Nine experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that short-term memory and information processing share a common pool of scarce resources. (LMO)

Good readers performed better than poor readers on temporal order retention tests as expected, but contrary to expectation, also maintained their superiority on the spatial tasks. However, error pattern differences supported earlier evidence linking poor readers' short-term memory deficiencies to reduced effectiveness of phonetic representation.…

Types of comparisons for evaluation of mnemonics were identified based on equating exposure to the to-be-learned associations or on total study time. Experiments on the cueword method illustrated how highly analytical experiments on mnemonics might be conducted and how choice of comparisons in research could affect mnemonic evaluation. (Author/DWH)

Presents an abbreviated version of a large scale investigation of second language attrition covering 50 years. Results yield benefits to teachers and students of foreign languages by leading to an understanding of how various procedures of acquisition affect the rate of loss and ultimately minimize the potential for later attrition. (SL)

The keyword and pegword methods, related mnemonic strategies to improve performance in encoding and retrieving factual information, are described as effective procedures for helping special education and remedial students increase their learning and memory skills. (JW)

Examines the role of organization in adults' processing of stories. Canonical stories were better recalled than noncanonical stories by all three age groups (young, middle-aged, and old adults), and a variety of measures indicated that older adults' recall was both quantitatively and qualitatively similar to that of young adults. (SL)

Examines the effects of integration complexity on the ability of child and adult listeners to integrate information. Increases in complexity adversely affected children's more than adults' resolution integration. The children's integration performance was affected by theme discontinuity and conferential complexity. (Author/AS)

Discusses how laughter and joke-telling can be channeled in such a way as to enhance second language teaching. In addition, it is suggested that jokes can act as a dynamic in overcoming problems (such as lassitude) that arise in situations involving group work. (SL)

A new revision was developed using Rasch psychometric techniques to build a Knox's Cube Test (KCT) variable and item bank using the tapping series from all previous editions. The report forms developed give a clear picture of the subject's performance set in a context that is both normative and criterion. (Author/BW)

The present study was designed to determine whether alphabet letters facilitate the acquisition of phoneme segmentation skill and to test the assumption that letters make it harder for prereaders to learn segmentation than nondistinctively marked visual aids. (Author/PN)

Individual differences in working memory capacity affect the probability of resolving apparent inconsistencies in sentences. Resolution was less likely for readers with small working memories. Such readers devote so many resources to reading processes that they have less capacity for retaining earlier verbatim wording in working memory. (Author/RD)

Investigates the relationships among the speeds of word encoding, lexical access, semantic memory access processes, and reading achievement of college undergraduate students. Concludes that reading deficiencies may occur as a result of either slow semantic memory access speeds or a lack of organization of information in semantic memory. (FL)

Effects of action content and verbal codability of stimulus pictures, parental occupational status and verbal intelligence upon nonverbal serial recall were investigated in white first graders. (Author/SB)

The evidence from studies of component selection in paired-associate learning is reviewed and then considered in relation to Martin's (1968) hypothesis of encoding variability and Rudy's (1974) model of variations in the associative process. Component-selection tasks are also compared to verbal concept-formation tasks. (Editor)

Prior research has shown that adults generally remember pictorial stimuli better than printed words. The present study was designed to determine whether memory for these two visual modes might be differentially affected by age. These results indicate that memory processes in the elderly differ quantitatively and not qualitatively. (Author)