Visual and auditory stimuli were presented to children to measure symbol processing abilities. Slides which required matching the similarities in two objects in a group of three were presented. At times the matching criteria varied between function, color, and form. Reaction time was quicker when matching by color than by function, which was faster than when matching was done by form. An unconscious preference for matching by form was exhibited due to longer reaction times. Fatigue had a greater influence on performance among poor readers than among good readers. Familiarity with symbols facilitated synthesis of information especially when children used a robot monkey device whose activities they could program by pressing symbol-coded buttons on a control console. Through this device, children learned to form whole chains of symbols together. (SM)