The debate about whether making a risky choice is based on a weighting and adding process has a long history and is still unresolved. To address this long-standing controversy, we developed a comparative paradigm. Participants' eye movements in 2 risky choice tasks that required participants to choose between risky options in single-play and…

Bruner's constructs of learning, specifically the structure of learning, spiral curriculum, and discovery learning, in conjunction with the Cognitive Load Theory, are used to evaluate the Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM), an inquiry-oriented inductive language arts strategy designed to teach K-6 children phonics and spelling. The PWIM reflects…

Tests of attentional control, working memory, and planning were administered to compare the non-verbal executive control performance of healthy children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition, mediations of several sociodemographic variables, identified in the literature as part of the experience of child poverty, between…

Purpose: The author presents a view of research in speech motor control over the past 5 decades, as observed from within Ken Stevens's Speech Communication Group (SCG) in the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT. Method: The author presents a limited overview of some important developments and discoveries. The perspective is based…

Although children are often exposed to technological devices early in life, little is known about how they evaluate these novel sources of information. In two experiments, children aged 3, 4, and 5 years old ("n" = 92) were presented with accurate and inaccurate computer informants, and they subsequently relied on information provided by…

Research shows that the greatest gains in student learning in mathematics classrooms occur in classrooms in which there is sustained use of high cognitive demanding tasks throughout instruction (Boston and Smith 2009). High cognitive demanding tasks, which this article will refer to as rich tasks, are mathematics problems that are complex, less…

Science is a complex process, and we must not teach our students overly simplified versions of "the" scientific method. We propose that students can uncover the complex realities of scientific thinking by exploring the similarities and differences between solving the familiar crossword puzzles and scientific "puzzles."…

Standard unidimensional Rasch models assume that persons with the same ability parameters are comparable. That is, the same interpretation applies to persons with identical ability estimates as regards the underlying mental processes triggered by the test. However, research in cognitive psychology shows that persons at the same trait level may…

Our research objective focused on examining the instructional efficiency of tutoring as a form of instructional change as opposed to a non-tutoring approach in an outreach laboratory. We designed our laboratory based on cognitive load (CL) theory. Altogether, 269 twelfth-graders participated in our day-long module "Genetic Fingerprinting." In a…

Ability to write focused expository essays in English is the key to academic success for students in an English-medium education system, but such writing can be a challenge for students for whom English is a Second Language. Focusing writing lessons on improving topic content and grammatical accuracy does not always achieve the expected results.…

This study broadly examines executive (EF) and visuo-motor function in 30 adolescent and adult individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in comparison to 28 controls matched for age, gender, and IQ. ASD individuals showed impaired spatial working memory, whereas planning, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition were spared.…

The present eye-tracking study aimed to investigate the impact of auditory speech information on 12-month-olds' gaze behavior to silently-talking faces. We examined German infants' face-scanning behavior to side-by-side presentation of a bilingual speaker's face silently speaking German utterances on one side and French on the other side, before…

A novel explanation of belief bias in relational reasoning is presented based on the role of working memory and retrieval in deductive reasoning, and the influence of prior knowledge on this process. It is proposed that belief bias is caused by the believability of a conclusion in working memory which influences its activation level, determining…

The prediction of dangerousness and the insanity defense are two areas where psychologists provide research-based expertise to the courts. Teachers of psychology can use these topics to capture the attention of students and to show how psychological research and theory can inform and influence the legal system. Specifically, teachers can use the…

Recently there has been growing empirical and theoretical attention to the role of meaning in grief, along with increased recognition of the need for more sophisticated definitions of meaning. The present article highlights philosophical issues inherent in the study of meaning and grief, reviews the place of meaning in current theories of grief,…