Research supported by Research Grant MH-12854-02.

Attempts to determine whether the stimulus dimension to which infants respond is different in fixed-trial and infant-control methodologies. Infants 10 weeks of age were shown four facelike patterns differing along two dimensions: number of elements and extent to which elements were organized to resemble the human face. (Author/RH)

A patterns task consisting of six stimuli, three presented in two-dimensional form and three presented in three-dimensional form, was administered to 47 preschoolers. Findings demonstrate the importance of developing measures of original thinking that are specifically appropriate for use with preschool children. (Author/RH)

Two sets of stimuli on the Unusual Uses task varying in familiarity were presented to 78 preschool-age subjects. Familiar items yielded greater ideational fluency than unfamiliar ones and generated both more popular and unusual responses. Increased fluency is discussed in relation to Mednick's response hierarchies and the distinction between…

This study was undertaken to determine whether context independence (the degree to which the phonetic categorization of a given stimulus is independent of the context in which it occurs) and phonetic mediation (the degree to which discrimination appears to be based on category labels) are independent aspects of categorical perception. (Author/LC)

Involuntary mental rehearsal of foreign language words, sounds, and phrases is found consistent with current second language acquisition theory and case history reports. It is suggested the "din in the head" results from stimulation of the language acquisition device set off when the acquirer receives enough comprehensible input. (Author/MSE)

Counters Lane and Pearson's assertion ("Merrill-Palmer Quarterly," v28, n3, p317-37, 1982) that younger children are less selective than older children because they are less able to inhibit responses to irrelevant stimuli. Suggests that increased efficiency in stimulus selection is associated with increased stimulus differentiation and…

The investigation involving 30 normal hearing college juniors concerned the relation between speechreading performance and the ability to identify sequences of alphabet letters. Significant correlations occurred between fourth order words at a brief exposure duration (2 msecs.) and performance on a speechreading test. (Author/SB)

Reviews research examining the effects of pictorial illustrations on learning from textbooks; notes differences in purpose, approach, and methodology; identifies some shortcomings; and offers suggestions for future research. Forty references are listed. (FM)

The first study examined preschool children's looks directed toward male and female adults. More than one adult of each sex participated, and measures were taken of eye contact as well as of exploratory behavior. The second study examined children's looks toward adults in relation to their interpretation of an adult's gaze. (RH)

The author defines stimulus control (using responses and skills which have been previously acquired) and suggests that it is of critical importance in the instructional process with learning disabled students. Research on variables of attention and time on-task is reviewed. (CL)

The experiment investigated the possibility that autistic adolescents may avoid speech communication with the world around them by "tuning out" or perceptually suppressing auditory speech stimuli. The tune out auditory suppression hypothesis was investigated using the S's own speech as the stimulus under three perceptual-motor conditions. (Author)

Describes a study using ocular photography to examine factors which affect the visual weights of significant elements in a picture. Results indicating that the upper half of the visual fields has greatest weight are discussed, as are results showing insufficient support for side preferences. Included are 27 references. (Author/BK)