This paper assesses the psychometric features of instruments used in assessing outcomes for survivors of traumatic brain injury, and describes a test development framework based on the principles of construct validity. This approach is seen to avoid common measurement difficulties. Emphasis is on cognitive and social dimensions of recovery.…

Younger preschoolers had significantly more difficulty than older ones in making an appearance-reality distinction between a person's apparent character, as indicated by his or her facial expression, and the person's real character, as evidenced by his or her behavior. (BB)

Rejects the neuronal fatigue, or selective adaptation, hypothesis of young infant habituation. Holds that studies cited by Dannemiller and Banks do not support the inferences of selective adaptation. Rejects the hypothetical neurophysiological mechanism of neuronal fatigue. Proposes that studies do not indicate that young infants' visual cortical…

A study documented 10 college students' understanding of the limit concept and the factors affecting changes in that understanding. Encouragement by the researchers for the students to change their common informal models of limit to more formal conceptions were met with extreme resistance. (Author/JJK)

Focuses on a single rule of grammar to produce evidence of a memory system for language acquisition and processing that is modular; independent of real-world meaning; unaffected by frequency and similarity; sensitive to formal distinctions; more sophisticated than the explicitly-taught rules it subsumes; developed independently of ambient input;…

Discusses the rationale and a method for the instructional use of graphing calculators as an intermediary step between the intuitive notion of the concept of a limit and its formal epsilon-delta definition. (JJK)

Investigates the effect that manipulation of the extent of formal reasoning required for solving chemistry problems has upon student performance, and presents a cognitive model for the qualitative analysis of that effect. Concludes that the developmental level of students is the most important predictor of problem-solving success given significant…

Examines the five progressive stages of Michael Parson's model for understanding aesthetic development: (1) favoritism; (2) beauty and realism; (3) expressiveness; (4) style and form; and (5) autonomy. Argues that the model can be applied to all ages. Uses Parsons' model to show how a congresswoman's level of aesthetic development can influence…

Explored evidence of perseveration, or the inability to shift from one mental activity to another, in three to seven year olds. In a visual task, perseveration was prominent for three year olds and absent for children over four. On a verbal fluency test, there were different results for three types of perseveration. (BC)

Presents a method to enhance the teaching of computer programing to secondary students that establishes a connection between logic, truth tables, switching circuits, gating symbols, flow charts, and pseudocode. The author asserts that the method prepares students for thinking processes related to programing. (MDH)

Analysis of data on children's ideas about seeing and light is reported. Analysis is theoretically informed by Piagetian stage theory of genetic epistemology. Data produced by other researchers have been recoded to enable quantitative comparisons to be made with the survey data reported by Shayer and Adey (1981). Patterns in the data exposed by…

Reviews research available on the development and evaluation of social competence of young children, focusing on children age one through six years. Finds no universally accepted definition of social competence, and notes that social competence is a complex construct involving interrelationships of cognitive, social, and biological factors. (MM)

Examined age differences in self-ratings of present and projected past and future cognitive performance across cognitive domains. Findings from 151 adults in their 20s, 40s, 60s, and 80s revealed that performance on fluid/speeded intelligence, memory, and reasoning tasks followed progression of poorer performance with age. Found age differences in…

Examined relationships between classroom quality and child outcomes among 145 Head Start children from home environments ranging from poor quality to more stimulating environments. Found that children in higher quality Head Start classrooms performed better on measures of achievement and preacademic skills than children in lower quality…

Examined early adolescents' self-esteem and perceived competence in the cognitive, social, and physical domains. Self-esteem, perceived social and physical competence, and cognitive competence were either stable or increased for most children. Concluded that early adolescents' perceptions of self-esteem and competence are not adversely affected by…