Purpose: The study addressed three research questions: Does lipreading improve between the ages of 7 and 14 years? Does hearing loss affect the development of lipreading? How do individual differences in lipreading relate to other abilities? Method: Forty children with normal hearing (NH) and 24 with hearing loss (HL) were tested using 4…

One of the important nutrients during pregnancy is vitamin A or related compounds called retinoids. Although it is well-known that vitamin A deficiency may be detrimental to foetal development, overdosage of retinoids might cause developmental defects, particularly affecting the central nervous system development of the foetus, causing hindbrain…

Indicates that spatial ability describes a variety of different behaviors and briefly reviews efforts to define intelligence factors and identify processes involved in solving tasks requiring spatial ability. (DS)

Explores longstanding inconsistencies in Piaget's account of development of spatial representation and perspective-taking. Examines Piaget's early writings and the findings of the original "three mountains" experiment. Concludes that Piaget's alternative theory is compatible with contemporary thinking and is important as a contributory…

Among the many theories attempting to explain sex differences in spatial ability, one of the most highly researched is the X-linked recessive gene theory. This is a review of the major research done on that theory and shows the conflicting nature of the results. (Author)

Research in progress on some unresolved issues regarding the relationship of cognitive development and language acquisition is reported, especially the relationship between conservation of length and knowledge of relevant comparative dimensional adjectives. Much further investigation is recommended and possible educational implications are…

Second and third graders and fifth and sixth graders were tested in a very large, unfamiliar environment to determine the relation of their knowledge of an abstract reference frame to performance on a spatial inference task. (HOD)

Spatial cognition entails the ability to mentally represent spatial relations and to anticipate the course and outcome of transformations applied to those relations. The developmental histories of four tasks used to assess the maturity of spatial cognition in children are described. Significant effects were found for age, gender, task, and for…

Examines the fallacies about the nature of abilities and learning and about the interaction between sense modalities which follow from the dichotomy in relation to explanations of spatial development in the blind. Suggests that interactions between cognitive and perceptual factors need to be considered to explain more adequately effects of sensory…

Four experiments examined sources of gender differences routinely found on the water-level spatial test. Undergraduates' errors offered no evidence that less accurate responses by females than males reflected a less developed Piagetian spatial system, and that females' requisite motor skills were poorer than those of males. (MM)

Discusses variables related to task performance in the solution of the water-level problem, where subjects were asked to indicate the water surface orientation in a tilted vessel. Subjects ages 7 to 15 years participated. Suggests that field effects and the kind of rules in use contribute to the differences in performance, which can be shown even…

Studied the relationship of joint mother-child planning before and during tasks, and the ability of four and eight year olds to plan on their own. Found that older children planned more effectively, especially during tasks, and that mothers of younger children concerned themselves with task procedures rather than strategy. (MDM)

This research paper reports on testing the hypothesis that music and spatial task performance are causally related. Two complementary studies are presented that replicate and explore previous findings. One study of college students showed that listening to a Mozart sonata induces subsequent short-term spatial reasoning facilitation and tested the…

Data from the Japanese standardization of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale for Intelligence were used to analyze the structure of abilities of Japanese children in terms of the Burt-Vernon hierarchical model of intelligence. It was suggested that the pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses that emerged would help clarify a number of…

Reports the results of cognitive test performance and early childhood activities in individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, an autosomal recessive disorder associated with elevated prenatal adrenal androgen levels, demonstrating the effects of early exposure to excess androgenizing hormones on sexually dimorphic cognitive functioning.…