Results of an administration of the Matching Familiar Figures Test to 1484 Guatemalan children indicated that response time correlated more highly with the difficulty level of items within a test than with accuracy. (MS)

Using a modified Posner "encoding function" methodology, group differences in semantic encoding speed were assessed under conditions in which subjects encoded pictures of common objects to determine physical identity matches, name identity matches, and superordinate identity matches. Results of primary interest revealed group differences in basic…

Fifteen stutterers (aged 5-16) were treated using graded airflow, tension/relaxation, and electromyographic biofeedback to reduce stuttering frequency. In a second study, addition of a discriminative stimulus control procedure to maintain fluency made the treatment program more effective than the first study and achieved a level of <1% stuttered…

The slower progress of semantic memory research is attributed to the difficulties involved in testing the relevant theories. This paper proposes a model for testing such theories using the Continuous Response (CR) task. The model establishes a link between the rate of recall and the semantic relationships among the category items. (JAZ)

Investigates to what extent discrimination learning through time delay of multistimulus, distinctive-feature prompts is a function of the inclusion and configuration of the S-prompt. Results of two experiments with children aged four and five indicate that most subjects did not learn the task assigned unless two distinctive-feature prompts were…

Two approaches of statistical testing are critically reviewed. A new approach, which is a hybrid of the two, is proposed. The new approach requires the researcher to think about the two types of potential inferential errors and an explicit alternative hypothesis of interest. (VM)

Two experiments examine the sorts of cues that might be available to facilitate children's ability to discriminate between memories for their own actions. Results suggest that the differences in discrimination performance demonstrate the importance of kinesthetic cues and visible consequences for children's memory discrimination. (Author/RWB)

Describes observer-based technique for assessing auditory capacities of infants from three to 12 months of age. This technique, referred to as the Observation-based Psychoacoustic Procedure (OPP), combines features of the Forced-choice Preferential Looking Technique and of the Visual Reinforcement Audiometry. Pure-tone detection and frequency…

Study looks at pigtailed macaque in the context of visual recognition problems adapted from a standardized test developed for use with human infants. Results demonstrate that the low-risk group easily differentiated novel from previously seen targets; the high-risk group gave no evidence of recognition. (Author/RWB)

Investigates the underlying reasons for the fundamental shift in Benjamin Franklin's portrayals of the British colonies in America. Explores the hypothesis that "Magna Britannia" was both a deliberative work directed toward the British Parliament and an apologetic work directed toward conservatives in the colonial public. Also discusses…

Examines whether young children, aged four to nine years old, are satisfied with their own method of drawing a familiar object, or whether they would ideally like to draw in a more advanced way but are hampered by production differences from achieving this aim. (HOD)

Examines how certain human brow and mouth gestures influence the attributions of social dominance made by children. Hypothesizes that stimulus photographs depicting adults with lowered-brow expressions or without smiles appear to be more dominant relative to photographs showing adults with raised-brow expressions or with smiles, respectively. (HOD)

Studies the ability of 5-month-old infants to recall temporal information and use temporal organization by training them to fixate a hierarchically structured or unstructured sequence of stimuli which appeared in four spatial positions. Results are interpreted within a temporal organizational framework; infants appear to use organization within…

Focusing on the brain's natural functions, this article discusses specific teacher characteristics, teaching methods, and peripheral stimuli helping to activate appropriate learning behavior. Also identifies particular events and teacher behaviors that block learning and frustrate the brain's efforts to harmonize conflicts and admit new…

Examines whether kindergarteners, second-graders, fourth-graders, and adults can extract relative weight information from observing collisions and lifting events, and if they can judge whether or not collisions are momentum-conserving. Subjects saw either videotapes of events or sequences of static images; younger children appeared to be…