This project examined the hypothesis that different background experiences associated with cultural grouping may lead to differences in test-taking strategies which result in score differences extraneous to the abilities the test is intended to measure. Its purposes were to confirm (or disconfirm) the cultural differences hypothesis and to provide…

Research has provided support for the existence of certain actor-observer and self-serving biases in individuals' retrospective analyses about the causes of behavior. A question that has been relatively unexplored deals with whether the findings on actor-observer differences and the self-serving pattern in attributions are generalizable to…

Although age-related memory differences in adulthood occur in a variety of memory tasks, most of these tasks represent uncommon memory demands. An investigation of everyday memory demands explored the effect of contextual organization on memory performance of middle aged (N=20) and older (N=20) women. Tasks involved reconstruction of spatial…

Do success-oriented and failure-avoidant students differ in their performance because of differential attributions? Path analysis, which permits the evaluation of causal assumptions in well-specified theories, was employed to test the adequacy of the causal linkages in the attributional model of achievement behavior. Thus, although differences in…

The effect of three levels of short-term memory (STM) and four learning modes (control, chunking organizational strategy, programmed instruction, and adjunct questions) on prose learning and recall was studied. The participants in this study were educational psychology students at Towson State College in Maryland. Significant STM and learning mode…

Literacy, reasoning, and civility in education are discussed from the perspective of social organization and cultural patterning. Schools are part of the larger social environment and perpetuate social class and rank as well as teach the curriculum. Reforms should change the social relations between teachers and students as well as instructional…

One hundred and two third graders were tested on match-to-sample, cognitive style tasks in the visual and auditory modalities as well as a visual-auditory cross-modal task. The results lend support to the relationship between cognitive style and reading performance. (Author/NQA)

Illustrates advantages of research on practical factors in reasoning. Discusses role of factual knowledge and diagnosis of specific task-based errors in reasoning, influence of individual aptitudes on reasoning, and effect of educational interventions designed to change reasoning. Presents Piagetian position for each position, discusses evidence…

Reasons for poor performance on the Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised were examined, using learning disabled (LD) children who performed poorly on the test, LD children who performed normally, and average children. One LD group was unable to establish mnemonic codes for familiar auditory stimuli.…

Tests how perceived self-efficacy influenced cognitive task performance among 64 Canadian college students. Shows students with high perceptions of self-efficacy, induced by positive feedback, completed more problems, had more efficient problem-solving strategies, and accurately self-evaluated responses. Illustrates self-efficacy's context…

Discussion of the degree of training effectiveness in management training technologies focuses on a training experiment which employed two scenarios of a computer assisted simulation. Structural components of managerial effectiveness versus specific content of managerial tasks are described, and suggestions for future training technologies are…

This study compared factors contributing to Quick Incidental Learning of new vocabulary by 50 5-year olds with specific language impairment (SLI) and 2 comparison groups. Although SLI children exhibited a robust representational mapping ability, performance was modulated by a minimum input constraint and apparent problems with storage into…

Calls for a process-oriented approach to study of categorization in infancy. Maintains that further understanding of infant categorization and its changes with development requires a more direct assessment of infants' category formation. Argues that two research directions will enhance understanding of categorization: (1) contextual variations on…