Reviews research focusing on problem-solving deficits and their relationship to suicidal behavior and considers some of the methodological problems that arise. Discusses findings in terms of active versus passive problem solving, state or trait factors, and the psychological processes underlying problem solving. (Author/JDM)

Reports on a longitudinal study using the computer-based cognitive assessment system CoPS, and considers the applicability of this system in the early identification of cognitive strengths and limitations that affect the development of reading. Concludes that short-term memory is an important predictor variable for reading, in addition to the more…

Down syndrome is the most prevalent cause of intellectual impairment associated with a genetic anomaly, in this case, trisomy of chromosome 21. It affects both physical and cognitive development and produces a characteristic phenotype, although affected individuals vary considerably with respect to severity of specific impairments. Studies…

The proposals concerning working memory outlined in this paper involve the architecture of working memory, the reasoning mechanisms that draw on it, and the ways in which working memory may develop with age. Ways of assessing task demands and children's working memory capacities are also considered. It is noted that there is long-standing evidence…

A study investigated developments in reasoning and memory as reflected by the discovery strategies of children taking part in a manipulative categorization and recall task. A total of 40 children (8 each of 18, 24, 30, 36, and 42 months of age) participated. Stimulus materials consisting of blocks, toy plates, discs, and plastic trees were…

Using five metamemory question types and the Counting Span Test (CST), this research investigated the effects of metamemory task demands, and the relationship of the amount of information one can hold in working memory to metamemory question performance. One hundred twenty kindergarten, first, third, and fifth grade children served as subjects.…

This series of four experiments on children's causal sequences was directed at: (1) extending Brown's research on temporal ordering to causal relationships portrayed in picture sequences; (2) investigating the developmental progression of skills involved in understanding and remembering sequences; and (3) examining the development of reversible…

Preschool children's problem solving processes are investigated in both direct and indirect ways. Direct investigations focus on substantive and methodological issues related to how children solve a few well defined puzzles, such as the Tower of Hanoi and the Tangram. Indirect investigations deal with related issues: U-shaped (or non-monotone)…

These experiments tested the hypothesis that an instructional strategy involving guided discovery will promote meaningful learning of problem solving concepts by activating an assimilative set during learning. In order to investigate the effect of discovery training and concrete manipulation, preschool children were given training in one to one…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of age differences and differences in memory load on concept identification (CI) tasks of varying levels of complexity. Previous studies with young children found increasingly better performance on CI tasks with increasing age. This was in part due to the fact that older subjects categorize…

The authors surveyed experts in the field of neuro-behavioral research to determine the directions of progress being made in increasing understanding of neural processing and storage of information. Based on this investigation, their report presents examples of research being pursued in this area. The authors see neuro-behavioral research leading…

The report describes the development of the final 2 years of an intensive elementary school curriculum for fifth and sixth grade educable mentally retarded (EMR) children, to provide them with an opportunity to achieve their maximum potential for intellectual development, productivity, independence, and psychological well-being. Most of the…

This study investigated the relationships obtained among verbal imitation, comprehension, and production when a stimulus sentence exceeded the child's short term memory. A total of 32 children, aged 3 to 5 years, took tests of comprehension, nonverbal imitation, verbal imitation, and production of structures expressing sequence ("before", "after",…

This paper describes an experiment which investigated the development of recall skills in 120 Caucasian, middle class children in the second, fourth, and sixth grades. Within each age group, four experimental groups were formed in which subjects were asked to remember and recall 16 nouns by: (1) forming mental representations of each word…