According to the Perceptual Symbols Theory of cognition (Barsalou, 1999), modality-specific simulations underlie the representation of concepts. A strong prediction of this view is that perceptual processing affects conceptual processing. In this study, participants performed a perceptual detection task and a conceptual property-verification task…

One hundred and sixty subjects ages 7, 9, 11 and 21 years judged the standard Brentano form and a dot form of the illusion of 5 trials at 30 second intervals. (LLK)

There is a need for artists and for art educators to know about current research into different ways of thinking pertinent to both the creation and perception of art. Brain hemispheric research has stimulated new ideas about teaching processes that nurture spatial thinking and bring a positive new force to the studio and classroom. An introduction…

The hypothesis that overall-similarity relations structure both adults' and children's classifications of heterogeneous objects (objects that differ in a variety of ways) was supported in two experiments. When objects varied simultaneously on many dimensions, adults and children constructed classifications that maximized within-category similarity…

A preliminary investigation of patterns of teacher thought about student reasoning and learning involved presenting 23 preservice teachers with a "dilemma of practice about equity." Resulting stages of teacher development concerning equity in reasoning were found to correlate significantly with Perry's scheme. However for those who hold…

Investigates the relationships between levels of cognitive complexity and three levels (graphic, formal, and inferred) of modeling complexity in community college students. (GA)

To investigate the relationship between the location of the words being read and the location of the eyes in the text, three experiments were conducted using the Disappearing Text Technique with college students. This was done by occasionally removing the text during reading and having the reader report the last word that had been read.…

Unrealistic personal optimism is the perception that undesirable events are less likely and desirable events are more likely to happen to oneself than they are to happen to other similar people. Three experiments were performed to study the relationships among personal optimism, perceived control, and selective activation of the cerebral…

To determine the developmental level at which letter processing skills become automatic, an experiment was conducted using a variant of the visual search task. Subjects in grades one, two, and three and in college searched for target letters displayed on a cathode ray tube along with either visually confusable letters, acoustically confusable…

Investigates age differences in selective attention in a coded visual search task where subjects were given different types of information about target location before trial onset. (Author/SS)

These three papers are from a symposium on individual learning issues. "A Quantitative Examination of the Feelings and Cognitive Processes of a Group of Adults Undertaking a Tertiary HRD [Human Resource Development] Program" (Bryan W. Smith) examines mental and emotional states of adults in a tertiary HRD learning situation by using stimulated…

Preparing students to be both constructors and consumers of visual information will be an important responsibility for all teachers. This will mean giving learners the tools to go beyond what is merely visual to the deeper, human meanings that lie beneath. One important way that educators can prepare students to be wise visual consumers is to help…

Outlines a simple classroom demonstration that illustrates Piagetian conservation. Piagetian conservation refers to the illusion of an increase in mass by changing an object's form. This demonstration, done by forming an ellipse with an extension cord, shows that college students are as susceptible to this effect as are young children. (MJP)

This paper describes a method of reflective practice called "critical incident" which was used to examine teacher trainees' educational assumptions. A qualitative case study of one fifth-year teaching intern (Amy) at the University of Tennessee represents the experience of seven other master's level students already practicing within the…

A self-report scale was constructed and validated that measures individual differences in objectivism--the tendency to base one's judgments and beliefs upon empirical information and rational considerations. Validity data showed that, compared to people who score low on the Objectivism Scale, highly objective individuals enjoy thinking more, rely…