Investigated effects of two kinds of imagery on age differences in the ability to solve series problems. Overall, older adults (N=47) obtained lower scores than younger adults (N=41). However, results suggest older adults can use imagery as a control process, but are less likely to use imagery in abstract situations. (Author/JAC)

Although it has been suggested that sleep, and particularly REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, plays an important role in information processing, this study found no relationship between any aspect of sleep, in particular time of arousal during the week and on weekends, and academic performance. (MLW)

The effects of subsequent related information and cognitive flexibility on prose recall were studied. Subjects read a passage; then were given either consistent or contradictory information. Errors in cued recall, reflecting the subsequent information, were more frequently produced after a three-week delay than after two days. (Author/GDC)

The article provides a rationale for the consideration of the processing differences of exceptional learners and discusses how these differences influence the development of the skills necessary for normal school achievement. (PHR)

Two experiments were performed to determine whether questions inserted after prose passages initiate reviews which facilitate retention of the information in memory. Results suggest that the backward review is not attributed to a retrieval phenomenon but to a strengthening of memory traces at the time of the probe. (Author/GK)

The study investigated the effects of incentives for good performance on the selection and use of an efficient task strategy by 30 reading disabled and 30 normally reading second graders. (SBH)

The nature of the target designation process--which involves forming interassociated mental structures to allow retrieval of individual items of information--was studied. It was shown that visual imagery instructions improved target identification as well as word recognition but did not appear to affect the representational format. (Author/MH)

The ability of preverbal infants to abstract a prototypical representation of a category, when presented with examples of an artifically constructed category, was investigated. It was determined that infants could process visual information constructively and could take a more active role in category formation than previously believed. (Author/MH)

Type I incidental learning (in which Ss are exposed to stimulus materials without instructions to learn, and then Ss' retention is unexpectedly tested) of 112 educable mentally retarded children (6-13 years old) was investigated. (Author/CL)

Sought to elucidate the nature of odor memory by applying paradigms from verbal learning and semantic memory and to investigate two processes affecting paired-associate performance. (Author/RK)

This research looks at time of day effects in the immediate and delayed recall of realistic or meaningful material--a short story. Its design avoids confounding time of presentation with that of delayed recall and allows the comparison of delayed recall made at the same or different time of day to the presentation. (Author/RK)

This introductory paper covers basic concepts and terminology relevant to the application of research on relational learning to mental retardation. The paper discusses conditional discrimination; conditional stimulus relations and stimulus equivalence; generalized stimulus relations; impact of mediational processes on emergent behavior; relational…

Presents a model of information processing that demonstrates how to facilitate knowledge acquisition. Various instructional strategies designed to reduce the effect of impositions are described, such as use of novelty, mystery, and questioning techniques; reducing complexity of instructional messages; and the automaticity of secondary skills. (JKP)