The three projects described in this paper were based on the intrinsic connection between language and the structure of perception and action. The first project explored the role of nonverbal frameworks in the development of communication between mother and child, beginning with the first word. It emphasized the role of the mother in the creation…

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a model of the psychological processes that take place when a persuader decides to use or not to use a given persuasive message. The assumption is made that if the perceived emotional impact of a message is more positive than an ethical threshold (which varies from person to person), the persuader will use…

Longitudinal data on the auditory forward and backward digit span (FDS and BDS) subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) were obtained at five age levels (between 6 and 13), in samples of white and black children. Factor analysis and analysis of variance of the data were conducted to test 5 hypotheses, related to Jensen's…

DESIGNED FOR THE PSYCHOLOGIST, THE HANDBOOK DESCRIBES INSTRUMENTS COMMONLY USED FOR INTELLECTUAL EVALUATION OF CHILDREN SUSPECTED OF BEING MENTALLY RETARDED. INFORMATION IS GIVEN CONCERNING DEFIITIONS, IDENTIFICATION, AND CHARACTERISITICS OF MENTAL RETARDATION, TEST SELECTION, AND THE TEST SITUATION. TESTS DESCRIBED AND DISCUSSED INCLUDE…

The effect of sentence complexity on the ability of 40 trainable mentally retarded mongoloids (median IQ 34.3) to comprehend and imitate verbally presented strings was examined in two studies. Comprehension ability was tested by asking each subject to indicate which of two pictures was being described in the sentence spoken by the examiner. Eight…

Guilford's structure of intellect factors and his inherent form content of instructional materials were not confirmed as effective predictors of differences in learning from figural, symbolic, or semantic modes of visual presentation. The feasibility of using this model as an aid in design and production of instructional materials was investigated…

Objectives of this study on the influence of visual deprivation upon the divergent thinking dimension of intelligence were to compare the divergent thinking abilities of blind and sighted children in residential and day school programs, and to determine the relationship between divergent thinking and age of onset of blindness, mobility, school…

Communication methods for the hearing impaired are discussed in 12 conference papers. Papers from the United States are "Adjustment through Oralism" by G. Fellendorf, "Prospectus of Patterning" (a method of teaching speech to deaf children) by M.S. Buckler, and "Visual Monitoring of Speech by the Deaf" by W.…

The English language arts "strand curriculum" of the Iowa Department of Public Instruction depicts a "framework" for a K-12 program and encourages teachers to be concerned with three major dimensions of learning--concepts, attitudes, and skills. "Optimum Goals" and "Basic Considerations" are outlined for each "skill strand" and for each "content…

Listed alphabetically by author are 996 references on experimentation and investigation in the area of creativity since 1954. Included are all articles which have appeared in Psychological Abstracts since 1954, unpublished doctoral dissertations, masters theses, papers, and reports. (AJ)

Tasks involving several areas of cognitive functioning were given to 10 psychotic children and 30 normal children. Comparisons of performance were made between the two groups and also within the psychotic group. The dimension for differentiation was the psychotic children's varying degree of language facility. The psychotic children were…

In a study on short term memory, 32 educable mentally retarded subjects (mean IQ 62.68, mean mental age 103.78 months) were randomly assigned to each of the four experimental conditions. An automated machine presented the stimuli (32 three-letter words) and the interference items (a list of random numbers read aloud between stimuli presentations).…

The purpose of the study was to experimentally test the theory that programed instruction can satisfactorily teach psychomotor tasks which primarily require the learning of cognitive knowledge in order to properly utilize motor skills already possessed. A programed unit on regrinding drills was selected, and a dexterity test and self-instructional…

To examine the characteristics of expertise, a study at the University of Minnesota cardiac clinic compared differences in diagnostic ability and strategies between novices (fourth year medical students) and experts (specialists in pediatric cardiology). The investigator presented a model for expertise based on knowledge of subject matter content…

The effect of stimulus familiarity on the comprehension of polar adjectives by preschool children was examined by administering a perceptual judgment task. The children's ability to indicate the correct object illustrating a particular word was assessed. Antonyms representing opposite dimensions of quantity, height, length, or size were presented.…