Metamemory judgments may rely on 2 bases of information: subjective experience and abstract theories about memory. On the basis of construal level theory, we predicted that psychological distance and construal level (i.e., concrete vs. abstract thinking) would have a qualitative impact on the relative reliance on these 2 bases: When considering…

Weight is conceptualized as an embodiment of importance, according to recent research on embodied cognition (Ackerman, Nocera, & Bargh, 2010; Jostmann, Lakens, & Schubert, 2009). Is importance as embodied by weight used as a cue that items are memorable? Four experiments varied participants' perceptual experiences of weight as they studied…

Purpose: To determine whether children with specific language impairment (SLI) demonstrate impaired visual fast mapping skills compared with unimpaired peers and to test components of visual working memory that may contribute to a visual working memory deficit. Methods: Fifty children (25 SLI) played 2 computer-based visual fast mapping games…

This article investigates the online information practices of persons grieving and mourning via Facebook. It examines how, or whether, these practices and Facebook's terms of use policies have implications for the bereaved and/or the memory of the deceased. To explore these questions, we compared traditional publicly recorded asynchronous…

The current study examined the role of increased attentional load in 24 month-old children's multistep problem-solving behavior. Children solved an object-based nonspatial working-memory search task, to which a motor component of varying difficulty was added. Significant disruptions in search performance were observed with the introduction of the…

Building on longitudinal findings of linkages between aspects of teachers' language during instruction and children's use of mnemonic strategies, this investigation was designed to examine experimentally the impact of instruction on memory development. First and second graders ("N" = 54, "M"[subscript age] = 7 years)…

Purpose: The current study used the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function--Preschool Version (BRIEF-P; Gioia, Espy, & Isquith, 2003), a rating scale designed to investigate executive behaviors in everyday activities, to examine the executive functioning of preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) relative to their…

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Asperger's Syndrome (AS) share a heterogeneous cognitive profile. Studies assessing executive functions (EF) and social cognition in both groups have found preserved and impaired performances. These inconsistent findings would be partially explained by the cognitive variability reported in these…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of two cognitive factors (i.e. working memory capacity [WMC] and language analytic ability [LAA]) in the extent to which L2 learners benefit from two different types of feedback (i.e. explicit correction and recasts). Forty-eight adult native speakers of English, who had no previous exposure to…

Background: The construct of ?eld independence (FI) remains one of the most widely cited notions in research on cognitive style and on learning and instruction more generally. However, a great deal of confusion continues to exist around the de?nition of FI, its measurement, and the interpretation of research results, all of which have served to…

Purpose: The authors investigated the importance of phonemic length discrimination ability on reading and spelling skills among children with reading disabilities and familial risk for dyslexia and among children with typical reading skills, as well as the role of prereading skills in reading and spelling development in children with reading…

This study explored the effectiveness of external representations presented together with compare word problems, and whether such effectiveness was moderated by working memory. Participants were 49 secondary school students. Each participant solved 48 problems presented in 4 presentation types that included 2 difficulty treatments (number of steps…

The Digit Span subtest from the Wechsler Scales is used to measure Freedom from Distractibility or Working Memory. Some published research suggests that Digit Span forward should be interpreted differently from Digit Span backward. The present study explored the dimensionality of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III Digit Span (forward and backward)…

This study examines the validity of the complex problem solving (CPS) test MicroDYN by investigating a) the relation between its dimensions--rule identification (exploration strategy), rule knowledge (acquired knowledge), rule application (control performance)--and working memory capacity (WMC), and b) whether CPS predicts school grades in…

This quasi-experimental study was conducted with two fifth grade classrooms to investigate the effect of scent on students' acquisition and retention of multiplication facts and math anxiety. Forty participants received daily instruction for nine weeks, using a strategy-rich multiplication program called Factivation. Students in the Double Smencil…