Based on the idea that learning is linked to personal relevance, this study examined knowledge retention of exercise physiology content between college athletes and nonathletes. No differences were observed between the groups. These findings have implications on understanding the relationship between personal relevance and memory. (Contains 1…

This article, written for psychologists, educators, and allied health professionals, is both a review of the "Handbook of Human Intelligence" Robert S. Sternberg, editor, and an essay in response to it. Following a note on the contributions made to the field of cognitive psychology by Sternberg and the Handbook, chapters of the book,…

Three methods for studying college textbook chapters were compared, with 50 college special admissions students as subjects. Utilizing a counterbalanced design, students enrolled in a study skills course were given instruction in three study techniques: SQ3R, outlining, and underlining. The SQ3R method (Francis Robinson, 1946) consists of five…

This paper outlines several "tricks" that aid students in improving their memories. The distinctions between operational and figural thought processes are noted. Operational memory is described as something that allows adults to make generalizations about numbers and the rules by which they may be combined, thus leading to easier memorization.…

Difficulties facing learning disabled (LD) students in problem solving are reviewed and an approach is proposed to help them make better use of the learning strategies available to them. A cognitive learning style approach to LD students is introduced, followed by an analysis of problem solving and the stages of information processing (attention,…

The foundations of knowledge by tradition have been treated analytically, and knowledge has been characterized as a theoretical subject. This article introduces a steering mechanism as the prerequisite for a study of knowledge work and maintenance on empirical grounds. Knowledge is treated synthetically, that is, as something that exists only…

Responding to recent advances in developmental and cognitive science research on knowledge acquisition, this report presents a theoretical framework for analyzing cognitive development as a process of learning. The first section summarizes three developmental characteristics recognized in both the Piagetian and the quantita experimental tradition:…

While mnemonic systems have been taught and used for hundreds of years, virtually all of the experimental research into such systems has been conducted since 1965. This paper describes four mnemonic systems, all of which rely heavily on visual imagery, and summarizes research conducted on the performance values of each system. The link system, the…

The purpose of this study was to further investigate performance differences between reflective and impulsive subjects on a recognition memory task. Other researchers have proposed that these differences are based on visual analysis and that they are relatively independent of verbal processes. To test this contention, a sentence recognition task…

The relationship between retention of story propositions and inferences was studied in two experiments on groups of children who averaged five and eight years in age. In the first experiment, the motives and theme of protagonists were varied and found to affect the number and kind of inferences made by eight-year-olds. The increase in the number…

The hypothesis that reading difficulty of learning disabled (LD) children is attributable to deficiencies in verbal encoding was investigated with 60 LD and normal children (mean CA=9.1, mean IQ=103.5). Ss were compared on recall of a serial short-term memory task after pre-training of named and unnamed stimulus conditions. Data suggested that…

Two experiments tested what happens to learning performance as serial location of a word list is removed as a consistent source of associations across trials. Serial recall produced a stable level of performance and little learning. Serial recall learning may require certain memory factors in combination. (CHK)

The relationship between learning strategies and cognitive abilities was examined in a series of three experiments. Results suggest that differential interrelations can be demonstrated as long as the processes and strategies forming the link between the two are potent and understood. (Author/DEP)

Three experiments were conducted to assess the effects of nonbizarre vs. bizarre pictorial elaboration on the paired-associate retention of noun pairs. Five and seven year old children served as subjects in the first two experiments and learned a list of common noun pairs by the study-test paired-associate method. Experiment 1 provided a…

The present study was conducted in order to evaluate pictorial elaboration effects in children's incidental paired-associate memory. The design of the experiment consisted of a 2 x 2 x 2 x 5 factorial with (1) grade level (kindergarten vs. second), (2) pictorial presentation (standard vs. elaborated), (3) list (two 14-pair lists of common noun…