Discusses the importance of perceptual learning for adults and describes the development of a 1-day prepared environment of activities for the first day of a Psychology 101 class at a technical-vocational college. Excerpts from students highlighting the importance of reflective teaching practice. (KB)

This study of 197 eminent Canadian women on the dynamics of their childhood families, investigated their perceptions of having a special status or role. Over three-quarters indicated they were considered special within their families. They attributed it to their birth order, scholastic achievement, condition of health, or display of talents.…

Two studies explored the relationship between rapid auditory processing and phonological processing in 82 typical children and compared 17 children with dyslexia to controls. Children with dyslexia performed at a level similar to reading-age controls on auditory processing but obtained scores that were significantly below those of the…

Examines the characteristics of 25 classroom-alienated students in a girl's middle school in Seoul, South Korea. Finds that the classroom-alienated students consider themselves quiet and passive, see themselves as being alienated, are interested in nonacademic activities such as fieldtrips, and plan to pursue careers in the arts or sports.…

Two experiments studied whether and how 5-year-olds integrate single facial features to identify faces. Results indicated that children could evaluate and integrate information from eye and mouth features to identify a face when salience of features was varied. A weighted Fuzzy Logical Model of Perception fit better than a Single Channel Model,…

Focused on subjective meanings of maturity in younger (6th grade) and older (9th grade) adolescents. Qualitative analysis revealed five images of maturity portrayed by adolescents: balanced maturity; privileges; responsibility; power and status; and physical development. There were some gender and age differences in frequencies of these images.…

Discusses the mix of features in the learning environment that must be considered for adult learners: visual environment, acoustics, temperature, lighting design, and layout. Addresses the interplay of these features with the learner's behavior in the space. (Contains 41 references.) (SK)

The key to breaking out of the problematic, dualistic, mechanist ontology is the recovery of our capacity to value the world intrinsically through the cultivation of aesthetic consciousness. The arts that enable a world view of co-emergence, participation, and intrinsic valuing, are suitable pedagogical tools for an education devoted to…

Studied in three experiments the distribution and malleability of visual attention in 5-month-olds while they inspected large geometric designs. Established that infants who were short-lookers had novelty scores above chance, whereas long-lookers demonstrated chance responding. Illuminating different parts of visual display induced long-lookers to…

A study examined perceptual-weighting strategies and performance-audibility functions of 11 children with moderate hearing impairments (HI), 11 age-matched peers, 11 adults with moderate HI, and 11 typical adults. Results showed both hearing sensitivity and age effects. Listeners with HI required lower levels of audibility to achieve similar…

A study involving 36 children and 10 adults investigated development of auditory frequency and temporal resolution using simultaneous and backward masking of a tone. On the measure of frequency resolution, 6- year-olds performed as well as adults. However, for the backward masking task, 6-year-olds had higher threshold than adults. (Contains…

Examined characteristics of the acoustic signature of languages in connection with identification of the target language, Korean. In one experiment, listeners were asked to distinguish spoken samples of Korean from competitor languages sharing syllable based rhythm. In another, listeners attempted to distinguish Korean from languages spoken in the…

Visual object processing in infancy is often described as proceeding from an early stage in which object features are processed independently to a later stage in which relations between features are taken into account (e.g., Cohen, 1998). Here we present the Representational Acuity Hypothesis, which argues that this behavioral shift can be…

Since the mid-1800s, experimental psychologists have been using eye movements and gaze direction to make inferences about perception and cognition in adults (Muller, 1826, cited in Boring, 1942). In the past 175 years, these oculomotor measures have been refined (see Kowler, 1990) and used to address similar questions in infants (see Aslin, 1985,…

Research indicates that attentional deficits exist in aphasic individuals. However, relatively little is known about auditory vigilance performance in individuals with aphasia. The current study explores reaction time (RT) and accuracy in 10 aphasic participants and 10 nonbrain-damaged controls during linguistic and nonlinguistic auditory…