Presents a concrete example of a work task, a doctor treating a patient with schizophrenia, to clarify conceptual issues concerning relevance. Outlines how work task, work situation, perceived work situation, task complexity, information need, information seeking and topicality, situational relevance, relevance assessment, and work task…

Investigated potential influences of general processing capacity and sustained selective attention on the temporal processing of a group of children with specific language impairment and a group of age-matched controls. Results suggest that the SLI children did not evidence a basic temporal processing deficit. (Author/VWL)

Discusses cognitive models of instruction that can help develop new models of Instructional Systems Design (ISD) that include cognitive task analysis to identify mental models; constructive assumptions of learning; working memory and long-term memory; retrieval of new knowledge and skills from long-term memory; and support of metacognitive skills.…

Outlines major steps in problem-solving process: (1) defining the real objective; (2) defining characteristics of the optimum solution; (3) searching for alternate solutions; (4) comparing the best alternative solutions; and (5) choosing the best solution. Discusses variations in procedure when problem owner and solver are the same or different…

Proposes a multiple contingencies theory that simultaneously examines task and dependence effects on unit design and efficiency. The model is tested, using data from 529 work units in 60 employment security offices. Units facing conflicting contingencies are more prone to design misfit and lower performance. Includes 40 references. (MLH)

Clarifies the purpose of developing lists of competencies for each job in an organization and looks at how competencies can be used productively for employee development. Describes a process for identifying competencies that, if acquired, will help overcome known barriers to successful performance. (JOW)

Discusses computerized testing and certification and proposes three levels of certification testing, each one corresponding to a different notion of competent performance, from basic knowledge to expert performance. Declarative and procedural knowledge are defined; performance-based tests are discussed; and testing for problem-solving ability is…

Discusses the importance of situational factors in training program development, particularly in programs intended for professionals in the fields of mental health and social welfare. Proposes a methodological manner for selecting situations relevant to future tasks that revolve around the role the professional is expected to fulfill. (Author/LRW)

Examined effects of animacy on production of different syntactic structures and word orders by Catalan-speaking children, and explored the relationship between age and the production of different syntactic structures by children. Results of a picture description task show that participants tended to produce more object-dislocated descriptions when…

Research has identified a number of dimensions along which speakers modify referring expressions. The study discussed here aimed to determine and describe the actual relationship existing between these production characteristics and corresponding measures of listener comprehension. (Author/VWL)

This study examined 3-year-olds' explanations for actions of theirs that were premised on a false belief. In Experiment 1, children stated what they thought was inside a crayon box. After stating "crayons," they went to retrieve some paper to draw on. Children were then shown that the box contained candles and were asked to (a) state their initial…

The effects of 2 weeks of no, general, and task-related enhanced movement experiences on 8- to 12-week-old infants' (N=30) hand and foot interactions with objects were assessed using standard video and motion analysis. For hand object interaction ability, general and task experience led to greater success than did no experience, and task…

Four task-switching experiments examined the notion of an exogenous component of task-set reconfiguration (i.e., a process needed to shift task set that is not initiated in the absence of a task-associated figuration stimulus). The authors varied the complexity and familiarity of stimulus-response (SR) mapping rules to produce differentially…

Lateralized readiness potentials (LRPs) were used to determine the stage(s) of reaction time (RT) responsible for speed-accuracy trade-offs (SATs). Speeded decisions based on several types of information were examined in 3 experiments, involving, respectively, a line discrimination task, lexical decisions, and an Erikson flanker task. Three levels…

Two experiments investigate whether relations that link the constituents of compounds during compound formation (e.g., "teapot" is formed by combining "tea" and "pot" using the relation "head noun FOR modifier") also influence the processing of familiar compounds. Although there is evidence for the use of such relations in forming compounds,…