Visual scanning patterns were investigated in 32 children (mean age 9.8 years) referred for hyperactivity in a double blind crossover comparison of methylphenidate and placebo treatments. Results suggested that the stimulant drug may increase attentional selectivity even when such a shift fails to produce improvement in task performance. (Author)

To test the suggestion that a deficit in selective attention is characteristic of learning disabled (LD) but not hyperactive (H) children, 72 students (12 LDH, 12 H, and 36 normal Ss) were timed on visual search tasks. (Author)

To test the theory that retardates are particularly slow in forming some visual habits, especially attention, a series of experiments were performed using a laboratory device which forced subjects to discriminate between color and form in exchange for an incentive reward. Stochastic models were applied to tests of lower level retardates which…

Reading comprehension is influenced by external factors and factors within the reader. A discussion of these factors and of the LaBerge reading model provides the context for methods of diagnosing and remediating reading problems. (Author/BW)

Preplays (critical material presented before a televised program) were inserted before three sections of a televised story to determine if they would improve children's attention and comprehension by providing overall plot structure for selecting and integrating important story events. The preplays varied on two orthogonal dimensions: presence or…

Visual processing of televised information was compared among 85 Japanese and 111 American boys and girls at the kindergarten and 4th-grade levels. The literatures on cognition and learning indicate that language and child rearing factors are more conducive to the development of iconic processing skills in Japanese children than in American…