In this article, I describe the 21 ideas underlying a 42-year search to understand giftedness. I present the ideas roughly chronologically, in the order in which they arose, and discuss how in a career as in science, progress means supplementing or even superseding one idea with the next. In terms of the 21 ideas, I start with a discussion of how…

Although the role of cognitive processes, such as planning, attention, simultaneous, and successive (PASS) processing in reading ability has been examined in samples of typically developing children and children with reading difficulties, it remains unclear if these processes also contribute to superior reading performance. Thus, in this study we…

This study provides the first direct evidence of cognitive continuity for multiple specific information processing abilities from infancy and toddlerhood to pre-adolescence, and provides support for the view that infant abilities form the basis of later childhood abilities. Data from a large sample of children (N = 131) were obtained at five…

Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the effects of a moderate- to high-intensity physical activity program on fitness, cognitive functions, and ADHD-related behavior in children with ADHD. Method: Fitness level, motor skills, behaviors, and cognitive functions are assessed by standardized tests before and after a 10-week training…

White matter disruption is an important determinant of cognitive impairment after brain injury, but conventional neuroimaging underestimates its extent. In contrast, diffusion tensor imaging provides a validated and sensitive way of identifying the impact of axonal injury. The relationship between cognitive impairment after traumatic brain injury…

The demands of physician practice are growing. Some specialties face critical shortages and a significant percentage of physicians are aging. To improve health care it is paramount to understand and address challenges, including cognitive issues, facing aging physicians. In this article, we outline several issues related to cognitive performance…

Cognitive control adjusts information processing to momentary needs and task requirements. We investigated conflict adaptation when participants are performing two tasks, a Simon task and a SNARC task. The results indicated that one congruency effect (e.g., Simon) was reduced after conflict in the other task (e.g., SNARC), but only when both tasks…

Interest regarding neural information processing in autism is growing because atypical perceptual abilities are a characteristic feature of persons with autism. Central to our review is how characteristic perceptual abilities, referred to as "perceptual signatures," can be used to suggest a neural etiology that is specific to autism. We review…

THE NATURE OF A CONCEPT WAS EXPLICATED IN TERMS OF FOUR CHARACTERISTICS--DEFINABILITY, STRUCTURE, PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANINGFULNESS AND UTILITY. A CONCEPT LEARNING STRATEGY WAS SEEN TO BE COMPRISED OF THREE SETS OF COGNITIVE PROCESSES--(1) ANALYZING SITUATION, (2) SECURING INFORMATION, AND (3) PROCESSING INFORMATION. A SERIES OF 19 CONTROLLED…

In the present study two modes of information integration, simultaneous and successive, were proposed as alternatives to reasoning and memory. The generality of these two was tested by factor analyzing the cognitive test scores of 9-11-year-old children from Canada and India. (Editor/RK)

Based on the hypothesis that cognition and sleep are linked, this study compared the sleep patterns of nine children (ages 6-16) with autism with those of children with mental retardation and no disabilities. The children with autism were observed for two consecutive nights at a laboratory where their sleep patterns were recorded. Results found…

The authors propose a matrix for a comprehensive approach to cognition and aging. The dimensions of the matrix are (1) biological, psychological, and social factors; and (2) the information processing variables of input, processing, and output. (Journal availability: Department of Adult Education, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506.) (SK)

FACTOR ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED ON SEVERAL COGNITIVE ABILITIES IN AN EFFORT TO RELATE THESE ABILITIES TO TASKS OF CONCEPT ATTAINMENT AND INFORMATION PROCESSING. THE ABILITIES UNDER CONSIDERATION WERE DESCRIBED AS GENERAL REASONING, VERBAL COMPREHENSION, INDUCTION, DEDUCTION, SPATIAL SCANNING, PERCEPTUAL SPEED, ROTE MEMORY, AND SPAN MEMORY. ABILITY…

Investigates the effects of writing ability and mode of discourse on cognitive capacity engagement across three stages of the composing process, noting that writing ability differentially affected cognitive capacity engagement across discourse modes when using the secondary-task method. (HOD)