A study tested the theory that an item that stands out from its background is better remembered than one that is similar to the background (the isolation effect). Specifically, the study examined whether the isolation effect would be greater when there was a larger and more confusing mass of background items, whether position of the isolated item…

Experimentally induced rehearsal and clustering strategies facilitated the performance of slow-learner, average, and gifted third graders on a visual short-term memory task. Self-pacing was superior to experimenter pacing of successive object presentation. (Author)

A very basic feature of learning is the translation of what is heard or seen into a form that can be sotred in memore. This process of translation will be considered in relation to reception and as a possible cause of differences in learning performance. (Author)

Twelve moderately retarded children were trained on 2-choice visual discrimination problems with interpolation of another item between training and retention tests. Results indicated that well-learned items are rehearsed less. (SBT)

To show how a subject's memory of previous responses and their outcomes affects responding, as in Buchwald's cognitive model, the subject in the present study had to recall his previous response and its outcome before choosing the correct response. (Editor/RK)

A sentence demonstration task was used to examine the information processing skills of 14 normal and 14 learning disabled college students. The effects of sentence meaningfulness (meaningful vs. nonsense), sentence length (two vs. four vs. six vs. eight items), and presentation mode (words vs. logographs) were evaluated. A Population Membership by…

The purpose of this study was to ascertain (1) whether young children are able to recognize a need to check response accuracy and memory verification and (2) what strategies they use. A model of the nursery room was used to assess 37 preschoolers' recognition, recall, and spatial memory for school objects. Children were asked to verify their…

This paper is concerned with memory functions in sequentially structured behavior. Twenty-five 4- and 5-year-old preschool children participated in a prediction experiment in which a stack of cards (each card alternately having a patch of red or green tape on it) was displayed to the child. The child was presented with a card and asked to predict…

A cognition theory of learning is described based on information processing analyses of representations of knowledge in long term, intermediate term, and short term memory. An application of the theory is presented for an example of algebra. It is emphasized that learning is not simply a stamping in, through repetition, of simple links. The…

Sixty subjects learned four different 16-word lists in four different conditions. Within each list, every word was repeated. The four conditions were defined by a 2 (whole vs. blocked presentation) by 2 (same order vs. random order repetition) factorial design. An unexpected final free recall followed the immediate free recall of the fourth list.…

It was hypothesized that the Bransford-Franks linear effect is an artifact of the method of presentation of stimulus sentences and is unrelated to semantic processes. Subjects were given sentences containing the same information in one of two ways. In a control condition, which was identical to the procedure used in earlier research, overlapping…

This study was designed to address two issues: "At what age do children spontaneously use a cumulative rehearsal strategy?" and "What effect does the use of the strategy have on their performance?" The subjects, 28 children at each of five grade levels (nursery, kindergarten, first, third, and fifth), were tested in a serial-position recall task.…

The analysis of previously obtained data concerning short-term visual memory and cognition by a method suggested by Tucker is proposed. Although interesting individual differences undoubtedly exist in people's ability and capacity to process short-term visual information, studies have not generally examined these differences. In fact, conventional…

This report focuses on memory research, using 'interestingness' as a variable in paired-associate (PA) learning and retention. Nine PA lists were constructed from 'interestingness' ratings (high, medium, and low) on both stimulus and response sides, and controls over associative properties of stimulus and response terms. Subjects (162) were…