Acquiescence, the tendency to respond affirmatively regardless of the content of a question, was examined in 57 mentally retarded children (11 to 17 years old) and 91 nonretarded children (3 to 8 years old). Embedded within the standard interview schedule for both samples were two pairs of oppositely worded questions on the same topic.…

The goals of bilingual education and its relationship to education are examined, and a model for bilingual education is proposed. A definition of bilingual education is emerging that permits the child to choose the mode of communication with which he is most comfortable. Cognitive psychology and its emphasis upon the child's active interactions…

This collection of conference abstracts focuses on new directions for research on mental representation and early language development. One page summaries are provided on the following topics: Mental Representation and Initial Language Learning, by Lorraine M. Nicolich; Critical Issues in Language and Cognitive Development, by Roberta Corrigan;…

The value of infant stimulation is stressed in a report on the characteristics of infant development. The following five areas of development are discussed: sensorimotor, language, mental, emotional, and social. Stages of development during the first year in each of the areas are surveyed, and traditions in different countries are highlighted to…

Discussed are some issues and queries about research in language and language acquisition. In particular, the area of inquiry is the logic subjacent to communication. In question here are the foundations of communication. What, if anything, underlies language? The unorthodox position developed in this paper has ambitious assumptions and slim…

From about age four to age eleven, a child's concept of "word" develops from a lack of conceptual differentiation about things and events to an awareness of words as meaningful elements in themselves. Piaget's theory of cognitive development offers a perspective from which this phenomenon can be evaluated. The preoperational and concrete…

In arguing that language as speech is to be contrasted with language as writing, this paper examines some facts about the evolution of writing systems, draws upon some experimental studies, discusses the difference between speech and writing as being one of status within human cognitive structure, and notes that the difference may help explain why…

Children aged three to five were the subjects of two studies of the development of ability to classify diverse objects into superordinate categories. In the first experiment, subjects were asked to designate two of three pictorially represented objects as representative of a given category. The second experiment required subjects to choose from a…

A study was conducted to determine whether the child expresses linguistic knowledge during the single-word period. The order of mention in 65 sets of successive single-word utterances from five children at Stage 1, two to four years old, were analyzed. To elicit speech, the children were shown line drawings representing such situations as animate…

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",…

Since the 1950's there has been a tremendous shift in the way language and language behavior is viewed. The shift is characterized as a general movement away from surface observation and analysis to attempts at the description and analysis of underlying linguistic forms. The interest in underlying linguistic forms has, in a rather natural way, led…

Presented for new special education teachers is a brochure containing descriptions and approaches to use of equipment and materials that aid in remediation of learning disabilities in elementary school children. The brochure is said to be based on the assumption that the new teacher understands the major theories which deal with learning…

This cross-cultural study investigated methods of using drawing to develop the cognitive abilities of disadvantaged preschool children. Five teaching methods were compared in parallel programs in Tel-Aviv, Israel and Columbus, Ohio. The Traditional Method, in which materials are supplied but are not used to emphasize cognitive development was used…

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of an experimental method of instruction upon the cognitive development of disadvantaged first grade children. The hypotheses formulated were: (1) there is no difference between the medians of the control and experimental groups or between the numbers of subjects in each group placing at the…

Three language models (Staats, Lenneberg, and Piaget) are reviewed, and implications for reading are suggested. Staats' behaviorist stance maintains that imitation, mediation, generalization, and discrimination are key concepts in language learning behavior. Critics contest the importance of these concepts and claim that behaviorists cannot fully…