Psychological research shows that learning can be powerfully enhanced through testing, but this finding has so far been confined to memory tasks requiring verbal responses. We explored whether testing can enhance learning of visuospatial information in maps. Fifty subjects each studied 2 maps, one through conventional study, and the other through…

People frequently analyze the actions of other people for the purpose of action coordination. To understand whether such self-relative action perception differs from other-relative action perception, the authors had observers either compare their own walking speed with that of a point-light walker or compare the walking speeds of 2 point-light…

Young infants have repeatedly been shown to be slower than older infants to shift fixation from a midline stimulus to a peripheral stimulus. This is generally thought to reflect maturation of the neural substrates that mediate the disengagement of attention, but this developmental difference may also be attributable to young infants' slower…

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…

The first experiment determined that verbal interference (shadowing) was detrimental to the subjects' memory of words and high similarity pictures; the second, designed to minimize the possibility that students would sort through the pictures, indicated that verbal interference did not decrease memory of high similarity pictures. (Author/JEG)

This investigation into the effects of configural properties (properties determined by the interrelationships existing between component parts) used a selective attention task to determine whether intersection is a primary encoding feature or is constructed after slopes and heights are perceived. The method for encoding feature identification,…

Describes the results of a survey of highly successful junior high and middle school students, which asked open-ended questions about their perceptions of spelling. Indicates that visualizing is the most common strategy for learning new words, followed by dictionary use and repeating words over and over. (SKC)

This book, describing the result of extended research on how charts/graphs convey information, develops a scheme for describing/analyzing information contained in graphs/charts. A psychological theory of knowledge of the reader and the mental events which occur in attempting to read a graphic display are the two focal points of the book. A…

The interactions of three factors that may be involved with the memory for pattern or sequence in visual materials were investigated in this study: (1) arbitrariness of representation; (2) task; and (3) ability of students. The subjects, who were 29 graduate students in education, were pretested for general ability and randomly assigned to four…

In a study involving creative spelling, 300 kindergarten children and one first grader used computer programs to spell words in isolation and in stories they wrote. As the children made progress toward writing words in conventional spelling, they developed phonological spelling strategies similar to those that have previously been reported for…

Aspects of children's early representational drawing ability may provide evidence for feature marking in non-linguistic symbol systems. To test this assumption children in kindergarten, second, and fourth grade were asked to draw a set of referent objects in three conditions: a nominal or standard condition with no implied relationship ("two…

Groups of extrovert, ambivert, and introvert children, aged 8, saw pictures with a taped commentary about each. On an immediate recall test, extroverts recalled most if given the commentary before the picture, introverts did best when the picture came first, and ambiverts performed similarly in both conditions. (Author/SJL)

This investigation of cognitive effort begins with a review of cognitive principles relating to memory and graphic encoding of information. The cognitive framework described allows explanation of improved memory due to reparsing of graphic representations. It also provides the basis for optimizing graphical material design to insure best retention…

Describes the third in a series of studies investigating effects of psychological variable of encoding specificity on cognitive learning, test design, and visualization during instruction and testing. Encoding specificity, its application to classroom learning and testing, and its significance to educational technology are explained. The first two…

The techniques, procedures, and principal findings of 15 different experiments in a research program on interactive communication are summarized in this paper. Among the principal findings reported are that: problems are solved faster in communication modes that have a voice channel than in those that do not have a voice channel, modes of…