence formulation and failed to support the structural height account. (Author/LMO)

The current study attempted to further clarify the relationship between speed and span by directly examining whether slower identification of item information is the source of memory span difficulties in learning disabled children. Results indicated that span performance varied directly with naming speed. (Author/LMO)

The effects of text-provided aids on readers' understanding of scientific passages are discussed. Two techniques are pretraining on definitions and signaling. In the experiments, subjects read a scientific passage with either definitions pretraining, signaling, both, or neither. Results indicated these techniques helped readers build mental models…

Hypothesizes that overloading the working memory may leave no space for thought and organization such that faulty (or even no) learning takes place. Provides examples of this hypothesis and possible remedies. These remedies focus on design of laboratory manuals and equipment and on curriculum content order. (JN)

The relationships of spelling achievement to rote learning, rule learning, and self-evaluated spelling ability were investigated. A questionnaire, a structure task which produced a measure of rote learning and rule learning, and the Wide Range Achievement Test (Spelling) were administered to 50 college students. (Author/PN)