The idea was explored that different subjects may use qualitatively different encoding strategies with the same information presented within the same experimental situation. The premise was also studied that different strategies may be evoked by subtle differences in advance instructions or in the context of the task. (Author/MH)

In a series of five experiments, novices read a text on computer programming, and engaged in one of the following learning strategies: advance organizer, model elaboration, comparative elaboration, normal reading (control). Results of transfer tests indicated a pattern in which the treatment groups excelled on the ability to put the information…

Examines whether it is the mediator as a "product" or whether it is the "process" involved in a particular strategy that facilitates learning, concluding that neither view can be rejected. (RB)

Focuses on the importance of more closely understanding the ways in which faculty foster and perpetuate classroom authority, and ways in which learners become entangled in unconscious transference. Uses a psychoanalytic model to discuss the implications of traditional classroom power relationships between teachers and students. Suggests strong…

The purpose of the experiment was to test the prediction that non-specific facilitated learning of a second prose passage will occur in the situation where an initial passage read by the subjects contained concrete referents designed to increase the comprehension of a difficult to understand second passage. Two-hundred and forty subjects…

This paper describes the mental model children have of their own learning, derived from their behaviors when learning a song. The basic assumption of the study is that behavior is an outward expression of a psychological entity. The song chosen for the study was a complex, unfamiliar Zulu song. Thirty-six children in three age groups participated…

Three experiments explored the effect of affectively congruent or incongruent primes on evaluation responses to positive or negative valenced targets (the "affective priming" effect). Experiment 1 replicated the basic affective priming effect with Spanish nouns: reaction time for evaluative responses (pleasant/unpleasant) were slower on…

Hint, pegword experience, and hint plus pegword experience conditions were evaluated against three other conditions: (1) a no strategy control condition; (2) an instructional treatment to maximize elaborative strategy use; and (3) an instructional treatment to minimize elaborative strategy use. Results clarify the nature of elaborative production…

The development of the associative structure of physics concepts as a result of the content presented to the learner and the relationship between associative structure and academic achievement was investigated using a treatment and a control group. Assessment of associative structure may allow insight into a learner's progress which complements…

Describes the development of a computer-based learning courseware that presented associative learning between abstract and concrete domains and discusses results of a study of college students that determined whether various audio-visual combinations and differences in IQ levels influenced learning and long-term retention using the courseware.…

These experiments focus upon two assumptions of the levels of processing formulation: that context provides exclusive control over the qualitative nature of encoding, and that amount recalled is determined both by cue-trace compatibility and by depth. The results cast doubt upon the validity of each assumption. (Author/MH)

The contributions of psychology, theoretically and experimentally, to university teaching are examined from the perspective of educational epistemology. The most basic theoretical contribution that psychology has made to cognitive learning has been the delineation of a unit of thinking, the concept, which acts as an organizer of experience. The…

Describes an experiment where 15 adults received a computer presented "Cognitive Styles Analysis" to assess their positions on two cognitive style dimensions: Wholist-Analytic and Verbal-Imagery. The subjects then completed word association and identification tasks while their electroencephalograph readings were monitored. The readings…