In this paper, problems with the philosophy and research relating to various interpretations of 'closing the gap' are used to open up a discussion of, and illustrate, the process whereby a narrow interpretation of 'science' and neglect of systems thinking result in the generation of huge amounts of dangerous and misleading misinformation and…

Background: According to Dweck and colleagues, praise can be delivered using person ("you are clever") or process terms ("you worked hard"). Research suggests that giving people process praise after success can help them deal better with subsequent failures because it attributes outcomes to effort rather than fixed ability.…

The results of eleven distance estimation studies made in seven cities and five countries are reported. Distances were estimated between various points within the cities in which the subjects were resident. In general, undergraduate residents' distance estimates correlated highly with actual distance, but the nonundergraduate group's did not.…

An investigation into student personality factors which influence student interaction and learning outcomes. (HB)

Found eight-year-old British children less accurate at rejecting psuedohomophones than at rejecting ordinary nonwords in a lexical decision task. New Zealand children did not show the effect. Argues that the difference stems from British children's dependency on sounding out words. (SAK)

This investigation of the development of young children's concept of evaporation examines their intuitive explanations of real world events involving evaporation. A study of the effects of providing evidence contradicting their explanations and of directing their attention to relevant situational features provides insight into the development of…

Interviews 46 British children, ages 8 to 11, to test their understanding of showing off. Confirms prediction that younger childrens' understanding of motivation for showing off is based on psychological determinants and that 11-year-olds' understanding focuses on interpersonal determinants. Also discusses children's understanding of emotional…

Reports empirical relationships between various facets of school motivation and sub-scales of the Approaches to Studying Inventory used with British and Hungarian secondary school pupils. The inventory factor structure proved stable across nationality and sex, providing a profile of scores which indicated different motives and ways of tackling…

Summarizes a study of questionnaire responses by British and Hong Kong Chinese students rating preferred traits in friends and romantic partners. Reports that romantic partners were expected to be more honest and caring than friends. Lists three principal preferences: kindness/consideration, extroversion, and sensitivity. Finds sensitivity…

Examines explanations used by children (ages five-14) to explain academic success and failure; frequency of their use; and developmental variations in types of explanations used. It was found that patterns of attribution categories vary by age, and that the attribution process involves a complex interaction of subjective and objective reality.…

Describes British study that monitored and evaluated the cognitive development and academic attainments of Down's Syndrome children ages 3-10 over a two-year period. Comparisons with mainstream schools and special schools are made in the areas of children's expressive language, comprehension, numeracy, verbal fluency, drawing ability, and reading.…