Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, August, 1968. Reprints from: L. Berrell Kornreich, Dept of Psychology, Univ of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53201.

The role of negative instances in conjunctive feature identification tasks was investigated. Results support the classical favoring of positive over positive/negative for equal frequency of irrelevant features (l:l) but positive/negative over a positive for unequal frequency of irrelevant features (9:1) (p<.05). (Author)

Proposes and tests a model of the cognitive processes that cause communication apprehension. Also examines the relationship between cognitive processes and physiological arousal. (PD)

Examines the order of emergence of the concepts "in,""on," and "under" in a nonverbal cognitive task and in linguistic comprehension and production tasks. Subjects were 75 Israeli children between 14 and 30 months of age. In general, cognitive tasks were solved first, language comprehension tasks second, and language…

Investigates potential causes of decrements in children's understanding of the words "big" and "tall" by comparing results of studies of English-speaking children and results of a study of Arabic-speaking children. (Author/RH)

A formulation of the adolescent as theorist is offered as a means of entry to the scientific constitution of the adolescent as a practitioner of world building. The adolescent uses the same available resources and does the same sense-making work as any competent member in a culture. (Author/PN)

The relative effects of overall model competence and model task competence on concept acquisition in 14 retarded children (9-16 years old) was examined. Significantly more Ss acquired the underlying concept when exposed to a model high in task competence relative to a model low in task competence. (Author)

Boehm's classification of test items on the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC) was examined from a factor analytic perspective. A single, general factor related to the acquisition of basic verbal concepts best described the instrument. This factor was constant across the two forms of the BTBC. (Author/GK)

The operation of means-ends analysis (MEA) involves attempts at reducing differences between problem states and the goal state. It was paradoxically found that the more problem solvers knew of the goal state, the less they learned of the problem structure during the solution process. (PN)

Investigates development of mathematical concepts among West African children from an agricultural tribe (Baoule) and a merchant society (Dioula). Baoule and Dioula children at three age levels participated: Preschoolers, 5-6 years; 7- to 8-year-olds with one year of school; and schooled and unschooled 9- to 10-year-olds. Experimental tasks…

Results of this five-year study indicated that tonality, in the singing of scales and songs, is a "learned" concept, not related at a significant level to voice range. Differences between the study groups are discussed. (Author/SJL)

Undergraduates were given either Barnum characterizations or straightforward instructions regarding open- or closed-mindedness. Barnum inductions influenced subsequent cognitive behavior: Subjects led to believe that they were open-minded were more balanced in the thoughts they produced on two campus issues than were subjects led to believe they…

Investigates effects of training on preservice teachers' abilities to conceptualize learner characteristics, teaching environments, and learning outcomes based on David E. Hunt's conceptual systems theory. Results indicate teachers' implicit conceptual frameworks could be altered. Conceptual attributes of behaviors, persons, and environments vary.…

Purposes of this study were to (1) determine the usefulness of classifying children's perceptions according to eight dimensions of "family" and (2) examine the effects of sex and family type on children's perceptions of "family" structure and family roles. (Author/CT)

Reasoning skills of nonmajor nutrition students were assessed on the basis of their performance on tests derived from the work of Piaget. There was no difference between those who used formal reasoning and those who did not in terms of their ability to comprehend and apply elementary nutrition information. (Author/CT)