The relationship between selective attention and learning is investigated in this paper. It is proposed that two forms of attention exist: (1) inspectional attention, which is a simple matching pocess where perceived stimuli are compared with an internal model of the stimulus for which the individual is searching, and (2) comprehensional…

This study was designed to test the effects of message summaries on the recall of main points of an informative message. Two different types of summary techniques, a mnemonic and a traditional type, were identified and compared with each other and with a third treatment involving no summaries. One hundred and eleven volunteer subjects were…

The purpose of this study was to determine if being next-in-line to perform would render strong effects on the student's storage and retrieval of information. The subjects were 45 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory educational psychology course. Fifteen subjects were arranged in a large circle and were told that they were going to…

The concepts in a hierarchically structured list consisting of 24 number-word pairs were aligned systematically with position and numbers, or with the number stimuli only. Some lists involved an alignment appropriate to only the lowest conceptual level. Other lists were completely unstructured when viewed in terms of either position or number. The…

To determine the effects of the amount and type of information supplied by a concept definition, fourth and eighth graders were presented with one of two definitions: a "technical" definition which precisely specified all defining attributes of the concept, and a "common usage" definition from a children's dictionary which did not specify all…

The effects and interactions of 3 variables on concept learning and retention were investigated: (1) method of stimulus presentation; (2) learning process; and (3) intellectual ability. One hundred and forty-four (144) 4th graders were divided into 4 groups, each of which was further subdivided into high, middle, and low intellectual ability…

The aim of this project was to conceptualize and map cognitive processes and structural aspects, working mostly from video tapes of children in relatively natural clinical interviews, play and school situations (laboratory work, etc.). A conception of cognitive structure and an over-all perspective on cognitive functioning, which differ…

This research project investigated some of the characteristics of primary and secondary memory. In the primary research, subjects were given a list of words followed by an interpolated task. The data of interest were the recall for terminal items in the list. Using this procedure, the researchers have demonstrated negative recency in initial…

This paper, presented at the 1973 meeting of the American Education Research Association, discusses some of the studies conducted in the area of learning from prose. The first study dealt with pooling independent sentences into groups of related sentences and preparing passages by stringing these sentences together. College students then read one…

This study explores how an individual's cognitive style influences the development of a strategy in a concept identification task and how an individual tests his hypotheses in a concept learning set task. Subjects for the research were given the Hidden Figures Test as a means of identifying their cognitive styles. Half of the subjects were…

This pamphlet, one in a series entitled "What Research Says to the Teacher," discusses some aspects of the learning process and provides suggestions that may be helpful to classroom teachers and prospective teachers. The contents include: (1) "What Do We Learn," which deals with words and their meanings, skills, attitudes, and conduct; (2) "When…

This paper begins with a brief review of research trends in the area of organization and memory. A discussion in them presented their relevance to the study of children's processing abilities, and the suggestion is presented of a possible useful tool in the application of knowledge about information processing to the educational experience of the…

This terminal report summarizes nine phases of research and development activity of the Concepts in Verbal Argument Project: survey of the literature of critical thinking, identification of sequences of concepts and cognitive abilities, development of measuring instruments, factor analytic study of measuring instruments, normative study of student…

Twenty second- and third-grade children were tested on their ability to make judgements of certain area and volume equivalences. The children were then presented a conservation-of-liquid task. Of the 17 children who gave correct conservation responses, only two had solved the area and volume problems. Thus, contrary to what is suggested by…

The primary object of this research proposal is to delineate the area of general learning abilities. It differentiates between abilities and skills by defining ability as a general trait which can be inferred from observation of responses consistent across tasks and skill as a proficiency on a specific task or on a limited group of tasks. A review…