A model of how the human cognitive system operates in its natural social context is presented. The model focuses on both input and output variables that have been ignored in the development of most other cognitive theories. Unique predictions of the model and empirical evidence bearing on them are discussed. (Author/LMO)

Two experiments were conducted to test competing explanations of the levels effect in memory for text. In both experiments subjects (college students) read paragraphs in which the height of target propositions was held constant while the amount of target elaboration differed across versions of the paragraphs. (Author/LMO)

Argues that the second language acquisition process involves two models, providing complementary accounts of different components which could be combined. An integrated model is proposed that would carry the acquisition-learning distinction of the Monitor Model while including the Neurofunctional Theory, which uses the distinction to describe the…

If science can be taught in a way that makes it accessible to the nonmajor, student fear of science would decrease. The topic of memory allows for an interdisciplinary analysis because films can be selected to complement the science. A course at Brooklyn College is described. (MLW)

Assessed possibility that developmental difference in social values is associated with development of information processing capabilities. Three- to 10-year-old children completed an individualized regression assessment of social values, a central-incidental memory measure, and a free-recall word list task. Results indicated age, sex, and memory…

Determines whether early hemispheric differences exist in tactual processing by testing infants and preschoolers on six cross-modal tasks. Results are the first to demonstrate a left-hand superiority for information processing in children as young as two years. (Author/AS)

Measures of verbal intelligence and abstract reasoning were taken on a group of 31 college-aged and 32 elderly adults, together with mental-processing rates associated with choice reaction time, primary memory scanning, and lexical decoding. Group means showed that verbal IQ and lexical decoding were intact in the elderly subjects. (Author/LMO)

Defines computer literacy and argues that the development. of computer literacy and computer use in education should be considered in psychological, socioeconomic, and educational contexts; that educational institutions cannot ignore the impact of computers on society; and that computer use for administration and instruction must be coupled with…

Presents strategies for helping students develop their metacognitive abilities. Teachers must specifically encourage thinking about thinking. (MD)

Reports on a study of four Australian 11th-grade biology students that used stimulated recall to evaluate student thinking processes.The study confirmed the complexity of the teaching-learning process. (MD)

Based on data from four experiments reported here, schema theoretic interpretations of recognition memory measures are inconsistent with an interpretation jointly derived from the theory of signal detection and Mandler's subjective familiarity theory of recognition memory. (Author/BW)

Presents six diagrams that describe what happens when a text is read. (HOD)

Examines modification of mother-child instruction as a function of age of learner in middle childhood (six versus eight years). Instruction and learning were compared on two tasks designed to simulate school and home activities. Results show more intense instruction of all kinds for the younger children in the school task. (RH)

Examined the relationship between performance on left and right hemisphere dominant measures of cognition and performance on dichotic memory tasks in 53 adults age 50 and older. Right hemisphere performance on dichotic and cognitive tasks showed a negative association with age while left hemisphere performance showed no decline. (JAC)

Maintaining that the teaching of initial reading in a foreign language has been largely neglected, strategies for developing reading skills, by making practical changes in the textbooks, are proposed. In addition, an integrated and consistent use of strategies to promote development of reading skills is stressed. (SL)