Average and backward readers from Grades 2, 4, and 6 were examined for their performance on five cognitive tasks, three of which measured memory span. Results were consistent with a developmental trend and increment with reading competence. No differences were obtained between matched groups, which supported a developmental interpretation.…

Differences in discourse type were expected to result in differences in processing text. The more organized discourse types of comparison, problem/solution, and causation were predicted to yield superior recall of information than a collection of descriptions about a topic. Results from two studies supported this prediction. (Author/BW)

Three eperiments assessed the effects on strategy transfer of supplements to keyword method instruction; supplements included more comprehensive instructions concerning strategy application, additional practice with strategy during instruction, and combined directions and practice. Generally, results indicated that more explicit instructions are…

In a classification task, preschoolers matched a target stimulus with a conventional category, a visually similar item that cut across conventional categories, or an unrelated item. Items were presented in picture, verbal, and picture-verbal conditions. In all conditions, conventional classifications outnumbered visual ones, and this difference…

Reports on experiment showing that skilled seven- to eight-year old readers were better than less skilled readers at answering from memory (shortly after reading a story), both questions answerable directly from the text, and those requiring an inference. Even with text in hand, less skilled readers remained poorer at answering inference…

Administered Russell's (1975) variant of the Wechsler Memory Scale to elderly individuals (N=175) to determine if memory deteriorates with age even when chronic medical problems are not present. Results demonstrated that memory progressively declined after age 65 in a population without medical problems and with above-average education and income.…

Preschool to fourth grade subjects were required to reconstruct a previously seen logical sequence by selecting old items from a set containing actually seen events. Older children were found to be more consistent in all task performances. (DEP)

Two experiments investigated the possibility that normal children (sixteen 6- to 7-year-olds) and retarded children (sixteen 9- to 10-year-olds) equated for immediate memory performance may not use effective strategies to eliminate interference from irrelevant information in memory. (Author/JH)

The effects of memory load (simultaneous or successive presentation), number of trials (two or three), and type of information (positive, negative, or mixed) upon inference task performance of 168 five-year-old children were examined. (Author/JH)

Problem studied: How children represent haptic spatial information in memory. Question aimed at: Whether, and if so in what ways, children's spatial representations differ according to the main modality of prior experience. (JH)

Beliefs about memories and about the ability to recall memories may affect the individual's recollection of facts and "events." What people believe about memory is investigated using previously analyzed and reported responses to the Beliefs about Memory Survey (BMS). The survey sample (N=1046) was randomly divided for calibration and…

The aim of this dissertation is to explicate memory's role in catechesis. Catechesis is a term that early Christians chose to describe their "...work of teaching the gospel and...to mean 'instruction given by word of mouth.'" A brief historical overview confirms the continuity between catechesis and memory from apostolic to present…

The use of recall measures conditionalized on other performance introduces the possibility of bias due to item and/or subject selection. Several possible cases are considered. (Editor)

The basic finding of this study was that two cooperating, discussing individuals were more effective on a concept attainment task that either two cooperating individuals not allowed discussion or two competing individuals. (EH)