When visual information is available, human adults, but not children, have been shown to reduce sensory uncertainty by taking a weighted average of sensory cues. In the absence of reliable visual information (e.g. extremely dark environment, visual disorders), the use of other information is vital. Here we ask how humans combine haptic and…

Computer technology provides spaces and locales for language learning. However, learning style preference and demographic variables may affect the effectiveness of technology use for a desired goal. Adapting Reid's pioneering Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ), this study investigated the relations of university students'…

This study examined the relationship between auditory, visual, touch, and oral sensory dysfunction in autism and their relationship to multisensory dysfunction and severity of autism. The Sensory Profile was completed on 104 persons with a diagnosis of autism, 3 to 56 years of age. Analysis showed a significant correlation between the different…

Explored in 2 studies 3- and 4-year-olds' understanding that the 5 senses can each lead to different types of knowledge. Found that 3-year-olds performed significantly poorer than 4-year-olds on all tasks, suggesting a marked transition in children's ability to recognize the origin of their modality-specific knowledge between 3 and 4 years.…

Findings suggested that a deficit in auditory memory rather than cross-modal perception appears to be a factor in poor reading comprehension. (Author/DLS)