In psychological research, one often aims at explaining individual differences in S-R profiles, that is, individual differences in the responses (R) with which people react to specific stimuli (S). To this end, researchers often postulate an underlying sequential process, which boils down to the specification of a set of mediating variables (M)…

A stages-of-learning model was used to examine effects of picture-word manipulation on storage and retrieval differences between disabled and nondisabled grade 2 and 6 children. Results showed that disabled students are poorer at memory tasks and in developing the ability to reliably retrieve information than nondisabled children. (Author/RH)

Findings confirmed that newborns turn toward laterally presented sounds, habituate with repetition, recover to novel sounds, and extend demonstrations of recovery to discrepant stimuli. Recovery was found to be a curvilinear function of degree of discrepancy. Newborns systematically turned away from redundant stimuli. (RH)

Analyzes the research strategies, stimuli, subjects, statistical strategies, and relative variables in 34 empirical studies on children's representation of three-dimensional objects. The studies fell into three categories: children's representation of spatial relationships within an object, between two objects, and studies that included both. (MJP)

This symposium paper looks at three paradigms for naturalistic research on visuals: the positivistic, the interpretive, and the critical approaches. Discussion centers on questions of epistemology, such as "What do you mean?" and "How do you know?" The place of naturalistic inquiry within this discussion is indicated, and…

This paper addresses the question of teacher socialization through contrived images, i.e., the influence of advertising as part of an educational and socialization process. It examines ways in which computer advertisements directed towards teachers influence their perceptions of how computers can and should be used, and how the same advertisements…

This study asked participants to rate models of computer-generated text on the perceived ease with which it could be read and studied. These ratings were submitted to a Q-mode factor analysis to identify the underlying criteria used when the reader/perceiver formed a judgment related to the "study-ability" of the text model. Subjects…

This report uses mental model theory to create a taxonomy of picture functions in order to relate these functions to learning theories. A rough outline of picture functions is presented, consisting of a retrieval function, a focus function, a construction function, and a supplantation function. It is suggested that this taxonomy could be helpful…

Offers an analytical model to assist teachers and students in decoding social and cultural meaning embedded in the visual track of any given television program. To illustrate the model, the Public Broadcasting System's production of "The Scarlet Letter" is analyzed. (MBR)

The study with 989 learning-disabled students supported the cognitive-based arithmetic problem-solving model of Dinnel et al. under continuous visual stimulus conditions but suggested a more complex neuropsychological underpinning to arithmetic performance in both visual and aural stimulus conditions. (Author/DB)

Although the distinction between verbal ability and spatial ability is fundamental in all models of human abilities, differences in the relative strengths of verbal and spatial abilities have failed to show consistent interactions with instructional treatments. This study investigated the hypothesis that spatial tests measure different abilities…

Instructional technologists have traditionally used the scientific or rationalistic paradigm to study the instructional potential of pictures. Naturalistic and rationalistic inquiry differ in their views of reality and truth, the relationship between the investigator and the subject, the goals of inquiry, and the role of values in inquiry.…

A model and a technique developed by Wing and Kristofferson (1973) decomposes variance of timing into that putatively due to a central timekeeper (a clock) and that due to implementation of movement through the motor system. A patient with unilateral cerebellar damage, when attempting to tap out a regular series of intervals, showed a large…

Study looks at pigtailed macaque in the context of visual recognition problems adapted from a standardized test developed for use with human infants. Results demonstrate that the low-risk group easily differentiated novel from previously seen targets; the high-risk group gave no evidence of recognition. (Author/RWB)

In a study that was conducted to measure performance as a function of multimedia instructions, 360 college students in a University of Colorado introductory psychology course were taught to build a model helicopter from an assembly kit. Their instructions consisted of either viewing a narrated film (one or two viewings), or hands-on practice using…