The influence of social and information-processing demands on eye-gaze avoidance in individuals with fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, or typical development were examined by manipulating those demands in a structured-language task. Participants with fragile X syndrome exhibited more gaze avoidance than did those in the comparison groups, but no…

This empirical study was undertaken to test the Involvement Load Hypothesis (Laufer and Hulstijn, 2001) by examining the impact of three tasks on vocabulary acquisition. It was designed to test and develop the involvement load hypothesis by examining the impact of different reading tasks on the L2 vocabulary acquisition. The results show that…

The first purpose of this study was to investigate whether the visuospatial working memory (VSWM) skills of 15-16-year-old pupils with difficulties in mathematics differ from those of their normally achieving peers. The goal was to broaden the view of the complex system of VSWM. A set of passive and active VSWM tasks was used. The study's second…

Suggests that difficulty is a parameter of all cognitive tasks. Therefore, a search for the common mechanisms across tasks will lead to understanding of the system rather than understanding of only the paradigms. Uses earlier research by DeRosa and Morin (1967, 1970) in exploring retrieval strategy. (Author/RK)

Defining the difficulty of a task includes how long the task takes; its features, complexity, and newness; and understanding/willingness to complete it. Problems with determining difficulty levels make it questionable to claim that higher levels of a qualifications framework are more difficult than lower levels. (SK)

In a task choice situation, why do some students spontaneously choose challenging tasks while others do not? In the study, 114 undergraduate students were first asked of their perceived competence and interest in solving number puzzles at both individual and situational levels, and then asked to choose one puzzle from four difficulty levels. They…

This paper reports the results of four dual-task experiments that were designed to determine the extent of domain-specificity of the verbal working memory resources used in linguistic integrations. To address this question, syntactic complexity was crossed in a 2x2 design with the complexity of a secondary task, which involved either (1)…

Fluent reading hinges on automatic word recognition, yet little research has investigated the acquisition process with repeated exposure to novel words. In this study, elementary students in grades three to six were asked to read two-syllable pseudowords five times each (in varied sequences) during two sessions (n = 49). The goal was to study…

Presents a study of communication development in 5-year-old children. Subjects described multidimensional triangles for the listener. Tasks involved simple or complex attribute variation. Results indicated success only on simple tasks. (CM)

Focusing on the precise grounds on which a person can be said to have solved a problem, six conditions are articulated which govern the application of the concept and its relationship to trying and intention. The "solving" concept is found in synonymous phrases such as "figuring out" and "finding the solution." (Author/CM)

Analyzed the growth of a theoretical-research program in information needs and seeking studies by reconstructing the logical structure of the theories and by comparing conceptual and factual similarities. Found the program to be progressive in terms of empirical support and precision of theories, and elaborative in its growth pattern. Presents…

Although much has been discovered about relations between self-efficacy and academic achievement, questions remain about links between achievement, the structure of learning tasks, and changes in students' self-efficacy as students engage with a single, complex authentic task. Students' self-efficacy for learning (SEL) and for performance (SEP)…

This study examined the effects of task difficulty on on-task behavior for four students exhibiting low levels of math performance and on-task behavior. Curriculum-based assessments were conducted with each student to define the difficulty level of math tasks for each student based on the individual's rate of accurate performance on computational…

This study took a pragmatic approach to examining the effects of task difficulty on L2 oral output. Twenty native English speakers and 59 Japanese students of English at two different proficiency levels produced speech acts of requests and refusals in a role play task. The task had two situation types based on three social variables:…