Research on problem solving typically does not address tasks that involve following detailed and/or illustrated step-by-step instructions. Such tasks are not seen as cognitively challenging problems to be solved. In this paper, we challenge this assumption by analyzing verbal protocols collected during an Origami folding task. Participants…

Educational Leadership/Research Supplement, v3, n2, December 1969. Measurement of responses to a vocabulary scale suggests that usual verbal classroom presentations may be beyond the grasp of some pupils due to their level of conceptual ability. (AP/Author)

A central theoretical issue is that of the cognitive status of imagery. Detractors emphasize the merely-sensory aspects while proponents emphasize the also-symbolic aspects. Examined with reference to this issue are the theories of Piaget and Bruner, recent studies of concept learning and representation, and studies related to the Craik and…

A theory for representation of concepts in memory is proposed which emphasizes the association of salient exemplars with the concept. Previous theories dealing with the classification processes involved in acquiring new concepts have shown that clear category boundaries do not exist. It is proposed that present theory must account for the…

This reports the effects of the number of relevant stimulus dimensions and figural versus verbal stimuli on the concept learning ability of college students. Results force a consideration of mediational variables in explaining this form of cognitive learning. A set of verbal materials analogous to a set of dimensionalized figural materials was…

This investigation examined in the laboratory the type of learning commonly found in the school situation--the formalized acquisition of concepts. A verbal concept-learning task suitable for college students was devised which permitted the externalizing and quantifying of behavior at 6 points in the learning process. A pilot study evaluated the…

Analysis of the conceptions of spatial relations, size comparisons, and gesture imitations of 16 autistic children (ages 6-14 years) with IQs over 70 indicated an inability to acquire concepts of size comparison and spatial relationships through verbal instructions, suggesting a cognitive deficit of impaired symbolic-representational functioning.…

Two studies with a total of 110 children (grades three through five) with high or average verbal intelligence examined their theory of mind through ratings of their understanding of interrelationships between and among mental activities and verbs. Analysis indicated very similar organization and structure of these concepts in both groups of…

The "property-set model" is proposed for concept learning and subsequent recognition and classification of old and new exemplars. In an experimental evaluation of alternative models, the property-set model was the best predictor of both recognition and classification performance. (Author/RM)

The role of imagery is assessed in verbal concept identification and evidence is found that some concepts can be coded as images. (Author/AM)

This book is an introduction to the psychological study of basic learning processes in children. Written for students who are not majors in psychology and who do not have much familiarity with the technical vocabulary of psychology, it has two themes: even the most basic kinds of learning are included by cognitive processes or mental activities;…

THE LEARNING OF VERBALLY CONDITIONED MATERIAL WAS STUDIED TO CLARIFY SOME OF THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH SUCH LEARNING IS ACCOMPANIED BY THE USE OF HIGHER MENTAL PROCESSES, AND THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH IT IS NOT. THE STARTING POINT FOR THIS RESEARCH WAS THE PREMISE THAT LEARNING IN VERBAL CONDITIONING CAN OCCUR EITHER WITH OR WITHOUT AWARENESS ON…

Eight experiments are described in this report. In experiment 1, four and five year olds were presented four verbal discrimination (VD) lists. For three of the lists all correct items were either conceptually, acoustically, or affectively similar. The fourth was a control list. The conceptual list facilitated VD learning. Experiment 2 indicated…

To determine whether different long-term memory representations are necessary for verbal and visual material, subjects studied faces composed of visual features or verbal facts composed of concepts. Findings showed interference between verbal and pictorial information, and supported the ACT theory that pictorial and verbal materials are stored…