Discusses four experiments concerned with environmental determiners of the taste familiarity effect. Specifically, external environmental stimulation experienced by the subject at the time of taste preexposure and taste conditioning was varied in order to assess its influence on taste aversion learning. (Author/RK)

Three studies examined whether and when preschool children are willing to attribute internal and immanent causes to motion. Found that preschool children were more likely to attribute immanent cause to motion in animals than in artifacts and more likely to attribute human cause to motion in artifacts than in animals. (MDM)

Describes the construction of a sturdy earthworm box that can provide students with firsthand experience with earthworms. Presents activities that enable students to observe earthworms and discover how they enrich the soil. (JRH)

Presents different methods for teaching animal classification to young children. Discusses modeling, observation, and the use of Venn diagrams among other approaches. (NB)

Results from several experiments indicated that by age 5, children distinguished animals and plants from nonliving things in terms of growth; many 5-year olds attributed growth, intake of food and water, and illness to both animals and plants; and 5-year olds responded affirmatively when asked whether plants would manifest phenomena similar to…

Presents an activity in which students seek answers to questions about evolutionary relationships by using genetic databases and bioinformatics software. Students build genetic distance matrices and phylogenetic trees based on molecular sequence data using web-based resources. Provides a flowchart of steps involved in accessing, retrieving, and…

Describes a simple, inexpensive test for soil contamination that can be used in a variety of courses to examine the effects of soil toxicity, to practice standardized laboratory procedures, to study experimental design and data analysis, or to investigate earthworm ecology. Presents background information along with details regarding equipment,…

Presents activities designed to build an understanding of why the physical characteristics of small animals such as the water strider, water spider, and the basilisk make it possible for the animals to use the surface tension of water to their advantage. Discusses the concept of geometrical scaling. (JRH)

The author recounts childhood interactions with animals in the "wild" and how these experiences can enrich the lives of both children and adults. (LZ)

Discusses contributions of E. O. Wilson and others to the development of sociobiology. Considers sociobiology's origins, the study of social behavior, the inclusive fitness theory of behavior, haplodiploidy, reciprocal altruism, ecological perspectives, species richness, social evolution, societal explanations for infanticide, sociobiology and the…

In three experiments, children were asked whether animals, plants, and artifacts that had been damaged could heal through regrowth and whether a person could mend them. Four-year olds realized that both animals and plants could regrow and that artifacts had to be fixed by humans. Three-year olds were less knowledgeable than four-year olds. (MDM)

Examines one component of an African Grey parrot's monologue behavior, private speech, while he was being taught new vocalizations. The data are discussed in terms of the possible functions of monologues during the parrot's acquisition of novel vocalizations. (85 references) (GLR)

College and university public relations officials need to be aware of the potential problems associated with institutional research programs using animals and conflicts with animal welfare activists. Steps to take include anticipating and planning for a crisis, knowing campus research projects, and educating the various constituencies affected,…

Explores themes relating to human transition as they appear in "Charlotte's Web" and four other stories using pigs as a subject. Discusses the motifs common to all these texts that recur in the film "Babe." Considers how the cycle of life and death is ceaseless, and pigs symbolize the necessary transitions that people must all…

Presents an activity that is foolproof for children to collect and observe soil animals, alive and in the animals' own environment. (ASK)