Examined the contributions of 4 individual difference predictors for recall of object names in 93 children of 3 and 4 years. Results suggest that motivational factors contribute directly to young children's recall proficiency and do not mediate strategic study behavior. (RJC)

A reading test and a test assessing the processing of an instructional text were completed by 114 undergraduates. Subjects with higher scores on the reading test noticed more often a conflict between the instructional text and the example provided. They followed the instructional text instead of the example. (TJH)

Examined vocational decision-making style, contextual anxiety, and exploratory activity in 148 undergraduate students. Results suggest that individuals who rely upon thinking-oriented approaches to decisions and who experience stress with regard to the specific tasks of exploration are likely to engage in exploration of environment and, to lesser…

Reared in a hierarchical environment, teachers in Germany have had difficulty working with team structures despite the benefit of increased professional autonomy. The Holweide Gesamitschule in Cologne, a large comprehensive high school begun in 1975, developed a plan to diminish big-school anonymity and emphasize cooperation among children of…

Three issues of concern in language acquisition are discussed: (1) apparent attrition of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) by puberty; (2) observable differences among second-language learners with respect to LAD efficiency; and (3) whether explicit rules of grammar can become part of linguistic competence. (42 references) (Author/MSE)

Findings indicated a significant interaction between activity level and intensity of stimulation in predicting exploratory competence and total exploration among 52 toddlers of 15 months of age who were observed in their homes 6 times over a 4-week period. (RH)

Among 120 fourth and sixth graders, correlations between intelligence scores and agency beliefs for effort decreased with increasing levels of reasoning about effort and ability. Correlations between intelligence scores and agency beliefs for ability increased with increasing levels of reasoning. (RH)

The Minnoka Schools (Illinois) use the Murphy-Meisgeier Children Type Indicator (designed to identify personality types in children) to help instruct youngsters more effectively. Identifying a child's psychological type can aid understanding of how he or she focuses attention, absorbs information, makes decisions, and deals with the world. (MLH)

Investigated variables which influenced viewing of "Sesame Street" by 326 children aged 3 and 5. The most important determinants of individual differences in viewing within age groups were the structure of the family and the family's relation to outside institutions. (RJC)

Conducted higher-order factor analysis of subscale intercorrelations for the School Motivation Analysis Test (SMAT) on Australian sample of 277 year 10 high school students. Results suggest that at least six factors maximally account for common variance in SMAT. Made tentative interpretations of the higher-order factors obtained. (Author/NB)

Provides an overview of the existing literature on the development of metacognition in gifted children and emphasizes the needed areas of research. Reviews research examining individual differences in gifted and nongifted children in the development of declarative metacognition knowledge, cognitive monitoring, and the regulation of strategies.…

Correlations on subscales of Wechsler intelligence quotient tests and the Revised Beta Examination were obtained for biologically related and unrelated individuals in 181 adoptive families in the Texas Adoption Project. Generally higher correlations for biologically related individuals support the importance of genetic influence in intellectual…

A 2-alternative forced-choice task was used to measure the ability of 18 children (ages 3 to 5) to detect varying levels of sinusoids in noise. Results showed that, on average, the children's thresholds were higher and the slopes of their psychometric functions were shallower than those of adults, though between-subjects variability was large.…

Presents a model of cognition and emotion that suggests that feedback between cognition and emotion generates, maintains, and reconfigures interpretations of emotion-eliciting events at micro- and macrodevelopmental time scales and that personality and behavior self-organize in response to fluctuations in perception or cognition and trace…

Hernnstein and Murray raise the specter of a cognitively stratified society that is resistant to change because of heredity and that serves the interests and perpetuates the advantages of the cognitive elite. The authors' policy remedies that focus on the individual and local community can do little to promote genuine equality and social justice.…