Two experiments replicated Flavell et al.'s (1978) finding that 2.5-year-olds can hide an object behind a screen but cannot achieve the same result placing the screen in front. Move-screen performance related to judgment of what a person in a picture was looking at. Move-object task remained easier than the move-screen task even with an…

Examined the frequency and magnitude of specific variables perceived to have affected U.S. Olympic athletes' performance. Respondents perceived that performance was influenced by: performance variables (e.g., preparation for distraction); team variables (e.g., strong cohesion); coaching variables (e.g., coaching expectations); family-friend…

Describes seven important characteristics of the performance environment that can affect a performance outcome. Topics discussed include the performance environment as an open system, performance variables that can affect outcomes, how performance can be improved, and how performance variables are interrelated. (LRW)

Three metaphors can help alleviate performance anxiety: (1) a cloud as a symbol for getting rid of unwanted behavior; (2) a snowball sweeping away all obstacles; and (3) a pyramid as a symbol of unsuspected inner resources. (SK)

Three experiments examined whether and how the strength of original information and strength of misleading information influenced 3- to 5-year olds' memory for an event. Findings indicated that children exposed to the event once reported more misled details than those seeing the event multiple times, and were just as susceptible to misleading…

Two experiments used error-detection to determine the reason for 3-year olds' perseverative errors on the postswitch phase of the Dimensional Change Card Sort. Results implied that perseveration cannot be attributed to difficulty inhibiting prepotent motor responses, but that changes in rule use between 3 and 5 years are more likely to increase…

Discusses information retrieval in the Chinese language and describes three representation methods for texts: 1-gram or character, bigram, and short-word. Describes a study that investigated using more than one method simultaneously to improve retrieval effectiveness and considers word segmentation and costs. (Author/LRW)

The planning wheel considers the interaction of six components of program planning. Within a macro/micro systems approach, the model incorporates internal and external forces that influence economic development by capturing political, social, cultural, technological, and economic forces. (SK)

A study of five companies with the best training evaluation practices identified the following success factors: measuring customer requirements, translating them into meaningful standards, testing performance, measuring what clients need and will pay for, and not evaluating merely to justify training. (SK)

Discusses the importance of focusing on the people side of performance improvement instead of just the models, processes, and theories. Topics include the mental state of the performer; the psychology of performance improvement; stress and its effects on performance; guaranteeing performance improvement; performance attributions; and external…

Explored how 5.5- to 9-year-olds generalize to novel items a new phoneme spelling. Found they were more likely to use novel grapheme when the vowel appeared in the middle of a target; they were not more likely to use novel grapheme when it shared vowel and final consonant of the target than when it shared initial consonant and vowel. (Author/KB)

The effect of two types of verbal consequences, rule-following feedback and task performance feedback, on rule-induced insensitivity to programmed schedules of reinforcement were examined. Rule-following feedback could be either accurate or non-contingently positive. The task involved moving a sign through a grid using telegraph keys operating on…

Problems facing African Americans students are complex and numerous. In this article, we describe current educational contexts (i.e., high standards, accountability, and standardized test scores). In addition, we discuss the realities confronting African American students through West?s (1994) lenses of paranoia and poverty. Finally, we present…

Given the ever-increasing number of students who are taking distance education courses, it seems appropriate to look beyond the explicit, academic curriculum and consider how institutional charisms and core values might be implemented in distance education courses. This article explores the incorporation of charisms and core values in distance…