The relationship between cognitive style, achievement motives, and problem solving performance was investigated in two studies involving a total of 362 Norwegian high school students solving insight problems. Findings support the hypothesis of optimal motivation of Atkinson (1980). (SLD)

"The Bell Curve" claims that most human differences and almost all social injustices can be traced to intelligence, and that distribution of intelligence should influence distribution of educational resources to allow students to find their proper and inevitable place in society. Applied to educational policy, this vision of the world…

Notes that fear has the potential to interfere with the young child's quality of life, and offers some understanding of the nature and normal developmental course of early childhood fears. Discusses reasons for fearful behavior and different temperament types. Offers suggestions on how adults can help children cope with fear and how teachers can…

This essay discusses the evaluation of the relationship between the nervous system and emotion regulation, introducing vagal tone as a measurable organismic variable that contributes to individual and developmental differences in the expression and regulation of emotion. (MDM)

This paper argues for considering the uniqueness of each student with serious emotional/behavioral disorders when deciding on placement. A full continuum of alternatives should be considered, including the possibility that a self-contained class with a low student/teacher ratio may be the least restrictive setting needed to produce successful…

This article outlines principles of support services for families of children with disabilities. It then considers characteristics of parents of young children who are deaf/hard of hearing (e.g., gender, hearing status, socioeconomic status, and cultural/linguistic status) and child characteristics (age at diagnosis, hearing level, and additional…

This study found that word learning ability in only 10 of 20 children (ages 7-10) with hearing impairment (HI) was comparable to performance of 20 hearing children matched for receptive vocabulary knowledge. Degree of hearing loss was not related to language or word-learning abilities. Results suggest the coexistence of a language impairment for…

Speculates about connections among educators' ideas of best practice, school organization, and policy. Develops six principles of best educational practice. These connect to organization and policy through resolving four recurring problems: how students are grouped, how teachers' work is defined, how content is allocated to time, and how student…

Problem solving in adventure programs contains physical, social, philosophical, and transcendent (insightful) elements. Through transcendent experiences students reach a high level of performance, tolerance, and understanding. Instructors often attempt to facilitate transcendent experiences through such activities as the Native American…

Marian Matthews' article in the October 1992 issue of "Educational Leadership" reports that many gifted students are resentful of cooperative learning structures. Cooperative learning is not just a teaching technique but involves learning to respect and appreciate others' differences. Much of Matthews' criticism actually addresses…

This study with 14 prelingually deaf adults seeking counseling found that the use of "lay" counselors using sign language was effective; these deaf individuals varied greatly in their problems, needs, and potentials; these adults accepted their deafness; and all had some positive resources in either their emotional network (family) or social…

Presents a conceptual framework for understanding individual and group differences. Identifies biological, societal, and intrapsychic origins of difference. Discusses valuation of differences as a source of social status and power, and the psychological uses of differences by individuals. Suggests applications of the model in social work practice…

The construct validity of the holistic-analytic continuum in information processing strategies was generally supported by an evaluation of the following instruments: (1) the Inventory of Learning Processes; (2) the Human Information Processing Survey; (3) the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator; and (4) the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Subjects were…

Notes that psychologists' interest in behavioral development concerns individual differences in behavior. Explores complexities of genetic and environmental determination of development, and of canalization. Intelligence is considered as an example of the canalization of human behavior. (BC)

Maintains that (1) research questions must address intra- and extraorganism contextual relations and must be multidisciplinary in scope; (2) research must be sensitive to contextual variability and individual differences; and (3) scholars must develop empirically generative models linking the development of human beings with changing contexts. (BC)