A study tested the theory that an item that stands out from its background is better remembered than one that is similar to the background (the isolation effect). Specifically, the study examined whether the isolation effect would be greater when there was a larger and more confusing mass of background items, whether position of the isolated item…

Purpose of this study was to determine whether a specific cell, Memory of Figural Units--Visual Mode (MFU-V), of the Structure of Intellect (SOI) can be significantly affected by training kindergarten and first-grade children, and whether improvement in MFU-V has a significant effect on reading achievement of first grade children. (Author)

A series of studies investigated the manner in which information is utilized during fixations in continuous reading. Utilization refers to visual information being processed to further the comprehension of the text being read, in contrast to registration, which refers to visual information simply being available to the brain. The studies…

The extent to which pictorial presentation would facilitate the comprehension of text-like passages among two populations of fourth-grade students was investigated. Subjects were 64 students each in high-socioeconomic status (SES) white and low-SES black groups. Simple passages amenable to pictorial presentation were read over a programed tape to…

Intended to lend organization to the educational media research in visual perception and learning with line drawings, this paper reviews studies that cut across several specialized fields of education and psychology. The studies reviewed are arranged into the following categories: (1) learning from visuals, (2) abstract versus realism theories,…

This paper presents a review of research in which correlations between short term visual memory and reading achievement have been found. Included is a table summarizing the major research which made use of commercially available tests of short term visual memory suitable for use with children 8-years of age and older. The researcher, tests used,…

One hundred and sixty-six second graders were administered the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA) and a visual and auditory memory test. Intraindividual discrepancies between a child's performance on comparable visual and auditory measures served to identify him as a visual or an auditory learner. Significantly more 5-year-old…

Two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of elaborated presentation on noun-pair retention. A 2 x 2 factorial design was used with aural-verbal presentation (standard versus elaborated) and visual-pictorial presentation (standard versus elaborated). Subjects for one experiment were 64 second-grade children from a Mexican-American…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether children as young as second-graders could encode categorically within an abstract evaluative dimension. The study uses mode of stimulus presentation (auditory or visual) as an independent variable. The subjects were 40 white middle class children from grades 2, 4, and 6, who were randomly assigned…

The purpose of the third edition of this book is to explore what must be involved in reading by addressing such topics as language, information theory, learning theory, the development of spoken language ability, and the physiology of the eye and brain. It is designed to serve as a handbook for language arts teachers, a text on the psychology of…