Explicit instruction in strategies for interlanguage pragmatic learning is fundamental to the development of a comprehensive set of pragmatic abilities in the target language. In this article, we begin by providing an overview of previous work in the area of language learner strategies directed at the teaching and learning of pragmatics. We then…

The purpose of the present study aims to investigate the relationship between circadian typology and learning-thinking styles conceptualised as a preference toward information processing typical of the right vs. the left cerebral hemisphere. A sample of 1254 undergraduates (380 boys and 874 girls; mean age=21.86+/-2.37,) was administered the…

Animistic responding was generally unrelated to logical classification ability or to analytic cognitive style. Results which found high levels of animistic thinking beyond adolescence do not support Piagetian theory. Adults may respond animistically because of emotional attachments which they have formed to certain meaningful physical objects.…

Fourth- and fifth-grade learning-disabled and nondisabled children were shown cartoon faces and required to learn which faces exemplified criterial attribute (analytic) and family resemblance (holistic) concept category membership. Children performed equally well on criterial attribute tasks, but learning-disabled children did less well on family…

Previous research in classification preference has focused on only a few selected age groups. To investigate the classification preferences of individuals from early childhood through old age in the same study, 144 individuals between the ages of 4 and 70 completed a revised version of the Conceptual Styles Test. Analysis of results showed that…

Comparison of the free recall of learning-disabled (N=24) and non-disabled (N=24) eight- and ten-year-old readers during directive and nondirective encoding conditions found that both groups recalled more semantically- than nonsemantically-organized items. Learning-disabled readers preferred to encode categorically-organized items nonsemantically…

Norman Williams' moral development theory was tested with students, ages 7, l0, l2, and l5, in Durham, England. Tentative support resulted for his classification scheme and conclusion that moral development is cumulative in nature and that it occurs within four parallel modes: expedient, altruistic, intuitive, and heteronomous. (SJL)

The effectiveness of a procedure for identifying certain cognitive processes used during problem solving is explored. The procedure was used to: categorize types of conceptual thinking problem solvers employ; study the use of trial-and-error behavior; and investigate abilities to coordinate multiple bits of information. (Author/GK)

This study investigated the effects of two stimulus manipulations (spatial distinctness and number of dimensions) on the performance of 24 kindergartners and 24 fifth graders in (1) tasks requiring distributed attention and (2) tasks requiring selective attention. Results suggest that kindergartners attempt to use one processing mode (distributed…

A sorting-recall procedure was used to examine the relationship between study and recall organization in reflective and impulsive children at the first and fourth grade levels. Data regarding sorting latencies per trial and the number of trials required to achieve stable sorts were provided by two indirect measures of the deliberateness and ease…

Self-directed, or independent study activities were studied in adolescents, as well as their antecedents and consequences. The interrelationships, across age and grade, of several variables were described; i.e.: course requirements and conditions, student characteristics, study activities, and school achievement. First, autonomous learning…