Purpose: Response times (RTs) are commonly used in studying language acquisition. However, previous research utilizing RT in the context of language has largely overlooked the intra-individual variability (IIV) of RTs, which could hold significant information about the processes underlying language acquisition. Method: We explored the association…

Differences in socioeconomic status (SES) correlate both with differences in cognitive development and in brain structure. Associations between SES and brain measures such as cortical surface area and cortical thickness mediate differences in cognitive skills such as executive function and language. However, causal accounts that link SES, brain,…

Although most children learn to communicate in their first language (L1), there is normal and expected variation in their rate of acquisition across all components of the language system. Until recently, most second language acquisition and second language (L2) researchers have assumed that individual differences (IDs) in L1 acquisition are small…

As we listen to speech, our ability to understand what was said requires us to retrieve and bind together individual word meanings into a coherent discourse representation. This so-called semantic unification is a fundamental cognitive skill, and its development relies on the integration of neural activity throughout widely distributed functional…

The pressures inherent in trying to be perfect can undermine learning and exacerbate anxiety in certain students. In the current article, we review existing research and theory on the role of perfectionism in language learning anxiety and performance deficits. Our analysis highlights the complexities inherent in the perfectionism construct,…

Providing a comprehensive survey of cutting-edge work on second language learning, this "Handbook," written by a team of leading experts, surveys the nature of second language learning and its implications for teaching. Prominent theories and methods from linguistics, psycholinguistics, processing-based, and cognitive approaches are…

The ability to automatically and implicitly detect complex and noisy regularities in the environment is a fundamental aspect of human cognition. Despite considerable interest in implicit processes, few researchers have conceptualized implicit learning as an ability with meaningful individual differences. Instead, various researchers (e.g., Reber,…

Word familiarity judgment may be important for word learning, yet little is known about how children make this judgment. We hypothesized that preschool-age children differ in the judgment criteria that they use and that this difference derives from individual differences in basic memory processes. Those who have superior phonological working…

Eighty college students mentally rotated 3-D shapes while maintaining a concurrent verbal or spatial memory load to investigate how sex, native language, and college major relate to the cognitive strategies employed during mental rotation (MR). Males were significantly better than females at MR, whereas native language was not related to MR…

Examines the relationship between the quantity and type of spontaneous private speech and delayed match-to-sample performance among kindergarten children (N=65). (MP)

This profile of significant research findings comprises a framework for analyzing and synthesizing information on the cognitive development of children. The variables used to systematize the literature search were: perception; motor development; language; conceptual activity; and learning, memory, and problem solving. The findings are arranged…

An attempt is made, using a partial review of the literature, to present a non-technical overview of some of the child-related issues in simultaneous bilingualism. While controversy still rages in the area of bilingualism research, some definite changes can be discerned over the past 40 years. Opinion has shifted from a deficiency perspective to…

Describes a study done to determine whether the degree of children's familiarity with component words was related to (1) their ability to produce productive patterns as opposed to associative and grouping patterns, and (2) their ability to use broader scope rather than lexically based patterns. (SED)

Examines questions related to whether children with severe learning disabilities go through the same developmental stages as children without such problems, or whether they develop along different lines. Explores the "delay" versus "deviance" issue in relation to linguistic development in children with Down's syndrome. Looks…

This collection provides a number of perspectives on the central role that language plays in reading comprehension. Following an introduction by the editor, entitled "Attention and Individual Differences in Comprehension," the following papers are presented: (1) "The Line of Sight Approach," by Norman H. Mackworth; (2)…