Errors made by 5- and 8-year-old children asked to draw a model were investigated in two studies. Results from both indicated that 5-year-old children are more likely to produce visually accurate drawings than had previously been supposed; for both ages difficulty in producing accurate drawings occurred when drawing rules and conventions…

Children ages 6 to 13 and college students were asked to remember length relationships for three pairs of sticks. For six- and seven-year-olds, relationships between interlinked pairs were much more difficult to retain than were relationships between unrelated pairs. (Author/MP)

Both between- and within-group differences in children ages nine to eleven identified as having reflective or impulsive cognitive tempos. Cognitive tempo was first assessed using Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures test, and children were later tested on the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. (Author/RH)

Investigates age differences in the impact of play on subsequent tool-use, the influences of task characteristics on the impact of play on tool-use, the ways play aids tool-use, and the effect of play richness on tool-use among 30 children in each of three age groups (from four to five, six to seven, and eight to ten years of age). (RH)

Assesses the range of reading difficulty in three sets of encyclopedias by correlating readability with grade levels. (AEA)

Comprehension was compared for speeded reading and listening to compressed speech. No difference between reading and listening comprehension was found at any of the speeds or difficulty levels, contrary to previous suggestions of a listening disadvantage. (Author/GK)

When college students attempted to integrate multiple cues into a single value judgment, the resulting cognitive load did not simplify cue-judgment relationships. Cue values were translated into judgment-relevant subjective values before integration. Findings support the information integration theory. (Author/CP)

Second and sixth graders acquired information about a large-scale environment either actively or passively. They were subsequently asked to estimate distances in either active or passive response style. Unlike the older children, second graders did not estimate distances accurately when acquisition and response activities were incongruent.…

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)

Explores the perceived complexity and urgency defined by school principals for planning processes and plans for policy issues that form the Israeli educational agenda. Advances proposition that the higher the urgency attributed to a specific issue, the lower the probability that educators will adequately address its complexity and create plans…