Young children have been described as critical consumers of information, particularly in the domain of language learning. Indeed, children are more likely to learn novel words from people with accurate histories of object labeling than with inaccurate ones. But what happens when informant testimony conflicts with a tendency to see the world in a…

The links among social information processing, social competence, and school readiness were examined in this short-term longitudinal study with a sample of 198 preschool children. Data on social information processing were obtained via child interview, data on child social competence were obtained via teacher report, and data on school readiness…

Two experiments were performed to assess age-related changes in sequential effects on choice reaction time (RT). Sequential effects portray the influence of previous trials on the RT to the current stimulus. In Experiment 1, three age groups (7-9, 10-12, and 18-25 years) performed a spatially compatible choice task, with response-to-stimulus…

Elementary school students were tested on a visual search task where letter matching was based on the visual or name characteristics of letters. Visual match lists were searched faster than name match lists by all three grades. (SBT)

Two groups of kindergarten children received stimulus differentiation training either with feedback (experimental Ss) or without (controls), prior to presentation of a series of discrimination-learning problems using blank-trial probes. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical perspectives derived from Piagetian theory and developmental…

This study examined the effect of provocateurs' emotion displays on first through fourth graders' social information processing (SIP). Rating and nomination sociometric techniques were used to identify rejected-aggressive, rejected-nonaggressive, average-nonaggressive, and popular-nonaggressive groups. Children viewed videotaped ambiguous…

Examines the kinds of information children encode and remember from complex pictures and attempts to determine whether there are developmental changes in the kinds of information processed. Subjects were first, third, and fifth grade children. (BD)

Investigates preschool children's ability (n = 30) to discriminate age, and subject's use of different facial areas in ranking facial photographs into age order. Results indicate subjects from 3 to 9 years can successfully rank the photos. Compared with other facial features, the eye region was most important for success in the age ranking task.…

This research explores the way in which young children (5 years of age) and adults use perceptual and conceptual cues for categorizing objects processed by vision or by audition. Three experiments were carried out using forced-choice categorization tasks that allowed responses based on taxonomic relations (e.g., vehicles) or on schema category…

Examines fourth grade children's memory for information contained in target sentences presented 24 hours earlier. Examines the occurrence of interference by presenting multiple choice response options consisting of a correct word, a new word, and a word which occurred in a previous sentence. Attempts to extend the principles of frequency theory.…

Examines second graders' and sixth graders' observational learning of complex problem solving strategies. (BD)

Modified twenty-questions and problems were solved by 72 subjects in a study of the influence of an adult model on the information-processing strategy used by children of various grade levels. (WY)

A reply to a rejoinder in which Pascual-Leone defended his quantitative model of children's information processing capacity. Trabasso focuses on empirical evidence in presenting his reply to this rejoinder. (BD)

Information processing capabilities of normal and retarded individuals were studied within the context of a modified Steinberg recognition memory task. Normal and retarded individuals spent the same amount of time learning information, but normal subjects spent less time retrieving the information. (ST)