An experimental group of fourth and fifth graders received training in Logo computer programming. This group and a control group that did not receive training completed a posttest that involved drawing of designs. No differences were found in posttest design production between the groups. (LB)

In three amplitude discrimination experiments involving a backward masking task, children's rate of perceptual processing was compared to that of adults. Developmental differences in discrimination were compensated for by increases in the psychophysical difference between test tones. No developmental differences in rate of perceptual processing…

The hypothesis that a task that increases in complexity (increasing its correlation with a central measure of intelligence) does so by increasing its dimensionality by tapping individual differences or another variable was supported by findings from 46 adults aged 20-70 years performing a mental counting task. (SLD)

Studied 18 deaf and 18 hearing childrens' (aged 6.8 to 16.6 years) performance on short-term memory tasks involving production of action responses to previously paired visual stimuli. Deaf children showed superior performance on the simultaneous presentation-free recall task and inferior performance on the serial presentation-serial recall task.…

Phonological working memory and auditory processing skills were investigated in six children with central auditory processing (CAP) difficulties. Compared to children without the disorder, CAP children showed poorer abilities in nonword repetition and word recall and were sensitive to the phonological similarity and word length of the recall…

Twenty-five children with specific language impairment (SLI) and 25 children with normal language (NL) were presented with novel vocabulary and bound-morpheme learning tasks. SLI children had significantly lower vocabulary learning levels and less ability to generalize bound morphemes than NL children. Results support the storage/access but not…

Studies the strength of writers' memories for their texts immediately after writing and the degree to which this remembrance endures over time. Demonstrates that students do remember much of the texts they write and may have difficulty making changes. Urges instructors to use techniques that allow writers to focus on reprocessing strategies beyond…

Outlines the theory of the significance of early memories used as a projective tool by Adlerian psychologists. Describes a procedure for elicitation and interpretation of early memories and provides several examples of their use in an encouraging therapeutic context. Attempts to show effectiveness of this technique in assessing client issues and…

The differences between drill activities and practice activities and the reasons why there are differences are discussed. Two games that uses playing cards to provide students with untimed opportunities to practice their facts are described. (KR)

The comprehensibility, interestingness, familiarity, and memorability of concrete and abstract instructional texts were studied in 4 experiments involving 221 college students. Results indicate that concreteness (ease of imagery) is the variable overwhelmingly most related to comprehensibility and recall. Dual coding theory and schema theory are…

Investigated how working memory differences between learning-disabled and nondisabled children reflect a specific or generalized deficit and whether limitations in enhancement of learning-disabled student's working memory performance are attributable to process or storage functions. Results suggest that learning-disabled suffer generalized working…

Two experiments compared recognition memory of 85 nonretarded and 85 mildly mentally retarded adolescents immediately and 1 week after presentation of word stimuli of semantic incidental, nonsemantic incidental, or intentional orienting instructions. Results suggest similar processing in mildly retarded and nonretarded persons, with longer…

Four experiments involving 42 Harvard University students and 35 subjects addressing the role of attention in phonetic perception demonstrate that attention influences the signal-to-noise ratio in the phonetic encoding of acoustic cues. Implications for understanding speech perception and general theories of the role of attention in perception are…

Two memory tests for neuropsychologists--the Denman Neuropsychology Memory Scale and the Recognition Memory Test--are reviewed, with attention to test administration and technical features. Both tests are considered useful additions to the repertoire of tests of memory function. Implications of and cautions concerning their use in Australia are…

Tests hypothesis that people recall their expectations in ways that are consistent with outcomes. Finds that autobiographical recall may be generally reconstructive and potentially biased. Canadian students reported their preparations and expectations for an undergraduate examination. Observes that more than 90 percent of the students did not…