Notes that fuzzy-trace theory provides a link between indices of memory performance and the theoretical processes that underlie that performance. Author argues false memories can arise because of processes that normally affect forgetting. Maintains that, to the extent that memories lose their distinctive properties, such memories may become…

Suggests that fuzzy-trace theory may replace dominant metaphors of cognitive development. Discusses theoretical climate of the 1980s when the theory was first formulated. Describes how, by integrating new ideas about how cognitive development was viewed into a coherent framework, the theory slowly gained acceptance as critical aspects of it were…

Four experiments and an analysis of pooled data from English and Japanese children show a linear increase in understanding false beliefs with number of older siblings; no such effect for children younger than 38 months; no helpful effect of younger siblings at any age; no effect of siblings' gender; and no helpful effect of siblings on a source…

Presents a four-phase model that could help infuse constructivist practice into preservice teacher education courses. The phases include engagement (grounding the course in students' beliefs and experiences), connection (developing students' expertise for resolving later ambiguities), application (applying students' reconstructed understanding of…

Discusses motivations for research replications and makes recommendations for appropriate research strategies. Illustrates research strategies in a review of studies replicating a 1948 study by Soviet psychologist Z.M. Istomina on preschoolers' memory. Concludes that none of the studies closely replicated Istomina's methods, but some replicated…

Examined relationship between children's ability to infer the veracity of an adult's statement and the adult's informedness. Found that children tended to believe utterances from speakers who were better informed than they themselves were and to disbelieve less well-informed speakers, with no age-related differences. Children gave explicit…

Two studies tested the hunter-gatherer theory predicting that females should have better incidental memory for objects and locations than males. Subjects were 3- to 6-year olds and adults. Results indicated that females and males remembered more toys or objects congruent with their own sex but that there was no overall advantage for females.…

Developmental models provide a useful theoretical foundation for conceptualizing the cognitive development of counseling students. When these models are used, a rationale emerges for teaching styles and course sequencing in counselor education programs. (Author)

Investigated the etiology of several measures of cognitive delay in over 3,000 pairs of 2-year-old twins, focusing on group-differences heritability for general and specific cognitive delays. Concluded that because the genetic and environmental origins of verbal and performance delays in infancy differ, they are better considered separately rather…

The reliability and validity properties of the Brigance K&1 screen were examined with a sample of 134 Head Start children preparing to enter kindergarten. Prediction/outcome analyses, intended to explore the test's accuracy in predicting special-education status at the end of preschool, indicated a relatively high false negative rate and a…

Presents some of the misconceptions school-age children have about issues related to global warming/global climatic change. Discusses strategies for mitigation. (Author/CCM)

Identifies the social dimensions of learning. Advocates a teaching approach that is sensitive to the various barriers encountered by a diverse body of students seeking to negotiate access into the subculture of school science. (Author/CCM)

Adult and 10- and 12-month olds participated in two experiments to determine reliance of infants on object-kind information in solving problems of object individuation. Findings converge with those of object-first hypothesis of developmental course of object individuation. Findings suggest that young infants may represent one concept as criteria…

Suggests that when choosing one's actions in many real world contexts, bare-bone tactics work at least as well as complex statistical formulas. Also, simple strategies wring insight out of shifting environments with much greater ease than do intricate probability equations. (CCM)

Five experiments compared metamemory abilities in 6- to 9-year olds with autism, mentally retarded children, and normal controls. Found that children with autism were not impaired on any of the metamemory tasks, although they were less likely than controls to make spontaneous use of memory strategies involving other people. Unexpectedly few…