Describes recent theoretical developments in cognitive psychology that can be applied to second language acquisition, including consideration of linguistic theories in addressing the role of mental processes in second language acquisition, current cognitive learning theory, and possible applications of a theoretical model to memory representation,…

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…

In three experiments, differences between good and poor writers were examined on six cognitive-processing tasks: ordered letters, ironic memory, letter reordering, word reordering, sentence reordering, and paragraph assembly. Both college and high school students were studied. Significant differences were found in abilities to hold and…

Discusses learning behaviors where the "picture superiority effect" (PSE) seems to be most effective in biology education. Also considers research methodology and suggests a new research model which allows a more direct examination of the strategies learners use when matching up picture and text in efforts to "understand"…

Memory of incidentally learned material was investigated across three developmental levels in immediate and delay conditions. Incidental learning increased with age with or without specific instructions, suggesting that previously reported divergent developmental trends may not be the result of the type of paradigm. (Author.PN)

College students read prose passages and answered either verbatim or paraphrased inserted questions while reading under review or no review conditions. On a posttest students who received paraphrased questions outperformed students who received verbatim questions. This result supported the contention that paraphrased adjunct questions could…

Seven experiments investigated adults' knowledge of routine activities (e.g., eating in a restaurant) and how that knowledge is organized and used to understand and remember narrative texts. "Script" denotes these action stereotypes; the role of script knowledge in text memory is discussed, as is the relation of scripts to schema memory.…

The relationship between current information processing and prior associative theories of human and animal learning, memory, and amnesia are discussed. The paper focuses on the two components of the amnesic syndrome, retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia. A neural theory of chunking and consolidation is proposed. (Author/RD)

The cascade model of information processing is compatible with the relation between time and accuracy in speed-accuracy trade-off experiments. Findings regarding the additive factors methods led to reexamination of conclusions drawn from several studies about the locus of perceptual and attentional effects on processing. (Author/RD)

Examines evidence supporting the view that speech recoding is necessary prior to lexical access, explores an alternative view (that speech recoding occurs in working memory), describes an experiment suggesting that meaning analyses during reading can occur without speech recoding in working memory, and discusses models of reading. (GT)

Two experiments study the effects of structure and content variables on memory and comprehension of prose passages. The first experiment tests the effects of systematically varying the amount of structure present in to-be-learned passages. The second experiment assesses the independent contributions of structure and content variables in…

Extends the concepts of utilization deficiencies in a review of 30 years of memory-training research. Finds that over half of training conditions showed at least one type of utilization deficiency. Utilization deficiencies were more common for younger than for older children and were more likely when training involved multiple, rather than single,…

Maintains that Demetriou and his colleagues' project shows how developmental scientists can assess concepts from multiple frameworks and relate them through explicit modeling and targeted research to build explanations powerfully grounded in data and theory. Presents doubts related to specific conclusions because of issues related to the design of…

Explores ways people learn from text. Content overlap between a text and the reader's prior knowledge is identified as one factor. Methods are proposed to identify whether a text is suitable for readers with a specific background. The usefulness of coherence gaps that stimulate constructive activities is discussed. (SLD)