Discussed are results of studies of the cognitive development of 2- and 3-year-old children which suggest that the mind makes gains in the ability to think as gains in language development are made. "Thinking" in this context refers to the judgments children made as they selected objects and maneuvered them into one arrangement or…

The automatic/controlled processing theory proposal that the modification of long term memory (LTM) occurs only during controlled processing, and that stimuli can be automatically processed with no resulting LTM effect was tested in two experiments. In the first experiment, subjects were shown words while performing tasks involving either…

A study examined the effect of variation in category dominance on retrieval latencies (and errors) from semantic memory. Subjects, 66 students enrolled in an introductory psychology course, were required to perform 6 successive retrievals from each of 18 conceptual categories. The six retrievals consisted of two successive blocks of three from…

In a study of individual differences in long-term memory access, university undergraduates verified (1) whether an item was a member of a category; (2) whether two items belonged in the same category; and (3) whether two words had the same name. Reaction times from these tasks were correlated with verbal ability, as measured by performance on a…

The present study was designed to determine whether previous experience with categorically related items would facilitate third and sixth grade children's recall of subsequent unrelated materials. Subjects were 24 children at each grade level. An additional aim was to see if such experience with taxonomic material would influence both the manner…

The efficacy of gating in the processing of simple, multidimensional stimuli was investigated. In Experiment 1, a continuous classification task was used, with subjects sorting cards according to binary dimensions of line orientation and location. Results suggested that orientation and location are integral dimensions, facilitation occurring with…

Evaluates possible differences in the cognitive representations of semantic categories between children and adults independent of spontaneous memory skills. Response latencies on a classification task were compared for second, fourth, and sixth grades and college students. (Author/MP)

The article offers seven basic hypotheses regarding the nature of the perceptual and cognitive underpinnings of stereotyping, and discusses the theoretical basis and empirical evidence for each. Subjects were 21 college students of mixed sex and race. (Author/MP)

Provides a list of 27 cognitive objectives that are applicable to preschool and early childhood years. Relates elements of the list to the classification systems of Bloom, Gagne, and Briggs. (RL)

Release from proactive interference in mildly retarded adolescents due to taxonomic shifts and rest periods prior to the final, critical-word triad was investigated with 40 educable mentally handicapped persons 18 years old. (Author/MH)

Two studies explored the hypothesis that young children perceive integrally some stimuli that older children perceive separably. In both experiments, kindergarten, second- and fifth-grade children were required to classify sets of stimuli that varied in size and brightness. (SB)

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)

Subjects were 72 first, third and fifth graders. Stimuli consisted of an initial set of 20 unrelated pictures, and a second set of 20 pictures which could be classified according to four superordinate categories. (MS)

Reports the results of one study in which parents taught their two- to four-year-olds basic and superordinate concepts, and another, in which they taught them subordinate concepts. Parents' teaching styles were analyzed in terms of their usefulness for children who are attempting to learn about principles of hierarchical classification. (AS)

Elementary school students evaluated compositions that had been written by peers, then discussed the factors upon which their rankings were based. Results indicate that the bases for evaluation fall into four categories: feelings aroused by text, responses to surface features, responses to text as understood, and responses to craftsmanship. (FL)