Discusses problems of general interest in developmental psychology that can be successfully studied in the domain of food; these include (1) development of food likes and dislikes; (2) establishment of the edible/inedible distinction; (3) disgust and contagion; (4) transgenerational communication of preferences; and (5) transition to food…

The conception of language as an abstract form, e.g., as an algebraic equation that can be described without reference to listeners or speakers, results in practical inconsistencies. A naturalistic appraisal suggests the need to go beyond form and appeal directly to the circumstances under which verbal activity occurs. (DJD)

Investigated the hypothesis that the meaning young children attribute to the word "big" may depend differentially on the object of reference. Children three and five years of age who were shown pairs of buildings and pairs of cars used a height rule for both classes of objects when interpreting big. (NH)

Two studies examined children's concept acquisition for complex emotions. Four- to seven-year olds described situations that evoke a variety of emotions and their feelings about each; four- and five-year olds rated the same emotions for feelings of pleasure and arousal. Combined results suggest children attain partial conceptualization of each…

Two studies explored preschool children's beliefs about the relationship between perceptually based similarity among things and their predicted behaviors by focusing on form-function correspondences. Perceptual similarity, if motivated by intuitive beliefs about correspondences between form and function was found to be sufficient basis for…

Three experiments compared the assignment of gender to masculine and feminine pictured objects as classified by Spanish grammatical gender, by English- and Spanish-speaking children, and by adults. Results revealed artificial-male/natural female conceptual division among speakers of English and delayed effects of grammatical gender among speakers…

Provides a rebuttal to critical comments on the author's earlier article concerning the concept of epistemological rationality. Main disagreements center on the view that the use of terms with evaluative connotations about cognitive functions have a potential for abuse and that one cannot make judgments about the relative efficacy of the…

Outlines the elements of a revised epistemological approach to thinking about library and information science. Hermeneutical phenomenology seeks an understanding of the essence of things (such as the library) and takes into account, among other things, the intentional stances of the human actors within the realm of library and information science.…

A theory of voluntary, top-down spatial control of visual spatial attention is presented that explains how linguistic cues are used to direct attention from one object to another. A series of 11 experiments involving almost 200 college students supports the theory and the importance of spatial reference frames. (SLD)

Presents results of a study of the effects of advance organizer instruction on preschool children's learning of the musical concepts of dynamics, pitch, tempo, and rhythm. Reports that three modes and three methods of presentation were evaluated. Concludes that, although results did vary with mode, the method of presentation had no significant…

Provides a critical analysis of K. E. Stanovich's argument for the use of the concept of dysrationalia in educational research. It argues that the concept of dysrationalia must be better conceptualized and elaborated, encompass a theory, be operationalized, have convergent and discriminant validation, and have safeguards against misuse. (GLR)

Demonstrates a model for teaching concept attainment that gives students experience in conceptual thinking, by studying a particular concept inductively (examining examples and nonexamples), as students work together to come to shared meanings of the concept and then reflect upon their thinking. (SR)

The importance of actions, results, and instruments in the development of verb concepts was examined in four studies. Studies are discussed in terms of theory and research on conceptual development, word learning strategies, and the semantic organization of nouns and verbs. (PCB)

Constructs a discourse (through argument, analysis, and reading) concerning conceptual changes that might expand ideas of hypertext rhetoric. Applies those changes by combining conventions of traditional print discourse with conventions of hypertextual writing. (NH)

Eliminative connectionism as a theory of how humans generalize universal relationships to unfamiliar instances cannot account for the way universals are extended to arbitrary items. The discussion shows that the class of eliminative connectionist models currently in vogue cannot extend universals outside the training space. (SLD)