Inspection time (IT) and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) scores from 75 school children aged 6-13 years in 2001 were compared with the performances of 70 children aged 6-13 years who had attended the same primary school in 1981 ["J. Exp. Child Psychol." 40 (1985) 1.]. ITs for the 2001 sample were measured with the same four-field…

In recent research, two qualitatively different classes of mental operations have been identified. The performance of one type of cognitive task requires attention, in the sense of mental effort, for its execution, while the second type can be performed automatically, independent of attentional control. Further research has shown that automatic…

A program of research was conducted to study transitions from preoperational to concrete operational forms of spatial imagery (area 1), to compare results from spatial imagery studies based on open-ended measures (such as drawings) with results based on reaction time measures (area 2), and to study anticipatory imagery in the contexts of memory…

Two techniques were used to modify an impulsive conceptual tempo on a visual discrimination task. The subjects were 42 first grade white children who had previously been classified as impulsive or near-impulsive on the Matching Familiar Figures Test given to 82 children. These subjects, who had scored above the median on errors and below the…

Ratcliff's theory of memory retrieval which posits parallel processing and Sternberg's serial processing explanation of memory scanning are reviewed and contrasted. Discrepancy between the two theories may arise because they focus on different aspects of the data. If scanning without comparisons takes place, the two views may be reconciled.…

Three experiments obtained same-different judgments from children and adults to trace normal development of local and global processing of hierarchical visual forms. Findings indicated that reaction time was faster on global trials than local trials; bias was stronger in children and diminished to adult levels between ages 10 and 14. Reaction time…

Hypothesized that arithmetic calculating procedures and types of problems that necessitate more subproblems will lead to longer solution times. Data from 36 third grade students who mentally computed problems with sums greater than 20 and less than 100, confirmed both hypotheses. (RH)

Tested three competing structural equation models concerning auditory inspection time (AIT) and cognitive ability. Found that auditory inspection times near age 11 correlate most strongly with later high IQ. (ET)

Two experiments conducted with 49 Chicano high school students, aged 15-17, found that balanced-proficient bilingual speakers had slower rates of cognitive information processing at the level of short-term memory than did unbalanced bilingual speakers. The groups did not differ in rates of cognitive information processing at the simpler level of…

This study explored the relationship between traditional item difficulty and cognitive complexity as measured by response time. Rural students (n=43) responded to computer-based tests of the Individualized Study by Technology General Mathematics Course developed by Alaska's Department of Education. Results indicated that mean response times were…

Background: Williams syndrome (WS) and Down syndrome (DS) are two neurodevelopmental genetically based disorders which exhibit mental retardation with a unique cognitive profile. Naming in individuals with WS and DS has been investigated in several studies, with results indicating that the performance of children with WS and DS is at a similar…

What brain mechanisms underlie autism, and how do they give rise to autistic behavioral symptoms? This article describes a neural model, called the Imbalanced Spectrally Timed Adaptive Resonance Theory (iSTART) model, that proposes how cognitive, emotional, timing, and motor processes that involve brain regions such as the prefrontal and temporal…

As part of a study to determine whether visual and manual response systems are correlated, 26 children between 40 and 51 months of age took part in visual and manual reaction time (RT) tasks. Subjects, whose RTs had previously been tested at 3 months of age, were tested in 1 of 2 conditions. In the first condition, subjects viewed pictures only…

The question of whether performance measures may be more accurate than examination methods to assess an individual's abilities and knowledge is examined, based on a literature review. An information processing view that focuses on the internal activities of thinking and the relationship to external stimuli is considered. Information processing…

Fifty-five recent studies of individual differences (IDs) in elementary cognitive tasks (ECTs) are reviewed. Twenty-five data sets are examined, analyzed, or reanalyzed by factor analysis. The following promising dimensions are identified: basic perceptual processes, reaction and movement times, mental comparison and recognition tasks, retrieval…