A computer-aided authoring technique for generating symbol learning materials is described in which a human author enters information about a set of symbols into a data base and a computer routine merges the contents of the data base with generic formats and automatically organizes and prints a complete learning package. Three key issues discussed…

Adolescents defined as educable retarded who have demonstrated their ability to profit from experiences (highscorers and gainers) were hypothesized to perform more adequately than nongainers on the Stroop Color-Word interference task. The tasks were administered on three successive days to each subject in the following order: color, word,…

In this study symbolic motor skill acquisition was best when mental imagery was used. In early stages of performance males were more skillful but this sex difference disappeared in later stages of performance. The findings support the hypothesis that sex-related differences may vanish after training and practice. (VM)

The relationship between language and symbolic gesture was studied in nine children (ages 18-32 months) who were in the lowest 10 percent for language production for their age. Subjects performed like language-matched controls on a lexical production task. On a syntax-related task, they performed like age-matched and significantly better than…

An intervention approach emphasizing development of symbolic thought, communication, and interpersonal relationships was implemented with 26 children (ages 2-6) with pervasive developmental disorder, or severe emotional handicaps. Ss demonstrated significant changes in several targeted developmental areas, including cognition, perceptual/fine…

Social and cognitive values of different play materials for 21 normal and 21 handicapped preschool children were examined. Analyses showed that handicapped preschoolers exhibited comparable amounts of symbolic play but lower quality of symbolic play than that shown by nonhandicapped preschoolers. Symbolic play by handicapped children depended much…

Educational materials such as textbooks often reflect and define a culture through the use of symbols and metaphors. The use of visual metaphors in frontispieces of reading and spelling texts during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries show the emergence of a patriotic iconography. (DF)

The relative power of symbolically conveyed adult and peer models to modify children's moral choice behavior was examined. The adult model was more influential than the peer model, although the latter was more influential than no model. (Author/KM)

An innovative approach to introductory sociology is based on the perspective that knowledge be viewed as an emergent process derived from the classroom situation. Three basic problems for the instructor are reviewed, covering details of textbooks, discussion techniques, and paper topics. (KM)

The effects of attention to symbolic presentation of contingent rewards, in the form of slide-presented images, on children's ability to wait for the delayed reward were investigated. Attention to the symbolic contingent rewards greatly increased the duration of the children's delay of gratification. (Author/KM)

Reprinted from the November 1971 issue of the Journal of Thought.'' (DD)

Summarized are several nonverbal assessment techniques for aphasics. Two experiments concern speech perception (the scaling of speech and the relationship between aphasic's performance and level of auditory impairment) and one concerns the impact of aphasia on one's affective or attitudinal response to a symbol (connotative meaning). (KW)

Three experiments explore factors associated with the development of certain symbolic abilities (verbal, maplike, and mathematical) in 4-10 year old Negro and white children. The experimental tasks required a synthesis of concepts with symbolic stimuli. (MH)

Observation indicated that children most frequently represent objects by performing actions appropriate to the represented objects. With increasing age, children represent objects without using functional actions and with objects bearing little physical similarity to the represented objects. (Author/DB)