This study examined effects of age and IQ on implicit memory in adults with mild or moderate mental retardation with (n=48) and without (n=46) Down syndrome. Although implicit memory showed an age-associated difference and IQ-associated variation in adults with mental retardation, these effects were relatively small, which supported theories…

Using a descriptive quantitative methodology for categorical data analysis, investigates whether Chinese students' conceptions of learning included memorization. Explains that the University of Hong Kong students (n=25) ranked six conceptions of learning. Includes references. (CMK)

Makes an argument that audiotaped response to student writing is particularly useful in teaching two-year-campus students. Grounds the argument in a historical overview of response literature in this journal, student surveys, and the case study of one undergraduate student. (SG)

Presents two studies that explored the effects of music perceived as calming and relaxing on arithmetic and memory performance tasks of 10- to 12-year-old children. Reports that the calming music led to better performance on both tasks when compared with the non-music condition. Includes references. (CMK)

Three experiments investigated discrimination and memory of 5.5-month-olds for videotapes of women performing different activities (blowing bubbles, brushing hair, brushing teeth) or static displays after a 1-minute and a 7-week delay. Findings demonstrate the attentional salience of actions over faces in dynamic events to 5.5-month-olds. Findings…

Describes a Middlebury College second language vocabulary learning database that goes well beyond flashcards, because it keeps track of what students learn. Discusses further expansion of the system through collaborative filtering software to establish learner profiles. A learner profile could then be used to create instructional materials just…

Two experiments examined the effect of single-modality (sound or text) and bimodal (sound and text) presentation on word meaning, as measured by both improvements in spoken word recognition efficiency and recognition memory. Both native and nonnative speakers of English were tested. Concludes simultaneous text presentation can aid novel word…

Among 48 fourth graders, average readers were superior to poor readers in recall performance, use of memory strategies, and awareness of own memory processes (metamemory). However, both groups demonstrated little strategic sophistication. Across groups, significant correlations were found among strategy use, metacognitive knowledge, and recall…

To clarify the relationships between reaction time (RT) variability and intelligence, RT distributions from 303 male Navy recruits were partitioned into 16 fast-to-slow latency bands calculated with measures of mental ability. The slowest bands (worst trials) were the best predictors of intelligence and working memory performance. (SLD)

Explored issue of confirmatory bias in counselors' clinical hypothesis testing by examining the way counselors (n=84) remembered information about a client. Results indicated counselors remembered more confirmatory than discomfirmatory information. Suggests counselors need to be aware of these biases and should be trained to avoid them.…

An adult male with mild mental retardation had previously been trained in a match-to-sample task on 16 arbitrary relations among 16 visual stimuli and 2 auditory stimuli. Testing indicated the development of 112 additional arbitrary relations that had never been reinforced. On two-year and three-year followup, his performances remained stable.…

Children (N=20, age 9-12) with severe dyslexia were slower in counting from memory and naming alternating digits and letters than children with milder reading impairment. The children most disabled also had poorer phonological sensitivity, shorter digit spans, and lower verbal intelligence quotients. (Author/DB)

Hierarchical analysis of a test battery of sentence span, preload, and concurrent memory demand tasks was used to identify subgroups of children with different patterns of memory function. For each subgroup, performance strengths and weaknesses were related to reading, mathematics, and spelling performance. (Author/DB)

The primary language hypothesis of short-term memory coding was challenged by an experiment with eight normally hearing college students and a review of the literature about deaf subjects. Whether or not deaf signers recode printed words into sign depends on a variety of task and subject factors. (SLD)

Using the works of writers like Thomas Wolfe, Christopher Koch, Raja Rao, and Albert Wendt, it is demonstrated that memory is a central element in postcolonial narratives and is associated with two important domains of cognition--recall of childhood and awareness of exile. (57 references) (JL)