This experimental study examined the validity of 3 underlying mechanisms that have been proposed in the research literature to explain the anxiety-reducing effect of coloring mandalas: distraction, structure, and centering. Four conditions were tested: (a) freely coloring a mandala, (b) coloring a mandala with preset colors, (c) freely drawing a…

The effects of prior encodings of manipulatives (red and blue plastic chips) on children's ability to use them as representations of quantity were tested. First graders (N = 73) were assigned to four conditions in which the encoding of plastic chips was experimentally manipulated. All children then participated in an addition activity that relied…

Successful communication requires "Pragmatic Competence" or abilities to use appropriate language in transferring one's needs while maintaining a positive relationship with the interactant (Thomas, 1995; Leech, 1983). This study was an attempt to investigate the pragmatic competence of Thai Engineering students when making complaints and…

We researched the efficacy of an early literacy programme in enhancing immigrant children's phonological awareness (PA) and print knowledge, including transferring learning to numeracy. Participants were 294 Ethiopian-born immigrant children in Israel at kindergarten age and one of their parents. Parent-child dyads were randomly selected to…

We study the misconceptions about colour that most people hold, determining the general phenomenological laws that govern them. Concept mapping was used to combat the misconceptions which were found in the application of a test specifically designed to determine these misconceptions, while avoiding the possible misleading inductions that could…

Developmental dyscalculia (DD) is a deficit in number processing and arithmetic that affects 3-6% of schoolchildren. The goal of the present study was to analyze cerebral bases of DD related to symbolic number processing. Children with DD aged 9-11 years and matched children with no learning disability history were investigated using fMRI. The two…

Objective: The main aim of the present study is to investigate the short-term cognitive effects of computer games in children with different psychiatric disorders and normal controls. Method: One hundred one children are recruited for the study (aged between 9 and 12 years). All participants played a motor-racing game on the computer for 1 hour.…

Background: The area of research aimed for a more efficient e-learning is slowly widening from purely technical to the areas of psychology, didactics and methodology. The question is whether the text or background color influence the efficiency of memory, i.e. learning. If the answer to that question is positive, then another question arises which…