The study evaluated the semantic system of mentally retarded adults (N=32) to determine whether they encode information in semantic memory on the dimensions of item prototypicality and list organization. Results suggested that interference effects inhibited encoding by organization and typicality. (DB)

Reports that both learning-disabled (LD) and non-learning-disabled (NORM) children recalled disproportionately more adjacent words than semantically related or spaced words in a free recall task. Spaced words were less likely to be recalled by the younger children and by the LDs. NORMs' recalls were governed by purposive semantic processing to a…

This study examined conceptual relationships in semantic memory using an indirect priming technique in high-functioning autistic adolescents and controls. The autistic subjects and controls showed similar semantic priming effects. However, correlations with nonverbal cognitive measures for the autistic subjects suggests that semantic processing in…

The research study investigated the memory and metamemory abilities of four severely to profoundly deaf students with bilateral sensory-neural loss, between the ages of 9 and 20 years. Metamemory was investigated with four modified subtests identified as "story list,""study plan,""retrieval event," and "opposites-arbitrary." Encoding was…

Two experiments examined children's semantic representations and semantic naming errors. Results suggested that functional and physical properties are core aspects of object representations in the semantic lexicon and that the degree of semantic knowledge makes words more or less vulnerable to retrieval failure. Discussion focuses on the dynamic…

Provides a general analysis of the problem of relating private, cognitive mechanisms of individuals to their public behavior. A computational model of language acquisition is offered. Conclusions are related to Piaget's notion of mutual verification and to some general philosophical questions about learning. (Author/RH)

Corrects errors in "A Developmental Study of Learning Disabilities and Memory" by Stephen J. Ceci (Volume 38, Number 2 1984), pages 352-371. (AS)

An auditory Stroop task was administered to 20 children with hearing impairment (ages 3-10) and 60 normal-hearing children. Results suggest that the voice-gender and semantic dimensions of speech were not processed independently by children with or without hearing loss. Speech processing by children with hearing impairment was carried out in a…

A group of 73 normal children (ages 8 to 10) was compared to 49 age-matched developmentally dyslexic children of average intelligence on the California Verbal Learning Test for Children (CVLT-C), to determine if reading disability was associated with impaired verbal memory. Dyslexics differed significantly from controls on 9 of the 12 CVLT-C…

This study investigated taxonomic clustering and use of frequency associations as features in the semantic memory of children (n=30 in grades two and six) with learning disabilities (LD). Results suggested that, when individual child-generated word lists (i.e., meaningful) are used, children with LD may not be impaired in their ability to utilize…

The technique developed in this research paper for analyzing the information in charts and graphs is designed to reveal design flaws in the display that may prevent them from conveying information effectively. This analytic scheme requires isolating four types of constituents in a display and specifying their structure and interrelations at the…

With reference to Chinese language and its unique orthography, evidence for language-related differences in manners of information processing is reviewed. These differences include visual form perception, manipulation of numbers, and memory versus manipulation and elaboration of verbal information. (Author/RH)

A cued recall study and a semantic verification study with individuals with mental retardation (n=93) found that increasing the degree to which the words in sentences were semantically related increased subjects' ability to utilize contextual information in sentences to essentially normal levels. (Author/DB)

Research on the cognitive processes used in semantic priming has shown that the processing of a given stimulus is speeded by prior processing of a related stimulus as the result of automatic and/or effortful priming. To investigate the effect of age on semantic priming, two independent studies were conducted at Pomona College in California and at…

Two divergent views of linguistic ability in adulthood currently exist. One view maintains that verbal ability is preserved in old age, while the other view maintains that verbal ability declines, especially comprehension. To analyze the effects of semantic priming during sentence processing by 30 younger adults (mean age, 25 years) and 30 older…