Subject matter concept attainment by adult students was studied by experimentally manipulating instructional instances which were either positive or negative, clear or obscure, or presented in large or small variety. (Author/JA)

A reminding-based generalization view of category learning was studied in 4 experiments involving a total of 247 college students. Experiments demonstrated that categorization by reminding can affect what is learned about the category and later categorization performance. Implications of the results for category learning are discussed. (SLD)

Expectations concerning form and color in object label referencing of 80 children of 2-3 years were examined in 2 studies. Findings show that children as young as 2 expect form similarity to be a better guide than color similarity to the extension of object labels. (RJC)

The doctrine of localized brain functions has strongly influenced many educators. Gerald Edelman's recent research challenges this doctrine by advancing categorization and recategorization as the brain's overriding activities. Instruction that focuses overmuch on similarities is misguided and confusing. Instead, classroom instruction should employ…

Addresses Nelson's commentary on Ward, Vela, and Hass' study of children's category learning (both of which are in this issue). Discusses the issue of whether a holistic processing view provides a better account of children's learning than does an analytical view. (PCB)

Suggests that in learning and development, the process of comparison can act as a bridge between similarity-based and rule-based processing. A structure-sensitive comparison process, triggered by experiential or symbolic juxtapositions can: (1) facilitate understanding of structural commonalities and the abstraction of rules; and (2) facilitate…

Presents a reaction to Thompson and Neville's (1999) article, "Racism, Mental Health, and Mental Health Practice" and proposes that the unifying theme is categorization. Extends the concept of categorization, demonstrates it as the "lowest common denominator" of racism, and discusses the implications of categorization for…

Studies investigating orthographic similarity effects in semantic tasks have produced inconsistent results. The authors investigated orthographic similarity effects in animacy decision and in contrast with previous studies, they took semantic congruency into account. In Experiments 1 and 2, performance to a target (cat) was better if a previously…

Category learning can be characterized as a process of discovering the dimensions that represent stimuli efficiently and effectively. Categories that are overlapping when represented in 1 dimensionality may be separate in a higher dimensional cue set. The authors report 2 experiments in which participants were shown an additional cue after…

Students can use seed characteristics to discriminate between the different kinds of legumes using taxonomic classification processes of sorting and ranking, followed by construction of taxonomic keys. The application of the Learning Cycle process to taxonomic principles, hierarchical classification, and construction of keys presents the…

Developments within education, psychology and the neurosciences have shed a great deal of light on how we learn while, at the same time, confirming for us all that learning is a profoundly complex process and far from understood. Against this background, and in this position article, we consider the recent rise in interest in the concept of…

The development of the ability to use taxonomic, phonemic and sense impression categories as dimensions of encoding was investigated using third and fifth graders and college students. (ED)

A SYSTEM FOR CLASSIFYING THOUGHT PROCESSES IN THE CONTEXT OF CLASSROOM VERBAL INTERACTION IS PRESENTED. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM IS NECESSARY TO THE STUDY OF THE VERBAL PERFORMANCE OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TO ASSESS THE QUALITY OF THINKING THAT IS ELICITED AND EXPRESSED IN THE COURSE AND CONTEXT OF CLASSROOM OPERATION. VERBAL PERFORMANCES…

GIVEN THE TASK OF LEARNING A SERIES OF RANDOMLY ORDERED MEANINGFUL ITEMS, MOST SUBJECTS (SS) IMPOSE SOME ORGANIZATION ON THE MATERIAL DURING THE PROCESS OF LEARNING. AN EXPERIMENTAL PARADIGM IS DESCRIBED WHICH PERMITS THE OBJECTIVE SCORING OF EACH S'S SUBJECTIVE ORGANIZATION OF THE MATERIAL ON EACH LEARNING TRIAL. THE CENTRAL FEATURE OF THE…

This report, Bibliography, is designed to aid the researcher concerned with concept learning. It contains (1) rationale and strategy for compiling a bibliography of articles concerned with concept learning, (2) a definition of the word "concept," (3) a system for classifying articles by their content, (4) a bibliography of relevant articles…