To assess changes in processing speed in the second and third years of life, 2 sequential visual events were shown to 22-, 27-, and 32-month-old children, 12 at each age. Response clusters indicated that speed of processing increased with age and that a proactive inhibition declined with age. (SLD)

Eighty normally hearing children (ages 4 to 8) judged the clarity of sentences that were systematically bandpass-filtered to increase intelligibility. Study of 10 subjects at each age found that children 5 years or older were able to make reliable clarity judgements using paired comparisons or category rating; however, the method of paired…

Results from 3 experiments in auditory word recognition involving a total of 266 undergraduates supported interactive models of lexical processing, but required additional sublexical processes. The hypothesized sublexical mechanism is fast acting and frequency sensitive and produces top-down effects, but its operation has not yet been fully…

Discusses connectionist techniques that can be used for modeling perception, memory, and language processing, concentrating on a class of network with dual-weight connections in which each connection has both short- and long-term weight and describes a novel architecture in which the short- and long-term weights are independent. (45 references)…

Notes advantages of using dynamic models to understand cognitive functioning: (1) they are specifically intended to represent changes that systems undergo as they evolve; (2) they can capture change in a continuous fashion; (3) they can account for development of behavior that appears orderly at times and disorderly at others, and (4) chaotic…

Tested the recognition memory of 4-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month-old infants using visual paired comparison tasks. Found that at even the youngest age that reaching was tested (6 months), infants showed evidence of recognition memory on the reaching task at delays at least as long as those at which they demonstrated recognition memory on the looking…

Used analogue format to compare relative effects of two paradoxical interventions (symptom scheduling and negative consequences of change), a relaxation directive, and a session summary condition on clients' perceptions of a mental health counselor, counseling expectations, and attributions. Results indicated differential effects on perceptions of…

A survey of 77 Missouri high school principals revealed a traditional view of the school librarian as one who purchases, processes, and circulates books and provides occasional reference services. Skills indicating involvement with the instructional process rated average in importance. Principals did not view library media specialists as teachers.…

Four experiments tested four month olds on visual discrimination tasks. As the time allotted to solve these problems was shortened, infants who looked at stimuli for a short amount of time performed better than other infants, indicating that performance superiority was attributable to speed of processing. (BC)

Children were asked to draw sticks and discs that were foreshortened and not foreshortened. Seven- and 12-year-old children used a partial change of shape in drawing foreshortened sticks and a full change of shape in drawing foreshortened discs. (BC)

Suggests multisensory approaches to writing instruction. Explains how even pieces of candy can provide students with memorable lessons in writing. Encourages teachers to be creative in coming up with similar ideas of their own. (SG)

This paper offers a model of visual functioning focusing on three factors: (1) visual capacity, (2) visual processing, and (3) visual attention. Practical implications of visual therapy are considered, and intervention strategies with children with impaired visual functioning are suggested. (Author/DB)

Assessed 13- and 20-week-olds infants' discrimination between shearing stimuli, in which columns of dots move vertically on a screen at different velocities, and foil stimuli, in which all dots move at the same velocity. Results revealed the threshold levels of dot velocity in shearing stimuli at which discrimination occurred. (BC)

Examined loss of identity resulting from engulfment in caregiver role among 555 adult children and spouses caring for Alzheimer patient. Loss was more common among spouses, females, and younger caregivers. Limited social contact and lack of social roles were related to greater loss of self. Found loss of self associated with lower…

Describes pilot conference held to help New England college newspaper editors perceive importance of their role in educating their peers about substance use and other health-related issues and to offer concrete suggestions regarding how they can incorporate these topics into an activist campus press. (Author/NB)