Recent studies of semantic memory have investigated two theories of optimal search adopted from the animal foraging literature: Lévy flights and marginal value theorem. Each theory makes different simplifying assumptions and addresses different findings in search behaviors. In this study, an experiment is conducted to test whether clustering in…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether deficits in executive function and lexical-semantic memory compromise the linguistic performance of young adults with specific learning disabilities (LD) enrolled in postsecondary studies. Method: One hundred eighty-five students with LD (n = 53) or normal language development (ND, n =…

Through a review of the literature on mathematical learning disabilities (MLD) and low achievement in mathematics (LA) we have proposed a model classifying mathematical skills involved in learning mathematics into four domains (Core number, Memory, Reasoning, and Visual-spatial). In this paper we present a new experimental computer-based battery…

We conducted three experiments to investigate how opportunities to view objects together in time influence memory for location. Children and adults learned the locations of 20 objects marked by dots on the floor of an open, square box. During learning, participants viewed the objects either simultaneously or in isolation. At test, participants…

Reports an experiment in which a topical system facilitated subjects' recall of information pertinent both to highly meaningful and less meaningful issues; based upon author's doctoral study, Pennsylvania State University. (RD)

This study was designed to investigate recall in preschool children, specifically the cuing technique and possible storage-retrieval differences. Forty-eight 4-years-old were divided into two groups. In the blocked presentation condition, items were presented in category sets of three items, with all items from a single category on cards of one…

To provide a further test of the paired-associate analogy to retroactive inhibition in free recall, this experiment investigated the effect of presenting both original learning (OL) and interpolated learning (IL) in either blocked category (B) or random (R) fashion. IL-OL Similar (S), IL-OL Different (D), and control (C) conditions were included.…

Students in grades 4, 6, and 8 were required to indicate whether or not a stimulus word belonged in either of two semantic categories that were held in memory. Results indicated that even for the youngest children semantically similar categories required less search time than dissimilar categories. (GO)

Interresponse time (IRT) data were used to investigate the hypothesis that the learning to cluster (effectively organizing presented material) phenomenon should be interpreted as the result of a retrieval strategy. A systematic increase of category exit criterion should produce an increase in clustering because more category words should be…

This study, based on a PhD dissertation submitted to UCLA and supported by the National Institutes of Health, indicates the extent to which children vary in the type of organization they impose on stimuli and the extent to which organization can be influenced by training. (Author/AP)