The authors construct a form of cognitive algebra to determine judgement processes. In this study performance was found to equal motivation times ability. (DE)

Fifty-eight kindergarten children were assessed on traditional presentations involving the conservation of number and liquid. Each conservation test contained two different items and began with the stimuli quantitatively and perceptually equal. Two other conservation tasks for number and liquid with initial nonequivalence followed. Performance on…

In response to empirical evidence that suggests that children use more than one strategy in transitive inference tasks, an effort was made to model strategy development as it occurs under the dual constraints of a concept of order and task demands. In the model, when a task is presented, procedural memory is searched for a strategy that is…

This study attempted to extend prior research on everyday problem solving by analyzing the effects of goal clarity and the presence or absence of a partner on performance in a number of problems. Subjects were 35 undergraduates who were screened, matched, and tested as singles or dyads during which time they thought aloud. Problems included mazes,…

This paper analyzes the effect on performance when several active processes compete for limited processing resources. The principles discussed show that conclusions about the interactions among psychological processes must be made with caution, and some existing assumptions may be unwarranted. (Author/BJG)

The paper reviews literature relating to selective attention in the learning disabled child. Three processes related to the concept of selective attention (as proposed by D. Berlyne) are discussed: attention in learning, attention in remembering, and attention in performance. It is pointed out that verbal mediation, the use of verbal labels to…

Two experiments were designed to test Kukla's cognitive theory of task performance, based on intended effort. Experiment I was designed to determine if success feedback leads to an overall increase in performance level and differential asymptotic performance for those high and low in achievement motivation. Experiment 2 was aimed at determining if…

Previous research has shown that sequences in which instances from the same category appear successively facilitate performance in concept attainment. This could be due to subjects adopting strategies which involve comparisons of instances from within the same category. However, if subjects were to adopt a strategy involving comparisons of…

In response to Roger Brown's memorial tribute to Eric Lenneberg, (Cognition, June, 1976), the author disagrees with Brown's conclusion that a Whorfian interpretation of both Lenneberg's and his own results regarding the problem of codability and the recognition of colors, is no longer valid. (Author/MV)

Examines the relationship between the mental effort requirement of cumulative rehearsal and spontaneous utilization of the strategy by three groups of children (mean ages 7.6, 8.7, and 11.5 years). Results showed that the mental effort requirement of strategy use may influence children's strategy selection on memory tasks. (Author/CI)

Studied the effects of anxiety and depression on anagram performance displayed by college students (N=72). Results showed that depressed-anxious and anxious subjects tended toward reduced efficiency in anagram solution, rated themselves as having experienced signficantly more cognitive interference, and displayed a significantly more negative…

Prior research has shown that test takers use a variety of strategies when taking passage-based reading comprehension tests. The specific effects that these alternative strategies have on actual examinee test performance are largely unknown. Evidence suggesting that performance differences exist across testing conditions would imply that the…